Science & Technology

Robert Leshner and Jesse Walden: Deep Dive on Decentralization

Published

6 years ago

June 10, 2020

Jesse Walden, a former a16z investment partner and Mediachain cofounder, and Robert Leshner, founder and CEO of Compound, do a “Deep Dive on Decentralization.” Walden starts with a playbook for progressive decentralization — the process by which crypto project creators build a useful product, create a community around that product, and then gradually hand over control of the maturing network to the community. This process is in keeping with the cooperative model of crypto networks, which drives rapid, compounding innovation through better alignment of incentives and open participation. Leshner follows with a case study of his experiences at Compound, an automated money market for crypto assets in which lenders and borrowers can come together to transact without the involvement of third parties. Compound, one of the first crypto projects to move through the full progressive decentralization model, built a thriving community of third-party application developers, who have set up shop on top of Compound’s smart-contract protocol. The Compound team has gradually brought this community further into the protocol’s inner workings; in the final stages before handoff to the community, the founding team made changes transparently, with greater reliance on the community’s input, and created a sandbox for experimentation to test governance mechanisms. Decentralizing “allows the protocol to live forever,” Leshner says, which fosters innovation because developers can trust the protocol with their businesses and livelihood.

Andreessen Horowitz’s Crypto Startup School brought together 45 participants from around the U.S. and overseas in a seven-week course to learn how to build crypto companies. Andreessen Horowitz is partnering with TechCrunch to release the online version of the course over the next few weeks.

Find more Crypto Startup School videos plus additional reading and info:

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15 Comments

Cythz

June 10, 2020 at 8:01 pm

Loved it

Reply
Rahul Mathur

June 21, 2020 at 5:15 am

This was great ????thank you very much!

Reply
- Arian Finnegan
  
  June 17, 2021 at 4:07 pm
  
  dont know if anyone cares but if you’re stoned like me during the covid times you can stream all the latest movies and series on instaflixxer. Been binge watching with my girlfriend recently =)
  
  Reply
- Kyrie Dustin
  
  June 17, 2021 at 4:18 pm
  
  @Arian Finnegan definitely, been watching on instaflixxer for years myself =)
  
  Reply
- Brody Emmitt
  
  June 17, 2021 at 4:18 pm
  
  @Arian Finnegan yea, I’ve been watching on InstaFlixxer for since december myself =)
  
  Reply
- Malachi Nova
  
  June 17, 2021 at 4:18 pm
  
  @Arian Finnegan Yea, been watching on instaflixxer for years myself 😀
  
  Reply
Nandit Mehra

August 30, 2020 at 9:19 am

great video on building an awesome decentralized product

Reply
mathis P

October 24, 2020 at 8:48 am

mmm… He didn’t actually answer what is their business model… does anyone know ?

Reply
Happy D

January 22, 2021 at 7:19 am

Give us free Compund Robert

Reply
Monopoly

January 29, 2021 at 2:55 pm

Thanks

Reply
Abhi Goel

May 16, 2021 at 10:51 pm

thank you!

Reply
Wetware Records

August 24, 2021 at 11:32 pm

We really love this video! Very inspiring. Especially for our team that’s working on decentralized social media daily.

We’d love to send you our whitepaper

Reply
prasad mahadik

September 30, 2021 at 6:56 am

Great videos! Are there going to be more of these videos?

Reply
Leonardo D Giuseppe

December 2, 2021 at 2:03 am

mi mind blow at 25.
essa aula é um grande passo para a humanidade. Amado, gratidao por todos seus ensimentos.
this class is a big step for humanity. Beloved, gratitude for all your feelings.

Reply
Daniel Ospina

January 3, 2022 at 3:20 pm

Very old fashioned thinking. No wonder they are a web2 VC

Reply

CNET

iPhone Duo vs. Galaxy Z Fold 8

It’s a battle of passport foldables 👀 #galaxyzfold8 #versus #iphoneduo #allthingsmobile #foldable

Published

20 hours ago

October 22, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

It’s a battle of passport foldables 👀 #galaxyzfold8 #versus #iphoneduo #allthingsmobile #foldable

Science & Technology

Meet Wabi, the AI assistant with group chats, multiple threads, and an app-builder | Equity podcast

It seems like every big AI player is building a personal agent. Meta has Muse, OpenAI launched Dots, and a startup called Instinct recently raised $1 billion at a $10 billion valuation. But Eugenia Kuyda thinks the next generation of AI assistants needs to do more than book your restaurant reservations and find you hidden…

Published

22 hours ago

October 22, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

Kuyda, who founded AI companion app Replika, has just launched Wabi, a personal AI agent that organizes your life into separate conversations, brings other people into the mix, and builds custom apps around what you’re trying to do. The idea is to make AI less of a solo productivity tool and more of a way to spend time with the people who matter to you.

On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan talks with Kuyda about why she thinks AI agents should bring people together instead of keeping them glued to a single chatbot, how Wabi plans to compete in a crowded and expensive market, and what it takes to get people comfortable giving an AI access to their email.

Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You can also follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

1:11 Meet Wabi

5:33 From “YouTube for apps” to a proactive personal agent

7:12 Why AI should bring people together, not just save time

10:17 Multi-thread chats vs. everything in one conversation

13:33 Shared permissions: who sees what inside a chat

14:57 Phones, hardware, and the “MS-DOS era” of AI interfaces

17:39 Funding, compute costs, and the free-for-now business model

24:10 Handing over your Gmail: how Wabi earns trust

28:02 Outro

CNET

How to Choose a Treadmill in 2026: Types, Budget and Specs Explained

Shopping for a treadmill can be overwhelming with so many choices on the market. In this video, we break down everything you need to know to find the perfect treadmill for your budget, space and fitness goals. Whether you’re looking for a heavy-duty running machine, a compact walking pad for your under-desk setup, or an…

Published

1 day ago

October 22, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

You can find the products mentioned in this video linked below
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Read more about treadmills on CNET.com
The 5 Best Expert-Tested and Approved Treadmills for Runners
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Timecode Chapters:
0:00 – Intro
0:33 – Types of Treadmills
2:30 – Treadmill Budgets (Budget, Mid-Tier & Luxury)
5:56 – Space & Safety Considerations
7:00 – Summary & TL;DW Recap

Video Credits:
Host & Video Editor: Wes Ott
Producer: JD Christison
Camera: Jon Gomez & Dillon Lopez
Thumbnail Designer: Zooey Liao

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