Derek Hsue (@derekhsue)

Had a great conversation with @iyoshyoshi, CEO and co-founder of @AlpacaHQ.

We chat about how Alpaca found PMF, the megatrends driving Alpaca's growth, and the role of Alpaca in global capital markets.

We also touch on Yoshi's personal work philosophy, his secret to b2b sales, and what the future holds for Alpaca.

(0:00) Intro
(1:20) What Alpaca does and why Yoshi chose to build brokerage infrastructure
(11:21) Finding Alpaca's first customers and going upmarket
(18:55) Winning enterprise customers, building trust, and leveraging unfair advantages
(32:48) Building a single API for global financial markets and dealing with regulation
(45:47) Globalization, human behavior, and the future of financial markets
(51:35) Tokenized equities, their benefits, and why adoption could take decades
(1:01:34) Global expansion, local partnerships, and why Alpaca doesn't compete with its customers
(1:14:49) AI agents, trading strategies, and the future of investing
(1:18:30) Enterprise relationships, Binance, and Alpaca's business model
(1:24:21) Yoshi's philosophy on leadership, laziness, and avoiding burnout

100:55

Derek Hsue @derekhsue Oct 7

Earlier this summer I had a great conversation with @ShanAggarwal, Chief Business Officer at @coinbase.

We cover a ton of ground, including what his role entails, how it's evolved through the years, Coinbase's M&A and product strategy, interesting deals he's worked on, and career advice he'd have for folks just starting out.

Shan has a unique vantage point in the industry and it was fun to sit down with him. Hope you enjoy!
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Timestamps:
(0:00) Intro
(1:37) Shan’s role and his journey from VC to Coinbase
(5:11) Acquiring Tagomi, building Coinbase Prime, and raising in a bear market
(12:03) The evolution of Coinbase’s culture
(25:14) Prediction markets, Coinbase Ventures, and competing with partners
(32:10) Tokenized equities and bootstrapping on-chain liquidity
(36:32) USDC, Hyperliquid, and stablecoin network effects
(40:28) How Coinbase integrates acquired companies
(43:16) Repositioning Coinbase beyond a crypto exchange
(50:39) Padel, protocol IR, and Shan’s crypto convictions
(57:30) Leadership lessons and betting on high-agency people
(1:07:12) Cobie, Echo, and Coinbase’s capital-formation strategy

69:31

Derek Hsue @derekhsue Sep 29

In light of all of the recent (well deserved) growth that @fomo has had, felt it was worth re-sharing the episode I did with @seyong earlier this year.

Worth a listen if you're interested in the early days of fomo, from the original inspiration for the company, to putting together a team, and finding PMF.

Derek Hsue Verified account @derekhsue Apr 1

I had an incredible chat with @seyong, co-founder of @tryfomo.

fomo launched less than a year ago but has already had a remarkable rise, becoming a go-to trading app for both crypto-native and mainstream users alike.

We cover a lot of ground, from the original motivation to build fomo, to recruiting the early team, what worked (and didn't work) with user acquisition, and what he's learned over the past year.

Sometimes the success behind certain crypto products can feel random, but it's clear that fomo's is not. They've been extremely intentional with every part of the company (team/product/growth/fundraising), and it reflects in the feedback from users.

Was a pleasure recording this one.

(0:00) Intro
(1:13) Early life. Jersey and Yale
(7:03) Working on product at dYdX and meeting Paul
(14:06) The genesis of fomo, early team formation
(33:42) Product-first philosophy and obsession with UX
(46:24) User-led growth and getting to know your customers
(59:48) Raising Series A from Benchmark
(1:06:22) Where fomo is heading; the speculation graph era
(1:21:49) Building a social product to match its growth
(1:28:58) Memecoins as a category
(1:40:35) Other teams that Se admires

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Derek Hsue @derekhsue Sep 24

If you think this applies to you, reach out and I can connect you.

kevin 🦿 Verified account @Kevinkim Sep 24

🔍 Looking for active traders of U.S. equities (account size >$100k) who have also traded perps who are open to a video-on 45 min call for a novel equities-adjacent trading product. $150 incentive - DM me.

We will be double checking these facts, so don't be sneaky.
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Derek Hsue @derekhsue Aug 18

@wintermute_t has been on the receiving end of many criticisms over the years ... here's how @EvgenyGaevoy thinks about them.

"People want simple explanations to things that happen to them."

2:52

Derek Hsue Verified account @derekhsue Aug 11

New episode of @Archive_Pod with @EvgenyGaevoy, CEO of @wintermute_t.

We discussed Wintermute's journey since 2017, how market-making has evolved, and how Evgeny's upbringing has shaped his philosophy. Wintermute is a unique company within crypto and Evgeny is a thoughtful guest, so I hope you'll enjoy this one.

(0:00) Intro
(1:07) What is Wintermute
(4:14) Evgeny's upbringing
(15:59) Joining Optiver and learning market making
(26:28) Leaving Optiver, moving to London, and discovering crypto
(36:00) Starting Wintermute and raising from VCs
(41:17) Getting into DeFi before it was obvious
(53:53) How Wintermute avoids bureaucracy and operated like a tech company
(1:03:33) The Golden Path for crypto
(1:23:01) What bad market making behaviour actually looks like
(1:35:33) Evgeny's thoughts on Hyperliquid
(1:39:09) Wintermute's next chapters, and building beyond market making
(1:51:57) DND, Warhammer, and grand strategy games
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Derek Hsue

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