# CSX: Week 7 Notes

**Published by:** [Jayme Hoffman](https://newsletter.jaymehoffman.com/)
**Published on:** 2024-05-26
**Categories:** csx
**URL:** https://newsletter.jaymehoffman.com/csx-week-7-notes

## Content

Here are my notes from Week 7 of a16z Crypto's CSX. This week focused on Go To Market, Community, and Partnerships in Crypto.Talk: Alex Blania (Worldcoin) with Jason RosenthalGot into Crypto through AIGrew up in rural GermanyTheoretical physics before → LLM → WorldcoinBeing recruited by Sam AltmanGot a two-pager email from Sam and MaxThe best startup ideas sound like horrible ideas.It will likely fail, but if it works, it will change the world.The interviewExplain physics modelSam liked that he disagreed with a lotA lot of questions about childhoodHow to piss off investors 4.5 years agoBitcoin failedAGI will happenThat's what got a16z excitedWhy Tools for HumanityWhat will be the things we need on a global scale that the government will not be able to do?economically reach everyoneglobal form of proof of personhoodWorldcoin Pre-launchSpend eight months of researchTalked to a lot of AI and crypto expertsCrypto (tokens) allows you to incentivize alignment.Crypto has been around and is still a niche thingWhat would be the incentive mechanism?Paypal inspired GTMEmail $20 invite links to kickstart and scale the networkIt is a network; if it doesn't scale, it doesn't workInterviewed the Facebook Web of Trust teamFacebook is already struggling with thatIgnored because AI will become increasingly strong and break any web of trustSpent $50M and lots of prototypes to get to OrbWorldcoin fully-realizedProof of personhood is important in an AGI worldThe majority of the population will have a WorldIDWorldcoin will be the most owned digital asset and the largest financial network.Twitter botsThis is a super early warm-up of how the internet will beAlmost everything you do will be enhanced by AICool for most things, difficult for other things like social mediaIt will be hard to distinguish between human vs. AIAI will interfere with electionsWhy Worldchain?Worldapp now at 10M usersOn many days, 80% of OP mainnet"We just need the blockspace."We could not compete anymore with other appsOn government interactionA lot of founders and startups shy away from gov; Worldcoin has taken a different approachThey didn't have the capability/function to interact with the government at first - now starting to turnGrowing as a CEOCoaches can help. Alex coach setup:1 VP of door dash, one scientist, and one exec coach2hrs a week, every week, told me how I sucked this weekTalking to other founders won't get you far because they don't know what they are doing. Look for successful people in the things you're trying to learnDifferent learnings each yearYear 1: hardwareYear 2: scale teamNow: policyMatt Majorie blog post - turn the ship aroundyou don't come to the CEO with a problemyou come with a problem, solution, and decisions - raise your hand if you disagreeWish he had known earlierAll decisions in the beginning compound more than you think.ExamplesThe first eight people should be complete rock stars, work day and night, and be a perfect cultural fit.There is a massive difference between top-tier and non-top-tier investors, so optimizing on series a lead matters more than founders think.Those who have not been a founder should not advise founders on how to run a company - Khosla.Q&A with Chris Lyons, moderated by Maggie HsuPath to Web3Started in musicProducer for Jermaine DupriOn Kevin HartHe built an empire by thinking of his career as an entrepreneurRelationshipsAlways look for long-term relationshipsIt's not who you know; it's who knows youThe more you can create a halo effect, the more you can naturally generate successView life as artYour job is to paint picturesMaximize what each moment can beYou can make 1 + 1 = 2 or 1 + 1 = 11What is the next best situation?"There is always a move. If something is a little boring, you need to shake it up. There is always a move."Creators85% of all streaming revenue goes to centralized systems - it is impossible to have a full-time career by just making musicRead, Write, Own — The only word cdixon uses more than Cryptohain or crypto is creators.If you ask kids what they want to be when they grow up, "I want to be a TikTok star."Hide the wires in cryptoLife is like a restaurant — If you're in a restaurant, how can your application be valuable and be used by each personWe (web3) have to do our job so well we don't have to talk about it ... "I never went to an MP3 conference."IQ + EQRealize they're regular people.Making a connection — Always figure out the things that have nothing to do with the profession. Find the commonality.It can lead you into a familiarity of trust and then lean back and talk about the businessLeadershipWhat do you call a leader with no followers? Someone taking a walk.You have to be a leader, be a star, sell the dreamFounder Talk: Shane Mac (XMTP) with Pyrs CarvolthShane backgroundAppreciate moments where perspective changesArc: grew up in a small town, went to western IllinoisWhole career got ruggedZuck/Jack - do whatever you want with our social dataThen Twitter API changed, and Facebook changedWhole career was built by being the best expertBuilding on blockchain2019 defi summer — Why can't I message a wallet?To not have to trust me is to be able to trust usSpent so long not being able to trust web2Best way to kill a startupZaarly: raised 35M, magical demosProblem: went horizontal instead of verticalThought dog walking was too small "were not just a vertical app were bigger and better."Think smaller to go biggerWe didn't pick a small vertical to nail experienceWe couldn't have picked a small enough communityKey insightNot going broad, Going lessIf that doesn't work, switch to a verticalOn VCsDon't want to get shot? Just commit suicide.If you don't have user growth, focus on thatBe honest about bad things about confidence in the mission and rituals.On LanguageLanguage almost killed startup - blog postChange the question and the environment to get different outcomes. Don't ask binary questions; ask how.To employee: "On a scale of 1-5, how much do you wish I was there?"Your company's culture is its language and rituals.VulnerabilityDoubt is the greatest way to let someone help youBuilding ToysEverything starts looking like a toyYou have to be confident in building something everyone thinks is a joke.On writingBe more present, listen to things I cant hereThinking about writing: connecting disconnected dotsProcess: Sit at a hotel and write. Then, resist publishing. Edit for the next few daysImpact vs. output: What's the smallest show-and-tellEvery time I publish I edit publically for four yearsBeing an imposterDon't worry about imposter syndrome because everyone thinks about themselves.Insignificance theory via Tim FerrissAsk to web3Just build something usable. The bar is so low.I think we've gotten lost in all the words and jargonLinks that came upHere are some links that came up this week.FIT21 passed!Farcaster raised $150MPolymarket raises $70MLauncher Labs ProgressCollectible boardsYou can now collect a board on Base to unlock it.Cast action settingsChoose the board you curate to with the Frameboard cast action. This also allows you to collaborate on curating casts!

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