gtm @raincards | prev @solanafndn @dukeU
New York, USA
Joined March 2014
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Career update!
After ~3 years on the BD team at @SolanaFndn, I’m excited to share that I’m starting a new chapter at @raincards 🌧️
Rain’s mission is as impactful as it gets — building a global payment network powered by stablecoins, one that advances how people and businesses move money around the world. Just wrapped up my first week and can confirm the hype is real … @rooqster and @cnaut have built an exceptional org.
My time at Foundy was deeply formative. I’m incredibly grateful for the leadership from @toly, @rajgokal, @calilyliu and for the opportunity to grow alongside so many close colleagues — @knimkar, @jnwng, @Pedromiranda to name just a few — as well as the countless inspiring teams across the @solana ecosystem (which will ALWAYS be home 🫶).
I’ll continue to be based here in NYC and working with partners across the crypto world. Looking forward to reconnecting with many familiar faces along the way— reach out if you wanna chat @raincards !
Working with @whop has been nothing short of excellence.
I see firsthand how fast this team executes, and how deeply they care about their customers. Day in. Day out. We’re becoming a better platform at @raincards thanks to them. Massively deserved, congrats 🍾
Whop has raised $200M in Series D funding at a $5.1B valuation, backed by @sequoia and @shopify.
It really feels like we are barely touching the tip of the iceberg in a market larger than anyone can imagine.
We first launched Whop as a better way for us to sell sneaker bots, one of the most niche types of desktop software out there.
Total TAM? Probably $20,000 per day.
Who cares, tiny market.
But, what people discounted is the idea that there were actually 70,000 other markets exactly like that one.
Beyond the investment itself, I am especially excited to welcome legendary silicon valley investor @dougleone to our board of directors. Doug and the sequoia team are nothing but a brilliant, resourceful, and principled group of people.
My co-founder Cameron and I started building on Shopify when we were 13 years old. Shopify is one of the most impactful all-in-one cloud ecosystems ever created; @tobi has pioneered modern entrepreneurship the way we know it and we are thrilled to have him in our corner.
We have a tenet at Whop to be the dumbest in the room and I am very grateful that this has recently become a lot easier.
We are focused on markets, scale economies, and progressive media. If that is up your alley, please message me directly.
The $200M raised will support our expansion as we build economic infrastructure for the next century, continuing on our mission of delivering everyone an income.
if only you guys knew what @shimon_newman and team are cooking up at @usemotocard
homegrown on @solana too
Exciting news @Paqi_Asiya volunteered to take care of all physical card orders on my behalf
Physical card ordering is one of the longest processes in building out your stablecoin card program. While we’ve built faster and faster tech and apis, some things are just slow. Physical card manufacturing is one of those things. However, nothings beats the feeling of a premium card for your top card holders sometimes.
With that being said, understanding some terminology can help the physical card ordering process go a little smoother.
1. Manufacturing: this has separate vendors and it’s the actual build out of the card. It includes material, engravings, color, and prints. And if you don’t want a generic white piece of paper to ship your cards, this also includes manufacturing the carriers and envelopes
2. Personalization (Perso). This often times is done by the same vendor as the fulfillment center. Perso is the actual name and number that goes on the back of the card. It’s also one of the last steps in the physical card ordering process.
3. Fulfillment: The actually packaging and shipment of the orders. They work with various shipping methods to get cards to your cardholders (examples: APC, DHL, FedEx). Most experience card ops professionals wouldn’t recommend APC even if it feels “cheaper” in the moment.
So why is this all important? If you want to streamline your operations and ensure clear communication throughout the whole 6-8 week cycle (depending on the cards), it’s helpful to familiarize yourself with these terms.
Now, here are some physical cards for reference.
The name's Cards. Rain Cards. 🤝
November 16, 5 PM. London.
Save the date.
See you there, @raincards?
👀 luma.com/altitude-rain-BP26
this is what i see when @Cdempsey44 has his headphones on
Huge if true 👀
Hosting a private dinner later this week
Series A+ founders/investors building in NYC
@whop x @raincards 🧵
It’s like having your own onchain token to incentivize user behavior…
oh wait it’s exactly that. purpose-built for your card program
hit us up @raincards 🌧️
Jerry Li retweeted
Rain is now a @Mastercard Principal Member.
That means greater choice for our partners, backed by the same stablecoin-powered authorization and settlement technology under the hood. Partners will be able to offer cards that work everywhere Mastercard is accepted across 210+ countries and territories.
Read more: rain.xyz/resources/rain-is-n…
A favorite BP moment —
Day 2, after everyone left, @weretuna and I were sitting to the side having our first IRL convo since working tg for months
The one and only @drpeepee serendipitously walked by and turned out to be a huge fan of @addicteddotfun and talked about all the specific in-game elements to a tee.
Will never forget the look @weretuna had when he realized he found his home on @solana ✨
Breakpoint 2025 recap
it was my first-ever breakpoint and almost knew no one. I was honestly pretty nervous but walked out thinking it might be one of the best conferences I’ve ever been to!
1/ finally met some of our biggest supporters in person:
@0xSoju @KittyKunt_ @0x_Malc @vesper792 from Meteora team, and @_JerryLi from Solana Foundation.
IRL hits different and felt great spending time together in person
2. met core partners for our next game @Jaileddotfun: @magicblock team & @solanamobile team. I got to met @supermarioblock and @somemobiledev and showed them the game in person
3. met @toly and @rajgokal and show them our next game. wild moment: both already knew about @addicteddotfun and gave me really positive feedback. That meant a lot!
4. met 50+ @addicteddotfun players IRL. hearing that they enjoyed playing Addicted and that it was the first Web3 game for many of them was genuinely one of the highlights of the week 🙏
5. gave a talk on virality and revealed our next game at @MeteoraAG MetDhabi. Thanks to the Meteora team for creating space for builders to share real lessons
6/ also met so many great builders and people!!! @drpeepee @SolPlay_jonas @Pedromiranda @Treki33 @0x_ultra @Escoba_sol @DoctorBlocks @MCGlive @KyeGomezB @0xpaperhead @kev0x13 @americadotfun @RunnerRodeo @RxbiXyz @gmryot @iamgaurangdesai @continentalger @ravibakhai @web3pingu @blurryfacefun @Skarly @BSha256 @MADCHILLENFOO
really grateful for everyone I met in Abu Dhabi.
let’s grow 100x and meet again in London next year 🫡
incredible progress from incredible people.
@JillianCasalini @benjileibo embody the best qualities of Solana founders. Excited for @pumpdotscience future
.@SolanaConf felt like a fever dream.
last year at breakpoint, we launched the idea of @pumpdotscience on stage. this year, we were back as a full fledged desci protocol with a booth in the Leg Day area.
a full circle moment that still doesn't feel real.
to @solana, all i can say is the builders and community here are unmatched. the energy was palpable and more importantly, people genuinely wanted to help each other win.
your team is stacked with rockstars. they went above and beyond to support us this past year and brought our activation to life at breakpoint!
it was an honor to stand amongst giants.
to anyone thinking about building on solana, they recognize builders and community are their biggest asset and they go a long way to make sure you know it.
huge s/o to @_JerryLi @DrRebekkaRevel @CryptoMagellan @vibhu and many more!
Jerry Li retweeted
The future is being built on Solana. And Solana wants to help you🫵build it.
Join our Founder Success accelerators @Pedromiranda and @_JerryLi as they host Office Hours during the first day of Breakpoint '25.
They've put together a roster of the best minds in the ecosystem to give you the feedback, perspective and support you need to help you turn your product idea or MVP into the next big thing!
@mert
@mattytay
@CryptoMagellan
@CarlKVogel
@ramzyyalii
& more will be on hand to share nuggets of wisdom and inspiration, and give you real insight into taking your product to the next level.
Apply at the link below 🔽
Jerry Li retweeted
Wake up babe, @solana just got its own kickstarter! 🎉
Back @SOLYD_STORE as they're raising to make premium Crypto themed poker sets, and benefit if they're successful.
Limited supply. FCFS.
Live now 👇
Jerry Li retweeted
1. Resilience
Perena is named after perennial flowers. The perennial doesn't survive because it's the prettiest flower. It survives because it's not afraid of winters.
2. Fail fast
It's not that Numéraire couldn't work. It very well would've (and still might!), but it wasn't generating enough revenue for us or our LPs.
Shutting down a points program was daunting, but we did it and continued building. I wish we failed faster.
3. Find PMF or die trying
YC says this. I thought crypto could ignore the basics with pumpanomics. I was wrong.
4. Roadmap is a prayer, not a promise
Our May roadmap was ambitious. We hit some milestones, and we missed others. That's okay.
The point isn't to predict perfectly. It's to move with intention and articulate thoughts, but have the humility to adapt when reality disagrees.
I used to see pivots as a failure of not thinking things through, now I embrace them as part of the ride. Perena has pivoted once, and I know we can and will change course again.
5. Make revenue
Another YC cliché I ignored. "We're building infrastructure, revenue comes later." No. Revenue is signal. Revenue means someone values what you built enough to pay for it.
6. Stop counting competitors
It can feel like the stablecoin space is insanely crowded with neobanks and delta-neutral synthetics.
The question isn't how many teams are building, it's whether the TAM is tapped. It's the same for AI, phones, or really any revolutionary technology.
Majority of the world hasn't touched onchain money yet, so there's our answer.
7. Fomo copy and get rekt
Everyone (esp. VCs) will tell you "study XXX, they crushed it." 2 months later that XXX might be the worst PR headline of the year.
The next home run won't come from copying the last one.
8. Max simplify
Perena aimed to build stablecoin infrastructure to redefine money. However, after months of "research", I shifted from first principled reasoning to way overthinking.
The simple question: how do we make money better?
9. Talent doesn't fit in your box
In the beginning, I pigeonholed myself looking for Solana devs with DeFi background. Turns out some of the best people I've met came from totally unexpected backgrounds.
10. Surround yourself with those who inspire and energize you
Life is too short to talk to boring people.
founder alpha from today:
- everything is a product. from how your org operates to how you engage with the community - optimize it the same way you would your actual product
- evaluate the advice you get from various lenses. would you treat feedback you get from a user the same way as if you got it from your VC? why not?
- be laser focused on finding PMF, esp in the beginning. it's human to want to help others, but preserving your energy is often the right choice
- @solana 's moat is founders going to bat for each other. @vidor_solflare and @JosipVolarevic2 are great examples of this (when they're not busy roasting each other🫠)
who should we have on next?
.@_JerryLi debuts a new X Spaces series spotlighting the builders shaping the Solana ecosystem — early struggles, big unlocks, and going Founder Mode.
Episode 1 drops tomorrow, featuring @vidor_solflare & @JosipVolarevic2.
Uh oh
We’re heating up, tap in 👂🏻
xitter.cf/SolanaFndn/status/1996…
hearing scuttlebutt that both @vidor_solflare @JosipVolarevic2 will shave their heads if we get 200+ listeners👀