Web3 Episodes

Alejandro Gutierrez joins me to talk Solana in Ireland, stablecoins, and tokenized securities - plus I share the launch of Norio Ventures Fund I and what’s ahead for Episode 300.

Welcome inside the venue for the Techstars Web3 Demo Day 2025, recorded live at Civic Hall in NYC during NY Tech Week, where we brought 5 incredible web3 startups to the stage for a standing-room-only crowd of founders, investors, and builders. These aren’t founders chasing hype - they’re building with traction, with purpose, and with an eye on the next version of the internet. Along the way, you’ll hear: A powerful fireside chat with Clarisse Hagege, founder and CEO of Dfns, on her journ...

This week, I caught up with Jesse Phillips, co-founder and CEO of Trustware, and one of the most quietly determined founders I’ve ever backed. I invested in Jesse and his co-founder Jonathan Frazier through the Techstars Web3 accelerator in 2023, and since then, Trustware⁠ have done what most early-stage startups only dream of—shipping a real product, signing real customers, and generating real revenue… all on just $400K in capital and a team of six. In this conversation, Jesse and I get i...

Simon Brown joins me to share how his role at Consensys has evolved since his last appearance in January 2024 and why he’s now leading the charge on the Consensys Network State. It’s all about reconnecting the sprawl of the Ethereum ecosystem, reinforcing the cultural gravity that made Ethereum magical in the first place, and creating a more cohesive network of builders, founders, and ecosystem experts.

In this week’s episode, I’m joined by my good friend and returning guest co-host Alejandro Gutierrez, and we get into the thick of what I like to call “worlds colliding” — the convergence of Web3 and TradFi that’s playing out in real time as the Great Web3 Crossover.

In this episode, we’re announcing the Techstars Web3 Accelerator Class of 2025 featuring founders from the six web3 startups that Techstars are investing in and accelerating in 2025 and beyond. Get ready for insights from: Satyam Agrawal, founder of 0xBridge, enabling seamless, non-custodial, and efficient two-way Bitcoin movement across blockchains, allowing users to mint 1:1 pegged BTC without relinquishing control of their original assets. Ry Leong, co-founder of Autonom, powering ...

This week, we’re taking a look back at some of my favorite moments from the past year—the conversations that stuck with me long after we hit stop on the recording. If you missed them the first time around, now’s your chance to catch the highlights, chock full of startup smarts and web3 wisdom!

Alejandro Gutierrez joins me once again to dive into some of the biggest conversations in crypto right now, including: The fallout from Operation Chokepoint 2.0 and the debanking of crypto startups—what it means for the industry and how regulatory shifts in the U.S. and Europe could reshape the future of digital assets. Why Solana is having its moment—how Solana's DEX volume is outpacing Ethereum’s and what this means for the long-term viability of the network. The rise of dece...

In this special year-end episode, Pete Townsend is joined by returning guest co-host Alejandro Gutierrez for a wide-ranging conversation about what the future may hold with their 2025 predictions. Together, they explore transformative ideas, emerging trends, and groundbreaking technologies that could shape industries, disrupt norms, and redefine global innovation. From traditional finance’s embrace of tokenization to the rise of AI agents, the duo covers it all—including bonus predictions from Funds industry and fintech legend Eoin Motherway. Tune in for an exciting glimpse into 2025 and get ready to peer into the crystal ball with Pete and Alejandro.

This week, we’ve got an exclusive interview with Manu, the founder and CEO of Sponstar, the fractional sponsorship marketplace that’s leveling the playing field for small and mid-sized brands to access high-profile sponsorship opportunities.

We're diving deep into the fundamentals of fundraising for Web3 startups and early-stage ventures navigating their first capital raise. Fundraising is always challenging, but in web3, it’s a whole new frontier with unique hurdles. This session, originally presented at a Techstars Web3 Accelerator event, is packed with actionable insights that apply to most tech startups, especially those aiming to raise their first round.

René Pinnell is the founder of Artizen, a match-funding platform for human creativity, helping creators match fund new projects at the frontier of art, science, technology and culture. With over two decades of experience, René has helped creators raise more than $50 million for groundbreaking projects, including securing the first seven-figure VR film deal at the Sundance Film Festival.

Niall Dennehy is an Irish entrepreneur and the co-founder and COO of AID:Tech, who are bringing traceability and transparency to the flow of funds for governments, NGOs and charities with their payments and digital identity infrastructure bridging web2 to web3.

Luca Franchi is the CEO and a co-founder of Ambient, a decentralized network of air quality sensors.  Luca brings to Ambient over two decades of leading growth at several startups and large corporations in the US and Europe (O2 UK, Telefónica, Sky) across enterprise and consumer verticals.

Luis Ramirez is the Founder and CEO of Mawari, a pioneer in cloud rendering and streaming technology.  The Mawari team got started in Tokyo in 2017, and since then, the team has effectively built the foundation for the 3D internet.

Pranav Kanade is the Portfolio Manager of VanEck's Digital Assets Alpha Strategy. VanEck is an American investment management firm headquartered in New York City with over $100bn in assets under management. Although they’re well known for their passive exchange-traded funds or ETFs, they also manage active portfolios such as Pranav’s Digital Assets Alpha Strategy.

Rita Martins joins the show to discuss her new book, Web3 in Financial Services, which explores how blockchain, digital assets, and cryptocurrency are disrupting traditional financial services.

This week, we dive into decentralization with Kenny Ezeji-Okoye and Stella Dyer from Millicent, Ilya Orlov from FileMarket, alongside Rita Martins, author and Techstars Web3 mentor. The discussion covers the journey from centralized to decentralized models, the impact of decentralization on users and developers, and insights into decentralization in financial services. The episode also includes a sneak peek into Rita Martins' new book, Web3 in Financial Services.

Alejandro Gutierrez, CEO of npayme Labs and co-founder of ETH Dublin joins me again as guest co-host this week. We start with Alejandro's Token2049 Dubai ‘tsunami-in-a-yacht’ story, the upcoming ETH Dublin 2024, and the Techstars Web3 demo day on June 6th in NYC.

This week, we dive into Aleph Zero, a privacy-enhancing layer one blockchain renowned for prioritizing scalability, security and speed, with co-founder Antoni Zolciak and Head of Investments Piotr Saczuk.

I’m joined by three of the founders from the Techstars Web3 class of 2024 to help me identify the mainstream adoption path for blockchain technology, including Andrea Miele, Co-Founder and CEO of The Colony, Fabien Arneodo, Co-Founder and CEO of SportSyncTech, and Nick Mason, Co-Founder and CEO of ProofSpace.

I’ve brought together 4 of the founders from the Techstars Web3 class of 2024 to help me dispel some of the common misconceptions about web3 with the general public, including Julia Kemp, founder and CEO of Pawpass, Daniel Uribe, founder and CEO of  GenoBank. Tiago Ferreira, co-founder and CEO of FairAI, and Tom Daniel, co-founder and CEO of Ember AI.

This episode features an introduction to the 12 founding teams that form the Techstars Web3 accelerator class of 2024, with each of their founder/CEOs giving you a quick look inside what they're building.

Laura Walsh joins the show again this week as guest co-host as we explore the potential link between digital identity and decentralized social media through the lens of the Farcaster protocol, its challenges, user growth, and the future potential of a decentralized online ecosystem.