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 into what it really takes to build through the mud - when you’ve got more vision than runway, and the only way out of the mud is through the mud. We talk about the early decisions that shaped Trustware’s roadmap, the week Jesse had to tell his team he couldn’t promise their next paycheck, and why raising less money actually made them a stronger company.

Trustware is building what Jesse calls “a switchboard for crypto” - a way for wallets and apps to exchange any asset for any other asset(s) across chains and identity layers. It’s a big vision with a deeply pragmatic approach - and one that’s already helping crypto-native teams clean up the mess under the hood.

This one’s a masterclass in staying focused, tuning out the hype, and building for the long game.

• The early decision to bootstrap and stay lean
• How Trustware helps wallets and apps simplify cross-chain ops
• Why team culture matters even more when the money’s tight
• What Jesse learned about founder storytelling while fundraising
• The value of persistence over polish in the early innings
  

LINKS:

Trustware: Website | X/(Twitter) | LinkedIn | Discord

Jesse Phillips: X/(Twitter) | LinkedIn

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Pete Townsend: X/Twitter | LinkedIn

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This week, I sat down with my longtime Techstars colleague and friend Allard Luchsinger, Managing Director of the ABN AMRO + Techstars Future of Finance Accelerator in Amsterdam.

Allard and I have been on each other’s investment committees for years, so this conversation hits a bit differently. We’ve traded notes across dozens of startups, and we’ve seen each other call the shots on what makes an unstoppable founder. That theme became the golden thread through this episode.

We get into Allard’s journey from building startups during the dot-com era, to co-founding a zero-commission trading platform years before Robinhood, to leading one of Europe’s most respected fintech accelerators. We also dig into:

• His experience investing in African fintech and why mobile-first changed everything

• The early signals from AI and how they mirror fintech’s formative years

• The conviction you need to invest at pre-seed when all you have is a deck, a founder, and a feeling

• The power of mindfulness, presence, and early-morning meditation

• Why stablecoins and tokenized assets are quietly rebuilding the financial rails from the inside out

This one’s full of hard-earned wisdom from someone who knows both sides of the founder–investor equation, and delivers it all with a calm clarity that hits home.

LINKS:

Connect with Allard Luchsinger on LinkedIn

ABN AMRO + Techstars Future of Finance Accelerator: Website | LinkedIn

Leave a review & subscribe on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | MoneyNeverSleeps (website)

Email us: info@norioventures.com

Pete Townsend: X/Twitter | LinkedIn

MoneyNeverSleeps: X/Twitter | LinkedIn | Newsletter

This week, I’m joined by Scott Ashmore and Rob Halligan, co-founders of Shuttle - a platform giving individuals access to venture capital deals that have traditionally been reserved for the ultra-wealthy.

Scott and Rob are best friends of 25 years, first-time founders, and the type of guys who rolled up their sleeves, built something that didn’t scale, tore it all down, and came back with something far more powerful - and regulated - with Shuttle.

We get into:

• Their early days of investing together that kicked it all off
• That raw turning point moment at Web Summit 2022 when they knew the original plan wasn’t going to work
• What it took to get regulated and launch a platform built for the digitally-native, tech-savvy retail investor
• Why retail investors should have a front-row seat to venture capital opportunities—and how Shuttle is making that happen
  

This is a story of friendship, frustration with the status quo, and the belief that access to financial upside shouldn’t be limited by your net worth.

Learn more about Shuttle:

Shuttle enables busy professionals to co-invest alongside well-known venture capital firms, regardless of their knowledge, network or net worth. Since launching in December last year, they've already enabled their customers to invest alongside 15 VC funds.

LINKS:

Shuttle: Website | X/(Twitter) | LinkedIn | Unsophisticated Investor Newsletter

Scott Ashmore: LinkedIn

Rob Halligan: LinkedIn

Leave a review & subscribe on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | MoneyNeverSleeps (website)

Email us: info@norioventures.com

Pete Townsend: X/Twitter | LinkedIn

MoneyNeverSleeps: X/Twitter | LinkedIn | Newsletter

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 episode, we dive into how the Consensys Network State initiative is setting the stage for Ethereum’s next decade, how it’s bridging gaps between projects and people, and what it means for the future of decentralized coordination. We also get into some big-picture thinking around the evolution of Ethereum, the rise of network states, stablecoin growth, and what it takes to keep that cultural gravity intact as Ethereum continues to grow.

Resources Mentioned:

• Sobol Agreements Protocol

• Consensys Network State

• Flashbots BuilderNet

• Pectra Upgrade

Connect with Simon Brown and Consensys:

Simon Brown: X(Twitter) | LinkedIn | Medium

Consensys: Website | X(Twitter)

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Connect with Pete Townsend and MoneyNeverSleeps:

Pete Townsend: X/Twitter | LinkedIn

MoneyNeverSleeps: X/Twitter | LinkedIn | Newsletter

This week, I’m welcoming back Ollie Walsh, formerly the co-founder and CEO of Pipit Global, and now, the President of Qenta, following Qenta’s recent acquisition of Pipit. This is Ollie’s fourth appearance on MoneyNeverSleeps, making him the all-time guest record holder on the show.

This conversation is a special one. Not only has Ollie been building something purpose-driven and globally relevant for over a decade, but I’ve also had the privilege of sitting on Pipit’s board since 2019 and seeing the full journey from the inside.

In this episode, we dive into the first public conversation about Pipit’s acquisition by Qenta. US-based Qenta is rethinking how money moves around the world, blending fintech, blockchain, and impact into one powerful payments platform.

In this episode, Ollie and I get into the weeds on what it really takes to build a startup with social impact at its core, what it feels like to finally get a deal across the line after years of trying, and how it all unfolds when you're leading with purpose rather than flash.

We also get into:

• The “rollercoaster on fire” of startup life

• What makes a startup acquirable, especially in emerging markets

• Why leading with social impact turned out to be Pipit’s greatest strength

• Lessons learned the hard way: cap tables, crowdfunding, and mental resilience

• Ollie’s unexpected deep dive into Daoism and Tai Chi, and how it shaped his founder mindset

This one’s packed with honest reflections, tactical insights, and a rare look inside the real M&A journey from a founder who lived every second of it.

If you're building with purpose, fundraising under pressure, or just trying to stay centered through it all, this one’s for you.

Connect with Ollie Walsh and Qenta:

Ollie Walsh: LinkedIn

Qenta: LinkedIn | Website⁠

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MoneyNeverSleeps (website)

Email us: info@norioventures.com

Connect with Pete Townsend and MoneyNeverSleeps:

Pete Townsend: X/Twitter | LinkedIn

MoneyNeverSleeps: X/Twitter | LinkedIn | Newsletter

This week, I had the absolute pleasure of sitting down with Fergal McGovern, founder and CEO of VisibleThread, for one of the most enlightening founder chats I’ve had in a while.

Fergal’s been building for decades—starting with enterprise systems in the '90s, then launching and selling his first startup SteelTrace, and eventually pivoting VisibleThread through the 2008 crash into a trusted platform serving global leaders like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Comcast, and government agencies across the U.S., Canada, and Australia.

What I loved about this conversation is how practical and honest Fergal is—especially when it comes to the real story behind fundraising. He’s been through the early seed round, the post-pivot rebuild, and the tough decision to fuel growth with debt instead of chasing a VC path that didn’t quite fit.

In this episode, we get into:

- Why 50% growth year-over-year is solid—but not VC-sexy

- What makes a startup truly “VC-eligible” (and what doesn’t)

-How Fergal built a repeatable sales playbook before hiring reps—and why that mattered more than headcount

- The thinking behind VisibleThread’s expansion into a second product—basically Grammarly for secure, regulated environments

- Why GenAI and agents aren’t always the right tool—and when logic still wins

- And yes, how designing gardens relates to building great UX

If you’re a founder figuring out your funding path—or just trying to scale without losing your mind—this one’s for you.

Resources:

The Hard Thing About Hard Things, Ben Horowitz

Episode 170 of the Full Ratchet podcast: Craig Wortmann - Sales Mastery & Storytelling at Scaling Startups

Connect with Fergal McGovern and VisibleThread:

Fergal McGovern: LinkedIn

VisibleThread: LinkedIn | Website⁠

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Spotify

MoneyNeverSleeps (website)

Email us: info@norioventures.com

Connect with Pete Townsend and MoneyNeverSleeps:

Pete Townsend: X/Twitter | LinkedIn

MoneyNeverSleeps: X/Twitter | LinkedIn | Newsletter

This week, I sat down with Yev Broshevan, co-founder and Chief Business Development Officer at Hacken, a leading blockchain security firm focused on making Web3 a safer, more trustworthy place for everyone. Even better? Yev’s birthday is the same day this episode drops - happy birthday, Yev!

Yev’s story goes way back to her early days as a cybersecurity engineer in Ukraine, where weak institutions and a hacker’s curiosity led her deep into the world of Bitcoin back in 2014. Since then, she and her Hacken co-founders have been building a mission-driven business around ethical hacking—using a mindset of creativity and values to secure everything from smart contracts to crypto exchanges.

In this episode, we get into:

• Why the hacker mindset isn’t just about code, it’s a way of living—and solving problems

• How HackenProof, their bug bounty platform, now has over 45,000 ethical hackers keeping Web3 projects secure

• Why smart contract audits are just one layer—operational security and key management matter just as much

• How AI is reshaping both sides of the security equation: as a powerful ally and a new threat vector

• Why Yev’s now channeling her hacker brain into biohacking—optimizing health and performance like it’s just another system to tune

We also talk about Hacken’s move into the US, how the security landscape has evolved since the early days of crypto, and what the industry still needs to get right to earn back trust.

From Web2 to Web3 to Human 2.0, this one’s got layers.

Connect with Yev Broshevan and Hacken:

Yev Broshevan: X/Twitter | LinkedIn

Hacken: X/Twitter | LinkedIn | Website⁠

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Spotify

MoneyNeverSleeps (website)

Email us: info@norioventures.com

Connect with Pete Townsend and MoneyNeverSleeps:

Pete Townsend: X/Twitter | LinkedIn

MoneyNeverSleeps: X/Twitter | LinkedIn | Newsletter