20VC: Coinbase's Brian Armstrong on Real vs Fake Emergencies, Coinbase's Failed NFT Launch, The Politicisation of Leadership, Why This Crypto Winter is Different From The Past & Brian's Development and Insecurities as a Leader

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The Twenty Minute VC

Finance, Venturecapital, Tech News, News, Siliconvalley, Technology, Investing, Startups, Business

4.4 • 637 Ratings

🗓️ 7 November 2022

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Brian Armstrong is the Co-Founder and CEO @ Coinbase, the easiest place to buy and sell cryptocurrency. Over the last 10 years, Brian has led Coinbase to today, a public company with over 3,500 employees and revenues of over $7.5BN in 2021. Brian also raised venture funding before going public from some of the best including Fred Wilson @ USV, Micky Malka @ Ribbit, Marc Andreesen @ a16z and Garry and Alexis at Initialized. Prior to founding Coinbase, Brian was a Product Manager @ Airbnb.

In Today's Episode with Brian Armstrong We Discuss:

1.) Founding Coinbase:

How did Brian make his way from PM @ Airbnb to founding Coinbase?
What is Brian running from in his past? What is he running toward in his future?
What does Brian know now that he wishes he had known at the start of Coinbase?

2.) Brian Armstrong: The Leader:

What does "high performance" mean to Brian in leadership?
How does Brian think about stepping off the treadmill for a second and appreciating what has been achieved? How does one celebrate as a team without creating laziness or arrogance?
How has Brian most changed as a leader over the last 10 years?
On reflection, what does Brian believe are his biggest weaknesses today?

3.) Crucible Moments in the Coinbase Journey:

What does Brian mean when he says, "you need to be able to differentiate between a real emergency and a fame emergency?" What is the difference?
When Brian made the speech to the Coinbase team on political views in the company, was that a real or fake emergency? What happened? What would he have done differently?
Is the failed NFT launch, a real or fake emergency? What big mistakes were made? What are Coinbase doing to correct and improve them?
"Bankrupt Coinbase" campaign on social earlier this year, real or fake emergency? What has been Brian's biggest lessons on how to deal with fake news?

4.) Crypto and The Ultimate Mission for Coinbase:

What is different about this crypto winter from all other crypto winters?
Why did Brian ban discussion on the market cap from employees within Coinbase?
How does Brian maintain morale internally when everyone sees the stock at all-time lows?
How does the Coinbase mission extend far beyond financial freedom for the world? What does Brian want Coinbase to be in 10 years?

Transcript

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0:00.0	The main thing is that the macro environment is down too. So it's not really a crypto winter.
0:03.9	It's an everything winter. It's a macro winter.
0:06.0	This show with Brian today is such a good one. This is Harry Stebbings and 20 VC. And as you heard,
0:10.9	our guest today is Brian Armstrong, co-found and CEO at Coinbase. Over the last 10 years,
0:16.0	Brian has scaled Coinbase to being a public company with over 3,500 employees and over $7.5 billion in revenue
0:23.2	in 2021. In today's show, we have an incredible discussion on why this crypto winter is different
0:28.8	to the last, pros and cons of being public, and crucible moments within the Coinbase journey,
0:33.9	and how to determine a real emergency from a fake emergency as a leader. I want to say
0:38.1	huge thank you to Mickey at Ribbitt, Emily Choi and Adam Draper for some amazing questions
0:42.8	suggestions today and I so appreciated that. But before we move into the episode today, Harvard
0:48.0	Management Company is constantly seeking out the next generation of great investors and
0:52.3	entrepreneurs. HMC has managed Harvard University's
0:55.6	Endowment for nearly 50 years and was one of the first institutional investors in venture capital.
1:00.9	Their experience and long-term investment horizon makes some ideal partners to get world-changing
1:05.9	ideas on a path to viability and success. They work as a true partner, providing insightful perspectives
1:11.8	to help managers succeed. I personally have had the pleasure of working with the HMC team
1:16.6	and can say that they are truly exceptional partners and savvy investors. Whether you are launching
1:21.2	your first fund or your fifth, HMC welcomes the opportunity to partner with both developing
1:26.2	and established managers.
1:27.9	Have an idea you want to share with the team?
1:29.7	Just send it to venture at hmc.harvard.edu.
1:34.3	And speaking of amazing partners with HMC there, Mercury is building full stack banking for startups.
	...

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