Hello t² world!

My name is Daniel. That's me in the picture above with my dog Ash. I'm a New York native transplant to LA, and I have been itching for some time to start writing publicly once again.*

Why I am so suddenly overcome with the desire to write? It comes down to a few things:

  • Writing is the best process for figuring out what it is that I actually think. I want to figure out what it is that I believe because I am in the business of truth; Therefore, I should write more. It's that simple. Unfortunately, more often than not in my day to day, writing is merely part of a process. Instead, I want it to be the process.
  • High velocity information distorts my perspective. Frankly, I am addicted to X. How could I not be? It serves as a dopamine mainline for everything from news and entertainment, to work. This is particularly true for crypto, which is where I spend the vast majority of my time. The industry as a whole never sleeps and is largely composed of chronically online degenerates†. This information firehose is not just a product of X, but a reflection of the fundamentals of an industry that is evolving so rapidly that the pace of information creation is hard to keep up with. While this is an amazing thing to marvel at, it is useful to take a step back to see the big picture.
  • I am a VC. Better yet, a crypto VC. If you were able to guess it by now, congrats. I am also a human who spends his time meeting with other humans trying to understand what the future of cryptography, money, software, trust, and much more will look like. I deal with uncertainties, probabilities, possibilities and personalities. There are an enormous number of variables that go into unicorn hunting and I am simply searching for small signals amongst all the noise. And that requires leveraging the endless number of smart and talented people out there in the world. I am seeking collaboration, criticism and feedback on my thoughts.

Why t²

So why am I doing this here and not elsewhere? Web2 platforms like substack or even Web3 ones like paragraph could easily enable me to do this. The answer is that, like my blog, this is an experiment, and I am here for the ride! To me, t² has a unique and authentic feel to it, and I have the sense that there is small but growing community here. I am also quite curious how the time points dynamic will continue to play out and am looking forward to exploring other communities and topics that are out there, including technology trends, history, economics, current events, politics, & culture.

Closing thoughts

One of the reasons I have been hesitant to write publicly is that I hold myself to a high standard. It takes a lot of energy and mental effort to write thoughtfully, let alone to write something that interests others. That being said, the purpose of this is also for me to let go of this self-imposed restraint. Lowering the bar is a good thing. I will have half baked thoughts that I inevitably will like to share. I want to become comfortable publishing ideas that are not fully crystallized.

Iteration is critical to ideation, and open source > closed source.

Cheers

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*Fun fact, I used to write letters to the editor in the WSJ and NYT back when newspapers were relevant - exhibit A

† I mean this in the nicest of ways ofc :)