Episode 21
Bitcoin Gains Momentum: The NFT Boom, Startups, and VC Funding with Trevor Owens (Ep. 21)
Trevor has been building businesses since university, and with a background in education and full stack development it’s easy to see why he’s found a perfect fit as CEO of Ninja Alerts and Managing Partner of Bitcoin Frontier Fund where he invests in exceptional teams building new use cases for Bitcoin through BTC L1 and scaling layers like Stacks.
Not all of Trevor’s ventures have been successful, in fact he would be the first to tell you that his last one was basically a failure, but having been in the entrepreneurial game a long time he’s learned a thing or two about adaptability, persistence, and where to spot red flags. Now he’s grateful for the opportunity to be able to invest in, and guide other founders across an extensive portfolio of nearly 50 startups in the DeFi, NFTs, and Web3 sectors, passing on the wisdom he’s garnered from direct experience so they don’t make the same mistakes.
What we unraveled —
1:33 - Trevor shares a brief overview of his career and insight into why he’s so grateful to be where he is today
8:04 - Why Trevor’s previous venture was a failure, and what it taught him about running a startup and raising VC funding
15:46 - Playing the long game, staying humble, and why later successes can be much more valuable
22:20 - Trevor’s explains what role VC funding plays in the startup success of a startup
26:23 - The projects and teams Bitcoin Frontier Fund is looking to support in the space, and why three is a magic number for co-founders
31:05 - How to evaluate if a web3 project is a good fit for you to join
36:50 - Trevor’s take on how ordinals shifted the momentum for Bitcoin, and why Ethereum isn’t going away
40:54 - Why Trevor is excited about ordinals, Stacks, and experiments people are doing on Bitcoin
42:55 - Why cognitive dissonance is a huge red flag in an entrepreneur
46:23 - Why Trevor believes education in building on Bitcoin L1 is key to drawing more people to the web3 space
51:02 - Trevor’s top advice for new founders in the current market
Unravel Further —
Links Mentioned in this Episode -
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
On Writing Well by William Zinger
Listen Next -
NFTs, Blockchain, and Making The Biggest Impact with Jamil (Ep. 4)
The Art of Bitcoin: Ordinals, NFTs, & Gamma with Nick Sainato (Ep.18)
More of Trevor -
Trevor is a multifaceted entrepreneur, author, and early stage startup investor. He is the CEO of Ninjalerts, an Ethereum-based wallet tracker, and also serves as the Managing Partner at Bitcoin Frontier Fund, where he invests in exceptional teams building new use cases for Bitcoin through BTC L1 and scaling layers like Stacks and Lightning. Bitcoin Frontier Fund has an extensive portfolio of nearly 50 startups in the DeFi, NFTs, and Web3 sectors. Prior to this, Trevor played a key role in advancing the Lean Startup movement by establishing and managing one of the world's largest grassroots entrepreneurship training programs, Lean Startup Machine. This three-day bootcamp has been taught in more than 150 cities and has influenced over 200,000 entrepreneurs.
Connect with Trevor on Twitter
