Surviving Market Cycles & Startup Lessons for Founders

with @AriannaSimpson @jacqmelinek

Crypto is known for its high and low market cycles: What must founders know — and what can they do — to survive the swings?

In this episode, we unpack the lessons of past crypto cycles and how they shape the current wave of building — from stablecoins to AI x crypto. We also dive into the founder journey: from raising money and staying committed in 2025, to handling copycat competitors, cofounder disputes, growing too fast (or slowly), and more.

You'll hear from a16z crypto General Partner Arianna Simpson, who has spent over a decade investing in crypto. She joins Jacquelyn Melinek, cofounder & CEO of Token Relations and host of the Talking Tokens podcast, where this conversation first aired, and which we’re excited to share with you here. 

Timestamps

0:00 Introduction

1:19 Arianna Simpson's Crypto Origin Story

3:23 Market Cycles & Investing Priorities

5:52 Interrogating the Stablecoin Trend

13:25 Intersection of AI x Crypto

17:49 The Role of Blockchains for Authenticity and Verification

23:07 Future of AI Agents and Monetization Models

27:23 Traits of Successful Crypto Founders

30:05 Challenges and Changes in Fundraising

33:57 Current State of the Market

37:33 Advice for Founders:

  • Pivoting when PMF is missing
  • Raising capital after bootstrapping
  • Competing with copycats
  • Cofounder disputes and breakups
  • Growing too fast & scaling pains

47:52 Conclusion

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