The Tumultuous Road to Innovation with Brennen from Tavern

Send us a text

In today's episode, we delve into the VC world's growing interest in protocols, Brennen's unique perspective on the profitability of products over protocols, and his hands-on experience in the early days of Bitcoin and Ethereum. We'll also explore Tavern's journey, from its inception and funding struggles to its ambitious plans for improving user experience and integrating with other platforms like Polymarket.

Brennen opens up about his ongoing battle with a grade two glioblastoma, the impact of heavy anti-seizure medication on his cognitive functions, and his determination to contribute to medical science amidst personal adversity. We discuss his philosophy of not comparing products before building, the importance of focusing on user activity rather than token-based incentives.

We'll also touch on his past ventures, including innovative projects in digital art, decentralized wireless networks, and the growth of Tavern to nearly 2000 active monthly users. Plus, we'll get into his thoughts on the future of fully on-chain art and the crossovers between social audio platforms and betting markets.

00:00 Feeling stuck at work, started exploring entrepreneurship.
05:57 Mom's cancer led to quitting and startups.
15:24 Guy interested in selling product, collaboration begins.
16:53 Created Elementop, a decentralized wireless network company.
25:30 VCs invest in protocols, not applications or clients.
27:23 Investors seek higher risk, limited exposure opportunities.
33:04 Community-driven energy, financial connection, simplified user experience.
38:24 Health issues impact productivity and success.
43:36 Hospital recovery from coma, drugs, muscle atrophy.
50:24 Drug studies for large inoperable tumors take time.
57:20 Fundraising, code refactoring, scaling, open source goals.
01:02:46 Innovative approach to content sharing across platforms.
01:07:50 Excited about Polymarket, political integration, and communication.
01:13:50 Careful deployment is crucial for successful scaling.
01:15:05 Successful independent studio made most successful game.
01:23:47 BTC, binance, crypto, NFTs, ETH, art, expensive.
01:26:58 Discussion about wrapping up, asking questions, staying under 2 hours.
01:34:41 Thank you for listening, subscribe, share, suggest.

Music & Sounds By: Lakey Inspired
___
CastOff/Episode Discussion, here.

Want more content? Subscribe to my newsletter, Gramajo's Weekly.

Support the show

This whole podcast can be found onchain, check out my page if you would like to mint this episode.

Want to ask me a question, want to hear about a specific topic, or interview a specific artist, send me a message.

Want to give me feedback on this podcast? Please click here.