Invest Like the Best with Patrick O’Shaughnessy
Business:Investing
My guest today is Devin Finzer, co-founder and CEO of OpenSea, the world’s largest NFT marketplace. In a journey that started like many other founders in the space, Devin went deep down the crypto rabbit hole in 2017 and became particularly fascinated with the potential behind digital assets.
During our conversation, we touch on the origin story of OpenSea, how Devin differentiates between the spectrum of NFTs in the market, and what he sees as the opportunity in the future for the industry. We also talk about the various risks within a blockchain, from security dynamics to market speculation. I hope you enjoy this great conversation with Devin Finzer.
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.
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Show Notes
[00:02:56] - [First question] - When he first thought up the genesis of OpenSea
[00:06:00] - What is listed on OpenSea, assets and volume, and the scope of the platform
[00:07:26] - Thoughts on potentially becoming the current era “everything store”
[00:09:22] - How they managed to become the main NFT trading platform
[00:12:28] - What NFTs are, their various classes, and ways they’re stored on the blockchain
[00:15:25] - How much transaction and auction volume happens on-chain
[00:17:07] - Profile picture style NFTs and what’s exciting about them
[00:19:24] - ArtBlocks and the mass interest in AI-generated art
[00:21:22] - What he’s learned and seen about the emerging crypto gaming space
[00:24:38] - The user experience of buying an NFT on OpenSea
[00:26:45] - How the ownership transfer works between wallets
[00:28:04] - Whether or not they have plans to partner with other companies
[00:30:32] - How they think about what gets placed on OpenSea and why
[00:32:09] - Thoughts on take rate and their 2.5% take rate of transactions
[00:33:22] - Why their take rate is so low compared to other sale platforms online
[00:34:47] - OpenSea’s relationship with the Ethereum blockchain and other integrations
[00:36:50] - Perspective on wallets both as businesses and products
[00:39:16] - Potential risks and the dark side of the unregulated NFT space
[00:40:48] - The massive boom and bust cycles of crypto and the high prices of NFTs
[00:41:59] - Interesting areas of Web3 that are in development today
[00:44:19] - The project he’s enjoyed watching grow the most in the crypto world
[00:46:42] - What OpenSea might look like in the future if the best-case proves true
[00:48:59] - The kindest thing that anyone has ever done for him
Howie Liu - Building Airtable - [Invest Like the Best, EP.375]
Mark Groden - The Future of Flying - [Invest Like the Best, EP.374]
Dev Ittycheria - The Database Evolution - [Invest Like the Best, EP.373]
Nico Wittenborn - Finding the Adjacent Possible - [Invest Like the Best, EP.372]
Mitch Rales: The Art of Compounding - [Art of Investing, Forever Episode]
Marc Lasry - Making Bucks in Credit and Sports - [Invest Like the Best, EP.371]
Bill Gurley & Michael Mauboussin - Putting Theory into Practice - [Invest Like the Best, EP.370]
Tim Ferriss - Curating Curiosities - [Invest Like the Best, EP.369]
Ken Langone - The American Dream - [Invest Like the Best, EP.368]
Robin Dunbar - Optimizing Human Connection (Dunbar's Number) - [Invest Like the Best, EP.367]
Sean Feeney - Reinventing the Restaurant Business - [Invest Like the Best, EP.366]
Dave Fontenot - The Monastery of Code - [Invest Like the Best, EP.365]
Anne-Marie Peterson - The Capital System - [Invest Like the Best, EP.364]
Aravind Srinivas - Building An Answer Engine - [Invest Like the Best, EP.363]
Ali Hamed - Building an Investment Firm - [Invest Like the Best, EP.362]
Cyan Banister - Investing for a Higher Purpose - [Invest Like the Best, EP.361]
Danny Meyer - The Power of Hospitality - [Invest Like the Best, REPLAY]
Chuck Akre - The Three Legged Stool - [Invest Like the Best, REPLAY]
Alex Telford - Unlocking Innovation in Pharma - [Invest Like the Best, EP.360]
Madhavan Ramanujam - How to Price Products - [Invest Like the Best, REPLAY]
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