E22: Alyse Killeen on Building Stillmark, Investing in Bitcoin Companies, and Emerging Lightning Network Applications
E22: Alyse Killeen on Building Stillmark, Investing in Bitcoin Companies, and Emerging Lightning Network Applications
The Kevin Rooke Show

Alyse Killeen is the Founding Partner at Stillmark, a Bitcoin focused VC firm.  

Alyse and I spoke about her focus on investing in Bitcoin companies, the things Alyse looks for in founders and startup pitches, and the particular segments of Bitcoin and the Lightning Network she is most excited about in 2022.  

→ Stillmark: https://www.stillmark.com/ 

The Lightning Round is sponsored by Voltage, where you can ask me questions over the Lightning Network.    

→ Voltage: https://voltage.cloud?utm_source=kevinrooke&utm_medium=Youtube&utm_campaign=1mo

→ Use code KEVINROOKE to get 50% off your first month's Lightning node    

At the end of every show I answer any questions listeners send in over the Lightning Network.    

To ask a question, send a message, or to support the show, download Fountain from the iOS or Google Play App Store and load your wallet with a few sats.    

→ Fountain: https://www.fountain.fm/

→ Listen to More Episodes: https://play.fountain.fm/show/P6XXuSPg6f2rj4ECB0fT

→ Follow Kevin Rooke on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kerooke 

Timestamps 

00:00 - Intro 

01:15 - Alyse Killeen Intro 

03:42 - Why Is Stillmark Focused on Bitcoin?  

08:33 - Investing in Bitcoin vs. Bitcoin Companies 

10:39 - Emerging Bitcoin Companies 

20:28 - Investing in Tokens vs. Equity 

23:03 - Is Bitcoin Innovation Constrained by Capital?  

25:30 - Can There Be Too Much Capital in Bitcoin Companies? 

29:22 - Down Rounds in VC Investing 

33:34 - Benefits of Investing In Bitcoin Startups 

38:14 - Web 2 Monopolies vs. Bitcoin Companies  

42:57 - Competitive Moats for Bitcoin Companies 

47:26 - Investing in the Lightning Network 

49:19 - Should Large Bitcoin Holders Fund Bitcoin Companies? 

54:04 - Deciding Which Founders To Invest In 

01:01:53 - New Lightning Payment Applications 

01:04:39 - Lightning Adoption & Earning Bitcoin 

01:11:08 - Bitcoin's Role in Web 3.0  

01:15:56 - What Areas of the Internet will Integrate Lightning? 

01:19:25 - How Will Newcomers Interact with Lightning? 

01:24:07 - The Lightning Round

@user5459278357290506
25,000 sats
28 Jan
Thankkyou for continued quality content, Kevin. keep up the great work!
@bitboom
1,386 sats
25 Feb
voltage!damn interesting show and super inspiring. I’d love a free month on voltage. I’m trying to hook up a number of coffee shops etc in town to accept lighting and a voltage BTC pay server would be awesome to use as a test case. twitter @lancek1 dm’s are open.
@jeffrey
1,200 sats
23 Feb
Another great show! Love the predictions! I would put a Voltage coupon to good use. Would give me an excuse to hack for a few weekends. @jnmclarty on twitter.
@why
100 sats
22 Feb
pinkfrog!?
@why
100 sats
23 Feb
ETHOS. This reminds me of a question I’ve been ruminating on: how do various guests conceptualize the bitcoin ethic? In this case, I’d love to know her experience with bitcoiners reactions to VC, as they seems somewhat antithetical. Also, Keyan Kousha cued me in to the strong open source ethos around btc as well. How does VC feel about open source, sharing code, etc?
@why
100 sats
22 Feb
great q
@why
100 sats
23 Feb
great episode. Fascinating look at the novel world of bitcoin vc.
@thewildhustle
50 sats
22 Feb
literally watching on fountain and YouTube at the same time,
@niall
50 sats
23 Feb
haha!
@merryoscar
14 sats
23 Feb
Hi 14
@merryoscar
15 sats
23 Feb
Hi 15