In this episode, I sit down with Balder Bomans, CIO of Maven 11 Capital based out of Amsterdam. Balder and Maven 11 have built a best-in-class venture firm on the back of their deep technical research, a commitment to community development, and active portfolio company support. 
Let's get into it.

Timestamps
1:52 What brings you to San Francisco?
2:30 What is your background?
5:01 How are European crypto funds and companies dealing with the unbanking?
8:05 How did Maven 11 develop its presence in the European market?
11:00 How did you identify early on the value of a project like Celestia?
15:33 What was so compelling about the modular blockchain thesis?
18:34 What patterns have you identified for successful early-stage projects? 
22:31 What appealed to you about the Maple Protocol?
28:07 What lessons did the team learn from actively participating in DeFi?
33:37 How did you develop and scale Maven 11's research arm?
35:56 What is MEV and why is it important?
38:45 Are there any companies or protocols Maven 11 likes focusing on MEV?
40:47 What does the future of crosschain interaction or bridging look like?
43:25 What is a trend in the gaming sector that you’re most excited about?
46:03 What is your most contrarian take within crypto?
47:38 What is your most contrarian take outside of crypto?

Resources Mentioned
Celestia
Lazy Ledger Research
Fuel
Maple
Spectral
The Modular Summit

Connect with the guest
Maven 11 https://www.maven11.com/
Maven 11 Substack ⁠https://maven11.substack.com/
Follow Maven 11 on Twitter https://twitter.com/Maven11Capital
Follow Balder on Twitter https://twitter.com/BalderBomans

Disclaimer 
Ben Jacobs is a partner at Scenius Capital Management. All views expressed by Ben and the guests of this podcast are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Scenius Capital Management. Guests and the host may maintain positions in the assets or funds discussed in this podcast. You should not treat any opinion expressed by anyone on this podcast as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy but only as an expression of their personal opinion. This podcast is for informational purposes only.