20VC: Biggest Challenge Facing Crypto Today & The Winners and Losers of the Next 10 Years | Why AI Will Lead to More Wealth Equality Than Inequality | Why The Current State of the US Feels Like the End of an Empire with David Marcus, CEO @ Lightspark

David Marcus is the co-founder and CEO of Lightspark, building infrastructure that extends the capabilities and utility of Bitcoin. Prior to Lightspark, David led all payment and crypto efforts at Facebook/Meta and scaled Messenger to 1.5BN users. David previously founded three other companies: Zong (acquired by eBay/PayPal for $240M), Echovox (acquired by MBO), and GTN (acquired by World Access).

Episode Transcript

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In Today’s Episode with David Marcus We Discuss:

1. From Losing Everything to Becoming Changing the World of Fintech:

• How did seeing his family lose everything lead to David starting his first company, GTN?
• Does David believe that great companies can be built in Europe?
• What are the biggest mistakes David made with Zong? How did they impact his mindset?

2. The Secret to Building a Great Company from Mark Zuckerberg’s ex-Right Hand Man:

• Where does David think Paypal lost its way?
• How did David “brutally” change PayPayl’s company culture when he came in?
• What worked and what didn’t in scaling Messenger to 1.5BN users?
• Why did Diem (formerly Libra) fail? How did David know when to give up that fight?
• What is David’s biggest lesson from working with Mark Zuckerberg?

3. Crypto & AI’s Ripple Effect on The Rest of The World:

• What will be the fallout from the de-banking of crypto? 
• How does David think the future of AI will impact income equality?
• If David was in charge of the SEC, what would he do first?
• What worries David most about the next 1-5 years in the crypto industry?
• What are the most significant signs that the tea leaves not looking great for the US dollar?

4. How The Best Leaders Hire The Best Talent:

• Why does David believe that naivety is good for entrepreneurs?
• Does David believe we’ll be in a worse macro position by the end of the year?
• How has David changed most as a leader over time?
• What is David’s biggest piece of advice in regard to hiring across many different companies?