2. Flori Marquez from BlockFi - Female Founder of a Crypto Unicorn, Navigating Regulation in the Crypto Space, Managing Teams in Times of Hypergrowth and Uncertainty, Diversity within Crypto, Hiring More Experienced People

Founders Uncut: Real Startup Stories

After BlockFi had raised their Series D in 2021, the state of New Jersey issued a cease and desist order to shut down its interest bearing product. The management team had to navigate regulatory uncertainty in the crypto world and also manage a team through a time of great uncertainty in their business.

Today - Flori Marquez, the co-founder and SVP of Operations at BlockFi, will tell us about this and many more aspects of her scaling up journey. BlockFi has a current valuation in the range of $4-5BN, more than 600,000 retail clients, 350 institutional clients and 850 employees, Specifically, in this episode you will hear more from Flori about:

1) How to manage a company through regulatory uncertainty

• What does it feel like to scale from 0 to 850 people?
• How do you manage through uncertainty and keep a motivated team?
• What is the difference between leading in times of uncertainty versus leading in a hypergrowth phase?
• How should founders in regulated spaces engage with regulators?
• What does the SEC resolution mean for the broader crypto/bitcoin/web3/ethereum/solana landscape?

2) Key Leadership Decisions as you scale your startup

• How do you ensure people understand your vision as you scale quickly and remotely?
• Why did you choose not to give yourself the COO title when you could have?
• How do you take on new tasks but stay aware of where you need to develop?

3) Diversity within the startup, tech and crypto space

• As one of the few females who have scaled a unicorn in the crypto space, how do you think about your representation as a role model?
• How do you get other diverse founders inspired to go on their own startup founding journey?
• How did being from a family of immigrants and speaking multiple languages affect you as a startup leader?

4) Fundraising for a crypto startup in crypto winter?

• What were those early days of fundraising like?
• What does it feel like to get so many no’s?
• Did fintech and crypto venture capital investors understand what you were trying to do in those early fundraising days?

5) How do you stay sane as a founder of a startup?

• Do you ever get to take a break as a founder and how do you sustain your energy?
• What do you give up by being a founder?
• How is being a founder different from working for a startup?

Follow more of Flori’s founder journey on twitter or instagram at @FounderFlori

And sign up to earn money on your crypto currencies with BlockFi

Find out more at KindredCapital.VC/FoundersUncut

This podcast was produced by Fascinate Productions

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