143: Inside J17 Capital a VC firm - With guest speaker Sky Lai on Web3, Bitcoin, and AI Trends

Web3 with Sam Kamani

In this episode, we dive deep with Sky Lai, a key player at J17 Capital, a prominent Canadian crypto venture capital firm. Sky shares his journey from being a co-founder of a crypto trading platform to leading investments in groundbreaking Web3 projects. We discuss J17 Capital’s strategic investments in sectors like Bitcoin, AI, and decentralized finance, and explore the current trends and future narratives shaping the crypto space. Sky also offers valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities of being a VC in the fast-evolving blockchain industry.

Key Points covered in podcast

1. Introduction to Sky Lai and J17 Capital (00:00:00)

• Background on Sky Lai and J17 Capital's role in the Web3 space.

• Sky's journey from founder to VC.

2. J17 Capital's Investment Focus (00:00:44)

• Overview of J17 Capital’s investment strategies.

• Key areas of investment: Bitcoin, AI, Layer 1 and Layer 2 solutions, modularized crypto, and ZK projects.

3. Recent Investments and Strategy (00:01:20)

• Investments in Movement Labs and Aligned Layer.

• Approach to investing in pre-seed to pre-A rounds.

4. Partnerships and Collaborations (00:02:17)

• Collaboration with funds like Hack VC, a16z, Dragonfly, and Portal Ventures.

• Strategic value of partnerships in driving project success.

5. Evaluation of Startups (00:05:38)

• Criteria for evaluating startups: Founders, ideas, and adaptability.

• Importance of founder’s passion and ability to pivot.

6. Emerging Narratives in Web3 (00:07:56)

• Current trends: Bitcoin narrative, AI, and DePIN (decentralized infrastructure).

• Expectations for the second half of the year.

7. Real World Assets (RWAs) and Tokenization (00:10:06)

• Sky's bullish outlook on RWAs and the impact of regulatory changes.

• Long-term potential and current challenges.

8. DeFi and Leveraged Products (00:14:32)

• The role of leverage in DeFi products.

• Innovations and trends in Bitcoin-based DeFi projects.

9. Lessons Learned in Venture Capital (00:16:24)

• The importance of a holistic industry understanding.

• Combining resources and integrating different sectors for success.

10. Common Mistakes by Web3 Founders (00:20:09)

• Challenges in team management and commitment.

• Importance of founders’ long-term relationships and experience.

11. Future Outlook and Hiring (00:25:57)

• J17 Capital’s ongoing investment focus and hiring needs.

• Opportunities for remote work and collaboration.

Disclaimer

Nothing mentioned in this podcast is investment advice and please do your own research. Finally, It would mean a lot if you can leave a review of this podcast on ApplePodcasts or Spotify and share this podcast with a friend.

Connect with J17 Capital and Sky here:

https://j17capital.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/skylai/

https://x.com/J17Crypto

Connect with me here - https://samkamani.com/#linktree