We invest in people
accelerating culture
at the speed of Web3.
accelerating culture
at the speed of Web3.
HIGHLIGHTS
Afropolitan x Cultur3 at NYSE 2022
On the journey with those who we invest in, and those who invest in us.
KnownOrigin acquired by eBay in 2022
Backing, nurturing, and intensely working with the bold teams taking web3 mainstream--from their first cheque to their last cheque.
Audius x Metaplex @ Breakpoint 2021
Accelerating cultural relevance for our founders and the communities they serve. When investees lean on us to produce events, it’s their names (not ours) that take center stage.
ABOUT US
ANDY GRAY
CEO@KNOWNORIGIN
JAN VAN ECK
CEO@VANECK
ECHE EMOLE
CEO@AFROPOLITAN
STEPHEN HESS
CEO@METAPLEX
AARON SOSKIN
CEO@GOVRN
ADAM KARREN
CEO@EXCHANGE ART
RONEIL RUMBURG
CEO@AUDIUS
VISION
Drive Culture,
Not Just Money
Not Just Money
Tokenizing our communities, movements, and cultures is a bigger and more profitable opportunity than merely tokenizing finance.
Tokens Supercharge People
Tokens are most powerful as incentive and coordination tools. Pair tokens with a community-first (rather than founder- or investor-first) approach, and internet-native communities scale faster than ever before.
DAOs Are the Future of Business
Forget the FANGs. DAOs are radically novel, blockchain-native organizations that will be more valuable than their Web2 predecessors.
TEAM
Rolf Hoefer, Ph.D.
Founding and Managing Partner
Serial DAOist, core contributor at MetaCartel Ventures DAO, currently writing a book on DAOs following up on his best-selling book on NFTs. Previous Web3 founder; founded the world's first creative NFT agency. German and Colombian. Crypto since 2011, shortly after starting his PhD at INSEAD on tokens and organizations.
Alex Yamashita
Founding and Managing Partner
Previously co-founded TLDR, a leading global blockchain investment and advisory group. MetaCartel Ventures DAO member. Former meatspace founder in hospitality and sports nutrition. Dropout from Goldman Sachs and CLSA after graduating from Yale. Taiwanese-Chinese and Japanese. Crypto since 2015.
Mark Streeter
Founding Partner
Worked at record labels, then did thematic investing at Asia’s premier equity research house, CLSA. Mark is a mentor in the Ethereum and Solana ecosystems and advisor to Audius and Metaplex. He has lived, worked, and built networks in Tokyo, NYC, London and LA. African-American and Dutch. Crypto since 2017.
Eugene Kan
Venture Partner
Ex Founding Editorial Director for HYPEBEAST, and co-founder of MAEKAN and ADAM STUDIOS. Deep expertise and execution capabilities with media, brand strategy, and content creation in both the Web2 and Web3 worlds. Crypto since 2017.
Chinyere Nnadi
Venture Partner
Founder and CEO of Mara, Chi runs the leading African crypto exchange rooted in a social movement driven by Africans, for Africans, and from Africa. An experienced entrepreneur, Chi lends unrivaled access and network in Africa. Chi is a former MTV VJ and management consultant from the Boston Consulting Group. He is an alumnus of the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and University of California, Los Angeles’ School of Theater, Film, Television.
Angelina Kwan
Advisor
Angelina is a regulatory expert, having worked on the foundation legislation and guidelines that would later be a part of the Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) framework for Hong Kong. She lectures internationally on VASP and other regulatory topics. Previously the Group COO/CRO at the Hashkey Group and other leading global crypto derivatives exchanges, Angelina also held senior directorate positions with the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX), Cantor Fitzgerald, and other financial services firms. Crypto since 2017.
Sandy Green, Ph.D.
Advisor
Previously a prolific academic and award-winning professor, he published several highly cited papers on the role of rhetoric in asset bubbles and the diffusion of managerial practices. He is now a managing partner for Blockchain Investment Fund and Rhetorical Capital Fund. Sandy received a B.A. in Economics and Rhetoric from the University of California at Berkeley, as well as a Ph.D. from the Harvard Business School with a M.A. in Sociology. Crypto since 2016.
Get In Touch.