Founders' Journey - Episode 112
NY Insights, Online ADA, and the Australian Investors Forum
Hey everyone,
Another packed week with insights from multiple events and some interesting developments in the AI space. You can see this example of the recently popularised Studio Ghibli style photos you now get to do with OpenAI (the one above is myself and co-founder Arturo of NotCentralised/Aus DeFi). More on that later.
Before we dive in, you can explore this newsletter on my personal website where you also get AI-powered insights: https://mark-monfort.netlify.app/newsletter/founders-journey-112
NY Trip Insights
My colleague Arturo Rodriguez just returned from New York, bringing back some fascinating perspectives on the market there. A key takeaway? While the US market is often seen as more advanced, the reality is more nuanced:
🔹 Just like in Australia, you need to wade through to find the diamonds in the rough.
🔹 There's an illusion that everything is better over there, but you face similar noise.
🔹 The key difference? Market size. When you do find something that works, you're looking at a market 12x larger.
Online ADA Meetup Highlights
We had an incredible lineup for our latest Australian DeFi Association meetup:
✨ Kate Cooper from OKX shared her F1 experience and vision
✨ Cameron Rambert from Paintswap discussed Sonic Labs blockchain and Sonic Down Under events
✨ Shane Verner from Fireblocks offered valuable insights
✨ Jamie Coutts CMT, CFTe of Real Vision shared market perspectives
✨ Tom Mitchelhill, former crypto journalist, rounded out the conversation
I also shared updates from around the community and discussed tokenisation challenges and solutions. The engagement and discussions were fantastic. Keep an eye out on the Australian DeFi Association page for updates there.
AI & Hyperpersonalisation
The conversations around personalised apps continue to grow. We're seeing increasing interest in our approach to custom solutions, and here's why it matters:
🔹 We're entering an era where building custom solutions is no longer impractical
🔹 What used to take months or years (like building a CRM) now takes weeks or days
🔹 Moving towards a world of hyperpersonalisation
The key insight? Execution is king in this space. Success comes from knowing how to piece together the right tools—whether open source or paid. The orchestrators who can do this effectively will win.
Australian Investors Forum Insights
I recently attended the Australian Investors Forum, which brought together hedge funds, asset managers, private equity firms, and family offices. Here are the key takeaways:
🔹Macro Economic Shifts
The forum highlighted significant changes in the global economic landscape:
- Unwinding of globalisation leading to increased national interest
- Focus shifting to defensive assets for inflation protection
- Less emphasis on USD-denominated assets
- Rising importance of commodities and energy sectors
🔹Investment Strategy Themes
Several key themes emerged:
- Future trajectory of interest rates and sector implications
- Rising role of AI in investment strategies
- Focus on data centers and European reindustrialisation
- Many investors in a "waiting game" amid uncertainty
🔹 Private Credit Landscape
The Australian private credit market faces unique challenges:
- Different dynamics compared to US and Europe
- Liquidity issues affecting small companies
- IPO market challenges
- Need for transparency in private markets
🔹AI Integration
AI was a major topic of discussion:
- Recognition of AI's value potentially being underestimated
- Need for integration into traditional investment frameworks
- Warnings about overvaluation in current market
🔹 Digital Assets: The Elephant in the Room
An interesting moment came when Arturo asked about digital assets in portfolio strategy. The response was telling:
- Initial dismissal and even laughter from some panelists
- Shows a concerning lack of awareness about digital assets
- Private conversations revealed more interest in tokenisation
- Suggests a disconnect between public stance and private interest
Final Thoughts
The investment landscape is clearly in flux. While traditional finance might publicly dismiss crypto and digital assets, the private conversations tell a different story. The real opportunity lies in bridging these worlds—bringing the benefits of blockchain and AI to traditional finance in ways that solve real problems.
We're seeing this in our own work, where the combination of AI orchestration and blockchain infrastructure is creating new possibilities for financial innovation.
Latest AI Developments: Gemini 2.5 & OpenAI Image Generator
While there's no Digital Nexus podcast this week, I had to share some exciting updates in the AI space. With Gemini 2.5's recent release and OpenAI's 4o Image Generator now available in ChatGPT, we're seeing remarkable progress in creative AI capabilities.
Digital Nexus Podcast: Rise of the Agents
After a month-long break, 🤖 Chris Sinclair and I returned to the Digital Nexus podcast to explore the Rise of the Agents. From cultural insights in Malaysia to cutting-edge AI tools, we covered significant ground in this episode.
Key highlights from our discussion:
🧠 OpenAI's new agent APIs and the debate around Chinese model bans
🤖 Grok AI's challenging rollout within X (Twitter)
🧙♂️ Manus: A powerful new beta agent showcasing step-by-step thinking
📉 Hands-on with Cline CLI comparing crypto price tools
💼 Enterprise hesitation around AI adoption, especially in fintech
📚 Making AI more explainable and accessible
Stay tuned for our next episode featuring Ned Moorfield, who'll bring a consulting perspective to these discussions.
SXSW Sydney talks
A final btw, did you know I’m applying for SXSW? It will be a talk on Intelligent Money and how blockchain and AI drives it. The talk needs votes so if you get some time to click on the “cast vote” button please do so in the links below.
https://publicvoting.sxswsydney.com/profile/24fecae5-92df-4452-b318-2672067b762e
Until next week,
Mark