Introducing the dMBA Syllabus 📕📗📘📙
The past, present & future of crypto venture & entrepreneurship.
⌚️ Todays’s edition is a 4 minutes read.
Dear dMBA Fellows,
Let me tell you a little secret.
For a pretty long time, I have contemplated the idea of taking on a traditional MBA. The reasoning was that I could more easily transition from an F1/engineering career, into entrepreneurship & investing.
But a little voice inside me has always held me back from taking the leap. With hindsight, it was probably right.
There’s a wealth of finance & business resources that are openly accessible out there, for anyone willing to slash through the noise.
We’ve got cutting-edge knowledge management techniques & data analysis tools at our fingertips, to distill this expertise into digestible chunks.
Networks of peers that help you consolidate & apply your learnings aren’t hidden behind $150k paywalls anymore.
So, is a traditional MBA still really worth it ?
Despite advances on the education front, the more I study this question, the more I note that pedigree still plays a major role in the capital & support deployment strategy from the biggest investors - be it to startup founders, or emerging VC managers.
And I share
’s perception that this is because their perspective keeps revolving around the same inner circle of like-minded individuals, with whom they shared the benches of Stanford or Harvard :
How can we unbundle this system, making sure that opportunities are more evenly distributed, regardless of personal background, wealth & connections ?
On the other hand, less than 6 months ago - which already feels like an eternity - the crypto community received the last wake-up call of a long series.
In the aftermath of the FTX debacle, we acknowledged the urgency to build & promote comprehensible, reliable products that benefit the many over the long haul, instead of fueling explosive hype cycles profiting only to a selected elite.
Have we left every stone unturned on this path to recovery ?
Where can we find mutual learning opportunities, together with established TradFi & Web2 professionals who already manage widely successful businesses ?
Bootstrapping the dMBA in public is the best way that I’ve found to develop an expertise & a qualified network as a professional investor, while addressing these critical issues.
I hope this gets you as excited as I am about the program's perspectives ! 😉
Over the past few weeks, we’ve been exploring various aspects of investing in early-stage crypto projects through different Tracks.
The plan for the future is, of course, to continue enriching the curriculum & rotate through the Analyst, Associate, Principal & GP Tracks.
But this week I’m introducing a funny & interactive twist, that will hopefully take this bigger vision of a decentralized & open-source MBA closer to reality.
The dMBA Syllabus 📕📗📘📙
The dMBA Syllabus is an ever-evolving collection of past & upcoming themes that we’ll explore together in each Track.
And here’s the trick : you get to vote on the topics you'd like to see discussed in future posts. Each week, I'll abide by the poll results.
Of course, you can select & follow only specific Track(s) by tuning your account settings here. But you can still have a say in how the program is shaped below :
🕵🏻♂️ Analyst Track.
Main focus : crypto analytics, financial modeling, market research, emerging crypto tech & trends
Chapter 1 : Let’s talk about valuation ➡️ Explore Aswath Damodaran’s valuation framework.
Chapter 2 : Brewing 100 Crypto Startups (A)Ideas ➡️ How to leverage ChatGPT to brainstorm with an A-Team of virtual VC’s ?
👨🏼💻 Associate Track.
Main focus : investment theses, due diligence process, investment memos & updates
Chatper 1 : A primer on insto-DeFi ➡️ What is institutional DeFi, and why does it matter ?
🧑💼 Principal Track.
Main focus : deal sourcing, portfolio highlights, founder support, regional trends & regulation
Chatper 1 : The Six Million Dollar VC (Part 1) ➡️ Where to source & how to identify promising crypto projects ?
👨🏼💼 GP Track.
Main focus : VC fundraising, firm building, portfolio strategy & investor relations
Chapter 1 : Becoming a crypto maVeriCk ➡️ How can solo GP’s turn their inherent challenges into a strong value proposition ?
👷🏻♂️ Founder Track (should we launch it ?!)
Main focus : founder stories, fundraising strategies, actionable insights for crypto / Web3 builders
Who am I ?
🏎 A former F1 engineer turned data- & AI-driven Angel Investor.
👼 I detect, empower and nurture crypto founders at the earliest stages of their world-changing missions.
🎓 I share the process & learnings of building a 1st time VC fund with the dMBA.
🌎 Check out my complete profile & portfolio here !
How can I help ?
If you are a founder or investor on a mission to make the global financial system more accessible, transparent & positively impactful : let’s connect.
Besides fundraising, I'm thrilled to offer my expertise in streamlining your processes through AI, data analytics, and any research tasks you may consider outsourcing (market, community, tokenomics, governance).
⚠️ Disclaimer : the content of this newsletter is for educational & entertainment purpose only. In no situation should it be considered investment, tax or legal advice. The reader is invited to build his/her own opinion about the views expressed, and take appropriate decisions for his/her specific situation or objectives. Digital assets are highly volatile and the risk of capital loss must never be underestimated : do your own research, and only invest what you can afford to lose.