Author: Arain, ChainCatcher
"DeSci" is not a new concept, but since November 2022, this term has suddenly become popular in the circle - especially during the Devcon period in November, when it was strongly supported by Binance co-founder CZ and Ethereum founder Vitalik, making many people feel the direction. According to Dune data, the heat of DeSci has been rising, and it has become the largest popular narrative in the recent period.
DeSci (Decentralized Science) is a movement that aims to establish fair public infrastructure in the field of scientific research using the Web3 stack, in order to fund, create, review, verify, store and disseminate scientific knowledge. Specifically, DeSci aims to solve the challenges in traditional scientific research, such as financing difficulties, lack of data sharing, and low research transparency. The current DeSci projects that focus on solving financing problems are the main type in this track.
According to RootData, there are currently as many as 32 projects in the DeSci track, and the large number makes it a bit difficult to filter. However, projects with outstanding Founders or Co-Founders are rare, and if these DeSci track entrepreneurs are ranked, a DeSci founder disdain chain can be formed: highly vertical entrepreneurs > top crypto/other industry elites > financial practitioners > other industry serial entrepreneurs.
First Echelon
The first echelon of DeSci entrepreneurs not only have directly relevant backgrounds, but also are full of energy, holding key positions in multiple projects - but such entrepreneurs are very scarce, and the DeSci projects championed by CZ and Vitalik have first-echelon entrepreneurs.
1. Tyler Golato
Crypto projects involved: Molecule, VitaDAO, BIO Protocol, PsyDAO (psychedelics), AthenaDAO (women's health), Pump.Science
In the above projects, Tyler Golato serves as the founder, advisor, etc. The most noteworthy are the open-source drug development protocol Molecule and the community-driven VitaDAO focused on commercializing longevity therapies, where Tyler Golato is the co-founder, chief scientist and CEO of Molecule, as well as a co-founder of VitaDAO.
In terms of background, Tyler Golato is highly vertical in the field of bioscience. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry and molecular biology (with a medical pre-professional track), and studied at the National Institute on Aging - Laboratory of Molecular Gerontology of the National Institutes of Health from 2015 to 2017, under the guidance of Dr. David M. Wilson III and Dr. Vilhelm Bohr, focusing on the repair of endogenous DNA damage.
He also worked in the Robert Fine lab at Columbia University, researching the mechanisms of chemotherapy resistance in pancreatic cancer and developing new treatment strategies for various cancers.
Awards and honors: He was once an NIH Academy Fellows Program fellow; in 2016 he became a finalist in the Ignite competition.
Representative published research works: "DNA damage and the maintenance of nuclear genome integrity in aging and associated phenotypes", "Latest advances in aging research and drug discovery", "Role of DNA repair in carcinogenesis and cancer therapeutics", etc.
2. Alok Tayi
Crypto projects involved: Vibe Bio
Alok Tayi himself is an entrepreneur in the biomedical vertical, but his only known crypto project, Vibe Bio, seems to be not well-known (with little news coverage). Interestingly, Vibe Bio's investment lineup is very impressive, with investors such as Initialized Capital (which has invested in Avalanche and Coinbase), Balaji Srinivasan (former CTO of Coinbase and general partner at Andreessen Horowitz), and Naval Ravikant (who has invested in Uber, Twitter, and Polymarket).
Regarding Alok's background, he graduated from Cornell University and earned a PhD in materials science from Northwestern University, completing his postdoctoral work with George Whitesides. He has 15 years of research experience and 12 years of entrepreneurial experience, having founded two pharmaceutical SaaS companies, PreScouter and TetraScience, which have hundreds of employees and over 400 clients.
Alok founded Vibe Bio after his daughter was diagnosed with a rare disease, as he personally understood that the biggest obstacle to developing treatments is not finding potential therapies, but funding them.
Alok has published articles in renowned media and journals such as Forbes, Nature, and Nature Chemistry.
3. Simone Fantaccini
Crypto projects involved: SynapseDAO
This is a low-profile but not simple DeSci track entrepreneur. Hidden in the guest list of a biomedical forum is the information that Simone Fantaccini is the founder of SynapseDAO.
In fact, Simone Fantaccini is still the Head of Medical Affairs and Chief Strategy Officer at the Swiss multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company Novartis.
Simone Fantaccini is a passionate learner. He has a medical doctorate from the University of Florence, a philosophy doctorate from the Polytechnic University of Milan, and an MBA from the MIP Polytechnic Institute of Milan. Most of the time, Simone Fantaccini is engaged in and promoting work related to biomedicine, mainly focusing on research related to multiple sclerosis, and has participated in the study "Activation of natalizumab in multiple sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis".
However, in 2023, he began to research cryptocurrencies, first serving as a board member of Native Digital DNA (a project based on RFID Smart Dust DNA for physical asset on-chain certification), and then founding Synapse Sciences as co-founder and president.
This year, the Synapse DAO with the same name as Synapse Sciences appeared, which is committed to providing funding for the R&D of neglected neurological diseases. In this DAO, Simone Fantaccini also brought in Scott Howell, the former Chief Strategy Officer of Novartis USA and a medical doctor. In other words, Synapse DAO has two Novartis people, and Simone Fantaccini is not a lone wolf.
Continuing to work at Novartis Pharmaceuticals while also starting up Synapse DAO, Simone Fantaccini is actively networking and serving as an advisory board member of VitaDAO.
It turns out that capable people are always full of experience and are multi-hyphenates.
Second Echelon
The backgrounds of the second echelon entrepreneurs are not as vertical, but they are still dazzling. Many of their projects have been highly anticipated by the market and are often mentioned.
1. Brian Armstrong
Crypto projects involved: ResearchHub, Coinbase
Brian Armstrong, who founded Coinbase from scratch and is still the co-founder of Coinbase, naturally draws a lot of attention for his entrepreneurial activities in the DeSci field.
Brian Armstrong graduated from Rice University with bachelor's degrees in economics and computer science, as well as a master's degree in computer science. He early on worked as a developer at IBM and as a consultant at Deloitte.
In 2011, Brian Armstrong joined Airbnb as a software engineer, during which time he was exposed to the difficulties of payment systems and cross-border payments, which inspired him to start a cryptocurrency-related business.
In 2012, Brian Armstrong co-founded Coinbase with Fred Ehrsam, and Coinbase has now become the largest cryptocurrency exchange platform in the US.
In the DeSci track, Brian Armstrong founded ResearchHub, a DeSci project focused on publishing, aiming to completely transform the traditional scientific journal publishing model, using blockchain technology to build a new scientific research exchange platform where researchers can more conveniently publish their research results and be uniquely incentivized to activate the vitality and creativity of the research community.
Interestingly, after that, Brian Armstrong, Google Ventures partner Blake Byers, and Greg Johnson and Jacob Kimmel co-founded a project called NewLimit that aims to extend human lifespan. Currently, there is little information about NewLimit, and it is unclear whether this is another foray by Brian Armstrong into the biomedical field in the DeSci domain, but it has opened up his exploration of the biomedical field.
2. Paul Kohlhaas
Emerging crypto projects: Molecule, BIO Protocol, Pump.Science
Paul Kohlhaas is an active figure in the crypto space, having participated in multiple crypto-related projects. In addition to his work experience at the well-known blockchain company ConsenSys, the most notable aspect is that Paul Kohlhaas often appears in the same projects as Tyler Golato, a first-tier figure, which may suggest that the two have a good working relationship.
Paul Kohlhaas graduated from the University of St. Gallen with a degree in economics and politics. Before entering the crypto field, he was a member of the private equity practice group at the Frankfurt office of the law firm White & Case LLP, specializing in private equity transactions and domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, providing consulting services in areas such as private equity, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate law.
After entering the crypto field, he worked at ConsenSys and uPort for a period of time, and then embarked on an entrepreneurial career.
Paul Kohlhaas first co-founded Molecule with Tyler Golato, and then they co-founded BIO Protocol together.
Pump.Science is a Desci-track meme token platform launched by Molecule on Solana, allowing users to participate in the prediction of drug effects and the trading of experimental data through the trading of meme coins representing drugs.
3. Laura Minquini
Crypto projects involved: VitaDAO, AthenaDAO
Laura Minquini can be considered a representative of successful individuals in other fields. She is a female entrepreneur who has accumulated some entrepreneurial experience in the field of longevity and women's health.
Laura Minquini graduated from York University in Canada with a bachelor's degree in linguistics, but her career started in the fashion industry, where she excelled in brand promotion and business expansion. She launched the first tech accessory product focused on fashion, "case scenario", and achieved global premium distribution and sales of millions of dollars within a year, becoming a third-party supplier for Apple. She has also collaborated with companies such as Louis Vuitton, Apple, and Pantone.
In 2019, Laura Minquini founded the platform MYKIGAI, which focuses on the discovery and recommendation of longevity, thus embarking on her exploration of the health and wellness industry.
Subsequently, she joined VitaDAO as a contributor and met Tyler Golato, and they established a new decentralized collective, AthenaDAO, to fund women's health research and development (Tyler Golato serves as an advisor in AthenaDAO).
As a cross-industry entrant into the DeSci track, Ms. Laura Minquini can be said to have "embraced the right thigh", but perhaps it is also out of her interest and passion for the broad field of health and wellness. With more activity and effort, Laura Minquini has the potential to rise to the first tier.
4. Vincent Weisser
Participated projects: PrimeIntellect, Molecule, VitaDAO, BIO Protocol
Vincent Weisser is primarily a technical person. He does not have a very prominent and outstanding resume, but he has participated in three well-known DeSci projects: Molecule, VitaDAO, and BIO Protocol, and has collaborated with Paul Kohlhaas and Tyler Golato.
Vincent is also one of the co-founders of Vita DAO and has provided consulting services to Vita DAO. At Molecule, he serves as an advisor.
His latest move is the creation of a decentralized artificial intelligence platform, Prime Intellect, of which he is the founder and CEO. The platform aims to commoditize computation and intelligence, providing developers with more affordable distributed computing and a sustainable business model for open-source models.
Perhaps Vincent Weisser's ambitions do not lie in DeSci, and Prime Intellect has just announced the completion of a $5.5 million seed round this year - perhaps one day, looking back, he may slide to the third or even fourth tier of the DeSci track.
Conclusion
Compared to the first and second tier DeSci entrepreneurs, the resumes of the third and fourth tier founders appear more ordinary. Taking the popular hair loss project HairDAO as an example, its founder Andrew Verbinnen had been engaged in investment work in the commercial real estate industry for many years, and due to his own struggle with hair loss, combined with his interest in cryptocurrency, he conceived the idea of founding HairDAO. Another example is GenomesDAO, a data-focused project, whose founder Aldo de Pape is the founder and CEO of the cloud learning platform TeachPitch, and had previously mainly worked in business development in the publishing industry.
These entrepreneurs all have noteworthy work experience, but as the DeSci track has developed, it has attracted a continuous influx of elites from vertical fields, and a ruthless "disdain chain" has already formed. From the perspective of the characteristics of the projects favored by investors, founders with direct relevant experience are more preferred: there is reason to believe that they have a higher success rate in this track.
