Build Fast, Grow Smart: Coinbase's Scaling Secrets

Resources

Books

• "The Hard Thing About Hard Things" by Ben Horowitz - Mentioned as a source for the concept of "shocking rules" in company culture.

Research & Studies

• Ray Dalio theory of looking back at data - Referenced for its application to directly responsible individuals (DRIs) and analyzing decision-making.

People Mentioned

• Brian Armstrong (Founder and CEO of Coinbase) - Mentioned as the founder of Coinbase and for his decisions regarding company leadership and strategy.
• Balaji Srinivasan - Referenced as someone who saw the value in building during a crypto winter.
• Dan Romero - Referenced as someone who saw the value in building during a crypto winter.
• Jeff (Colleague of Reed Hoffman) - Mentioned as someone from whom lessons were learned regarding scaling processes and talent as an operating priority.
• Nigel Farage - Mentioned as an example of someone being denied a bank account, illustrating the potential for human bias in traditional finance.
• Djokovic - Mentioned in relation to Nigel Farage being denied a bank account because of his association with Djokovic's stance on vaccines.
• Katie Porter - Mentioned in the context of prediction markets, where her chances of winning a governorship dropped significantly after a "bad interview" and was reflected in prediction market data.
• Christoph (Mentioned as "christic" by Emilie Choi) - Mentioned as the source of the "read-write" era of the internet.

Organizations & Institutions

• Coinbase - The company where Emilie Choi is President and COO, and the primary subject of discussion regarding crypto.
• LinkedIn - Emilie Choi's previous employer, from which she learned many operating lessons.
• Microsoft - Mentioned as the owner of LinkedIn during Emilie Choi's tenure.
• SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) - Discussed as a regulatory body that took an aggressive stance against crypto companies.
• FTX - Mentioned as an offshore entity that did not play by the rules, which the SEC used as an excuse to go after the broader industry.
• a16z (Andreessen Horowitz) - Mentioned as a partner in creating a Super PAC for fair shake in crypto policy.
• CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) - Mentioned in the context of market structure and overseeing digital assets.
• Yahoo - Mentioned as a previous employer of Emilie Choi in the internet industry.
• Capital One Business - Mentioned in sponsored segments featuring small business owners.
• Project Management Institute (PMI) - Mentioned in a sponsored segment about team collaboration and delivering results.
• Superhuman - Mentioned in a sponsored segment about AI tools for productivity.
• Ice - Mentioned as a "stodgy conservative exchange" that made a significant raise from Polymarket.
• Sequoia Capital - Mentioned as a venture capital firm with a podcast called "Crucible Moments."
• Wait What - Mentioned as the producer of the Masters of Scale podcast.

Tools & Software

• Rapid - A document used at Coinbase for decision-making, requiring input and a decision within 48 hours.
• Problem Proposed Solution (PPS) - A document used at Coinbase for constructively addressing issues by proposing solutions.
• AI agents - Mentioned in the context of business productivity.
• Grammarly - Mentioned as a tool integrated into Superhuman.
• Coda - Mentioned as a tool integrated into Superhuman.

Websites & Online Resources

• Coinbase.com - Implied as the primary website for the company.
• polymarket.com (implied by "polymarket") - A prediction market platform mentioned as a hot consumer app in crypto.
• calshe.com (implied by "cal she's") - A prediction market provider.
• masters of scale.com - The website where the transcript for this episode can be found.
• youtube.com (implied by "our youtube channel") - Where conversations from the Masters of Scale Summit can be found.
• pmi.org - Website for Project Management Institute.
• superhuman.com/podcast - Website for Superhuman.
• cruciblemoments.com - Website for Sequoia Capital's "Crucible Moments" podcast.

Other Resources

• Crypto Voter - Mentioned in the context of a grassroots campaign to influence crypto policy in the US.
• Fair Shake Super PAC - A Super PAC created to show the industry's heft in advocating for favorable crypto regulation.
• Genius Bill - A stablecoin bill that was the first to be passed, aiming to legitimize and regulate stablecoins.
• Tokenization - Discussed as a key feature of crypto related to ownership and the evolution of the internet.
• Decentralized Identity - An important concept in crypto related to porting identity across platforms.
• Content Coins - A concept from the "read-write-own" era where users could be paid for tokenized content.
• Cognitive and cultural tests - Assessments used by Coinbase for new hires.
• Veto right by Brian or Emilie - A hiring practice at Coinbase where the CEO and COO personally review and have the final decision on new hires.