Author: Arain, ChainCatcher
"DeSci" is not a new concept, but since November this year, this term has suddenly been popular in the circle - especially during the Devcon in November, it was strongly promoted by Binance co-founder CZ and Ethereum founder Vitalik, making many people feel the vane. According to Dune data, the popularity of DeSci has continued to rise and has become the most popular narrative in recent times.
DeSci (Decentralized Science) is a movement that uses the Web3 stack to build a fair public infrastructure in the field of scientific research to fund, create, review, confirm, store and disseminate scientific knowledge. Specifically, DeSci aims to solve challenges in traditional scientific research, such as financing difficulties, insufficient data sharing, and low research transparency. Currently, DeSci projects that solve financing problems are the main type of projects in this field.
According to RootData data, there are currently 32 projects in the DeSci track. Such a large number makes it a bit difficult to screen, but there are very few projects that "have" an outstanding Founder or Co-Founder. It can be said that if these DeSci track entrepreneurs are ranked, a DeSci founder contempt chain can be formed: highly vertical entrepreneurs>top elites in encryption/other industries>financial practitioners>serial entrepreneurs in other industries.
First Tier
The first-tier DeSci entrepreneurs not only have directly relevant resumes, but are also energetic and hold important positions in multiple projects - but such entrepreneurs are very scarce, and the DeSci project promoted by CZ and Vitalik includes first-tier entrepreneurs.
1. Tyler Golato
Crypto projects that have appeared: Molecule, VitaDAO, BIO Protocol, PsyDAO (psychedelics), AthenaDAO (women's health), Pump.Science
In the above projects, Tyler Golato served as initiator, consultant, etc. Among them, the most noteworthy are the open source drug development protocol Molecule and the community collective VitaDAO dedicated to the commercialization of longevity therapies. Tyler Golato is the co-founder, chief scientist and CEO of Molecule, and also the co-founder of VitaDAO.
In terms of resume, Tyler Golato is highly vertical in the field of biological sciences. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (with a pre-medical focus), and studied at the National Institute on Aging - Laboratory of Molecular Gerontology at the National Institutes of Health from 2015 to 2017, under the guidance of Dr. David M. Wilson III and Dr. Vilhelm Bohr, focusing on repairing endogenous DNA damage.
He also worked in Robert Fine's laboratory at Columbia University, studying mechanisms of chemoresistance in pancreatic cancer and developing novel therapeutic strategies for various cancers.
Awards and honors: Recipient of the NIH Academy Fellows Program; 2016 Ignite finalist, etc.
Representative research works published: "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
Haunted Crypto Project: Vibe Bio
Alok Tayi is an entrepreneur in the biomedical vertical field, but the only crypto project he is known to be involved in, Vibe Bio, seems to be less well-known (rarely reported in the news). Interestingly, Vibe Bio's investment lineup is very impressive, such as Initialized Capital, which has invested in Avalanche and Coinbase, Balaji Srinivasan, former CTO of Coinbase and general partner of Andreessen Horowitz, and Naval Ravikant, who invested in Uber, Twitter, and Ploymarket, are all its investors.
Let's talk about Alok's own experience. Alok graduated from Cornell University and received a Ph.D. in Materials Science from Northwestern University, where he completed postdoctoral work with George Whitesides. He has 15 years of experience in scientific research and 12 years of entrepreneurial experience. He founded two pharmaceutical SaaS companies, PreScouter and TetraScience - these two companies have hundreds of employees and more than 400 customers.
Alok founded Vibe Bio after his own daughter was diagnosed with a rare disease and because he learned firsthand that the biggest obstacle to developing treatments is not finding potential cures, but funding them.
Alok has published articles in famous media and journals such as Forbes, Nature, and Nature Chemistry.
3. Simone Fantaccini
Crypto Projects That Are Infested: SynapseDAO
This is a low-key but not simple DeSci track entrepreneur. Hidden in the guest invitation 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 of Novartis, a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company.
Simone Fantaccini is an avid learner. He holds a doctorate in medicine from the University of Florence, a doctorate in philosophy from the Politecnico di Milano, and a master's degree in business administration from the MIP Polytechnic of Milan. Simone Fantaccini has been engaged in and promoted work related to biomedicine most of the time, and mainly focuses on research related to multiple sclerosis. He has participated in the research work "Activation of Natalizumab in Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis".
However, in 2023, he began to study encrypted digital currencies, first serving as a member of the board of directors of Native Digital DNA (a project based on RFID Smart Dust DNA for on-chain authentication solutions for physical assets). In the same year, he founded SynapseSciences and served as its co-founder and president.
This year, Synapse DAO, with the same name as SynapseSciences, emerged. Synapse DAO is dedicated to funding the research and development of neglected neurological diseases. In this DAO, Simone Fantaccini also brought in Scott Howell, MD, former chief strategy officer of Novartis in the United States. In other words, Synapse DAO has two Novartis people, and he is not fighting alone.
While continuing to work at Novartis Pharmaceuticals and start a business at Synapse DAO, Simone Fantaccini is actively socializing and serves as a member of the advisory board of VitaDAO.
Facts have proved that successful people always have abundant experience and are people with different backgrounds.
Second Tier
The resumes of second-tier entrepreneurs are not as vertical, but they are definitely dazzling. The performance of many of their projects is highly expected by the market and is often mentioned.
1. Brian Armstrong
Crypto projects that have appeared: ResearchHub, Coinbase
Brian Armstrong, who started Coinbase from scratch and is still the co-founder of Coinbase, has naturally attracted much attention for his entrepreneurial moves in the DeSci field.
Brian Armstrong graduated from Rice University with a double bachelor's degree in economics and computer science and a master's degree in computer science. He worked as a developer at IBM and a consultant at Deloitte in his early years.
In 2011, Brian Armstrong joined Airbnb as a software engineer. During this period, he was exposed to problems such as payment systems and difficulties in cross-border payments, which inspired him to start a cryptocurrency-related company.
In 2012, Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam co-founded Coinbase, which has now become the largest cryptocurrency trading platform in the United States.
In the DeSci track, Brian Armstrong founded ResearchHu, a publishing DeSci project that aims to completely transform the publishing model of traditional scientific research journals. It uses blockchain technology to build a new scientific research exchange platform, allowing researchers to publish their research results more conveniently on ResearchHub, and stimulate the vitality and creativity of the scientific research community with unique incentives.
Interestingly, after this, Brian Armstrong, Google Ventures partner Blake Byers, Greg Johnson, and Jacob Kimmel co-founded NewLimit, a project to extend human life. There is currently little information about NewLimit, and it is not clear whether it is another layout of Brian Armstrong in the field of DeSci, but it has started Brian Armstrong's exploration journey in the field of biomedicine.
2. Paul Kohlhaas
Crypto projects that have appeared: Molecule, BIO Protocol, Pump.Science
Paul Kohlhaas is a relatively active figure in the crypto field and has participated in multiple crypto-related projects. In addition to his experience working at the well-known blockchain company ConsenSys, it is most worth mentioning that Paul Kohlhaas often appears in the same project with Tyler Golato from the first echelon, which may imply that the two have a good working relationship.
Paul Kohlhaas graduated with a degree in Economics and Politics from the University of St. Gallen. Before entering the crypto field, he was a member of the private equity business group of the Frankfurt office of White & Case LLP law firm. He specializes in private equity transactions and domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, and provides consulting in areas such as private equity, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate law.
After entering the encryption field, he worked for a period of time at ConsenSys and uPort, and then started his entrepreneurial career.
Paul Kohlhaas first co-founded Molecule with Tyler Golato and then co-founded BIO Protocol.
Pump.Science is a Desci track meme coin issuance platform launched by Molecule based on Solana, allowing users to participate in the prediction of drug effects and the trading of experimental data by trading meme coins representing drugs.
3. Laura Minquini
Crypto projects: VitaDAO, AthenaDAO
Laura Minquini can be said to be a representative of successful people in other fields. She is a female entrepreneur who has accumulated some entrepreneurial experience in the fields 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 and she is good at brand promotion and business development. She launched the first fashion-focused technology accessories product "case scenario", and achieved global premium distribution and millions of dollars in sales within a year, and became a third-party supplier for Apple. She has also worked with companies such as Louis Vuitton, Apple, and Pantone.
In 2019, Laura Minquini founded MYKIGAI, a platform for longevity discovery and recommendations, which marked the beginning of her exploration into the big health industry.
She then joined VitaDAO as a contributor, met Tyler Golato, and founded AthenaDAO, a new decentralized collective that funds women's health research and development (Tyler Golato serves as an advisor to AthenaDAO).
As a cross-border person who entered the DeSci track, Laura Minquini can be said to have "embraced the right thigh", but perhaps it was because of her interest in the broad field of big health? If she is more active and works harder, Laura Minquini is expected to rise to the first echelon.
4. Vincent Weisser
Participating projects: PrimeIntellect, Molecule, VitaDAO, BIO Protocol
Vincent Weisser is primarily a technician. He does not have a very 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 provides consulting services to Vita DAO. At Molecule, he serves as a consultant.
His latest development is the creation of Prime Intellect, a decentralized artificial intelligence platform, as its founder and CEO, which aims to commoditize computing and intelligence, provide developers with more affordable distributed computing, and a sustainable business model with an open source model.
Perhaps Vincent Weisser is not interested in DeSci, and Prime Intellect just announced this year that it has completed a $5.5 million seed round of financing - maybe one day looking back, he may slide to the third or even fourth tier of the DeSci track.
Conclusion
Compared with the first-tier and second-tier DeSci entrepreneurs, the resumes of the founders of the third-tier and fourth-tier founders are ordinary. Take HairDAO, a popular hair loss treatment project, as an example. Its founder Andrew Verbinnen has been engaged in investment in the commercial real estate industry for many years. Because he was deeply troubled by hair loss and became interested in encrypted digital currencies, he came up with the idea of creating HairDAO. Another example is GenomesDAO, a data-based company. Its founder Aldo de Pape is the founder and CEO of the cloud learning platform TeachPitch. Earlier, he mainly worked in the publishing industry to develop business.
These entrepreneurs all have remarkable work experience, but the DeSci track has attracted a continuous influx of elites in vertical fields, and a cruel "chain of contempt" has been formed. Judging from the characteristics of the projects sought after by investors, founders with directly related experience are more favored: that is, there is reason to believe that they have a higher success rate in this track.
