The formation of a disdain chain among DeSci track entrepreneurs: "Scarcity" of entrepreneurs in vertical fields

Author: Arain, ChainCatcher

"DeSci" is not a new concept, but since November this year, the term has suddenly gone viral within the community—especially during the Devcon in November, where it was strongly endorsed by Binance co-founder CZ and Ethereum founder Vitalik, making many feel the shift in trends. According to Dune data, the popularity of DeSci continues to rise, becoming the leading narrative in recent times.

DeSci (Decentralized Science) is a movement that aims to establish fair public infrastructure in the field of scientific research using the Web3 stack to fund, create, review, validate, store, and disseminate scientific knowledge, according to the Ethereum Foundation's definition. Specifically, DeSci aims to address challenges in traditional scientific research, such as funding difficulties, insufficient data sharing, and low research transparency. Currently, projects focused on solving funding issues are the main type in the DeSci space.

According to RootData, there are currently as many as 32 projects in the DeSci space, making it somewhat overwhelming to sift through them. However, projects with outstanding founders or co-founders are rare. If we were to rank these DeSci entrepreneurs, it would form a hierarchy of disdain among DeSci founders: highly vertical entrepreneurs > top elites from crypto/other industries > finance professionals > serial entrepreneurs from other industries.

First Tier

First-tier DeSci entrepreneurs not only have directly relevant backgrounds but are also energetic, holding key positions across multiple projects—however, such entrepreneurs are quite scarce. Among the DeSci projects endorsed by CZ and Vitalik, there are first-tier entrepreneurs.

1. Tyler Golato

Active in crypto projects: Molecule, VitaDAO, BIO Protocol, PsyDAO (psychedelics), AthenaDAO (women's health), Pump.Science

In the above projects, Tyler Golato holds positions such as initiator and advisor. Notably, he is the co-founder, chief scientist, and CEO of the open-source drug development protocol Molecule and a co-founder of the community collective VitaDAO, which focuses on the commercialization of longevity therapies.

In terms of background, 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-med focus) and studied at the National Institutes of Health's National Institute on Aging - Laboratory of Molecular Gerontology from 2015 to 2017 under Dr. David M. Wilson III and Dr. Vilhelm Bohr, focusing on repairing endogenous DNA damage.

He also worked in Robert Fine's lab at Columbia University, researching chemotherapy resistance mechanisms in pancreatic cancer and developing new treatment strategies for various cancers.

Awards and honors: He was a recipient of the NIH Academy Fellows Program and became a finalist in Ignite in 2016, among others.

Published research representative 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

Active in crypto projects: Vibe Bio

Alok Tayi is an entrepreneur in the biopharmaceutical vertical, but currently, his only known involvement in a crypto project, Vibe Bio, seems to be relatively unknown (with little media coverage). Interestingly, Vibe Bio has an impressive lineup of investors, including 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 Ploymarket.

Returning to Alok's background, he graduated from Cornell University and obtained a Ph.D. 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—both of which have hundreds of employees and over four hundred clients.

Alok founded Vibe Bio after his daughter was diagnosed with a rare disease, as he personally realized that the biggest barrier to developing treatments is not finding potential therapies but securing funding for them.

Alok has published articles in renowned media and journals such as Forbes, Nature, and Nature Chemistry.

3. Simone Fantaccini

Active in crypto projects: SynapseDAO

This is a low-profile yet significant DeSci entrepreneur, with information about Simone Fantaccini being the founder of SynapseDAO hidden in a guest invitation list for a biopharmaceutical forum.

In fact, Simone Fantaccini is still the head of medical affairs and chief strategy officer at Novartis, a multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company based in Switzerland.

Simone Fantaccini is an enthusiastic learner, holding an MD from the University of Florence, a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the Polytechnic University of Milan, and an MBA from MIP Politecnico di Milano. Most of his time has been spent working on and promoting biopharmaceutical-related projects, primarily focusing on research related to multiple sclerosis, and he participated in the study "Activation of Natalizumab in Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis."

However, in 2023, he began researching cryptocurrencies, first serving as a board member at Native Digital DNA (a project based on RFID Smart Dust DNA for physical asset chain certification solutions), and later that year, he founded Synapse Sciences, where he serves as co-founder and president.

This year, Synapse DAO, named after Synapse Sciences, emerged, aiming to fund research and development for neglected neurological diseases. In this DAO, Simone Fantaccini also brought in Scott Howell, former chief strategy officer of Novartis USA and a medical doctor. This means that Synapse DAO has two Novartis people; he is not working alone.

Continuing to work at Novartis while starting up Synapse DAO, Simone Fantaccini is actively networking and serves as a member of the advisory board at VitaDAO.

It proves that capable individuals often have rich experiences and are multi-faceted.

Second Tier

The resumes of second-tier entrepreneurs are relatively less vertical but still impressive, with many entrepreneurs' projects being highly anticipated by the market and frequently mentioned.

1. Brian Armstrong

Active in crypto projects: ResearchHub, Coinbase

Starting from scratch to establish Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, who is still a co-founder of Coinbase, naturally attracts attention for his entrepreneurial actions in the DeSci field.

Brian Armstrong graduated from Rice University with dual bachelor's degrees in Economics and Computer Science, as well as a master's degree in Computer Science. He previously worked as a developer at IBM and as a consultant at Deloitte.

In 2011, Brian Armstrong joined Airbnb as a software engineer, during which he encountered issues related to payment systems and cross-border payments, inspiring him to create a cryptocurrency-related business.

In 2012, Brian Armstrong co-founded Coinbase with Fred Ehrsam, which has now become the largest cryptocurrency exchange platform in the United States.

In the DeSci space, Brian Armstrong founded ResearchHub, a publishing-oriented DeSci project aimed at completely transforming the traditional publishing model of scientific journals. By leveraging blockchain technology, it builds a new platform for scientific communication, allowing researchers to publish their findings more conveniently on ResearchHub and stimulating the vitality and creativity of the research community with unique incentives.

Interestingly, after this, Brian Armstrong, along with Google Ventures partner Blake Byers, Greg Johnson, and Jacob Kimmel, co-founded a project focused on extending human lifespan called NewLimit. Currently, there is little information about NewLimit, and it is unclear whether this is another venture by Brian Armstrong in the DeSci field, but it marks the beginning of his exploration in the biopharmaceutical sector.

2. Paul Kohlhaas

Active in crypto projects: Molecule, BIO Protocol, Pump.Science

Paul Kohlhaas is a relatively active figure in the crypto space, participating in multiple crypto-related projects. Besides his experience working at the well-known blockchain company ConsenSys, it is worth mentioning that Paul Kohlhaas often appears in the same projects as first-tier entrepreneur Tyler Golato, which may suggest a good working relationship between the two.

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 White & Case LLP, specializing in private equity transactions and domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, providing consulting in private equity, M&A, and corporate law.

After entering the crypto field, he worked for a while at ConsenSys and uPort before starting his entrepreneurial journey.

Paul Kohlhaas first co-founded Molecule with Tyler Golato and then co-created BIO Protocol.

Pump.Science is a meme coin platform launched by Molecule based on Solana, allowing users to participate in drug effect predictions and experimental data trading through trading meme coins representing drugs.

3. Laura Minquini

Active in crypto projects: VitaDAO, AthenaDAO

Laura Minquini can be seen as a representative of successful individuals from 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, where she excelled in brand promotion and business development. She launched the first tech accessory product focused on fashion, "case scenario," achieving global premium distribution and millions of dollars in sales within a year, and became a third-party supplier for Apple. She has also collaborated with companies such as Louis Vuitton, Apple, and Pantone.

In 2019, Laura Minquini founded MYKIGAI, a platform for longevity discovery and recommendations, marking the beginning of her exploration into the health industry.

Afterward, she joined VitaDAO as a contributor and met Tyler Golato, co-founding 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 individual entering the DeSci space, Laura Minquini can be said to have "found the right leg to hug," but perhaps it is also due to her interest in the broad field of health? With a bit more activity and effort, Laura Minquini is expected to rise to the first tier.

4. Vincent Weisser

Active in projects: PrimeIntellect, Molecule, VitaDAO, BIO Protocol

Vincent Weisser is primarily a technical person. He does not have a particularly outstanding background, but he has participated in three well-known DeSci projects: Molecule, VitaDAO, and BIO Protocol, collaborating with Paul Kohlhaas and Tyler Golato.

Vincent is also one of the co-founders of VitaDAO and provides consulting for it. At Molecule, he serves as an advisor.

His latest development is the creation of a decentralized artificial intelligence platform called Prime Intellect, where he serves as founder and CEO. This platform aims to commodify computing and intelligent goods, providing developers with more affordable distributed computing and sustainable business models for open-source models.

Perhaps Vincent Weisser is not focused on DeSci, and Prime Intellect just announced the completion of a $5.5 million seed round this year—perhaps one day looking back, he may slide down to the third or even fourth tier of the DeSci space.

Conclusion

Compared to first-tier and second-tier DeSci entrepreneurs, the founders in the third and fourth tiers have more ordinary resumes. For example, the founder of the popular hair loss treatment project HairDAO, Andrew Verbinnen, has worked in the commercial real estate investment sector for many years. Troubled by hair loss and having developed an interest in cryptocurrencies, he conceived the idea of founding HairDAO. Similarly, for data-related GenomesDAO, its founder, Aldo de Pape, is the founder and CEO of the cloud learning platform TeachPitch, who previously worked mainly in business development in the publishing industry.

These entrepreneurs have commendable work experiences, but as the DeSci space has developed, it has attracted a continuous influx of elites from vertical fields, and a brutal "hierarchy of disdain" has formed. From the characteristics of projects favored by investors, founders with directly relevant experience are more favored: it is reasonable to believe that they have a higher success rate in this space.