Matthew Graham: Bringing Crypto to Emerging Markets - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP.42]

Oct 15, 2022

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ADVICE

Be Long-Term And Maintain Trust

Prioritize long-term, high-trust relationships with founders over short-term capital recycling.
Avoid investing in direct competitors to preserve trust and effectiveness as a hands-on investor.

INSIGHT

Founder-First With Thematic Overlays

Sino uses a founder-first, bottom-up process while overlaying thematic beliefs like increasing financial complexity.
They bet on adaptable founders and expect pivots across early-stage startups.

ADVICE

Do Rigorous DD, Then Decide Fast

Move decisively once rigorous due diligence gives you a clear signal; avoid sitting on the fence.
Combine deep DD with fast decision-making to capture high-quality, time-sensitive opportunities.

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This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Matthew Graham. Matt is the co-founder and CEO of Sino Global Capital, a venture firm that made early investments in FTX, Solana, Wintermute, and other notable crypto projects. We discuss the origin story of Sino Global and delve into investing in China and emerging markets, including India, the Middle East, and Africa. Matt discusses his views on reinventing financial infrastructure, from TradFi to DeFi. Please enjoy this conversation with Matthew Graham.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.

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Show Notes

[00:02:13] - [First question] - How he got into one of the hardest asset classes in emerging markets

[00:04:43] - What lead him to China and where he first started his career

[00:06:52] - The origin story of Sino Capital and what its first iteration looked like

[00:09:13] - Whether or not he felt he had an edge in the early days

[00:09:44] - Being comfortable in an uncomfortable idiosyncratic position and if he would have ever gone back to a traditional path

[00:11:06] - What European and Western investors would miss and not understand about the regions he invests in

[00:12:07] - His take on Chinese and Indian markets and their similarities and differences

[00:13:05] - Deciding to enter these markets and what gave him the confidence to do so

[00:14:18] - How often he’s dealing with international founders versus local ones

[00:15:07] - The Sino Capital business model and balancing being long-term greedy with stakeholder needs

[00:18:22] - Thoughts on evaluating founding teams and where Sino wants to invest

[00:22:22] - How long they wait to invest after first meeting a team or founder

[00:24:44] - What percentage of his time is spent sourcing new deals versus managing the existing portfolio

[00:26:16] - Whether or not he’s relied on the insight of investors and mentors when it comes to how he’s structured Sino Capital

[00:27:25] - His philosophy when it comes to bringing new people onto the team

[00:29:58] - The turnover rate of Sino interns and how many become employees

[00:31:24] - Ways to explain to laypeople the differences between TradFi and DeFi and the what DeFi will unlock for the future

[00:35:38] - How he’d rebuild TradFi if he could wave a magic wand

[00:39:24] - Walking through the pros and cons of the role regulation will play in crypto

[00:44:21] - Where he’d suggest a young entrepreneur go in the world to find a new frontier and which asset classes they should participate in

[00:45:59] - What he’s most excited to see built in the next six months and six years

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