Why Resy Founder is Building in Crypto | Ben Leventhal & Li Jin

In this episode of Empire, Li Jin from Variant Fund and Ben Leventhal from Blackbird and co-founder of Resy, cover the intersection of the consumer market and crypto. They delve into the history of consumer startups, the limitations of traditional businesses in the dining industry, and the potential of crypto to transform ownership. Ben discusses Blackbird and how it addresses issues in the restaurant industry by establishing better connection and understanding between restaurants and customers. To close out Li touches on her vision for consumer crypto leading into 2024. Thanks for tuning in! 

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Follow Li: https://twitter.com/ljin18
Follow Ben: https://twitter.com/benleventhal
Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz
Follow Santiago: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel
Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepod

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Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ 

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Planning to grant token awards for your team? Toku makes implementing global token compensation and incentive awards simple.

With Toku, you get unmatched legal and tax support to grant and administer your global team’s tokens. Toku navigates it across the lifecycle — from easy to use token grant award templates through tracking vesting to managing tax withholdings.

Make it simple today, at
https://www.toku.com/empire
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Timestamps:
(00:00) End of Times for Consumer Apps
(05:58) Consumer Crypto's Advantage
(17:22) Identity Rails for Restaurants
(21:23) Balancing Blockchain & Consumer Rights
(27:45) Complexity of Building On Web3
(30:00) Toku ad
(31:16) Variant Fund Approach to Consumer Crypto
(36:23) Why Use Crypto?
(41:54) FLY Token & Progressive Ownership
(46:44) Mitigating Attack Vectors
(50:21) Consumer Crypto in 2024
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Resources

Blackbird Docs
https://www.blackbird.xyz/flypaper

Li Jin Barrier to Mainstream Adoption
https://variant.fund/articles/barrier-to-mainstream-crypto-adoption-is-product-market-fit/

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Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

In this episode of Empire, Li Jin from Variant Fund and Ben Leventhal from Blackbird and co-founder of Resy, cover the intersection of the consumer market and crypto. They delve into the history of consumer startups, the limitations of traditional businesses in the dining industry, and the potential of crypto to transform ownership. Ben discusses Blackbird and how it addresses issues in the restaurant industry by establishing better connection and understanding between restaurants and customers. To close out Li touches on her vision for consumer crypto leading into 2024. Thanks for tuning in! 

- -

Follow Li: https://twitter.com/ljin18

Follow Ben: https://twitter.com/benleventhal

Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz

Follow Santiago: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel

Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepod

Subscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2j

Subscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7

Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprw

Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ 

- -

Planning to grant token awards for your team? Toku makes implementing global token compensation and incentive awards simple.

With Toku, you get unmatched legal and tax support to grant and administer your global team’s tokens. Toku navigates it across the lifecycle — from easy to use token grant award templates through tracking vesting to managing tax withholdings.

Make it simple today, at

https://www.toku.com/empire

- -

Timestamps:

(00:00) End of Times for Consumer Apps

(05:58) Consumer Crypto's Advantage

(17:22) Identity Rails for Restaurants

(21:23) Balancing Blockchain & Consumer Rights

(27:45) Complexity of Building On Web3

(30:00) Toku ad

(31:16) Variant Fund Approach to Consumer Crypto

(36:23) Why Use Crypto?

(41:54) FLY Token & Progressive Ownership

(46:44) Mitigating Attack Vectors

(50:21) Consumer Crypto in 2024

- -

Resources

Blackbird Docs

https://www.blackbird.xyz/flypaper

Li Jin Barrier to Mainstream Adoption

https://variant.fund/articles/barrier-to-mainstream-crypto-adoption-is-product-market-fit/

- -

Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.