Details
Aditya Palepu is Co-Founder & CEO at DerivaDEX. Duke Eng '13 (ECE/CS). Blockchain, ML/AI enthusiast. D.C. sports fanatic and burrito lover. Formerly, Software Engineer at Enigma MPC, Algorithmic trader/researcher at DRW Trading Group. Studied at Duke University (B.S.E. Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science).
Work Experience
Education Experience
Relevance Person
Fabio Berger
Fabio Berger is the Co-founder and CEO of BlowfishXYZ. He has a Duke Computer Science degree, is a Full Stack Engineer, and co-founded WealthLift.com and ShelfRelief.
Ashwin Ramachandran
Ashwin Ramachandran was General Partner at Dragonfly Capital, former Product & Research Engineer at ThunderCore.
Peter Najarian
Peter Najarian is a managing partner at RW3 Ventures and was previously chief revenue officer at BitGo. He holds an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
Olly Wilson
Olly Wilson is the Co-Founder & CEO at SimpleHash. He presively worked at McKinsey & Company. Olly Wilson graduated from Duke University and Harvard Business School.
W Bradford Stephens
Brad Stephens is Co-founder and Managing Partner of Blockchain Capital, the premier venture capital fund investing in the blockchain technology sector and the first to raise a venture fund through an ICO. Prior to Blockchain Capital, Brad was Managing Partner of Stephens Investment Management LLC (SIM), which he co-founded in 2002. His diverse background in domestic and international finance includes sell-side securities analysis, hedge fund management, venture capital, and family office management. Prior to co-founding SIM, Brad worked as the senior analyst at Fidelity Ventures, the venture capital arm of Fidelity Investments. At Fidelity, Brad focused on the areas of Internet Security and New Media, leading investments into e-Security, Sanctum, and Managed Objects. He also founded Fidelity's Biometric Consortium, a cutting-edge collaboration of all Fidelity's business units designed to explore, pilot, and implement biometric security systems within Fidelity and eventually its consumer clients. Brad also worked as a research analyst in CSFB's Technology Group, specializing in Internet Security and Internet infrastructure software. While at CSFB, Brad helped raise over $1.3 billion for companies under coverage. Prior to working at CSFB, Brad worked as a research analyst at Furman Selz (later acquired by ING Barings), where he co-founded their Internet Research Group and co-authored the first financial industry piece on Internet Security. Brad holds a B.A. in Economics from Duke University.
Matthew Walsh
Prior to founding Castle Island Ventures, Matt was a Vice President at Fidelity Investments where he led a number of the firm’s blockchain / cryptoasset initiatives. While at Fidelity, he led the creation, operationalization, and the investment strategy of a private fund focused exclusively on the cryptoasset sector. Matt holds a BS in Business Administration from Babson College and an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
Matt Alston
Matt Alston is the Co-founder of Bonfire. He started his career as a Product Manager at Uber, focusing on rider loyalty and rewards programs.
Melissa Zhang
Melissa Zhang is the Co-founder of Bonfire. She is also a Software Engineer at Coinbase and the Founder of Duke Blockchain Lab.
Brian Quintenz
Brian Quintenz is the Head of Policy for a16z crypto, where he helps to translate between the crypto and policy communities.Brian has long stood out as an innovative thinker in crypto and DeFi and was one of the earliest leaders in Washington to recognize the value of crypto. Brian initially joined a16z crypto as a senior advisor. In December 2022, he moved to the full-time role leading its policy team. Prior to joining a16z, he was nominated by both Presidents Obama and Trump to serve as commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) .Prior to his appointment to the CFTC, Brian was the Founder and Managing Principal of Saeculum Capital Management, LLC.Brian received his B.S. from Duke University and M.B.A. from Georgetown University.
Jess L.
Jess L. is the Chief Marketing Officer at Hooked Protocol. Presively, She worked as Marketing Strategist at Google and Uber.Jess L. graduated from Duke University.