Welcome to EARLY, the podcast about web3 business from Bankless Consulting.
DSide's guest today is Christophe Lassuyt, an experienced Financial Analyst and data-driven insights specialist who co-founded Request Finance in September 2017. Starting as the CFO, he now serves as the CEO. He is a YC W17 alumni and an active member of the web3 CFO club, a community of Finance & Operations leaders in Web3. Prior to his involvement with Request, Christophe held various positions in finance companies, including Moneytis, Euranka, and Amaris, where he served as a co-founder, Chief Financial Officer, and International Finance Manager, respectively.
Request Finance offers an all-in-one finance solution for web3 businesses. The platform allows organizations, DAOs, and freelancers to manage their invoicing, payroll, and expenses in cryptocurrencies. Trusted by leading web3 companies like The Sandbox, Aave, The Graph, and Near Protocol, Request Finance raised a seed round of $5.5 million in April 2022, with investments from notable VCs such as Animoca Brands and Balderton Capital.
In the episode, DSide and Christophe discuss why building out the financial infrastructure for finance in Web3 may be the key to unlocking its potential. They discuss the current limitations and hurdles preventing adoption, including poor UX and the chicken-and-egg problem in Web3 preventing mainstream adoption. Currently, Web3 needs better products to draw in a more extensive user base. Christophe believes Request can assist this transition by building out the financial infrastructure that Web3 will run on in a seamless, easy-to-understand on-ramp for Web2 companies.
Dside and Christophe talk about how businesses may become early adopters of Web3 due to the inefficiencies in the current systems of cross-border payments. I.e., SWIFT. They discuss the need for a privacy layer for companies to operate. They also touch on compliance in Web3 and how Request assists this by establishing a standardized global invoicing service that can be catered to each region. They end the episode discussing specifically which industries will be the earliest adopters before finishing on the merits of cooperation between industry leaders in Web3 vs. the competitive nature in Web2.
***Timestamps***
0:00 - Guest Background
9:10 - What's missing in blockchain accounting and payments?
10:50 - Evolving market
14:30 - User experience Infrastructure
16:40 - Privacy
18:45 - How payments work
24:00 - Request Roadmap
26:10 - Global Compliance
16:40 - Privacy
30:00 - Onboarding businesses into crypto
34:55 - Education
***Additional Resources***
Twitter - Christophe Lassuyt
Twitter - Request Finance
Website - Request Finance
LinkedIn - Christophe Lassuyt
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***Links***
26. Christophe Lassuyt: How Request Finance is building the global Web3 financial payment infrastructure