About

As a father and proud nerd I'm often day dreaming about how technology will define our future.

Whether it's colonizing Mars 🧑‍🚀, partying in the Metaverse 🥳 or merging with machines 🦾, I wonder not only what life will be like for my kids but for my great great grandkids.

When it comes to my generation, there is a huge transformation underway thanks to cryptocurrencies. The deeper I go, the more I realize it is setting us on a path to build the best version of the future. For this reason, I've chosen to dedicate my career to the space.

This blog is an attempt to share what I'm learning and what's on my mind. It spans across a few topics ranging from decentralized protocols and applications I've discovered. Along with tips on building and launching products and lessons I've learned in life.

A little more about me 👇

I'm originally from Brazil and have been lucky to grow up in China, Mexico, Greece and Spain before settling in California for college. My interest in how money works originated from the fact that I experienced a financial crisis in almost every country I lived in 🤷‍♂️. I was fascinated by how money was used to improve and destroy people's livelihoods. Problem was, I found banking incredibly boring. At the same time I had an alter ego that would come out after the sun went down. Something about computers had me completely mesmerized. You were likely to find me scouring electronics markets in search of PC parts, creating animations for Newgrounds and Deviantart or spending full weekends competing in Counter Strike tournaments with my clan.

Thankfully I arrived in Silicon Valley at a time when consumer web, fintech and lean startups were taking off. I was hopeful that other career options existed and that I wouldn't need to wear a suit and tie every day. These passions merged in mid-2013 when I discovered Bitcoin while helping a friend host the weekly Silicon Valley Bitcoin Meetup. It took me a couple months but once it hit me, it hit me hard. I knew it was the future and I wanted to be a part of it.

From there I joined Xapo, a Bitcoin bank, in early 2014 as their Head of Business Development. I feel incredibly lucky to have had a chance to work with and shadow incredible mentors including Wences, Ted, Tibu and Fede. They trusted and gave me the opportunity to lead and launch products that at the time were industry-first. Some of these included obtaining insurance for their cold storage located inside an old Swiss missile-silo, launching the world's first bitcoin debit card, creating an app store for crypto mobile games and building a peer-to-peer cash network in emerging markets. There were tons of lessons, wins and scars. It was like taking an MBA on leadership, product management, team building, operations and growth all at the same time.

After 6 years with the company and almost 2 years trying to launch a credit card business I pondered how to best use my skills to help push the crypto industry forward. It was hard to settle on just one thing. Crypto is eating the world and I wanted it all 😛. In early 2021 I started putting together some thoughts and created a thesis for a $20MM operator-focused, solo GP, crypto generalist VC firm. By March 2022 Compa Capital was born. My goal is to support and empower teams that are building bridges between our physical and virtual worlds.

If you've gotten this far and think I'm a cool dude please reach out and lets connect. I'd love to get to know you. The best way to reach me is at @fern_gouveia on Twitter.