Episode 4 - Sébastien Couture - Building the future with blockchain
As much as everyone in Startupland talks about disruption, let’s be honest: there’s not as much disruption out there as there’s cracked up to be. However, however...blockchain is one of those areas that may be living up to the hype. We sat down with one of the co-founders of Stratumn, the highest-funded blockchain startup in France.
Sébastien is a great example of someone who proves there’s more than one model for being a successful startup entrepreneur. As his professors described him, he’s “atypical”: he’s both a self-taught developer, and has a degree in marketing and communications. What’s more, he was educated in Canada as well as in France.
In a wide-ranging discussion, Sébastien walks us through how he got started in the blockchain world (including launching the very successful Epicenter blockchain podcast) and how the relationships that he’s developed over time have helped Stratumn grow from a vision to a leading blockchain infrastructure business with two rounds of funding.
For technical founders who don’t like glitzy marketing, there are so many lessons to be learned here. Sébastien is big on relationship development, building a community and listening. In a world full of so many more pontificators than listeners, he provides some valuable lessons in how to build your business with open communication channels between you and your users.
In addition, we hear about both the upsides and the challenges of building a startup in Paris with a team that looks like the UN. Communicating across cultures is not always easy, but embracing the challenge is certainly paying off for Stratumn.
There’s so much helpful advice here, you’re going to want to listen to this a few times to get it all.