MoneyNeverSleeps – Détails, épisodes et analyse

This week, we’re tapping into the intersection of hip-hop, technology, education and startups with a true pioneer—Arabian Prince.

If you know your rap history, you know Arabian Prince as one of the founding members of N.W.A, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame rap group that redefined music and culture. But what you might not know is that he’s also a lifelong technologist, entrepreneur and futurist—a kid from Compton who got his hands on a computer early and never looked back.

From songwriting, rapping and DJ-ing to producing electro-funk beats and Grammy-nominated #1 hit song Supersonic to leading innovation in 3D animation, video games, and blockchain, he’s been pushing the boundaries of technology for decades.

In this episode, we talk about how a chance encounter with an N.W.A-inspired crypto-merch baseball cap led to this conversation, and from there, we cover everything—his early love for tech, how music and technology shaped his career, and his mission as founder of INov8 Next Open Labs and co-founder of INov8 Capital to bring the next generation of kids into the world of tech.

Form beats to bytes, Arabian’s story is all about curiosity, hustle, creativity, and breaking boundaries—whether it’s in music, business, or technology, so this is one you don’t want to miss.

EPISODE LINKS

• Follow OGArabianPrince on social: Instagram | LinkedIn | X/Twitter

• Learn more about iNov8 Next Open Labs

• Learn about Arabian Prince’s music and past work here

• Check out Arabian Prince’s GGGOAT Golf and GGGOAT PC brands 

• Check out Swarm, the crypto real-world asset platform that started this conversation: www.swarm.com

QUOTES FROM THE EPISODE

• “I was just a kid with a computer in Compton. That changed everything for me.”

• “If you want to make real change, you have to give kids access—not just knowledge, but tools, networks, and opportunities.”

• “Most of the people running tech companies today grew up on our music. That connection helps me open doors to push innovation forward.”

SHOW NOTES 

01:45 – The backstory: A crypto merch cap leads to this conversation

04:10 – Growing up in Compton, discovering computers, and early influences

08:50 – Blending music and technology: from electro-funk to hip-hop

11:15 – The birth of N.W.A and leveraging tech in the studio

14:40 – Why Arabian Prince left N.W.A and pivoted into animation and video games

16:20 – Working on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Silver Surfer, and Casper

18:30 – Founding iNov8 Next Open Labs and building tech education initiatives

21:05 – The regional approach: Adapting tech education to different U.S. communities

24:15 – Leveraging relationships and hip-hop’s legacy to open doors in tech

27:40 – Thoughts on blockchain, AI, and the future of digital ownership

29:50 – The impact of teaching kids about technology and entrepreneurship

32:00 – Fun facts about Arabian Prince: his love for SpongeBob and video games

34:00 – Arabian’s connection to Ireland and plans for visiting soon

35:00 – Closing thoughts and where to find Arabian Prince online

Keywords: #arabianprince #nwa #rap #hiphop #tech #education #inov8next

Shout-outs and hat-tips: Amor Sexton, Philipp Pieper, Timo Lehes, Katie Evans, Kene Ezeji-Okoye

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• Pete Townsend: https://twitter.com/petetownsendnv

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Laura Walsh returns this week to help me unpack the whirlwind of events shaking up crypto, finance, and politics—from Trump’s memecoin antics to regulatory shifts and the ever-increasing adoption of crypto by institutional finance.

Laura Walsh is a Techstars All Star Mentor, advisor, founder, web3 OG and friend, and in this episode, we dive into:

• Trump’s Memecoin Playbook – How the former U.S. president’s memecoins raked in millions in fees and what it says about crypto speculation today.

• Gary Gensler’s Exit from the SEC – What his departure means for the regulatory landscape and whether this signals a new era for crypto.

• Institutional Finance Embracing Blockchain – The latest on Circle’s acquisition of Hashnote’s tokenized money market fund and why crypto natives, not TradFi, are fueling the real-world asset movement.

• Regulatory Clarity & Crypto Adoption – How the SEC’s new crypto task force led by Hester Peirce is changing the conversation around compliance and innovation.

• Lessons from the Irish Whiskey Trade Battle – A fascinating parallel between crypto lobbying and how the Irish whiskey industry successfully pushed for tariff exclusions in the U.S.

• Canada’s Response to Trump’s Trade Threats – The geopolitical implications of America’s shifting trade policies and how Canadians are rallying against expansionist rhetoric.

There’s no shortage of action in this episode—memecoins, market shifts, regulatory updates, and some fascinating history lessons all packed into one conversation!

Resources & Mentions:

Gary Gensler Leaves SEC, and Cryptocurrency-Friendly Mark Uyeda Is Appointed (Binance, 20-Jan-25)

SEC Forms New Crypto Task Force Spearheaded by Hester Peirce (CoinDesk, 21-Jan-25)

Trump’s meme coin is a reminder of crypto’s dumbest use case (CNN, 21-Jan-25)

Alternative viewpoint on memecoins from Kevin DeGods (X/Twitter, 20-Jan-25)

Canada has threatened ‘dollar for dollar’ retaliatory tariffs and ‘nothing is off the table’ (National Post, 21-Jan-25)

The Irish whiskey playbook: an insider’s guide to how firms must navigate Trump’s DC (Business Post, 20-Jan-25)

Dfns Raises $16 Million to Expand Crypto Wallet Infrastructure (Pymnts.com, 17-Jan-25)

Circle buys tokenized money market fund Hashnote-USYC (Finextra, 21-Jan-25)

Tornado Cash off OFAC List (Cointelegraph, 22-Jan-25)

Ross Ulbricht pardoned (X, 21-Jan-25)

Connect with Laura Walsh on social media:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauralwalsh/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheOGLauraWalsh

Keywords: Trump, memecoins, crypto, regulations, SEC, tokenized assets

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• MoneyNeverSleeps (website)

Email us: info@norioventures.com

Follow on X(Twitter):

• Pete Townsend: https://twitter.com/petetownsendnv

• MoneyNeverSleeps: https://twitter.com/MNSshow

Follow on LinkedIn:

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MoneyNeverSleeps newsletter: https://moneyneversleeps.substack.com/

Niall Dennehy is an Irish entrepreneur and the co-founder and COO of AID:Tech, who are bringing traceability and transparency to the flow of funds for governments, NGOs and charities with their payments and digital identity infrastructure bridging web2 to web3. 

In this episode, Pete Townsend reconnects with Niall to explore the groundbreaking journey of their mission-driven company since Niall was last on MoneyNeverSleeps in 2018 (episode 11 linked here and below).

The conversation spans the company's digital identity and payments innovations, especially through their Kare Wallet which accelerates financial assistance to disaster survivors. Leveraging blockchain technology, the platform ensures transparent, traceable, and secure distribution of relief funds, partnering with entities like Walmart to prevent misuse.

Niall reflects on the emotional impact on both survivors and AID:Tech employees, underscoring the mission that deeply resonates with their team. The discussion delves into strategic approaches to funding, including securing non-dilutive grants, engaging with VCs, and the valuable experiences from accelerator programs like Techstars. 

Niall and Pete also touch upon the 'Five H's' of success - happy, hungry, humble, helpful, and healthy - emphasizing the importance of holistic wellbeing in driving sustained impact and growth for AID:Tech. Overall, this episode offers an insightful look into AID:Tech's ethos, their strategic growth, and the pivotal role of technology in enhancing disaster relief efforts.

The Techstars Web3 accelerator invests in entrepreneurs building in web3 and enabling the next wave of growth in the decentralized internet and in tokenized economies.  Applications are now open for the Spring 2025 class, so check out techstars.com/accelerators/web3 to apply.  

TIMESTAMPS:

00:36 Meet Niall Dennehy: Co-Founder of AID:Tech

01:48 AID:Tech's Impact and Innovations

03:19 The Evolution of AID:Tech 

04:22 The Core Mission: Identity and Payments

07:44 Real-World Applications and Success Stories

11:18 Challenges and Perseverance in the Startup World

13:08 Future of Payments and Digital Identity

14:19 The Kare Survivor Wallet in Action

20:02 Community Impact and Personal Stories

24:55 The Flywheel of a Mission-Driven Startup

26:02 Philosophical Insights and Team Alignment

27:36 Navigating Fundraising for Impact Ventures

30:56 The Importance of Non-Dilutive Capital

33:50 Personal Growth and Mindset

36:37 The Five H's for Founders

39:27 Final Thoughts and Gratitude

LINKS:

Follow Niall Dennehy

-X/(Twitter): https://twitter.com/dennehyniall

-LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/niall-dennehy-bb311016/

Learn more about:

-AID:Tech: https://www.aid.technology/

-Techstars Web3 Accelerator:  https://www.techstars.com/accelerators/web3

Links referenced in the episode:

Post on the Kare Survivor Wallet’s deployment for hurricane relief aid 

Episode 11 of MoneyNeverSleeps from August 2018: 

Matt Keller’s X/(Twitter) post on Algorand and the Kare Wallet

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-Apple Podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1455819294

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-Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvaaHrJjizUEd0-93mjCKsQ

MoneyNeverSleeps newsletter on Substack: https://moneyneversleeps.substack.com/

MoneyNeverSleeps website:  https://www.moneyneversleeps.ie/

Email us at info@norioventures.com

Follow on X(Twitter): 

-Pete Townsend: https://twitter.com/petetownsendnv

-MoneyNeverSleeps: https://twitter.com/MNSshow  

Follow on LinkedIn:

-Pete Townsend: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pete-townsend-1b18301a/

-MoneyNeverSleeps: https://www.linkedin.com/company/28661903/admin/feed/posts/

Jeff Donnelley and Colin Bracey are the co-founders of MegaFans, a mobile esports platform and community bridging web2 to web3 in a play-to-earn environment for gamers, collectors and developers.

This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by Philip Lee, one of Ireland’s fastest-growing corporate law firms and expert advisors at the heart of the Dublin and London start-up, fintech and crypto communities.

MegaFans are the sixth of ten founding teams forming the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator Class of 2022 that we’ve got on the show over the next two months.

In this episode, Pete Townsend talks to Jeff and Colin about:

- How their paths first converged with the predecessor to MegaFans after doing the first legal ICO (initial coin offering) in Canada.

- An inside look at the MegaFans platform

- ‘Mining’ the web2 market and building a web3 community

- The longer-term vision for MegaFans and the esports market overall

- How Jeff and Colin are approaching the big challenges in front of them right now

LINKS:

Connect with Jeff Donnelley and Colin Bracey and learn more about MegaFans

Episode title inspired by ‘Award Tour’ by A Tribe Called Quest

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On the show this week, we’ve got Will Martin and Laura Brkić from LiveDuel, a DeFi-powered digital sports market with live fan engagement. LiveDuel supports decentralized sports betting built on blockchain to give you a fairer deal than traditional sports betting sites.

This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by Philip Lee, one of Ireland’s fastest-growing corporate law firms and expert advisors at the heart of the Dublin and London start-up, fintech and crypto communities.

LiveDuel are the fifth of ten founding teams forming the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator Class of 2022 that we’ve got on the show over the next two months.

In this episode, Pete Townsend talks to Will and Laura about how they got together with Alex Luce to drive LiveDuel forward, what LiveDuel is and how it works, replacing ‘the house’ in sports betting markets with DeFi liquidity pools, and staying close to the long-term vision while executing in the short term.  

LINKS:

Connect with Will Martin and Laura Brkić and learn more about LiveDuel

Episode title inspired by ‘Hate It or Love’ It by the Game

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On the show this week, we’ve got Victor and Lee and Alvin Foo, co-founders of Securo Finance (formerly DAOventures) who are building a compliant, secure and easy to use DeFi (decentralized finance) investment platform for regular investors.

This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by Philip Lee, one of Ireland’s fastest-growing corporate law firms and expert advisors at the heart of the Dublin and London start-up, fintech and crypto communities.

Securo Finance are the fourth of ten founding teams forming the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator Class of 2022 that we’ve got on the show over the next two months.

In this episode, Eoin Fitzgerald and Pete Townsend talk to Victor and Alvin about how they got together with their CTO Soon Lai to bring the Securo Finance idea to life, what Securo Finance is and how it works, what really matters when you’re bridging web2 investors into the web3 world, and how Securo Finance are going to make a big splash into the market in and around Palm Beach and Miami at the upcoming Permissionless conference.

LINKS:

Connect with Victor Lee and Alvin Foo and learn more about Securo Finance (rebranding from DAOventures)

Episode title inspired by ‘Friends’ by Nas & Damian Marley and ‘Friend of Mine’ by Alan Tam

Victor Lee quoted in American Banker’s post: ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Centralized’

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Get in touch at info@moneyneversleeps.ie

On the show this week we have Filipe Pereira and Mario Frade from Crowdclass, a web3 protocol for online education using the power of blockchain, tokenization, composability and the metaverse to create new monetization models for online educators, and better learning environments for students to grow and develop.

Crowdclass are the third of ten founding teams forming the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator Class of 2022 that we’ve got on the show over the next few months.

In this episode, we talk to Filipe and Mario about how the crisscrossing of their lives and careers with that of their co-founder (and CTO) Bruno Costa has resulted in the funding of Crowdclass, In this episode, we talk to Filipe and Mario about how the crisscrossing of their lives and careers with that of their co-founder (and CTO) Bruno Costa has resulted in the funding of Crowdclass, the shortcomings of the online education experience today for learners, teachers and content creators, the longer-term vision for Crowdclass, and how Crowdclass will get to market in 2022.

This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by Philip Lee, one of Ireland’s fastest-growing corporate law firms and expert advisors at the heart of the Dublin and London start-up, fintech and crypto communities.

LINKS:

Connect with Filipe Pereira and Mario Frade and learn more about Crowdclass

Episode title inspired by ‘Reunited’ by Wu-Tang Clan

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Eugene O’Brien and Kurt Pittman from Ireland-based BigFan join Eoin Fitzgerald and Pete Townsend on the show this week. BigFan is reinventing sports collectibles through officially licensed NFTs that provide access to Metaverse-driven fan experiences

Eugene and Kurt from BigFan are the second of ten founding teams forming the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator Class of 2022 that we’ve got on the show over the next few months.

In this episode, we talk to Eugene and Kurt about how their paths converged into BigFan last year, why it makes so much sense for them to be working on BigFan together, the ‘art of the possible’ with building for the metaverse, and the challenges in front of them to tackle right now.

This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by Philip Lee, one of Ireland’s fastest-growing corporate law firms and expert advisors at the heart of the Dublin and London start-up, fintech and crypto communities.

LINKS:

Connect with Eugene O’Brien and Kurt Pittmanand learn more about BigFan

Episode title inspired by ‘Drop it Like it’s Hot’ by Snoop Dogg ft. Pharrell

Reference to Jasmine Maietta from Round21 on Web3 Breakdownspodcast

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Carla Rosenkranz, founder of Barterchain, riffs with Pete Townsend about how the Barterchain idea is rooted in her own experience of exchanging English lessons for yoga classes, the core of her conviction to start building Barterchain, the network effects from connecting local communities and virtual communities, how to keep pushing back against the blockchain and crypto naysayers….and her psychic storytelling superpowers!

This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by Philip Lee, one of Ireland’s fastest-growing corporate law firms and expert advisors at the heart of the Dublin and London start-up, fintech and crypto communities.

LINKS:

Connect with Carla Rosenkranzand learn more about Barterchain

Episode title inspired by ‘Get it Together’ by Drake, Black Coffee and Jorja Smith

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What a week! Techstars kicked off the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator this week in Dublin and they’re already moving at a breakneck pace. With that, we’re taking the opportunity to introduce our MoneyNeverSleeps community to the ten amazing founding teams that make up Techstars’ first chain-agnostic blockchain accelerator as well as Techstars’ very first accelerator program in Ireland.

This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by Philip Lee, one of Ireland’s fastest-growing corporate law firms and expert advisors at the heart of the Dublin and London start-up, fintech and crypto communities.

Here are the ten early-stage startups that form the inaugural class of the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator, all of whom introduce themselves and their vision in this episode recorded on March 16th, 2022, about two weeks before the program kicked off.

Meet the companies:

Barterchain -A peer-to-peer barterplace where members can swap or tokenize their skills and services

BigFan - Reinventing sports collectibles with officially licensed NFTs that provide access to Metaverse-driven fan experiences

CrowdClass - A web3 protocol for online teachers to better monetize their courses and reward student engagement

DAOventures - A secured, compliant and easy to use DeFi platform for crypto investors

Eczodex - Tokenized data assets for value investors

LiveDuel - DeFi-powered live fan engagement

MegaFans - Mobile esports platform bridging web2 to web3 for gamers and enabling game developers to increase their player lifetime value

Staxe - Enabling music and creative productions’ economies in web3

Vyper Protocol - Risk management for DeFi applications on Solana

Your Diamonds – Enabling the diamond industry to solve old world problems through digital technologies and web3

LINKS:

Episode title inspired by Scenario by Tribe Called Quest

Learn more about the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator

Read Pete Townsend’s Web3 Thesis 1.0

Check out our MoneyNeverSleeps website

Follow MoneyNeverSleeps on Twitter

Follow Eoin Fitzgerald on Twitter

Follow Pete Townsend on Twitter

Get in touch at info@moneyneversleeps.ie