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Oct 2, 2017 · 29m · top-founders

800: Crypto: He's Advisor Behind Worlds Top ICO's

Ransu Salovaara · 13m spoken Nathan Latka · 12m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

Host Nathan Latka interviews TokenMarket co-founder Ransu Salovaara to explore the advisory mechanics, regulatory hurdles, and economic viability of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). Together, they critically evaluate token utility, speculative market valuations, and the practicality of blockchain integration for traditional business models.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Nathan holds 48.7% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.4 Guest teaching 4.2 Guest disagreement 2.8 Nathan pushing back 4.6
05100:0010:0020:002:34–7:49 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 TokenMarket's Advisory Model and ICO Launch Strategies Nathan digs directly into TokenMarket's business model, commission rates (7%), and previous clients like FirstBlood and The DAO, citing past episode specifics. Salovaara explains the strategic marketing and community-building advisory TokenMarket provides startups.7:51–13:50 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 The Utility and Functionality of Custom ERC-20 Tokens Nathan challenges why startups create proprietary ERC-20 tokens instead of simply using Ether, and pulls up live data on Etherscan during the call to verify market cap discrepancies. Salovaara explains utility archetypes and clarifies token float mechanics.13:50–19:02 · Nathan as informed peer 8/10 Skepticism on Token Valuations and the ICO Speculative Bubble A heated debate where Nathan calls out ICOs looking like scams with inflated valuations driven by crypto hype rather than fundamentals. Salovaara pushes back strongly, contrasting Nathan's isolated skepticism against market liquidity and drawing parallels to early internet and Tesla valuations.19:02–26:04 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Decentralizing the Sharing Economy and Tokenizing GetLatka Nathan proposes tokenizing sharing economy concepts and his own SaaS database (GetLatka). Salovaara provides a reality check, explaining why blockchain isn't a silver bullet when traditional databases like AWS or payments like PayPal already suffice.26:04–27:13 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Mid-Roll Sponsorship: Acuity Scheduling Host monologue delivering a mid-roll advertisement for Acuity Scheduling.2:34–7:49 · Guest teaching 3/10 TokenMarket's Advisory Model and ICO Launch Strategies Nathan digs directly into TokenMarket's business model, commission rates (7%), and previous clients like FirstBlood and The DAO, citing past episode specifics. Salovaara explains the strategic marketing and community-building advisory TokenMarket provides startups.7:51–13:50 · Guest teaching 5/10 The Utility and Functionality of Custom ERC-20 Tokens Nathan challenges why startups create proprietary ERC-20 tokens instead of simply using Ether, and pulls up live data on Etherscan during the call to verify market cap discrepancies. Salovaara explains utility archetypes and clarifies token float mechanics.13:50–19:02 · Guest teaching 6/10 Skepticism on Token Valuations and the ICO Speculative Bubble A heated debate where Nathan calls out ICOs looking like scams with inflated valuations driven by crypto hype rather than fundamentals. Salovaara pushes back strongly, contrasting Nathan's isolated skepticism against market liquidity and drawing parallels to early internet and Tesla valuations.19:02–26:04 · Guest teaching 7/10 Decentralizing the Sharing Economy and Tokenizing GetLatka Nathan proposes tokenizing sharing economy concepts and his own SaaS database (GetLatka). Salovaara provides a reality check, explaining why blockchain isn't a silver bullet when traditional databases like AWS or payments like PayPal already suffice.26:04–27:13 · Guest teaching 0/10 Mid-Roll Sponsorship: Acuity Scheduling Host monologue delivering a mid-roll advertisement for Acuity Scheduling.2:34–7:49 · Guest disagreement 1/10 TokenMarket's Advisory Model and ICO Launch Strategies Nathan digs directly into TokenMarket's business model, commission rates (7%), and previous clients like FirstBlood and The DAO, citing past episode specifics. Salovaara explains the strategic marketing and community-building advisory TokenMarket provides startups.7:51–13:50 · Guest disagreement 2/10 The Utility and Functionality of Custom ERC-20 Tokens Nathan challenges why startups create proprietary ERC-20 tokens instead of simply using Ether, and pulls up live data on Etherscan during the call to verify market cap discrepancies. Salovaara explains utility archetypes and clarifies token float mechanics.13:50–19:02 · Guest disagreement 7/10 Skepticism on Token Valuations and the ICO Speculative Bubble A heated debate where Nathan calls out ICOs looking like scams with inflated valuations driven by crypto hype rather than fundamentals. Salovaara pushes back strongly, contrasting Nathan's isolated skepticism against market liquidity and drawing parallels to early internet and Tesla valuations.19:02–26:04 · Guest disagreement 4/10 Decentralizing the Sharing Economy and Tokenizing GetLatka Nathan proposes tokenizing sharing economy concepts and his own SaaS database (GetLatka). Salovaara provides a reality check, explaining why blockchain isn't a silver bullet when traditional databases like AWS or payments like PayPal already suffice.26:04–27:13 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Mid-Roll Sponsorship: Acuity Scheduling Host monologue delivering a mid-roll advertisement for Acuity Scheduling.2:34–7:49 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 TokenMarket's Advisory Model and ICO Launch Strategies Nathan digs directly into TokenMarket's business model, commission rates (7%), and previous clients like FirstBlood and The DAO, citing past episode specifics. Salovaara explains the strategic marketing and community-building advisory TokenMarket provides startups.7:51–13:50 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 The Utility and Functionality of Custom ERC-20 Tokens Nathan challenges why startups create proprietary ERC-20 tokens instead of simply using Ether, and pulls up live data on Etherscan during the call to verify market cap discrepancies. Salovaara explains utility archetypes and clarifies token float mechanics.13:50–19:02 · Nathan pushing back 8/10 Skepticism on Token Valuations and the ICO Speculative Bubble A heated debate where Nathan calls out ICOs looking like scams with inflated valuations driven by crypto hype rather than fundamentals. Salovaara pushes back strongly, contrasting Nathan's isolated skepticism against market liquidity and drawing parallels to early internet and Tesla valuations.19:02–26:04 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Decentralizing the Sharing Economy and Tokenizing GetLatka Nathan proposes tokenizing sharing economy concepts and his own SaaS database (GetLatka). Salovaara provides a reality check, explaining why blockchain isn't a silver bullet when traditional databases like AWS or payments like PayPal already suffice.26:04–27:13 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Mid-Roll Sponsorship: Acuity Scheduling Host monologue delivering a mid-roll advertisement for Acuity Scheduling.

speaking balance: gold is Nathan, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Nathan 70.4% · guest 29.6%0:00 · Nathan 70.4% · guest 29.6%3:00 · Nathan 55.9% · guest 44.1%3:00 · Nathan 55.9% · guest 44.1%6:00 · Nathan 25.4% · guest 74.6%6:00 · Nathan 25.4% · guest 74.6%9:00 · Nathan 43.5% · guest 56.5%9:00 · Nathan 43.5% · guest 56.5%12:00 · Nathan 38.2% · guest 61.8%12:00 · Nathan 38.2% · guest 61.8%15:00 · Nathan 39.6% · guest 60.4%15:00 · Nathan 39.6% · guest 60.4%18:00 · Nathan 60.1% · guest 39.9%18:00 · Nathan 60.1% · guest 39.9%21:00 · Nathan 46.5% · guest 53.5%21:00 · Nathan 46.5% · guest 53.5%24:00 · Nathan 55.9% · guest 44.1%24:00 · Nathan 55.9% · guest 44.1%27:00 · Nathan 48.8% · guest 51.2%27:00 · Nathan 48.8% · guest 51.2%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 15:18 One man's opinion against the market

Salovaara directly dismisses Latka's skepticism, arguing that Latka is the only one who thinks founders run away with the money while the market actively values the token at $96 million.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 15:42 Calling out speculative ICO hype

Latka pushes back firmly against Salovaara's valuation defense, claiming buyers are merely drunk on crypto hype rather than genuine product vision.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 25:07 AWS and PayPal vs. unnecessary tokens

Salovaara grounds Latka's excitement by questioning why a business would add blockchain complexity when an AWS database and PayPal payments work perfectly.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 11:49 Live-checking token caps on Etherscan

Latka actively pulls up Etherscan data in real time to confront Salovaara on the disparity between reported raised funds and circulating market capitalization.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
TokenMarket's Advisory Model and ICO Launch Strategies 6314 Nathan digs directly into TokenMarket's business model, commission rates (7%), and previous clients like FirstBlood and The DAO, citing past episode specifics. Salovaara explains the strategic marketing and community-building advisory TokenMarket provides startups.
The Utility and Functionality of Custom ERC-20 Tokens 7526 Nathan challenges why startups create proprietary ERC-20 tokens instead of simply using Ether, and pulls up live data on Etherscan during the call to verify market cap discrepancies. Salovaara explains utility archetypes and clarifies token float mechanics.
Skepticism on Token Valuations and the ICO Speculative Bubble 8678 A heated debate where Nathan calls out ICOs looking like scams with inflated valuations driven by crypto hype rather than fundamentals. Salovaara pushes back strongly, contrasting Nathan's isolated skepticism against market liquidity and drawing parallels to early internet and Tesla valuations.
Decentralizing the Sharing Economy and Tokenizing GetLatka 6745 Nathan proposes tokenizing sharing economy concepts and his own SaaS database (GetLatka). Salovaara provides a reality check, explaining why blockchain isn't a silver bullet when traditional databases like AWS or payments like PayPal already suffice.
Mid-Roll Sponsorship: Acuity Scheduling 0000 Host monologue delivering a mid-roll advertisement for Acuity Scheduling.

Statements from this episode (11)

Opinion
ICOs Let Startups Raise Millions Without Giving Away Equity, Salovaara Explains
“First of all, two years ago, this whole opportunity of raising money in millions without giving away equity didn't exist. So this is all new thing. This is, you know, new amazing thing, you know from the crypto heaven that comes to startups, that they can rais…”
Ransu Salovaara Oct 2, 2017 ▶ 5:54
Insight
Successful ICOs Average 5,000 Individual Contributors, Says Salovaara
“Yes, so you basically build a community because on, on, on a good ICO, you have 5000 investors. So you're talking to a lot of people, and they are not investors, they're contributors, but 5000 people put money into these early token,”
Ransu Salovaara Oct 2, 2017 ▶ 7:27
Assertion Supported
Revenue-Sharing Crypto Tokens Must Be Classified As Securities, Salovaara Warns
“It has to be one of these five, otherwise you would, you can say that, like, you know, you cannot do revenue sharing tokens, because that's security.”
Ransu Salovaara Oct 2, 2017 ▶ 8:23
What-if
Modern World of Warcraft Would Be Built on Ethereum, Salovaara Claims
“So, so that's a good example of something that if you would now invent today, World of Warcraft, you would exactly do it on ERC, Ethereum based tokens.”
Ransu Salovaara Oct 2, 2017 ▶ 9:23
What-if
Edgeless Could Never Have Raised $3 Million From Traditional VCs
“They would have never got that, that three million that it was at the time in February, March, March when they closed it, they would have never got that money from traditional VC.”
Ransu Salovaara Oct 2, 2017 ▶ 12:42
Opinion
Strict SEC Regulation Is Causing the US to Fall Behind in Crypto
“I feel that now Americans are falling behind on everything because of the fact that America is too tight in the SEC. Everything is too tough now to create these next generation blockchain companies, fintech companies, anything related to gaming, you know, bank…”
Ransu Salovaara Oct 2, 2017 ▶ 13:16
Assertion Partly supported
FirstBlood Liquidated 80% of Its $5M ICO Immediately, Latka Reveals
“So First Blood, for example, they issued about 460,000 Ether, which came out to about five million dollars in total value. He told me they immediately liquidated 80%, so they put four million, basically, at the, at that time, Ether was valued at 11 bucks, righ…”
Nathan Latka Oct 2, 2017 ▶ 14:42
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Crypto Hype, Not Project Vision, Drives Inflated ICO Valuations, Latka Argues
“Well, see, my thing is, is I think the reason on that all these ICOs are being valued so highly is because people are drinking the crypto hype, not the first blood vision hype. So people are just pouring money into crypto wherever they can, and it's driving al…”
Nathan Latka Oct 2, 2017 ▶ 16:58
Insight
The 2017 Crypto Market Mirrors the 1996 Internet Boom, Says Salovaara
“But in the same time, you look at like, this is the beginning of a new era, the beginning of a digital assets era. This is like a, this is the same thing as a, let's say internet was 1996 after Netscape and stuff.”
Ransu Salovaara Oct 2, 2017 ▶ 17:17
Insight
Decentralizing Platforms Like Uber and Airbnb Is Exceptionally Difficult, Salovaara Argues
“Uber is actually a pretty damn good company. When you think of, it's easy to poke holes on a Facebook and Uber and Airbnb how there's some falls on them, but when you really try to solve their problem, it's super hard.”
Ransu Salovaara Oct 2, 2017 ▶ 22:01
Insight
Crypto Startups Fail for the Same Reasons as Traditional Tech Startups
“Because people, same reason as any startup team cannot deliver what they said on a business plan or white paper that they will, you know, then they actually didn't have the market that they thought. It wasn't real need. You know, it wasn't real problem. They t…”
Ransu Salovaara Oct 2, 2017 ▶ 22:57
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