Inside the Solana story: Near-death brushes and a need for speed (with Solana)
Solana cofounder Anatoly Yakovenko shares the origin and evolution of Solana; what sets the chain’s culture, values, and tech apart; how it has gotten to where it is today (despite several near-death brushes); and much else in conversation with a16z General Partner Ali Yahya.
with @aeyakovenko @alive_eth
Recorded live at our CSX Crypto Startup Accelerator earlier this year, Anatoly shares the origin story of Solana — from a late-night eureka moment to thousands of investor meetings and several near-death startup experiences. He talks about what it took to get the network off the ground, how his engineering background at Qualcomm shaped its design, and why a need for speed gave Solana its edge.
They also get into developer culture, engineering trade-offs, and what differentiates Solana’s approach to building — including its willingness to ship, iterate, and rethink everything: including, most recently, its consensus algorithm.
Timestamps:
(0:00) Introduction
(2:54) Early Career and Move to SF
(3:57) Discovering Crypto and Solana’s Beginnings
(8:28) Challenges and Fundraising
(12:12) Building Solana and Overcoming Obstacles
(13:41) Solana’s Vision and Market Strategy
(17:23) Navigating Crises and Team Resilience
(22:37) Solana’s Unique Approach and Future Plans
(24:57) Solana’s Unique Approach to Software Development
(26:35) Redesigning Solana: Lessons Learned
(30:22) The Importance of Hackathons and Community
(32:32) Technical Choices and Implications
(34:16) Prioritizing User Experience Over Developer Comfort
(36:40) Competitive Landscape of Layer 1 Chains
(38:49) Building a Loyal Developer Community
(42:36) Future of Blockchains and Solana’s Vision
(47:29) Long-Term View and Goals
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