# 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.

- URL: https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/podcast/solana-inside-story-anatoly-yakovenko
- Authors: [Anatoly Yakovenko](https://a16zcrypto.com/team/anatoly-yakovenko), [Ali Yahya](https://a16zcrypto.com/team/ali-yahya), connor
- Published: 2025-06-06
- Updated: 2025-07-25
- Focus areas: company building
- Tags: community building, founder stories, solana, CSX 2025 (SF), podcast
- Format: podcast

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[Embedded media](https://player.simplecast.com/e7cc885c-9b69-4e9d-a3ff-b53e8fa4a986?dark=true)

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](https://x.com/aeyakovenko) [@alive\_eth](https://x.com/alive_eth)

Recorded live at our [CSX Crypto Startup Accelerator](https://a16zcrypto.com/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](https://www.anza.xyz/blog/alpenglow-a-new-consensus-for-solana).

**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

*As a reminder, none of the content should be taken as investment, business, legal, or tax advice; please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information, including a link to a list of our investments.*

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Source: [Inside the Solana story: Near-death brushes and a need for speed (with Solana)](https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/podcast/solana-inside-story-anatoly-yakovenko) — a16z crypto. Full archive: https://a16zcrypto.com/posts