📺 Watch now on Substack or YouTube | 🎧 Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

— Millennial Masters is sponsored by Jolt ⚡️ Reliable hosting for modern builders

Kevin de Patoul walked away from a secure consulting career to build Keyrock, a digital asset firm that’s now raised over $80 million and employs nearly 200 people worldwide. His mission is to create the infrastructure that will power the next generation of financial markets.

In this episode, Kevin breaks down the lessons from scaling a startup at hyper-speed, navigating volatile crypto cycles, and keeping a team aligned while the ground shifts under your feet.

From capital raises and culture challenges to separating hype from true innovation, this is an inside look at what it takes to build in one of the most unpredictable industries in the world.q2

🔗 Find Kevin on LinkedIn

Takeaways from Kevin’s episode

1️⃣ The real prize is infrastructure

Kevin argues that real innovation in crypto isn’t the latest meme coin, but the infrastructure that allows value to move securely and at scale. Founders should focus on solving fundamental problems, not chasing trends.

2️⃣ Growth puts culture under strain

Keyrock jumped from 3 to 160 people in a year. Processes collapsed and culture bent. Only clear values kept things intact.

3️⃣ Crypto is 24/7. You can’t be

The market never switches off. Founders have to. Kevin enforces boundaries and trusts systems to carry the load.

4️⃣ Big raises raise the stakes

Raising $80 million didn’t ease the journey. It made every choice heavier. Kevin stresses discipline and investor alignment over chasing growth at any cost.

5️⃣ Volatility rewards the steady

Most fear chaos. Kevin looks for openings. If you can adapt quickly, stay grounded, and keep delivering value, the market cycles can actually accelerate growth.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 Introduction to Kevin de Patoul

01:58 From Consulting to Crypto: A Career Shift

04:53 Understanding Keyrock: The Investment Bank for Digital Assets

07:33 Debunking Misconceptions: Crypto vs. Digital Assets

10:33 The Real Innovation of Tokenization

13:28 The Future of Asset Ownership: Tokenization Explained

16:16 Disruption or Replication? Crypto's Impact on Traditional Finance

19:02 The Future of Crypto: Accessibility for All

21:45 The Long-Term Viability of Crypto

24:04 Building Keyrock: Lessons from Rapid Scaling

29:07 Hiring for Mindset Over Skills

34:53 Managing a Remote Team

40:11 Building Team Cohesion

41:22 Lessons from Fundraising

50:20 Balancing Work and Life

54:17 Sacrifices on the Entrepreneurial Journey

Get full access to Millennial Masters at millennialmasters.net/subscribe