300: From Auditing Cardano to Shipping at Scale — Wesley Crook on Fixing Web3

Wesley Crook (CEO, FP Block) has been shipping hard tech since 1985 and rescuing Web3 builds for years. His team audited Cardano early, served as the public auditor for Hedera for 7 years, and has delivered 110+ projects: L1s, oracles, DeFi, games, and more. We dig into why ~70% of FP Block’s work is “rescues,” what enterprise-grade really means (security, throughput, reliability), why many teams pick the wrong chain, and how FP Block’s chain-agnostic framework Kolme lets founders treat the application as the blockchain—then bridge anywhere. Also: Rust over vibe-coding, AI for speed (without debt), talent bottlenecks, and where Web3 consolidates next.Timestamps[00:00] Wesley’s 40-year tech journey; ops leader turned Web3 builder[00:02] From FP Complete & Haskell → first Cardano auditors; Hedera public auditor[00:04] 110+ deliveries: chains, oracles, DeFi, games; enterprise clients (FS, healthcare, Big Tech)[00:05] Why ~70% of work is rescues; rebuilding for enterprise-grade reality[00:07] The core Web3 gap: few real users, weak UX, security debt, wrong chain choices[00:09] “Ecosystem first” vs user first; interoperability + security as blockers to adoption[00:11] Moving apps off earlier choices (e.g., Polygon) to Solana/Near/Sui when fit changes[00:17] Kolme thesis: the app is the blockchain + bridge out; devs focus on product/UX[00:19] Enterprise patterns: private/closed consortia; logistics, real estate flows, audit trails[00:23] Revenue model: small elite squads (CTO→DevOps); fiat + selective token/rev-share; long-term ops[00:25] AI: faster MVPs & iteration—without “vibe coding” debt[00:30] Tech stack: Rust backend, React frontend; why JavaScript/Python backends bite[00:28] Biggest scaling risk: senior talent > junior glut; teach formal methods, teamwork[00:33] Bold takes: consolidation, common standards, some chains fade; gov & enterprise enter[00:38] The ask: founders needing enterprise-grade builds; partners for KolmeConnecthttps://www.fpblock.com/https://www.linkedin.com/company/fpblock/https://x.com/FP_Blockhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/wesleycrook/DisclaimerNothing mentioned in this podcast is investment advice and please do your own research. Finally, it would mean a lot if you can leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and share this podcast with a friend.Be a guest on the podcast or contact us - https://www.web3pod.xyz/