Clay Robbins: Building Colosseum, Solana’s Largest Hackathon & Accelerator with 80,000 Participants episode artwork

EPISODE · Jan 19, 2026 · 1H 8M

Clay Robbins: Building Colosseum, Solana’s Largest Hackathon & Accelerator with 80,000 Participants

from The Delphi Podcast · host The Delphi Podcast

Join Tommy Shaughnessy in San Francisco for the first podcast from the new Coliseum office. In this episode, Clay Robbins, Co-Founder of Coliseum, discusses how his team manages the world's largest online hackathons and why they chose to double down on the Solana ecosystem.They dive into the mechanics of sourcing 80,000 builders, the transition from remote to a massive in-person accelerator, and the shift from an infrastructure-focused crypto world to a new era of diverse consumer applications. From sub-3-hour marathons to "grenade" interview questions, Clay reveals what it truly takes to survive and win in the arena.🎯 Key Highlights▸The Numbers of Coliseum▸Clay shares the endurance training secrets that helped him clock a sub3-hour marathon in both Oakland and New York.▸How Coliseum distills 2,000+ global submissions down to a cohort of 10–15 elite investments.▸Why Coliseum moved from all-remote batches to a 75-desk physical hub in San Francisco.▸Why Clay believes Solana’s performance is the only viable infrastructure for the coming "application era".▸Why the Coliseum team now over-indexes on high-agency founders.▸The 15-minute "pressure test" interview used to suss out a founder’s conviction and humility.▸A new funding vehicle designed for companies launching on MetaDAO.▸A look at grand prize winners like Unruggable and Ore.💡 Want to stay updated with the latest in crypto & AI? Hit subscribe and the notification bell! 🔔🧠 Follow the Alpha▸ Clay's Twitter: @clayrobbins ▸ Coliseum's Twitter: ‪@Colosseum‬ 🔗 Connect with Delphi🌐 Portal: https://delphidigital.io/🐦 Twitter:   / delphi_digital  💼 LinkedIn:   / delphi-digital  🎧 Listen onSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/62PR1Ri...Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...Youtube:    / @delphi_digital  Timestamps

Join Tommy Shaughnessy in San Francisco for the first podcast from the new Coliseum office. In this episode, Clay Robbins, Co-Founder of Coliseum, discusses how his team manages the world's largest online hackathons and why they chose to double down on the Solana ecosystem.They dive into the mechanics of sourcing 80,000 builders, the transition from remote to a massive in-person accelerator, and the shift from an infrastructure-focused crypto world to a new era of diverse consumer application...

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Clay Robbins: Building Colosseum, Solana’s Largest Hackathon & Accelerator with 80,000 Participants

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This episode was published on January 19, 2026.

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Join Tommy Shaughnessy in San Francisco for the first podcast from the new Coliseum office. In this episode, Clay Robbins, Co-Founder of Coliseum, discusses how his team manages the world's largest online hackathons and why they chose to double down...

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