Crypto, Capital & Customer Service: The Many Lives of James O'Brien

James O'Brien has spent over a decade founding, building, and raising capital for early stage startups across a variety of industries. He is the co-founder and COO of an AI startup called Ducky — process and workflow automation software for the Customer Service industry. Prior to co-founding Ducky, James was the Chief Operating Officer of Nashville, TN-based asset manger Valkyrie Investments. During his tenure there, Valkyrie investments launched the United State's second bitcoin futures ETF and grew to over $1B in assets. Before Valkyrie, James was the first hire at AltoIRA, a Nashville-based fintech company specializing in self-directed IRAs designed for alternative asset investing. At Alto, he helped scale operations from pre-seed through series A — growing the team from 2 to over 100 individuals. While at Alto, James helped to establish, and then lead, the firm's business development function and, later, crypto offerings. Apart from the land of startups, James is a singer and fledgling piano player — he moved down to Nashville, TN over a decade ago singing in a band. He loves cooking, reading (primarily fantasy novels), yoga and spending time with friends + family. James advises a number of early-stage crypto projects, assisting with operational challenges and fundraising, and works with 10X Capital as a venture partner. He is a graduate of Colby College. Connect with Jon Dwoskin: Twitter: @jdwoskin Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.dwoskin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejondwoskinexperience/ Website: https://jondwoskin.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jondwoskin/ Email: [email protected] Get Jon's Book: The Think Big Movement: Grow your business big. Very Big!   Connect with James O'Brien: Website: www.ducky.ai X: https://x.com/Jnpobrien LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jnpobrien/                                       *E – explicit language may be used in this podcast.