Matthew Gould | Founder & CEO of Unstoppable Domains — Building a Web3 Unicorn Without a Token

In this episode of BeaconLayer Podcast, Kenzi Morikawa, Sachi Miyasaki, and Diksha Wells speak with Matthew Gould, Founder & CEO of Unstoppable Domains, about building a digital-identity company in Web3 without leaning on a token — and why he believes that choice can be a long-term advantage, not a limitation.Matthew unpacks what it takes to turn decentralized naming into a mainstream product: making self-custody feel intuitive, designing identity primitives people actually use, and building trust with users who may not care about crypto at all — they just want a better way to own their online presence.They also get tactical on fundraising: what investors look for when the market is noisy, what founders should prioritize to stay fundable, and how to think about distribution, retention, and product clarity. Finally, Matthew lays out his contrarian take on token funding — why, in some cases, it can distort incentives, complicate governance, and even be harmful to protocols that would otherwise compound more sustainably.