Simao Cruz (Lightshift Capital)

In this episode of Inside the Hutt, host Brooke Pollack welcomes Simao Cruz, founding partner of Lightshift Capital. Simao shares insights on building Lightshift as a venture firm and engineering platform focused on early-stage blockchain projects. The discussion delves into Lightshift's origin story, its engineering-driven investment strategy, and how the firm acts as a "third co-founder" for portfolio companies. They also explore the challenges and rewards of contributing hands-on technical expertise, discuss Lightshift’s strategic focus on decentralized technologies, and examine how Lisbon is becoming a hub for blockchain innovation. Key Points From This Episode: Introduction to Simao Cruz and Lightshift Capital’s founding team Lightshift’s engineering-centered approach and “third co-founder” philosophy Focus on low-level infrastructure and high-growth market applications Differentiation through early-stage support in product development and engineering Role of Lightshift in project incubation and the firm’s approach to incubating startups Strategic investments in decentralized health data sharing and tokenized domain name services The importance of tokenization and the overlooked impact of decentralized data Lightshift’s engineering diligence process and alignment with portfolio founders The growing prominence of Lisbon as a blockchain ecosystem hub Regulatory contrasts between the U.S. and Portugal’s stance on blockchain  Links Simao Cruz on LinkedIn Lightshift Capital Brooke Pollack on Twitter Brooke Pollack on LinkedIn Hutt Capital