
I lead Crypto at Cross River. My mission is to close the gap between the 2.5 billion people who access retail banking services digitally and the 250M crypto users. I am building the technology that enables FinTech players to offer crypto-based products to their users.
Previously, I led product at Oasis Labs, creating the first scalable and privacy-preserving smart contract platform. The Network is now live in mainnet and it’s fully decentralized. I joined as the first non-software engineer employee and helped the team move from a research project at UC Berkeley to a 35-person venture-backed startup, raising $45M from a16z, Accel, Foundation, etc.
I also built/launched/managed products at Google, PayPal, AmEx, and P&G. I constantly analyze present and future trends to develop intuitions, which I then validate with data. Throughout my career, I have developed expertise in product, go-to-market, data, and engineering, both at large companies and startups, one of which I founded. I have aligned, led, and grown teams from 2 to 50 people.
As an angel investor and advisor, I look for ambitious teams that work to exploit the depth of their breakthrough insight. DeliveRex (acquired by JustEat) and Keyless (acquired by Sift) are a few examples. Some more recent investments include CloudWall, FreeTrade, Gumroad, Kift, and Asaak.
I am excited about companies building infrastructure layers to support complex and enormous markets, especially in FinTech.
If you share similar interests, I’d love to connect.
I started an offline advertising company when I was 24. That’s how I learned the rule of the 3 Ws: Wrong plan, Wrong execution, Wrong timing. If you get 1 out of 3 wrong, you’ll survive a few months; if you get 3 wrong, you learn (the hard way).
I live in Greenwich Village, New York and I am often in San Francisco, California. I hold an MBA from UC Berkeley Haas and Ms/Bs in Engineering from the University of Rome.
I also founded Berkeley StEP, a pre-accelerator that helps students get together and launch companies (150 so far; 10% of which received funding).
I believe in principles: integrity, honesty, loyalty, and reliability.
Family and close friends come first.
I am a rational optimist: I want to unblock limiting factors.
Some things I like:
- engaging with people and situations that make me change my mind
- challenging situations
- digital and programmable money
- coding and technical matters
- hosting
- reading biographies and explanations
- djing and playing piano
My articles
- “Luca, I am considering working in crypto; can I pick your brain?”The question “Shall I work in crypto?” boils down to answering 5 key questions.
- Programming Data and Money: The Data Market YieldThe ability to collect, store, program, and use data has brought connectivity, ubiquity, and intelligence to every modern application. The ability to represent and exchange money in a digital form is …
Continue reading “Programming Data and Money: The Data Market Yield”
- Contact Tracing & Privacy: come risolvere il TrilemmaContact Tracing & Privacy: come risolvere il Trilemma Per un Italiano che vive a 10,000Km di distanza, non è piacevole assistere al conflitto interno tra stampa, cittadini, governo e imprenditori, causato dalla …
Continue reading “Contact Tracing & Privacy: come risolvere il Trilemma”
- Why Visa acquired PlaidWhy Visa acquired Plaid Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash It seems clear that Plaid’s revenue potential is only a (minimal) part of the reasons behind the acquisition: the 2x price/valuation is probably …
- London DeFi Summit: Key Takeawaysmy presentation in the Main room on Tuesday London DeFi Summit: Key Takeaways Last week we sponsored the DeFi Summit in London; 300 DeFi enthusiasts, developers, fund managers, investors, and founders got …
- Privacy is critical to mass adoption of Open FinancePrivacy is critical to mass adoption of Open Finance How Oasis Labs and the Oasis network can help expand adoption of DeFi and Open Finance Open Finance applications are primed to reinvent the …
Continue reading “Privacy is critical to mass adoption of Open Finance”
- Life lessons I like or wish I knew beforeLife lessons I like or wish I knew before A constantly-updated list of life lessons I wrote myself or found somewhere else (in no particular order)…because…best teachers are not always found in …
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- Relaunching the Berkeley Entrepreneurs Association: introducing Berkeley StEPRelaunching the Berkeley Entrepreneurs Association: introducing Berkeley StEP By Luca Cosentino and Adam Brudnick The unlocked potential of UC Berkeley is astonishing. It doesn’t take long to be captivated by the basement …
Continue reading “Relaunching the Berkeley Entrepreneurs Association: introducing Berkeley StEP”
- Data Scientist to Product Manager? It’s not a common path, they sayData Scientist to Product Manager? It’s not a common path, they say Why data science makes great product managers. You spent a few years crunching data, analyzing information, going deep on customers’ …
Continue reading “Data Scientist to Product Manager? It’s not a common path, they say”
- Machine Learning: where to start fromMachine Learning: where to start from The particular application of Machine Learning to business is becoming more and more popular. I guess what really convinced me to spend time on Machine Learning …
- The Brexit Dilemma. Who’s the prisoner?The Brexit Dilemma. Who’s the prisoner? 51.9% Leave doesn’t tell the truth. Neither do words from European and UK leaders. The irrational Brexit puts both Europe and UK in a prisoner’s …
- The importance of Mentorship and how to get the most out of itThe importance of Mentorship and how to get the most out of it Mentorship has always been discussed as a controversial topic. Even though everyone acknowledges its importance, very few understand its …
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- Meeting Customers’ ExpectationsMeeting Customers’ Expectations How can you exceed customer expectations? First you need to know what their expectations are. When it comes to expecting certain performance and functionality from your product or …
- Stay Simple — the 3Bs frameworkStay Simple — the 3Bs framework The relationship report-manager is never obvious. 1:1 meetings generally create more questions than the one they answer, and it’s rarely clear what the right level of depth …