In August 2018, we set out to add a third member to our team. A year and a half later, we are thrilled to welcome Max Webster as Version One’s new associate.

It was A LONG journey. We received, reviewed and responded to almost 500 applications over this period of time. We were looking for someone with high curiosity, conviction, competitiveness, compassion. And while we were impressed by many of the candidates, we felt an instant connection and excitement over the opportunity with Max.

Why did we decide Max was the right fit for us?

He’s super passionate about many aspects of tech, from solar to crypto/blockchain and machine learning. In fact, he started his own consultancy, Entiende Bitcoin, to help Bitcoin companies develop and distribute products in emerging markets. And before that, he was one of the founding members of Bright, the leading residential solar company in Mexico backed by investors like Y Combinator and First Round Capital. When Max first reached out to us, he described his desire to use decentralized technologies to build a more just society.

He’s hyper-curious, well-read, well-traveled, and an incredibly fast learner. He taught himself how to code (after studying Political Science at Yale). He moved to Mexico not knowing a word of Spanish (but is now fluent). His “small sample of recent favorite reads” was a weighty and diverse list that most would be lucky to get through in a year or two: Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth by Buckminster Fuller, Antifragile by Nassim Taleb, Out of Control by Kevin Kelly, AI Superpowers by Kai-Fu Lee, The End of Banking by Jonathan Macmillan, Superintelligence by Nick Bostrom, Mastering Bitcoin by Andreas Antonopoulos, The Sovereign Individual by James Dale Davidson, and Siddhartha by Herman Hesse.

For us, one of his most powerful statements was, “I’m looking to find the best way to channel my love for learning into building the sort of future I believe in.”

Max is far more than a smart guy with a lot of books. We quickly discovered him to be compassionate and people-driven. And we’re continually surprised at his many skills and interests. He raps. He loves basketball. He practices Vipassana meditation.

So please join me and Boris in welcoming Max to the Version One team. He will be based in San Francisco with me. And of course, you can follow him on Twitter, connect with him on Linkedin, and/or send him a note at max at versionone dot vc.