His family moved from India, he built a $10B company in the US - Nikil Viswanathan (Alchemy) — Silicon Valley Girl Podcast

Nikil Viswanathan October 1, 2024 51 MIN

About the Guest

Nikil Viswanathan

Co-founder & CEO, Alchemy

Nikil Viswanathan is an Indian-American entrepreneur and billionaire who co-founded and serves as CEO of Alchemy, a leading blockchain developer platform backed by Stanford University and valued at $10 billion. He studied at Stanford University, where he also began forming the entrepreneurial relationships that would define his career. Prior to Alchemy, Nikil worked at and was recruited by top Silicon Valley companies, including receiving a personal job offer from Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook.

In this episode of the Silicon Valley Girl Podcast, Marina Mogilko interviews Nikil Viswanathan, Co-founder & CEO, Alchemy. Marina Mogilko sits down with Nikil Viswanathan, the Indian-American entrepreneur who co-founded Alchemy, a blockchain infrastructure company valued at $10 billion. They discuss his upbringing as the child of Indian immigrants, his path through Stanford, how Mark Zuckerberg personally recruited him to Facebook, and the journey from building consumer apps like Down to Lunch to launching Alchemy. Nikil also shares his vision for building technology that every person on the planet can use.

Key Takeaways

Mark Zuckerberg personally offered Nikil a job at Facebook, and Nikil's mindset was that his worst-case scenario was running a team there — a mental reframe that reduced the risk of betting on himself.
Before Alchemy, Nikil and his co-founder built a consumer app called Down to Lunch that went viral, giving them hands-on experience with rapid product development and user growth.
Alchemy raised $200 million in funding and deliberately did not spend it, using financial restraint as a strategic advantage to stay focused and disciplined.
Nikil's guiding ambition from early on was to build something that every person on the planet uses — a north star that drove him to keep searching for the right idea beyond consumer apps.
Growing up as the child of Indian immigrants shaped Nikil's drive; his parents' move to the US set a foundation of ambition and sacrifice that influenced his approach to risk-taking and entrepreneurship.

00:00 Meet Nikil Viswanathan 02:18 How to raise a successful child? 04:34 His top priority at Stanford 07:24 How often did he go back to India? 07:53 How did Mark Zuckerberg offer him a job? 10:28 "My worst case was going and running a team at Facebook" 13:28 How did he meet his co-founder? 14:36 "I want to build something that everyone on the planet uses. And that's what I want to do with my life" 16:45 The Down to Lunch 21:07 "And at one point, we started building all this random apps just for fun" 23:23 Why might he give up on the idea? 26:24 How did he get started Alchemy? 31:09 The concept of the technology 36:09 He’s got ideas from the future! What does he think about that? 40:35 "We raised $200 million and didn't touch it" 44:13 How much time does he spend networking? 46:59 What about work-life balance? 48:19 One last piece of advice for entrepreneurs who are trying ideas, nothing is working

Transcript not available for this episode.