From Surgeon to CEO: Lessons in Frameworks, Funding, and Founders with Nic Roberts-Huntley of Blueprint Finance

The Charlie Shrem Show

What happens when you take the discipline of an Oxford-trained surgeon and apply it to crypto? You get Nic Roberts-Huntley, founder of Concrete and Glow, two of the fastest-growing DeFi protocols.

In this episode, Nic and Charlie dive deep into the frameworks, philosophies, and practical decisions that turn ideas into billion-dollar realities. From early mornings at 4:30 AM to late-night calls across continents, Nic’s journey shows how rigor, kindness, and a surgeon’s precision can reshape digital finance.

🔑 What You’ll Learn in This Episode

Frameworks that scale: How lessons from medicine and private equity apply to building DeFi products.

Concrete & Glow explained: Institutional-grade yield tools and Solana’s first “margin-first” liquidity engine.

Funding playbook: Why the best founders raise on milestones, not desperation.

AI + blockchain: Are we building better AI with crypto, or crypto that powers better AI?

Team building: The human capital edge — why your first hires define your destiny.

Investor relations: Managing Polychain, VanEck, Tribe Capital, and more on your cap table without losing your sanity.

Tokenization’s future: From side letters to employee incentives, why tokens are the new equity.

Morning routines matter: How Nic structures his 4:30 AM wake-ups, workouts, and workdays to stay sharp.

The acquisition story: How Jet Protocol became Glow, and why consolidation is a sign of DeFi’s maturity.

🧭 Episode Highlights

“**Never raise capital because you need the money. Only raise it because you deserve it.**” — Nic Roberts-Huntley

The dangers of “vibe coding” in Solidity and how to protect users from liquidation risks.

Why DeFi protocols live or die by trust — rugged users rarely return.

How Glow is pioneering liquid restaking ($glowSOL) on Solana.

The inside story of raising $17M+ and building with backers like Polychain, VanEck, and Portal Ventures.

🎙️ About the Guest

Nic Roberts-Huntley is the founder of Blueprint Finance, the company behind Concrete and Glow. A former Oxford surgeon (MD, MBA) turned Point72 investor, Nic has built a reputation for bridging worlds — from the operating room to private equity to DeFi infrastructure.

Concrete: Tokenized DeFi-native asset management and yield optimization on Ethereum (now with $650M+ TVL).

Glow: Margin-first liquidity engine and liquid restaking on Solana, acquired from Jet Protocol.

🔖 Tags / Keywords

DeFi, Concrete, Glow Finance, Solana, Ethereum, Yield Farming, Tokenization, Restaking, Venture Capital, Polychain, VanEck, Tribe Capital, Crypto Investing, AI + Blockchain, Startups

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