December 3rd, 2025

In the latest episode of our podcast, Demia’s founder and CEO Mat Yarger spoke with Adam Flinter, co-founder and chief growth officer of Growth Ensemble, about the subtleties of raising capital in today’s complex investment landscape. Their conversation revealed a fundamental truth: building trust – with investors, partners, and communities – is central to scaling impact responsibly.

‍

Family Offices: Investing in Trust, Not Just Speed

Family offices operate on a fundamentally different timeline than venture capital. Unlike VCs, who are pressured to deploy funds quickly and hit rapid returns, family offices invest in what they believe in and in founders they trust. “They don’t go on Crunchbase or PitchBook and cold-email. They are relationship-driven. The right introduction can make all the difference,” Flinter explains.

For these investors, trust is everything. Relationships, credibility, and proven alignment with values matter more than flashy short-term gains. One poorly considered investment can influence future decisions, highlighting the importance of patience, integrity, and reliability in building partnerships that last. This approach often requires founders to shift perspective: instead of chasing speed and scale, they must cultivate a rhythm of deliberate engagement, demonstrating their thoughtfulness, expertise, and capacity for long-term growth.

‍

Navigating Risk in Emerging Technologies

Many family offices remain cautious about crypto and token-driven models. Past hype cycles left scars, creating skepticism toward rapid, speculative approaches. “They like patience and certainty. One bad investment can completely stop their progress,” Flinter notes. This caution is not a rejection of innovation – rather a reflection of learned experience and the value of capital preservation.

For founders, this underscores a critical lesson: trust is built by demonstrating consistency, transparency, and alignment with meaningful impact, not chasing quick financial wins. Whether in blockchain, Web3, or other emerging technologies, the investor’s perception of reliability can be the difference between securing support and facing repeated rejection. Flinter emphasizes that careful, consistent engagement signals seriousness and commitment, establishing credibility that lasts far beyond any single fundraising round.

‍

Speaking Web2 in a Web3 World

While family offices prize long-term alignment, venture capital operates on a different rhythm. Early-stage VCs often pursue outsized returns under compressed timelines. Yet, Flinter emphasizes that not all VCs are alike – some take a patient, thoughtful approach that aligns with sustainable growth. “There are a lot of different paths. Find the right one and take the time to figure out who aligns with your impact and growth strategy,” he says.

For founders in Web3, understanding Web2 investors’ expectations and rhythms is critical. Accessing patient capital requires fluency in both worlds – not only to grow responsibly, but to build trust across the ecosystem. It’s a balancing act: communicating disruptive innovation while demonstrating the governance, accountability, and consistency that traditional investors value. This dual fluency enables founders to navigate complex fundraising landscapes and maintain credibility across diverse investor types.

‍

Integrity, Authenticity, and Being Known Well

Beyond capital strategy, Flinter highlights the deeper principle of trust: integrity and authenticity. “I want to be known for trying to do the right things for the right reasons. I want to be known well, not well-known.” For founders, this is a vital lesson: the quality of relationships, alignment of values, and consistent delivery often matter more than hype or visibility.

In practice, this means that founders must focus as much on how they engage with investors and partners as on the product or service itself. Small actions like prompt follow-ups, transparent updates, and honest discussions of challenges can reinforce confidence and deepen trust. Over time, these actions compound, creating a network of supporters who understand and believe in the mission, rather than merely tracking performance metrics.

‍

Practical Takeaways for Founders

• Prioritize trust over speed. The right investors value alignment, integrity, and shared purpose.
• Align capital with impact. Choose partners who understand your long-term vision, not just short-term returns.
• Invest in relationships. Introductions, credibility, and consistent engagement build trust faster than cold outreach.
• Be patient and authentic. Sustainable impact requires persistence, honesty, and alignment with your mission.
• Communicate across worlds. For Web3 founders, fluency in Web2 investors’ expectations can open doors and establish credibility.

‍

At Demia, we see these lessons reflected in the systems we build. Whether it’s making data verifiable, traceable, or usable, trust is the foundation of every sustainable system. Just as founders thrive by understanding the incentives and motivations of their investors, industries thrive when transparency and proof guide decision-making – allowing capital, technology, and impact to scale responsibly.

In the end, the conversation between Yarger and Flinter reminds us that trust isn’t a superficial metric or a single transaction. Trust is a careful, continuous practice. Founders who internalize this lesson move beyond raising capital and cultivate relationships that enable long-term growth, resilience, and genuine impact. As markets evolve and technologies advance, this principle remains timeless: trust is the currency that powers meaningful success.

‍

Listen to the full episode:

🎧 https://open.spotify.com/episode/2gE0NiQcSLFWkANKYQBAMc?si=ad2bb7b343b34b52

‍