Decentralized Voices

AI startups got $242 billion of investment capital in Q1 2026. Is this a bubble about to burst? Daria talks with Anna Magiera, Managing Director at ICLUB and an expert in private equity, venture capital, and angel syndicates.

Anna goes beyond the AI headline and breaks down the investment categories most people are sleeping on: real-world asset tokenization, privacy infrastructure, vertical AI tools, and an Arabic-language LLM.

The conversation also unpacks how angel syndicates are replacing traditional VCs for everyday investors, why a diversified portfolio of 20 startups matters more than chasing one unicorn, and what the CEE ecosystem gets right versus what it still gets wrong.

📈 The episode was created in collaboration with DecentWealth, a net worth dashboard and portfolio overview for investors who want to keep their data private, on iOS devices: https://www.decentwealth.app

🔗 Useful links:
🔸 Anna Magiera on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asmyrnova
🔸 Daria Strategy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dariastrategy
🔸 Explore angel investing with ICLUB, a 20% discount on your first management fee: https://iclub.vc/join.html?code=x9y6E
🔸 Decentralized Voices: https://decentralizedvoices.xyz

Are you feeling the pressure of the "never-ending" tech cycle? In this episode, we dive deep into why tech founders burn out and how the rapid pace of AI evolution is creating a new wave of AI anxiety and chronic stress.

Daria is joined by Stephanie Lal, a Nervous System Architect, to explore the science of burnout, the limits of the human body in a high-speed digital world, and practical biohacking strategies to regain control. If you’ve ever felt like tech has no speed limit, but your body does, this conversation is for you.

Highlights:
🔸 Why founders and high-performers are hitting a wall in the AI era
🔸 How the fear of falling behind in tech impacts your nervous system
🔸 Biohacking for longevity: actionable tools to regulate your stress response and optimize performance
🔸 Digital Detox vs. Sabbatical: which one works to fix "AI anxiety"?
🔸 Understanding the "body's speed limit" to prevent long-term health issues

🔗 Links:
- Stephanie Lal on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanielal
- Daria on X: https://x.com/DariaStrategy
- Decentralized Voices: https://decentralizedvoices.xyz

Most people assume their online activity is private. It isn't, and in Web3, the illusion runs even deeper.

In this episode, Daria sits down with Mykola Siusko, co-founder of Web3Privacy Now, a global non-commercial movement building the infrastructure for a truly private internet. Born in the post-Soviet world, shaped by pirate culture and digital activism, Mykola spent years inside the surveillance capitalism machine before deciding to dismantle it instead.

They get into the real meaning of privacy: not as a technical feature, but as a form of freedom. Why cypherpunk is having a mainstream moment in 2026. How AI agents running on your laptop can silently read your encrypted messages. Why sharing your emotional state with ChatGPT is riskier than you think. And why Mykola believes anyone, designers, writers, community managers, can be a privacy activist.

This is the first part of one of the most honest conversations about digital freedom you'll hear this year.

Mykola on X: https://x.com/nicksvyaznoy
Daria on X: https://x.com/DariaStrategy
Decentralized Voices website: https://decentralizedvoices.xyz

In this episode, Daria sits down with Mashal Waqar, CMO at Octant, Forbes 30 Under 30 Middle East honoree, and co-author of the State of Web3 Grants Report.

Mashal shares her unconventional journey — from cybersecurity and co-founding a media platform with millions of readers, to launching the first femtech startup in the Middle East, and ultimately becoming a leading voice in Ethereum public goods funding.

They unpack what it means to be Ethereum-aligned in 2026, how Octant's DeFi Vaults are redefining sustainable Web3 funding, and why the definition of a "public good" matters more than ever when allocating grants.

Mashal also opens up about being an introvert in a loud crypto space, the cultural gap between women founders in the Global South vs. Western markets, and why she refuses to let AI write for her.

Highlights:
🔸 What Octant does and how its new DeFi Vaults model funds Ethereum's ecosystem without depleting treasury
🔸 How to define "public good" in a grants context, and why vagueness kills impact
🔸 The AI + blockchain convergence thesis
🔸 The culture of failure: Middle East vs. American entrepreneurship
🔸 Why less than 3% of VC capital reaches women-led startups in the Middle East

Enjoy this episode and share it with your friends who want to learn about Ethereum public goods, women founders, and staying human in the AI era

🔔 Subscribe to Decentralized Voices for more insights about people shipping in web3 and AI tech.

Mashal Waqar, Octant CMO: https://x.com/arlery
Daria Strategy, podcast host and DecentWealth co-founder: https://x.com/DariaStrategy
Podcast website: https://decentralizedvoices.xyz

Don't come to Web3 unless you're from the US: ~70% of jobs are US-based. Builders in Africa, Latam, and SE Asia are locked out. Meet Solene Daviaud, founder of Dev3pack, who is changing that: 500+ active builders, 25+ countries, local chapters launching across 3 continents.

In this episode, she breaks down the hard truth behind the Web3 job market, why big blockchain companies pay for onboarding new developers in Africa and Latam, and what separates hackathon winners from everyone else.

Highlights:
🔸 How to get a job in Web3 if you're based in LATAM, Africa, or Southeast Asia
🔸 Mastering the art of partnership with Alchemy, ENS, Base, and Lisk
🔸 Web2 devs need to ditch LinkedIn-first thinking and build in public on X and GitHub
🔸 Vibe coding and AI in Web3. What can't be replaced by AI?
🔸 Hosting a hacker house for 70 female developers in Buenos Aires

Enjoy this episode and share it with your friends who want to find a developer job in web3 and tech. Like this video and subscribe to Decentralized Voices for more insights about people shipping in web3 and AI tech.

Guest, Solene Daviaud: https://x.com/_SDAV
Host, Daria Strategy: https://x.com/DariaStrategy
Podcast website: https://decentralizedvoices.xyz