Ship or Die at Accelerate 2025: Venmo in the Age of Crypto

In a groundbreaking discussion at Accelerate 2025, Venmo co-founder Iqram Magdon-Ismail and early investor Sam Lessin unveil their latest venture - Jelly Jelly, a revolutionary crypto-powered social platform built on Solana. This marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of social payments, as the duo behind Venmo's success bring their expertise to the world of blockchain and meme coins.

Summary

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The conversation between Magdon-Ismail and Lessin provides a fascinating look at the journey from Venmo's inception to the creation of Jelly Jelly, a new social platform that integrates cryptocurrency and meme culture. They discuss the challenges of making crypto accessible to mainstream users and how Jelly Jelly aims to solve this through simple, engaging mechanics.

The duo reveals the unexpected success of the Jelly Jelly meme coin launch, which saw the project's market cap soar to $200 million within hours. This event served as a proof of concept for their vision of combining social interactions with cryptocurrency transfers.

Lessin and Magdon-Ismail emphasize the importance of creating products that are not just technologically sound but also fun and engaging for users. They argue that the key to mainstream crypto adoption lies in building applications that make people feel connected and provide tangible value beyond just financial transactions.

Key Points:

The Evolution from Venmo to Jelly Jelly

Lessin and Magdon-Ismail recount their journey from the early days of Venmo to their current project, Jelly Jelly. They describe how the core concept of "liking with money" that drove Venmo's success has evolved in the crypto age. Jelly Jelly takes this idea further by allowing users to express appreciation through cryptocurrency tips, creating a more engaging and rewarding social experience.

The founders emphasize how Jelly Jelly builds upon the lessons learned from Venmo, addressing the need for more meaningful interactions in social media. By integrating cryptocurrency, they aim to create a platform where engagement has real, tangible value.

The Power of Meme Coins and Community Building

The discussion highlights the unexpected success of the Jelly Jelly meme coin launch, which saw the project's market cap rise to $200 million in just four hours. This event demonstrated the power of combining crypto with meme culture to rapidly build a community.

Lessin explains how meme coins can be used as a tool for community building and user acquisition. The Jelly Jelly launch resulted in 10,000 sign-ups in two hours, instantly creating a base of engaged users and ambassadors for the platform. This success underscores the potential of crypto-powered social platforms to generate rapid growth and user engagement.

Making Crypto Accessible and Engaging

A significant portion of the conversation focuses on the challenge of making cryptocurrency accessible and appealing to mainstream users. Lessin and Magdon-Ismail stress the importance of simplicity and engagement in crypto products.

They argue that successful crypto projects need to be easily explainable and provide clear value to users. The founders see Jelly Jelly as a way to make crypto interactions as simple and enjoyable as social media likes, but with the added benefit of transferring real economic value.

The Future of Social Payments

Looking ahead, Lessin and Magdon-Ismail envision a future where crypto-powered social platforms become the norm. They believe that by combining the engaging aspects of social media with the economic incentives of cryptocurrency, platforms like Jelly Jelly can create more meaningful and rewarding online interactions.

The duo announces new features for Jelly Jelly, including rewards for posting and referring friends, demonstrating their commitment to incentivizing engagement and growth on the platform.

Facts + Figures

• Jelly Jelly's meme coin launch saw its market cap rise to $200 million within 4 hours
• The platform gained 10,000 sign-ups in 2 hours following the meme coin launch
• Jelly Jelly is built on the Solana blockchain
• Users can earn 10 Jelly tokens for each post they make on the app
• A bonus of 100 Jelly tokens is awarded for making 5 posts in a row
• The app is currently available on iPhone, with an Android version in development
• Jelly Jelly's market cap has settled to around $30 million after the initial surge
• The platform allows users to tip content creators with cryptocurrency

Top quotes

1. "Memes rule everything around us." - Sam Lessin
2. "If Venmo was like with money, Jelly is love with money, baby." - Iqram Magdon-Ismail
3. "People don't show up to an app because it's intellectually correct. You show up to it because it makes them feel awesome." - Sam Lessin
4. "Crypto can be a great way to build a community." - Iqram Magdon-Ismail
5. "The infrastructure works, finally, right? And you can now build things like Jelly Jelly, and think about how to use crypto in great product-oriented ways." - Sam Lessin

Questions Answered

What is Jelly Jelly?

Jelly Jelly is a new crypto-powered social platform built on the Solana blockchain. It combines elements of social media with cryptocurrency transfers, allowing users to "like with money" by tipping content creators and engaging in social interactions backed by real economic value.

How does Jelly Jelly differ from Venmo?

While Venmo focused on peer-to-peer payments with social elements, Jelly Jelly takes the concept further by integrating cryptocurrency and meme culture. It allows users to express appreciation through crypto tips, creating a more engaging and potentially rewarding social experience than traditional likes or comments.

How successful was the Jelly Jelly meme coin launch?

The Jelly Jelly meme coin launch was extraordinarily successful, with the project's market cap reaching $200 million within just four hours. This rapid growth demonstrated the power of combining crypto with meme culture to quickly build a community and generate excitement around a new platform.

How is Jelly Jelly trying to make crypto more accessible to mainstream users?

Jelly Jelly aims to make crypto more accessible by focusing on simplicity and engagement. The platform allows users to interact with cryptocurrency in ways that feel familiar to social media experiences, such as liking and tipping content. By making these interactions fun and easy to understand, Jelly Jelly hopes to bridge the gap between crypto enthusiasts and mainstream users.

What incentives does Jelly Jelly offer to users?

Jelly Jelly offers several incentives to encourage user engagement. Users can earn 10 Jelly tokens for each post they make on the app, with a bonus of 100 Jelly tokens for making 5 posts in a row. The platform also rewards users for bringing their friends onto the app, creating a network effect for growth.

Why do the founders believe Jelly Jelly could be successful?

The founders believe Jelly Jelly has potential for success because it combines the engaging aspects of social media with the economic incentives of cryptocurrency. They argue that by providing tangible value through crypto transfers, Jelly Jelly can create more meaningful and rewarding online interactions than traditional social platforms.