David Clark sits down with Ben Forman, Founder and Managing Partner of ParaFi Capital, one of the world’s leading institutional investors in blockchain and digital assets.
Ben’s path into digital assets is anything but conventional. Trained in traditional private equity and credit at firms such as KKR and TPG, he began his career analysing businesses through a deeply fundamental, cash-flow-driven lens. Like many experienced investors, his initial reaction to crypto was sceptical. What changed was a growing conviction that blockchain technology could fundamentally reshape how value moves through the global financial system.
For listeners unfamiliar with blockchain or digital assets, this conversation serves as a clear, grounded introduction. Ben explains blockchain in practical terms, comparing its potential impact on finance to what the internet did for information—reducing friction, cost and reliance on intermediaries. We explore why financial services, despite decades of digitisation, remain inefficient, and how technologies such as stablecoins, tokenisation and on-chain settlement are beginning to change that.
The discussion also demystifies ParaFi’s role in the ecosystem. Ben outlines how ParaFi operates as a multi-strategy investment firm—spanning venture capital, liquid markets and non-directional strategies—and why institutional process, risk management and governance matter just as much in digital assets as they do in traditional markets.
We also examine real-world examples of blockchain in action, including prediction markets, stablecoin-based payments, and the growing involvement of major global institutions. Importantly, Ben shares lessons from both successful investments and ideas that were simply too early—offering rare insight into how emerging asset classes evolve over time.
This episode provides a clear framework for understanding one of the most important structural shifts underway in global finance and why digital assets are increasingly part of institutional portfolios, what risks remain, and how to think about the opportunity with discipline rather than speculation.
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David Clark sits down with Ben Forman, Founder and Managing Partner of ParaFi Capital, one of the world’s leading institutional investors in blockchain and digital assets.
Ben’s path into digital assets is anything but conventional. Trained in traditional private equity and credit at firms such as KKR and TPG, he began his career analysing businesses through a deeply fundamental, cash-flow-driven lens. Like many experienced investors, his initial reaction to crypto was sceptical. What changed was a growing conviction that blockchain technology could fundamentally reshape how value moves through the global financial system.
For listeners unfamiliar with blockchain or digital assets, this conversation serves as a clear, grounded introduction. Ben explains blockchain in practical terms, comparing its potential impact on finance to what the internet did for information—reducing friction, cost and reliance on intermediaries. We explore why financial services, despite decades of digitisation, remain inefficient, and how technologies such as stablecoins, tokenisation and on-chain settlement are beginning to change that.
The discussion also demystifies ParaFi’s role in the ecosystem. Ben outlines how ParaFi operates as a multi-strategy investment firm—spanning venture capital, liquid markets and non-directional strategies—and why institutional process, risk management and governance matter just as much in digital assets as they do in traditional markets.
We also examine real-world examples of blockchain in action, including prediction markets, stablecoin-based payments, and the growing involvement of major global institutions. Importantly, Ben shares lessons from both successful investments and ideas that were simply too early—offering rare insight into how emerging asset classes evolve over time.
This episode provides a clear framework for understanding one of the most important structural shifts underway in global finance and why digital assets are increasingly part of institutional portfolios, what risks remain, and how to think about the opportunity with discipline rather than speculation.
Ep 211: Inside the Liquidity Event - Three Founders, One Defining Moment
Inside the Rope with David Clark
43 minutes 54 seconds
1 month ago
Ep 211: Inside the Liquidity Event - Three Founders, One Defining Moment
In this special edition of Inside the Rope, host David Clark brings listeners into a raw, deeply personal roundtable with three exceptional founders who have stood at one of the most defining crossroads in wealth: the liquidity event. Moments where years, sometimes decades, of sacrifice, risk, and relentless effort crystallise into life-changing capital.
Featuring:
Julie Mathers, founder of Flora & Fauna, who built Australia’s largest ethical retail platform from scratch before selling to a public company — only to dive straight back in with a new venture. Julie brings honesty, humility and practical wisdom about identity, values, and the emotional aftershocks of selling a business.
Nick Cloete, founder of Kounta, the category-leading hospitality software platform acquired by Lightspeed. Nick reflects on the entrepreneurial addiction to momentum, recalibrating risk once money becomes real, and the power of trusted relationships during the transition.
Scott Nowell, co-founder of The Monkeys, one of Australia’s most awarded creative agencies, later acquired by Accenture. Scott opens up about purpose, identity loss, burnout, and the complexity of navigating an earn-out while redefining who you are outside your business.
Alongside them is Sean Abbott, Partner at Koda Capital and one of Australia’s most respected advisers. Sean shares insights from a decade of research, five white papers, and more than 45 conversations with entrepreneurs about the unexpected challenges that follow a major exit - from managing family dynamics to recalibrating risk, rebuilding purpose, and finding the right advisers when you suddenly become a target for everyone’s attention.
What This Episode Covers
* How founders really feel when the money lands - excitement, relief, fear, and everything in between.
* Why “don’t rush” may be the best advice any founder can receive.
* The psychological whiplash of going from high-risk operator to conservative investor.
* How wealth can splinter families…and how intentional planning prevents it.
* Navigating friendship breakdowns, opportunistic requests and public deal announcements.
* Why identity, not money, is often the hardest part of exiting a business.
* The power of trusted advice, and why founders need a personal board of directors just as much as a corporate one.
* The role of partners and families in the journey and why their support is often the invisible foundation of every successful exit.
This is an unfiltered, emotional, and remarkably generous conversation. A must-listen for business owners, founders, advisers, and anyone preparing for their own event. A rare look behind the curtain of what wealth really means when it arrives all at once.
Inside the Rope with David Clark
David Clark sits down with Ben Forman, Founder and Managing Partner of ParaFi Capital, one of the world’s leading institutional investors in blockchain and digital assets.
Ben’s path into digital assets is anything but conventional. Trained in traditional private equity and credit at firms such as KKR and TPG, he began his career analysing businesses through a deeply fundamental, cash-flow-driven lens. Like many experienced investors, his initial reaction to crypto was sceptical. What changed was a growing conviction that blockchain technology could fundamentally reshape how value moves through the global financial system.
For listeners unfamiliar with blockchain or digital assets, this conversation serves as a clear, grounded introduction. Ben explains blockchain in practical terms, comparing its potential impact on finance to what the internet did for information—reducing friction, cost and reliance on intermediaries. We explore why financial services, despite decades of digitisation, remain inefficient, and how technologies such as stablecoins, tokenisation and on-chain settlement are beginning to change that.
The discussion also demystifies ParaFi’s role in the ecosystem. Ben outlines how ParaFi operates as a multi-strategy investment firm—spanning venture capital, liquid markets and non-directional strategies—and why institutional process, risk management and governance matter just as much in digital assets as they do in traditional markets.
We also examine real-world examples of blockchain in action, including prediction markets, stablecoin-based payments, and the growing involvement of major global institutions. Importantly, Ben shares lessons from both successful investments and ideas that were simply too early—offering rare insight into how emerging asset classes evolve over time.
This episode provides a clear framework for understanding one of the most important structural shifts underway in global finance and why digital assets are increasingly part of institutional portfolios, what risks remain, and how to think about the opportunity with discipline rather than speculation.
