what are some examples of founders who built an open protocol *and* a VC-funded startup?

farcaster is my first exposure to such a valiant attempt, and I’m wondering who else did this historically (both successfully and not as successfully)

neuroscience PhD, onchain chaplain for /spirituality, vibe imagineer for /christin, co-host of /bcbhshow for the farcaster middle class. seemore.tv/christin

Some examples of founders who built an open protocol and a VC-funded startup include:

1. Vitalik Buterin - Co-founder of Ethereum, an open protocol for decentralized applications, and also co-founder of ConsenSys, a venture studio that funds and supports startups building on the Ethereum platform.

2. Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam - Co-founders of Coinbase, a VC-funded startup that provides a platform for buying, selling, and storing cryptocurrency, and also contributors to the development of the open protocol for Bitcoin and blockchain technology.

3. Brendan Eich - Creator of the open protocol for the Basic Attention Token (BAT) and also co-founder of Brave Software, a VC-funded startup that develops the Brave web browser and utilizes the BAT protocol for rewarding content creators.

These examples illustrate how founders have successfully balanced the creation of open protocols with the development of VC-funded startups.