How to bet on yourself (without venture capital)

William Hockey (Column, Plaid co-founder) argues self-funded banking infrastructure beats the VC hamster wheel, with the dollar as America’s most underrated national security weapon.

• Column is a software company that owns a bank, making 90%+ revenue from software APIs while passing bank economics to customers like Built, Wise, Ramp, and Brex.
• Hockey self-funded Column entirely to avoid VC pressure; buys back 25% of earnings in employee shares annually instead of chasing growth metrics.
• Buying a regulated bank during Biden admin required 2-3 years of zero revenue focus — impossible under VC pressure to show growth.
• 75% of global trade is still dollar-denominated, including China-Russia energy deals; Hockey frames Column as part of US national security infrastructure.
• Silicon Valley and Beijing are the two most consensus societies Hockey has visited — Silicon Valley founders build for each other, not for broader America.
• AI’s biggest beneficiaries won’t be AI companies but large incumbents with massive distribution and bloated headcount — especially banks, whose costs are mostly people and tech.
• DRC mobile penetration is under 25%, banking under 5%; Kinshasa is projected to become one of the world’s largest cities within a decade.
• YC’s startup request list is a signal of what NOT to build — by the time it’s consensus, competition and capital have already flooded the space.

2026-03-17 · Watch on YouTube