Build Useful Things
Pragmatic notes on building in a changing world
If you’re feeling like the ground is moving under your feet, you’re not wrong. Institutions are being stress‑tested, technology cycles are compressing, and the line between “online” and “real life” is gone. We started First Turn Capital (FTC) to help builders work through this transition—practically, patiently, and with both feet on the ground.
We anchor our worldview in a simple idea: history moves in cycles. After a long period of “unraveling,” societies enter a crisis and then rebuild. That rebuilding phase—what historians call a first turning—is when new institutions get created. It’s messy, but it’s also the best time to build meaningful things.
Our job is to back and help the people doing that work.
Our lens: Productive > Extractive
Think of the system as a built‑in 11–13% headwind each year—a mix of inflation, currency debasement, and fees. If an investment mainly clips coupons (buybacks, tolls, pass‑through fees), most of its effort goes to fighting that headwind, and it rarely compounds.
We underwrite to that real hurdle. We prefer businesses that clear it by making things cheaper, faster, and more abundant: fewer inputs per unit of output, more compute per dollar, and programmable settlement that shortens working‑capital cycles. That’s productive capital—it compounds on its own, with customer value (not the next buyer) driving returns.
What we’re seeing
AI → production. Small teams ship what used to take departments.
Compute per dollar rising. Smarter models + better utilization unlock new products.
Programmable money works. Low‑fee L2s + stable‑value assets = global, auditable settlement.
Talent unbundling. Great operators leaving big orgs to build.
Where we focus (now)
AI & Agents: workflows that save time or money—reliable, shippable, distributed.
Crypto Rails: payments, settlement, and identity that cut cost and add auditability.
Consumer Crypto & Culture: fun‑first products that create new markets and real user/creator surplus via ownership + programmable money (UGC economies, interoperable items, durable communities). No ponzinomics.
How we operate
Fast feedback. Right‑sized capital. Customer access. Company‑building help when it matters.
Tone
Humble, pragmatic, flexible. Cycles humble everyone. We’ll change our minds when the data changes.
We didn’t start FTC to predict the future. We started it to help build it—quietly, and on purpose.
