While You Build Casinos, We Build Real Finance | LayerZero, co-founders

From poker player to breaking blockchain's impossible trilemma—this is the story of LayerZero. Bryan Pellegrino and Ryan Zarick were nobodies with zero pedigree, no Harvard or MIT degrees, no connections. Yet they became the first founders in history to have both a16z and Sequoia co-lead a funding round. After losing everything when online poker was banned overnight, Bryan learned that reshuffles create opportunities. Years later, he and Ryan reunited with a promise to never give up again. Working through sleepless nights, they obsessed over one question: how do you connect isolated blockchains? The answer became LayerZero. On February 10th, they launched Zero, finally breaking the trilemma that stumped even Vitalik Buterin. But here's what Bryan wants you to remember most: technology doesn't progress automatically. Progress only happens because people with unrelenting conviction work impossibly hard to make it real. What are you willing to suffer for? 00:00 Intro 01:20 Two Outsiders, One Impossible Bet 12:33 Build the World's Last Blockchain- Cracking the Trilemma 19:07 On Conviction, Obsession, and the Long Game EO stands for Entrepreneur& Opportunities. As we're looking to feature more inspiring stories of entrepreneurs all over the world, don't hesitate to contact us at partner@eoeoeo.net LinkedIn | @EO STUDIO X | @eostudi0

Bryan PellegrinoguestRyan Zarickguest

Feb 11, 202625mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: February 11, 2026
Duration: 25m
Channel: EO Studio
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

From poker player to breaking blockchain's impossible trilemma—this is the story of LayerZero. Bryan Pellegrino and Ryan Zarick were nobodies with zero pedigree, no Harvard or MIT degrees, no connections. Yet they became the first founders in history to have both a16z and Sequoia co-lead a funding round. After losing everything when online poker was banned overnight, Bryan learned that reshuffles create opportunities. Years later, he and Ryan reunited with a promise to never give up again. Working through sleepless nights, they obsessed over one question: how do you connect isolated blockchains? The answer became LayerZero. On February 10th, they launched Zero, finally breaking the trilemma that stumped even Vitalik Buterin. But here's what Bryan wants you to remember most: technology doesn't progress automatically. Progress only happens because people with unrelenting conviction work impossibly hard to make it real. What are you willing to suffer for? 00:00 Intro 01:20 Two Outsiders, One Impossible Bet 12:33 Build the World's Last Blockchain- Cracking the Trilemma 19:07 On Conviction, Obsession, and the Long Game EO stands for Entrepreneur& Opportunities. As we're looking to feature more inspiring stories of entrepreneurs all over the world, don't hesitate to contact us at partner@eoeoeo.net LinkedIn | @EO STUDIO X | @eostudi0

SPEAKERS

Bryan Pellegrino
guest
Co-founder and CEO of LayerZero Labs.
Ryan Zarick
guest
Co-founder and CTO of LayerZero (LayerZero Labs).

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of EO Studio, featuring Bryan Pellegrino and Ryan Zarick, While You Build Casinos, We Build Real Finance | LayerZero, co-founders explores layerZero founders’ conviction-driven quest to connect blockchains like internet Bryan Pellegrino’s experience with the U.S. online poker crackdown shaped his libertarian-leaning belief in borderless, censorship-resistant financial rails and pushed him into crypto entrepreneurship.

RELATED EPISODES