There’s a chasm running through crypto—one that no blockchain can bridge on its own. On one side is the retail crowd: fast, reactive, emotionally driven. On the other, venture capital: calculated, long-term, and often years ahead in narrative positioning. If Web3 is truly about leveling the playing field, then retail must do more than participate. It must evolve. And that evolution starts with thinking like a VC.
In her CoinRock podcast appearance, Laura K. Inamedinova, CGEO at Gate.io and Principal at Gate Ventures, pulled back the curtain on how institutional minds approach crypto. Her dual perspective—building global growth strategies at one of the world’s largest exchanges while also steering investments at it’s Web3-focused VC arm—makes her uniquely positioned to explain the gap. And she doesn’t sugarcoat it.
“As the market matures, you need to be a much more mature player to succeed.”
The message was clear: if retail investors want to survive the next cycle, it’s not about better timing. It’s about better thinking.
What VCs Do That Retail Rarely Does
The typical retail trader opens their phone, sees a green candle, and hits buy. A VC, meanwhile, has probably spent weeks dissecting the project’s team, tokenomics, tech stack, and potential exits—often before the project even launches publicly, before committing funds into it.
This isn’t because VCs are smarter. It’s because they have systems.
Laura emphasized that one of the biggest differences lies in how decisions are made. Retail often chases dopamine. VCs chase thesis alignment. And when the hype kicks in, VCs are usually already out—or doubling down based on pre-modeled conviction.
“Sometimes founders forget there are steps before going to venture capital to prepare yourself, your homework..”
That filtration process is what retail needs to mimic. Not with million-dollar deals, but with mindset.
It’s tempting to blame market inequality on access. And yes, some venture deals still remain closed to the public. But the playing field has leveled more than most acknowledge. Gate.io, for example, offers token launchpads, ecosystem updates, and educational resources accessible to anyone with an internet connection.
So what’s the real issue? Laura pointed it out clearly
“If you don’t have a previous crypto track record, don’t raise from VCs. And I’ll tell you what to do instead. Go get a job, get your track record, find co-founders. You need to have tier one project experience before doing your own thing. If you don’t have it, it’s going to be very hard..”
Retail isn’t lacking data—it’s drowning in it. Without a structured approach to filter what’s important, even the best market reports or token unlock calendars won’t help. That’s where VC-style thinking becomes a survival skill. The ability to build from accrued experiences, read between the lines, to test assumptions, to ask: Why does this exist? Who benefits? What happens if it fails?
“the most important thing [I ask founders when they pitch to me], is: where do you have unfair advantage? Do you have some sort of proprietary knowledge, access, or relationship that makes you super, super qualified to do whatever you want to do and succeed?”
Frameworks don’t require funding. They require track record and discipline.
Saying No Is a Superpower
One of the most powerful things Laura said had nothing to do with a particular deal or project. It was about restraint.
“If you don’t have that much experience and you still want to build, find someone in your network in the level where you are, they’re going to help you to get to the next level rather than you shooting for the next X team. Because they’re not going to respond and you’re going to be discouraged and you’re going to waste your time for something that’s going to yield zero results.”
In the VC world, this is a golden rule. Most ideas are bad. Most pitches are flawed. Most teams aren’t ready. And yet, retail continues to behave as if every coin is “the one”—because the fear of missing out overrides logic.
Laura’s advice here is brutal but fair: you don’t need to catch everything. You need to catch the right things. And that requires being okay with letting dozens—even hundreds—of tokens pass by before acting on one. It’s not about avoiding risk. It’s about managing it with intention.
Why the Retail Mindset Must Evolve Now
Crypto isn’t what it was in 2017. Or 2021. We’re entering an era of regulatory complexity, institutional integration, and ecosystem consolidation. Projects are expected to have roadmaps, working products, and economic models. Simply slapping a meme on a chain won’t cut it for long.
Laura sees this clearly—and believes retail can adapt.
“VC game is going to be more tied to people coming in to either yield bearing solutions or just investing in more sustainable long-term companies rather than doing this degenerating, you know, spray and pray.
That shift—from reactive trading to thoughtful allocation—is the hardest and most important leap for retail to make. It means embracing a longer view, trusting your due diligence, and walking away from hype when it doesn’t fit your thesis.
Because in a maturing space, the winners won’t be the loudest. They’ll be the ones who thought like allocators—even when they only had $100 to their name.
The Real Alpha Is Mental Frameworks
Retail investors may never have the same insider access or liquidity as top-tier VCs. But they do have one thing just as powerful: the ability to change how they think.
That doesn’t mean downloading a hundred more Twitter spaces or flipping coins faster. It means learning how to evaluate narratives, understand incentives, and invest with frameworks.
The future of crypto isn’t about betting faster. It’s about thinking deeper.
And the hard truth? Retail doesn’t need more coins—it needs more conviction.
