The Strategy Stack - Tech Breakdown (With Guest: Ben Sheppard)

Strategy Stack: Tech Breakdown

👥 Featuring:

• Guest: Ben Shepherd – Founder at the intersection of infrastructure, AI, and blockchain; ex-engineer, active mentor on MentorCruise, advocate for tokenized public infrastructure.

• Host: Alex (The Strategy Stack)

Key Discussion Topics

• Ben’s Journey: Infrastructure → Tech

  • From $100M+ public-private infrastructure deals to AI entrepreneur.

  • Founded a startup to streamline infrastructure due diligence using AI.

  • Actively collaborates with global development banks.

• Mentorship & Creator Ecosystems

  • Both guests share experience on MentorCruise and Substack.

  • Importance of building public voice and networks across multiple platforms.

  • Monetization via Substack and partnerships; LinkedIn newsletter hacks.

• Global AI & Platform Shifts

  • Meta’s renewed stablecoin push, Veo-3 (text-to-video+audio), and Codex rollout.

  • Small AI tools like Fireflies being outpaced by giants like Google Gemini.

  • Agent-based interfaces and the coming wave of AI-native business tooling.

• AI Regulation & Market Forces

  • Artists push back on AI via “silent album” protests.

  • Platforms under pressure to implement access controls and permission layers.

  • AI mimicking consultants, creatives, and developers—raising equity & copyright concerns.

• Decentralization, Tokenization & Global Projects

  • Real-world asset (RWA) tokenization for solar and water projects in Latin America and Africa.

  • Opportunity to replicate the model in Southeast Asia despite regulatory complexity.

  • Vision for public infrastructure backed by public tokens.

• Human Jobs & Future of Work

  • AI won’t eliminate jobs—it may close the $1T annual infrastructure investment gap.

  • Trades like plumbing still safest from automation.

  • More knowledge workers shifting toward async, creative, agent-augmented workflows.

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💡 Takeaways

From Alex:

• Modularity is destiny: The future is composable—LLMs, governance, and identity must work together.

• We're leaving the age of scarcity and entering abundance, but fear is the byproduct of missing context.

• Offline becomes a luxury: Digital detox, board games, and physical interaction may rebound post-AI.

From Ben:

• The next billion-dollar business could be built by one person—but a moat is essential.

• Entrepreneurs are the invisible actors building conviction into reality. Vision precedes evidence.

• Tokenization can bridge communities with real infrastructure, especially in underserved regions.