Martin Hamedani

@ankurnagpal I’d love to

Been fun building a tax planning app - Analyzes your IRS transcript to give you an overview - Checks eligibility against our list of 20+ tax saving strategies - Integrates with AI to dive deeper on any of the strategies (with context to your situation) Lmk if you wanna try!

@pitdesi I was talking about this the other day. If I switch from gpt to Claude I want to take all my history/memory with me. Could we build this?

I really need a universal search across Gemini, ChatGPT, and Claude. I can’t remember which LLM I had a convo with that I want to go back to

Massively excited for @e_woodford and @ZeroHashX -- they've been the crypto infra OGs in Chicago since Day 1. Thrilled that they're showing the world (among other things) that you can still build a fintech leader in Chicago. Let's go!!

@nejatian Chicago

We are going to launch a new buyer product in a couple of markets very soon. Which markets should we start with? We need to test this before going national.

@sircalebhammer Chicago

Would I be insane if I moved me and the content arm of my business to NYC? The cons… I know… instant 15% raise in taxes, less business friendly, sure crime per capita is down, but there is still more technical crime of course, winters, expensive… and a very interesting mayoral race lol On the flipside, I’m absolutely sick and tired of Austin Texas because I’ve been here for eight years and I desire a large city with more amenities. I do miss four seasons. I hate Austin Texas summers. NYC is better to fly guests in and out of. Better for casting. Better talent pool on the creative side. I’ve always desired a walkable city, truly walkable, not fake walkable, and there’s only three or five of those in the United States… And this being the primary one that’s not completely drug ridden. Idk.

Chicago has long deserved a serious startup hub. Introducing Density Collective.

@landon20s Welcome to the best Persian food in the city!

Never change, Kabobi 🙏🏽 Chicago staple

@gdcaplan So it’s really worth it?

@Neema5 Yes.

Not humble brag. Feel great about getting my first 99

@anothercohen Stay in the west loop for sure. Go work from sawada/the allis/good ambler

Flight canceled, stuck in Chicago tonight. What part of the city should I stay in? Need access to coffee shops to work tomorrow

I dug into the Chicago tech scene going back ~50 years. How many successful tech companies were founded here? Who is behind them? How much value have they generated? I struggled to find good data, so I did some research... Chicago Tech’s $100M List: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…

@John_PiazzaIV Sick! What platform did you use to build?

One of my pet peeves is manually filling up my calendar with event details. So, instead of spending 15 min entering in all of the summer "jazz in the park" events, I spent an hour vibe-coding a website that fast tracks the process. Vibe coding is too much fun.

@landon20s I would say they had bigger days especially in 2010-2020. Still a very strong industry and talent we have

Working at a prop trading firm in Chicago rn feels like working at Facebook in 2011. I’ll expand on this thought soon.

@NWischoff Where is the Chicago happy hour?

Wrapping up May: -Two markups in Fund II -Two new investment announcements (Rebolt & Atomic Canyon) -Looked at 500 deals, met over 60 -Hosted dinners in Boston & LA -Planned an entire Pop-up Pitch Day in SF with a full video production team (and sponsors) and killer GPs (sorting through applications now, happening June 10) -Onboarded four venture scouts in SF/NYC June Plans: -Hosting a HH in Chicago for founders and investors June 5 -Hosting a ladies dinner in SF June 10th -Hosting Pop-Up Pitch Day June 10th in SF -YC Demo Day June 11 -Hosting a large founder dinner in SF June 11th -NYC June 18-19 Come pitch us, grab drinks or dinner with us, scout for us or simply say hey!

@Molson_Hart Let’s go Chicago! @landon20s

The top 10 highest grossing independent restaurants in the United States

@landon20s One of the best spots!

I only drink coffee on the weekends And Vietfive is easily one of my favorite spots in the city

@ankurnagpal would love to have this!

Most people overpay their taxes But did you know you can use AI as your free, personal tax advisor? I wrote a free guide showing exactly how I set up an LLM to analyze my tax return & come up with strategies to pay less in taxes Leave a comment & I'll DM it to you

@EzraMoGee I’d like to be the sawada scout for you

this is true. ps, can’t wait to hold court at sawada outside in the spring.

@bamazizii @meshpay Huge congrats to the entire team!

🚨 ⚡  Breaking: I’m proud to share that @meshpay has raised $82 million in Series B funding to build the first truly global #crypto #payments #network – one that makes crypto as easy, seamless, and universal to use as fiat. Most of the investments were closed with PayPal USD (#PYUSD) stablecoin. This round, led by @paradigm (Charlie Noyes & Matt Huang) with participation from @Consensys , QuantumLight, Yolo Investments, Evolution VC, Hike Ventures, Opportuna and AltaIR Capital, that brings our total funding to over $120 million. Regulatory clarity is taking shape, institutions are leaning in, and #stablecoins are booming. The industry has gotten everything it could have asked for – and then some. Crypto finally has its shot at mainstream adoption. The industry is ready, the technology is ready and we believe #Payments are the unlock. 💡 What is Mesh and How it solves the crypto payments challenges? Mesh is building the #network that connects #wallets, #exchanges, Payment Service Providers (PSPs), and businesses as one cohesive operating system. Users can pay with any asset they hold – BTC, ETH, SOL – while merchants settle in the hashtag#stablecoin of their choice: PYUSD, RLUSD, USDC. It’s seamless, instant, and works everywhere. Just like it should. It’s the foundational infrastructure for a #borderless, open financial system. A system where payments aren’t confined by geography, banking hours, or asset types. One network that works across #TradFi and #crypto. Our technology already powers payments, deposits, and transfers across 300+ wallets, exchanges, and platforms. We reach over 400 million users in 100+ countries. With this capital, we’re expanding globally to making crypto payments as easy as using a credit card. Thank you to everyone on the Mesh team and all of our investors and advisors for their brilliance, hard work, and inspiration. This milestone would not have been possible without their continued support and trust in our vision. We look forward to entering this next phase of growth together. And we are hiring! DM me to build the future together. #Crypto #Payments #Stablecoins #Fundraise #Mesh

@teecogs Ready to make Chicago into a top tech city

There is now a massive gap in our ecosystem. The next era of Chicago’s tech needs a refreshed, dedicated, high-impact space where builders, founders, and investors can thrive together. I’m already in active discussions with leading VCs, operators, and founders to make this vision a reality. If you’re interested in shaping what’s next, let’s connect.