Hypernest on The DeFi Drop

Host: Edward Ward, Portals
Guest: Alessio Zazzarini, Founder of HyperNest

In this episode of The DeFi Drop, Edward Ward is joined by Alessio Zazzarini, co-founder of HyperNest. HyperNest is a DeFi accelerator helping early-stage Web3 teams go from concept to adoption. The conversation dives into Alessio’s background, the tools and philosophy behind HyperNest, and what truly makes a DeFi startup succeed today.

From Investor to Web3 Native

Alessio's crypto journey began as a traditional investor before Ethereum and ICO communities pulled him deeper. What started as a casual interest turned into organizing one of the largest crypto meetups in Düsseldorf, connecting early miners, traders, and DeFi users.

"I don’t know if I got into Web3 or Web3 got into me… everything started when I began learning about Ethereum and all of a sudden I was in the ICO craziness."

His early hands-on experience with platforms like EtherDelta and mining coins like Litecoin and Dash now informs the way he advises early-stage founders.

How HyperNest Supports Founders

HyperNest is more than a pitch deck polishing shop. It provides:

• Capital to help teams build throughout the program
• Day-to-day strategy support for founders
• Expert access across tokenomics, security, liquidity, and legal topics
• Fundraising prep and intros to aligned investors

HyperNest maintains long-term relationships and continues working with teams beyond any fixed program duration.

"We never really treat it as just a three-month or six-month window. We stay hand-to-hand with founders even after the accelerator phase."

Mentors include technical experts, legal advisors, and successful protocol builders who step in at critical moments.

Selective by Design

Each HyperNest cohort typically includes just 7 startups.

• Over 700 applications per cycle
• Less than 1% acceptance rate

"If you want to provide very high-quality support, you simply can’t work with too many startups at the same time."

The goal is focused, high-impact support for the teams that show the highest potential.

Building Resilience and Peer Networks

Technical and strategic guidance is just one part of the HyperNest model. The program also emphasizes:

• Mastermind groups for founders to share openly
• Peer support on topics like motivation, co-founder alignment, and navigating failure
• In-person events and informal gatherings to build trust among startups, mentors, and investors

"Entrepreneurship is not only about fundraising. Sometimes it’s about motivation, co-founder issues, or dealing with failure."

Product First: Liquidity and Usage vs. Incentives

Edward brings up a common DeFi pitfall: funding and incentives don’t always translate into usage.

"If your protocol is not useful, at best people will just farm your incentives and leave."

HyperNest helps teams attract liquidity from aligned participants. These are partners who want to use the product, not extract rewards. The foundation must be product-market fit.

"Do users actually need your product?"

If the answer is no, short-term capital cannot solve the problem.

What Great DeFi Teams Have in Common

After working with over 100 startups, Alessio shares the traits they look for:

• Previous founder or industry experience
• Strong crypto-native networks
• Openness to pivot when required
• Long-term resilience

"In our assessment, the team alone can be more than one-third of the total score."

One story stands out: a team pivoted from privacy tech to stablecoins after facing regulatory headwinds. They succeeded because they didn’t give up.

"The project didn’t die. It’s thriving today. That only happens when the team refuses to give up."

From Accelerator to Venture Builder

HyperNest is now taking a bold step: launching startups in-house.

They will:

• Co-build with selected founders
• Provide full operational support
• Bring the product to market under shared leadership

"After rocking so many babies, now we’re finally having our own."

This evolution transforms HyperNest into a venture builder with a hands-on approach to product creation.

Final Thoughts

This episode of The DeFi Drop is packed with practical insight into what separates the signal from the noise in Web3. HyperNest is shaping the next wave of DeFi teams with high-touch support, selective admission, and deep operational backing. Their shift into venture building hints at an even more active role in creating real protocols for real users.

Learn more or apply at hypernest.xyz, or connect directly with Alessio on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About HyperNest

HyperNest is a decentralized DeFi accelerator and venture builder, supporting early-stage Web3 startups with capital, strategy, expert mentorship, and go-to-market support. HyperNest focuses on founder resilience, tokenomics, and long-term adoption.

About Portals.fi

Portals.fi is the DeFi super app, unifying discovery, trading, yield and automation in a single interface and API. From swaps and zaps to loops and yield strategies, Portals connects users and builders to 20 million plus assets and thousands of protocols across every major chain, making DeFi simple, reliable and powerful.