Ken Miyachi

Met at: His place in Austin, TX Met date: 2025-03-30 (2:40 PM - 6:45 PM) Role(s): Founder @ BitMind, Friend Last interaction: 2026-01-04 (Dinner at restaurant in Austin)

Contact Information

• Email: [Update if available]
• Phone: [Update if available]
• Location: Austin, TX (planning to move to Portland for friend's wedding)

Professional Background

• Founder of BitMind, a decentralized AI company.
• Company has grown to 15,000 daily active users and is particularly popular in banking sector for fraud/scam detection.
• Recently resolved anonymous miner issue by recruiting talent from Google DeepMind to mine for BitMind.
• Major Crisis (December 2025): Investor who committed $1 million failed to deliver. Ken laid off entire team in mid-December after being overwhelmed by complex multivariable decisions. Gave everyone paid time off for holidays and paid everyone out. The advice was to "reduce the variables here" - eliminate the team to simplify the situation. Team understood and recognized it's "part of the game" - they "signed up for the risk."
• Current Status: Dylan (co-founder) staying on. Investor said they're still going to come through with money. Ken focusing on revenue-generating opportunities rather than big enterprise deals. Previous burn rate with all employees was $100k/month. If he can generate $100k MRR with a small team, would have infinite runway to pursue bigger idea.
• Actively recruiting a talented engineer from Google DeepMind, flying him to Austin for potential collaboration.
• Deals with complex token economics, miner relations, and the challenges of building in the web3/AI space.
• Previously navigated a significant crisis involving a major token holder ("whale") who panicked and dumped tokens, causing market volatility.
• Learning to manage stakeholder relationships in a decentralized ecosystem (treating them more like co-founders than employees).
• Focused on finding product-market fit for BitMind, potentially around a unified AI API layer.
• Understands the trade-offs between the funding potential and the complexities/stress of token-based models.
• Has PR team that sometimes suggests commentary on current events, but Ken is selective about political topics.
• Used AI tools to do in one day what his team estimated would take a month (90% completion, noting the hardest part is the last 10%).

Personal Details

• Lives in Austin, enjoys his home and outdoor space (working on his lawn).
• In a relationship with Sarah (who is currently interviewing for jobs).
• Planning to attend friend Henry's wedding in Portland (had to miss the bachelor party due to work).
• Thoughtful and philosophical, enjoys discussing complex topics like politics, societal structures, and the future of AI.
• Follows politics closely, interested in debates around governance, free speech, and utilitarian ethics.
• Values authenticity.
• Working on managing stress and finding better work-life balance.
• Injured hamstring recently, needs to get a cane for mobility.
• Currently feeling exhausted from startup grind, framing struggle as "fond memories I'll look back on."
• Recognizes sacrifices made in personal relationships due to work intensity.

Our Relationship

• Close friends.
• Provide honest feedback and act as sanity checks for each other.
• Gary values Ken's perspective on branding, framing, and "vibes".
• Discussed working together at BitMind previously, but decided against it to maintain the friendship boundary and because Gary's core strengths align better elsewhere.
• Prefer relationship to be focused on friendship and mutual brainstorming/support.
• Ken serves as a valuable bullshit detector and provides candid assessments of business opportunities.

Recent Interactions

• 2026-01-04: Dinner catch-up at restaurant in Austin. Discussed Gary's trip to China for brother's wedding (surveillance state observations, travel complications), Ken's decision to lay off entire BitMind team after investor failed to deliver $1M commitment (mid-December), Gary's new Applied AI Engineer community building direction with Travis's support (event Jan 29th at Antler), reflection on Lael Alexander situation where Ken's warnings proved correct, Gary's spiritual journey and new living situation, creative projects and AI tools, startup co-founder dynamics (creative/technical vs business/technical), and political discussions about Venezuela, Minnesota fraud, and California billionaire tax.
• 2025-03-30: Long catch-up at his house. Discussed Gary's new role with Joe Liemandt, Ken's recent challenges at BitMind, brainstorming the America 2.0 Summit, and various philosophical/political topics.
• 2025-07-09: Dinner at restaurant in Austin with Sarah present. Discussed Gary's transition from Alpha Schools to potential role with scientist Lael Alexander in Tulsa, Ken's BitMind progress, current events including Trump administration policies, AI censorship issues, and manufacturing/re-industrialization of America.
• 2025-12-03: Discussion on startup perseverance, AI's transformative impact on coding productivity, and maintaining relationships despite work intensity. Ken shared how he's using ChatGPT O1 to achieve months of work in a week, his current exhaustion from the startup grind, and inspired approach to sending voice memos to friends/family. Scheduled Sunday dinner plans.

Shared Interests

• Technology (AI, Blockchain, Startups)
• Politics & Philosophy (Governance, ethics, societal change)
• Music & Culture (K-Pop, event vibes, performers)
• Personal Growth & Development
• Austin lifestyle (outdoors, events)
• Manufacturing and economic policy
• Immigration and social issues

Key Insights About Them

• Resilient leader navigating high-stress situations in the volatile crypto/AI market.
• Deep thinker on the implications of technology and governance models.
• Values clear, concise communication and well-defined goals.
• Understands the importance of framing and perception in business and politics.
• Seeking better work-life balance amidst intense startup demands.
• Excellent at identifying potential scams and business red flags.
• Understands the importance of focus and execution over having many ideas.
• Believes in the power of specialization and being the best at one thing rather than mediocre at many.
• Views AI (especially ChatGPT O1) as transformative for coding productivity - feels "one with the AI."
• Identifies perseverance and "just getting after it" as his main competitive edge.
• Struggling with relationship maintenance due to work intensity, implementing quarterly voice memo check-ins.
• Philosophy: "The techno-capital machine is going to get more and more aggressive."

Key Insights from Them (for Gary)

• Provided critical feedback on the summit name, leading to the change from "American Genius Invitational" to "America 2.0 Summit".
• Offered a much stronger framing for Gary's new role: "I run a political strategy agency" rather than "Chief of Staff".
• Affirmed that Gary's role with Joe Liemandt is an excellent fit for his core strengths (ecosystem building, political/cultural strategy).
• 2025-07-09: Expressed skepticism about Lael Alexander's online presence and business legitimacy, noting that his websites look unprofessional and potentially scammy.
• Emphasized the importance of focus and execution over having many ideas when building companies.
• Noted that reform is much harder than starting from scratch, supporting Gary's decision to leave Alpha Schools.
• Advised Gary to get his contract in writing before moving to Tulsa.
• Highlighted the risk of working with someone who may be good at self-promotion but lacks substance.
• 2025-12-03: Inspired by Gary's voice memo idea, implemented his own Thanksgiving voice memos to friends/family. Prefers personal voice notes over blast communications for maintaining authentic relationships.
• 2026-01-04: Gary confirmed Ken was right about Lael Alexander being a scam - the warning saved Gary from wasting more time. Ken validated Gary's new Applied AI community direction and offered to attend Gary's Jan 29th event at Antler. Discussion revealed Ken's survival strategy during crisis (reduce variables, honest communication) and validated Ken's role as trusted "bullshit detector" who provides candid assessments.

Potential Future Interactions

• Regular friendly catchups.
• Discussions on politics, tech, and philosophy.
• Shared activities in Austin (shooting range, canoeing).
• Potential visit to meet the Google DeepMind engineer Ken is recruiting.
• Gary visiting Ken and Sarah once Ken moves to Portland.

Transcripts

Transcript ID	Date	Summary
2026-01-04-ken-miyachi-china-bitmind-layoffs	2026-01-04	Dinner catch-up covering Gary's China trip, Ken's BitMind layoffs after investor failed to deliver, Gary's Applied AI community direction, Lael Alexander reflection, creative projects, and political discussions
2025-12-03-ken-miyachi-startup-perseverance	2025-12-03	Startup perseverance and maintaining relationships discussion
2025-07-09-conversation-gary-sheng-ken-miyachi-sarah	2025-07-09	Dinner conversation about Gary's Alpha Schools exit and skeptical analysis of Lael Alexander opportunity
2025-03-30-catch-up-with-ken-miyachi	2025-03-30	Extended catch-up at Ken's house discussing BitMind crisis, Gary's new role with Joe Liemandt, America 2.0 Summit planning, and various topics

Action Items

• Sunday dinner plans scheduled (late afternoon).
• Ken implementing quarterly voice memo sessions for relationship maintenance.
• Gary launching Daily Spirit voice note series via Substack.

Notes

Ken is a sharp, analytical thinker deeply engaged in the challenges of building at the cutting edge of AI and web3. He provides valuable, candid feedback and serves as a good sounding board for strategic and branding ideas. The decision not to work together directly seems beneficial for preserving the friendship, allowing for open and honest exchanges without the constraints of an employer-employee dynamic. Ken's bullshit detector is particularly valuable - he quickly identified potential red flags in Lael Alexander's online presence and business model, providing Gary with important cautionary perspective. Ken emphasizes the importance of focus and execution over having multiple projects, and believes that building something great requires deep specialization rather than spreading efforts across many areas.