DeFi Dave is the founder of Flywheel DeFi, a crypto and blockchain-focused podcast centered around Frax Finance and DeFi Alpha; and the co-founder of PIF Labs, an incubator and advisory firm in the crypto space. He is also one of the founding team members of IQ.wiki formerly Everipedia. ^[1]

Early Life

DeFi Dave was born on July 22nd, 1994, in North Jersey to a Jewish family^[2]. He attended Montville Township High School where he was elected the captain of the football team, and also won county and state relay titles in shot put. ^[3]

Education

After graduating from Montville Township High School in 2012, DeFi Dave enrolled in the University of Massachusetts Amherst and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Political Science with a double minor in History and Philosophy. During his time in college, he was the treasurer of The Political Science Honors Society. ^[4]

Career

Early Career

DeFi Dave began his career at various organizations including Bravo Media Inc., Frelinghuysen for Congress, and The Congressional Office of Rodney Frelinghuysen. In the summer of 2016, he also worked as a Temporary Associate at Stagnito Business Information + Edgell Communications in Jersey City, New Jersey. ^[5]

IQ.wiki formerly Everipedia

DeFi Dave started publishing articles for IQ.wiki formerly Everipedia in May 2016, after he saw former co-founder and Chief Community Officer of Everipedia, Mahbod Moghadam, looking for interns. He took this opportunity to showcase his writing ability and earned himself a full-time position and became one of the founding members of Everipedia. ^[2][6]

“For me during that summer, I had the mindset: Everipedia or bust. I did everything I could to get myself out there.” Liebowitz has been living and working at the Everipedia HQ since September 2016 and assumes a number of responsibilities ranging from trying to find breaking news stories to researching “evergreen” content (Everipedia pages that have repeat visitors over a long period of time). In addition, he is the mastermind behind the Everipedia+ service where people hire him to make pages about themselves and their business. “Not everyone has time to make their own pages and I have the experience to conform to the standards of Everipedia. The people I work with are always very pleased with the final result.”

In September, DeFi Dave moved to Los Angeles to join Everipedia as a Founding Team member in the company’s pre-blockchain era. He started as an Executive Editor where he authored over 5000 pages about various cultural subjects and current event items. During his time at Everipedia, DeFi Dave also served as the Director of Partnerships and Exchanges from April 2019 to January 2020, and then as the Vice President of Business Development from January until he left Everipedia in December 2020. As the Vice President of Business Development, he led the company's growth initiatives, which included strategic partnerships, marketing, and community building. ^[5]

While working at the company, DeFi Dave launched IQ TALK in February 2019, a weekly podcast aimed at offering a space for individuals to share their life stories and enrich their profiles on Everipedia. Throughout the six episodes he produced, he hosted notable guests such as Sam Kazemian, Kedar Iyer, Larry Sanger, Marko Jukic, Dallas Rushing, and William LeGate. However, IQ TALK was discontinued in April 2019. ^[7][8]

Gelato Network

In February 2021, he joined Gelato Network, a decentralized protocol for automating smart contract executions on Ethereum, as the Head of Growth. He was responsible for developing and implementing the company's growth strategy, which involved building partnerships, shaping the protocol’s narrative, and increasing adoption of the Gelato Network platform. While at Gelato, Dave started the podcast “The DeFi Scoop” where he interviewed a number of individuals involved in DeFi, DAOs, and more. ^[5]

PIF Labs and Flywheel DeFi

In January 2022, DeFi Dave co-founded PIF Labs, a blockchain incubator and accelerator based in Miami, Florida. He has been working full-time at PIF Labs since then, helping early-stage blockchain startups with fundraising, community building, and business development. ^[5]

In June 2022, he founded Flywheel DeFi, a Frax-centric media platform that aims to promote the Frax ecosystem and cover the cutting edge of DeFi. He is currently the Host of the flagship podcast for Flywheel DeFi, Flywheel, where he interviews leading figures in the DeFi space including, builders, commentators, and more. ^[5]

Blockchain Industry

Throughout his career, DeFi Dave has been a prolific contributor to the blockchain industry. He has written articles for leading blockchain publications such as Hacker Noon and The Defiant and has been mentioned in CoinDesk. Furthermore, Dave has been a guest lecturer at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Franklin Fellowship at Harvard University. ^[6]