Think Business With Jon Dwoskin

James O’Brien has spent over a decade founding, building, and raising capital for early stage startups across a variety of industries. He is the co-founder and COO of an AI startup called Ducky — process and workflow automation software for the Customer Service industry. Prior to co-founding Ducky, James was the Chief Operating Officer of Nashville, TN-based asset manger Valkyrie Investments. During his tenure there, Valkyrie investments launched the United State’s second bitcoin futures ETF and grew to over $1B in assets. Before Valkyrie, James was the first hire at AltoIRA, a Nashville-based fintech company specializing in self-directed IRAs designed for alternative asset investing. At Alto, he helped scale operations from pre-seed through series A — growing the team from 2 to over 100 individuals. While at Alto, James helped to establish, and then lead, the firm’s business development function and, later, crypto offerings. Apart from the land of startups, James is a singer and fledgling piano player — he