Malana VanTyler
While most people were still figuring out Instagram in 2013, George Kikvadze was betting his career on something called Bitcoin. Trading at just $20, it seemed like digital monopoly money to most observers. Fast-forward to today, and Bitcoin has crossed $100,000—vindication for one of crypto’s most persistent builders.
Kikvadze’s new book, And Then You Win: A Startup’s Untold Story of Grit, Grind, and Glory, reads like a Silicon Valley thriller mixed with a survival memoir. It’s the rare insider account from someone who didn’t just ride Bitcoin’s wave but helped build the infrastructure that made its mainstream success possible.
The Origin Story Nobody Talks About
The crypto narrative usually starts with tech bros and libertarian manifestos. Kikvadze’s begins with hyperinflation in 1990s Georgia, where he watched his doctor parents lose everything when the Soviet Union collapsed. That childhood trauma shaped his understanding of why decentralized money might matter.
“When my friend Marat showed me Bitcoin in 2013, I didn’t see magic internet money,” Kikvadze recalls. “I saw mathematical protection against the kind of monetary chaos that destroyed my family’s savings.”
As Vice Chairman of Bitfury Group, he helped design the custom chips and data centers that power Bitcoin’s network. While others day-traded, his team was building the unsexy infrastructure—mining hardware, security software, enterprise tools—that institutional investors would eventually need.
Surviving the Crypto Apocalypse(s)
The book chronicles multiple near-death experiences that would make great Netflix episodes. In 2016, a catastrophic chip manufacturing failure nearly bankrupted the company despite perfect test results. The 2018 crash forced them to cut 90% of their workforce while burning through personal savings to survive.
“We went from a $10 million monthly burn rate to $500,000,” Kikvadze explains. “The hardest part wasn’t the financial pressure—it was letting go of hundreds of people who believed in our vision.”
The most dramatic moment came in 2021 during a crucial SPAC deal. Markets crashed overnight, and JPMorgan texted: “Deal may be in jeopardy!” Twenty-four hours of frantic calls and favors barely saved months of work.
The Necker Island Connection
What separates this story from typical startup memoirs is the cast of characters. Kikvadze co-hosted annual blockchain summits on Richard Branson’s private island, with orange-pilled UAE royals in desert meetings, and watched BlackRock’s CEO evolve from a Bitcoin skeptic to launching the world’s largest Bitcoin ETF.
The Necker gatherings read like Davos meets Burning Man—serious policy discussions followed by kite surfing with tech billionaires. These weren’t just networking events; they were where crypto’s legitimacy was negotiated over cocktails and chess matches with industry titans.
Building an Empire from Chaos
Rather than creating one massive company, Kikvadze’s team evolved into ecosystem builders, spinning out ventures that became publicly-traded unicorns: Cipher Mining and Hut 8 (both NASDAQ-listed), plus AI chip pioneer Axelera and data center cooling innovator LiquidStack.
The diversification strategy proved crucial during crypto winters. When Bitcoin mining became unprofitable, their enterprise software and cooling technology found new markets. Some of their biggest wins came from companies they’d “failed” with—technologies originally designed for Bitcoin that found second lives in AI and data centers.
Lessons from the Wild West
And Then You Win distills these experiences into 21 principles for anyone building something the world isn’t ready for yet. The lessons go beyond crypto—how to maintain team morale during existential crises, when to pivot versus when to persist, and why infrastructure beats speculation in the long run.
“Most people think winning is about being right,” Kikvadze observes. “It’s actually about surviving long enough for the world to catch up to your vision.”
Today, through Cryptic8 VC, he invests in technologies at the intersection of finance and longevity, applying hard-won wisdom about building in emerging markets to the next wave of transformative innovations.
The Human Cost of Revolution
The book’s title comes from Gandhi’s observation about revolutionary movements: “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” But Kikvadze’s experience reveals the human cost of that progression—the sleepless nights, broken relationships, and moments of crushing doubt that separate entrepreneurs from employees.
“Winning isn’t an event,” he concludes. “It’s an accumulation of survived impossibilities.”