Wulf’s desire of liberation, an open society, and decentralization runs deep in this genes. His Jewish grandfather, Friedrich Gruenberg, was an economist and lawyer who taught at Dresden University. When the Nazis stormed into power, Friedrich’s aristocratic wife could not protect him. Friedrich was executed by the SS. This shock cast a shadow over Wulf’s childhood. By the time Wulf was 14, his parents had passed. He was an orphan, living with a state appointed guardian in Germany. As an out-of-the-box thinker, hierarchical school structure felt dark.
As a kid, Wulf visited America. That brought him a different feeling: of liberation, possibility, and brightness. At 24, Wulf immigrated to Chicago. An economist and lawyer—just like his grandfather Friedrich—Wulf worked at the top firms, including Goldman Sachs and Cravath, Swain & Moore in New York City. He taught at the University of Minnesota, Humboldt University in Berlin, European Business School in Wiesbaden, and Tilburg University in the Netherlands. In 2010, Wulf read about Bitcoin. He quickly saw the economic opportunity in the decentralized system. Wulf wrote several papers on Dynamical Governance that built on his PhD thesis. Today, at the University of St. Thomas Law School (Minnesota), Wulf teaches Disruptive Innovation, Coding for Lawyers, Dynamic Regulation, Private Investment Funds, Federal Securities Regulation, Corporate Law, International Finance, and European Union Law.
As decentralized technology evolved, Wulf believes that there is an opportunity to redirect the trajectory of humanity. If you have enough skill, you don’t need oppressive centralized structures.
A business oracle with a happy-go-lucky face, Tony has surfed technological waves since the original dot-com tsunami, pioneering online streaming and founding RampRate, the world’s leading expert at optimizing digital supply chains, negotiating and sourcing billions of dollars worth of tech contracts for businesses including giants like Microsoft, Sony, eBay, Merrill Lynch and Riot Game.
Today, Tony’s view is wider than ever as an investor, accelerator and advisor for multiple impact-focused startups that are transformative in their potential, and he supports projects ranging from innovative addiction treatment approaches to sponsorship of schools in rural India to the largest charitable effort of the cryptocurrency community.
Tony co-founded Menagerie because he thinks decentralization lets businesses and organizations follow the patterns of Nature itself. Too many companies and nonprofits are built on an anachronistic structure of boards of directors, management and shareholders. Instead of flowing naturally, tasks are directed in arbitrary ways to satisfy piecemeal policies and feed bureaucracy. Decentralization can be more fluid. Work flows naturally, pooling and rushing between the banks formed by the smart contracts that govern the organization. People can do the work they are best suited for. Participate as much or as little as they want. And the creators and token holders decide what the governance is, instead of eight people on a board. Tony is happy to have a front-row seat as Menagerie helps organizations attain a higher form.
As Managing Director of Client Engagement, Kristen manages overall delivery responsibility for RampRate’s large-scale sourcing advisory and optimization projects with Fortune 500 clients and top brands including Sony, eBay, Nike, Intel, Hearst, and others, overseeing 50+ IT services procurement projects affecting over $2B in customer IT services expenditure, as well as IT services procurement resulting in 7-figure cost reductions for multiple clients worldwide. Kristen also maintains a leadership role as an analyst, researcher, and writer, for various strategic research initiatives, and oversees RampRate’s Advisory Services and Partner Programs
Tim Lacine became CFO at Menagerie in 2022 and enjoys working with Menagerie’s clients. Before Menagerie, Tim held CFO and CFO-like positions in various companies since 2016, including at RampRate. Tim is a strategic finance and management professional with critical-thinking skills and a skilled manager of projects and people who thrives in fast-paced, start-up environments. He worked as a financial advisor during the dot-com bust and taught accounting and business classes at several colleges. Tim holds an M.B.A., a J.D., as well as a C.P.A..
As Project Manager at Menagerie, Ally is a mindful professional with excellent interpersonal skills and a demonstrated history of leading diverse groups to achieve individual and group goals. She has a unique ability to understand the needs of key stakeholders, communicate complex information in an individualized manner, and manage multiple projects simultaneously. Ally is skilled at collaborating to develop specialized systems that promote community and accessibility and enabling team environments which foster adaptability with new information, and engage in critical and creative thinking to solve problems for the greater good.
As Product Lead for Menagerie, Josh Bykowski is highly focused on decentralized systems and systems architecture in both client facing consulting and operational leadership. He is deeply passionate about leveraging emerging technologies for the greater good, and he seeks to facilitate new economic opportunities on a global scale to reform WEB2 for human transformation. Josh has an extensive academic background in History and Economics (B.A) and law (J.D). His intellectual pursuits have always centered on the organization of human labor and resources. During his time as a law student, he focused on the ramifications of emerging and disruptive technologies on society and the legal system.
Erin Lambert is an operations assistant with a background in real estate and law. With a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Real Estate and a Juris Doctorate (J.D.), she has a strong foundation in the legal aspects of the industry. Erin’s expertise lies in the organization of resources and labor, and she is deeply passionate about leveraging emerging technologies to optimize processes and increase efficiency. Her focus on real estate has given her a unique perspective on the operational needs of a business, and she is committed to supporting the team to achieve success.