How Paul Martino Shaped Startups With Odd Investment Moves

• Paul Martino pioneered post-seed investing by backing overlooked founders before big VCs showed interest.
• His quiet influence in crypto stems from years of unconventional bets across tech and finance.

Not everyone can claim to have founded eight companies and still have the energy to help hundreds of other startups grow. But Paul Martino is no ordinary person. The founder of Bullpen Capital does not like to follow patterns.

When most investors are busy looking for startups that have been labeled “safe,” Martino actually enters when the founder is still gasping for breath. Sometimes decisions like this end well, like when he bet on FanDuel, one of the big names in the sports betting industry. But his trail apparently doesn’t stop there.

Behind the scenes, Martino has been playing in the gray area between technology and finance for quite some time. Including the ever-turbulent crypto space.

Although not always openly appearing, there are rumors that mention his involvement since the beginning of Coinbase. Perhaps because of his low profile style, his name did not immediately emerge like other famous investors. But that does not make him less influential.

Paul Martino: Weird Style and Unconventional Logic

What is interesting about Paul Martino is not only his investment portfolio, but also the way he views the startup world. Rather than jumping on the hype bandwagon, he prefers to jump in when founders are frustrated with rejection.

He calls it “post-seed investing”—when a project already has users but isn’t cool enough for big VCs. The model was considered strange when it was first introduced. But now? Many are copying it.

Bullpen Capital, the firm he founded, has funded more than 100 startups. Not a small number, and not just a “throwaway.” He sat on the board of directors of FanDuel for five years. That experience gave him a better understanding of the world of betting, which is increasingly overlapping with blockchain technology and crypto. So if anyone thinks he’s “just jumping in” to crypto, they’re clearly wrong.

Furthermore, Martino is also not the type of person who is afraid to take strange risks. He once used a 316-year-old Stradivarius violin as digital collateral for a blockchain-based loan.

If you think that’s a crazy idea, you’re not alone. But it’s precisely from ideas like this that Martino finds a gap in innovation. For him, the world of technology—including crypto—is about breaking old rules, not just creating new ones.

From Startup to Film and Back Again

What makes Martino’s story even more unique is the diversification of his hobbies. In the middle of his busy investment, he managed to produce a film about the NBA betting scandal—involving his own cousin, Tommy Martino. The film, titled Inside Game, was not just a casual project; it premiered at Sundance. No small feat.

On the other hand, he also funded a documentary about two teenagers with opposing political views in Pennsylvania. Not because he wanted to seek sensation, but because he believes that conversations can change the way people see the world. That principle, he said, also applies when he assesses startup founders.

However, Martino is still known as someone who doesn’t really like the spotlight. He rarely appears in the media to talk about crypto, even though many of his steps are relevant to the development of the current digital ecosystem.

Even his latest project—building a sports betting-themed restaurant in Philadelphia called Bankroll—still holds many surprises. Imagine a restaurant with big screens, real-time odds data, and maybe a place where crypto technology is secretly integrated. Who knows?

It’s safe to say that Paul Martino is not just an investor. He is like an explorer, who is not afraid to enter uncharted territory. Including in the crypto space, which for many people still feels vague. But for Martino, that is where the hidden opportunity lies. Because when most people are busy seeing the potential of the future through trends, he chooses to see it through discomfort.