Brian D. Evans

What Brian looks for

Brian reviews founders, companies, and strategic opportunities in blockchain, AI, and deep tech. Through BDE Ventures, he builds and backs companies and supports founders with strategy, positioning, distribution, capital, and partnerships.

Strategic advisory

Clarify the market and positioning, then identify the decisions that support adoption.

Partnerships and introductions

Build a clear case for capital, partnerships, and distribution.

Positioning and growth

Help founders explain what they offer and reach the people who need it.

A useful first message covers the company, its stage and traction, the outcome you want, and why it is relevant to Brian.

How to reach Brian

Start a conversation with Brian’s AI agent on this site. It uses approved public information and asks questions to understand the opportunity. When there is a reason for review, it asks for your name and an email address or Telegram handle. It then summarizes the details and asks for your permission before it submits them for Brian’s private review. A response is not guaranteed.

The conversation runs in a web browser at briandevans.com. There is no public submission API. Lugano.ai builds and maintains the agent.

Talk to Brian’s AI agent

About

Through BDE Ventures, I help founders in blockchain, AI, and deep tech shape emerging industries and drive adoption. I build and back companies while supporting strategy, positioning, distribution, capital, and partnerships.

BDE Ventures is also an investment company with a family-office-style approach, alongside strategic advisory work.

I've been building in ecom since 2005, influencer marketing since 2011, crypto since 2013, and AI since 2018. I founded BDE Ventures in 2005 and Influencive in 2015.

Track record

1. 2005

   EcomBuilder

   Building in ecom since 2005.

2. 2005

   BDE VenturesFounder, BDE Ventures

   BDE Ventures began as a marketing and advertising agency. In 2015, the agency made the Inc. 500, Inc.’s list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in America. Today, it builds and backs companies through capital formation, market positioning, partnerships, and growth. It is also an investment company with a family-office-style approach, alongside strategic advisory work.

3. 2011

   Influencer marketingBuilder

   Building in influencer marketing since 2011.

4. 2013

   CryptoBuilder

   Building in crypto since 2013. Went on to make 100+ investments in companies such as Kraken, Ripple, Animoca Brands and Circle.

5. 2015

   InfluenciveFounder

   Founded Influencive and built and backed companies around emerging technology, positioning, and distribution.

6. 2018

   AIBuilder and investor

   Building in AI since 2018.

7. 2023

   Investment TV showJudge

   Judge on an investment TV show.

Self-reported figures

• Raised over $100M for startups, with multiple exits.
• 1.5M+ followers across linked public profiles
• 500M+ people reached
• 100M+ content reads

Companies

BDE Ventures

Founded by Brian in 2005 as a marketing and advertising agency. As an agency, it ranked No. 172 on the 2015 Inc. 500. Today it is an advisory and investment firm.

Advising.com

An applied AI lab co-founded by Brian and Mickey Hardy.

Influencive

Founded by Brian in 2015.

Recognition

• 40 Under 40
• Top digital marketer featured in Forbes & Inc.
• Inc. 500 entrepreneur
• Founder of Influencive
• Judge on an investment TV show
• Founder & Managing Partner, BDE Ventures

Recognition: Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur, Rolling Stone.

Press and speaking

• 2015 · Inc.: As a marketing and advertising agency, BDE Ventures ranked No. 172 on the 2015 Inc. 5000, Inc.’s list of America’s fastest-growing private companies. That places it in the Inc. 500. Inc. company profile
• 2016 · Forbes: Featured in Forbes. How Serial Entrepreneur Brian D. Evans Is Turning Influencive Into A Rapidly Growing Media Empire
• 2023 · TOKEN2049 Singapore: Keynote speaker.
• 2026 · Variety: Producer on Satoshi, a feature film about Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator. Tristan Thompson Boards Bitcoin Creator Movie ‘Satoshi’ as Producer

Publications

Forbes

Featured in Forbes in 2016. Member of the Forbes Agency Council. Forbes Councils profile

Inc.

BDE Ventures made the 2015 Inc. 500 as a marketing and advertising agency. Brian has also written for Inc. Inc. author page

Entrepreneur

Brian has been published in and written for Entrepreneur. Entrepreneur author page

Rolling Stone

Member of the Rolling Stone Culture Council. Culture Council article

Technical AI building

Brian is a highly technical AI builder, with much of his work focused on private AI projects. One public example is his open-source work on Hermes Agent, including merged contributions to sandbox file safety, scheduled-agent reliability, and desktop agent interactions. GitHub profile.

Selected writing

• X Article · October 2026: AI Is Creating Modern Vampires
• Rolling Stone Culture Council: Culture Council article
• Forbes Agency Council: Why Your Competitive Edge Isn’t What You Think It Is
• The BDE Dispatch · Paid essay: AI Agents Need Crypto Rails

Profiles

• X
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• GitHub
• BDE Dispatch (Substack)
• Influencive author page
• Inc. author page
• Entrepreneur author page
• Forbes Councils profile
• Wikidata

Not to be confused with Brian Evans, the American singer.