Episode Summary

In this episode, we sit down with Frank Mong to unpack the rise of Helium and what it means to decentralize wireless infrastructure. Frank shares the origin story of Helium, what it took to scale during the crypto boom, building open-source hardware, what it means to truly own infrastructure, and how crypto can be the foundation for everyday consumer experiences—even if they don’t know it.

Episode Highlights with Timestamps

[00:00] Podcast intro – Frank Mong on scaling Helium

[00:42] Discovering Helium through Khosla Ventures

[01:27] The unexpected job interview that turned into a partnership

[02:14] Why honesty—not IoT expertise—landed Frank the role

[02:54] Lessons from corporate life: stock options, politics & promotion

[03:39] The original Helium mission: cheap, global IoT connectivity

[04:11] 450,000 daily phones, 70K hotspots & 40TB+ daily data

[04:50] Vision: flipping the $9T mobile industry to be owned by the people

[05:18] Sales advice for technical founders—there’s no magic, just empathy

[06:02] Why knowing your audience is the most underrated skill

[07:00] The hustle mindset: “this is our year or we’re done”

About Our Guest

Frank Mong is the COO of Helium, a decentralized wireless network that aims to replace traditional telcos with community-built infrastructure. With over two decades in cybersecurity and enterprise tech, Frank now leads Helium’s mission to democratize mobile infrastructure—starting with IoT and now cellular. Previously, he held leadership roles at companies like Palo Alto Networks and Hortonworks.

Resources & Links Mentioned

• Frank’s Twitter [https://x.com/fmong]

• Frank’s LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankmong/]

• Helium’s Twitter [https://x.com/helium]

• Helium’s Linkedin [https://www.linkedin.com/company/heliumnetwork/]

• Helium’s Website [https://www.helium.com/]