About
Ryan Shea co-founded Blockstack, now Stacks, with Muneeb Ali in 2013 out of Y Combinator, building a decentralised identity and application layer anchored to Bitcoin. The project ran the first SEC-qualified Reg A+ token offering in 2019, a landmark for regulated token sales. A Princeton engineer, he left day-to-day work on the protocol in 2020.
Co-founder at Stacks
Intro paths
In turn, Ryan can intro founders to Stacks's investors below.
Stacks's investors · 9
Co-founders at Stacks
Experience
- AI IQCo-foundercurrent2026 — presentNew York City Metropolitan Area
- FDAContractor and Nominee for Chief Technology Officer2025
- FDASenior Advisor2025Washington DC-Baltimore Area
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)Senior Advisor2025Washington, District of Columbia, United States
- Opus WalletCo-founder and CEO2022 — 2024New York, New York, United States
- VoterbaseCreator2020New York, New York, United States
- MIT Media LabVolunteer2020Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- Harvard UniversityVolunteer2020Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- Stanford UniversityVolunteer2019Stanford, California, United States
- StacksCo-founder & CEO2013 — 2018New York, New York, United States
- OmniActive Health TechnologiesMarketing and Operations2013Morristown, NJ
- GraphMuseCo-founder2012 — 2013Greater Philadelphia
- ZocDocSoftware Engineering Intern2011New York City Metropolitan Area
- NowINeedCo-founder2009 — 2010Princeton, New Jersey, United States
Education
- Princeton UniversityBSE, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering2008 — 2012
- Y CombinatorEntrepreneurship2014
- Stanford UniversitySummer Program2010
- Secaucus High SchoolHigh School Diploma2004 — 2008
Skills & more
+7 more
Software DevelopmentStart-upsEntrepreneurshipProduct DevelopmentPublic SpeakingBitcoinCryptocurrencyLanguages English · Spanish
From Ryan's professional profile.
Network1
Investors connected to Ryan in public investor directories — a warm-intro map.
Frequently asked questions
- Where does Ryan Shea work?
- Ryan Shea is Co-founder at Stacks.
- What check size does Ryan Shea write?
- Ryan Shea typically writes checks of $10K – $50K.
- What companies did Ryan Shea found?
- Ryan Shea founded Stacks.
Paths to reach Ryan
People who overlapped with Ryan at the same organization — a shared school or employer with one of them is a warm way in.
Together at Stanford UniversityRyan: Volunteer
Together at Harvard UniversityRyan: Volunteer
Together at StacksRyan: Co-founder & CEO
Together at MIT Media LabRyan: Volunteer
Founder mafias
Y Combinator mafia4,711
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
+ 4,704 more
Stanford University mafia895
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
+ 888 more
Princeton University mafia159
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
+ 152 more
Department of Health and Human Services mafia8
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
+ 1 more
Same school
Also attended Princeton University558
+ 552 more
Also attended Y Combinator2,000
+ 1,994 more
Also attended Stanford University2,000
+ 1,994 more
Shared employers
Also worked at MIT Media Lab98
+ 92 more
Also worked at Harvard University277
+ 271 more
Also worked at Stacks13
+ 7 more

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