Mahesh Vellanki is the Founder and CEO of YieldClub, a platform helping users earn high stablecoin yields with ease. He previously co-founded and served as Managing Partner at Superlayer, where he helped build Web3 consumer products like Taki and Rally. Earlier in his career, he was a Principal at Redpoint Ventures and worked in investment banking at Citi. Based in the Bay Area, Mahesh continues to advise and invest in early-stage startups across mobile, e-commerce, and digital media.

Let’s start at the beginning—what inspired you to launch YieldClub?

I’ve been building in crypto for six years with one goal in mind – bringing the next billion users into the space through useful, mainstream products. For years, crypto-native users like me have been earning yield through battle-tested lending protocols. But for most people, that world has been completely out of reach. Only recently has the infrastructure matured enough to abstract away the complexity and deliver a clean, trustworthy user experience without taking custody of anyone’s money. That’s what inspired YieldClub.

YieldClub is launching as a high-yield crypto savings app. For someone who’s never used DeFi or crypto, how would you explain what YieldClub actually does?

YieldClub is a digital wallet that helps your money grow (up to 12% APY). Users can load money into the app using Apple Pay, debit card, ACH or crypto, and in the background we’re using a stablecoin called USDC that earns yield automatically using one of the biggest DeFi lending protocols. There’s no trading, no tokens to worry about, no bank involved. You stay in control of your funds at all times. It’s designed for people who want their money to work harder, without needing to know anything about crypto.

A lot of consumers still view crypto as volatile or risky. How does YieldClub create a sense of safety and simplicity for users who are hesitant?

We don’t touch volatile assets like Bitcoin, Ether or other tokens. YieldClub uses the largest stablecoins – assets designed to track the dollar – and earns yield through the largest on-chain lending protocols. You hold the keys, and everything is visible on the blockchain. For someone new to crypto, we’ve stripped out the noise and built a mobile experience that feels familiar, not financial.

What makes your approach to yield generation different from other consumer-facing crypto apps?

Some users earn yield today through centralized exchanges, but that comes with major tradeoffs: lower returns from limited access to DeFi, complex onboarding, custodial risk where your funds can be frozen, and clunky trading interfaces. We built YieldClub from the ground up to be the opposite – non-custodial, yield-first, and dead simple. Behind the scenes, we route funds to protocols like Morpho to optimize returns, but the user never sees that complexity. They just see their balance grow. We call it a “self-custody super app” focused on doing one thing extremely well. While we expect competition, there are no breakout consumer apps in this category yet, mainly because the infrastructure to deliver this kind of experience has only recently become possible.

You’re launching with a non-custodial model. Why was that important to you—and how does it work for the average user?

We believe the future of finance is one where you don’t have to trust a company to hold your money. Non-custodial means you control your funds directly through your own smart wallet, and no one – not us, not an exchange – can touch it. For users, we abstract that away. You sign up with an email or phone number, and a smart wallet is created for you behind the scenes. It feels like any other fintech app, but under the hood, it’s fully self-custodial. We believe this model is especially powerful outside the US where local currencies are weaker, more users are unbanked or underbanked, and fintech products are lacking.

What’s one thing you think the crypto industry keeps getting wrong when it comes to building for the mainstream—and how is YieldClub different?

Crypto’s main use cases so far have been store of value (Bitcoin), asset speculation, DeFi, and stablecoins – mostly serving sophisticated users or institutions. Web3 never really broke through because it felt like a solution in search of a problem. But now, the infrastructure has finally matured. We have seamless wallet creation, fiat on-ramps, low-cost chains, and large-scale, proven DeFi protocols. For the first time, it’s actually possible to build consumer-grade mobile apps that feel simple and trustworthy. But building for consumers means solving a real problem and thinking deeply about distribution. With YieldClub, we didn’t just simplify the interface—we rethought the entire stack to make earning yield intuitive and accessible from day one.

Finally, what’s the one thing you want people to understand about YieldClub?

YieldClub isn’t about crypto. It’s about helping your money earn more automatically no matter where you live. It’s about creating the simplest possible way to earn yield without having to onboard to a bank or brokerage, or becoming a trader. We’re building the kind of app we wish existed – one that respects user control, unlocks real earning potential, and feels simple from day one.

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