#005: Tony Högqvist (Cowbolt) on Collaboration, Bitcoin, and the Breez SDK

In episode #005 of Shoot the Breez, we sit down with Tony Högqvist , co-founder of Cowbolt, to talk about building collaborative tools on bitcoin — and why he believes we need more “toothbrush apps”, not “dentist apps”.

As a design leader at Airbnb in Silicon Valley, during the peak of Web2, Tony saw how the right tools could unlock new forms of capital and community. That experience shaped how he now thinks about building on bitcoin: not speculation, not hype, but everyday utility.

The challenge for him was clear. Wallets had become dentist apps, opened once a month at most. What would it take to create toothbrush apps, tools people use every day with family, friends, and colleagues?

Their first experiment was simple: cost splitting in small groups. But the vision is quickly expanding. What if bitcoin could power collaboration itself? From birthdays and gifting sats to teamwork and cross-border projects, Cowbolt is working to make payments feel natural, collaborative, and fun.

Thanks to the Breez SDK, the complexities of Bitcoin and Lightning disappeared. Tony and his team skipped the hassle of channels, liquidity, and setup fees to deliver a best-in-class Lightning experience out of the box, freeing the Cowbolt team to focus on what matters most: building a product people enjoy every day.

If you enjoyed this interview, don’t forget to like and subscribe 🙏