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Ep. 43: Distributed Teams, Crypto Product Design and Bad Decisions with MyEtherWallet Founder Taylor Monahan Jan 18, 2018

Show notes

What is Taylor Monahans greatest challenge in managing a distributed team? They are TOO efficient!

Technology has given rise to more and more distributed teams who work remotely from all over the world, especially in the cryptocurrency space. As the founder of a crypto technology startup, Taylor considers her ability to jump on a call and stir the pot—forcing the team to get to know each other and develop a strong culture—as one of her greatest strengths.

Taylor created MyEtherWallet in 2015. The company is an open-source, client-side interface for generating Ethereum wallets. MyEtherWallets global collaboration of talented developers thrive on building intuitive products that easily and securely interact with the Ethereum blockchain. Prior to founding MyEtherWallet, Taylor worked as a front-end developer for Mangrove Web and digital producer for Americhip. She is also a proud NYU film school dropout.

Today Taylor shares how she fell into the crypto rabbit hole and the experience that inspired MyEtherWallet. We discuss ICOs, the potential for bad decisions in the emerging crypto tech space, and the value of struggle—for individuals and companies. Listen in for Taylors insight around managing a remote team and keeping your team happy when money doesn't matter!

Connect with Taylor:

MyEtherWallet https://www.myetherwallet.com/
MyEtherWallet on Medium https://medium.com/@myetherwallet
MyEtherWallet on Twitter https://twitter.com/myetherwallet
MyEtherWallet on Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/MyEtherWallet/

Resources Mentioned:

CoinMarketCap https://coinmarketcap.com/

Connect with Boost VC:

Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/
Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/
Boost VC on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoostVC

Ep. 42: {Rebroadcast} Kathleen Breitman, Co-Founder of Tezos Jan 11, 2018

Show notes

{Rebroadcast} Season 1, Ep. 19: Kathleen Breitman, Co-Founder of Tezos
The people have spoken and they want more crypto! The rise of the prices in the industry have led us to interview someone who has an upcoming ICO, Kathleen Breitman with Tezos. We challenge other currencies and discuss governance structures.

https://www.tezos.com/
https://twitter.com/tez0s

Ep 41: {Rebroadcast} Investing in Early-Stage Frontier Technologies with Greg Castle of Anorak Ventures Jan 04, 2018

Show notes

{Rebroadcast of our very first episode with Greg Castle from July 22, 2016}

Part of what makes a good venture capitalist is a knack for predicting the future, and a big part of that future includes what we call frontier technologies like VR, AR, autonomous vehicles, and robotics. Truly visionary VCs will have a front row seat as these new industries emerge.

Bay Area VC Greg Castle is the managing partner of Anorak Ventures. An early-stage investor in frontier technologies, Greg was a seed investor in Oculus, and that experience afforded him a deep knowledge and a strong network in the VR space.

Today Greg shares his favorite virtual reality experiences, his take on how VR might shape the entertainment industry moving forward, and why he sees relationships as the ultimate wealth. Listen in as we discuss his approach to early-stage investing and the relative virtue of Pokémon Go!

Connect with Greg

Anorak Ventures https://www.anorak.vc/
Greg on Twitter https://twitter.com/gpcastle12

Resources Mentioned

Oculus https://www.oculus.com
Toybox https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/1083042371786607/
Hover Junkers http://www.hoverjunkers.com/
Rec Room https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/1257029974329451/
Space Pirate Trainer https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/1195983747083203/

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/
Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/
Boost VC on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoostVC

Ep. 40: 3D Data Analytics for Virtual Reality with ObserVR CEO, Lucas Toohey Dec 28, 2017

Show notes

The data analytics benchmarks and standards for web and mobile applications simply cannot be applied to virtual reality; the linear tracking of clicks doesn’t give VR developers a clear understanding of how users are interacting with their product. Rather, a 3D data set that analyzes several metrics together affords developers with a clear picture of what features and functions users love and what they’re missing.

Lucas Toohey is the CEO of ObserVR, an analytics platform for virtual reality that tracks user actions throughout their experience to identify patterns over time, giving developers data-driven insights around user engagement with their VR products. Lucas founded the company with fellow California Polytechnic students Jacob Copus and Justin Cellona, and together they are intent on helping to define the standards and benchmarks for VR as the technology gains traction.

Today Lucas shares the story of ObserVR, explaining how the startup was conceived and the team dynamic among the three co-founders. He offers his insight around the value of analytics in VR development, the data benchmarks for gaming, and the most engaging VR content on the market. Listen in for an overview of the market for high-end headsets and Lucas’ take on the value of AR companion apps.

Connect with Lucas

ObserVR https://www.observr.tech/
ObserVR on Medium https://medium.com/@ObserVRtech
ObserVR on Twitter https://twitter.com/ObserVRtech
Lucas on Twitter https://twitter.com/lucas_toohey

Resources Mentioned

Arthur http://arthur.digital/
Vive https://www.vive.com/us/
Oculus Rift https://www.oculus.com/
Windows Headsets https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/collections/vrandmixedrealityheadsets
Space Pirate Trainer http://www.spacepiratetrainer.com/
Sketchbox http://store.steampowered.com/app/568640/Sketchbox/
Moment Labs http://mntlabs.com/
Adam’s Blog on Medium https://medium.com/boost-vc
Casino VR Poker http://www.casino-vr.com/

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/
Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/
Boost VC on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoostVC

Ep. 39: Venture Capital in the Cryptocurrency Ecosystem with Bart Stephens of Blockchain Capital Dec 21, 2017

Show notes

“[The crypto space has] got its own special culture. The folks that populate our industry are free-thinkers and renegades, and they have interesting ideas about changing the financial system as we know it.”

Bart Stephens has always been on the cutting edge of new technologies. He began his career with E*TRADE, pioneering online stock trading in the early 1990’s. Bart went on to become an entrepreneur, founding Oncology.com, the internet’s largest cancer-related website, before selling it to Pfizer in 2001. Then he joined forces with his brother to form Stephens Investment Management, a hedge fund and VC firm that broke new ground in the area of Nanocap investing.

Bart’s background as both an operating entrepreneur and venture capitalist led to the creation of Blockchain Capital in 2013. He serves as managing partner of the VC firm which focuses on the blockchain technology sector and cryptocurrency ecosystem. Today Bart shares his experience as a venture capitalist in the blockchain era, discussing the dual role of the VC and the incredible pace of the crypto industry. We talk about Blockchain Capital’s successful ICO, exploring the concept of a VC token and the value of raising capital via blockchain technology.

Bart offers his insight around explaining Bitcoin to those new to the space and gives his best advice for traditional VCs considering crypto. Listen in to understand Blockchain Capital’s agnostic approach to investment and the advancements in counterparty risk that Bart is following in 2018.

Connect with Bart

Blockchain Capital http://blockchain.capital/
Email Blockchain Capital contact@blockchain.capital
Blockchain Capital on Twitter https://twitter.com/blockchaincap
Bart on Twitter https://twitter.com/pbartstephens

Resources Mentioned

Coinbase https://www.coinbase.com/?locale=en-US
Ripple https://ripple.com/
0x Protocol https://0xproject.com/
Radar Relay https://radarrelay.com/
Will Warren on Boost VC Podcast https://theboostvcpodcast.simplecast.fm/bce18564

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/
Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/
Boost VC on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoostVC

Ep. 38: Sidechains, Stable Coins, and What’s Wrong with the ICO with Charlie Lee of Litecoin Dec 14, 2017

Show notes

‘There’s definitely some teams that are using [ICOs] and are able to fund their ideas better and more easily than the traditional VC way of doing things, but there’s just too many bad actors that just want a get rich quick scheme.’
Charlie Lee created Litecoin in 2011 while he was working as software engineer for Google. Litecoin is ‘the silver to Bitcoin’s gold,’ functioning as a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency that complements Bitcoin. In the long-term, Charlie sees Litecoin becoming a payment currency used at both physical and online stores, and he is currently working to promote widespread merchant adoption.
Charlie also spent four years with Coinbase, serving as the Director of Engineering for the digital currency platform. Today Charlie explains why he is not a fan of the ICO, discussing why it’s ripe for bad actors. We cover the future of cryptocurrency and the major debates in the ecosystem, including hard forks and Bitcoin Gold. Charlie shares his inspiration for dedicating his career to cryptocurrency as well as his ambitions for Litecoin. Listen in for Charlie’s insight around sidechains, stable coins, and the value of CryptoKitties.

Connect with Charlie

Litecoin https://litecoin.org/
Litecoin on Twitter https://twitter.com/litecoin
Charlie on Twitter https://twitter.com/SatoshiLite

Resources Mentioned

Coinbase https://www.coinbase.com/?locale=en-US
Aragon https://aragon.one/
Monero https://getmonero.org/

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/
Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/
Boost VC on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoostVC

Ep. 37: Privacy, Security and Selective Transparency on the Blockchain with Linda Xie of Cryptoasset Fund Scalar Capital Dec 07, 2017

Show notes

Most people don’t realize just how transparent the blockchain is, but every transaction that happens on Bitcoin is public. None of us wants to have our net worth on display, leaving us vulnerable to fishing attacks and allowing others to see what we spend our money on. So how do we approach privacy in the cryptocurrency space? Where should we be storing our Bitcoin to keep it safe? And how can we be selectively transparent, choosing what information we want to reveal—and to whom?

Linda Xie was working as a portfolio risk manager for AIG when Coinbase onboarded Overstock in January of 2014. Inspired by the move, Linda sent a cold email to Coinbase offering to work for the company in any capacity. By June, she was employed as a regulatory compliance investigator for the digital currency platform, working with law enforcement to conduct blockchain investigations and track down cybercriminals. Eventually Linda was promoted to Product Manager, and she continued at Coinbase until September of this year when became an entrepreneur in the cryptocurrency space.

Linda currently serves as the co-founder and managing director of Scalar Capital, a cryptocurrency hedge fund. An expert in the areas of privacy and security, she is passionate about crypto as an ‘unseizable asset’ that governments cannot control. Today Linda shares her take on where we should be storing our Bitcoin and what is stopping cryptocurrency from mass adoption. We discuss the introduction of Coinbase Custody, exploring why the fees are so high and the potential for competition in the space. Linda offers her definition of crypto privacy, explaining the concept of ‘selective transparency.’ Listen in to understand what projects and tokens she is excited about and the impact of crypto as an asset that governments cannot seize or control.

Connect with Linda

Linda’s Blog https://medium.com/@linda.xie
Linda on Twitter https://twitter.com/ljxie?lang=en
Scalar Capital http://scalar.capital/
Scalar Capital on Twitter https://twitter.com/ScalarCapital

Resources Mentioned

Coinbase https://www.coinbase.com/?locale=en-US
Coinbase Custody https://custody.coinbase.com/
Monero https://getmonero.org/
Zcash https://z.cash/

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/
Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/
Boost VC on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoostVC

Ep. 36: Governance, Decentralized Organizations and Valuing Blockchain Technology with Aragon Co-Founder Luis Cuende Nov 30, 2017

Show notes

‘What’s crazy for me is that for the first time in history we can actually try out new governance mechanisms without people dying in the streets.’ The beauty of blockchain technology is in its ability to facilitate ‘bloodless wars’ in which opposing sides compete without bloodshed and ultimately build a borderless world that is fair and free.

Luis Cuende’s interest in the blockchain began in 2011 when he was only 16 years old. After reading the Bitcoin white paper, Luis connected with others drawn to the idealistic implications of cryptocurrency and started working on blockchain pioneer Stampery, a service providing secure and decentralized proof of existence and ownership. In October of 2016, Luis co-founded Aragon, a governance platform for decentralized organizations. The project allows users to manage organizations via the blockchain with the intent of creating a fair, efficient world.

It’s no surprise that Luis is on the Forbes 30 Under 30 as well as MIT Technology Review’s Spanish Innovators Under 35. Today Luis gets into the details of a decentralized organization, explaining its basic framework and how the governance mechanism works. We look at Aragon’s IPO and discuss what other token sales can learn about transparency from the company’s success. Luis offers his advice to future founders around cultivating community and his take on how a VR startup might use a decentralized organization to create a virtual world valued in tokens. We cover the valuation of crypto projects and the significance of sound technology over a curated marketing campaign. Listen in as Luis offers his profound insight on the growing popularity of cryptocurrency in Spain, fueled in part by the push for Catalonian independence.

Connect with Luis

Aragon https://aragon.one/
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/AragonProject

Resources Mentioned

Bitcoin White Paper https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf
Aragon’s Transparency Model http://transparency.aragon.one/#/
Chris Burniske on Twitter https://twitter.com/cburniske?lang=en
Luis’ Utopian Blog Post https://blog.luisivan.net/not-earth-not-mars-no-planet-will-be-our-home-7f310de93c53

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/
Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/
Boost VC on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoostVC

Ep. 35: Freedom, Global Entrepreneurship and the Possibilities of Cryptocurrency with VC Tim Draper Nov 23, 2017

Show notes

“Venture capital, to me, is a way that we can raise money to help entrepreneurs who can go out there and do something for the world that just opens it up. I am always pushing for freedom, and I think it’s great to see venture capital be able to support entrepreneurs—wherever they are—to go out there and do something extraordinary for freedom.” -- Tim Draper

Tim Draper is the founding partner of Draper Associates as well as Draper Fischer Jurvetson (DFJ). His gift for assessing the fastest way to get a service to its users was instrumental in the success of viral communication networks like Hotmail and Skype. He has been an early investor in several wildly successful startups including Baidu, Tesla and Cruise Automation. Tim is recognized as a leading supporter of global entrepreneurship, and he was named #7 on the Forbes Midas List, #1 Most Networked Venture Capitalists by Always On, and World Entrepreneurship Forum’s 2015 ‘Entrepreneur for the World.’ In 2011, he created Draper University, a residential and online school that seeks to help talented young people meet their entrepreneurial goals.

Today Tim offers his definition of entrepreneurship and his journey from aspiring entrepreneur to venture capitalist. He shares his take on the ideal relationship between VC and founder and the sectors he is looking to invest in right now. We explore the world of cryptocurrency, discussing its potential to transform governance, how innovative VCs are trying new things with Bitcoin, and what the industry can learn from the P2P music and media revolution. Listen in to understand why Tim equates freedom with wealth and how to leverage the ripple effect of optimism.

Connect with Tim

Draper Associates http://www.draper.vc/
Draper Associates on Twitter https://twitter.com/drapervc
Draper University http://www.draperuniversity.com/
Tim Draper on Medium https://medium.com/@TimDraper
Meet the Drapers https://republic.co/meet-the-drapers

Resources Mentioned

The Startup Game: Inside the Partnership between Venture Capitalists and Entrepreneurs by William H. Draper III https://www.amazon.com/Startup-Game-Partnership-Capitalists-Entrepreneurs/dp/0230339948
Bionomics: Economy as Ecosystem by Michael Rothschild https://www.amazon.com/Bionomics-Economy-Ecosystem-Michael-Rothschild/dp/0805019790

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/
Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/
Boost VC on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoostVC

Ep. 34: Helping Scientists Become Entrepreneurs with Arvind Gupta of IndieBio Nov 16, 2017

Show notes

What happens when you marry a background in genetic engineering with extensive experience in design? A unique skill set that supports life scientists in becoming entrepreneurs, helping PhDs turn benchtop science into applied products with the potential to change lives.

Arvind Gupta is the co-founder of IndieBio, the world’s largest seed biotech accelerator. He has over a decade of experience helping startups and Fortune 50 companies launch new tech products, and his thought-leadership has been published in Time, Design Observer, and Rotman Management Magazine, among others. Arvind has received a number of international awards for design and innovation, and he is a frequent speaker at events like SFMOMA and TEDx New Silk Road.

Today Arvind shares his take on how the future of humanity rests in biology, explaining how advances in technology have facilitated better, faster results in scientific research. We discuss how the IndieBio approach takes capital expenditure out of the system and coverts it into operating expenses for biotech startups. We cover the current trends in biotechnology, where to go for information about the industry, and the types of companies Arvind is looking for right now. Listen and learn what the term CRISPR really means and how this powerful technology will eventually allow us to “design ourselves.”

Connect with Arvind

IndieBio http://indiebio.co/
Twitter https://twitter.com/arvndgpta

Resources Mentioned

SynBioBeta https://synbiobeta.com/
LifeSciVC https://lifescivc.com/
MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/
Scientific American https://www.scientificamerican.com/
New Scientist https://www.newscientist.com/
The History of Money by Jack Weatherford https://www.amazon.com/History-Money-Jack-Weatherford/dp/0609801724

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/
Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/
Boost VC on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoostVC

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