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Copyright: © Richard Jacobs
After a medical scare with antibiotics, Richard set about to learn about the microbiome and its relationship with an individual's overall health. The brainchild from his research, Thryve Inside, provides a personalized report of what microbes are in your microbiome and what that means for you, written in language that is easy to understand for the average layperson, as well as a personalized probiotic each month. Through his research of all relevant medical studies and data, Thryve Inside has compiled a microbe library from around the world that can help people achieve their goals, including weight loss and overall health. Richard discusses some of the biggest problems with the probiotic industry today, and what Thryve Inside is doing differently to help their customers, as well as interesting trends they see and real success stories. To start, individuals simply return a test kit and answer a questionnaire about their current health and overall goals. Currently, Thryve Inside is dedicated to improving their reports, releasing test kits for different microbiomes throughout the body, and expanding their reports to include other organisms. In the long run, they hope to become a data platform that aggregates microbiome data from around the world and provides information on how different products such as shampoos, toothpastes, and vitamins can affect individuals. For more information, visit www.thryveinside.com. Listeners can also take advantage of a 15% discount coupon located inside the podcast.
Some of the biggest problems in the modern insurance industry are that not only is there is a huge lack of transparency, but insurance agents spend most of their time selling insurance to their clients based on price rather than coverage. Insure Ecosystem plans to change this with the use of blockchain. This will provide immutable transparency at all levels of the insurance industry, and allow agents to provide insurance options based on the needs of their clients instead of simply on price. Currently, there are over 3000 insurance agents on the platform, from health and life insurance to homeowners and car insurance. Because their software is end-to-end, it can be used by both insurance agents as well as individuals who are shopping for insurance coverage. Insure Ecosystem uses a mix of public and private ledgers, due to the sensitive nature of some of the data necessary to provide coverage options, which also helps it appeal to established insurance industry professionals who are hesitant to make the switch to blockchain. Derek also discusses what he sees as the current state of the insurance industry, as well as the industry's future. Insure Ecosystem will be present at the Blockchain, Ethereum, and Bitcoin Superconference in Dallas, Texas February 16-18. Insurance Technology and Blockchain – You're doing it wrong. InsurTech has been the jewel of investor's eyes getting a record number of investments in Q3 2017. Most of these investments are aimed at disrupting the supply chain and taking carriers direct to the consumer. Learn how this is only reshuffling the deck and not disrupting it, and see where the real disruption opportunities exist. * InsurTech and Blockchain getting record investments * Current solutions disrupting the wrong middleman * Learn where the real need for disruption exists. For more information, visit www.insureco.io.
One of the biggest problems today in cryptocurrency and blockchain is how to provide simpler ways to protect user's private keys, while still providing them with a simple and easy customer experience. Rivetz believes that these things go hand-in-hand, and has designed a hardware-based identity model coupled with the ability of blockchain to provide immutable verification of the cybersecurity ecosystem, using the chips that are already in your devices. Doing this not only increases the value to the user but also increases the value of the data that is written to the blockchain. On their roadmap for this year is the release of developer tools through their website, a wallet, and more. Steven further discusses with us his thoughts on how to simplify the user experience without making sacrifices to security, the current state of cryptospace and its relationship to previous cybersecurity implementation, what he sees as a new worldwide e-commerce economic model, and the future of security for the cryptocurrency and blockchain spaces. For more information, visit www.rivetz.com.
Blockchain has created a new world for us all that has only just begun, but it has also fundamentally changed security requirements for our devices. For the first time, data is equal to money, and data security is paramount when all that is between your money and hackers is the ownership of your keys. Edge not only believes that centralized security services are no longer secure enough to hold keys, and users must hold their own private keys, but that the user experience should be as simple as logging into a website or application. Their goal is to make an invisible security layer that uses an encryption key, similar to a password manager, that can hold all the user names and passwords for wallets and blockchain applications, that only the intended user can access. Edge dynamically tunes the strength of the password to the strength of the device through a password hashing algorithm and has a split-key system to recover lost passwords. Paul also discusses the upcoming shift in blockchain security, and the future of both security foundations and features. Edge will be at the Blockchain, Ethereum, and Bitcoin Superconference in Dallas, Texas February 16-18. For more information, visit https://edgesecure.co
With current mobile marketing users are bombarded with ads that they may not be interested in, and if user's personal data is used by corporations to make a profit, they never know about it, much less get compensated for it. Algebraix hopes to change this by creating a permissioned mobile marketing platform. Users choose which advertisements they want to view and interact with. When they do this, they are rewarded with the Algebraix token, ALX. If users provide companies with their name, email address, or other information, they are further rewarded with ALX. This creates a system of trust between customers and advertisers that is currently lacking in today's marketing industry and allows users to retain control of their own personal data. Algebraix is about to release the first version of their mobile platform in the App Store, with a full launch by the end of March 2018. Charlie also discusses challenges in complying with today's regulatory environment and scaling their platform to handle large amounts of users, the future of the mobile marketing industry, and the issue of control, ownership, and access to personal data. For more information, visit www.algebraix.io.
The art and collectibles asset class includes fine art, jewelry, fine wines, watches, collectible cars, and more, and is estimated to be worth $6 trillion globally. However, there is no recognized system of verifying ownership and transactions, which is one of the major drivers of authenticity and value. Codex Protocol hopes to change that by creating a decentralized title registry for this asset class. Codex will pull the provenance, the history of an item's ownership and transactions–onto the blockchain, and will then allow others to build applications on top of their protocol. The first app to be built is Biddable, which allows users to register and bid anonymously at auction houses around the world, and pay in cryptocurrency. At their launch, they will have over 5000 auction houses worldwide available for users to register through on Day 1, which solves the large problem of auction houses having to turn away potential bidders because they either can't or won't provide their financial disclosures, and will ultimately allow more people to get involved in auctions. Mark also discusses what he sees as the future of Codex Protocol, the other types of applications that can be built with their technology, and how it will change the art and collectibles asset class. For more information, visit www.codexprotocol.com.
Though many people believe that cryptocurrencies offer complete anonymity with transactions, this is rarely the case. PIVX, which stands for Private Instant Verified Transactions, is a cryptocurrency that was first launched in 2016 and is focused on protecting its user's privacy and security, while still offering low transaction fees and high utility for users. Built on the Bitcoin core, PIVX uses a proof-of-stake model with integrated Zerocoin protocols in order to keep transactions private for users, by essentially destroying any PIVX sent over the blockchain and replacing them with brand new coins. Decisions regarding the community are made through their community-designed governance, with monthly voting for any issues that arise. Over the next year, PIVX has many new features and updates coming, including fully stake-able ZPIV (PIVX + Zerocoin) by the end of Q1 2018, the ability to directly swap PIVX for other cryptocurrencies, and more. Brian also talks about what he sees as the future of cryptocurrencies and privacy, and why privacy is necessary. For more information, visit www.pivx.org.
Spectrum, the airwaves used to send communications signals, such as for mobile phones or wireless Internet, is an important topic that not many people know about. Currently, access to spectrum is sold by governments around the world to large companies, who then have the right to exclude others from access to it, whether or not they actually are using it. The International Telecommunications Union, part of the United Nations, helps develop broadband rules for its members, but members are not required to follow them. The Dynamic Spectrum Alliance is a global organization made up of various companies, universities, and other organizations who are committed to allowing increased unlicensed and shared access to unused spectrum frequencies, of which there are many. They believe that doing so will increase innovation across a number of industries, as well as increased broadband services. Kalpak discusses how this group came about, the challenges they face in changing the minds of regulators and politicians around the world, and the future of global telecommunications. For more information, visit www.dynamicspectrumalliance.org.
Some of the biggest problems currently in the cryptocurrency ecosystem are that there is no easy way in or out of cryptocurrencies, and there are very few ways to spend cryptocurrencies all the time. TenX hopes to provide a solution to those problems with their mobile app and debit card, which allows users to spend their cryptocurrency easily around the world. Currently, TenX supports eight major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dash, and more. TenX allows users to spend their crypto with no additional fees and alerts users when transactions are made. TenX also allows users to buy cryptocurrency directly through the app with either a credit card or a bank transfer. With the ultimate goal of increasing the ease of usability and satisfaction for their users, while still trying to maintain their cryptocurrency agnosticism, TenX plans to work on scaling and supporting infrastructure, and global AML/KYC regulations throughout the first quarter of 2018. Eventually, they hope to develop into a platform that offers their users access to all other types of decentralized services. For more information, visit www.tenx.tech.
Most of us have this idea that when we go to lease or buy a new car, we pick out our car at the dealership, haggle over pricing with terms that we may not fully understand, and then leave with our new car. Carvoy hopes to change that by providing more transparency to this whole process. Users are able to go online and view all of the available inventory at participating dealerships and pick out their car. Next, you build the price or lease payment that you want to make each month. Only after this is done do you give Carvoy any of your personal data. This data is never kept by Carvoy–it is immediately sent to the financer, and encrypted with two-factor authentication. After the user completes their transaction, they can add on maintenance and warranty products, and then the car is delivered directly to the consumer. This proprietary technology is currently available online, and soon will be available on dealership's websites and in showrooms through Carvoy Ignite. Daniel also discusses the challenges they faced building trust in an industry that is built to not be transparent, and what he sees as the future of the automotive industry. For more information, visit www.carvoy.com.
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