Panic with Friends - Howard Lindzon

Latest Episodes:

Jason Hirschhorn (Part 2) of REDEF on the Future of New Media and the Creator Economy (EP.143) Apr 01, 2021

Show notes

I was excited about having Jason Hirschorn on as last week’s ‘Panic’ guest and am even more excited to bring him back on for round two! I have not met another person who is not just passionate about the media, but is eager and willing to share that knowledge with others. In part one, we covered Jason’s long history at MTV, Slingbox, News Corp and MySpace. In this episode, Jason and I talk about the future of media, the fall of cable, the creator economy, NFTs, newsletters, social media streaming, decentralization and more.

Guest - Jason Hirschhorn, CEO and Chief Curator at REDEF

howardlindzon.com, redef.com

Twitter: @howardlindzon, @JasonHirschhorn, @MediaREDEF, @knutjensen

linkedin.com/in/jason-hirschhorn-820a9b43

#fintech #invest #investment #venturecapital #stockmarket #finance

Jason Hirschhorn (Part 1) of REDEF on Digital Content Creation and Other Media Trends (EP.142) Mar 25, 2021

Show notes

It’s always fun when we can take a break from talking about investing and veer toward other topics, especially when the person we’re talking to is such a legend in the field. So as a media geek, I was excited (and dare I say giddy) to have media extraordinaire Jason Hirschhorn on this episode. Jason has been around the media for a long time, holding previous presidential titles at MTV and MySpace. He’s also sat on some impressive directors and advisory boards, including MGM, Sundance Institute and Pandora. Jason has also probably watched every show across Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, or any other streaming platform you can think of. So, he’s taken his vast knowledge of the intersection of tech, media and culture to create REDEF – a curated mix of the best and smartest articles, videos, movies and music across a range of fields. Think of Jason and REDEF as like your own personal DJ, mixing the best of all the media out there for an incredibly thoughtful and engaging experience. In this episode, Jason and I go in depth about all things media, the coolest job he’s had, how to fight unfair battles and his take on streaming platforms. He also shares a story about Bono you absolutely don’t want to miss (but you’ll have to wait until the end of the episode to hear it).

Guest - Jason Hirschhorn, CEO and Chief Curator at REDEF

howardlindzon.com, redef.com

Twitter: @howardlindzon, @JasonHirschhorn, @MediaREDEF, @knutjensen

linkedin.com/in/jason-hirschhorn-820a9b43

#fintech #invest #investment #venturecapital #stockmarket #finance

Jamie Wise of BUZZ Holdings on Measuring Social Sentiment (EP.141) Mar 18, 2021

Show notes

On this week’s episode, I got the chance to talk with Jamie Wise, a fellow Canadian and the brains behind the hottest ETF on the markets right now. The VanEck Vectors Social Sentiment ETF, trading under $BUZZ, garnered a lot of buzz (pun intended) when it started trading on March 4 thanks in-part to backing from influential Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy. What’s exciting about the BUZZ ETF is that it uses AI to analyze investor sentiment across over 15 million online posts a month. The ETF currently holds 75 stocks with at least a $5 billion market cap. The power of measuring sentiment has been on my mind for a while; we even announced our own sentiment tracker at Stocktwits back in 2012. And on the heels of the GameStop event, conversations about sentiment and its power have never been more important. In this episode, Jamie and I chat about his company BUZZ Holdings, ETFs, measuring sentiment, algorithms, the GameStop event, the rise of the retail investor, how we approach the markets and more.

Guest - Jamie Wise, CFA, Founder and CEO of Buzz Holdings, & President and CEO at Periscope Capital

howardlindzon.com, investwithbuzz.com, periscopecap.com

Twitter: @howardlindzon, @investwithbuzz, @knutjensen

linkedin.com/in/jamie-wise-20133815

#fintech #invest #investment #venturecapital #stockmarket #finance

Sam Jones of OOOOO on His Radical Social Commerce App and the Business of Live Streaming (EP.140) Mar 11, 2021

Show notes

This week’s Panic guest, Sam Jones, called in all the way from Oxford to chat with me. Sam is a good friend, unbelievable entrepreneur, and co-founder of the social commerce app “OOOOO.” I was lucky enough to be a small investor in the company. To put it simply, OOOOO is basically “Only Fans” meets commerce – enabling live entertainment commerce. While Sam started “OOOOO” only about a year ago, it has seen impressive growth and success. The work Sam is doing is fascinating and he thoughtfully explains it so well on the podcast. In this episode, Sam digs into ecommerce, OOOOO, his company’s growth and retail share model, China & Pinduoduo, his plans for a documentary, the culture and business of live streaming, and more.

Guest - Sam Jones, Co-founder and CEO at OOOOO.com

howardlindzon.com, ooooo.com

Twitter: @howardlindzon, @ooooobloke, @knutjensen

linkedin.com/in/sam-jones-0a16533

#fintech #invest #investment #venturecapital #stockmarket #finance

Jason Wild of JW Asset Management on Why You Should Invest in the Cannabis Industry (EP.139) Mar 04, 2021

Show notes

This episode is a continuation of my quest to learn more about the growing trend toward investing in the cannabis industry. A former podcast guest and industry expert CB1 Capital’s Todd Harrison actually helped me connect with the guest of this week’s episode – Jason Wild. Jason is a former pharmacist turned cannabis investor extraordinaire. He is Chairman of the Board at the Canada-listed cannabis company TerrAscend and President of JW Asset Management. Currently, 70% of his over $2 billion under management is invested in cannabis. Jason not only understands the cannabis industry, but also the long history behind it, rooted in racism and bad laws, that has had a major impact in the U.S. In this episode, Jason and I chat all about the cannabis industry, including: its growth, financing, misconceptions, impact from COVID-19, the types of people who do well in this industry, Jason’s work and investments, licensing, changing laws, CBD, education, and criminal justice reform in this space.

Guest - Jason Wild, Chairman at TerrAscend, and President at JW Asset Management

howardlindzon.com, terrascend.com, jwfunds.com

Twitter: @howardlindzon, @JasonGWild, @knutjensen

linkedin.com/in/jason-wild-b8a7304

#fintech #invest #investment #venturecapital #stockmarket #finance

Jason Gardner of Marqeta, Inc. on Making It as a Fintech Entrepreneur (EP.138) Feb 25, 2021

Show notes

I had the pleasure of chatting with fintech entrepreneur – and more importantly fellow ASU alum – Jason Gardner on this episode of Panic with Friends. Jason and I were originally introduced through our mutual friend and former Panic guest Ryan Gilbert. While it was fun to reminisce about our time at ASU on this episode, it was even more fun to talk about fintech and Jason’s insights on this booming sector. Jason is at the center of all things fintech. His unicorn company Marqeta, Inc. is “the world’s first open API modern card issuing platform,” which basically means his company makes your payments a whole lot easier. You probably already use Marqeta without even realizing it, with clients such as Uber, Instacart and DoorDash to name a few. In this episode, Jason and I talk about how he got interested in fintech, Marqeta’s origin and success story, open APIs, building capital, neobanks, China, Bitcoin and more.

Guest - Jason Gardner, Founder & CEO at Marqeta

howardlindzon.com, marqeta.com

Twitter: @howardlindzon, @jmgards, @knutjensen

linkedin.com/in/jasonmatthewgardner

#fintech #invest #investment #venturecapital #stockmarket #finance

Shopify President Harley Finkelstein on the Future of E-Commerce and Positioning Shopify as the Go-To Platform for Entrepreneurs (EP.137) Feb 18, 2021

Show notes

I’ll jump on any opportunity to bring a fellow Jewish Canadian who shares my love of startups and tech on as a podcast guest. So after sliding into Shopify president Harley Finkelstein’s Twitter DMs and a couple calls later, I got to do just that. Harley’s hustle, spirit and overall success story perfectly embody Shopify’s mission. At only 35 years old, Harley is leading a company that has collectively driven more than $40 billion worth of sales and holds the title of “second largest check-out in America'' after Amazon. But Harley doesn’t want Shopfiy to just be an e-commerce/retail company; he wants it to be the go-to place for entrepreneurs. I hope after listening to this episode you’ll also understand Shopify and why I love it so much. In this episode, Harley and I chat about Shopify’s journey and success, his career path, law school, turning passion projects into the next big thing, scalability, the evolution of e-commerce and retail, entrepreneurship and more.

Guest - Harley Finkelstein, President at Shopify

howardlindzon.com, shopify.com

Twitter: @howardlindzon, @harleyf, @knutjensen

linkedin.com/in/harleyf

#fintech #invest #investment #venturecapital #stockmarket #finance

Joanne Wilson of Gotham Gal on How She’s Investing in New York’s Next Big Industries (EP.136) Feb 11, 2021

Show notes

Joanne Wilson is a powerhouse. She’s a prolific investor, mom and wife and a champion of female entrepreneurs – not to mention a tough cookie who knows New York better than anyone I know. When she’s not crushing it in the investing world, you can find this self-described “insatiable foodie” cooking over on her Instagram. I met Joanne about 14 years ago when she and her husband/previous Panic guest Fred Wilson invested in my company at the time WallStrip. Joanne’s investing portfolio has grown since investing in me back in the day to include more than 130 companies. It was a blast to have someone as smart, quick and entertaining as her on the podcast. In this episode, Joanne and I chat about angel investing, New York, tech, real estate, the restaurant industry, entrepreneurship and more.

Guest - Joanne Wilson, Angel Investor at Gotham Gal

howardlindzon.com, gothamgal.com

soundcloud.com/positivelygothamgal

Twitter: @howardlindzon, @thegothamgal, @knutjensen

linkedin.com/in/joanne-wilson-b0886110

#fintech #invest #investment #venturecapital #stockmarket #finance

Zach Weinberg of Operator Partners on the Future of Healthcare and BioTech (EP.135) Feb 04, 2021

Show notes

I’ve listened to a lot of impressive people on this podcast, but Zach Weinberg truly blew me away. Zach’s made some incredibly smart investing moves in his life, and he’s only 34 years old. He is a grade-A hustler, habitual entrepreneur and prolific angel investor. Zach and his business partner Nat Turner sold their second start-up venture, an advertising technology company called Invite Media, to Google for $81 million in 2010. After taking a turn toward a foray in the healthcare sector, they sold data and software company Flatiron Health to Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche for $2 billion in 2018. Flatiron Health, founded in 2012, makes software that pools patient data from electronic health records for cancer treatment centers. Zach was the company’s co-founder, president and COO. He oversaw research, product, engineering and recruiting initiatives. He’s currently invested in over 30 tech startups throughout the U.S. In this episode, Zach and I chat about his backstory, healthcare, biotech research, connecting with founders, Google, Shopify, education and more.

Guest - Zach Weinberg, General Partner at Operator Partners, Co-Founder at Flatiron Helath, Angel investor

howardlindzon.com, operatorpartners.com, angel.co/zachweinberg

Twitter: @howardlindzon, @zachweinberg, @knutjensen

linkedin.com/in/zachweinberg

#fintech #invest #investment #venturecapital #stockmarket #finance

Former GoDaddy CEO Scott Wagner on the Domain Industry and Digital Real Estate (EP.134) Jan 28, 2021

Show notes

In this episode, I chatted with the former CEO of what I deem as one of the most important real estate companies in the world – GoDaddy. That’s right, I’m talking about digital real estate. And who better to talk about this with than former GoDaddy CEO Scott Wagner. Wagner was President and COO of the company for over 4 years before serving as CEO from 2018-2019. With his years of experience in the domain industry comes a font of knowledge and insights he was kind enough to share with us on the Panic podcast. In this episode, Scott and I talk about his career path, the domain industry, the state of the markets, content syndication, ecommerce, digital real estate, SPACs, Scottsdale National, branding and more.

Guest - Scott Wagner, Advisor and Investor, Former CEO GoDaddy

howardlindzon.com, GoDaddy.com

Twitter: @howardlindzon, @ScottWWagner, @knutjensen

linkedin.com/in/wagns

#fintech #invest #investment #venturecapital #stockmarket #finance