{Rebroadcast} Season 1, Ep. 19: Kathleen Breitman, Co-Founder of Tezos

https://www.tezos.com/

{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/

Resources Mentioned

Oculus https://www.oculus.com

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/

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/

Resources Mentioned

Arthur http://arthur.digital/

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/

“[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/

Resources Mentioned

Coinbase https://www.coinbase.com/?locale=en-US

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/

‘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.’

Connect with Charlie

Litecoin https://litecoin.org/

Resources Mentioned

Coinbase https://www.coinbase.com/?locale=en-US

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/

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

Resources Mentioned

Coinbase https://www.coinbase.com/?locale=en-US

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/

‘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/

Resources Mentioned

Bitcoin White Paper https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/

“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/

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

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/

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/

Resources Mentioned

SynBioBeta https://synbiobeta.com/

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/

Disruptive ideas are the ones that go viral, and the two hottest ideas in VC right now are cryptocurrency and VR. Today we’re taking a step back to articulate the major themes in both ecosystems, discussing Bitcoin’s exponential growth, the current FOMO among investors when it comes to cryptocurrency, and the debate around tokens as securities.

We’re also exploring what the best first use case of virtual reality might be, looking at B2B applications like collaboration and business training as well as fitness applications such as FITXR. Listen in to understand the debate around the correct distribution vehicle for VR and what the industry is doing to address its major problems.

Follow Adam on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AdamDraper

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