One of Christopher Lochhead’s hero, UFC Hall of Famer and MMA legend Bas Rutten joins us today for another powerful and insightful conversation. We talk about how as a Dutch Kid, Bas, over-came horrible asthma and eczema, and bullying to become, the “Baddest Man in the World.” He shares about his outlook in life, his techniques when learning a new skill and a lot more.

Fun, Playful and Affable

Bas Rutten shares how some people see his life as almost like a cartoon character. He shares how he did a commercial for Cartoon Network focusing on anti-bullying and getting fit. These campaigns were personally moving for him as he was bullied when he was young due to severe asthma and eczema.

“I know people who have asthma 365 days a year. I know people who are covered with eczema. Compared to them, this is not really that bad. That was my outlook always in life. There's always somebody, out there who has it worse than you.”  - Bas Rutten

Greatest and Most Terrifying

Bas is a Sensei, commentator, and inventor. He is also the former UFC Heavy Weight Champion of the World. He scored 13 knockdowns without getting dropped, become the most accurate striker in UFC history with 70% accuracy and ended his career on a mind-blowing 22-fight winning streak.

“I found out about that [statistics] when I was inducted in the Hall of Fame. That was so cool. That was my fighting style. I don’t want to waste things. I like to look for openings. The opponent, most of the time gives the knock out for me. He'll make a mistake, if he punches, the body is open.” - Bas Rutten

Overcoming Everything

Non-fans will definitely love this episode and will surely learn a ton from Bas.  His mindset around losing, overcoming adversity and the drive to learn new skills, Is something we can all learn from.

Bas is also an entrepreneur and inventor. His new O2 Trainer is fast becoming a must-have for professional athletes, weekend warriors and among people with asthma and breathing challenges. The O2 trainer strengthens the lungs and breathing muscles. 

To hear more information about Bas Rutten and to listen to his ideas how to over-come anything, download and listen to the episode.

Bio:

Sebastiaan “Bas” Rutten (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈbɑs ˈrʏtə(n)];) is a Dutch retired mixed martial artist (MMA), Karate and Taekwondo blackbelt, and Muay Thai kickboxer. 

He was a UFC Heavyweight Champion, a three-time King of Pancrase world champion, and finished his career on a 22 fight unbeaten streak (21 wins, 1 draw ). 

Bas has been inducted to the UFC Hall of Fame in 2015. 

He suffered severe asthma in his childhood years and inspired by his struggle breathing developed the O2 Trainer. 

When Bas is not teaching at his gym in Westlake Village, he might be working on some acting or commentating at Karate Combat with Kenny Rice.

Links:

Bas Rutten

Wikipedia

Twitter - @BasRuttenMMA

O2 Trainer

Instagram - @basruttenmma

Also, special thanks to Luis Congdon for the kind introduction.

After breaking the internet with our Mia Khalifa Episode 111, we are bringing you another episode with John McAfee, Legendary Silicon Valley entrepreneur, and 2020 U.S Presidential candidate. He joins us to share his experiences in Silicon Valley and talks about why he thinks “it doesn’t matter who the President is. This will no doubt be one of our most controversial episodes.

Then and Now

John has been called “The most interesting man in the world.” He was an outlaw, from parts unknown, He has lived part of his adult life, on the run, somewhere in Latin America. Today, John is a candidate for US President in 2020

If his name rings a bell, that is because he is the founder of McAfee The Security Company. John also got into a well-publicized Twitter war with Kim.com, the founder of now-defunct file hosting service Megaupload.

Garden of Eden of Technology

John passionately describes Silicon Valley then as the Garden of Eden of Technology. It was known as a tech hub for the world. He also shared interesting thoughts on Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, Bill Gates, and Nolan Bushnell.

“Most of the personalities in Silicon Valley were pleasant, creative, very different. Steve Jobs, as an example, never find time to take a bath. I can smell him across the room. That was just his thing, he did not have the f*cking time to take a bath. He is a serious businessman who took a bath at least once a month, I know I did. But I also work 18 hours a day, 7 days a week for 2 years. Not because I had to, but because I f*ckin’ want it. I love what I was doing.” - John McAfee

In the past, John describes Silicon Valley as heaven. He is also candid that he does not know anything about it now, as he left it 25 years ago. 

“Everyone you met in your circle, did something or showed you something which opened your mind to the potential of digital technology. Trust me that’s not there anymore.” - John McAfee

The President Doesn’t Matter

John shares why he thinks it doesn’t matter who sits in the Oval Office. He claims that the CIA is running the show. He says there are instances that the CIA manipulates information, information that the President refers to when making decisions that affect not only the country but the whole world.

John shares more of his insights on CIA, one of the biggest clients of McAfee Security Company in the past.

“Selective information is the ultimate power.” - John McAfee

To hear more information about John McAfee and to listen to his ideas on his bid to U.S. Presidency for 2020, download and listen to the episode.

Bio:

John David McAfee (/ˈmækəfiː/ MAK-ə-fee;[1][2] born September 18, 1945) is a British-American computer programmer and businessman. He founded the software company McAfee Associates in 1987 and ran it until 1994, when he resigned from the company. McAfee Associates achieved early success as the creators of McAfee, the first commercial antivirus software, and the business now produces a range of enterprise security software. The company was purchased by Intel in 2011 and spun back out in 2017 with TPG Capital owning a majority stake, though the software has always borne the McAfee brand name. 

McAfee's wealth peaked in 2007 at $100 million, before his investments plummeted in the financial crisis of 2007–2008.

Since leaving McAfee Associates, he has founded the companies Tribal Voice (makers of the PowWow chat program), QuorumEx and Future Tense Central, among others, and has been involved in leadership positions in the companies Everykey, MGT Capital Investments and Luxcore, among others. 

His personal and business interests include smartphone apps, cryptocurrency, yoga, and all-natural antibiotics. 

He resided for a number of years in Belize, but later returned to the United States in 2013.

McAfee is also a political activist, who sought the 2016 Libertarian Party nomination for President of the United States in the 2016 election, losing to former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson.

Links:

McAfee 2020

After breaking the internet with our Mia Khalifa Episode 111, we are bringing you another episode with John McAfee, Legendary Silicon Valley entrepreneur, and 2020 U.S Presidential candidate. He joins us to share his experiences in Silicon Valley and talks about why he thinks “it doesn’t matter who the President is. This will no doubt be one of our most controversial episodes.

Then and Now

John has been called “The most interesting man in the world.” He was an outlaw, from parts unknown, He has lived part of his adult life, on the run, somewhere in Latin America. Today, John is a candidate for US President in 2020

If his name rings a bell, that is because he is the founder of McAfee The Security Company. John also got into a well-publicized Twitter war with Kim.com, the founder of now-defunct file hosting service Megaupload.

Garden of Eden of Technology

John passionately describes Silicon Valley then as the Garden of Eden of Technology. It was known as a tech hub for the world. He also shared interesting thoughts on Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, Bill Gates, and Nolan Bushnell.

“Most of the personalities in Silicon Valley were pleasant, creative, very different. Steve Jobs, as an example, never find time to take a bath. I can smell him across the room. That was just his thing, he did not have the f*cking time to take a bath. He is a serious businessman who took a bath at least once a month, I know I did. But I also work 18 hours a day, 7 days a week for 2 years. Not because I had to, but because I f*ckin’ want it. I love what I was doing.” - John McAfee

In the past, John describes Silicon Valley as heaven. He is also candid that he does not know anything about it now, as he left it 25 years ago. 

“Everyone you met in your circle, did something or showed you something which opened your mind to the potential of digital technology. Trust me that’s not there anymore.” - John McAfee

The President Doesn’t Matter

John shares why he thinks it doesn’t matter who sits in the Oval Office. He claims that the CIA is running the show. He says there are instances that the CIA manipulates information, information that the President refers to when making decisions that affect not only the country but the whole world.

John shares more of his insights on CIA, one of the biggest clients of McAfee Security Company in the past.

“Selective information is the ultimate power.” - John McAfee

To hear more information about John McAfee and to listen to his ideas on his bid to U.S. Presidency for 2020, download and listen to the episode.

Bio:

John David McAfee (/ˈmækəfiː/ MAK-ə-fee;[1][2] born September 18, 1945) is a British-American computer programmer and businessman. He founded the software company McAfee Associates in 1987 and ran it until 1994, when he resigned from the company. McAfee Associates achieved early success as the creators of McAfee, the first commercial antivirus software, and the business now produces a range of enterprise security software. The company was purchased by Intel in 2011 and spun back out in 2017 with TPG Capital owning a majority stake, though the software has always borne the McAfee brand name. 

McAfee's wealth peaked in 2007 at $100 million, before his investments plummeted in the financial crisis of 2007–2008.

Since leaving McAfee Associates, he has founded the companies Tribal Voice (makers of the PowWow chat program), QuorumEx and Future Tense Central, among others, and has been involved in leadership positions in the companies Everykey, MGT Capital Investments and Luxcore, among others. 

His personal and business interests include smartph...

Join us in another fascinating and timely discussion with Yancey Strickler, Co-Founder & former CEO of Kickstarter, one of the most important new companies in the Startup ecosystem. He is the author of the new book This Could Be Our Future: A Manifesto for a More Generous World.

Yancey is an experienced entrepreneur who shares very powerful insights that apply to your business and your life. Listen to our discussion about Bentoism. It’s an intriguing way to think about life.

A Chapter From The Book

In a chapter of Yancey’s new book This Could Be Our Future: A Manifesto for a More Generous World, he shares about Adele and how he found a startup company that measures loyalty and engagement. Adele faced issues with scalpers purchasing and jacking up prices of her concert tickets.

“Currently, we imagine that economics is how everything should be distributed and here, Adele, found some other value through which to make herself available.” - Yancey Strickler

Through the algorithm, Adele chose Top 30 per area of her most loyal fans. These people got access to tickets at their original prices. According to reports, fans were able to save 6 to 10 million pounds.

A New Lens in Doing Business

Yancey considers the Adele example as a powerful and pervasive lens in doing business. Adele found a could-have-been a post-economic way to distribute goods, placed a halt to that and ultimately, provided more value to her loyal fans.

“To me, that is a new kind of choice, a very new kind of decision. It is suggestive of what, of how capitalism evolves, of how we evolve as a society. Basically, where we all recognize the importance of financial value. We can also recognize the limitations of financial value being so dominant, as it is right now.” - Yancey Strickler

Social Entrepreneurship and Bentoism

Christopher and Yancey exchanged stories about social entrepreneurship and how it has become an emerging conversation right now. Yancey believes that social entrepreneurship will succeed when it becomes a dominant point of view of everyone.

“Right now, marrying a financial purpose for a nonfinancial purpose is like the cute indie thing to do. But we should root for this to be like mainstream arena rock. I want this, headlining stadiums.” - Yancey Strickler

Yancey also shares his idea on Bentoism or Beyond Near Term Orientation. He came up with this idea when he was doodling and creating graphs while evaluating what he wants at the moment and what he would want to achieve in the future. 

To hear more about This Could Be Our Future and more information about Yancey Strickler, Kickstarter Co-Founder, download and listen to the episode.

Bio:

Yancey Strickler is a writer and entrepreneur. He is the cofounder and former CEO of Kickstarter, author of This Could Be Our Future: A Manifesto for a More Generous World, and the creator of Bentoism.

Yancey has been recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People. 

He’s spoken at the Museum of Modern Art, Sundance and Tribeca Film Festivals, Web Summit, and events around the globe. 

He cofounded the artist resource The Creative Independent and the record label eMusic Selects. Yancey grew up in Clover Hollow, Virginia, and began his career as a music critic in New York City. 

Links:

Yancey Strickler

Bentoism 

Book: This Could Be Our Future: A Manifesto for a More Generous World.

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes! Get amazing, different stories on business, marketing, and life. Subscribe to our newsletter The Difference.

Join us in another fascinating and timely discussion with Yancey Strickler, Co-Founder & former CEO of Kickstarter, one of the most important new companies in the Startup ecosystem. He is the author of the new book This Could Be Our Future: A Manifesto for a More Generous World.

Yancey is an experienced entrepreneur who shares very powerful insights that apply to your business and your life. Listen to our discussion about Bentoism. It’s an intriguing way to think about life.

A Chapter From The Book

In a chapter of Yancey’s new book This Could Be Our Future: A Manifesto for a More Generous World, he shares about Adele and how he found a startup company that measures loyalty and engagement. Adele faced issues with scalpers purchasing and jacking up prices of her concert tickets.

“Currently, we imagine that economics is how everything should be distributed and here, Adele, found some other value through which to make herself available.” - Yancey Strickler

Through the algorithm, Adele chose Top 30 per area of her most loyal fans. These people got access to tickets at their original prices. According to reports, fans were able to save 6 to 10 million pounds.

A New Lens in Doing Business

Yancey considers the Adele example as a powerful and pervasive lens in doing business. Adele found a could-have-been a post-economic way to distribute goods, placed a halt to that and ultimately, provided more value to her loyal fans.

“To me, that is a new kind of choice, a very new kind of decision. It is suggestive of what, of how capitalism evolves, of how we evolve as a society. Basically, where we all recognize the importance of financial value. We can also recognize the limitations of financial value being so dominant, as it is right now.” - Yancey Strickler

Social Entrepreneurship and Bentoism

Christopher and Yancey exchanged stories about social entrepreneurship and how it has become an emerging conversation right now. Yancey believes that social entrepreneurship will succeed when it becomes a dominant point of view of everyone.

“Right now, marrying a financial purpose for a nonfinancial purpose is like the cute indie thing to do. But we should root for this to be like mainstream arena rock. I want this, headlining stadiums.” - Yancey Strickler

Yancey also shares his idea on Bentoism or Beyond Near Term Orientation. He came up with this idea when he was doodling and creating graphs while evaluating what he wants at the moment and what he would want to achieve in the future. 

To hear more about This Could Be Our Future and more information about Yancey Strickler, Kickstarter Co-Founder, download and listen to the episode.

Bio:

Yancey Strickler is a writer and entrepreneur. He is the cofounder and former CEO of Kickstarter, author of This Could Be Our Future: A Manifesto for a More Generous World, and the creator of Bentoism.

Yancey has been recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People. 

He’s spoken at the Museum of Modern Art, Sundance and Tribeca Film Festivals, Web Summit, and events around the globe. 

He cofounded the artist resource The Creative Independent and the record label eMusic Selects. Yancey grew up in Clover Hollow, Virginia, and began his career as a music critic in New York City. 

Links:

Yancey Strickler

Bentoism 

Book: This Could Be Our Future: A Manifesto for a More Generous World.

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Follow Your D...

Today, entrepreneur and the incredibly creative guy Steve Lieberman, Founder & CEO of SJ Lighting, joins us today for another riveting conversation. Steve and his team have had a hand in almost every nightclub and electronic music festival in the US for the last ten years. He shares how he creates a lasting impact on attendees and how the whole production process goes, from planning to execution.

Monumental Impact

Even at a young age, he shares how he finds big, monumental art pieces as impactful. He carried on this astonishment for impactful art as he pursued a career in events production, specifically focusing on lights.

“Whether it’s a big show or a little show, its 100,000 or 300-people-intimate-club-show, we like impact. An audience is coming to some show, they want to be moved. They want to be stimulated.” - Steve Lieberman

Steve Lieberman has worked with more than 50 clubs and major festival brands like Electric Daisy Carnival, Coachella, Ultra, Lollapalooza, Rolling Loud and many more. 

Similar Philosophies

Steve shares how he and his colleagues share the same philosophies when it comes to event production. He further describes the whole lighting experience as “fluid with the music” as it is a visual representation of what the music is. 

“When an audience comes in there, we have their attention and we want to give them something that they're gonna live with. I want them to leave that show and have something specific. It doesn’t need to be ten things. Whether it’s visual, oral—something that they heard—just part of their experience that they're going to take with them and they’re going to keep that forever.” - Steve Lieberman

Puzzle Pieces

Steve describes how every show is a little bit different. He says that there is no linear path from a  to b. As a designer, it’s not just taking out a worksheet and figuring out math problems. He sees production as fitting different pieces of a puzzle. 

The design, procedures, modify based on what’s required and is highly dependent on the scale of the show. He shares he has to absorb all the information of what the show is, what the performers might prefer and who are the headlining artists.

“I’d like to think, the promoters and basically, the guys who write the checks for the show, we’re on the same team. At the end of the day, my contracts are 99.9% with them. My priority is to protect their best interest.” - Steve Lieberman

To hear more about Legendary Lighting & Nightclub Designer Steve Lieberman, download and listen to the episode.

Bio:

Steve Lieberman has been working in the festival and nightclub community since 1987. As a teen exploring NYC nightlife, he saw the potential of enhancing the events visually and got involved as a lighting designer for warehouse parties. This led naturally to stage design as his career picked up steam. By the time he moved to California in 2001, Steve’s reputation for next-level work made him a no-brainer for Insomniac, who came knocking at his door. 

Some of Steve’s favorite projects of the past 25+ years are not necessarily the largest; he recalls fondly several side stages at EDC LA in the late nineties, such as one bassPOD stage consisting of a complete grid of LED fixtures laid into a matrix creating a truly dynamic perspective, and another stage with sets of stairs leading in all directions à la MC Escher. 

Steve approaches each show, each stage, each environment with special attention based on the needs of the producer, the artist riders and the creative concepts. The primary principle to which Steve has held true all these years is not to fight your environment but to embrace it.

Links:

SJ Lighting

How I Made It: Steve Lieberman got his start lighting illegal warehouse parties. Now, it’s Coachella.

An Interview With Steve Lieberman: Founder of SJ Lighting

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter,

Today, entrepreneur and the incredibly creative guy Steve Lieberman, Founder & CEO of SJ Lighting, joins us today for another riveting conversation. Steve and his team have had a hand in almost every nightclub and electronic music festival in the US for the last ten years. He shares how he creates a lasting impact on attendees and how the whole production process goes, from planning to execution.

Monumental Impact

Even at a young age, he shares how he finds big, monumental art pieces as impactful. He carried on this astonishment for impactful art as he pursued a career in events production, specifically focusing on lights.

“Whether it’s a big show or a little show, its 100,000 or 300-people-intimate-club-show, we like impact. An audience is coming to some show, they want to be moved. They want to be stimulated.” - Steve Lieberman

Steve Lieberman has worked with more than 50 clubs and major festival brands like Electric Daisy Carnival, Coachella, Ultra, Lollapalooza, Rolling Loud and many more. 

Similar Philosophies

Steve shares how he and his colleagues share the same philosophies when it comes to event production. He further describes the whole lighting experience as “fluid with the music” as it is a visual representation of what the music is. 

“When an audience comes in there, we have their attention and we want to give them something that they're gonna live with. I want them to leave that show and have something specific. It doesn’t need to be ten things. Whether it’s visual, oral—something that they heard—just part of their experience that they're going to take with them and they’re going to keep that forever.” - Steve Lieberman

Puzzle Pieces

Steve describes how every show is a little bit different. He says that there is no linear path from a  to b. As a designer, it’s not just taking out a worksheet and figuring out math problems. He sees production as fitting different pieces of a puzzle. 

The design, procedures, modify based on what’s required and is highly dependent on the scale of the show. He shares he has to absorb all the information of what the show is, what the performers might prefer and who are the headlining artists.

“I’d like to think, the promoters and basically, the guys who write the checks for the show, we’re on the same team. At the end of the day, my contracts are 99.9% with them. My priority is to protect their best interest.” - Steve Lieberman

To hear more about Legendary Lighting & Nightclub Designer Steve Lieberman, download and listen to the episode.

Bio:

Steve Lieberman has been working in the festival and nightclub community since 1987. As a teen exploring NYC nightlife, he saw the potential of enhancing the events visually and got involved as a lighting designer for warehouse parties. This led naturally to stage design as his career picked up steam. By the time he moved to California in 2001, Steve’s reputation for next-level work made him a no-brainer for Insomniac, who came knocking at his door. 

Some of Steve’s favorite projects of the past 25+ years are not necessarily the largest; he recalls fondly several side stages at EDC LA in the late nineties, such as one bassPOD stage consisting of a complete grid of LED fixtures laid into a matrix creating a truly dynamic perspective, and another stage with sets of stairs leading in all directions à la MC Escher. 

Steve approaches each show, each stage, each environment with special attention based on the needs of the producer, the artist riders and the creative concepts. The primary principle to which Steve has held true all these years is not to fight your environment but to embrace it.

Links:

SJ Lighting

In another riveting episode, Scott Kupor, the managing partner of one of the highest-profile VC on the planet over the last decade, Andreessen Horowitz, joins us today to discuss startups, how to get funded and a lot more!

He is also the author of the book called Secrets of Sand Hill Road: Venture Capital and How to Get It.

“Inside Baseball”

Scott addressed the common issue of "inside baseball" between entrepreneurs and VCs. He shares that there is no reason why questions shouldn’t be answered and that VCs should reach out to entrepreneurs.

“People don’t understand why decisions are made. I think that just leads to mistrust quite frankly between VCs and entrepreneurs.” - Scott Kupor

Moreover, Scott shares the reason why he wrote the book. He wanted to bridge the gap between VCs and entrepreneurs. Through this book, he answers several entrepreneur questions that previously were assumed to be understood, since they have done a lot of deals in the past. 

Information Asymmetry

Scott discusses the idea about information asymmetry and how it results to one party benefitting at the expense of the other in those types of scenarios.

“Capital is scarce and VCs have it. There was definitely a very different balance of power between entrepreneurs and VCs. There’s probably less incentive quite frankly for the VC. The biggest change, I think,  in the last 10 yrs is, its as competitive as its ever been.” - Scott Kupor 

Money clearly a commodity in this business. For Scott, if VCs and entrepreneurs can level the playing field, he would enter into a relationship on a basis of actually understanding one another, knowing what motivates one another as it would definitely be a good place better place to start.

More From Scott

Aside from talking about Silicon Valley, Startups and how entrepreneurs could get funding, he shares his thoughts on the overall VC backed industry. 

“My personal view is—I’ve talked about this with people in DC publicly—the idea that more and more growth is happening in the private markets, while beneficial, selfishly for people like me, who get to, kind of monetize that growth. I don’t think its good for the country. I don’t think its good to not have companies going public at a reasonable stage where a broader cross-section of public market investors can actually enjoy the appreciation there.” - Scott Kupor

To hear more about Secrets of Sand Hill Road Venture Capital and more information about Scott Kupor, Managing Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, download and listen to the episode.

Bio:

Scott Kupor is the managing partner at Andreessen Horowitz where he is responsible for all operational aspects of running the firm.

He has been with the firm since its inception in 2009 and has overseen its rapid growth, from three employees to 150+ and from $300 million in assets under management to more than $10 billion.

Prior to joining Andreessen Horowitz, Scott worked as vice president and general manager of Software-as-a-Service at Hewlett Packard. Scott joined HP in 2007 as part of the Opsware acquisition, where he was senior vice president of Customer Solutions. 

In this role, he had global responsibility for customer interaction, including professional services, technical pre-sales, and customer support. Scott joined Opsware shortly after the company’s founding and held numerous executive management positions including vice president, financial planning and vice president, corporate development. 

In these roles, he led the company’s private financing activities as well as its initial public offering in 2001. Scott also started the company’s Asia Pacific operations and led the execution of the company’s multiple acquisitions.

Prior to Opsware, Scott represented software companies in both financing and mergers and acquisitions transactions at Credit Suisse First Boston and Lehman Brothers. 

He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University with a bachelor’s degree in public policy with honors and distinction.

In another riveting episode, Scott Kupor, the managing partner of one of the highest-profile VC on the planet over the last decade, Andreessen Horowitz, joins us today to discuss startups, how to get funded and a lot more!

He is also the author of the book called Secrets of Sand Hill Road: Venture Capital and How to Get It.

“Inside Baseball”

Scott addressed the common issue of "inside baseball" between entrepreneurs and VCs. He shares that there is no reason why questions shouldn’t be answered and that VCs should reach out to entrepreneurs.

“People don’t understand why decisions are made. I think that just leads to mistrust quite frankly between VCs and entrepreneurs.” - Scott Kupor

Moreover, Scott shares the reason why he wrote the book. He wanted to bridge the gap between VCs and entrepreneurs. Through this book, he answers several entrepreneur questions that previously were assumed to be understood, since they have done a lot of deals in the past. 

Information Asymmetry

Scott discusses the idea about information asymmetry and how it results to one party benefitting at the expense of the other in those types of scenarios.

“Capital is scarce and VCs have it. There was definitely a very different balance of power between entrepreneurs and VCs. There’s probably less incentive quite frankly for the VC. The biggest change, I think,  in the last 10 yrs is, its as competitive as its ever been.” - Scott Kupor 

Money clearly a commodity in this business. For Scott, if VCs and entrepreneurs can level the playing field, he would enter into a relationship on a basis of actually understanding one another, knowing what motivates one another as it would definitely be a good place better place to start.

More From Scott

Aside from talking about Silicon Valley, Startups and how entrepreneurs could get funding, he shares his thoughts on the overall VC backed industry. 

“My personal view is—I’ve talked about this with people in DC publicly—the idea that more and more growth is happening in the private markets, while beneficial, selfishly for people like me, who get to, kind of monetize that growth. I don’t think its good for the country. I don’t think its good to not have companies going public at a reasonable stage where a broader cross-section of public market investors can actually enjoy the appreciation there.” - Scott Kupor

To hear more about Secrets of Sand Hill Road Venture Capital and more information about Scott Kupor, Managing Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, download and listen to the episode.

Bio:

Scott Kupor is the managing partner at Andreessen Horowitz where he is responsible for all operational aspects of running the firm.

He has been with the firm since its inception in 2009 and has overseen its rapid growth, from three employees to 150+ and from $300 million in assets under management to more than $10 billion.

Prior to joining Andreessen Horowitz, Scott worked as vice president and general manager of Software-as-a-Service at Hewlett Packard. Scott joined HP in 2007 as part of the Opsware acquisition, where he was senior vice president of Customer Solutions. 

In this role, he had global responsibility for customer interaction, including professional services, technical pre-sales, and customer support. Scott joined Opsware shortly after the company’s founding and held numerous executive management positions including vice president, financial planning and vice president, corporate development. 

In these roles, he led the company’s private financing activities as well as its initial public offering in 2001. Scott also started the company’s Asia Pacific operations and led the execution of the company’s multiple acquisitions.

Prior to Opsware, Scott represented software companies in both financing and mergers and acquisitions transactions a...

Today, Dave Bittner, Producer and Host of The CyberWire Podcast and Hacking Humans podcast, joins us for a timely discussion about security, the future, deep fakes Apple glasses and more. He is a regular guest of podcast Grumpy Old Geeks with previous guests, Jason DiFillipo & Brian Schulmister.

Trade-Off Between Operations and Risks

Security has played a huge role in every technology company nowadays. The episode starts off with a very timely topic on security. Christopher poses the question “why security is hard?”  Dave honestly answers that there is a trade-off and risk-reward decision-making process that needs to happen. 

Dave continues that breaches started getting bigger as well as ramifications and costs resulting in bad publicity, too. Board Members now have started giving their attention to security threats, as they, themselves can be liable for these breaches.

“I think these days good board members have to have a certain level of knowledge and education in cybersecurity because it touches everything.” - Dave Bittner

More on Data Breaches and Hacking 

Would there be more data breaches and hacking in the near future since the cost of technological equipment is getting cheaper? Dave answered, yes.

Hackers are professionalizing themselves. They also have access to knowledge and tools that enables them to target victims, as opposed to the usual shotgun approach.

“I think there are a few things going on right now, I think we are seeing the sophistication of the actors increased in the sense that, there’s an increase in the professionalism of them.” - Dave Bittner

Other Future Related Topics

Dave shares more about privacy and security. Also there's the fact that 60% of people in the US genetic connections can be implied from data available from 23andme or Ancestry.com.

“The security implication is that biometric data—your DNA, your fingerprints, your face ID, facial recognition—those are the things that it’s very difficult to change, if not, impossible to change. If someone gets a hold of that and that something, that you’re using as a factor for your security, you cant just go reset that. That’s one of the long term concerns.” - Dave Bittner

To hear more about Security, Deep Fakes and Apple Glasses and more information about Dave, download and listen to the episode.

Bio:

Dave Bittner is the Producer and Host of The CyberWire Podcast, Hacking Humans podcast.

Links:

Twitter: @bittner

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