FYI - For Your Innovation

By ARK InvestBusiness Technology Education Investing

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FYI - For Your Innovation episodes

December 22, 2022Innovation Is the Ultimate Leveler with Steve Case
He is one of America’s most renowned and accomplished entrepreneurs and helped make the internet what it is today. Steve Case’s entrepreneurial journey began in 1985 when he co-founded America Online (AOL), the largest internet-access subscription service company in the United States. He stepped down as CEO of AOL in 2000 after negotiating the largest merger in business history. He has an immense passion and appreciation for business, helping start several companies since leaving AOL. Steve has also helped shape government policy regarding issues relating to entrepreneurship and supports legislation that catalyzes startup ecosystems. One of his exploits is Revolution, where he serves as the Chairman and CEO. Revolution is a company focused on investing in the next generation of founders and helping startups grow. In our conversation, we talk broadly about innovation in America, his book Rise of the Rest, and the power of government policy. Learn about his professional background and journey at AOL, his achievements after leaving AOL, and why innovation is fundamental for the future of America. We also unpack the current thinking around government policy concerning crypto and tech, how he thinks the government will handle it, and what policy reforms to expect in the future. Hear about his company Revolution and how the company is helping drive and support entrepreneurial spirit in the country. We also discuss why he thinks entrepreneurs are vital, the value of research toward innovation, why Steve thinks you should be optimistic for the future of America, and much more.

“Following the money is one way to make investments, but following the talent is probably the better way in the venture capital world.” — @SteveCase
Key Points From This Episode:
A brief background about Steve’s professional career journey at AOL.
Whether the market bust of 2020 was caused by the collapse of tech stocks.
Find out why the business model of AOL was daring in the early days.
How Steve got involved in helping shape government tech policies.
His opinion regarding government policy in the tech sector.
Whether government policy will encourage innovation within tech and crypto.
Learn how innovation can be the greatest leveler of opportunity and success.
We discuss Revolution and his motivation for starting the company.
Discover details about his book and the insight it provides readers.
Steve outlines some of the companies in the Revolution growth portfolio.
We unpack the shift toward passive investing that has occurred in recent years.
Steve shares what he thinks will be the long-term trend in investment of capital.
We discuss and compare private and public markets.
Reasons for the brain drain and the concentration of capital in a handful of cities.
The innovation that is happening around the country and why this is good.
Learn about an interesting new application to help you invest properly.
Where the biggest inefficiencies are concerning the various stages of venture capital.
Differences in terms of companies needing assistance concerning fixed assets.
Hear why you should be positive for the future of business in America.
41 min
December 15, 2022Contextualizing Today’s Economy with Jeremy Siegel
From The Great Depression and the two World Wars to now COVID and the escalation of the War in Ukraine, the world has had its fair share of economic downturns. However, the way we recover from it seems different now than it was in the early 1900s. Here with us today to discuss the differences and similarities of past, present, and future recessions is Wharton Professor and esteemed economist, Jeremy Siegel. Jeremy shares his thoughts on the Monitor hypothesis, the potential severity of a recession, and how current technological advancements make an increase in productivity highly likely. We learn what the Federal Reserve could be doing better amidst the negative money growth we are currently experiencing before Jeremy gives us his take on digital currencies and why crypto may be a three-part revolution.

“I do think, as I look back, because of my studies with Milton Friedman, that the principal cause of the Great Depression was the failure of the Fed to prevent the total collapse of the banking system.” — Professor Jeremy Siegel
Key Points From This Episode:
Welcoming today’s guest, Wharton Professor and decorated economist, Jeremy Siegel.
A look at Jeremy’s professional background.
Jeremy’s thoughts on the Monitor hypothesis.
What Jeremey thinks the severity of the an upcoming recession could be.
How too much labor and inventory could compound a recession.
Why innovation and automation may lead to a big increase in productivity in the near future.
How Jeremy thinks today’s economic climate compares to the Smoot-Hawley act and others.
Whether inflation can drop below zero, mimicking post-disaster periods of old.
What the Federal Reserve could do to bring back money growth.
A closer look at the negative money growth America is currently experiencing.
Why Jeremy believes it’s no longer necessary to squeeze the economy to death to regain parity.
Why increasing productivity should be our top priority.
Whether a productivity rise is inevitable due to ever-changing technological advancements.
Jeremy’s take on digital currencies.
Cryptocurrency as a possible three-part revolution.
50 min
December 08, 2022Designing The Future Of Software Engineering with Amjad Masad from Replit
Programming has transitioned from machine code to punch cards, from assembly to high-level languages, and from C to dynamic languages, then to Python. Now, we are heading into the next frontier with artificial intelligence (AI) technology, and today’s guest, Amjad Masad, is one of the leaders designing the future of software engineering. During this episode, Amjad explains how the challenges he came up against during his early days as a programmer inspired him to make programming more accessible and how he is turning that dream into a reality through his privately-held company, Replit. Among other things, you’ll hear why Replit might appeal to both novice and highly experienced programmers, their “code as data” approach, the exponential growth that the company has experienced since its founding in 2016, and why Amjad believes that in the coming years, a single software developer might have the same productivity level as a 100 software developers today!

“Our mission is to power the next generation of software development and rebuild something that is collaborative by default, instance ubiquitous and AI-powered.” — @amasad
Key Points From This Episode:
Amjad Masad, the co-founder and CEO of Replit, shares what the company does and the vision that drives them.
The problem with the programming world that inspired Amjad to found Replit.
What the Replit prototype was like in its infancy.
Amjad’s breakthrough that went viral.
The early years of Amjad’s career.
How Replit has grown since its founding in 2016.
Value that Replit aims to provide to beginner and senior programmers.
Where the idea of using code as data originated.
How Replit acquired its name.
Impacts of the Transformer revolution.
How Transformers are programmed.
Amjad explains what his Ghostwriter program does.
Valuable lessons Amjad learned from The Mythical Man-Month.
Software engineering’s latest “silver bullet.”
What Amjad sees as the role of software engineers in the future.
A high-level overview of the history of programming and the developments that Amjad expects to see in the coming years.
Factors that might make Replit stand out from its competitors.
What Amjad wishes he knew from day one of building Replit.
46 min
December 01, 2022Disrupting Stock Market Education with Emmet Savage from MyWallSt
MyWallSt is built on a simple mission: to get the world investing successfully. During today’s discussion, co-founder Emmet Savage shares a wealth of insights from his investment journey, which began in the early 90s. Listeners will become privy to six golden rules Emmet has learned the hard way during his career, plenty of which can be applied far beyond financial decision-making. Hear the origin story of his app, Learn by MyWallSt, and how it has begun to make a meaningful impact on people’s lives. Hear about how Emmet has built the algorithm behind Horizon, another product by MyWallSt, and find out how he summarizes his long-term vision for the business. We discuss what you can learn from stock investing which extends beyond what you may expect, and Emmet weighs in on the role of AI and Robo-Adviser in changing the landscape today. Tune in to hear all this and much more.

“We’re motivated by a simple mission: to get the world investing successfully.” — @emmetsavage
Key Points From This Episode:
Welcome to Emmet Savage, co-founder of MyWallSt.
Emmet’s history with investing in Irish and US markets.
MyWallSt’s origins and their opportunity to disrupt stock market education and investing.
John and Emmet’s simple mission at MyWallSt: to get the world investing successfully.
Emmet’s first experiences of investing during the .com boom.
The first share Emmet invested in with his father was in the early 90s.
How ‘nothing beats free’ has become a rough rule of the internet.
Six golden rules Emmet learned the hard way when the .com bubble burst.
The conjoined rules of thinking long-term and not borrowing.
Why diversification is critical to success.
Buying what you believe in for your best success.
What it means to “invest what you can, when you can.”
Two reasons people choose not to invest.
The origin story behind the app, Learn by MyWallSt.
How Learn by MyWallSt was built with the rewards of short bursts of learning in mind.
The story of Michelle, who upskilled herself on the bus, leading to investment success.
What MyWallSt’s $1000 a year service, Horizon, works to do.
The long-term vision behind Emmet’s work at MyWallSt.
Similarities between the bursting of the .com bubble and the current climate.
Understanding that a part of your brain lights up when you bet on something.
The double-edged sword of human temperament.
What you can learn from stock investing beyond the obvious.
Emmet’s advice to keep your nerve when everyone else is panicking.
Why the customization of messaging is so important: we remember feelings.
The fact that AI and Robo-Adviser may overtake us eventually.
What happens the moment a magic formula is released.
51 min
November 23, 2022Military Defense and Intelligence with Chip Walter from Marlinspike
Today’s guest Chip Walter is a Navy veteran and Managing Director of Marlinspike Partners, a company working to solve the technological needs in space, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence (AI) through investment. Tune in to hear about Chip’s background in the Navy, how he ended up at Marlinspike, and his experience flying a P-3 plane. We discuss the roles of the Prime contractors in defense and intelligence, the process of trying to sell weapons to the Department of Defense, and a common mistake startups should to avoid. The timeline of the growth of space technology is increasing at a rapid rate. In this episode, Chip tells us why he feels the USA needs to match the presence of other dominant countries in space in order to defend itself before he explains how cyber fits into war-fighting as the fifth domain.

“The big players in the in the defense industrial base [need to] play with the smaller players and be responsible [for] bringing them along and allowing them to use their innovative cycle” — Chip Walter
Key Points From This Episode:
A brief introduction of today’s guest, Chip Walter, and all about his background.
What Chip thinks the US needs to do to improve defense and intelligence and maintain its position.
What it’s like to try to sell to the Department of Defense or the intelligence community.
What small companies in this industry should be aiming for.
Why startups should be careful of trying to do too much.
What Chip sees happening in space in terms of defense and investment at Marlinspike.
Why presence in space is essential to achieve military dominance.
Why cyber is the fifth domain of war-fighting.
How AI fits into war-fighting.
Chip tells us about his days flying the P-3 plane.
44 min
November 17, 2022Has Innovation Bottomed? with Steven Vannelli
Here at ARK, the number one question we hear is: has innovation bottomed? Steven Vannelli is seeing signs that innovation may have hit the bottom and that there might be a significant turning point ahead. Steven is Founder and CEO of Knowledge Leaders Capital and Chief Investment Officer of the Knowledge Leaders Funds. There, he oversees investment strategy, asset allocation, and security selection, and leads development on the firm’s analysis of intangible capital, studying how it affects corporate profitability and wealth creation. According to Steven’s most recent Quarterly Strategy Report, global innovation appears to have bottomed, and in this episode, he breaks down what he means. We take a deep dive into the stats that suggest that innovation could be relatively undervalued from a historical perspective.

“[Intangible assets aren’t] all necessarily hardcore ones and zeros, bits and bytes. A lot of it is investments that companies make into their people or make into their processes.” — Steven Vannelli
Key Points From This Episode:
The motivation behind Knowledge Leaders and their unique focus on intangible assets.
Indications that innovation as a factor bottomed earlier in 2022, according to Steven.
Defining intangible assets and some examples that illustrate their value.
Understanding the relationship between present intellectual property and future earnings.
A look at the first quintile of the S&P 500 and what it means for innovation.
Where research and development spenders in the S&P 500 are concentrated.
Steven shares his view on how companies can benefit from capitalizing on R&D.
Indices that Steven uses as proxies for innovation.
The Bloomberg R&D Leaders Index versus the Goldman Sachs Non-profitable Tech Index.
A look at financial leverage based on reported data.
The potential merits of comparing the 2000s boom and bust cycle with innovation today.
Potential ramifications of the tech race between the U.S. and China.
How geopolitical risk can slow innovation.
45 min
November 10, 2022The World of DaaS with Auren Hoffman
With steadily increasing technological advancements and a new way of living with the global pandemic, Data as a service (DaaS) has become a very attractive business model. Taking full advantage of the growing internet is today’s guest, CEO of privately held SafeGraph and the host of The World of DaaS podcast, Auren Hoffman. To paraphrase our guest, SafeGraph sells data about physical places, they sell a collection of facts. Auren’s background as a software engineer launched him into the world of tech, and he explains why he believes DaaS is so important in today’s world. We learn that SafeGraph prioritizes data over analytics, why trading datamay be / appears to be better for business than selling it, and why value and accuracy could be / he believes, etc more important than data quantity. Software tools are leading to both market concentration and fragmentation, and we see how software’s evolution to be more text-prompt-based can be great for the everyday consumer. Auren is also an angel investor and he tells us what he prefers investing in and why he finds the current market so fascinating. Before discussing the slippery slope of universal standards, our guest shares why podcasting brings him joy and why being able to switch between platforms and systems is becoming a major selling point. Auren is encouraged by the competitive nature of the data space and he explains why traditional banks have a tough battle to deal with.

“The most important thing in data is that it’s true because you’re just selling facts. Hopefully, you have a lot of facts. Hopefully, those facts are facts people want.” — @auren
Key Points From This Episode:
Introducing today’s guest, DaaS expert and serial entrepreneur, Auren Hoffman.
Auren’s business background and how he got into tech.
What SafeGraph does as a business.
The definition of a “data as a service” (DaaS) company and why it matters in today’s world.
How dealing in data is simply working with facts.
Whether Auren has been tempted to add analytics to his data-focused business.
How Auren feels about the ever-increasing capabilities of data software tools.
How his business’s data class differs from the others that prioritize analytics.
Data-direct monetization and why it’s a bad idea for businesses to adopt the trend.
Why Auren believes trading data is more beneficial than selling it.
The difficulties of being in the data business.
Why Auren’s company needs to provide both the facts and the interpolation between them.
According to Auren, how data quantity is not enough and why value and accuracy also matter.
The tipping points within data accuracy.
SafeGraph’s prototypical customer.
How Auren bills his clients and why he thinks more people are able to use modern data software.
Whether software tools are leading to market concentration, fragmentation, or both.
How Auren’s customers are implementing the data they receive from him.
Why data software is evolving to be more text-prompt-based.
How SafeGraph is competing with Google, just like everybody else.
What Auren is investing in and what he finds interesting about the current marketplace.
How he approaches the problem of customer acquisition within SafeGraph.
Why Auren, as a CEO, is running a podcast.
How to navigate systems that have become resistant to changes in processed data.
The slippery slope of universal standards, and why Auren believes they are still important.
What Auren thinks about the competitive nature of the current data space.
The displacement of customer-sticking in banking.
52 min
November 03, 2022 A New Era in Cancer Immunotherapy with Tom Whitehead and Dr. Alex Marson
When his six-year-old daughter was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Tom Whitehead was determined to do whatever it took to save her life. In 2012, Emily Whitehead became the first patient enrolled in a clinical trial of a new immunotherapy treatment known as CAR T, which would ultimately turn her immune system into a powerful weapon against cancer. A decade later, this cancer treatment is now widely used and has gone on to save hundreds of lives. Today, in this special double episode of For Your Innovation, you’ll not only hear from Tom Whitehead as he shares the details of their miraculous story, recounting the innovative research, faith, and support that got them through the most difficult time of their lives, but you’ll also gain additional insight into CAR T therapy from biologist and infectious disease physician, Dr. Alexander Marson. Dr, Marson is a Professor at UCSF and the Director of the Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology. His lab focuses on adapting CRISPR genome editing techniques to human immune cells in order to understand the genetic programs controlling immune cell function and to manipulate T cells to generate cell-based therapies for a wide range of diseases, including cancer. For a fascinating look at the patient/family/caregiver experience of cancer immunotherapy, intersected with that of a scientist who works on these novel and innovative therapies every day, listen to today’s episode!

“T-cells are a central cell type that we can engage in a number of different ways to start orchestrating responses to treat cancer.” — @MarsonLab
Key Points From This Episode:
1 hr 27 min
October 27, 2022Breaking Down Biotech Innovations with Dr. Bob Langer
Today’s guest is MIT professor, chemical engineer, scientist, inventor, and investor Dr. Bob Langer. Dr. Langer has over 1,400 granted or pending patents and has been cited 374,000 times (and counting)! As a co-founder of Moderna, he has great insights into the potential of mRNA to treat diseases of various descriptions. Joining us to pick this extraordinary mind is clinically trained entrepreneur, Dr. Charlie Roberts. In this conversation, we discuss emerging biotechnologies, the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in this space, as well as what might be attributed to the current downturn of the market. Dr. Langer lists potential time-to-market accelerators for new therapies and vaccines and shares his advice for those looking to make an impact from an academic and/or entrepreneurial standpoint. Tune in to hear more about the innovations Dr. Langer has been involved in over the years, and what we can look forward to in the future!

“I don’t see much limit in terms of what messenger RNA can be used to treat.” — Dr. Bob Langer
Key Points From This Episode:
Dr. Bob Langer highlights his favorite patent.
Dr. Langer’s career achievements.
Some factors impacting the current biotech market downturn.
The correlation between magic and science.
What mRNA is and why it’s an ideal candidate for treating disease.
The personalized cancer vaccines Merck and Moderna are currently developing.
Under what circumstances mRNA isn’t the solution.
The emerging biotechnologies Dr. Langer is most excited about.
The applications of organs on a chip.
The potential of AI in the biotech space.
Potential time-to-market accelerators for new therapies and vaccines.
How to make an impact in the academic and entrepreneurial biotech spaces.
The importance of understanding intellectual property.
The team aspect of innovation.
Dr. Langer’s tales of perseverance.
Strategies for enforcing IPs.
Dr. Langer’s delivery expertise.
How he’s balanced his work and family life over the years.
32 min
October 20, 2022Talking The Tezos Network with Arthur and Kathleen Breitman
The world of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology is a rapidly evolving sector that has grown tremendously in popularity in recent years. However, the original philosophy of crypto and blockchain has been altered by interests in capital gain and convenience, eroding the founding ethos of the technology. This was not acceptable to today’s guests, Arthur and Kathleen Breitman, who decided to build a blockchain technology that ensured the original spirit of the technology was preserved. Arthur and Kathleen are the creators of Tezos, a public blockchain that enables decentralized governance by allowing self-amendments. In today’s conversation, we dive into the underlying Tezos protocol and discover the various ways people are applying it. We learn what a rollup is, the different versions of rollups, and what data availability is as a concept. Hear about their approach to scaling, how scaling has changed from a research to an engineering problem, and why the Breitman’s believe gaming will catalyze the next wave of users of blockchain technology.

“I started my journey by thinking: Bitcoin, it’s not an algorithm. It’s not a software. It’s a network. It’s consensus around a ledger.” — @ArthurB
Key Points From This Episode:
Background about our guests and what got them interested in crypto.
The motivation for Arthur and Kathleen to build their own blockchain.
How the narrative around cryptocurrencies has evolved and where Tezos fits in.
How Arthur and Kathleen formed the idea of on-chain governance as a middle ground.
An outline of the upsides and downsides to the on-chain governance approach.
The shift in motivation and ethos of the average crypto-user.
Past updates and the current state of the network.
Whether scaling is achieved by upgrading the core or Layer 2.
What data availability is as a concept and why it is essential.
A breakdown of a rollup and the various approaches to scaling.
What rollup approach the Tezos network uses to scale.
The many ways people are using the Tezos network.
How Arthur and Kathleen measure the growth and use of the Tezos network.
What they think will cause more people to adopt the network in the future.
Why venture capitalists have become interested in cryptocurrencies.
Comparing the railroads of the 1900s with public blockchains that exist today.
Ways in which capitalization of crypto and blockchain technology will be overcome.
An outline of the future for Tezos and how the community is involved.
Arthur and Kathleen’s take on the regulatory environment and how it’ll change in the future.
47 min

About FYI - For Your Innovation

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The FYI - For Your Innovation Podcast offers an intellectual discussion on recent developments across disruptive innovation—driven by research, news, controversies, companies, and technological…