Somewhat Frank

On this episode of the Somewhat Frank Podcast, Frank Gruber (@FrankGruber) and John Guidos (@JohnGuidos) discuss the following topics and articles…

• AI is taking over everything…get ready! Here's a good guide from a search engine analyst perspective. Google Faces a Serious Threat From ChatGPT - https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-12-07/chatgpt-should-worry-google-and-alphabet-why-search-when-you-can-ask-ai?tpcc=nltermsheet&utm_source=website&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=mobile_web_share

• AI taking over the news - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/10/technology/ai-chat-bot-chatgpt.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

• AI taking over portrait art with viral Lensa app - https://news.northeastern.edu/2022/12/09/portrait-ai-app/

• Lensa.ai is pretty amazing - https://flip.it/jkdKZr

• ChatGPT can detect Alzheimer's disease with 80% accuracy - https://flip.it/sigJB_

• Frank talks about his work with TechStars and CICLA - https://cicla3d.cl

• Mia Consalvo, PhD, Professor and Canada Research Chair In Game Studies & Design, Communication Studies (https://www.miaconsalvo.com/) also chats about the implications of AI impacting education.

Lastly, we hear about our upcoming trip to Las Vegas for the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show, where we'll be on the floor again at Eureka Park, where we'll be hosting the Consumer Technology Association Foundation Pitch Competition. Come join us at the Startup Stage on Friday, January 6th from 2 - 4 PM PT, for an electrifying pitch competition featuring startups with technologies that help people of all ages and abilities get out into the world, whether for work or play!

While in Las Vegas, we will also be hosting the Startup of the Year Coffee Meetup on Friday, January 6th from 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM Pacific Time at Off the Strip coffee joint. Please join us by registering at: https://soty.link/CES-Coffee

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As always, thank you for listening and feel free to reach out and let us know what you think at: [email protected]

Get updates like this in your inbox before they hit the web by subscribing to the newsletter here: https://frankgruber.me/newsletter/

On this episode of the Somewhat Frank Podcast, Frank Gruber (@FrankGruber), John Guidos (@JohnGuidos), and Jen Consalvo (@Noreaster) discuss the Small Business Administration's 2nd Innovation Ecosystem Summit, which is coming up on December 6th and 7th.

The SBA Innovation Ecosystem Summit was curated to connect entrepreneur support organizations from around the country to learn from one another as we work together to build a thriving national ecosystem that promotes equitable access to capital and resources for innovators across the country. Learn more over at: https://est.us/ESOSummit2022

We're also busy getting ready for a startup event that we are hosting in which we will be showcasing five startups from our Startup of the Year community on December 13th. More details over at: http://soty.link/growpitch2022

Lastly, we're working with the CTA Foundation on their 5th Annual Pitch Competition which will take place on January 6th at CES in Las Vegas. Details can be found on the CTA Foundation's website: https://bit.ly/ctafpitch23

The crew also talks about the following topics and articles…

• The first solar electric vehicle is in production - https://lightyear.one

• Tesla has robot, and it's real, not just a guy in a white body - https://techcrunch.com/2022/09/30/teslas-robot-is-a-real-robot-now-not-just-a-guy-in-a-suit

• The FTX situation - https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/sam-bankman-fried-ftx-bankruptcy-what-happened.html

• Kanye West, now known as Ye, has completely lost it - https://www.newser.com/story/328645/kanye-west-to-alex-jones-i-love-nazis.html

• Olivia Pichardo, a Brown University freshman, is making history as the first female baseball player to be on an active NCAA Division I roster - https://atmlb.com/3tMNfgz

• College football at 49? A North Dakota lineman has the right stuff - https://apnews.com/article/nfl-college-football-sports-north-dakota-795486fcc3892bbc8e250f0ed11eb5fa

• What are the hottest gifts this holiday season? - https://shopping.google.com/m/holiday100/

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As always, thank you for listening and feel free to reach out and let us know what you think at: [email protected]

Get updates like this in your inbox before they hit the web by subscribing to the newsletter here: https://frankgruber.me/newsletter/

On this episode of the Somewhat Frank Podcast, Frank Gruber (@FrankGruber), John Guidos (@JohnGuidos), and Jen Consalvo (@Noreaster) chat about the following topics and articles…

• Did you know it is National Coffee Day? Health benefits of coffee - https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/14/well/eat/coffee-health-benefits.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
• Health benefits of decaf - https://coffeeaffection.com/benefits-of-decaf-coffee/
• Queen Elizabeth II passed away. She had a pretty impressive life and reign as monarchy. - https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-61585886
• Serena Williams retired but went out with a bang with a pretty impressive match. - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/03/sports/tennis/serena-venus-williams-us-open.html
• NASA shared video and images of its first ever planetary defense mission. - https://www.instagram.com/p/Ci_hwGVNHGG/?igshid=MmIxOGMzMTU=
• The genes of a jellyfish show how to live forever. - https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2022/08/31/the-genes-of-a-jellyfish-show-how-to-live-forever
• Could 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' in Chicago really be done? We found out. - https://twitter.com/FrankGruber/status/1570921161768443907
• Child Predators Are Using Twitch To Track Kids Livestreams. - https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2022-twitch-problem-with-child-predators/?curator=MediaREDEF
• AI art generator - www.Craiyon.com
• AI creates "New" Nirvana song "Drowned In The Sun" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf6eOSJgN0Y

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As always, thank you for listening and feel free to reach out and let us know what you think at: [email protected]

Get updates like this in your inbox before they hit the web by subscribing to the newsletter here: https://frankgruber.me/newsletter/

On this episode of the Somewhat Frank Podcast, Frank Gruber (@FrankGruber), John Guidos (@JohnGuidos), and Jen Consalvo (@Noreaster) chat about the following topics and articles…

• Adam Neumann has a new backer - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/15/business/dealbook/adam-neumann-flow-new-company-wework-real-estate.html

• U.S. demands more water cuts as Colorado River hits dire lows - https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/08/16/colorado-river-bureau-of-reclamation/

• Jupiter Images Released By NASA Showcase Auroras, Hazes - https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2022/08/22/webbs-jupiter-images-showcase-auroras-hazes/

• What alcohol does to your body, brain, and health - https://hubermanlab.com/what-alcohol-does-to-your-body-brain-health/

• 'Very distinct' dinosaur tracks made 113 million years ago revealed by severe Texas drought - https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/08/23/texas-drought-reveals-dinosaur-tracks/7879831001/?fbclid=IwAR0U3XZydjdtc2Azawr9JIzOVqS7Ze4Ombo3KoS9jH7QWIyL6WSYa3a9RTE

• The space race for your cell phone - https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-space-b7819bcb-2c9b-4064-b6bd-f02e1ebcd75d.html?chunk=0&utm_term=emshare#story0

• Rumors are also swirling that Apple might be set to announce its own direct-to-satellite iPhone partnership with Globalstar next week - https://www.macrumors.com/2022/08/26/apple-globalstar-iphone-14-satellite-rumor/

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As always, thank you for listening and feel free to reach out and let us know what you think at: [email protected]

Get updates like this in your inbox before they hit the web by subscribing to the newsletter here: https://frankgruber.me/newsletter/

On this episode of the Somewhat Frank Podcast, Frank Gruber (@FrankGruber), John Guidos (@JohnGuidos), and Jen Consalvo (@Noreaster) chat about Frank and Jen's first bout with Covid.The group also chats about the following topics and articles…

1. Can Pickleball Save America? https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/07/25/can-pickleball-save-america
2. HQ is wherever you are, and it's not going back to a specific city anytime soon. https://twitter.com/FrankGruber/status/1550158895594741760
3. Costa Rica Just Made It Ridiculously Easy To Live There as a Digital Nomad. https://matadornetwork.com/read/costa-rica-digital-nomad-visa/
4. Text your Friends. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/11/well/family/check-in-text-friendship.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share
5. 9-8-8 is a new phone number for anyone having harmful thoughts about themselves. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/12/well/988-suicide-prevention-hotline.html
6. Scientists have picked up a radio signal 'heartbeat' billions of light-years away. https://www.npr.org/2022/07/14/1111471532/space-science-stars-radio-waves-signals-galaxy-lightyears-mit
7. Scientists Discover Space Travel Accelerates Aging. https://www.slashgear.com/946243/scientists-discover-space-travel-accelerates-aging/
8. Earth Is Suddenly Spinning Faster. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2022/07/28/earth-is-suddenly-spinning-faster-why-our-planet-just-recorded-its-shortest-day-since-records-began/amp/
9. What if the pavement you drive on charged your car? https://www.mywabashvalley.com/news/regional-news/purdue-researchers-are-developing-pavement-that-can-charge-electric-vehicles-as-they-drive/

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As always, thank you for listening and feel free to reach out and let us know what you think at: [email protected]

Get updates like this in your inbox before they hit the web by subscribing to the newsletter here: https://frankgruber.me/newsletter/

On this episode of the Somewhat Frank Podcast, Frank Gruber (@FrankGruber), John Guidos (@JohnGuidos), and Jen Consalvo (@Noreaster) chat about America's Seed Fund Week 2022.

America's Seed Fund Week is a free and virtual opportunity for small businesses to learn about non-dilutive funding available through America's Seed Fund that delivers $4 billion annually to small businesses in R&D. Learn more at: www.americasseedfund.us

The group also chats about the following topics and articles…

1. Comparing Hubble to James Webb: The Difference in Detail is Astounding - https://petapixel.com/2022/07/11/comparing-hubble-to-james-webb-the-difference-in-detail-is-astounding/
2. Three Drivers of the Lifeguard Shortage - https://finance.yahoo.com/news/3-drivers-critical-lifeguard-shortage-200905442.html
3. Psychosis, Addiction, Chronic Vomiting: As Weed Becomes More Potent, Teens Are Getting Sick - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/23/well/mind/teens-thc-canabis.html?referringSource=articleShare
4. Scientists Turn Nuclear Waste Into Diamond Batteries Which Last 1,000's of Years - https://www.thebrighterside.news/post/scientists-turn-nuclear-waste-into-diamond-batteries-which-last-1-000-s-of-years
5. New drug increases the human lifespan by 30%, according to Mayo Clinic - Senolytic drugs boost key protective protein - Mayo Clinic Press
6. It is summer in Maine and this is one that is close to home…Massive Lobster Found in Maine May be 100 Years Old - https://weather.com/science/nature/video/massive-lobster-found-near-maine-may-be-100-years-old

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As always, thank you for listening and feel free to reach out and let us know what you think at: [email protected]

Get updates like this in your inbox before they hit the web by subscribing to the newsletter here: https://frankgruber.me/newsletter/

On this episode of the Somewhat Frank Podcast, Frank Gruber (@FrankGruber), John Guidos (@JohnGuidos), and Jen Consalvo (@Noreaster) chat about the following topics and articles…

1. VC Funding for Black-Founded Startups Slows Dramatically As Venture Investors Pull Back - https://twitter.com/frankgruber/status/1537824149195849730?s=21&t=ltk9Nj_FRC9kvuKfv2pStw
2. Trash found on Mars - https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article262582962.html
3. Fashion is going Meta - https://www.inputmag.com/style/meta-balenciaga-prada-thom-browne-avatar-store-facebook
4. Growing skin on robots - https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-have-made-this-creepy-as-heck-living-skin-for-robots
5. Cannes Lions is in full swing for the first time since 2019 and focused on creativity in film and advertising. - https://nypost.com/2022/06/22/cannes-lions-international-festival-of-creativity-moments/ and https://www.businessinsider.com/cannes-lions-festival-of-creativity-2022-live-blog-2022-6

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As always, thank you for listening and feel free to reach out and let us know what you think at: [email protected]

Get updates like this in your inbox before they hit the web by subscribing to the newsletter here: https://frankgruber.me/newsletter/

On this episode of the Somewhat Frank Podcast, Frank Gruber (@FrankGruber), John Guidos (@JohnGuidos) chat about the following topics and articles…

1. America's gun culture - in seven charts https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41488081 - Gun violence has returned to the US post-pandemic and it's hard to stomach. Something has to be done. It's gotten out of hand. We're basically at war within our country every day. It's scary to walk into Wal-Mart or send your child to school or attend a large festival. We've turned a blind eye for years and lived with it but now is the time to make some change.
2. Could you live on a cruise ship? https://wgme.com/news/nation-world/couple-lives-permanently-on-cruise-ships-because-its-cheaper-than-housing-angelyn-burk-richard-burk-seattle-australia-mortgage-retirement-plans-vacation-travel-escape-retire-living-on-a-boat - A retired couple sold their home so they could permanently live on cruise ships for less than $43 a day. Could you do that?
3. Insider trading on jpegs https://techcrunch.com/2022/06/01/former-opensea-exec-arrested-and-charged-with-insider-trading-of-nfts/ - NFT (non-fungible tokens) are securities regulated by the SEC. So just like stocks you can insider trade on NFTs too.
4. The moon race https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-05-17/china-us-are-in-a-space-race-to-make-billions-from-mining-the-moon-s-minerals - China and the US Are Racing to Make Billions From Mining the Moon's Minerals. Speaking of NASA, have you seen you can send your name to space? NASA Artemis | Send Your Name to Space - https://www.nasa.gov/send-your-name-with-artemis/
5. Plant Milk Is Coming for Your Kids https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-06-03/plant-milk-markets-to-kids-as-big-dairy-pushes-back - We've got a baby formula shortage. Is plant milk here to save the day?
6. Driverless taxis were approved in California for the first time – but the rollout will be gradual https://www.businessinsider.com/driverless-taxis-california-for-the-first-time-2022-6 - Cruise is the first company to have an autonomous vehicle contract in San Francisco.

BONUS - The Harlem Globetrotters of Baseball https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2022-05-16/savannah-bananas-baseball-revolution-mlb-rules - Meet the Savannah Bananas, who've captivated fans and MLB. 'We exist to make baseball fun'

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As always, thank you for listening and feel free to reach out and let us know what you think at: [email protected]

Get updates like this in your inbox before they hit the web by subscribing to the newsletter here: https://frankgruber.me/newsletter/

On this episode of the Somewhat Frank Podcast, Frank Gruber (@FrankGruber), John Guidos (@JohnGuidos) chat about the following topics and articles…

- The 4 Day Work Week - An article by Jennifer Liu of CNBC examines the idea of the 4 Day Work Week and the book by Andrew Barnes of the same name. It explores studies that support the work shift. https://twitter.com/FrankGruber/status/1517207313500749830

- Bill Gates TED Talk - So at this year's TED conference, Bill Gates drew from his new book, How to Prevent the Next Pandemic, and talked about the steps we need to take. Watch the TED Talk here: https://www.gatesnotes.com/Health/Talking-about-the-last-pandemic-at-TED?WT.mc_id=20220421110000_HTPTNP-TED_BG-EM-A_&WT.tsrc=BGEM

- Cities Are Shrinking - https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2022/04/metro-areas-shrinking-population-loss/629665/

- Child Car Seats Are Disposable - https://www.sheknows.com/feature/what-to-do-with-an-expired-car-seat-966293/ 12M Child Passenger Safety Car Seats Are Thrown Away In The U.S. Every Year. The vast majority are thrown away at the end of their life cycle because they are hard to recycle. Also, check out https://carseatrecycling.com/

- Snap launched a new product, the Pixy a personal drone for selfies. https://twitter.com/FrankGruber/status/1520049574685122561

- Would you clone your pet? Cloning your pet could be a thing for the future. https://twitter.com/frankgruber/status/1515342252855414785?s=21&t=kJeJZMfbaFcwNq3bq6FH0g

- WHOOP wristband - WHOOP monitors your sleep, recovery, and daily effort around the clock to deliver actionable insights on how you can optimize your performance. https://www.whoop.com/

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As always, thank you for listening and feel free to reach out and let us know what you think at: [email protected]

Get updates like this in your inbox before they hit the web by subscribing to the newsletter here: https://frankgruber.me/newsletter/

On this episode of the Somewhat Frank Podcast, Frank Gruber (@FrankGruber), John Guidos (@JohnGuidos) chat about …

1.) Mushrooms Communicate - Apparently, they use up to 50 words to communicate among themselves. Makes me wonder the same about trees. (https://twitter.com/frankgruber/status/1513690113968070664?s=21&t=gtQR6J3MYyOudT0Hr0eqy)

2.) Microplastics are found in human blood for the first time - Well, this is disrupting. What can we do about it? (https://twitter.com/frankgruber/status/1507007332600848384?s=21&t=i5jozVp7_dN0ldD5ipC6Ug)

3.) Elon Buying Twitter? Elon Musk made big moves a week ago buying a majority share of Twitter and then proposing to buy the whole company for $43B. Since then there has been a movement by the other largest investor Vanguard Group to buy just a little more of the company to take back over as the largest owner of Twitter. Of course, Twitter exploded with conversations about the situation and I polled on what should be done. Looks like most people voted for Elon to take over Twitter. I see it a lot like how media companies like newspapers were run by the wealthy in the past and you have seen that pattern return with Jeff Bezos owning the Washington Post for example. It also reminds me of the wealthy owning sports franchises. But all that aside, will Elon be good for Twitter or would his full ownership have negative impacts? (https://twitter.com/frankgruber/status/1514953746274566150?s=21&t=gtQR6J3MYyOudT0Hr0eqyg)

4.) NFT Discussion & A NFT Predictions - The NFT sales peaked in September 2021 but there are lots of new projects picking up steam and there are new ways people are using NFTs to fund projects.

The big ones that you hear a lot about are Bored Ape Yacht Club, Doodles, and Crypto Punks, but projects like Moonbirds and VeeFriends are picking up steam as they've been rolling out.

For example, there is a company dropping NFTs to mine meteors. (https://twitter.com/frankgruber/status/1508556287071633412?s=21&t=2GvKmsVQZ19r96wcBViDhg)

I just heard of a couple of political candidates dropping NFTs to support their efforts which led me to a prediction that every major political campaign will have an NFT. (https://twitter.com/frankgruber/status/1514969414474608648?s=21&t=gtQR6J3MYyOudT0Hr0eqyg)

Is there a web3 or NFT project you are working on? I'd love to hear about it.

5.) Work & Culture trend: The Two-Shift Workday - We have adopted the two-shift juggle in 2020 as soon as the pandemic hit. It went on pretty regularly until school was back in session and things got back to normal but it's not going away. We all are connected to our phones 24x7 so if we don't make a conscious effort to unplug then you may see ourselves falling into this routine and it can't be healthy long term. (https://twitter.com/frankgruber/status/1511093005012320269?s=21&t=gtQR6J3MYyOudT0Hr0eq)

6.) Rise of the Rest has a tour, fund & now a book - Steve Case announced a new book, titled Rise of the Rest after the tour and fund that he kicked off in 2015 through three or four dozen cities since. I have been a partner and bus rider on a bunch of the stops on the tour and either interviewed Steve or hosted the startup pitch competition on those various stops along the way so it's in much anticipation I await the launch of the book. You can preorder it here. (https://twitter.com/frankgruber/status/1512145798129143811?s=21&t=i5jozVp7_dN0ldD5ipC6Ug)

Also, you might want to check out my interview with Anna Mason of the Rise of the Rest Fund that we dropped recently over on the Startup of the Year Podcast. (https://podcast.startupofyear.com/0081-anna-mason-from-the-rise-of-the-rest-fund-is-passionate-about-investing-between-the-coasts)

7.) New Safe tool for startups by AngelList - For all the startup founders raising funding from VCs or angels, you will need a SAFE term sheet and this new free tool can help you generate it. Y Combinator introduced the safe (simple agreement for future equity) in late 2013, and since then, it has been used by lots of startups as the main instrument for early-stage fundraising. (https://twitter.com/frankgruber/status/1514927687541927937?s=21&t=gtQR6J3MYyOudT0Hr0eqyg)

Bonus:

Finally, my latest guilty pleasure was binge-watching 1883 on Paramount+. I have to say, I am so thankful that we have modern medicine these days. It was only 139 years ago but life back then was pretty hard compared to today. And the Oregon Trail was brutal. It's a great series, and I loved it. The actors all did an amazing job making me care for them. That said, it's also super sad and violent so it's not for the faint of heart. It took me two days to shake the series finale and I would bet I am not alone. (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13991232/)

As always, thank you for listening and feel free to reach out and let us know what you think at: [email protected]

Get updates like this in your inbox before they hit the web by subscribing to the newsletter here: https://frankgruber.me/newsletter/