Wealth Actually

Today we were able to speak with Leslie Danks Burke.

She is a public advocate and the Founder and President of  TRAILBLAZERS PAC :  a political action committee dedicated to finding and supporting candidates for local political office beyond typical party ideology and structure.

Based in Horseheads, NY, Leslie's goal is to improve the quality of candidates and the political discourse in this country, one municipality at a time.  

Their mission statement states: "Trailblazers PAC reconnects citizens with democracy by moving politics out of the back room and onto the front porch. We educate candidates on building an honest donor relationship with their own voters. We invest in candidates for local office who take action for clean government."

She is here to help us

make sense of the current political environment,

its impact on the current political apparatus, and

the direction of grass root campaigns going forward

QUESTIONS

Background

Where are you located?

Work Background

Interest in politics

Frustrations with the System

Consensus between parties being thwarted

Quality candidates scared off by a poor process

Lack of new ideas / good ideas thwarted

Entrenched interests

Impact of money

Issues

The Impact of Trump on the Political Industrial Complex

Big gov't v. small gov't

Changes in the media and distortions in "story distribution"

Gerrymandering / obstructionist voting laws and other distortions

Lobbying interests

Schisms in voters along income, education and cultural fault lines

The pull of better economics (and weather!) in other states

How do you establish consensus-common ground

The Opportunities for Positive Change

What does Trailblazers seek to do?

What type of races are interesting

What geography?

Is there an ideology?

Improving candidate quality/interparty dialogue?

Predictions for the future

How do we keep track of your progress?

TRAILBLAZERSPAC.COM

FACEBOOK.COM/TRAILBLAZERSPAC

@TRAILBLAZERSPAC

@LDANKSBURKE

 

https://www.amazon.com/Wealth-Actually-Intelligent-Decision-Making-1-ebook/dp/B07FPQJJQT/

On Podcast #23, we have Eiland Glover, founder of Kowala.

He helps us sort through the cryptocurrency noise, sets out the problems to be solved, and challenges us to think about cryptocurrencies in the future.

Eiland Glover is the CEO and Cofounder of KOWALA, creator of the world’s first autonomously stabilizing cryptocurrency: kUSD. Eiland has spent his career creating systems and companies at the intersection of finance, technology, education, game theory, and human psychology.  He is a firm believer that new technologies must be consciously designed and utilized to empower humans. In 2012, Eiland learned about Bitcoin and wondered why this amazing technology had not become ubiquitous. He co-created Kowala based on his belief that a decentralized stable coin is necessary for the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies.

As a lead up to our discussion, we referred to broader issues that affect cryptocurrencies:

Outgrowth of the use of blockchain to add integrity in peer to peer transfers of digital information (and, more specifically, value)

That has led to the development of cryptocurrencies which have exploded in popularity in recent years most acutely in the last year.

Bitcoin, Ether, Dash, Ripple and many others have stormed the headlines as the curious have sought ways build on the promise of crypto currencies (and maybe get rich quick as well!)

However as we have seen in recent weeks, volatility, hacking and generally uncertainty have become a bigger part of the crypto currency picture

KOWALA'S kUSD VIDEO PREVIEW

https://player.vimeo.com/video/252176369

QUESTIONS 

Eiland’s background and how he got interested in the space.

A quick history of cryptocurrencies and their function and how we got to this point.

Bitcoin, et al- how did we go from intellectual exercise to solve integrity issues in peer to peer information transfer to intangible value transfer?

Obstacles of mass adoption of cryptocurrency

What does the business person who would like to embrace cryptocurrecy as a method of payment need to be worried about?

What does the casual cryptocurrency investor need to be worried about?

What does the consumer who would like to pay in cryptocurrency need to worry about? (wait for?)

Stable coin - its vital role in next phase of development in blockchain and cryptocurrency sector

Speed of transfer- How do you get the distributed ledger participants to ratify block transactions faster so that commerce can flow more smoothly?

Security of coin storage and value transfer- how does one minimize hacking, theft, double counting, broken hard-drives, lost passwords etc . . .

Non-volatile store of wealth?  What is the value in being pegged to a country-backed currency?  Why not just be in the currency itself?

Will countries “cut out the middle man”? And employ crypto currency features in their own currencies?  Would that work?

Tipping point for adoption:  will it be when it is common place to buy real estate with it?  Candy bars? Used as wages?

- Different stable coins models, other coins compare to Kowala

Which ones are out there?  What makes them good or bad?

Digital coins melded to different state-backed currency?

What happens if the USD goes haywire?  Can that be a source of volatility?

How do miners help kUSD?  As important parts of the blockchain ratification process, how do you keep them happy?

-How do we stay in touch with you, KOWALA, and kUSD?

On Podcast #23, we have Eiland Glover, founder of Kowala.

He helps us sort through the cryptocurrency noise, sets out the problems to be solved, and challenges us to think about cryptocurrencies in the future.

Eiland Glover is the CEO and Cofounder of KOWALA, creator of the world's first autonomously stabilizing cryptocurrency: kUSD. Eiland has spent his career creating systems and companies at the intersection of finance, technology, education, game theory, and human psychology.  He is a firm believer that new technologies must be consciously designed and utilized to empower humans. In 2012, Eiland learned about Bitcoin and wondered why this amazing technology had not become ubiquitous. He co-created Kowala based on his belief that a decentralized stable coin is necessary for the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies.

As a lead up to our discussion, we referred to broader issues that affect cryptocurrencies:

Outgrowth of the use of blockchain to add integrity in peer to peer transfers of digital information (and, more specifically, value)

That has led to the development of cryptocurrencies which have exploded in popularity in recent years most acutely in the last year.

Bitcoin, Ether, Dash, Ripple and many others have stormed the headlines as the curious have sought ways build on the promise of crypto currencies (and maybe get rich quick as well!)

However as we have seen in recent weeks, volatility, hacking and generally uncertainty have become a bigger part of the crypto currency picture

KOWALA'S kUSD VIDEO PREVIEW

https://player.vimeo.com/video/252176369

QUESTIONS

Eiland's background and how he got interested in the space.

A quick history of cryptocurrencies and their function and how we got to this point.

Bitcoin, et al- how did we go from intellectual exercise to solve integrity issues in peer to peer information transfer to intangible value transfer?

Obstacles of mass adoption of cryptocurrency

What does the business person who would like to embrace cryptocurrecy as a method of payment need to be worried about?

What does the casual cryptocurrency investor need to be worried about?

What does the consumer who would like to pay in cryptocurrency need to worry about? (wait for?)

Stable coin - its vital role in next phase of development in blockchain and cryptocurrency sector

Speed of transfer- How do you get the distributed ledger participants to ratify block transactions faster so that commerce can flow more smoothly?

Security of coin storage and value transfer- how does one minimize hacking, theft, double counting, broken hard-drives, lost passwords etc . . .

Non-volatile store of wealth?  What is the value in being pegged to a country-backed currency?  Why not just be in the currency itself?

Will countries cut out the middle man? And employ crypto currency features in their own currencies?  Would that work?

Tipping point for adoption: will it be when it is common place to buy real estate with it?  Candy bars? Used as wages?

- Different stable coins models, other coins compare to Kowala

Which ones are out there?  What makes them good or bad?

Digital coins melded to different state-backed currency?

What happens if the USD goes haywire?  Can that be a source of volatility?

How do miners help kUSD?  As important parts of the blockchain ratification process, how do you keep them happy?

-How do we stay in touch with you, KOWALA, and kUSD?

(THERE IS NO INVESTMENT ADVICE IN THIS PODCAST OR POST)

https://www.amazon.com/Wealth-Actually-Intelligent-Decision-Making-1-ebook/dp/B07FPQJJQT/

Podcast #22 features Norb Vonnegut, wealth management practitioner turned novelist and journalist at the Wall Street Journal.  Besides talking finance and the future of wealth management, we talked a lot about his fiction writing.  He is the author of three Wall Street thrillers:

The Trust

Top Producer

The Gods of Greenwich

He also works on non-fiction.  As a contributing columnist for WSJ.com, Norb probes wealth management issues ranging from

Cybersecurity to

The gender pay gap among industry professionals to

The clash between Wall Street and Silicon Valley for market share of investment management.

Norb knows what he is talking about.  He spent ten years in Private Wealth Management in New York City, where he developed an international practice with over $1 billion in assets under management.

QUESTIONS

Background

Norb, we both come from a wealth management background, but you have morphed into a formidable writer covering wealth management and other topics.

Take us through your background and how you got into the industry

How did you scratch the writing bug?  What were your first experiences in getting published?

Fiction writing

- Your work centers around adventures of wealth managers that get in trouble around their rich clients

Take us through your process in structuring plot and developing your characters?

What is it like to come from an industry and dealing with an editor and customs of the publishing industry?

What was it like to get your first edits and comments from your editor?

Your attention to the details of the industry reminds me of John Grisham or Tom Clancy.  How do you research the ins and outs of the wealth details that make your novels vivid and “ring true”?

What are your plans for the series?  Could this be the cornerstone of a movie or TV series?

Non-Fiction

You write a robust wealth management column for the WSJ- what is the process and timing for articles?

How do you and the paper decide what is newsworthy and how does that square with what is intellectually interesting to you?  Or what might be a niche issue but could have significant impact?

Any plans for collecting your experiences/research for the broader reader?

Trends in Wealth Management

You must talk to a lot of professionals, clients and commentators- what are the broad trends that the industry is struggling to solve

Evolving business models

Justification for fees / compression issues

Next-Gen

Robo-Advice

Fiduciary roles

Technology

Information asymmetry/synthesis

Active v. Passive (Commoditization of investment management advice)

Impact Investing

Regulation

Demographic shifts (aging advisor population)

Podcast #22 features Norb Vonnegut, wealth management practitioner turned novelist and journalist at the Wall Street Journal.  Besides talking finance and the future of wealth management, we talked a lot about his fiction writing.  He is the author of three Wall Street thrillers:

The Trust

Top Producer

The Gods of Greenwich

He also works on non-fiction. As a contributing columnist for WSJ.com, Norb probes wealth management issues ranging from

Cybersecurity to

The gender pay gap among industry professionals to

The clash between Wall Street and Silicon Valley for market share of investment management.

Norb knows what he is talking about.  He spent ten years in Private Wealth Management in New York City, where he developed an international practice with over $1 billion in assets under management.

QUESTIONS

Background

Norb, we both come from a wealth management background, but you have morphed into a formidable writer covering wealth management and other topics.

Take us through your background and how you got into the industry

How did you scratch the writing bug?  What were your first experiences in getting published?

Fiction writing

- Your work centers around adventures of wealth managers that get in trouble around their rich clients

Take us through your process in structuring plot and developing your characters?

What is it like to come from an industry and dealing with an editor and customs of the publishing industry?

What was it like to get your first edits and comments from your editor?

Your attention to the details of the industry reminds me of John Grisham or Tom Clancy. How do you research the ins and outs of the wealth details that make your novels vivid and ring true?

What are your plans for the series? Could this be the cornerstone of a movie or TV series?

Non-Fiction

You write a robust wealth management column for the WSJ- what is the process and timing for articles?

How do you and the paper decide what is newsworthy and how does that square with what is intellectually interesting to you? Or what might be a niche issue but could have significant impact?

Any plans for collecting your experiences/research for the broader reader?

Trends in Wealth Management

You must talk to a lot of professionals, clients and commentators- what are the broad trends that the industry is struggling to solve

Evolving business models

Justification for fees / compression issues

Next-Gen

Robo-Advice

Fiduciary roles

Technology

Information asymmetry/synthesis

Active v. Passive (Commoditization of investment management advice)

Impact Investing

Regulation

Demographic shifts (aging advisor population)

Destruction of free agency (Dismantling of Protocol, who owns the client, does this affect advice?)

Others

How do we stay in touch with you and how do we find/buy your work?

WWW.NORBVONNEGUT.COM

https://www.amazon.com/Wealth-Actually-Intelligent-Decision-Making-1-ebook/dp/B07FPQJJQT/

Podcast #21 features a fascinating conversation with Bart Stephens on the emergence of Bitcoin and blockchain.

Bart is the Co-founder and Managing Partner of BLOCKCHAIN CAPITAL, the first VC firm to raise a venture fund through an ICO, and the most active VC investor in the sector, with 72 portfolio companies across three funds.  Bart is also a Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Stephens Investment Management, a family owned and operated hedge fund and venture capital firm. Bart has a background of 20 years as both an operating entrepreneur and a venture capitalist. Bart earned a B.A. in Political Science from Princeton University.

We touch on a host of issues as I try to better understand the blockchain, its application to Bitcoin and its impact on industry in general.  Interesting stuff as we try to peer into the future.

INTRO-

QUESTIONS-

- Bart, you have a diverse background

You started out at E-Trade and come from a deep background of operating and investing in technology based venture capital.

What lessons did you pick up from your early experiences?

- Now onto the blockchain is a continuously growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked and secured using cryptography.

- The term usually is the second word mentioned after hearing “Bitcoin” and “Etherium” and other digital currencies that have become popular in the last 5+ years.

- But it’s the blockchain system of recording and verifying transactions and data that seems to be the exciting game-changer across many industries.

- Bart, perhaps a brief rundown of understanding what the blockchain is and how it works

Help us understand the problem that “blockchain” helps to solve.

From a 30,000 foot view, "How does it work?”

What are the terms we need to be familiar with?

What is the benefit of block chain’s decentralization and affirmation of data by consensus?

How does that disintermediate current manual processes and improve security over the system

Public blockchain systems vs. private systems- can you make money on the public systems or is it the private systems where you have to play?

What will Blockchain impact?

What is the general bottleneck or way of doing things that the blockchain fixes or makes more efficient?

Benefits for recording of events,

Helping with medical records,

Helping with identity management,

Helping with transaction processing

Improvements for provenance or basis tracking

Other examples?

Back to the currencies- where do you see the potential for Bitcoin, etherium and other ICO’s?

Jamie Dimon’s comment

Banking in underserved markets

More frictionless and cheaper e-commerce transactions

Impact on Western Union and traditional banks?

Conflict with money laundering, banking secrecy laws?

Where are blockchain advancements really going to affect financial institutions?

Where are the opportunities?

Describe some of the themes and businesses that are interesting

What are the dangers?

What seems like a fad or a business theme that is going in the wrong direction?

Is there a risk that computational power can’t keep up with the explosion of data?

Without centralized records, is that a problem?

What if we get an EMP?

What is the best way to follow the development of blockchain?

How do we stay in touch with you?

www.blockchain.capital

@pbartstephens

@blockchaincap

OUTRO

Podcast #21 features a fascinating conversation with Bart Stephens on the emergence of Bitcoin and blockchain.

Bart is the Co-founder and Managing Partner of BLOCKCHAIN CAPITAL, the first VC firm to raise a venture fund through an ICO, and the most active VC investor in the sector, with 72 portfolio companies across three funds. Bart is also a Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Stephens Investment Management, a family owned and operated hedge fund and venture capital firm. Bart has a background of 20 years as both an operating entrepreneur and a venture capitalist. Bart earned a B.A. in Political Science from Princeton University.

We touch on a host of issues as I try to better understand the blockchain, its application to Bitcoin and its impact on industry in general. Interesting stuff as we try to peer into the future.

INTRO-

QUESTIONS-

- Bart, you have a diverse background

You started out at E-Trade and come from a deep background of operating and investing in technology based venture capital.

What lessons did you pick up from your early experiences?

- Now onto the blockchain is a continuously growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked and secured using cryptography.

- The term usually is the second word mentioned after hearing Bitcoin and Etherium and other digital currencies that have become popular in the last 5+ years.

- But it's the blockchain system of recording and verifying transactions and data that seems to be the exciting game-changer across many industries.

- Bart, perhaps a brief rundown of understanding what the blockchain is and how it works

Help us understand the problem that blockchain helps to solve.

From a 30,000 foot view, "How does it work?

What are the terms we need to be familiar with?

What is the benefit of block chain's decentralization and affirmation of data by consensus?

How does that disintermediate current manual processes and improve security over the system

Public blockchain systems vs. private systems- can you make money on the public systems or is it the private systems where you have to play?

What will Blockchain impact?

What is the general bottleneck or way of doing things that the blockchain fixes or makes more efficient?

Benefits for recording of events,

Helping with medical records,

Helping with identity management,

Helping with transaction processing

Improvements for provenance or basis tracking

Other examples?

Back to the currencies- where do you see the potential for Bitcoin, etherium and other ICO's?

Jamie Dimon's comment

Banking in underserved markets

More frictionless and cheaper e-commerce transactions

Impact on Western Union and traditional banks?

Conflict with money laundering, banking secrecy laws?

Where are blockchain advancements really going to affect financial institutions?

Where are the opportunities?

Describe some of the themes and businesses that are interesting

What are the dangers?

What seems like a fad or a business theme that is going in the wrong direction?

Is there a risk that computational power can't keep up with the explosion of data?

Without centralized records, is that a problem?

What if we get an EMP?

What is the best way to follow the development of blockchain?

How do we stay in touch with you?

www.blockchain.capital

@pbartstephens

@blockchaincap

OUTRO

https://www.amazon.com/Wealth-Actually-Intelligent-Decision-Making-1-ebook/dp/B07FPQJJQT/

I recently spoke to Matt Cooney at NICKERSON PR about the development of Virtual and Augmented Reality.  We charted the differences and Matt made predictions about the future of this technology on a variety of industries and businesses including real estate.  This is fascinating stuff and vital as we try to understand where the trends in economic growth and employment are going.

Forming and engaging communities has been the common thread in Matthew Cooney's career path. He has built and scaled social media communities for organizations including the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at M.I.T., iRobot, and Monster. Prior to joining NICKERSON, an award-winning full service marketing and communications agency, as Director of Social Media and Emerging Technologies, he served as a subject matter expert on virtual reality technology at Dell EMC.

Today, he works at the intersection of real estate and emerging technologies, witnessing firsthand how virtual and augmented reality technologies are disrupting social media and the way we live and interact in both the real and digital worlds.

Samantha Wolfe provides quick definition of Virtual and Augmented Reality HERE and a list of the typical tools and interface points HERE

QUESTIONS

- How did you get started in the technology space?

- VR versus AR: what they are/what's the difference?

- What are practical applications for both?

- How are they being used?  Entertainment, Education, Enhancement

-How can these technological concepts be developed?

-Who are the major players?

-Where are the hotbeds of innovation?

-What are the hurdles to adoption?

-Technological limitations?

-Ethical concerns?

-Are there multiple approaches to the same problem?

-What are the security concerns?

-How does this intersect with the major leaps made recently with Artificial Intelligence?  “Big Data”?

-How does this intersect with the advances made in robotics and exoskeleton/cybernetic technology?

-What does the future hold, both near term and within the next five years, and beyond?

-What is exciting in space?

-What is worrisome?

-What industries are are in the crosshairs?

-What will the impact be on social media?

-Specifically, how we consume and share content, and congregate and interact online?

-How do we keep up to date on NICKERSON and what you are working on?

I recently spoke to Matt Cooney at NICKERSON PR about the development of Virtual and Augmented Reality. We charted the differences and Matt made predictions about the future of this technology on a variety of industries and businesses including real estate. This is fascinating stuff and vital as we try to understand where the trends in economic growth and employment are going.

Forming and engaging communities has been the common thread in Matthew Cooney's career path. He has built and scaled social media communities for organizations including the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at M.I.T., iRobot, and Monster. Prior to joining NICKERSON, an award-winning full service marketing and communications agency, as Director of Social Media and Emerging Technologies, he served as a subject matter expert on virtual reality technology at Dell EMC.

Today, he works at the intersection of real estate and emerging technologies, witnessing firsthand how virtual and augmented reality technologies are disrupting social media and the way we live and interact in both the real and digital worlds.

Samantha Wolfe provides quick definition of Virtual and Augmented Reality HERE and a list of the typical tools and interface points HERE

QUESTIONS

- How did you get started in the technology space?

- VR versus AR: what they are/what's the difference?

- What are practical applications for both?

- How are they being used?  Entertainment, Education, Enhancement

-How can these technological concepts be developed?

-Who are the major players?

-Where are the hotbeds of innovation?

-What are the hurdles to adoption?

-Technological limitations?

-Ethical concerns?

-Are there multiple approaches to the same problem?

-What are the security concerns?

-How does this intersect with the major leaps made recently with Artificial Intelligence? Big Data?

-How does this intersect with the advances made in robotics and exoskeleton/cybernetic technology?

-What does the future hold, both near term and within the next five years, and beyond?

-What is exciting in space?

-What is worrisome?

-What industries are are in the crosshairs?

-What will the impact be on social media?

-Specifically, how we consume and share content, and congregate and interact online?

-How do we keep up to date on NICKERSON and what you are working on?

https://www.amazon.com/Wealth-Actually-Intelligent-Decision-Making-1-ebook/dp/B07FPQJJQT/

It is impossible to come away from a conversation with Marisa Arredondo and not be impressed.  She is the founder of skincare and lifestyle brand PHACE BIOACTIVE.

After graduating from Stanford University, Marisa worked as an analyst on Wall Street for 12 years to research and invest in cosmetic, drug and biotech companies. There, she learned about skin biology, ingredient technology, and pH balance as it relates to anti-aging.  She also graduated from Harvard Business School, where she conceived the business plan for PHACE BIOACTIVE.

You can also check out the brand here: PHACE INSTAGRAM and PHACE FACEBOOK

We touch on a host of topics:

* The joys and hardships of entrepreneurship,

* When she knew she was ready to give it a go,

* The evolution of the business past the startup stage,

* The evolution of the brand and using her unique experience to drive the story of the company

* Learning how to manage people and processes and when and how to delegate

* Getting ones arms around the marketing strategy and the importance of social media and TV.

QUESTIONS

Describe your how you discovered and developed your product-

What need did you see that needed to be filled?

How did your personal experience allow you to see this?

At what point did you see the competition and decide- I have something that’s different and better?

How did you know it was time to take the plunge?

In brushing up on Phace Bioactive, you are involved in every aspect of the company.   It’s rare that a person is a good at one or two things, but you seem to be on top of the science, finance, marketing, distribution and many other facets of the company.  How did your background inform these different areas of expertise?

When do you decide that it’s time to bring in other experts and delegate?

Once you felt like you had the product right, how did you think about your marketing plan?

Once you have the formula right, how do you make sure it’s manufactured consistently?

You had a great run on QVC where you presented extremely well- how did you get involved with them?

What made them attractive?

How did you prepare for that experience?

How do you know when you have good advisors around you?

How do you select them?

Who has been helpful in mentoring you as you reach various stages of business development?

How has the advice changed since you have gone from planning to liftoff to growth?

As an entrepreneur, what was the thing or things that you ended up being the least prepared for?

Or what was your biggest surprise?

What were you most prepared for?

How has your experience changed as you begin to manage more people?

What are the plans for Phace Bioactive’s future- where do you see your next avenues for growth?

I notice on the site that you have a section that deals with lifestyle branding around the product.  How does that relate to your future plans?

What is the best way to find PHACE BIOACTIVE?