yWhales

The State of Web3 with Trent Barnes and Bartholomew Meyer of MaxStealth

In this episode, the yWhales team speak with Trent Barnes, Principal at Zerocap and Principal at MaxStealth, and Bartholomew (Bart) Meyer, Partner at Zerocap and Principal at MaxStealth. MaxStealth gives investors early and exclusive access to the leading edge of Web3 investments through allocations into pre-seed/seed opportunities in Outlier Ventures’ 2022 Accelerator program. Trent and Bart share their thoughts on the state of Web3 by discussing how MaxStealth has expanded their offerings. They talk about why it’s important to build a community before a product and educate about the Web3 space.
 
About Guests
Trent Barnes is the Principal at Zerocap and Principal at MaxStealth. He is also the advisor and co-founder at CircuIT Recruitment Group and previously served as a board member at the Blockchain Association of Australia. Trent was the founder at Raw Kaya Organics and Co-Founder at Swhish. He was previously the Principal Consultant and Manager of Technology at Interpro Australia.
Bart Meyer is Partner at Zerocap and Principal at MaxStealth. He is also a Venture Partner at Future Now Ventures. Bart previously worked as Portfolio Manager at Future Now Capital and Head of Consultancy and Business Development Manager at Miller Gold Technology Solutions.
 
You’ll learn about:
How MaxStealth expanded their offerings to bridge the gap between the asset class and business model
Best utility cases for NFT projects
Three things Trent looks for in pitches
Why it’s important to build a community before building a product
Trent’s and Bart’s thoughts on how to educate people on Web3 and where we’re going with the proposed metaverse
The future of blockchain gaming and the rise of gaming guilds 
Trent’s advice to emerging entrepreneurs in the Web3 space
 
Resources: 
Connect with Trent Barnes: LinkedIn | Email
Connect with Bart Meyer: LinkedIn | Email
Connect with yWhales: Website | BitClout | Twitter
MaxStealth: Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Medium
 
Timestamps
[01:59] Intro to Bart
[05:08] Intro to Trent
[08:52] MaxStealth’s expansion of offerings
[12:18] Indicators of change for good
[15:29] The necessity of NFT utility
[19:32] Point in the adoption cycle
[20:27] MaxStealth’s expertise in executing due diligence
[27:04] The importance of community and collaboration in Web3
[32:29] Measuring success
[36:52] Managing risk and educating
[42:08] Two problems to solve in Web3: bridges and wallets
[45:39] The proposed open metaverse
[49:45] Investing in the future of gaming
[56:49] Advice for emerging entrepreneurs in the Web3 space
[01:01:22] How to contact Bart and Trent
 
DISCLAIMER: yWhales is not affiliated with YPO but at this time only allow for YPO, YPO Gold, and YNG members due to privacy & confidentiality. Support and production for today’s episode was done by Truth Work Media. Nothing in the podcast constitutes professional and/or financial advice, nor does any information on the podcast constitute a comprehensive or complete statement of the matters discussed or the law relating thereto.

A conversation with John Barlow of Quest Crypto and Jackie Robinson of All Net

The YWhales team speaks with John Barlow, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer at Quest Crypto and Jackie Robinson, Chairman and CEO of ALL NET Development Inc. and former NBA player. John and Jackie talk about the merging of DeFi and real estate as Quest Crypto is working with Jackie in his project, All Net Arena and Resort, in Las Vegas.
 
About Guests
John Barlow is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at Quest Crypto, founder at Strategic Land Corporation and President and CEO at Caribbean Medical Arts.
Jackie Robinson is the Founder and Chairman/CEO of ALL NET Development Inc. He was drafted by the Houston Rockets, won an NBA Championship with Seattle SuperSonics, and also played for the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls before retiring from professional basketball.
 
You’ll learn about:
An overview of the All Net Arena and Resort project and its convergence of Quest’s technology
Quest’s vision and Stable+
The long-term vision and the construction timeline and funding
How each property has its own token set and the token valuation
 
Resources: 
Connect with John Barlow: LinkedIn | Twitter
Connect with YWhales: Website | BitClout | Twitter
Quest Crypto: Website | Telegram | Reddit | Twitter | Instagram
All Net Arena and Resort: Website
 
Timestamps
[01:37] Jackie’s background
[03:57] John’s background
[07:22] An overview of the development in Las Vegas
[17:12] The convergence of Quest’s technology and Stable+
[22:12] The differentiation between Quest and their competitors
[23:37] Long-term vision, the legal process and construction timeline
[34:48] Each property has its own token set
[42:00] The token valuation
[46:05] Construction Financing
[55:43] The exit process
[1:00:13] The Quest Team
[1:02:03] The resort
[1:08:15] Quest and All Net contact info and events
 
DISCLAIMER: yWhales is not affiliated with YPO but at this time only allow for YPO, YPO Gold, and YNG members due to privacy & confidentiality. Support and production for today’s episode was done by Truth Work Media. Nothing in the podcast constitutes professional and/or financial advice, nor does any information on the podcast constitute a comprehensive or complete statement of the matters discussed or the law relating thereto.

How Blockchain Technology is Decentralizing and Diversifying the Film Industry

 
For the last 100 years, the film industry has been controlled by a few big, powerful studios and individuals. This is a huge problem for both creators and audiences. But how do we solve it? Introducing Film.io, the world’s most powerful decentralized filmmaking ecosystem that places Hollywood decision-making onto the blockchain and into the hands of creators and fans. Listen in to learn how Bryan Hertz, Executive Advisor at Film.io, and Lauren Magura, VP of Entertainment at Film.io, are building a new wave of creativity, diversity, and inclusion in the film industry.
 
Tune in to learn how Film.io is using blockchain and Web3 technology to engage their community and transform both the film industry and its fandom. You’ll gain insight into how Film.io works, the huge benefits of being an early adopter, and a few exciting projects they’re working on right now.
 
yWhales Website: ywhales.com
Podcast Library: ywhales.com/podcasts 
YouTube: https://links.ywhales.com/YouTube 
Vimeo: https://links.ywhales.com/Vimeo 
LinkedIn: https://links.ywhales.com/LinkedIn 
Twitter: https://links.ywhales.com/Twitter  
Medium: https://links.ywhales.com/Medium 
 
Guest Socials:
Lauren’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-magura-8b15a591
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurenmagura 
Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/laurenmm28 
Bryan’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanhertz 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bryanhertz 
Film.io Socials: 
Website: https://film.io 
Discord: https://discord.com/invite/kuvYrUKTdf   
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/filmio_official  
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmioofficial 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Filmio_Official  
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@filmio_official 
 
About Guests
Bryan Hertz is a serial entrepreneur, bringing more than 25 years of experience building companies and management teams, raising capital, developing partnerships, driving technology innovation and advising startups. Bryan serves as CEO and Chairman of the Board at industry leading, San Diego based Unified Communications company Voxox, which he co-founded in 2006, and sits on the board of Skyy Digital Media, a Carlos Slim backed digital media company based in New York. Bryan acted as co-executive producer of Star Wars companion film ‘5-25-77’ as well as Alicia Keys and Brad Paisley televised concerts.
 
Bryan is the Executive Chairman of Ingredient X, the film and software development studio specializing in blockchain, DeFi and NFT technologies including the creation of Film.io, the world’s most powerful decentralized filmmaking ecosystem that places Hollywood decision-making onto the blockchain and into the hands of creators and fans, to which Bryan is a co-creator.
 
Lauren Magura is a Co-Creator and the VP of Entertainment at Ingredient X and Film.io as well as Founder of Cinematcher, an automated job placement and digital employee management solution for the entertainment industry. 
You’ll learn about:
Why Film.io was created & how it works.
How Film.io engages with their community to transform the film industry and its fandom.
How this solves the lack of diversity and inclusion in film and television.
Using digital tokens to enhance fan governance and broad consumption & distribution.
Strategies for educating film industry executives about Film.io and blockchain technology.
Exciting projects Film.io is working on.
The benefits of becoming an early adopter of Film.io.
How to get involved in the next phases of Film.io.
Timestamps
[01:24-4:24] Introducing Lauren Magura
[04:24-6:37] Introducing Bryan Hertz
[06:37-9:44] Takeaways of moving from Web1 to Blockchain and Web3 
[10:00 12:52] About Film.io
[12:52-14:34] What differentiates Film.io from their competitors
[14:34-18:51] Film.io’s distribution model
[18:51-21:18] About the DAO technology
[21:18-29:28] Adoption & Film.io as a tool to enhance the old industry
[29:28-32:43] About the FAN token & FILM token
[32:43-34:56] Blockchain education within the industry
[34:56-38:07] Where are we in the evolutionary cycle of blockchain? Is it widely accepted yet?
[39:30-45:45] Film.io projects & Why it’s important to be an early adopter
[45:45-49:14] About the Team
[49:14-52:41] Film.io Next Phases & How to get involved
DISCLAIMER: yWhales is not affiliated with YPO but at this time only allow for YPO, YPO Gold, and YNG members due to privacy & confidentiality. Support and production for today’s episode was done by Truth Work Media. Nothing in the podcast constitutes professional and/or financial advice, nor does any information on the podcast constitute a comprehensive or complete statement of the matters discussed or the law relating thereto.

Bitcoin Mining with Mike Colyer of Foundry

In this episode, the yWhales team speak with Mike Colyer, Founder and CEO of Foundry. As a DCG company, Foundry empowers miners with the tools they need to build tomorrow’s decentralized infrastructure. Mike takes a deep dive into mining, laying the foundation of blockchain technology and the future of crypto. Mike discusses why Bitcoin is here to stay. He also talks about The Foundry Academy, a training and education program for mining technicians, and how it was created to meet the institutional demand for better capital access, efficiency, and transparency in the digital currency mining and staking industry.
 
yWhales Website: ywhales.com
Podcast Library: ywhales.com/podcasts
YouTube: https://links.ywhales.com/YouTube
Vimeo: https://links.ywhales.com/Vimeo
LinkedIn: https://links.ywhales.com/LinkedIn
Twitter: https://links.ywhales.com/Twitter
Medium: https://links.ywhales.com/Medium
 
Mike Colyer’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colyermike/
Foundry Digital Website: https://foundrydigital.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundrydigital/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/foundryservices
 
About Guests
Mike joined Foundry as its founding CEO in October 2019. Previously, Mike focused on business development at Core Scientific, which is now North America’s largest cryptocurrency hosting company. He was the President and COO of Savage IO, a small, Western NY-based 3MW mining company. 
Mike has spent the last 5 years navigating the large-scale mining space, building strong relationships with key industry participants. Before his pivot into the crypto industry, Mike was an operational and commercial executive for manufacturing and distribution firms for more than two decades, often serving at the behest of private-equity backers. Mike started his career at GE. 
In 2007, Mike and his wife, Lisa, co-founded the Clairebear Foundation, a non-profit that supports families with sick children. Mike graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and an MBA in Corporate Finance.
 
You’ll learn about:
What is Digital Currency Group (DCG) and what it means to be a part of this holding company
Why Mike makes decisions based on decades of experience and how it helps him navigate the industry
How Foundry became the largest bitcoin mining pool in the world
 
Timestamps
[01:58] Mike’s Background 
[07:57] About Digital Currency Group (DCG)
[13:03] About Foundry
[15:46] Building Foundry
[24:03] Thesis on PoW and PoS
[36:01] The future of mining
[37:41] Foundry Team
[39:43] Navigating the regulatory space
[46:49] On BTC cycles
[48:49] How to contact Mike and Foundry
DISCLAIMER: yWhales is not affiliated with YPO but at this time only allow for YPO, YPO Gold, and YNG members due to privacy & confidentiality. Support and production for today’s episode was done by Truth Work Media. Nothing in the podcast constitutes professional and/or financial advice, nor does any information on the podcast constitute a comprehensive or complete statement of the matters discussed or the law relating thereto.

How the Shardless Metaverse Was Born with RP1

The extraordinary feat of gathering 4,000 users on a single shard is amazing enough, but Sean Mann, CEO of RP1, and Dean Abramson, Chief Architect, look even further into the future. Their ideas could very well solve one of the most immediate issues in the metaverse: scalability.
 
Their solution? Create a ‘shardless’ metaverse, an “infinitely scalable” platform that can synchronously connect hundreds of millions of users to one another in a real-time, persistent virtual world, without the need for sharding. Listen in to learn how RP1 is scaling their shardless metaverse, how the platform works, and its impact on society and the future.
 
yWhales Website: ywhales.com
Podcast Library: ywhales.com/podcasts
YouTube: https://links.ywhales.com/YouTube
Vimeo: https://links.ywhales.com/Vimeo
LinkedIn: https://links.ywhales.com/LinkedIn
Twitter: https://links.ywhales.com/Twitter
Medium: https://links.ywhales.com/Medium
 
Guest Socials:
Sean’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-mann-9026593
 
RP1 Socials: 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RP1platform
Discord: https://discord.com/invite/TuHD5HFR8Q
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rpone 
 
About Guests
Sean Mann is the CEO & Co-Founder of RP1 and has nearly 25 years of leadership, technology, and entrepreneurial experience in building companies from the ground up. His experience spans multiple industries in various B2C and B2B companies, including medical, consumer electronics, software technology, fitness and wellness. He is a visionary leader with deep expertise in business transformation, strategic partnerships, and marketing strategies.
 
Dean Abramson is a Co-Founder of RP1 and Chief Architect at Metaversal. He’s also the Chief Architect of Full Tilt Poker where he created the world’s most efficient real-time, unsharded, persistent gaming architecture that could support more than one hundred thousand concurrent players on turn-of-the-century technology.
 
You’ll learn about:
How Dean and Sean got into the metaverse and discovered the scalability problem.
What is a shardless metaverse and how does it work?
Why the future of gaming, live events, and so much more, is streaming.
How RP1 is scaling their shardless metaverse platform.
How the shardless metaverse fosters human connection and eliminates feelings of isolation.
Their candid thoughts on the problems with the metaverse, the future of it, and the implications of integrating blockchain technology into the metaverse.
 
Timestamps
[00:37 - 1:44] Jay’s Intro
[1:44 - 09:50] Dean’s Background
[09:50 - 12:41] Sean’s Background
[12:41 - 24:37] Scaling issues in web3
[24:37 - 30:57] RP1’s solution
[30:57 - 37:44] Interconnecting people
[37:44 - 49:47] The multiverse
[49:47 - 1:05:36] Integrating blockchain in the metaverse
[1:05:36 - 1:23:10] RP1’s next steps
DISCLAIMER: yWhales is not affiliated with YPO but at this time only allow for YPO, YPO Gold, and YNG members due to privacy & confidentiality. Support and production for today’s episode was done by Truth Work Media. Nothing in the podcast constitutes professional and/or financial advice, nor does any information on the podcast constitute a comprehensive or complete statement of the matters discussed or the law relating thereto.

NFTs in the Music Industry with Luke Porter and Barron Solomon of Solo Music

In this episode, the yWhales team speak with Luke Porter and Barron Solomon, Co-Founders of Solo Music, a web3 company committed to creating immediate opportunities and long-term strategy for the music industry. Luke and Barron discuss how Solo Music offers artists, agencies, labels, and publishing companies a solution to maximize how blockchain will impact artist careers and the overall industry. They discuss how Solo Music will help artists monetize their career through NFTs and the new version of the platform that will provide 100% self-service.
 
yWhales Website: ywhales.com
Podcast Library: ywhales.com/podcasts
YouTube: https://links.ywhales.com/YouTube
Vimeo: https://links.ywhales.com/Vimeo
LinkedIn: https://links.ywhales.com/LinkedIn
Twitter: https://links.ywhales.com/Twitter
Medium: https://links.ywhales.com/Medium
 
Luke Porter’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luke-porter-98451712/
Twitter: twitter.com/remingtonport
Email: luke@solomusic.io
Barron Solomon’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barron-solomon/
Twitter: twitter.com/BarronSolomon
Solo Music Website: solomusic.io
Facebook: facebook.com/mysolomusic
Instagram: instagram.com/mysolomusic
Discord: discord.com/invite/solomusic
Twitter: twitter.com/mysolomusic
 
About Guests
Barron Solomon and Luke Porter bring their practical business experience into Solo Music, a platform focused on disrupting the music industry as it currently stands. With utility NFTs, an easy sign up process and continuous work to improve the tech behind, Solo Music unites blockchain with artists and fans.
 
You’ll learn about:
How Barron and Luke met and became business partners
Solo Music, a web3 platform for musicians and brands around the music industry to sell NFTs, sharing Walker Hayes’ experience as an example
The new version of the platform will be 100% self-service and will ease user adoption
How Solo Music will help artists monetize their career and how the platform works
How Solo Music manages copyright issues
 
Timestamps
[01:31] Barron’s background
[04:28] Luke’s background
[07:24] What is Solo Music
[10:18] Why would an artist choose Solo Music
[16:35] How Solo Music works
[19:29] Biggest challenges Solo Music faces
[22:09] Solving copyright issues
[25:52] What will Solo Music V2 solve
[34:32] Use case
[39:54] Thoughts on the industry
[47:23] How to contact Luke, Barron and Solo Music
DISCLAIMER: yWhales is not affiliated with YPO but at this time only allow for YPO, YPO Gold, and YNG members due to privacy & confidentiality. Support and production for today’s episode was done by Truth Work Media. Nothing in the podcast constitutes professional and/or financial advice, nor does any information on the podcast constitute a comprehensive or complete statement of the matters discussed or the law relating thereto.

Sustainable Tokenomics with Hristo Piyankov of FinDaS

In this episode, the yWhales team speak with Hristo Piyankov, Tokenomics Expert at FinDaS Ltd. Hristo discusses how FinDaS is creating sustainable tokenomics for the long term and ensures their clients’ projects adheres to all tokenomics best practices. Their Tokenomics advisors have more than 220+ projects behind their backs, and Hristo talks about why FinDaS prefers using tried and trusted methods to reduce the risk of exploitation.
 
yWhales Website: ywhales.com
Podcast Library: ywhales.com/podcasts
YouTube: https://links.ywhales.com/YouTube
Vimeo: https://links.ywhales.com/Vimeo
LinkedIn: https://links.ywhales.com/LinkedIn
Twitter: https://links.ywhales.com/Twitter
Medium: https://links.ywhales.com/Medium
 
Hristo Piyankov’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/hpiyankov
FinDaS Website: findas.org
YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCf_1UG1M3tMPZl-D825BgVw
Blog: findas.org/blog
 
About Guests
Hristo Piyankov has been involved in the cryptocurrency and blockchain area since 2015. He specializes in taking rough business ideas and making sure they are both financially and technically feasible (focusing on blockchain, tokenomics, and the finance industry). He developed business plans, token economic papers, and modes for 220+ of DeFi, ICOs, NFT projects, IDOs, IEOs, P2E, and STOs and has done several financial models for large crypto-mining setups.
Prior to working in crypto, Hristo worked in the banking and finance sector as a data scientist (creating statistical and machine learning models) and as an analytics director for one of the largest consumer finance companies in China, with a focus on forecasts and budgeting.
 
You’ll learn about:
How FinDaS is creating sustainable tokenomics for the long term
Use cases where tokenomics is done right and is done wrong
Why FinDaS prefers using tried and trusted methods to reduce the risk of exploitation
The process of how FinDaS works 
 
Timestamps
[02:16] Hristo’s Background
[04:03] Advantages of blockchain
[07:53] About FinDaS
[12:03] Most common errors
[15:55] Tokenomics use cases
[17:06] FinDaS clients
[17:59] Critical points to consider for business 
[19:57] On crises of liquidity
[23:52] On exploits
[28:24] Why FinDaS works
[30:51] On complex projects
[34:56] How FinDaS works
[41:39] Future of tokenomics
[45:02] How to contact Hristo and FinDaS
DISCLAIMER: yWhales is not affiliated with YPO but at this time only allow for YPO, YPO Gold, and YNG members due to privacy & confidentiality. Support and production for today’s episode was done by Truth Work Media. Nothing in the podcast constitutes professional and/or financial advice, nor does any information on the podcast constitute a comprehensive or complete statement of the matters discussed or the law relating thereto.

The Current State of the Metaverse with Stéphane Boukris of Metaverse Studio

In this episode, the yWhales team speak with Stéphane Boukris, an investor of Metaverse Studio and President and Founder of Excelsior. Metaverse Studio aims to be a popularization blog for technologies surrounding the concepts of Metaverse and NFTs published by the immersive agency INTERACTIVE STUDIO created in 2005. In this metaverse conversation, Jay and Stéphane discuss an overall thesis on NFTs, utilization, utility and a roadmap. Stéphane talks about where this asset class should be headed in the future and why he thinks Web3 will give back ownership of digital identity and data.
 
yWhales Website: ywhales.com
Podcast Library: ywhales.com/podcasts
YouTube: https://links.ywhales.com/YouTube
Vimeo: https://links.ywhales.com/Vimeo
LinkedIn: https://links.ywhales.com/LinkedIn
Twitter: https://links.ywhales.com/Twitter
Medium: https://links.ywhales.com/Medium
 
Stephane Boukris’ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/stephaneboukris
The Metaverse Studio Website: metaverse-studio.fr
Facebook: facebook.com/Interactive.studio.paris.hologramme.filtre.insta
Twitter: twitter.com/interactivestud
YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCtBpQ3KPDaxahKX6jd_1SOQ
Instagram: instagram.com/interactivestudio
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/interactivestudio
Discord: discord.com/invite/DMxJmnS78A
Spatial.io: spatial.io/s/Metaverse-HQ-6287b116bf651d0001db7bc5?share=4174714709469090472
Excelsior Website: xsior.com
Twitter: twitter.com/xsioroff
YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UC7FMc8Rsu0JCzK_tDb5MQFg
Instagram: instagram.com/xsioroff
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/xsior/
 
About Guests
Stéphane Boukris has over 10 years of entrepreneurship experience and a proven track record of building companies in the digital industry. He has also served as managing director for several subsidiaries of Dalenys (Natixis), and is a recognized expert in viral marketing and innovation. Stéphane co-founded the consulting firm AMETIX, acquired by Docapost. In 2019, Stéphane has launched a new exciting adventure: Excelsior, an IT company.
He is a board member and co-founder of the early-stage fund L'Express Ventures since 2012, and partner at SIDE Capital. He was awarded “Business Person of the Year” by BFM in 2008 and won the FEVAD innovation award in 2010 for the startup "2HeuresAvant" he co-founded.
Stéphane also produced "Robin Des Bois," France's #1 musical in 2013. Stéphane holds a BA from ESSEC, a Master degree from ESCP and studied in California.
 
You’ll learn about:
What Stéphane is working on to deliver great experiences for European companies on the different metaverses, including The Sandbox
Why Stéphane believes that the metaverses will be interconnected
How Web3 will give back ownership of digital identity and data
The technology that’s needed to meet the ability to scale
Why Stéphane thinks the metaverse will improve interactions and why there should be a metaverse option in work settings
 
Timestamps
[02:09] Stéphane’s Background
[04:04] Current stage in the evolution of the metaverse 
[05:06] What he is working on today
[06:41] Use cases
[11:05] The vision for metaverse
[13:26] Blockchain and identity ownership
[17:25] More use cases
[18:17] Scaling
[23:59] Technical hurdles of building metaverses
[31:24] The future of work
[36:50] Biggest misconceptions about the metaverse
[38:04] Approaching investing in the metaverse
[40:58] Jobs in the metaverse
[43:51] How to contact Stéphane
DISCLAIMER: yWhales is not affiliated with YPO but at this time only allow for YPO, YPO Gold, and YNG members due to privacy & confidentiality. Support and production for today’s episode was done by Truth Work Media. Nothing in the podcast constitutes professional and/or financial advice, nor does any information on the podcast constitute a comprehensive or complete statement of the matters discussed or the law relating thereto.

Bridging Transactions Between Chains with Kevin Chan of UMA and Across Protocol

In this episode, the yWhales team is joined by Allan Matheson to speak with Kevin Chan, Treasurer for Risk Labs (UMA). Kevin is also the project lead for Across Protocol, a cross-chain bridging solution that supports fast, secure and cost-efficient transfers. Across recently unveiled the ACX token and announced an airdrop and official plans for the Across DAO. Kevin shares how tradFi can benefit from blockchain adoption, how bridges work and why we will need them. 
 
yWhales Website: ywhales.com
Podcast Library: ywhales.com/podcasts
YouTube: https://links.ywhales.com/YouTube
Vimeo: https://links.ywhales.com/Vimeo
LinkedIn: https://links.ywhales.com/LinkedIn
Twitter: https://links.ywhales.com/Twitter
Medium: https://links.ywhales.com/Medium
 
Kevin Chan’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kevin-chan-a58768141
Across Website: across.to
Medium: medium.com/across-protocol
Twitter: twitter.com/AcrossProtocol
Discord: discord.com/invite/across
GitHub: github.com/across-protocol
UMA Website: umaproject.org
Twitter: twitter.com/UMAprotocol
 
Allan Matheson’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/goldenpearcapital
Email: allan@goldenpear.capital
Golden Pear Capital Website: goldenpear.capital
 
About Guests
Kevin is currently the Treasurer of Risk Labs, the primary entity that serves the decentralized finance protocol, UMA. Over the last two years, he has managed the growth of the assets that drive the project and community and has directed the strategy of the protocol to support the mission of UMA. Kevin is also the project lead for Across Protocol, a cross chain bridge developed by Risk Labs.
Prior to that, Kevin was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs and was responsible for managing the US Government Bond Trading Business. He enjoyed 15 years at the firm trading USD interest rate products in New York and London. He completed his undergraduate degree in Commerce at the University of British Columbia in 2001 and specialized in Finance. Kevin now lives in Vancouver with his wife and three children.
 
You’ll learn about:
UMA, an oracle system that provides data for projects including a cross-chain bridge, insurance protocols, custom derivatives and prediction markets
UMA’s proposed solution to handle manipulation and malicious activity
Across, a novel bridging method that combines an optimistic oracle, bonded relayers and single-sided liquidity pools to provide decentralized instant transactions between chains
How the UMA team is working on the Across protocol
How the Across protocol is handing security
The recently announced ACX token and establishment of a DAO
 
Timestamps
[01:39] Allan’s Background
[02:30] Kevin’s intro to the crypto world
[06:11] The application of crypto in finance
[12:16] The building blocks of deFi
[17:35] About Across
[22:20] How bridges work
[28:50] Relation between UMA and Across
[31:13] Managing security and speed of update
[34:09] Outlook on the future
[38:42] Establishing a DAO
[45:30] Next steps for Across 
[50:38] Allan’s outlook on the current market
[53:41] How to contact Kevin and Allan
 
DISCLAIMER: yWhales is not affiliated with YPO but at this time only allow for YPO, YPO Gold, and YNG members due to privacy & confidentiality. Support and production for today’s episode was done by Truth Work Media. Nothing in the podcast constitutes professional and/or financial advice, nor does any information on the podcast constitute a comprehensive or complete statement of the matters discussed or the law relating thereto.

A Discussion about Public vs. Private Blockchains with BurstIQ and Constellation Network

In this episode, the yWhales team speak with Benjamin Diggles, Co-Founder and CSO of Constellation Network, and Rob Lubeck, Chief Growth Officer at BurstIQ. Benjamin and Rob discuss the difference between public and public/speciality use blockchain. They talk about their blockchain networks, how they differ and why speciality chains exist. They also discuss where data is going and how to think about the overall ecosystem as it continues to grow.
 
yWhales Website: ywhales.com
Podcast Library: ywhales.com/podcasts
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Benjamin Diggles’s Website: https://mrdiggles.com/work/
Email: benjamin@constellationnetwork.io
Constellation Network Website: https://constellationnetwork.io/
Lattis Gateway: https://lattice.is/
yWhales episode: https://www.ywhales.com/podcasts/constellationnetwork
 
Rob Lubeck’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roblubeck/
Email: rob.lubeck@burstiq.com
BurstIQ Website: https://burstiq.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/burstiq/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BurstIQ
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC77pUx31jlV3Xo902F7KUhw
yWhales episode: https://www.ywhales.com/podcasts/burstiq
 
About Guests
Benjamin Diggles has been an active participant in web, software development, and digital design for 20+ years from both practitioner and leadership positions. Based in Denver, Colorado, Benjamin has effectively worked with startup and enterprise companies driving strategy for the Fortune 500 in the digital space. With a focus on big data, decentralization and Web3, Benjamin has a passion for building, mentoring and inspiring teams to collaborate cross-departmentally to drive true sustainable, strategic results. He has held leadership positions with companies such as Webtrends, Oracle and R/GA.
At Constellation Benjamin leads business development in the form of enterprise, federal, academia, consortium, and general partnerships. Benjamin is responsible for spearheading Constellation’s active blockchain contract with the DoD as well as creating Blockchain data sharing standards for the automotive Vehicle industry and is the Blockchain co-chair for the Space ISAC. He is also responsible for creating and driving the Constellation Flight Program where over 100 companies have graduated to learn how to bridge real world business into Web3.
Rob Lubeck has over 25 years of experience and is a competitive, results oriented high-performance executive with a rich background in Start-up and Growth Organizations across multiple industries.
Prior to joining BurstIQ, he was the Chief Executive Officer for an Educational toy company Building Creative Kids where he led Strategy and Operations with full responsibility for bottom line factors including planning, sales/marketing and channel strategy.
Rob began his career with the global marketing and advertising firm Foote, Cone and Belding and was then part of two successful start-ups in the .com world including Verio and OneSecure. He then made the successful leap to Real Estate Development/Management and was instrumental in the success of several projects primarily located in Hawaii valued at over $300 million dollars.
Rob is a current member of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of Young Presidents Organization, past Rocky Mountain and Regional YPO Board Member, Colorado Board of Realtors, Institute of Real Estate Management Certified Property Manager and a LEED Accredited Professional.
 
You’ll learn about:
Why regulation and compliance, marketing and momentum and perseverance can help Web3 companies get to a cycle of maturity
How BurstIQ and Constellation Network are different as companies
Ben’s and Rob’s feelings on the rush for decentralization in the Web3 space
What a multi-chain universe looks like to Ben and Rob
Potential processes to migrate large amount of data to the blockchain
If it’s worth building your own blockchain
 
Timestamps
[02:11] Rob’s background
[04:56] Benjamin’s background
[08:32] Getting to cycle of maturity
[13:26] Data security
[16:27] Centralization vs. Decentralization
[22:02] Bridging Web2 to Web3
[30:19]  What multi-chain universe looks like
[36:30] The process of mass data migration
[49:45] Is building your own chain worth it?
[52:16] Data stability in building your own chain
[58:19] Closing thoughts from Ben and Rob
[1:00:43] How to contact Ben and Rob
DISCLAIMER: yWhales is not affiliated with YPO but at this time only allow for YPO, YPO Gold, and YNG members due to privacy & confidentiality. Support and production for today’s episode was done by Truth Work Media. Nothing in the podcast constitutes professional and/or financial advice, nor does any information on the podcast constitute a comprehensive or complete statement of the matters discussed or the law relating thereto.