What is Taylor Monahans greatest challenge in managing a distributed team? They are TOO efficient! Technology has given rise to more and more distributed teams who work remotely from all over the world, especially in the cryptocurrency space. As the founder of a crypto technology startup, Taylor considers her ability to jump on a call and stir the pot—forcing the team to get to know each other and develop a strong culture—as one of her greatest strengths. Taylor created MyEtherWallet in 2015. Th...
Jan 18, 2018•41 min•Ep. 19
{Rebroadcast} Season 1, Ep. 19: Kathleen Breitman, Co-Founder of Tezos The people have spoken and they want more crypto! The rise of the prices in the industry have led us to interview someone who has an upcoming ICO, Kathleen Breitman with Tezos. We challenge other currencies and discuss governance structures. https://www.tezos.com/ https://twitter.com/tez0s
Jan 11, 2018•24 min•Ep. 21
{Rebroadcast of our very first episode with Greg Castle from July 22, 2016} Part of what makes a good venture capitalist is a knack for predicting the future, and a big part of that future includes what we call frontier technologies like VR, AR, autonomous vehicles, and robotics. Truly visionary VCs will have a front row seat as these new industries emerge. Bay Area VC Greg Castle is the managing partner of Anorak Ventures. An early-stage investor in frontier technologies, Greg was a seed invest...
Jan 04, 2018•20 min•Ep. 20
The data analytics benchmarks and standards for web and mobile applications simply cannot be applied to virtual reality; the linear tracking of clicks doesn’t give VR developers a clear understanding of how users are interacting with their product. Rather, a 3D data set that analyzes several metrics together affords developers with a clear picture of what features and functions users love and what they’re missing. Lucas Toohey is the CEO of ObserVR, an analytics platform for virtual reality that...
Dec 28, 2017•20 min•Ep. 19
“[The crypto space has] got its own special culture. The folks that populate our industry are free-thinkers and renegades, and they have interesting ideas about changing the financial system as we know it.” Bart Stephens has always been on the cutting edge of new technologies. He began his career with E*TRADE, pioneering online stock trading in the early 1990’s. Bart went on to become an entrepreneur, founding Oncology.com, the internet’s largest cancer-related website, before selling it to Pfiz...
Dec 21, 2017•25 min•Ep. 18
‘There’s definitely some teams that are using [ICOs] and are able to fund their ideas better and more easily than the traditional VC way of doing things, but there’s just too many bad actors that just want a get rich quick scheme.’ Charlie Lee created Litecoin in 2011 while he was working as software engineer for Google. Litecoin is ‘the silver to Bitcoin’s gold,’ functioning as a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency that complements Bitcoin. In the long-term, Charlie sees Litecoin becoming a payment cur...
Dec 14, 2017•23 min•Ep. 17
Most people don’t realize just how transparent the blockchain is, but every transaction that happens on Bitcoin is public. None of us wants to have our net worth on display, leaving us vulnerable to fishing attacks and allowing others to see what we spend our money on. So how do we approach privacy in the cryptocurrency space? Where should we be storing our Bitcoin to keep it safe? And how can we be selectively transparent, choosing what information we want to reveal—and to whom? Linda Xie was w...
Dec 07, 2017•24 min•Ep. 16
‘What’s crazy for me is that for the first time in history we can actually try out new governance mechanisms without people dying in the streets.’ The beauty of blockchain technology is in its ability to facilitate ‘bloodless wars’ in which opposing sides compete without bloodshed and ultimately build a borderless world that is fair and free. Luis Cuende’s interest in the blockchain began in 2011 when he was only 16 years old. After reading the Bitcoin white paper, Luis connected with others dra...
Nov 30, 2017•20 min•Ep. 15
“Venture capital, to me, is a way that we can raise money to help entrepreneurs who can go out there and do something for the world that just opens it up. I am always pushing for freedom, and I think it’s great to see venture capital be able to support entrepreneurs—wherever they are—to go out there and do something extraordinary for freedom.” -- Tim Draper Tim Draper is the founding partner of Draper Associates as well as Draper Fischer Jurvetson (DFJ). His gift for assessing the fastest way to...
Nov 23, 2017•32 min•Ep. 14
What happens when you marry a background in genetic engineering with extensive experience in design? A unique skill set that supports life scientists in becoming entrepreneurs, helping PhDs turn benchtop science into applied products with the potential to change lives. Arvind Gupta is the co-founder of IndieBio, the world’s largest seed biotech accelerator. He has over a decade of experience helping startups and Fortune 50 companies launch new tech products, and his thought-leadership has been p...
Nov 16, 2017•27 min•Ep. 13
Disruptive ideas are the ones that go viral, and the two hottest ideas in VC right now are cryptocurrency and VR. Today we’re taking a step back to articulate the major themes in both ecosystems, discussing Bitcoin’s exponential growth, the current FOMO among investors when it comes to cryptocurrency, and the debate around tokens as securities. We’re also exploring what the best first use case of virtual reality might be, looking at B2B applications like collaboration and business training as we...
Nov 03, 2017•14 min•Ep. 11
“I’m obsessive by nature … and when I meet someone that’s 100X of that in their own thing, but they’re also good at what they do, I feel very lucky.” Venture capitalist Semil Shah is looking for entrepreneurs with a combination of talent and drive, who out-class others in what they do and prioritize their obsession with building an enterprise. Semil is an investor and writer based in Silicon Valley who created a small fund called Haystack. He has been an early investor in 70-plus companies such ...
Oct 27, 2017•35 min•Ep. 10
In the US, someone develops Alzheimer’s disease every 66 seconds. Of the estimated 5.5 million Americans suffering from the disease in 2017, approximately 5.3 million are over the age of 65, while 200,000 have developed early-onset Alzheimer’s. In fact, this insidious disease in the sixth leading cause of death in the US. Without intervention, the number of people living with Alzheimer’s is projected to grow to 16 million by the year 2050. But today’s guest is not about to let things progress wi...
Oct 20, 2017•15 min•Ep. 9
What if you could hit up Foot Locker for a pair of shoes that would allow you to dunk a basketball? Or stop by Walgreens to pick up a robot that would give your grandparents the mobility to continue living at home rather than moving to an assisted living facility? A startup called ROAM is working to create exoskeletons that would afford everyday people the ability to overcome their physical limitations, solving problems around mobility and capability. It may not be the Ironman suit you’ve been d...
Oct 12, 2017•28 min•Ep. 8
Hamza Siddiqui has built the #1 social app on the oculus store, it just so happens to be for Poker. On this episode of "The Boost VC Podcast" we Hamza discloses how important data will be to the growth of VR, and that his favorite quote ever is one that I said to him a long time ago. So listen to the latest. Little known fact... we had to record it twice because... why not? http://www.casino-vr.com/ https://twitter.com/casino_vr
Oct 05, 2017•22 min•Ep. 7
Loic Ledoux is an awesome entrepreneur who has built a new story telling medium that puts you in the story. On this episode of "The Boost VC Podcast" we venture deep into the heart of an entrepreneur, with an amazing french founder. We also talk about Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, but the most important thing you can get out of this episode is the who, what, when, where, why of starting a company... also you learn that Loic cannot juggle. https://www.shadow.lol/ https://twitter.com/doui...
Sep 28, 2017•20 min•Ep. 6
Have you ever thought, "how do I start a venture capital fund?" Well, Amitt did just that. We talk about starting a fund and the state of VR. Amitt also created one of the most notorious social games ever created... Farmville. You want to hear what he has to say. Listen to the podcast. https://www.presencecap.com/ https://twitter.com/amittm https://angel.co/amitt
Sep 21, 2017•27 min•Ep. 5
Have you ever thought, "It would be super cool to have my own pet dragon?" Well now you can! Vivian Tan and the team at Beast Pets have built an incredible VR experience to give you a pet dragon. We talk about startup a company, distribution in VR, and where the world is headed. You should listen. http://www.beastpets.com/
Sep 14, 2017•27 min•Ep. 4
The next 3 podcasts are VR focused, and to kick them off, we thought it would be appropriate to have the man who is at the center of all VR/AR, Tipatat Chennavasin, join us to discuss the industry. He is an investor with The VR Fund, and when VR is in the air, he is there. You are going to enjoy what he has to say. http://www.thevrfund.com/ https://angel.co/tipatat https://twitter.com/tipatat
Sep 07, 2017•30 min•Ep. 3
Do you know why someone would build a flying exoskeleton? Well Richard Browning, a former oil trader did it, so find out why. Also seeing him fly was literally the coolest thing ever for Adam. So check out this week's podcast to hear the whole story. http://gravity.co/ https://vimeo.com/214439991
Aug 31, 2017•22 min•Ep. 2
Do you know how a former lumberjack becomes the founder of and leader of the largest crypto hedge fund? Listen to this episode of The Boost VC podcast where Adam Draper talks to Olaf Carlson-Wee the founder of Polychain and one of Boost VC's portfolio companies, about starting the first ever crypto hedge fund, and how he now manages more than $250m in assets. https://angel.co/polychain-capital http://polychain.capital/
Aug 24, 2017•28 min•Ep. 1
Nick Tomaino spills the secrets of ICOs and about thinking long term as an investor in the space. So now I know everything... and you can too. Listen to Nick, from his work at Coinbase, to his position at Runa Capital, he knows. "It's becoming easier than ever for entrepreneurs to raise money" -Nick Tomaino, The Control https://thecontrol.co/ http://www.runacap.com/ https://medium.com/@ntmoney https://twitter.com/NTmoney
Jun 15, 2017•24 min•Ep. 22
Ep. 20: Will Warren, Co-Founder & CEO @ 0x Find out more about one of the hottest upcoming ICOs. Will Warren talks about their vision for a decentralized exchange and also about what super power he would want. https://0xproject.com/ https://twitter.com/willwarren89 https://medium.com/0x-project/introducing-0x-d51d5231ba53
Jun 02, 2017•24 min•Ep. 21
The people have spoken and they want more crypto! The rise of the prices in the industry have led us to interview someone who has an upcoming ICO, Kathleen Breitman with Tezos. We challenge other currencies and discuss governance structures. https://www.tezos.com/ https://twitter.com/tez0s
May 25, 2017•24 min•Ep. 20
Healthbox is a healthcare based accelerator, and Chuck and Adam discuss the differences in accelerators and sectors. Learn about different structures! We all try to help the best we can. https://www.healthbox.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckfeerick https://twitter.com/chuckfeerick
May 18, 2017•34 min•Ep. 19
New on the venture scene, Arielle covers preconceived notions of Venture Capital, her interests and her latest investment in an awesome company called The Wing and social club for women. Arielle is awesome! http://www.kpcb.com/partner/arielle-zuckerberg
May 11, 2017•37 min•Ep. 18
Part cowboy, part tech geek. AJ was a dinosaur wrestler in a past life. His enthusiasm and energy for changing things is intoxicating, and I believe that AJ is one of the best mentors/friends you can have in the startup eco-system. https://www.icracked.com/
Apr 27, 2017•21 min•Ep. 17
Janus is building the MetaVerse. James hails from Canada, where he has many academic achievements. We cover a wide range of questions to do with Virtual Reality, but also to do with finding product market fit and some of the battles raging in the VR industry. http://www.janusvr.com/
Apr 20, 2017•25 min•Ep. 16
We cover everything from rockets to software. Have you ever met James Bond? That's basically who Marshall Culpepper is, except he has a cooler job and he's not British. KubOS is the future of software in the space industry. http://www.kubos.com/
Apr 13, 2017•25 min•Ep. 15
Michael Dunworth explains the different stages of Snapcard now called Wyre. Michael Dunworth is Australian, which means he is genetically superior to mortal human. He uses his charm and intellect to dazzle. His company has gone through many transitions, just as Bitcoin has. They have continued to build and thrive. He also points out that fundraising is difficult. https://www.sendwyre.com/
Apr 06, 2017•31 min•Ep. 14
