The Boost VC Podcast

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.

“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.”

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 currency used at both physical and online stores, and he is currently working to promote widespread merchant adoption.

Ep. 75: Solving Big Problems with the Power of VR—with Morgan Mercer of Vantage Point

Helghardt Avenant is the co-founder and CEO of Rehive, a platform working to help founders and businesses rapidly build, launch and scale fintech products by providing the necessary building blocks. Users mix and match a core set of features to their specific fintech use case, much the same way Shopify serves the eCommerce industry. Though Helghardt is based in Silicon Valley, 80% of Rehive’s engineering team works from his home country of South Africa.

We’re familiar with product/market fit, but have you ever considered product/person fit? Having empathy for the end user is what differentiates the companies that design technology for the benefit of humans from those that are simply out to make a profit. So, how do we design AI, VR and AR products that promote social good—and truly change people’s lives?

John Yi is the Group Product Manager for Services at Coinbase, a digital currency platform where merchants and consumers can transact with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin. Based in San Francisco, Coinbase is on a mission to champion economic freedom through innovation in digital currency. John’s role is to manage the teams that build the infrastructure for consumer products.

Ameen is the co-founder and CEO of SpankChain, a startup set to revolutionize the adult film industry using blockchain technology. The team has launched its Camsite Beta program and is working to ship SpankBank and SpankPay in the very near future. Prior to SpankChain, Ameen served as Decentralization Lazer Gun for ConsenSys and co-founder of Filter, a Twitter news aggregator.

Today, Dan sits down with us to explain how the CryptoKitties phenomenon fit his theory around the first viral crypto application. He speaks to his entry into the blockchain space as a natural extension of his interests in technology and governance. Dan describes the genesis of MetaMask and its aim to provide a gateway to P2P technology and provide the tools necessary to make usable apps. Listen in for Dan’s insight on social collateral and learn how social networks could be leveraged to make everyone a VC.

Esteban is the founder and CTO of Decentraland, a virtual reality platform powered by the Ethereum blockchain where users can purchase land and build on it, limited only by their imaginations. Using a VR headset or web browser, Decentraland users become completely immersed in a 3D, interactive world where they can watch live music, shop with friends or even visit an underwater resort. Prior to Decentraland, Esteban worked as a software engineer at Google and BitPay.

Today, Julian joins us to explain why Golem was the right kind of project for a token sale. He covers the evolution of Golem, from its inception to the current use case in CGI rendering. Julian offers insight around delivering a decentralized product, and we talk scalability—the biggest problem in the token space. Listen in as Julian shares how Golem might expand to include other use cases and learn about the blockchain’s potential to solve for the crisis of trust.

Today, Paul sits down with us to share his Bitcoin origin story and discuss the evolution of the market since 2014. He offers his take on how the crypto market is changing, explaining why the best talent is coming into the space right now. Listen in as Paul speaks to the tokens that get him up in the morning and addresses the lack of standardization around how entrepreneurs utilize capital.

Today, Mike joins us at Boost to share the concept of the ‘Thunder Lizard,’ and explain why he prefers to work with Prime Movers. He discusses how he got involved with venture capital, who he goes to for advice, and his approach to cultivating humility. Mike offers insight around the time value to decision-making and the idea of progress by way of competing alternatives. Listen in to understand cryptocurrency’s potential to make trust free and get Mike’s advice for aspiring VCs.

Today, Jesse joins us at Boost to share her path to becoming a venture capitalist and offer insight around women in VC. She explains the impetus behind The Valley Girl Show, discussing the hustle required to launch and sustain a long-running tech talk show in the broken media industry. Listen in to understand how Jesse eventually came to see herself as a capable VC and learn how to raise girls who aren’t afraid to build jetpacks or take apart computers.

Today, Ryan sits down with us at Boost VC to offer his insight on the future of music and explain how Melodrive is working to change the way we consume it. He also explains the concept of ‘uncanny valley’ and shares his take on how long we have before AI takes over the world. Listen in to understand how Melodrive allows users to create audio content that adapts to its interactive environment in real time and learn how this technology might redefine the way we experience music.