Shows
"Can't Be Done"Max Haot - Mission for Infinite HumanityJoin Adam Draper, founder of Boost VC and host of the "Can’t Be Done" Podcast, as he chats with Max Haot, CEO of Vast. Max shares his wild ride from Livestream founder to launching a space startup acquired by Vast. They explore his vision for humanity in space, from private stations to cosmic bathrooms. Expect deep insights, big dreams, and a lot of laughs in this inspiring, future-focused episode on tech, space, and what it all means for us.Max is an aerospace, consumer electronics, and internet entrepreneur. Founded, scaled, and successfully sold four companies including La...
2025-06-1743 min
"Can't Be Done"James Sinka - We Can Save OurselvesJoin Adam Draper, founder of Boost VC and host of the "Can’t Be Done" Podcast, as he chats with James Sinka, Chief Scientific Officer at BIO Protocol. They dive into sci-fi novels, leadership, and the challenges Sinka faced on his journey. Beyond personal insights, they explore DeSci, the crucial role of scientists, and how researchers can secure financial rewards alongside recognition for groundbreaking work. Don’t miss this inspiring conversation on science, motivation, and innovation!Science Lead @ Bio.xyz - YCW19 Alum, repeat founder, and chemist. Connect with James SinkaBio P...
2025-04-0344 min
"Can't Be Done"Andrew Bakst - "Cure hair loss, obviously"Adam Draper, Founder of Boost VC and host of the "Can’t Be Done" Podcast, sits down with Andrew Bakst, Co-Founder of HairDAO, to explore how decentralized research is transforming hair loss treatments. They discuss HairDAO’s mission as an open-source R&D network, the role of crypto in reshaping technology, and why DAOs are redefining scientific funding. Plus, they dive into changing perceptions of hair loss and the flaws in traditional testing models."The answer to life is in your hair follicles.” - Douglas AdamsCo-founder/Chief Technocrat of HairDAO; MechE turned BioE; Stanford 2018. ...
2025-03-2541 min
"Can't Be Done"Patrick Joyce - "Nullius in verba"Join Adam Draper, Founder of Boost VC and host of the "Can’t Be Done" Podcast, as he chats with Patrick Joyce, Co-Founder of ResearchHub. They dive into the challenges of modern science, the DeSci movement, and how ResearchHub is transforming funding for researchers. Joyce shares insights on “shorting academia” and reimagining the scientific process. This conversation is a must-watch for anyone passionate about the future of research and innovation.Patrick is a former PhD and medical student who dropped out of two separate academic institutions because of the broken incentives that govern the global economy for scient...
2025-03-1842 min
"Can't Be Done"Jordan Kutzer - Overcoming Rejection, Visceral Virtual Connections, and VR as a Car for the InternetJoin Boost VC’s Adam Draper as he chats with Jordan Kutzer, founder of Throwback Studios, about how Jordan correlates the competitive nature of starting a company to baseball, especially regarding his mission to become the biggest VR brand and media company in the world. During this high velocity discussion, Jordan details the overcoming of multiple rejections, "coaching" customers, building visceral relationships in VR, and his inherent instinct to win. Tune in for key insights into the world of VR!Jordan holds a Stanford University B.A. in Science, Technology & Society with a concentration in Information Technology, Me...
2024-12-1048 min
"Can't Be Done"Sampriti Bhattacharyya - An Awakening, Flying Boats, and Maritime DynamismJoin Boost VC’s Adam Draper as he chats with Sampriti Bhattacharyya, founder of Navier. She shares her journey from a small city in India to building a next-gen maritime company in the U.S. From sun-tracking solar panels to dodging marriage and surviving a landslide, Sampriti’s story is one of overcoming challenges. She highlights the value of exceptional people, persistence through failures, and her mission to transform the future of waterways. Tune in for an inspiring episode!Sampriti is a 3x founder and the CEO of Navier, a pioneering company at the forefront of innovation in s...
2024-12-0349 min
"Can't Be Done"AJ Forsythe - from 2000lb Crystals, to Cracked iPhones, to Chickens on MarsJoin Boost VC’s Adam Draper as he chats with AJ Forsythe, founder of Coop, about his not-so-illustrious journey as a founder, and the rewarding yet challenging components of building companies. Discover how AJ’s journey evolved from his first steps building iCracked to his ambitious mission of putting chickens on Mars. Adam and AJ reflect on the nature of entrepreneurship and the importance of seizing life's fleeting moments. Tune in for another fun episode filled with shark diving, fossils, and more! AJ is going to put chickens on mars. He’s a serial entrepreneur and abs...
2024-11-2649 min
"Can't Be Done"Collin West - Rowing across the Arctic, Near Death Experiences, and Venture CapitalJoin Boost VC’s Adam Draper as he chats with Collin West, founder of Ensemble VC, about his incredible journey rowing across the Arctic Ocean and how it changed his approach to decision-making and team management. Learn how this experience influences Ensemble’s data-driven approach to assessing startups. Adam and Collin dive into the evolution of venture capital and reflect on their near-death experiences. Tune in for laughs, insights, and a fresh perspective on adventure and opportunity in VC! Collin is the Founder and Managing Partner of Ensemble VC, which focuses on using data to ident...
2024-11-1246 min
"Can't Be Done"Bringing Scientific Expertise to the VC Market—with Arkady Kulik of RPVAccording to a BCG report, only 19% of VCs have some kind of scientific or technological competence. And that creates a translation problem between deep tech founders and investors. To close that gap, Arkady Kulik and his cofounder, Tamaz Khunjua, built RPV, a venture fund that brings scientific expertise to the market and helps scientists become strong entrepreneurs. On this episode of The Boost VC Podcast, Arkady joins us to explain how the RPV team’s extensive background in science and entrepreneurship serves deep tech startups. Arkady describes how st...
2023-09-1242 min"Can't Be Done"The DotCom Boom And Bust with guests Marc Andreessen and Tim DraperThe media is filled with experts comparing today’s market with the dot-com crash of 2000. But few, if any, of these experts actually lived and worked through the dot-com boom and bust. Marc Andreessen is Founder and General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, and Tim Draper is Founder and Managing Director at Draper VC. And both Marc and Tim were either running or investing in tech startups at the time. So, what was it like to experience the dot-com crash? What did Marc and Tim learn that might give us clarity around how...
2022-06-281h 20"Can't Be Done"Ep. 107: The Future of Fundraising—with Joris Delanoue & Thibauld Favre of FairmintWhen serial entrepreneurs Thibauld Favre and Joris Delanoue joined forces to build the future of fundraising, the Frenchmen chose San Francisco as their home base in large part because of its investor mindset. So, how do Silicon Valley VCs think differently from other investors around the globe? Thibauld and Joris are the Cofounders of Fairmint, a continuous financing instrument that allows startups to raise money WHILE they build—rather than taking time away from business to pitch investors. The Fairmint model is built around community alignment, putting equity in the hands of a company’s emplo...
2021-01-2146 min"Can't Be Done"Ep. 101: A Batwoman-Signal for Female Founders—with Jesse Draper of Halogen VenturesDespite being raised in the tech startup world, Jesse Draper didn’t believe she could BE that. Because she didn’t see women entrepreneurs, it didn’t seem like an option. So, Jesse started seeking out female founders—first to interview and later to invest in. And now, she runs a venture fund that is like the Batwoman-Signal for companies with female founders, attracting 4,972 deals last year alone. Jesse is the Founder and Managing Director at Halogen Ventures, a VC fund focused on investing in early-stage consumer technology startups with a female in the founding team. She...
2020-11-1955 min"Can't Be Done"Ep. 96: The Future of Education is VR—with Tom ImpallomeniWe learn more through experience. And we experience more through VR. In fact, virtual reality solves for many of the limitations of in-person learning, allowing students to practice new skills through simulation. What if the future of education is VR?Tom Impallomeni is the Cofounder and CEO of TribeXR, a startup that leverages VR to teach creative skills, with the ultimate goal of turning aspiring musicians into professionals and performers. Tom has an extensive background in building companies, and his resume includes tech startups like Virtually Live, SuperAwesome and Where Are You Now. Tom also serves as...
2020-09-1043 min"Can't Be Done"Ep.95: How dWeb Outdoes the Traditional Internet—with Matthew Gould & Brad Kam of Unstoppable DomainsMost of us spend a significant amount of time cultivating our online assets. And yet, we don’t actually own our slice of the digital economy. Our social media accounts and even our personal websites can be censored or taken away from us at any time by the big companies that control them. But the decentralized web is different. Matthew Gould and Bradley Kam are the cofounders of Unstoppable Domains, a crypto startup that builds censorship-resistant websites and sells blockchain domain names to fund the gateway to the decentralized web. Prior to Unstoppable, Matthew and Bra...
2020-09-0342 min"Can't Be Done"Ep.94: Funding Biotech with Conscious Capitalism (to Save the World)—with Arvind GuptaThe old way of doing capitalism is about making money in the short term, and that way of thinking has caused a lot of destruction. But some venture funds are taking a new approach and deploying capital in a way that is net beneficial for society in the long term. So, how do we leverage this new kind of conscious capitalism to support the biotech companies that are making the world a better, more sustainable place?Arvind Gupta is a Partner and at Mayfield Fund, a venture capital firm that operates under a framework of conscious capitalism...
2020-08-2754 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep.93: Leveraging VR to Revolutionize Healthcare Education & Training—with Brian Conyer of GIBLIBA whole lot of founders make the mistake of undervaluing their product. Some even give it away for free, not realizing that generating revenue is critical to proving out a business model and attracting venture investors. Healthcare education startup GIBLIB struggled to gain traction until the team shifted to a subscription-based platform, and now they are thriving in their mission to leverage virtual reality to revolutionize medical training.
2019-04-1137 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 92: The VC’s Role as the Sixth Man—with FinTech Investor Michael Sidgmore of Broadhaven VenturesHow is an early-stage VC a lot like Shane Battier or Andre Iguodala? When they are on the court, they make the players around them better. That’s how Michael Sidgmore sees his role as a pre-seed and seed round FinTech investor: He’s the sixth man, coming off the bench to serve as the glue that helps his team get to the next level. He may not be in the trenches on a daily basis, but when he does get in the game, good things happen.
Michael is a Partner at Broadhaven Ventures, an independent investment bank...
2019-04-0438 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep.91: Filling the Voids in the Crypto Market—with Joey Krug of Pantera CapitalAn Amazon study revealed that 100ms in latency cost them 1% in sales. Meanwhile in crypto, it can take as long as a week to set up a CoinBase account! Imagine how conversion rates would skyrocket if the industry tackled latency and solved for the two greatest voids in the market: fiat on-ramping and scalability. So, what blockchain startups are making progress toward these goals? And how is the blockchain landscape likely to shift in the next few years as we work toward large-scale adoption?
Joey Krug is the CIO of Pantera Capital, an investment firm focused exclusively...
2019-03-2851 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 90: Sparking Great Companies—with Keith Rabois of Founders FundThe best venture investors bring more to the table than capital. The most successful venture investors serve as active advisors, mentoring unproven entrepreneurs and propelling startups forward. So, what do such founder-driven investors look for in emerging talent? How do they teach the fundamentals of operating a business? How do they identify and then cultivate the SPARK it takes to build a company with the potential to change the world?
Keith Rabois is General Partner at Founders Fund, a VC firm focused on supporting entrepreneurs building revolutionary technologies. Keith is known for guiding early-stage startups to become...
2019-03-2143 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 89: Inspiring Deep Tech Founders to Invest in Sales & Marketing—with Greg Castle of Anorak VenturesCEOs in the deep tech space are deeply passionate about what they are building. But these brilliant technical minds tend to be less passionate about sales and marketing. So, how can a VC with a background in branding inspire his founders to invest in marketing material that reflects the power and beauty of what they’re building technically?
Greg Castle is the Founder and Managing Director of Anorak Ventures, a fund dedicated to early-stage, disruptive technologies like virtual reality, robotics, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, computer vision and internet of things. Greg believes that the next decade will be...
2019-03-1437 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 88: Building the Superpower of Personal Flight—with David Mayman of JetPack AviationIf you’ve ever wished you could fly, your dream is within reach. The jetpack industry, though still small, has developed to a point where a handful of startups are consistently carrying out safe flights and building businesses around the superpower most of us have daydreamed about, but never recognized as a realistic possibility.
David Mayman is the founder, CEO and Chief Test Pilot of JetPack Aviation, the undisputed leader in turbine-powered, VTOL aircraft. With more than a decade of experience refining its technology, JetPack is the first company to design and manufacture a true jetpack for pe...
2019-03-0738 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 87: Opportunities in Ocean Tech—with Liané Thompson of AquaaiPrior to 2016, no proper study had been done around the economics of the ocean. At the time, the ocean economy was estimated at $1.5 trillion and expected to reach $3 trillion by 2030. In fact, the ocean has the potential to solve several of humanity’s biggest problems, and the opportunities in ocean tech are as vast and deep as the ocean itself.
Liané Thompson is the cofounder and CEO of Aquaai, a B2B startup using AI, computer vision, machine learning and biomimicry to create ecofriendly robotic fish to monitor below the surface and gather sophisticated data from the ocean. Pri...
2019-02-2835 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 86: The Tipping Point of VR Mass Adoption—with Tipatat Chennavasin of Venture Reality FundIf you look at the numbers, VR appears to be on the precipice of mass adoption. 60 virtual reality titles have generated more than $1M in revenue, with the top-grossing games making $10M-plus. Millions of headsets are in circulation, and we’re seeing 3K to 5K concurrent users per popular title. Governments are investing billions to develop VR technology and $3.4B in VC money was invested in the ecosystem last year alone. So, what will it take for VR to take off around the world?
Tipatat Chennavasin is the cofounder and General Partner with The Venture Reality Fund, a VC...
2019-02-2137 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 85: Solving for Shared Experiences in XR—with Anjney Midha CEO of Ubiquity6“Clearly, the killer use case, the most valuable thing 6DoF can do is allow two or more humans to interact—just be with each other from wherever they are.”
The internet has succeeded in connecting people to machines and information. So, what’s missing? Anjney Midha argues that the element of human interaction is what the web lacks, and he is on a mission to develop the tools creators can use to design shared experiences online through XR.
Anjney Midha is the cofounder and CEO of Ubiquity6, a startup using computer vision to create multiplayer experiences for augmente...
2019-01-1738 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 84: Media in Crypto with Mike Dudas of The BlockThe world of cryptocurrency is fascinating. It is also noisy. And if you are trying to learn more about digital currency or blockchain technology, it’s necessary to sift through a lot of misinformation to get to the good stuff. So, how do you know who to listen to in a space where everyone seems to be shouting from the rooftops? Is there a media outlet you can trust to deliver the truth in an otherwise LOUD ecosystem?
Mike Dudas is the founder and CEO of The Block, the most reliable source of information for all things crypto. Th...
2018-11-1541 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 83: Solving for Volatility in Crypto with a Decentralized Stablecoin—with Steven Becker of MakerDAOThe most popular criticism of the crypto space is its lack of stability. What if you could solve for volatility, leveraging a decentralized stablecoin to mitigate the risk associated with a cryptocurrency portfolio? And how would a market risk manager from the traditional finance and investment industry assess the current risk profile of the blockchain space?
Steven Becker is the President and COO of MakerDAO, a decentralized, autonomous organization on the Ethereum blockchain. Based in Santa Cruz, California, Maker seeks to realize the potential of cryptocurrency through its Dai stablecoin, collateral loans and decentralized governance. Steven spent two...
2018-11-0839 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 82: The New Frontier of Marketing in the Crypto Space—with Jordan Spence of MyCryptoWhile the rules of traditional marketing are clearly defined, marketing in the cryptocurrency space is a whole new ballgame. How do you approach promotion in a decentralized market? What are the best strategies for driving traffic to your site and building a strong community around your brand?
Jordan Spence is the CMO of MyCrypto, an open-source, client-side tool for interacting with the blockchain. The Ethereum interface provides a suite of tools the community can use to generate a wallet on the Ethereum blockchain, access the addresses they currently own, and even swap tokens. In his role as CMO...
2018-10-1830 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 81: Healthcare Innovation, Data Access & the Blockchain —with Kat Kuzmeskas of SimplyVitalBuilding a blockchain startup is hard enough. How do you educate the market around the technology itself? How do you communicate the business case for your product? But if you’re really looking for a challenge, build a company with a focus on innovation in the healthcare space—an industry notoriously slow to adopt advanced technology!
Katherine Kuzmeskas is the founder and CEO of SimplyVital Health, a startup building the blockchain infrastructure for healthcare. By way of open source and proprietary software, SimplyVital leverages the blockchain as a tool to increase data access and decrease the cost of heal...
2018-10-1128 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 80: Pen Testing, Persistence & Product/Market Fit—with Jacob Hansen of CobaltWhen you’re building a startup, it is easy to get caught up in creating the product itself and assume that the technology is the most important thing. But Jacob Hansen argues that an early focus on users is necessary in finding product/market fit. And as your company grows, attracting the right talent becomes just as important as the technology itself.
Jacob is the co-founder and CEO of Cobalt, a security platform that is reinventing the pen test for web applications, mobile apps and APIs. An advocate of crowdsourcing and cybersecurity, Jacob has been featured in Forbes an...
2018-10-0435 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 79: {Rebroadcast}: Returning the Power of the Internet to Its Users—Via Cryptocurrency with a16z VC Chris Dixon‘Who has the power of the internet? Does the power lie in the hands of a few centralized companies? Or does it lie in the hands of users and communities?’
We all know the answer here. Though the web initially gave authority to its users, the pendulum has swung the other way. Now there are four companies with all the data and all the power, and many would argue that they are using it in questionable ways. Chris Dixon believes that there is still a chance we can shift the power dynamics back to users and communities, and the...
2018-09-2741 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 78: {Rebroadcast}: Olaf Carlson-Wee, Founder of Polychain CapitalDo 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.
2018-09-2030 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 77: {Rebroadcast}: Freedom, Global Entrepreneurship and the Possibilities of Cryptocurrency with VC Tim Draper“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 is the founding partner of Draper Associates as well as Draper Fischer Jurvetson (DFJ). His gift for assessing the fastest way to get a service to its users was instrumental in the suc...
2018-09-1334 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 76: {Rebroadcast}: Sidechains, Stable Coins, and What’s Wrong with the ICO with Charlie Lee of Litecoin‘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 currency used at both physical and online stores, and he is currently working to promote widespread mer...
2018-09-0626 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 75: Solving Big Problems with the Power of VR—with Morgan Mercer of Vantage PointWhen problems don’t affect us directly, they are easy to ignore. But if we create a connection with the people who ARE impacted and truly understand the consequences of our own action (or inaction), that’s when we start to care. What if we leveraged the immersive experience of virtual reality to establish empathy for marginalized groups? What if VR could give people the agency to take action and solve the world’s biggest problems?
Morgan Mercer is the founder and CEO of Vantage Point, a startup that offers a cutting-edge, fully immersive sexual harassment training program experi...
2018-08-3025 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 74: Fintech Applications & Cryptocurrency in Emerging Markets with Helghardt Avenant of REHIVEIf you want to work in the cryptocurrency or fintech space, there is no doubt that Silicon Valley is the place to be in terms of access to opportunity, financing and a network of peers. But what if your home country happens to be an emerging market like South Africa? What is it like to be part of a foreign national startup in the San Francisco Bay Area? And how do you effectively manage a distributed team working from a different time zone?
Helghardt Avenant is the co-founder and CEO of Rehive, a platform working to help...
2018-08-2332 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 73: Designing AI, VR and AR for Social Good with Sean White of MozillaWe’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?
Sean White is the Chief R&D Officer for Mozilla, the non-profit company behind the Firefox browser. Sean also serves as a visiting lecturer at Stanford University as well as a judge for the en...
2018-08-1630 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 72: 'Hell yes' hiring for Coinbase, building on decentralized protocols with John Yi, Group Product ManagerWhat’s different about the decentralized business model of a company like Coinbase? Why do they measure success based on customer experience? And how do they find the best talent with the right mindset to join the Coinbase team?
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...
2018-08-0924 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 71: Branding, Booty Calls & Banking on the Blockchain with Ameen Soleimani of SpankChain‘The closer you get to 50/50 polarizing, the more viral you’re likely to go.’
Ameen Soleimani is the master of branding, coining terms for his blockchain startup like SpankBank and Booty call. Working with the porn industry lends itself to polarizing branding, but why does Ameen think porn also happens to be the most practical application of crypto technology?
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 ve...
2018-08-0220 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 70: Leveraging Social Networks to Make Everyone a VC with Dan Finlay of MetaMaskWhat if every individual had the ability to invest in their community? Dan Finlay sees a future in which the blockchain allows us all to function as venture capitalists, investing in the people we trust in our social networks, using our social collateral to back the things we truly believe in.
Dan is a software developer and product lead at MetaMask, a bridge to the distributed web. The platform allows users to run Ethereum dApps (without running a full Ethereum node) and provides a user interface to facilitate private key management. Dan and the MetaMask team are...
2018-07-2625 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 69: The Intersection of VR & Cryptocurrency with Esteban Ordano of DecentralandEsteban Ordano believes that decentralization is key to mitigating the risk that comes with digital communication, and his work uses VR to return our sense of immediacy, to recreate the personal connections that will lead to what he calls a ͚Renaissance of humanity.͛ So, what does the world look like at this intersection of virtual reality and cryptocurrency?
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 us...
2018-07-1919 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 68: Using Decentralized Tech to Mobilize Unused Resources with Julian Zawistowski of Golem NetworkSo many ICOs, so few products on the market. One of the rare startups that has managed to launch a decentralized product is Golem Network.
Golem runs on the same principle as Airbnb, leveraging the sharing economy of decentralized tech to connect many computers in a peer-to-peer network. The same way that Airbnb hosts mobilize their unused resources (i.e.: spare bedrooms) to generate income, Golem users lend out their available computing power, giving software developers the ability to distribute tasks that are too heavy to be computed on a single node. The result is a global...
2018-07-1220 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 67: Pioneering Blockchain Investment with Paul Veradittakit of Pantera CapitalOnly a handful of investment firms were brave enough to enter the crypto space back in the early 2010’s. Those pioneers have witnessed quite an evolution in the blockchain space, and they have gone from being the black sheep of venture capital to enjoying a red-carpet experience with every hedge fund manager on Wall Street.
Paul Veradittakit is a Partner with Pantera Capital, a leading investment firm focused exclusively on projects related to blockchain technology, digital currency and crypto assets. Paul helped launch the firm’s second venture fund, and he sits on the boards of OpenToken and...
2018-07-0520 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 66: Investing in Thunder Lizards to Build Compounding Luck with VC Mike Maples of FloodgateThe startups that become really big, really fast are capitalist mutations or ‘Thunder Lizards’ that force the world to react to their agenda. Their founders refuse to accept the world as is and write their own rules, rather than conforming to the systems in place. This is how VC Mike Maples identifies the entrepreneurs he wants to support, the Prime Movers he can serve as not just an investor but a coconspirator.
Mike is the founding partner at Floodgate, a venture capital fund focused on backing Prime Movers before others believe. Mike has been on the Forbes Mida...
2018-06-2832 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 65: Princesses Who Smash Computers & Women in VC with Jesse Draper of Halogen Ventures‘I wanted to play with Barbies, but I also loved smashing up a computer and learning about silicon chips.’
Despite growing up in a tech savvy, entrepreneurial family, Jesse Draper didn’t see herself as a venture capitalist for a long time because ‘that’s not what women do.’ So, how do we level the playing field and get girls to see themselves in roles as startup founders, investors and board members?
Jesse is the founding partner of Halogen Ventures, a VC firm focused on early-stage investing in female-founded consumer technology startups. Her portfolio includes Laurel & Wol...
2018-06-2134 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 64: Using AI to Redefine the Way We Experience Music with Ryan Groves of MelodriveImagine having a private band or orchestra talented enough to extemporaneously compose, orchestrate and perform the soundtrack to your life, adjusting to the environment or your emotions in real time? Better yet, what if YOU had the ability to create audio content that would adapt to any given situation in an immersive space?
Ryan Groves is an award-winning music researcher and veteran developer of intelligent music systems. He also serves as the President and CPO of Melodrive, an adaptive music generation mechanism that uses artificial intelligence to create and integrate original music on any digital platform, be...
2018-06-1418 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 63: Launching a Successful Career by Way of the Third Door with Alex BanayanHow did the top icons in science, technology, entrepreneurship, entertainment, literature, and business launch their careers? What qualities do people like Maya Angelou, Warren Buffet and Pitbull have in common that helped them overcome immense challenges and rise to the top of their respective fields? The answer lies in gaining access through ‘the third door.’
As a freshman in college, Alex Banayan was searching for a book that would explain how high achievers got past rejection and obstacles to reach the upper echelons of success. When he couldn’t find one, Alex set out on a quest to int...
2018-06-0733 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 62: Pitching the Story of Your Startup to the Media with Teddy Schleifer of RecodeSending a cold email to a reporter who has never heard of you is not the best way to get media coverage for your startup. But how do we figure out which publication is the best fit for the story we have to tell? How do we play the game of relationships that leads to positive press? How do we pinpoint and pitch a story worth telling—one that is bigger than ourselves?
Teddy Schleifer is a Senior Reporter for Recode, covering venture capital, finance and influence in Silicon Valley. Prior to joining the tech news team, he...
2018-05-3119 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 61: Unlocking the Intimacy Between People Through VR with Peter Rubin of WIREDWhile the internet has been ground-breaking in terms of connecting people to information, it has done a poor job of connecting us to each other. Stories of fake news and harassment are widespread, and the anonymity of the platform allows individuals to curate a persona very different from who they are in real life. By contrast, virtual reality translates our mannerisms and voices, providing a shared experience in which we sound and act like ourselves. The unique property of VR is in its ability to unlock—accelerate, even—the intimacy between people that we rarely experience in real life anym...
2018-05-2431 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 60: Leveraging VR to Get People in a Room Together with Philip Rosedale of High FidelityPhilip Rosedale believes that virtual reality is a world-saving undertaking, but its current single-player use cases separate us from each other rather than bringing us together. And he is on a mission to develop the VR technology that will create shared spaces where people connect in real-time, to ‘get people in a room together.’
Philip is the Co-Founder and CEO of High Fidelity, a San Francisco-based software company designing social virtual reality technology with the goal of deploying an open source, flexible platform for a variety of VR applications. Philip is best known for creating a 3D virt...
2018-05-1746 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 59: Pro-Blockchain Policy on Capitol Hill with Perianne Boring of the Chamber of Digital CommerceCrypto is no longer a dirty word in DC, and we have the Chamber of Digital Commerce to thank for that shift in sentiment. Established in 2014, this nonprofit represents companies in the blockchain space, fighting on Capitol Hill for a better regulatory framework that will allow innovation to thrive in this country.
Perianne Boring is the Founder and President of the Chamber of Digital Commerce, the world’s largest trade association for the blockchain industry. The Chamber’s mission is to promote the acceptance and use of digital assets and blockchain-based technologies, working with policymakers, government agencies and...
2018-05-1018 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 58: Solving for Crypto Security Through Hardware Wallets with Thomas France of LedgerAs the blockchain ecosystem shifted from a Bitcoin-centric world to one that welcomed multiple coins, the demand for a hardware wallet that allows users to secure and manage crypto assets grew exponentially. Ledger became the go-to solution, and the startup scaled to sell 1M units in the last year.
Thomas France is the co-founder of Ledger, the leading security and infrastructure solution for cryptocurrencies and blockchain applications. He is also the co-founder of La Maison du Bitcoin (The Bitcoin Center), the first physical space dedicated to Bitcoin in Europe. Prior to his work in the crypto space...
2018-05-0318 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 57: Open-Source Blockchain Technology, Private Ledgers and the Right to Fork with Brian Behlendorf of HyperledgerThe beauty of open-source software lies in its efficiency. If two companies, building different solutions, work together on the parts of the projects that overlap, they accomplish more in less time. The Hyperledger Project is an open-source collaboration working to build a set of blockchain technologies that can be used in a variety of industries and embedded in the emerging internet technology stack.
Brian Behlendorf is the Executive Director of the Hyperledger Project for The Linux Foundation. Brian has dedicated his career to connecting and empowering the free and open-source software community to solve difficult problems. Early...
2018-04-2623 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 56: Leveraging VR for Product Design and Marketing with Tony Parisi of Unity TechnologiesVR is not just for gaming anymore. Other industries are starting to take advantage of immersive technologies for applications like product design and experiential marketing. Ford is using the technology to create virtual prototypes of new vehicles and Lionsgate is experimenting with VR experiences to promote movies. When Unity Technologies realized their platform was already being used by the auto and film industries—among many others—they brought in Tony Parisi to help the company expand its reach far beyond gaming.
Tony is a virtual reality pioneer, serial entrepreneur, author and angel investor. He currently serves as Head...
2018-04-1924 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 55: Building the Future with Venture Capital with Kira Noodleman of Bee PartnersWhat gets Kira Noodleman excited about her job as an investor with VC firm Bee Partners? The opportunity to paint a picture of what the future looks like—and then back it up with money and resources for startups in the early stages.
Kira is a fan of tackling problems in disruptive industries and across cultures. With a background in product and program management, Kira has an appreciation of the skillful risk-taking that fuels successful entrepreneurship. She was a part of Google’s Project Ara as well as LAUNCH, the University of California’s leading startup accelerator. Kira d...
2018-04-1228 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 54: Returning the Power of the Internet to Its Users—Via Cryptocurrency with a16z VC Chris Dixon‘Who has the power of the internet? Does the power lie in the hands of a few centralized companies? Or does it lie in the hands of users and communities?’
We all know the answer here. Though the web initially gave authority to its users, the pendulum has swung the other way. Now there are four companies with all the data and all the power, and many would argue that they are using it in questionable ways. Chris Dixon believes that there is still a chance we can shift the power dynamics back to users and communities, and...
2018-04-0539 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 53: Earning Cryptocurrency Through a Microtask Marketplace with Simon Yu of StormXThere are plenty of people who work full-time, yet still don’t make enough to get by. What if there was an app that would allow individuals to earn income in the form of cryptocurrency from anywhere, at any time, with any device?
Simon Yu had to drop out of college when his parents declared bankruptcy. He got a full-time job as a bank teller but was still struggling to make ends meet. In fact, Simon was sleeping through lunch so he wouldn’t have to eat another peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He eventually started a Kore...
2018-03-2925 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 52: Entrepreneurs in Space with Max Haot of Launcher“From my point of view, yes, we need to be multiplanetary, and one of the big motivators … is really the desire to spend the rest of my career to make whatever big or small contribution—but a contribution—towards advancing Earth-escape technology as a category.”
Max Haot is the founder and CEO of Launcher, a team on a ten-year journey to advance launch technology and deliver small satellites to orbit. Max came to the US in 2005 when the company he was working for in the UK was sold to Verizon. He served as the VP of Digital Media for...
2018-03-2219 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep 51: Investing Nerdy and Early in Smart Hardware with VC Sunil Nagaraj of Ubiquity VenturesThe beauty of smart hardware lies in its agility. With a recurrent feedback loop and regular software updates, products can be improved over time. Ubiquity Ventures is focused on funding startups that pursue this continuous refinement, investing in a feature trajectory rather than physical product.
Sunil Nagaraj is the managing partner of Ubiquity, a seed-stage venture capital firm interested in smart hardware and machine intelligence. Prior to starting his own fund in 2017, Sunil spent six years as VP with Bessemer Venture Partners, where his focus involved IoT, developer tools, space and security companies.
Sunil sits...
2018-03-1524 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 50: The Basics of Bitcoin Mining with Chris Shepherd of HashRabbitBitcoin mining is tough to explain to Muggles outside the ecosystem, but Chris Shepherd is up for the task. Chris was a part of Tribe 4 here at Boost, and he also happens to be the face of the illustrious Boost VC Mural. Who better to take us through the basics of mining?
Chris is the co-founder and CEO of HashRabbit, a startup that builds software for large-scale mining facilities. Chris was introduced to mining as a designer and frontend developer for LaunchKey. From there, he made his own mining rigs and set up shop in his apartment...
2018-03-0824 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 49: Leveraging VR to Make Ads an Experience with Ara Parikh and Michael Rucker of OmniVirtVR is about immersion. Rather than simply witnessing an experience, we become a part of it. Imagine the advantage for brands and publishers if their content could leverage that same kind of engagement, creating ads that include us in an immersive media experience.
OmniVirt is a VR and AR advertising platform for brands and publishers with the capacity to distribute 360° video content that audiences can view with one tap—no app installation or headset required. The company seeks to help creators monetize their videos on the web, and they serve high-profile clients like The New York Times, Uni...
2018-03-0126 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 48: Design Thinking for the Blockchain with Dan Elitzer of IDEO CoLabHow can the crypto community embrace design thinking? By thinking in terms of prototypes. Rather than waiting until a product is perfect, develop a test version and let it out into the wild. Allowing the community to engage is the best way to learn what works and what doesn’t—and work up to your vision.
Dan Elitzer is the Blockchain and Digital Identity Lead at IDEO CoLab, IDEO’s research and design network tasked with shaping how emerging technologies will affect our world. Dan has spent his career immersed in entrepreneurship, serving as a consultant to organi...
2018-02-2224 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 47: The Drone Market, Future Thinking, and Candy for Fat Kids with Jonathan Nutzati of MothershipUp until 18 months ago, there was ‘one drone to rule them all.’ But that stopped working as the consumer began to demand specialization. Different industries have different needs, and the drone market has begun to drill down and solve the problems specific to fields like construction and agriculture. Some problems remain unsolved, and that’s where Mothership Aeronautics comes in.
Jonathan Nutzati is an aerospace engineer, entrepreneur and future-thinker with a passion for solving mankind’s greatest problems. He earned his master’s from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2012 and went on to design electric motors for Tesla. In 2016, h...
2018-02-1524 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 46: VR Voice Interaction and Developer Advocacy with Michael Ludden of IBM WatsoWhat if you could talk directly to a VR experience, accessing the menu or a particular tool simply by asking for it? Michael Ludden argues that voice interaction makes sense for every virtual reality application as a method of control, and in his role as Director of Product with IBM Watson, he is committed to building a toolkit for developers that allows them to incorporate services like Speech to Text and Watson Conversation into their own products.
Michael began working with the developer community as a tech evangelist for HTC before getting into developer marketing in his...
2018-02-0825 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 45: The Evolution of the Crypto Ecosystem with Sebastian Serrano of Ripio Credit NetworkRelentless.
When we met Sebastian Serrano in 2013, he was the quintessential tenacious founder, attending any and every industry event and becoming a part of the cryptocurrency ecosystem—before it was called the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
Sebastian’s interest in the space began in 2012. Inflation in Argentina was on the rise, and the government was making it more and more difficult to move money. Bitcoin appeared to be the answer, and Sebastian set out to help build the infrastructure necessary to give people access to the network. He created a payment processor called Bitpagos and had success in bringing Bitc...
2018-02-0126 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 44: Design Tools, Standalone Headsets and the Future of VR with Peter Le Bek of Sketchbox"The first generation of headsets has proved that VR is going to be a thing, but it’s not going to be a thing on that generation of headsets."
2017 was a reality check for the VR industry. The market size continues to be limited by barriers like setup time and the fact that it’s a pain in the ass to take anywhere. So what is the key to mass adoption? Peter Le Bek argues that standalone will be the game changer the space needs to get people in headsets.
Peter is the co-founder and CEO...
2018-01-2517 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 43: Distributed Teams, Crypto Product Design and Bad Decisions with MyEtherWallet Founder Taylor MonahanWhat 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. The company is an open-source, client-side interface for generating Ethereum wallets. MyEtherWallets glob...
2018-01-1840 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 42: {Rebroadcast} Kathleen Breitman, Co-Founder of Tezos{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
2018-01-1124 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep 41: {Rebroadcast} Investing in Early-Stage Frontier Technologies with Greg Castle of Anorak Ventures{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 investor in Oculus, and that experience afforded him a deep knowledge and a...
2018-01-0420 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 40: 3D Data Analytics for Virtual Reality with ObserVR CEO, Lucas TooheyThe 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 tracks user actions throughout their experience to identify patterns over time, giving developers data-driven insights around user...
2017-12-2819 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 39: Venture Capital in the Cryptocurrency Ecosystem with Bart Stephens of Blockchain Capital“[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 Pfizer in 2001. Then he joined forces with his brother to form Stephens Investment Management, a hedge fund and VC f...
2017-12-2125 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 38: Sidechains, Stable Coins, and What’s Wrong with the ICO with Charlie Lee of Litecoin‘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 currency used at both physical and online stores, and he is currently working to promote widespread mer...
2017-12-1423 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 37: Privacy, Security and Selective Transparency on the Blockchain with Linda Xie of Cryptoasset Fund Scalar CapitalMost 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 working as a portfolio risk manager for AIG when...
2017-12-0724 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 36: Governance, Decentralized Organizations and Valuing Blockchain Technology with Aragon Co-Founder Luis Cuende‘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 drawn to the idealistic implications of cryptocurrency and started working on blockchain pioneer Stampery, a service pr...
2017-11-3020 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 35: Freedom, Global Entrepreneurship and the Possibilities of Cryptocurrency with VC Tim Draper“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 get a service to its users was...
2017-11-2331 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 34: Helping Scientists Become Entrepreneurs with Arvind Gupta of IndieBioWhat 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 published in Time, Design Observer, and Rotman Management Magazine, among others. Arvind has received a number of international awards for design and in...
2017-11-1627 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 33: {Rebroadcast} Billy Draper, Draper AssociatesRebroadcasting the episode of The Boost VC Podcast with Billy Draper.
In this week's episode of The Boost VC Podcast, Adam asks his brother Billy Draper from Draper Associates about the nuances of venture capitalism. Adam and Billy explore the many problems of today's marketplaces, and how start-ups can disrupt the flow of big industries using new technology. They talk about the entrepreneurial mindset that VC's appreciate, and go over what attitudes they like to see in their founders. We also plan Billy’s bachelor party.
Billy Draper is on the investment team at Draper As...
2017-11-1100 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep.32: State of Crypto & VR with Adam DraperDisruptive 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 well as fitness applications such as FITXR. Listen in to understand the debate around...
2017-11-0314 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 31: Investing in Talent and Drive with VC Semil Shah of Haystack“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 as Instacart, DoorDash, Hired, and OpenDoor. Semil is also Venture...
2017-10-2735 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 30: Using VR to Reverse Alzheimer’s with Jacob Hamman, Founder of ZenjoiIn 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 without intervention.
Jacob Hamman graduated from USC with a degree in architecture, where he honed his aptitude for design thinking...
2017-10-2014 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 29: Exoskeleton Robots for Real People with Tim Swift, Founder & CEO of ROAMWhat 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 dreaming of, but the robotic exoskeletons in development at ROAM would put th...
2017-10-1228 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 28: Hamza Siddiqui, CEO and Founder of Casino VRHamza 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
2017-10-0522 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 27: Loic Ledoux, CEO and Founder of Shadow (previously named Uraniom)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/douill
2017-09-2819 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 26: Amitt Mahajan, Managing Partner at Presence CapitalHave 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
2017-09-2127 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 25: Vivian Tan, Founder and CEO of Beast PetsHave 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/
2017-09-1426 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 24: Tipatat Chennavasin, VR Investor for the Venture Reality FundThe 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
2017-09-0729 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep 23 : Richard Browning, Founder and CEO of GravityDo 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
2017-08-3122 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep 22: Olaf Carlson-Wee, Founder of Polychain CapitalDo 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/
2017-08-2428 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 21: Nick Tomaino, Principal at Runa Capital and Creator of The ControlNick 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
2017-06-1524 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 20: Will Warren, Co-Founder & CEO @ 0xEp. 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
2017-06-0223 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 19: Kathleen Breitman, Co-Founder of TezosThe 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
2017-05-2524 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 18: Chuck Feerick - Comparing Accelerators, Adam Draper co-hosts the Healthbox PodcastHealthbox 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
2017-05-1834 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 17: Arielle Zuckerberg - Early Stage Investments at KPCBNew 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
2017-05-1136 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep 16: AJ Forsythe, CEO of iCrackedPart 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/
2017-04-2721 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 15: James McCrae, CEO of JanusVRJanus 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/
2017-04-2025 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 14: Marshall Culpepper, CEO of KubOSWe 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/
2017-04-1325 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 13: Michael Dunworth, CEO of WyreMichael 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/
2017-04-0631 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 12: Nathan Rowe, CEO of SculptrVRTalking about starting a company, the VR market as a whole and finding focus.
Nathan Rowe, CEO of Sculptr, the greatest world builder in VR, talks about everything VR that you could possibly cover on a podcast. He drops knowledge bombs left and right.
http://www.sculptrvr.com/
2017-03-3035 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 10: Jens Christensen, serial founderJens shares his story of entrepreneurship in this week’s episode of The Boost VC Podcast. Adam and Jens talk about the VR industry, comparing gaming and cinematic VR, looking at the variety in experiences and hardware, and exploring the potential growth in the industry. Jens talks about the founding of Jaunt VR and his favorite VR experiences.
Jens is an experienced technology executive and founder, with a strong computer science background and a proven track record of assembling world class teams, raising capital, and achieving successful outcomes. Most recently, he co-founded Jaunt VR and served as it...
2016-10-1726 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 9-3/4: We Started a Podcast! (Bonus Episode)Bonus Episode: Adam chats with Maddie Callander, Director of Operations at Boost VC (and unofficial Podcast Producer) about what they learned during the process of starting this podcast!
(Both Adam & Maddie are big Harry Potter Fans... thus the bonus episode title in honor of Platform 9 3/4!)
2016-10-1124 min
"Can't Be Done"Ep. 9: Billy Draper, Draper AssociatesIn this week's episode of The Boost VC Podcast, Adam asks his brother Billy Draper from Draper Associates about the nuances of venture capitalism. Adam and Billy explore the many problems of today's marketplaces, and how start-ups can disrupt the flow of big industries using new technology. They talk about the entrepreneurial mindset that VC's appreciate, and go over what attitudes they like to see in their founders.
Billy Draper is on the investment team at Draper Associates. He works primarily at the early stage, investing in companies valued between 3m and 10m. Prior to joining DA...
2016-09-2633 min