Edgar Tokens and Chains Sound List

This episode of the a16z Podcast goes deep on various trends in cryptocurrencies -- from mental models for understanding tokens and what may give them long-term value; to the role of stablecoins in the ecosystem; to scaling, on-chain and off-chain protocols, forks, and more.

The discussion features general partner Chris Dixon in conversation with Nick Tomaino, the founder of early-stage crypto venture fund 1confirmation, editor of The Control, and former business development at Coinbase. (He is also an investor in Basecoin, Cosmos, Ethereum, and MakerDAO.) You can also check out past episodes in this series, covering everything from investing in cryptocurrencies and protocols to accelerating research and practical applications to why crypto tokens matter -- as well as a video covering the building blocks of all things crypto -- at a16z.com/crypto.

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This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by a16z. (An offering to invest in an a16z fund will be made only by the private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, and other relevant documentation of any such fund and should be read in their entirety.) Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by a16z, and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results. A list of investments made by funds managed by Andreessen Horowitz (excluding investments and certain publicly traded cryptocurrencies/ digital assets for which the issuer has not provided permission for a16z to disclose publicly) is available at https://a16z.com/investments/.

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a16z Podcast: Mental Models for Understanding Crypto Tokens

Mechanical Aerospace Engineer Grace Graham does it all! In addition to being a 2019 Brook Owens Fellow and full-time student Utah State University, she also interns at The Aerospace Corporation, and helps run her own startup Elements Meals – a company she co-founded that creates healthier snack foods for athletes. 

Like many emerging space professionals of her generation, Grace is combining engineering knowhow with entrepreneurial ambition to establish a strong foothold in our community. In this interview, however, Grace explains why it’s equally important for young space industry professionals to master economics, and how understanding market and supply chain economics can help you become a better engineer and entrepreneur. This career-focused discussion also includes tips on how to get the most out of mentor/mentee relationships, and how to deal with rejection in the early stages of your career.

Episode 8 - The All-in-One Aerospace Engineer, Economist, and Entrepreneur w/ Grace Graham

Stephen McKeon is a partner at Collaborative Fund, a venture fund investing in blockchain-based financial infrastructure with an eye towards the future of our financial markets. McKeon is also a finance professor at the University of Oregon, and one of the leading thinkers in the security token space. In addition to his role at Collaborative Fund and the University of Oregon, McKeon is also the chief strategy advisor at Security Token Academy.

In this interview with STA's Derek Edward Schloss, McKeon walks through The Security Token Thesis, a paper he published in May 2018. In the paper, McKeon argues that for a number of traditional assets, security tokens will simply dominate previous methods of reporting and trading ownership. Over the course of the episode, Stephen McKeon and Derek Edward Schloss walk through the eight "killer features" that form what McKeon describes as the thesis powering the security token movement.

Stephen McKeon- Collaborative Fund (Episode #2)

NanoAvionics CEO Vytenis Buzas defines his small satellite-building business as an homage to the smart industrial practices of the american automobile industry. What emerged as a spinoff of Lithuania’s Vilnius University, NanoAvionics is now thriving and Buzas sees an opportunity to achieve success in the land that inspired his business.
He hired industry veteran Frank Abbott as his US-based CEO, who will oversee the company’s preparations to move its research, development and manufacturing business to the United States in 2020. Earlier this year, the company purchased the former Midland, Texas headquarters of XCOR Aerospace and refurbished it into a new smallsat manufacturing plant in Midland, Texas.
In this episode of On Orbit, co-host Grace Graham and I spoke with Vytenis and Frank about the company’s move to the USA, the way the company differentiates itself from other space startups, the future outlook of small satellite-powered IoT, and the design of the company’s unique logo. (Side note - Vytenis’ definition of “New Space” in this episode inspired the chosen topic of what will be our first episode recorded in front of a live audience at the SATELLITE 2020 conference in March).

Episode 16 - Building Smallsats Like Cars: NanoAvionics Comes to the USA

Aravind Ravichandran is a Senior Strategy Consultant at PwC’s space practice, and a self-proclaimed Earth Observation (EO) data aficionado with a passion for blockchain. He sees EO as just another source of data, available and ready to be unlocked. 
As a former software engineer at Amazon, he comes to the space industry from the software industry. He gives insight into ways our industry can learn from the software side of things, including Agile methodology. 
On this episode, Aravind talks about transferable learnings from the software industry, popping the space industry bubble, and use cases for blockchain.

From Amazon Software to Space-Based Blockchain with Aravind Ravichandran

On Orbit Podcast by Via Satellite