Episodes

  • Bringing Scientific Expertise to the VC Market—with Arkady Kulik of RPV

    Bringing Scientific Expertise to the VC Market—with Arkady Kulik of RPV
    Sep 12 2023

    According 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 starting a venture fund differs from founding other companies and shares his excitement around ‘being at the edge of science’ as a frontier tech VC.

     

    Listen in for Arkady’s unique take on what it means to be useful to others and learn how RPV is working to make talented scientists billionaires!

     

    Topics Covered

     

    The idea behind RPV

    • Help scientists become strong entrepreneurs
    • ‘Commercialization of science’

     

    How Arkady got into venture capital

    • Moved to US to be part of scientific exploration of humanity
    • Lack of funding in prototyping stage of deep tech startups

     

    Arkady’s biggest accomplishment before age 20

    • Launched first company at 18 without external investment
    • Scaled to annual revenue of $5M in third year

     

    How starting a venture fund differs from starting other companies

    • More competitive, thousands of similar funds raising money
    • Harer to differentiate and properly tell story of niche

     

    What part of being a VC Arkady enjoys the most

    • Being at edge of science and meeting interesting people
    • Finding processes that make things work

     

    The secret skills Arkady is most proud of

    • Developed extreme level of discipline
    • Extremely organized in managing time and data

     

    How Arkady thinks about being useful to others

    • Provide with relevant information or connections
    • Put smile on someone’s face, make life better

     

    The most valuable thing RPV provides for deep tech startups

    • External proof point for science and technology
    • Entrepreneurial experience and change management

     

    Arkady’s ‘deathbed test’ to measure success

    • Nothing ‘could have but didn’t achieve’
    • Self-actualization (happy, complex person)

     

    Connect with Arkady Kulik

     

    RPV https://rpv.global/

    RPV on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/rpvglobal/

    Arkady on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/arkady-kulik/

    Arkady on X https://twitter.com/arkadykulik 

     

    Resources

     

    Starburst Aerospace https://starburst.aero/

    Cantos VC https://cantos.vc/

    Countdown https://countdown.capital/

    Fifty Years https://fiftyyears.com/

    Productivity Planner https://www.intelligentchange.com/products/productivity-planner

    Terraforming Mars https://www.fryxgames.se/games/terraforming-mars/

    Breakfast with Pops: A Venture Capital Handbook by Adam Draper and William H. Draper III https://www.amazon.com/Breakfast-Pops-Venture-Capital-Handbook/dp/B0C1JHXTQF

     

    Connect with Boost VC

     

    Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/

    Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/

    Boost VC on X https://twitter.com/BoostVC

    Boost VC on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/boost_vc/

     
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    42 mins
  • DeepTech Series Ep # 4: Betting on Mission-Driven Deep Tech—with Maryanna Saenko of Future Ventures

    DeepTech Series Ep # 4: Betting on Mission-Driven Deep Tech—with Maryanna Saenko of Future Ventures
    Jun 12 2023
    If a VC is excited about a deep tech company upfront, what can we do to temper our enthusiasm and make a rational decision on whether to invest? Maryanna Saenko is Cofounder and Partner at Future Ventures, an early-stage VC firm that focuses on mission-driven companies at the cutting edge of disruptive technology. Future Ventures looks to back visionaries who push the boundaries of possibility. Some of their recent investments include Beeflow, Deep Genomics and Earthshot Labs. On this episode of Boost VC, Maryanna joins us to share her definition of deep tech, describing how Future Ventures looks for opportunities ‘unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.’ Maryanna offers her take on why the two-person structure of a venture firm is ideal and discusses some of the deep tech deals she wishes she’d been closer to. Listen in for Maryanna’s insight on building organizations around big shifts in science or technology and learn her process for dialing down the excitement after a pitch to decide whether her YES will hold. Topics Covered Maryanna’s biggest accomplishments before age 20Recognized she wouldn’t survive public high schoolGot into Hopkins prep school on scholarship How Maryanna got into venture capitalWorked for early-stage company out of collegeJob offer from Daimler to figure out driverless carsIntroduced to head of innovation lab at Airbus The most important lessons Maryanna has learned as a VCTrust your intuitionDon’t waste time justifying a startup’s relevance How Maryanna defines deep tech‘Unlike anything we’ve ever seen before’Index on novelty at Future Ventures What Maryanna does when she’s all-in on a company right awayAsks what she must believe about reality for YES to holdDiscussion with partner to temper her excitement Why Maryanna prefers the two-person structure in ventureIdeal for its efficiency and intellectual honestyNever puts someone in tie-breaker position Maryanna’s superpowers as a venture investorConfident in ability to assess tech on first principlesKnow how to build orgs around shifts in science or tech  What deals Maryanna wishes she had been closer toStructure of open AIDeep seabed mining, recycling battery technology Maryanna’s definition of successFeel landscape of possibility was totally exhausted‘Everything I could give to this, I did’ Connect with Maryanna Saenko Future Ventures https://future.ventures/ Future on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/FutureVenturesVCFuture on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/future.ventures/Future on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/futureventures/Maryanna on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryannasaenko/Maryanna on Twitter https://twitter.com/FutureSaenko Resources Lux Research https://www.luxresearchinc.com/DARPA Grand Challenge https://www.darpa.mil/about-us/timeline/-grand-challenge-for-autonomous-vehiclesAirbus BizLab https://www.airbus.com/en/innovation/innovation-ecosystem/airbus-bizlabBeeflow  https://www.beeflow.com/Decoding the World by Po Bronson and Arvind Gupta https://www.amazon.com/Decoding-World-Questioner-Po-Bronson/dp/1538734311Redwood Materials https://www.redwoodmaterials.com/American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin https://www.amazon.com/American-Prometheus-audiobook/dp/B000OZ0J0W/ Connect with Boost VC Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/Boost VC on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoostVCBoost VC on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/boost_vc/ 
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    50 mins
  • DeepTech Series Ep # 3: What to Look for in a Deep Tech Founder—with Greg Castle of Anorak Ventures

    DeepTech Series Ep # 3: What to Look for in a Deep Tech Founder—with Greg Castle of Anorak Ventures
    Jun 5 2023
    Deep tech founders are either technically gifted or great at building a business. But it's seldom both, at least in the beginning. So, what should venture investors pay attention to when we’re choosing founders in these disruptive technologies? Greg Castle is Founder and Managing Director at Anorak Ventures, a firm that invests in early-stage deep tech startups. An entrepreneur and corporate marketer turned VC, Greg has invested in 120 companies, including Oculus, Flexport and Mux. On this episode of Boost VC, Greg joins us to explore how his view of venture investing has changed since he wrote his first check, explaining what he looks for in a founder and how he evaluates deep tech startups differently. Greg shares his mixed feelings about the VR market right now and how he benefits from having a partner to engage in conviction-based decision-making. Listen in for Greg’s advice on where to deploy capital in deep tech and learn how Anorak chooses founders who apply disruptive technologies to business problems in any industry. Topics Covered How Greg got into venture capitalCurious person who advocates for people he believes inGot lucky in first few personal investments, e.g.: Oculus The most important lessons Greg has learned as a VCWhat high-functioning teams and companies look likeNot to take it personally when things don’t go as planned What Greg pays attention to when he’s choosing foundersHow they interact with cofounders, react to feedbackPunctuality at meetings, preparedness and responsiveness The questions Greg asks himself before he invests in a startupDo I believe in the founder?Do I believe in the market? How Greg evaluates deep tech companies differentlyMove forward with presumption that anything’s possibleConsider if technically gifted person can build business Greg’s mixed feelings about the VR market right nowViable platform where developers make real moneyFrustrated by lack of competition, Meta fumbling the ball Greg’s thoughts on Apple entering the VR/AR market‘Nobody can make a product cool like Apple can’Not well-positioned in immersive gaming (primary use case) The Anorak investment thesisHandful of technologies will have outsized impact on futureFind teams leveraging those technologies, industry agnostic Greg’s advice on where to deploy capital in deep techAlways comes down to peopleBuild out ecosystem of investors, founders How Greg thinks about scale in venture investingFind great people in areas that are not your strengthsScale of funds = $15M to $25M per partner How Greg benefits from taking on a partnerNeed to explain yourself to thought partnerCan still move quickly when he needs to Greg’s biggest accomplishments before age 20Building group of friends in collegeStill works with many of them Greg’s definition of successConfident and comfortable in your own skinContent with what you have Connect with Greg Castle Anorak Ventures https://www.anorak.vc/Anorak on Medium https://anorakvc.medium.com/Anorak on Twitter https://twitter.com/AnorakVenturesAnorak on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/anorak-ventures/Greg on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorycastle/Greg on Twitter https://twitter.com/gpcastle12 Resources Greg Castle on Boost VC EP001 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PyO3LpZD9QGreg Castle on Boost VC EP089 https://open.spotify.com/episode/6qYRcDMoemjrMHDxKONu4AOculus https://www.meta.com/quest/GOLF+ https://www.golfplusvr.com/FitXR https://fitxr.com/Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman https://www.amazon.com/Neverwhere-Novel-Neil-Gaiman-ebook/dp/B000FC130ESnow Crash by Neal Stephenson https://www.amazon.com/Snow-Crash-Novel-Neal-Stephenson-ebook/dp/B000FBJCJE/Hyperion by Dan Simmons https://www.amazon.com/Hyperion-Cantos-Book-1-ebook/dp/B004G60EHS/Neuromancer by William Gibson https://www.amazon.com/Neuromancer-Sprawl-Trilogy-William-Gibson-ebook/dp/B000O76ON6/ Breakfast with Pops: A Venture Capital Handbook by Adam Draper & William Henry Draper, III https://www.amazon.com/Breakfast-Pops-Venture-Capital-Handbook/dp/B0C1JHXTQF‘Perception Is Reality’ Presentation https://www.anorak.vc/post/perception-is-reality-8-startup-marketing-principles Connect with Boost VC Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/Boost VC on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoostVCBoost VC on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/boost_vc/
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    45 mins
  • DeepTech Series Ep # 2: Thesis Development for Deep Tech—with Seth Winterroth of Eclipse Ventures

    DeepTech Series Ep # 2: Thesis Development for Deep Tech—with Seth Winterroth of Eclipse Ventures
    May 21 2023
    How does a venture firm approach investments in deep technology? Seth Winterroth is Partner at Eclipse Ventures, a VC firm that partners with exceptional entrepreneurs to build companies that redefine physical industries. Seth has nine years of experience in venture capital, serving as Associate at GE Ventures before he joined the team at Eclipse.  On this episode of Boost VC, Seth joins us to explore how Eclipse thinks about investing in emerging technologies, explaining how the team engages with customers and leverages internal expertise to identify high-magnitude market opportunities.  Seth shares his interest in robotics, discussing why the acquisition of Kiva Systems sparked his interest in this particular deep tech field and how he identified the opportunity to invest in 6 River Systems—the first deal he led at Eclipse.  Listen in for Seth’s advice to young VCs on cultivating patience and responding to chaos with calm, engaging with founders in a way that’s rational and devoid of fear. Topics Covered The thesis at Eclipse VenturesSmall teams of engineers solving hard development problemsIndustries that operate in physical world (80% of global GDP) How Seth thinks about investing in emerging technologyStart with markets, customer pain pointsFind specialist to develop n-of-1 solutionAdd traditional engineers with experience scaling technology What gets Seth excited about roboticsKiva Systems acquisition by Amazon sparked interestSaw market trends driving adoption of autonomous systems The success of Seth’s first investment at Eclipse, 6 River SystemsRobotics company in supply chain logisticsAcquired for $500M by Shopify in 2019 How Seth identified the opportunity to invest in 6 River SystemsIdeal team profile and product differentiationGap in market to replace Kiva Systems Eclipse’s institutional process of thesis developmentEngage with customers, purchasing decision-makersInternal engineering expertise to identify gaps Eclipse’s internal venture equity programCases where did research but didn’t find right opportunity Engineer storm vs. wait for lightning to strike What Eclipse does to win dealsBuild relationships with foundersProvide evidence of value-added capital The part of a deal Seth is most excited aboutFind high-magnitude market opportunity to match worldviewGo to partners with conviction and say THIS ONE What Seth would tell his 25-year-old selfBe patient, don’t rush to have track record in ventureRespond to chaos with calm, be rational and devoid of fear What differentiates Eclipse from other venture firmsTackle category of economy traditional VCs shy away fromDeep involvement with companies to improve odds Seth’s biggest accomplishments before age 20Live on own and travel worldSpend meaningful time with and learn from grandfather Connect with Seth Winterroth Eclipse Ventures https://eclipse.vc/Eclipse on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/eclipse-vc/Eclipse on Twitter https://twitter.com/eclipseventures Seth on Twitter https://twitter.com/SethwinterrothSeth on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethwinterroth/ Resources Kiva Systems Acquisition https://techcrunch.com/2012/03/19/amazon-acquires-online-fulfillment-company-kiva-systems-for-775-million-in-cash/Willow Garage https://www.businessinsider.com/a-look-back-at-willow-garage-2016-2DARPA Grand Challenge https://www.darpa.mil/about-us/timeline/-grand-challenge-for-autonomous-vehicles6 River Systems https://6river.com/Bright Machines https://www.brightmachines.com/BrightInsight https://brightinsight.com/Foxglove Studio https://foxglove.dev/Kevin Kelly’s Blog ‘You Are Not Late’ https://medium.com/message/you-are-not-late-b3d76f963142Richard Hamming’s Talk ‘You and Your Research’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1zDuOPkMSwTeam of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin https://www.amazon.com/Team-Rivals-Political-Abraham-Lincoln/dp/0743270754Lincoln https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443272/ Connect with Boost VC Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/Boost VC on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoostVCBoost VC on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/boost_vc/
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    44 mins
  • DeepTech Series Ep # 1: Making Global-Scale Impact Through Deep Tech—with Ian Rountree of Cantos

    DeepTech Series Ep # 1: Making Global-Scale Impact Through Deep Tech—with Ian Rountree of Cantos
    May 15 2023
    What inspires a venture firm to focus on deep tech? Ian Rountree is Founder and General Partner at Cantos, a venture fund that invests in potentially world-changing deep tech startups.  Cantos focuses on hardware and bio investing at the intersection of climate and industrials, life sciences and AI, aerospace and defense, and next-generation computing. On this episode of Boost VC, Ian joins us to share his definition of deep tech and explain why he underwrites technical risk rather than market risk. Ian discusses the value of founder empathy, challenging VCs to see the entrepreneur as their customer and LPs as shareholders in the portfolio. Listen in to understand what drives Ian to make a global-scale impact, backing founders who tackle climate change, disease, armed conflict, poverty and existential risk. Topics Covered Ian’s biggest accomplishment before age 20Getting Vanderbilt to accept him off waitlist Refused to take NO as answer Ian’s take on who is the customer in venture capitalFounder = customerLP = shareholder What inspired Ian to focus on deep techTackle big problems, e.g.: climate change, povertyDeep tech startups outperformed rest of portfolio How losing his father early informs Ian’s workFeels hard deadline to career and lifeWants to play small role in changing world The criteria Ian uses to decide if a startup is ‘important’Nonzero chance of global-scale impactTackles climate, disease, armed conflict or poverty How Ian defines deep techTaking technical risk rather than market riskCantos specializes in hardware and bio investing How Ian thinks about growing the Cantos organizationFrom solo GP to 4 equal partners‘Fire’ himself by age 55 What’s behind Benchmark’s equal partnership structureSet up for generational turnover from jumpMay also be consequence of early success Why a deep tech VC doesn’t need to be technicalAsk expert if violation of physics involvedStartups that change world challenge status quo What differentiates software investing from deep techSoftware involves market risk, easy to pivotDeep tech involves technical risk, hard to pivot Ian’s diligence criteriaSize of market, potential margins at scaleFounder who understands their WHY Connect with Ian Rountree Cantos https://cantos.vc/Cantos on Twitter https://twitter.com/cantosIan on Twitter https://twitter.com/ianrountreeIan on LinkedIn    https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianrountree/Near Frontier Podcast https://nearfrontier.castos.com/ Resources Fred Wilson’s Blog ‘The VC’s Customer’ https://avc.com/2005/11/the_vcs_custome/Fred Wilson’s Blog ‘The VC’s Customer (Continued)’ https://avc.com/2009/07/the-vcs-customer-continued/Radiant https://www.radiantnuclear.com/Tim Urban’s TED Talk on Procrastination https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_urban_inside_the_mind_of_a_master_procrastinator/cBenchmark https://www.benchmark.com/eBoys: The First Inside Account of Venture Capitalists at Work by Randall E. Stross https://www.amazon.com/eBoys-Inside-Account-Venture-Capitalists/dp/0812930959Benchmark Part I on the Acquired Podcast https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/benchmark-capitalBenchmark Part II on the Acquired Podcast https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/benchmark-part-ii-the-dinnerUnion Square Ventures https://www.usv.com/Cerebras https://www.cerebras.net/Eric Vishria on Twitter https://twitter.com/ericvishria Connect with Boost VC Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/Boost VC on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoostVCBoost VC on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/boost_vc/
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    41 mins
  • DeSci Ep # 7: How DeSci Bridges Academia and the Startup World—with Niklas Rindtorff of LabDAO

    DeSci Ep # 7: How DeSci Bridges Academia and the Startup World—with Niklas Rindtorff of LabDAO
    Dec 13 2022
    Many independently minded, young scientists are too ambitious for academia… But the startup world isn’t quite right for them either. How might decentralized science provide a space for these innovators to do their work? Niklas Rindtorff is the classical scientist behind LabDAO, an online home for inventors that builds open tools for scientific research. Niklas coauthored his first paper before the age of 20, and he has expertise in CRISPR and cancer research. On this episode of Boost VC, Niklas joins us to explain how classical science emerged after World War II and explore the problems with the NIH grant funding process. Niklas shares his open-access approach to consuming scientific media and describes how DeSci is experimenting with different ways to measures the importance of new science. Listen in to understand how decentralized science can serve as the bridge between research organizations and science startups, building an ecosystem for inventors who don’t fit into the nonprofit or for-profit world. Topics Covered How Niklas defines scienceFormal knowledge generation processFishing at edge of what is known How World War II changed the way we do scienceConflict won because of US sophisticated techNIH funding created class of full-time scientistsSystem doesn’t always maximize progress How the importance of new science is determinedMeasured by citations vs. marketsDeSci experiments with different accounting How Niklas consumes scientific mediaUsed to use few free, open-access journalsNow leverage Twitter bookmarks, preprints What LabDAO does for scientistsProvide tools to work wherever they areCurrent focus on computational biology What inspired Niklas to build LabDAOExperience with inventions stuck in bureaucracyMeasure number of patients treated vs. citations The age distribution of NIH grant recipientsAges with scientists who were firstNo market discipline, don’t answer to public How we might equalize the demographic of NIH winnersCreate more NIHsPrivate funding agency with philanthropic match How we might invest in a portfolio of scienceCharge higher fee to run research-oriented fundOnline collectives do research sponsorships How LabDAO itself is fundedNonprofit governed by tokenPrivate investors buy token for stake on projects The relationship between academia and DeSciConnective tissue among existing organizationsInventors who don’t fit in academia or startups Niklas’ definition of successStrive toward personal valuesInvent cool stuff Connect with Niklas RIndtorff LabDAO https://www.labdao.xyz/LabDAO on Discord https://discord.com/invite/labdaoLabDAO on GitHub https://github.com/labdaoLabDAO on Snapshot https://snapshot.org/#/labdao.ethLabDAO on Medium https://medium.com/@labdaoLabDAO on Twitter https://twitter.com/lab_daoNiklas on Twitter https://twitter.com/niklas_tr   Resources Broad Institute https://www.broadinstitute.org/‘Science the Endless Frontier’ 1945 Report to Congress https://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/nsf50/vbush1945.htmNational Institutes of Health https://www.nih.gov/Public Library of Science https://plos.org/bioRxiv https://www.biorxiv.org/New Science https://newscience.org/VitaDAO https://www.vitadao.com/ Connect with Boost VC Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/Boost VC on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoostVCBoost VC on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/boost_vc/
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    38 mins
  • DeSci Ep # 6: Commercializing Science for Climate Solutions—with George Church & Ben Lamm of Colossal

    DeSci Ep # 6: Commercializing Science for Climate Solutions—with George Church & Ben Lamm of Colossal
    Nov 29 2022
    In academia, most scientists publish their ideas and stop there. But if we want our breakthroughs to benefit society, we have to take it a step further.  So, what does it look like to commercialize scientific research? What mindset do academics need to work at the intersection of science and industry? Ben Lamm has a career of building successful deep tech businesses, and George Church has a career of commercializing academic science.  Together, they are the cofounders of Colossal, a breakthrough bioscience and genetic engineering company that is pioneering animal de-extinction technology to restore lost ecosystems for a healthier planet.  On this episode of Boost VC, Ben and George join us to explain how bringing back the woolly mammoth addresses climate change and explore their approach to the ethical concerns around de-extinction. They discuss the benefits of Colossal technology beyond Arctic rewilding, describing how their work helps endangered animals and promotes conservation. Listen in for Ben and George’s insight on commercializing science and learn how to get comfortable enough with risk to turn academic ideas into industry. Topics Covered How George defines sciencePredict and create new options for humanityGoal to build better world Why Ben & George are bringing back the woolly mammothRestore previous ratio of grass to treesSequester carbon at rate only possible in Arctic How Ben & George approach the ethical concerns re: de-extinctionBelieve in radical transparencyLearn from negative feedback, people who question Why George works at the intersection of academia and industryLikes to work with curious young peopleExposure to diversity of ideas Why Colossal needs government collaboration and supportSeveral governments, Indigenous groups in ArcticClimate change, biodiversity and species preservation How woolly mammoths promote carbon removalKnock down trees so more grass can growCold, Arctic grasslands sequester carbon particularly well The benefits of Colossal technology beyond Arctic rewildingEradicate EHV virus in elephantsPromote species conservation How Ben & George think about commercializing scienceGo beyond publication to help societyFeedback from investors and academia What makes Ben & George’s partnership workGeorge’s lab provides idea from academic studyBen figures out product-market fit and funding George’s advice to academics on commercializing productsCan’t be afraid of failureCan come back from bankruptcy How Ben & George think about taking big risksBen believed grandmother saying he could do anythingAcademic failures taught George he would survive The impact Ben & George hope to make with ColossalEx utero development, species preservationThousands of Arctic elephants to sequester carbonAdvancements in reading and writing of genomes How Ben & George define successBenefit society, facilitate survival of speciesCreate things that are additive Connect with George Church & Ben Lamm Colossal https://colossal.comColossal on Twitter https://twitter.com/ItIsColossalColossal on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itiscolossal/Colossal on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/itiscolossal/George on Twitter https://twitter.com/geochurchBen on Twitter https://twitter.com/federallamm Resources Citizen Science https://www.citizenscience.gov/#Personal Genome Project https://www.personalgenomes.org/How to Grow (Almost) Anything https://www.media.mit.edu/courses/htgaa/DIYbio https://diybio.org/Church Lab https://arep.med.harvard.edu/Hypergiant https://www.hypergiant.com/Pleistocene Park https://pleistocenepark.ru/Chris Mason Author Talk https://mitpress.mit.edu/blog/author-talk-the-next-500-years-by-christopher-e-mason/Prehistoric Planet https://tv.apple.com/us/show/prehistoric-planet/umc.cmc.4lh4bmztauvkooqz400akxav Connect with Boost VCBoost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/Boost VC on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoostVCBoost VC on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/boost_vc/
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    57 mins
  • DeSci Ep #5: An Investor’s Perspective on DeSci—with James Sinka of Orange DAO

    DeSci Ep #5: An Investor’s Perspective on DeSci—with James Sinka of Orange DAO
    Nov 9 2022
    Why invest in decentralized science? James Sinka is a classically trained chemist and materials engineer and DeSci investor at Orange DAO, a fund for crypto projects supported by an alliance of Y Combinator alumni. On this episode of Boost VC, James joins us to discuss where he sees opportunities in DeSci, describing the benefit of publishing null results and how open science helps us get to the truth more quickly. James explains how the Orange Fund and Orange DAO work together to finance crypto projects and shares his advice to scientist-founders on generating your own luck through action. Listen in for James’ insight on the first use cases for decentralized science and learn how investing in DeSci can democratize access to research and help rebel scientist-entrepreneurs ship products in the real world! Topics Covered How James defines scienceProcess to uncover truths about worldNot an institution of truth What attracted James to DeSciBenefits of publishing null resultsLess wasted science effort and money How James got into cryptoExposed to Bitcoin in collegeOffers financial freedom to bet on self How Orange DAO works$50M fund for crypto projectsY Combinator alum support efforts James’ advice for foundersBias toward actionBe willing to be wrong Where James sees opportunity in DeSciFree flowing access to informationGet to truth more quickly What’s wrong with academic science nowResearch for prestige, not passionValue determined by citation numbers How the Alzheimer’s fraud happenedConflict of interest at NIHNo reverse accountability system What inspires James to invest in DeSciPush boundaries of scientific researchHelp scientists build real products James’ take on the first use case for DeSciData warehousing (null results)New forms of publication open to all James’ definition of successTime, space and resourcesAbility to do what you love Connect with James Sinka Orange DAO https://www.orangedao.xyz/Orange DAO on Discord https://discord.com/invite/DVncb7UxGBOrange DAO on Snapshot https://snapshot.org/#/orangedaoxyz.ethOrange DAO on Etherscan https://etherscan.io/token/0x1bBD79f1Ecb3f2cCC586A5E3A26eE1d1D2E1991fOrange DAO on OpenSea https://opensea.io/collection/alumni-gemsOrange DAO on Twitter https://twitter.com/OrangeDAOxyzJames on Twitter https://twitter.com/jamessinka   Resources Through the Wormhole https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1513168/Y Combinator https://www.ycombinator.com/NEAR Protocol https://near.org/Algorand https://www.algorand.com/Blockchain Capital https://blockchain.capital/The Memo by Howard Marks https://link.chtbl.com/thememobyhowardmarksMulticoin Capital https://multicoin.capital/Solana https://solana.com/Exploring Decentralized Science with Balaji Srinivasan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrcRI_hYDtQNaval https://nav.al/Brian Armstrong https://twitter.com/brian_armstrongEpsilon3 https://www.epsilon3.io/Benchling https://www.benchling.com/Amplitude https://amplitude.com/Sci-Hub https://sci-hub.se/Patrick Joyce on the Boost VC Podcast https://www.boost.vc/bvc/2022/08/04/desci-ep-2-addressing-the-misalignment-of-incentives-in-science   DeSci Labs https://desci.com/ Connect with Boost VC Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/Boost VC on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoostVCBoost VC on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/boost_vc/
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    1 hr and 8 mins