Most Recent (Page 9)

Unlearning racism in venture building & investing :: with Lindsey T. H. Jackson

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Lindsey T. H. Jackson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsey-t-h-jackson/) and I discuss the journey of anti-racism and anti-oppression work in ourselves, in venture capital, and in startup ecosystems. We discuss the nuances of dismal representation numbers in venture; how to approach Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) conversations in the workplace and beyond; how to develop a regular practice to self-reflect, define your community, and “fail fast” on your own anti-racism journey; and how to encourage others to consider embarking on the journey themselves.

Startup accounting & finance, DAO & Web3 summary notes, and mental & physical health

Will's General Newsletter (Weekly) :: Jan 25, 2022

Startup Finance & Accounting 101: A crash course for founders :: with Veronica Sagastume

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Veronica Sagastume (https://www.linkedin.com/in/veronicalsagastume/) and I talk about all-things startup finance and accounting. From the perspective of what founders need to know, this episode ended up being a crash course in the various high-level aspects of bookkeeping, accounting, controller work, fractional CFO work, tax prep, legal considerations, and finance operating suggestions. Veronica’s firm (https://www.fortifiedaccounting.com/) works with funded, early stage startups and she makes a compelling pitch for why you should seriously consider hiring a firm rather than individuals in the early stages of your funded business.

Ryan Selkis' Crypto Theses for 2022: Brief summary and reflections

Over the holidays I had a chance to sit down and carefully reread Ryan Selkis’ (https://twitter.com/twobitidiot) Crypto Theses for 2022 (https://messari.io/pdf/messari-report-crypto-theses-for-2022.pdf). Regarding Web3, Balaji Srinivasan said of this PDF: “If you understand everything in here, you are up to speed.” While I certainly agree, this 165 page paper is not for the faint of heart. Ryan covers narratives and investment themes, people to watch, thoughts on Bitcoin, American crypto policy, market infrastructure, NFTs, Web3 plumbing, DeFi 2.0, Ethereum layers & bridges, and DAOs. I’ve been reasonably following and investing in this space for 5+ years, and I still had to read many sections multiple times to wrap my head around it. Overall, I’m super impressed with the thoroughness of the document. He wrote this up in Oct/Nov 2021 and many of the predictions/theses have already become reality just a few months later.

Alexandra Sims' PhD Thesis on DAOs: Brief Summary and Reflections

Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), enabled in the past decade by blockchain technology to manage transparent treasuries and governance, have considerable promise to accelerate human coordination to accomplish important goals in the coming decade and beyond. New “no code / low code” solutions for creating and maintaining DAOs have facilitated a rapid growth in both interest and experimentation with new DAO structures. I was recently referred to Alexandra Sims’ PhD Thesis on DAOs: Governance, Dispute Resolution and Regulation (https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3971228, published May 31, 2021), and I was delighted to read it over the holidays. While I won’t pretend to fully represent the work presented by Dr. Sims (and instead refer you to the PDF linked above), in this article I will attempt to share a brief summary of its content and my own personal reflections.

DAOs: Logistics, Definitions, Reflections, and - yes - their NFTs

Will's General Newsletter (Weekly) :: Jan 18, 2022

Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) operations and logistics on DAOHaus :: with Alex Zub and Spencer Graham

In this episode of Ventures, my guests Alex Zub (https://twitter.com/theAlexZub), Spencer Graham (https://twitter.com/spengrah), and I talk about the details of day-to-day “DAO life” on DAOHaus (https://daohaus.club/). We talk specifically about how Raid Guild (https://www.raidguild.org/) - a services DAO - manages proposals, escrow, billing, and bridges to the traditional finance system. We also talk about short-term and long-term financial incentives for DAO founders/participants, how DAOs can quickly raise funds and manage risk/assurance/trust, and how newcomers to DAOs can/should think about how to participate to create maximum value for themselves and their communities.

Leadership in DAOs vs. traditional startups. Plus, DeFi & better Web3 critique

Will's General Newsletter (Weekly) :: Jan 11, 2022

Leadership, trust, and identity considerations when starting a DAO vs. a traditional startup :: with Liz Sweigart, PhD

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Liz Sweigart (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizsweigart/, PhD in Organizational Leadership) and I discuss the differences between a DAO and a traditional startup in terms of starting, organizing, and leading. We talk about trust vs. relating, identity considerations in DAO communities, positive vs. exploitative transactions of value, and qualitative vs. quantitative measurement of success. If you would like to join us as we explore starting a DAO together, check out https://www.redpilldao.xyz/ and our Discord server (https://discord.gg/PvtMZf6yws).

NFTs, DAOs, and reflections from the holiday break

Will's General Newsletter (Weekly) :: Jan 4, 2022

How (and why) to create NFTs and participate in DAOs

In this episode of Ventures, I (https://www.linkedin.com/in/wclittle/ | wclittle.eth) recorded a monologue about my perspectives on “why” Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) matter. I also talk practically about how you can create NFTs on https://opensea.io/ and other NFT marketplaces, and how to participate in DAOs.

A new NFT project, and why Web3 matters for human flourishing

Will's General Newsletter (weekly) :: Dec 28, 2021

Why Web3 matters for human flourishing

The Internet is being flipped upside down. Instead of giving our time, creativity, and money to centralized organizations in exchange for meaningless status signals (or worse), we - the exponentially growing Web3 community - are now selling our time and creativity in direct exchange for money, asset ownership, and governance rights of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs). In my opinion, the positive social and economic consequences of this shift are hard to overstate.

Introducing EnneagramNFTs: Background, motivation, and vision :: with Natalie Grummer and Perry Azevedo

In this episode of Ventures, my guests Natalie Grummer (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nataliegrummer/), Perry Azevedo (https://www.linkedin.com/in/perryazevedo/), and I talk about the launch of https://www.EnneagramNFTs.com // We talk about the background, motivation, vision, and artistic/technical details of the project, including the setup of https://www.EnneagramDAO.com, a new Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) dedicated to teaching people about the Enneagram - and supporting Enneagram coaches & artists - to promote human flourishing.

What can we learn from Web 3 critics? What is Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI)?

Will's General Newsletter (Weekly) // Dec 21, 2021