The Silicon Valley Insider Show with Keith Koo

Fred Chesnais, CEO of Atari: Leveling up with a new VCS and Cryptocurrency

What does Atari, the iconic video game maker and cryptocurrency have in common? Find out on this episode of Silicon Valley Insider when Keith Koo’s guest is Fred Chesnais the CEO of Atari who discusses their new Atari video computer system (VCS) and Atari Token, their in-game virtual currency. Hear why video game companies like Atari are embracing blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
More information on Atari:
www.atari.com
More information on Atari Token:
www.atarichain.com
 
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Listen Saturdays 10-11am 860AM KTRB Silicon Valley | San Francisco
Listen Thursdays 2-3pm on 1220AM KDOW Silicon Valley | San Francisco
Listen and subscribe to the "Silicon Valley Insider" Podcast ahead of time to make sure you don't miss this show.
For questions or comments, email: info@svin.biz

A Blockchain Legal Pioneer on the State of DeFi and Crypto

On this episode of Silicon Valley Insider, Keith Koo's guest is Jacob Farber, Co-Founder and Partner of Ouroboros, LLP. 
Jacob is an early pioneer in legal matters regarding blockchain and cryptocurrency having worked with dozens of clients on token sales and white papers before becoming the R3 blockchain consortium's general counsel.
Keith and Jacob discuss the current state of blockchain, cryptocurrency and DeFi (Decentralized Finance) and how like the early the days of cryptocurrency, it can be like the "wild west". There are some breakthrough projects on the horizon but also cautions potential investors to do their due diligence in understanding what they are getting into.
DeFi is currently at the forefront of people's minds with valuations gaining momentum that is similar to cryptocurrencies a few years back. Jacob also points out that the "killer app" of blockchain has still not yet happened but that it could happen in the near future. Find out whether DeFi is going be like "groundhog day" with regards to the early days of cryptocurrency.
On this week’s Cyber-Tip, Keith discusses targeted victims of a spear-phishing attacks at an elite cyber security conference and what you should do to safeguard your accounts.
On the Pivot, Keith and Jacob discuss the future of blockchain as a technology and what some of the most exciting use cases are.
More about Jacob Farber:
Jacob Farber is the co-founder of Ouroboros LLP, a blockchain- and fintech-focused law firm and strategic consultancy. Jacob represents clients on matters relating to blockchain and cryptocurrency law and regulation, technology and IP transactions and licensing,
M&A, and financial services regulatory matters. Since 2012, Jacob has been at the forefront of the legal and regulatory frameworks related to cryptocurrency and blockchain/distributed ledger technology (DLT), and is recognized as a leading legal thinker in the space. Jacob has represented clients before numerous national and international financial services regulators where he has helped to shape the evolving regulatory frameworks. 
Jacob works with clients, from startups to major global companies, in a wide variety of technology-centric transactional and counseling matters: complex tech transactions, commercial contracting, M&A, general corporate matters, internet and e-commerce agreements, intellectual property licensing, technology and software acquisition, licensing and strategic procurement.
As one of the first attorneys working with blockchain and virtual-currency innovators, Jacob has earned a reputation as an authority on emerging trends and enforcement. He has been a featured speaker at Money 20/20, the National Forum on Emerging Payment Systems,
the American Bankers Association Annual Meeting and numerous other financially focused forums.  
More on Ouroboros, LLP:
https://o-llp.com/
Subscribe and Download to “Silicon Valley Insider” to find out more:
www.svin.biz
Listen Saturdays 10-11am 860AM KTRB Silicon Valley | San Francisco
Listen Thursdays 2-3pm on 1220AM KDOW Silicon Valley | San Francisco
Listen and subscribe to the "Silicon Valley Insider" Podcast ahead of time to make sure you don't miss this show.
For questions or comments, email: info@svin.biz

Adoraboos: Leveling Up Distance Learning by Gaming

On this week’s Silicon Valley Insider, Keith Koo talks to the founders of MyDream Interactive, Allison Huynh, CEO and Tammy Laverty, CMO.
MyDream has built a series of free learning mobile apps for test prep like S.A.T. and A.C.T.  called the “Adoraboos” using current examples such as cryptocurrency and blockchain. Hear their story of how they came up with their idea and how students can try out their application for free.
Also, on this week’s show, Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese will be talking about the future of business and tech in Silicon Valley and beyond.
MyDream Interactive's Adoraboos:
https://www.theadoraboos.com/
For more information email: info@svin.biz
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Chooch A.I.: Innovating Visual A.I. on the Edge and in the Cloud

On this week’s Silicon Valley Insider (#SVIN), Keith Koo’s guest is Emrah Gultekin, Co-Founder and CEO of Chooch A.I. a company innovating visual artificial intelligence on the edge and in the cloud.
Emrah discusses why Chooch is trying to solve a fundamental problem for visual A.I. to acquire visual expertise in a structured way similar to how human knowledge. By making this achievement, the technology can be used in preventing fraud, decreasing medical mistakes and increasing manufacturing quality. Emrah gives several examples of how Chooch A.I. is solving for these use cases.
On this week’s Cyber-Tip Keith discusses how ransomware victims who pay the ransoms to cyber criminals can sometimes cause greater legal and criminal issues for themselves and their service providers, lawyers and bankers.
On the Pivot, Keith and Emrah discusses the future of A.I. and the importance of addressing algorithmic biases.
More about Emrah Gultekin:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emrah_Gultekin
More about Chooch A.I..
https://chooch.ai/
For more information email: info@svin.biz
Subscribe and Download to “Silicon Valley Insider” to find out more:
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Upland the Top Blockchain Game: Monopoly Money as Virtual Currency

On this week’s Silicon Valley Insider (#SVIN), Keith Koo’s guest is serial entrepreneur Dirk Lueth, Co-Founder of Upland a Monopoly-like mobile game built on blockchain that connects virtual worlds (called metaverses) to their corresponding physical world addresses.
Dirk explains how in Upland, a game powered by blockchain, the player doesn’t need to know anything about cryptocurrency or crypto wallets to play and interact with the game. The app is available on IOS and Android platforms.
During the show you will find out:
What does Monopoly and the Netflix show “Stranger Things” have to do with the creation of Upland?
The similarities and differences between gaming concepts like Minecraft, Fortnite and Second Life (and how Upland has a strategic partnership with Second Life in order to provide “fiat out” services for extracting the value of cryptocurrency from the Upland metaverse.
Want to try the game? Sign up using this link to get a sign-up bonus of 6,000 UPX (Upland’s in-app currency a ~$6.00 USD value) https://discover.upland.me/siliconvalleyinsider
On this week’s Cyber-Tip Keith discusses the recently announced Robinhood trading platform’s hack that affected over 2,000 people and how their two-factor authentication was also being compromised.
On the Pivot, Dirk and Keith discuss what the future may look like when virtual worlds and physical worlds further blend together. Dirk envisions a future that incorporates our virtual lives with our real lives.
More about Dirk Lueth
Dirk is a serial entrepreneur and an early adopter of Blockchain and related technologies, based in Silicon Valley. He co-founded European and US-based companies in the FinTech and digital media spaces, including the Financial Times Deutschland and Forbatec, which has been acquired by SunGard (today NYSE:FIS). Dirk mentored over 30 startups through his work at the German and Swiss startup accelerators in Silicon Valley and is a frequent speaker/panelist about Blockchain and platform economics. He has studied Business Administration in Frankfurt and Paris and received a Ph.D. from the European Business School in Germany where he wrote his doctoral thesis about private and state-controlled currencies.
 
More about Upland.
 
Upland (https://upland.me/) is a metaverse that combines real and virtual worlds, allowing users to buy, sell, and trade virtual properties that are mapped to actual addresses. Upland follows the principles of an open market economy, using blockchain technology to ensure true ownership of digital assets. Available on iOS, Android, and desktop devices, Upland is a top-five gaming Dapp according to DappRadar.
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Overcoming Burnout and Stress with Cathy Trinh

On this week’s Silicon Valley Insider (#SVIN), Keith Koo’s special guest is Cathy Trinh. Cathy is a seasoned executive recruiter with Logic Consulting group and focuses on filling executive roles in finance and accounting. Cathy is also a personal coach and the author. Cathy discusses a number of topics on the show:
Self-care for professionals during COVID-19 – Cathy’s advice for avoiding burnout and keeping yourself mentally and spiritually fit.
Cathy’s recently released book: “The Journey: Mastering the Art of Slowing Down into a Beautiful Existence” a guide based on the struggles and triumphs in Cathy’s life including battling workaholism and other stress.
Job Search Advice – as an executive recruiter, Cathy shares her advice and encouragement for those who are seeking new roles.
“Man and Woman of the Year” – Cathy’s nomination with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
On this week’s Cyber-Tip, Keith talks a newly discovered malware that does not get removed even when the operating system is reinstalled.
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For more information on Cathy Trinh, you can find her here:
https://www.cathytrinh.com/
To read Cathy’s Book, you can find it here on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Journey-Mastering-Slowing-Beautiful-Existence-ebook/dp/B089MYPJS2/

From Disruption to Digital Transformation with NTT DATA

On this week’s Silicon Valley Insider (#SVIN), Keith Koo’s returning guests are Eric Clark, Chief Digital Officer and Kris Fitzgerald, Chief Technology Officer of NTT Data.
Eric and Kris discuss how companies have been adapting to work in the “new normal” by embracing new procedures and technologies to safely come back to work.
Digital Transformation is the adoption of digital technology to transform services or businesses, through replacing non-digital or manual processes with digital processes or replacing older digital technology with newer digital technology. It is estimated that companies have accelerated adoption of digital transformation by at least 5 years due to COVID-19.
Return to Work is an issue for many companies. Learn about some of the steps NTT Data’s clients and partners have taken to safeguard their employees and customers incorporating artificial intelligence, IoT, mobile and other technologies.
On this week’s Cyber-Tip, Keith talks about how a well-known cyber-security firm tested their ability to hack a coffee-maker and how the results reveal how insecure our IoT devices really are from cyber-attacks. Listen to find out more on whether your devices are safe.
On the Pivot, Kris, Eric and Keith talk about “Open Innovation 11” which is NTT DATA’s annual startup innovation contest. This year’s the contest is completely virtual and the deadline for submissions is October 31st, 2020. Here is the link to apply: https://oi.nttdata.com/en/contest/11th/locations/c05/
 
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ICON Foundation - Pubic & Private Partnerships on a Decentralized Network

Title: ICON Foundation - Public & Private Partnerships on a Decentralized Network
On this week’s Silicon Valley Insider (#SVIN), Keith Koo’s guest is Min Kim, Co-Founder of the ICON Foundation, a decentralized network of private and public blockchains.
Min discusses the latest developments with the ICON Foundation and ICONLOOP and some of their recent successes and use cases including:
Jeju Island off the coast of South Korea using ICON and ICONLOOP’s blockchain technology for private and secure COVID-19 contact tracing.
Shinhan, Korea’s second largest bank is using ICON / ICONLOOP’s blockchain-based decentralized identities (DID) for secure digital identities for KYC compliance.
How ICON and ICONLOOP are competing to become the replacement provider of South Korea’s national identity platform.
On this week’s Cyber-Tip, Keith reminds everyone about the need for vigilance from “Insider Threats” by sharing the recent case of two employees at. Shopify sharing sensitive information about some of their customers. Shopify is an ecommerce platform with over 1 million users and these insiders targeted specific customers for their information.
On the Pivot, Keith Koo and Min Kim discuss a possible future of building communities using DAOs (Digital Autonomous Organizations). The hypothesis is that you can create a “trustless” society, company, community using technologies such as blockchain. Min gives current world examples to parallel in a digital world.
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Keeping FreshBooks Fresh with Mike McDerment, Founder and CEO

On this episode of Silicon Valley Insider, Host Keith Koo’s special guest is Mike McDerment, Founder and CEO of FreshBooks the billing and invoicing software used by millions in over 100+ countries.
The show begins with Mike and Keith reminiscing about Mike starting in his parent’s basement. Since Mike is from Toronto, it was a basement, not a garage. Mike discusses how he kicked himself for making a simple accounting error which led to his creation in 2003 of FreshBooks one of the world’s leading “All-In-One Invoicing+Payments App” for self-employed, small, and medium businesses.
Keith and Mike also discuss what it’s like to become a SaaS company taking on the “800 Pound Gorilla” in the existing market and how using lean development principles really helped shape the company. Mike gives plenty of examples and advice on how to stay to your core vision to create great products.
On this week’s Cyber-Tip – Keith retells an interesting story of how a guy riding his bicycle became the leading suspect in a crime near his home thanks to geo-location technology.
On the Pivot, Mike and Keith discuss on the Pivot what it’s like to “re-platform” or re-write the core software to your company. It’s a very interesting story is how Mike and the leadership team decided that they needed to create a competitive platform in order to stay on top of innovation and even created a secret parallel company that almost no one at FreshBooks knew about. Tune in to hear how that all turned out.
 
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LinkedIn’s First Head of HR – Where does Work go from here?

In this episode of Silicon Valley Insider, Host Keith Koo very special guest is his friend, Steve Cadigan, Talent Hacker, and advisor. Steve and Keith have known each other for decades and reminisce about their time working together during Cisco’s dotcom era working in Cisco’s famed M&A Integration team. They even mention a time when they had to work on seven acquisitions all at the same time!
Since then, Steve went on to bigger and better things becoming LinkedIn’s first Head of HR and credited with creating the awesome corporate culture that LinkedIn is so famous for. Today, Steve runs Cadigan Talent Ventures and can be found at www.stevecadigan.com where he is a trusted advisor, coach and soon to be author. Steve is currently finishing his book on the future of work. 
During the show, Keith and Steve discuss how employees and employers are coping during the pandemic and what steps innovative companies are taking to stay engaged during the “new normal”. Steve gives out much practical advice and thought leadership on how companies can be supportive of their #1 asset, their people. Steve and Keith also discuss examples of how companies implemented new and innovative ways to stay connected and engaged with their people.
On this week’s Cyber-Tip – Keith does a deep dive into “Cybersquatting” and its alternate forms.
On the Pivot, Keith and Steve discuss what the future of work will look like and how employees and employers no longer must think of talent as being “locked-in” to a career track.
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