Going Deep with Aaron Watson

Don Grage is co-owner and managing director of two small data analytics and information technology companies in Northern Virginia. He is also majority owner and managing partner of the DC Breeze, a professional Ultimate Disc team that plays in the 5-year old American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL), and he serves on the Executive Council of the league. As a longtime entrepreneur from California, Don started his first company with a friend in high school and has been involved in more than 15 successful early stage companies over the past 30 years, ranging from skimboards and waterproof wallets to bioinformatics and fuel industry data analytics. He has a wife and three children, a 2nd-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, plays guitar in a local band, and plays ultimate every chance he gets... although that is not nearly often enough.   Don’s Challenge: Everyone with the smallest passion bone in their body can find 25 hours a month without giving up anything meaningful. Pick something that you’re interested in — hobby, skill, business idea, field of study, whatever — and dedicate 25 hours per month to it for 4 months.   It may turn out to a big new passion that changes your life. Or it may not! But either way, you’ve given up virtually nothing and will definitely learn 1) A whole bunch about a new topic you’re interested in; 2) Whether or not you’re truly passionate about that topic; and most importantly 3) That you really do have 25 hours a month to invest in whatever exciting thing comes along next in your life. Get to it!   http://www.goingdeepwithaaron.com/podcast   Connect with Don LinkedIn Twitter Website info@the-dcbreeze.com   If you liked this interview, check out episode 156 with Jim Lloyd where we discuss owning three AUDL franchises and going all in on professional ultimate.

Dr. Young Byun, MD is a neonatologist, an MBA student, and an expectant father. Ultimate frisbee is his passion, and he is a proud owner and general manager of the 2016 AUDL Champion Dallas Roughnecks. On occasion, he waxes nostalgic about days gone by when he had a bit more free time.   Ivy Byun is an adoption specialist by day and a Dallas Roughnecks owner by day/night and on weekends. She has a BA in psychology and music, and an MA in marriage and family therapy and mental health counseling; she is pursuing a PhD in counselor education and supervision. Ivy enjoys traveling, eating, and playing ultimate frisbee.   Connect with the Dallas Roughnecks Twitter Facebook Website dallasroughnecks@gmail.com   If you liked this interview, check out episode 139 with Jim Gerencser where we discuss owning the Dallas Roughnecks and the team’s first AUDL championship.

Kwame is a business lawyer and the founder of the American Negotiation Institute. He is passionate about teaching entrepreneurs and business professionals the art of negotiation so they can get better deals and advance their careers. He is regularly invited to give negotiation seminars and consults with individuals and companies to create and implement powerful negotiation strategies. He also hosts the top negotiation podcast on iTunes, Negotiation for Entrepreneurs, where he interviews successful entrepreneurs and shares powerful persuasion techniques.   Kwame’s Challenge; Negotiate something intentionally within the next seven days. Use his prep guide.   http://www.goingdeepwithaaron.com/podcast   Connect with Kwame Podcast LinkedIn Website   If you liked this interview, check out episode 149 with Ryan Stewman where we discuss sales and your online presence.

A hacker, professor, and consultation expert, Dr. Tim Summers is a cyber and risk strategist specializing in identifying cyber risks and sensitivities within public and private organizations. He is a specialist in understanding the relationship between human cognitive psychology and socio-technical systems. He has served as an Executive Advisor for one of the world’s oldest multinational strategic management firms.   He has also been a consultant for Fortune 500 companies worldwide and is a regularly invited speaker. He’s the CEO of Summers & Company,  Founder of WikiBreach, and the Director of Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Engagement in the iSchool at the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Summers is one of the world’s leading experts in understanding How Hackers Think.   Tim’s Challenge; Identify seven people and seek a unique way to inspire and empower them. Ways to empower include; Smile, be positive, encourage creativity, challenge others, and connect.   http://www.goingdeepwithaaron.com/podcast   Connect with Tim Facebook Twitter Website   If you liked this interview, check out episode 95 with Dennis Mortensen where we discuss artificial intelligence, smart assistants, and entrepreneurship.

Stops on the 2017 tour of Asia Include;   Thailand Chiang-Mai Bangkok   Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City   Taiwan Taipei   China Beijing Shanghai   Japan Tokyo Hiroshima Osaka Nagoya Nagasaki   South Korea Seoul   Singapore   --- If you want to keep up with everything that we are up to and the places we travel, we will be documenting a lot of it on YouTube and Instagram. I'll also be sending out updates on my newsletter.

In late 2013, Joseph Lubin co-founded the Ethereum Project, and has been working on Ethereum and more recently ConsenSys since January 2014.   ConsenSys began as a blockchain production studio building decentralized applications, mostly on Ethereum. Many of those components are core elements that can be used to construct larger solutions as well as being standalone solutions in their own right. Since ConsenSys began operations before the Ethereum ecosystem existed, ConsenSys has also built core infrastructure elements like Ethereum clients, testing frameworks, rapid application development frameworks, and Integrated Development Environments.   ConsenSys Enterprise, the professional services arm, works with various enterprises to help them formulate their blockchain strategy and develop business processes for them on private or consortium blockchains, as well as on the public Ethereum network.   Prior to Ethereum, Lubin’s career has involved various posts in the fields of technology and finance and in their intersection. Subsequent to graduating cum laude with a degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Princeton, he worked as research staff in the Robotics Lab at Princeton and then at Vision Applications, Inc. in the fields of autonomous mobile robotics, machine vision and artificial neural networks.   Joe’s Challenge; Learn about decentralization and disintermediation by checking out Ethereum and Consensys.   Like my crypto episodes? Support the work! Ethereum: 0x1c5f5da1efad45078c41bceb18eb777099138e6b Bitcoin: 13RcQZnZM4Lx6bw37YVdiv6Uc2X5b7anF3   If you liked this interview, check out episode 158 with Roger Ver where we discuss Bitcoin, voluntaryism, and the future of smart money.

Roger Ver has been a long time proponent of voluntaryism, the idea that all human interactions should be by mutual consent, or not at all. He is most well known for his work promoting Bitcoin. In 2011, his company, Memorydealers.com, became the first mainstream company to start accepting bitcoin as payment. He then went on to create Bitcoinstore.com, the first website in the world to accept bitcoin as payment for hundreds of thousands of items, and was the impetus for the future wave of merchant adoption. He also became the first person in the entire world to start investing in Bitcoin startups. Nearly single-handedly, he funded the seed rounds for the entire first generation of Bitcoin businesses. In his earlier life, he was most influenced by the works of Murray Rothbard, but was also inspired by the likes of Fredric Bastiat, Henry Hazlitt, Leonard Read, Frederick Hayek, Adam Smith, Milton Friedman, David Friedman, and many others in the Austrian school of economic thought.   Roger’s Challenge; Install a Bitcoin wallet and give it a try.     Like my crypto episodes? Support the work! Ethereum: 0x1c5f5da1efad45078c41bceb18eb777099138e6b Bitcoin: 13RcQZnZM4Lx6bw37YVdiv6Uc2X5b7anF3     If you liked this interview, check out episode 118 with Kevin Kelly where we discuss how technological forces will influence the near future.

Andrew is the Founder and CEO of Venture for America, and has worked in startups and early-stage growth companies as a founder or executive for more than twelve years. He was the CEO and President of Manhattan GMAT, a test prep company that was acquired by the Washington Post/Kaplan in 2009. He has also served as the co-founder of an Internet company and an executive at a healthcare software startup.   Andrew has been selected by the White House as a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship and a Champion of Change for his work with Venture for America. He is the author of “Smart People Should Build Things,” published by Harper Business, and he was named one of Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People in Business”.   He is a graduate of Columbia Law and Brown University and lives in New York City with his wife and son.   Andrew’s Book = Smart People Should Build Things   Andrew’s Challenge; Find one company or store that you like and do one concrete thing that will help them.   http://www.goingdeepwithaaron.com/podcast   Connect with Andrew LinkedIn Twitter Website If you liked this interview, check out episode 134 with Gisele Fetterman where we discuss building communities, food rescue and civic duty.

Jim Lloyd spent 28 years in IT before pushing his chips all-in on the AUDL. He is planning to draw on his experience in startups and at IBM to grow his three Canadian franchises.   He stopped by the show to discuss.   http://www.goingdeepwithaaron.com/podcast   Connect with Jim LinkedIn Twitter Facebook   If you liked this interview, check out episode 142 with Jean-Levy Champagne where we discuss record-setting AUDL crowds.

William Generett has been working to connect the Pittsburgh region’s innovation economy to underserved communities as the first president and CEO of Urban Innovation21.   Urban Innovation21 is a unique public-private partnership that is supporting the growth of the Pittsburgh region's innovation economy while simultaneously connecting that growth to underserved communities, the residents that live in those communities and diverse populations that have not traditionally been connected to the innovation economy. Urban Innovation21 is one of the first US based organizations to work under the "Inclusive Innovation" model.   William’s Challenge; Meet 10 new people outside your existing network and visit 5 neighborhoods you don’t usually visit.   http://www.goingdeepwithaaron.com/podcast   Connect with William LinkedIn Twitter Website   If you liked this interview, check out episode 125 with Dan Gilman where we discuss how to make cities more attractive to younger generations and leadership.