Last week in The Deep End we spoke with David Booth, CEO of On Deck. Today we're continuing our mini-series on the meta problem of how to help more people start more companies by re-publishing an episode of the Solarpunk podcadst with Erik Torenberg, co-founder and Chairman of On Deck. Erik joins Lucas Bagno and Ian Cinnamon discuss why startups are the most effective organizations for solving our biggest problems, how governments and startups need to work together, not against each other, the rising importance of story-telling and much more.

On the latest episode of The Deep End podcast by On Deck, we interview our very own David Booth, CEO of On Deck.Recently, David has announced one of the biggest updates to On Deck since the program went virtual in 2020, with the return of in-person programming and community space in San Francisco.In this conversation, we discuss why On Deck is doubling down on IRL programming, why he believes venture-backed founders need to be deeply connected to the Bay Area, why now is the best time to start a company and how startups help combat stagnation.The episode is for anyone interested in better what is needed for early-stage start-ups to succeed in the current economic climate, the Bay Area as a tech hub, and how startups are the best mechanism we have to solve complex societal problems.

Vivian Chen is the CEO & Founder of Heyo, a bite-sized pitch platform for professional success. Before starting Heyo,Vivian was an operator who built products across categories from high-growth startups to global enterprises.Vivian is on a mission to build the future of work. Heyo enables users to build profiles online short-form content and video, offering a new way to tell your professional story. In this conversation, we discuss Vivian’s founder journey, how she maintained her vision in the face of setbacks, rapidly shifting market conditions, and the need to pivot in the face of experience. We also cover how short-form video can help anyone stand-out in crowded professionals spaces and offer new opportunities to the previously overlooked. Learn more about Heyo here: https://heyo.at/

Ani Pai is an investment partner at Dragonfly, where he focuses on highly technical Web3 projects in emerging markets.Ani believes that progress happens on the frontier. Whether it be outer space, the mind/body, and the oceans. He’s focused on using crypto to explore these frontiers and eventually merging crypto networks with analog industries in order to shepherd the next billions users into web3.We discuss the state of the crypto industry in the wake of FTX’s implosion, why he believes the next generation of founders will need to be “polymathic in their interests and skillsets, and whether web3’s promise will be fulfilled in the United States or emerging markets, or even a network state/new country. This episode is for anyone interested in how the marriage of crypto bits with the world of atoms could define the next era of tech.Learn more about Dragonfly here: https://www.dragonfly.xyz/

Lauren Self is the founder of Roots Homes, a platform that helps put the dream of homeownership within reach by allowing prospective buyers to effectively pay rent while building equity in their home with fractional ownership. In this conversation, we discuss her founder journey and life experiences that motivate her to build in this space, why the dream of owning a home feels increasingly out of reach, why she believes her model is superior to perma-renting, and how the concept of fractional ownership can expand to use-cases beyond the real estate market. This episode is for anyone interested in how new business models can open up previously gated opportunities to new generations.Learn more about Roots here: https://www.roots.homes/

Madison Campbell is Co-Founder and CEO of Leda Health, which provides aftercare for sexual assault survivors.Leda Health approaches its space through a survivor-focused lens, developing self-administered DNA collection and testing, while also connecting survivors with professionals and resources. In this conversation, we discuss her founder journey since leaving school to pursue a startup, fundraising in a sensitive product category, and how the nimble approaches required to found and build an early startup can be the best means of addressing real-world problems.This episode is for anyone interested in the intersection of healthcare, technology, and seemingly intractable challenges.Learn more about Leda Health at: https://www.leda.co/

Joseph Connor is the CEO & founder of Odyssey, a platform that helps families access state microgrants for K-12 education. Prior to starting Odyssey, Joseph was a former teacher, school founder, and attorney. Joseph and his team at Odyssey are on a mission to empower everyday parents by enabling access to public education dollars. Odyssey’s technology provides states with a turnkey platform to manage microgrant programs. A growing number of policymakers view microgrant programs as a tool to bridge equity gaps between families in under-resourced communities and their more affluent peers. Yet implementation has been challenging and these funds have not achieved the desired impact or reached parents’ pockets at scale. Odyssey is partnering with states to help smooth implementation, and ensure all eligible families are able to benefit.In this conversation, we discuss Joseph’s founder journey in education over the last ten years, why government inefficiencies present such an interesting – but hard – problem to solve, and how a platform like Odyssey has the potential to address fundamental inequality across the US school system. This episode is for anyone interested in new possibilities at the intersection of edtech and public policy.Learn more about Odyssey here: https://www.withodyssey.com/Keep up with Joseph Connor here: https://josephjconnor.com/

Andrew Rea is an angel investor and operator, who recently started and organized New York Tech Week. He leads go-to-market at Capital (formerly Party Round) and has invested in over 20 startups, including Motion and Cococart. Before he was at Capital, Andrew was vital in building the community at the On Deck Angels fellowship. Andrew also has founder experience, having co-founded an EV startup, raised $1M, and sold to PE within 2 years.In this conversation, we discuss how New York Tech Week came about, how to think about the advantages of the New York tech ecosystem compared to other tech hubs, and what Andrew is hearing from elite founders about gaining traction and building companies in the current climate.This episode is for anyone interested in better understanding the tech scene hubs and industry events and what it takes to pull off a tech week in less than two months.Learn more about Capital here, and watch the video Marshall and Andrew discuss here.Follow Andrew Rea on twitter.Learn more about New York Tech Week here.

Erik Torenberg (@eriktorenberg), co-founder and Executive Chairman of On Deck join Lucas Bagno and Ian Cinnamon on this episode of Solarpunk. Village Global’s Solarpunk is a podcast series about technology, space, and defense.Takeaways:Startups are the most effective organizations for solving our biggest problems.Startups disproportionately contribute to economic growth.Governments and startups need to work together, not against each other.China has the GDP per capita of Mexico but they have power because of how big their population is.Increasing population should be an aim of the US government.Humans are a naturally technological species and the only way out of our current problems is through technology, not without it.People in Silicon Valley need to invest in storytelling and capturing hearts and minds. They have a new appreciation for how important politics is.Ideas from Silicon Valley are being exported around the world —among them are giving without asking for anything in return, alignment via equity, and decoupling where you live from where you work.

Lawson Baker is the Founder of RARA, a social curation protocol for NFTs that revolutionizes how creators benefit from sharing their art, and how curators interact with and gain value from interacting with artists’ work. Our discussion centers around how web3 will forever change the dynamic between creators and curators. “Likes” and “heart” buttons are remnants of web2 — RARA creates tools to move away from centralized curation to decentralized curation, where fans can be rewarded for recognizing popular or viral art early. Users are tired of doing free labor for social media platforms. With RARA social, creators gain value from how much users interact with their art, and fans gain curation tokens for recognizing popular art early. The name of the company — Ra Ra — refers to a cheer, and in that vein, the protocol is powered by web3 reactions. Users burn reactions on NFTs that they like and receive curation tokens in exchange. The more that other people react to that NFT, the more the value of those curation tokens goes up. With this protocol, reactions are brought on-chain instead of being tied to a platform like Twitter or Instagram. This creates a permanent, portable reputation system for NFTs that benefits both creators and the fans who’ve invested in them. We also talk about the growth of web3 and how NFTs are entering the zeitgeist, and the history of the term “curator”: what does it mean to be a curator, both in-person and digitally, and how has this definition changed over time? Going beyond digital art, we talk about how RARA social could integrate with music platforms, rewarding creators and curators alike for generating popular music and engaging playlists. This is a great episode for fans of NFTs and all things web3, as well as any creators out there, or curators who love finding and spreading great content out to their network.Follow Lawson Baker at @lwsnbaker and RaRa at @rara_social