The Irish Tech News Podcast

James Verheul likes to keep things interesting. He studied a triple major at the University of Cape Town in economics, finance and environmental finance. After college he entered into traditional finance working alongside wealth professionals, but his love of interesting things pulled him into crypto back in 2013. What interested him was Web 3, although it had not been named that as yet. Instinctively, he knew that change was happening in this space. “It’s definitely the hottest buzz word now, but even back in 2013 I knew I had slipped into the interesting section of the finance market.” Verheul defines Web 1 as read only, Web 2 as read and write, but Web 3 as read, write and own. “Going from centralised finance which is so laborious to decentralised finance is very exciting. And to be here at the beginning is off the charts.” Verheul was not only excited to be part of Web 3, but he also wanted to be part of the creation of Web 3. To that end he teamed up with Joly Horsfal to co-found Spark World. For both founders, NFTs are seen as core to DeFi. Tune in to hear more... Your host is Jillian Godsil

On this Podcast, Diana Paiva is joined by the director and co-founder of Change Logic and co-author of Corporate Explorer, Andrew Binns. Andrew gives an insight into his new book, Corporate Explorer and the highlights that readers can expect. He talks about the difference between large companies and start-up businesses, and he explained the importance of innovation in companies, even in those that are prospering. He also talks about the reasons companies go bankrupt. Diana is currently interning with Irish Tech News. She graduated from Birkbeck University, with a degree in modern languages and she is currently doing a master’s in Journalism at the University of Roehampton. She has an interest in technology, fashion, and the environment. Starting her master’s in journalism made her realise that she has a passion to report and write people’s stories. After graduation, her main priority is to find a job in communications or public relations. Diana Paiva is active on social media platforms, including Twitter, and LinkedIn. About Andrew Binns Andy works with CEOs, boards, and senior teams as they lead significant business change. He is a co-founder of Change Logic and manages the firm on behalf of the partnership. Andy has twenty-five years of consulting experience as both an external and internal consultant for McKinsey & Co., the IBM Corporation, and Change Logic. At IBM, Andy was deeply involved in the ‘Emerging Business Opportunity’ program, for which he received an award from IBM’s Vice-Chairman.

It’s been said that the metaverse could be the next trillion-dollar opportunity. From retail and fashion, to gaming, sports, and even financial services, brands are actively trying to figure out how to engage with a new audience and capitalize on the excitement. But what is it like to be fully immersed as a creator?  In this episode of One Vision, Theo and Arun chat with Jyothee Murali (@jyxdi), a talented painter and NFT artist, on her journey, the virtual community, and what the future holds for the fast-evolving space.

Ian MacRae talks to Dr. Julie Fratantoni about science communication, social media and her work talking about brain health on Tiktok. Where do young people primarily get their information about mental health? What are the most common sources of information... and misinformation on social media? Why use Tiktok as an education platform? Is there anything about the platform that makes communication easier?  And what are the risks and drawbacks?  What are the risks that psychologists, neuroscientists or other experts should know about being active on social media channels? What can you learn about people on social media that an academic or research setting doesn’t teach you? How will the role of science communicators change in the future? Dr. Julie Fratantoni is a cognitive neuroscientist at the Center for BrainHealth at the University of Texas at Dallas. She serves as the head of content innovation and user experience for The BrainHealth Project™ – a 10 year, longitudinal research study seeking to define, measure, and improve brain health and performance across the lifespan. She is passionate about science communication and finds great joy in creating and sharing content that equips and empowers individuals to live a happier and healthier life. She is @drjuliefratantoni on Instagram and Tiktok, and her website is: www.drjuliefratantoni.com Ian MacRae is an award-winning author, psychologist and psychometrician, He has written six books about workplace psychology including High Potential: How to Spot, Manage and Develop Talented People at Work, and his latest book is Dark Social: Understanding the darker side of work, personality and social media. His books have been translated into tendifferent languages. @iansmacrae on Twitter.

Oleg Fomenko explains how orgasms keep the human race on track with Sweatcoin offering the exercise orgasm to keep us walking. Later this year all those Sweat Coins will be converted into crypto - making fans thinner and richer.  Your host is Jillian Godsil

In recent years it has become much easier to invest and Neobrokers alongside technology are helping to facilitate this. BUX, Europe’s fastest growing Neobroker has seen growing interest in building wealth for the future amongst their European base, particularly around female clientele.  Ronan talks to Pim Hannay a Senior Product Owner at BUX about this and more. Pim talks about her background, what BUX does, crypto, investing in women in Technology, investment risk, what women invest in, and ethical investing. Pim also talks about making things as frictionless as possible, why financial inclusion is important, and the investment journey. More about BUX: In just one year their female user base has jumped by 200% and their assets under management have increased by more than 3 times since 2020. Interest in socially responsible investing skyrocketed during the pandemic. While that could have been a temporary trend, numbers show that women are still investing in companies that have a positive impact on the world. Up until now, numbers show that 20.4% of women started investing in crypto since it was introduced in January 2022. They have noticed an interest in socially responsible investing skyrocketed during the pandemic. While that could have been a temporary trend, numbers show that women are still investing in companies that have a positive impact on the world. It is also evident that innovation and tech-focused companies are still favoured by female investors. Adyen, an e-commerce company, ranks first on the list of most purchased shares by BUX’s female clients.

Why Your Web 3.0 Journey should be viewed as an Expedition and not as a Panic Room, with Jeremy Lindblad and Chibi Dinos About Jeremy Lindblad Prior to joining Lindblad Expeditions he was with LivingSocial, where he managed sales and business development while building out their Escapes travel division. Previous positions include Director of Sales and Customer Service on the founding team at Bloomberg Ventures and prior to that, Corporate Business Development Manager at Quintessentially, the world's leading Lifestyle Management company. From a very young age Jeremy has traveled extensively aboard the Lindblad--National Geographic fleet, which has provided him access to all aspects of global culture. Combined with his executive experience, Jeremy is ideally positioned to cultivate strategic brand partnerships and deliver a world class experience to customers on a global scale. Born and raised in New York City, he graduated from Skidmore College with a degree in Management & Business. About Chibi Dinos Chibi Dinos LLC is a blockchain gaming company providing the most innovative and entertaining utility for gamers and sports fans through NBA Street-esque gameplay with playable NFT characters. Boasting a robust in-gaming ecosystem and real world experience and prize rewards, Chibi Dinos are redefining the definition of play-and-earn. Use your Chibi Dinos NFT to play on one of the ten basketball teams in the Chibi Dinos universe to earn tokens, potions, rankings, gear, and more. Compete in tournaments, PVP games, or explore the Chibi Dinos adventure universe for rare items, unlockable content, asset advancement and staking opportunities. Jamil Hasan is a crypto and blockchain focused podcast host at the Irish Tech News and spearheads our weekend content “The Crypto Corner” where he interviews founders, entrepreneurs and global thought leaders. Prior to his endeavors into the crypto-verse in July 2017, Jamil built an impressive career as a data, operations, financial, technology and business analyst and manager in Corporate America, including twelve years at American International Group and its related companies. Since entering the crypto universe, Jamil has been an advisor, entrepreneur, investor and author. His books “Blockchain Ethics: A Bridge to Abundance” (2018) and “Re-Generation X” (2020) not only discuss the benefits of blockchain technology, but also capture Jamil’s experience on how he has transitioned from being a loyal yet downsized former corporate employee to a self sovereign individual. With over one hundred podcasts under his belt since he joined our team in February 2021, and with four years of experience both managing his own crypto portfolio and providing crypto guidance and counsel to select clients, Jamil continues to seek opportunities to help others navigate this still nascent industry. Jamil’s primary focus outside of podcast hosting is helping former corporate employees gain the necessary skills and vision to build their own crypto portfolios and create wealth for the long-term.

Building and growing product teams and organisations, understanding of go-to-market strategy and SaaS business models, technical background, and irresistible entrepreneurial streak is very important in todays startups. If your product and design is not easy to use and understand, you will end up losing customers. Ronan talks to Cormac McLoughlin, Director of Product Management at Workvivo about this and more. Cormac talks about his background, what Workvivo does, one of Workvivo’s core tenants, increased usage of their app during the pandemic, and the old legacy internet. Cormac also talks about how Workvivo helps communities foster, the importance of product and design, preparing for the latest technologies, working in a startup, being very customer focused, and advice for people doing product development in a startup. More about Cormac: Cormac is an experienced product leader with experience of building and growing product teams and organisations, understanding of go-to-market strategy and SaaS business models, technical background, and irresistible entrepreneurial streak. Prior to joining Workvivo, he worked in a number of senior product management roles, most notably at HubSpot and Paddy Power. Since joining Workvivo, he has spearheaded the development and company mop growth which has seen year-on-year growth of 150%.

According to a recent survey by the CFA Institute, 85% of investment managers across countries are increasingly incorporating ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) criteria into investment decisions. While opportunities abound in this fast-growing sector, what gets measured and how it’s measured can quickly grow in complexity. And are we focusing too much on what investors care about, and missing the broader picture of the impact on our planet and its people?  In this episode of One Vision, Theo chats with Alexandria Fisher, Sustainable Finance Manager of Global Risk Institute on social responsibility, ESG standards, and regulations. While perfection may not exist, we need to start somewhere.

Ian MacRae talks to Dr. Harris Eyre about brain health, and what we should know about keeping our brains healthy at every stage of life.   Harris Eyre is an advocate for brain health and for Brain Capital. Brain Capital is a novel economic measure which integrates brain health and brain skills. Our brains are arguably our biggest assets as individuals and communities. Harris seeks to place Brain Capital at the centre of economics, policy and finance in the current brain economy.  In his career, Harris has operated as a physician, scientist, entrepreneur, executive services provider, author, new economic and finance thinker, and neuroscience diplomat. He is President of PRODEO, a brain health technology executive services group. This work has been written up in Neuron, neo.life, Forbes, the Financial Times, STAT, the Financial Post and People Management.  He is Senior Fellow for Brain Capital with the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute.  Harris has authored 120+ papers. He co-edited the book ‘Convergence Mental Health’ (Oxford Press). He is from the Great Barrier Reef region of Australia and is now based in the USA.   Ian MacRae is an award-winning author, psychologist and psychometrician, He has written six books about workplace psychology including High Potential: How to Spot, Manage andDevelop Talented People at Work, and his latest book is Dark Social: Understanding the darker side of work, personality and social media. His books have been translated into ten different languages. @iansmacrae on Twitter.