The Irish Tech News Podcast

Ria talks with Steven Roberts about his recently published book ‘Data Protection for Marketers: A Practical Guide’, and how data protection is constantly changing. He also speaks about GPDR and the difficulties that can be faced by marketers and market teams when implementing GDPR principles. Steve elaborates on his work and how keeping up to date with data protection regulations will create transparency within and out of the work environment. Steven Roberts is head of marketing at Griffith College. He is a certified data protection officer and vice-chair of the ACOI’s data protection and information security working group. His new book Data Protection for Marketers: A Practical Guide, published by Orpen Press, is available now at all good bookstores.

Transitioning global payments from fiat to Bitcoin, and the transition of analog to digital, with Matt Senter and Lolli Matt Senter is the CTO & Co-founder of Lolli, a rewards application that gives people bitcoin when they shop online from 1,000+ top merchants. Matt was previously the CTO & Co-founder of Cosmic, the leading e-commerce gateway, which was acquired by PopSugar in 2015 and then by Ebates in 2017. Prior to Cosmic, Matt was the CTO & Co-founder of SeedMatrix, a groundbreaking agricultural data analysis tool used by Fortune 100 and Fortune Global 500 companies to identify their best performing seeds in various planting conditions, acquired by Context Network in 2010. During the dotcom boom, Matt was the CEO and Founder of Senternet, one of the world’s first Java-based web hosting companies, sold in 2002. He is an advocate for online privacy and security and considers those foundational tenets of a free society. Matt is also a father of three. 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 fifty 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.

Offering Decentralized Finance Yield, Meeting Regulatory Compliance, and Building Compliant Platforms, with Raymond Hsu @ Cabital Raymond Hsu is the Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer for Cabital. Cabital is a leading cryptocurrency institution in the digital finance industry. Since 2020, Cabital has strived to bring professional financial services to the world of cryptocurrencies. Leveraging the teams extensive experience in traditional finance along with the power of blockchain technology, Cabital empowers people from all walks of life to generate high income from their digital assets safety, creating a more sustainable financial industry. “Cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies are projects that are much bigger than any one of us. It’s bigger than any one person, any one companyany one government. It’s a mission that Cabital takes seriously and we are committed to providing the world with a sustainable and safe digital platform to generate passive income, fulfilling our purpose of helping people achieve their financial goals.” After extensive conversations with people across the globe, Raymond noticed one reigning theme about investing in cryptocurrencies: the lack of security, peace of mind and ease of doing business. He was then convinced that the world needed a simple solution to buy crypto safety and easily, where everyday investors can earn much higher dividends without worrying about the market’s volatility. 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 fifty 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.

Ria speaks to Ben Harkin about his recently self-published book ‘Time Nor Tide: Ireland and Climate Change’ and explains his experience writing a book during the pandemic. He also speaks about his initial worry writing about climate change due to his age and the inspiration behind his title. Ben elaborates on his research and explains what he would like to see for Ireland in terms of climate change prevention and green hydrogen. Drawing on research from Ireland and across the world, this book explains what we can expect for the future in Ireland with climate change, and how we can move to limit the worst impacts. Combining studies and stories, Ben Harkin explains how we can use the technology we already have to bring our country to being carbon neutral while building a better future for all.

A conversation with Alex Mitrovich, CEO Unique.network Alex Mitrovich is both an investor and an entrepreneur, but the latter definitely comes first. “More specifically I am an entrepreneur in the tech space and have been so for the past 20 years. I understand tech without being a developer. I understand the opportunities.” This is clearly reflected in his previous enterprise, Luxoft, which he built with his partner over ten years into a global operation and into one of the Fortune Top 500 companies. Next up UseTech, formed in 2017 with co-founder and CTO, Gregory Zaitsev, which has been busy building blockchain projects ever since for its clients. The blockchain penny dropped for Mitrovich around 2016. A good friend of his and successful tech entrepreneu, Zoe Adamovitzwas posting blockchain stories on Facebook. It made him do some digging and very soon he understood that blockchain had the potential to be mainstream. He looked at the different chains, offering faster, cheaper, better solutions. He worked on different projects, upskilling his team and figuring out which chain was going to pop. He admired Ethereum but recognised its main asset is the network effect of the community. “It’s hard to stand out in a crowded market.” Accordingly, when Mitrovich decided to step directly into the NFT space he already had his seasoned team of developers headed up by Zaitsev on board. And as a startup in PolkaDot, he came armed to the teeth. Mind you, he admits the deeply technical nature of PolkaDot hurts his head. “But I could see the power of the emerging community, the beauty of the Web 3 Foundation and the endless flexibility of Substate as a building block." To find our more, listen to the interview Your host is Jillian Godsil, award winning journalist, broadcaster and author. Her latest book can be found at https://persons-of-interest.io/

Ria talks with Amit Katwala about his new book ‘Quantum Computing: How it Works and Why it Could Change the World’. He speaks about what Quantum Computing is and how it could be the technology of the future. Amit also elaborates on his experience of witnessing Google’s Quantum Computing lab and the current restrictions on Quantum Computing from advancing and why there is excitement surrounding it. Amit Katwala is a senior editor at the WIRED UK. He edits the culture coverage online, works on the Start section of the magazine, appears regularly on the WIRED podcast, and writes features about science, technology, and culture.

Entrepreneurs are unique, especially serial entrepreneurs and one such entrepreneur is Rupert Schneider. Rupert is the Co-Founder of two Fintech companies, Gardenia Technologies and Vidarr Capital. This is part 1 of my interview with Rupert. Ronan talks to Rupert Schneider about his background, what Gardenia Technologies does, AI and machine learning, and analytics. Rupert also talks about crypto, retail investing, Vidarr Capital, early adopters, and Apple. More about Rupert Schneider and Gardenia Technologies: Rupert is an experienced director with a demonstrated history of working in the financial services industry. He is skilled in Structured Credit, Special Situations, Start-ups, Trading, and Financial Risk. Gardenia Technologies offers a secure automated solution that digitises the origination, structuring and securitisation process to deliver financial initiatives customised around corporates' working capital needs & lower complexities. Technology-enabled and data-driven, services are delivered seamlessly by integrating with Corporates’ ERP, analysing transactional data, accurately predicting risks & providing scaled liquidity at or before the point of trade.

In my chat with Bill Liao, a Quantum Software Investor, Commercial & Social Entrepreneur from SOSV, we hear about his latest updates working with a new vegan StartUp and how he has now ventured into a new area of interest in the shape of Quantum Computing. SOSV  SOSV is a multi-stage venture capital investor. We run multiple world-class vertical startup development programs, and provide seed, venture and growth stage follow-on investment into superstar companies. Our unique full-stack model has delivered a net IRR over the last 20 years that puts us in the top 10% of all venture funds worldwide. https://sosv.com/portfolio/ Because Animals The majority of pet food is made using animal by-products and meat deemed unfit for human consumption. These otherwise unusable ingredients are sold for pet food, thus creating a significant profit arm for the most environmentally-destructive and inhumane commercial operation in the western world - the factory farming industry. Because Animals is committed to changing that status quo by creating ultra-nutritious and sustainable pet food. All of our products are human grade and 100% animal-free. We create our products using plants, algae and cultured meat, and combine these ingredients with nutrients sourced from bacteria and yeast to formulate nutritionally-complete foods for dogs and cats.

Jamil catches up with Ishan NegiIshan to learn more about Polygon Studios, Interoperability in the Metaverse, NFT Gaming with LK Rollups, and the Hermez Merger, with Ishan Negi at Polygon Studios Ishan NegiIshan is the Nft/gaming lead at Polygon, having joined the company in late Feb, 2021. Prior to this, Ishan has worked in M&A and in the social-tech space in India. He has completed his undergrad from SRCC, Delhi and his MBA from Indian Institute of Management - Bangalore.In his spare time, Ishan is passionate about football/soccer, music and landscape photography.. 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 fifty 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.

Jamil catches up with successful entrepreneur Philipp Pieper to learn more about his move into the blockchain space. More about Philipp Pieper is a co-founder of Swarm Markets as well as the Swarm Network, an open-source project and DAO. Philipp also co-founded Proximic (acquired by comScore), Loop Media and Bitadel Crypto Trading. Philipp has been engaged in decentralized technologies and crypto-asset trading since 2015. He is also a startup investor and mentor at Singularity University and StartX. He is a member of the AIMA blockchain committee and Digital Currency Trade Association (DCTA). About Swarm Markets (website) Acceleration of digital transformation and historically low interest rates is pushing more capital onto the Blockchain. With increasing regulatory crackdowns on the crypto industry, companies in the sector are responding in different ways. Swarm Markets is skating to where the puck is heading by having authorisation from The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), from day one. It's licensed protocol will be the first of its kind to enable retail and institutional market participants to trade both crypto and digitised traditional financial instruments, like securities and commodities, in one place. We know institutions need to work with licensed platforms that remove counterparty risk and give access to legally digitised tokens in order to access DeFi. This is demonstrated by the 1,500+ people signed up to our liquidity provider programme who have pledged over $45 million in assets. In the future, there will not be a difference between TradFi and DeFi, rather everything integrates as 'Fi'. We know we will have achieved our goal to integrate traditional finance with the DeFi ecosystem, when people will access financial products and services and without even realising they're on the blockchain. 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 fifty 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.