The Future of Business

The future of business will be dominated by “young guns” who grew up comfortable with and curious about technology. We hear this all the time. Incessantly pounded by data, able to multi-task, smart, energetic and enthusiastic. However, some of these adjectives could apply to young people of any generation. Talk to most anyone in their twenties -from any era- about their future and they’ll exude confidence and have a certain spring in their step. They’re optimistic about what’s ahead and eager to take on the challenges of the world.

Talk to them thirty-five years later and much of that enthusiasm has gone. Notably, according to the Economic Policy Institute, nearly 50% of American families over the age of 56 have no retirement savings. Moreover, the median retirement savings for this group prior to the economic meltdown at the end of last decade was $36,000. That figure dipped below $10,000 at the nadir of the crisis. Drowning in a mountain of debt, over-taxed by the government, disaffected by taxpayer bailouts and witnessing an ever-widening gap between the haves and have-nots, many older people feel a deep sense of financial failure. How disheartening that this occurs in the wealthiest country in the history of humankind. For many, the future of business looks mighty dim through this prism.

The Economic Crisis Ushered in a New Era

In 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto published a nine page paper that permanently changed the future of business. By introducing the concept of  trust-less transactions, i.e. transactions that don’t require a third party mediator, an entirely new digital generation is taking back control of their destinies. Blockchain is at the intersection of software coding, cryptography and game theory. Combining these disciplines creates a scalable and reliable system where the incentives of the players are aligned. Brilliant young people have seized the day and are creating a new, improved, de-centralized Internet. One where the participants are rewarded for their contributions and control is in the hands of a de-centralized community, not an oligopoly of giant Internet companies. These “kids” are creators, they’re wealthy, mission-driven and they’re paying it forward.

Meet Jeremy Gardner

Last week, theCUBE broadcast live from Baha Mar Bahamas at Polycon 2018. Billed as the first conference dedicated to investors  in security tokens, it attracted an eclectic mix of people. Old money, new money, VC’s, developers, entrepreneurs, hedge funds, angels, crypto-billionaires and multi-millionaires. Everyone there – I mean everyone – had a crypto pitch. The hallway conversations were about ICOs, security tokens, SEC regulation, protocols, hot startups, crypto economics, tokenizing businesses – and making the world a better, more equitable and profitable place.

Having spent most of my career in enterprise tech I really didn’t know much about Jeremy Gardner. I Googled his name and realized it would be a worthy contact to make. He dropped out of college; twice. Became a self-made millionaire in his mid-twenties. We met at a bar, pretty late in the evening. He had been drinking – I think quite a bit but I’m not really sure and was surrounded by friends. He was a loud-talker, very confident, articulate and super smart. I quickly realized I could learn a lot from this kid. Take those adjectives above and add successful, experienced and generous to the list for Jeremy.

theCUBE Goes Crypto

Of course, John Furrier and I wanted to get him on theCUBE to pick his brain about the crypto economy. Having done this for a while, you know when someone is going to be a great guest and lay down some epic insights. We agreed on a general time the next day that he would come on the show. Jeremy said to hit him up on Telegram and we’d sort out the details tomorrow. I did but he responded that something came up and he couldn’t make it that day. So we agreed to try again the next day. You never know in these situations if someone is blowing you off. True to his word, Jeremy came on theCUBE on the Friday.

Unfortunately I had to fly out early but Furrier did the interview. It’s excellent. I was super excited to see it up on our Video Clipper platform today so I could clip, post and share Jeremy’s insights with you.

Blockchain Maturing: From Bitcoin to Security Tokens

Whether you’re new to or experienced at Crypto, it’s worth going through the curated clips below. Furrier and Gardner talk about some really important topics, including:

• The maturation of the crypto industry: From Bitcoin to cryptocurrencies to blockchain tech to smart contracts to de-centralized apps to ICOs to the emergence of security tokens;
• The need for a “crypto-purge;”
• What has to change to take the crypto economy to the next level;
• How this twenty-something millionaire sizes up his next investments;
• Which projects are the most exciting;
• How crypto is disinter-mediating trillions of dollars of market opportunity;
• Perspectives on security and utility tokens.

Thanks Jeremy for coming on theCUBE and congratulations on being a CUBE Alum!