Innovation with Mark Peter Davis

On this week’s guest episode, I sit down with Mike Packer, Partner at QED Investors.QED is one of the big dogs in FinTech investing. They have roughly $5B of AUM and the firm was founded by one of the founders of Capital One.We obviously get into all things FinTech, but we also dive into the Latin American market, where Mike happens to focus.If you’re interested in either fintech or LATAM, or the intersection of the two this pod is for you. Enjoy.Show Links:Follow us on Twitter: @mikepacker_qed, @QEDInvestors, @mpdGuest Links: QED Investors WebsitePodcast Links: Website, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn

On this week’s Partner Meeting episode we cover the following topics:Jobs reportEconomic historical normsThe war in UkraineBlockchain interoperability and CosmosWork-life integrationThe importance of customer insights and how to use that data to help inform the direction of your business*DISCLAIMER*Interplay Family Office LLC (“Interplay”) is registered as an investment adviser with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Registration of an investment adviser does not imply any level of skill or training. Information about the qualifications and business practices of Interplay is available on the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov._ Interplay only transacts business in states where it is properly registered or is excluded or exempted from registration requirements. Offering of asset management services through Interplay is pursuant to an investment advisory agreement.The views expressed in this podcast/vodcast are subject to change based on market and other conditions. The podcast/vodcast may contain certain statements that may be deemed forward looking statements. Please note that any such statements are not guarantees of any future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected. Any projections, market outlooks, or estimates are based upon certain assumptions and should not be construed as indicative of actual events that will occur.Information communicated during the podcast/vodcast does not involve the rendering of personalized investment advice but is limited to the dissemination of general market information. A professional adviser should be consulted before implementing any of the strategies or options presented. The podcast/vodcast is not an offer to buy or sell, or a solicitation of any offer to buy or sell the securities mentioned herein. Neither Interplay nor its advisory persons render tax or legal advice. Please consult your tax and legal advisors for advice concerning your circumstances.

On today’s episode I chat with Brian Levine, the Founder and CEO of Nodal.Nodal is a marketplace that matches surrogates with families that want to have children. Their mission is to significantly reduce the time and cost required to secure a surrogate by cutting out the middlemen who currently control the market. If they succeed, they will help more families have children. There’s a lot of nuance in this market. We discuss stigmas, the impact of Roe v Wade being overturned and challenges caused by profiteering in the overall healthcare system. If you’re interested in healthcare, this is a great one for you. Enjoy.Show Links:Follow us on Twitter: @nodalhealth, @mpdGuest Links: NodalPodcast Links: Website, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn

We’ve been at this podcast thing for a few years now. I’ve had some amazing conversations and have learned a TON, but we’ve decided that it’s time to try something new.I get some of my most trusted and valuable updates from the partners at Interplay, so we’ve decided to try to capture some of those convos and share them with you.Introducing, the Partner Meeting.I’m going to have a quick one on one chat with four partners from Interplay about their area of expertise.Segment 1: Mike Rogers - partner of our venture capital vertical - will come on to chat about VC and startup trends.Segment 2: Chris Zhang - partner of our Family Office - is going to cover global macro trends.Segment 3: Brett Palatiello - partner of our blockchain vertical - is going to fill us in on the latest in the world of blockchain, crypto and web3.Segment 4: Phuong Ireland - partner of our incubator - is going to share a business tip of the week.So without further ado, let’s dive in.PS we need better names that segment one, two, three and four, so if you have any ideas, please share!

On this week's episode I chat with Gregory Galant, the Co-Founder and CEO of Muck Rack and the Co-Founder and CEO of The Shorty Awards.Muck Rack is a Public Relations management platform that helps organizations find the right journalists to pitch, report on media coverage and prove the value of their work.Greg has been in the NY startup game for a long time.He famously launched The Shorty Awards where they gave out awards for the best tweets in the early days of Twitter. Along the way he tinkered with a dozen business ideas until Muck Rack finally hit and took him to the moon.During our chat we talk about Muck Rack, the PR industry and his wisdom about entrepreneurship. Enjoy.Show Links:Follow us on Twitter: @gregory, @mpdGuest Links: Muck Rack, The Shorty Awards, LinkedIn, Facebook, InstagramPodcast Links: Website, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn

On this week's episode I chat with Freddie Huynh, a veteran data scientist in the credit risk space. Most notably, Freddie oversaw the development of the FICO Score from 1996 to 2015.It was really before analytics and data is what it is today. In a way, Freddie is one of the OG data scientists, one of the original guys out in that space. During our chat we discuss how the FICO Score works, we break down some of the urban myths about how scores are calculated, and we chat about the evolution of the data science industry. Enjoy.Show Links:Guest Links: LinkedInPodcast Links: Website, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn

On today’s episode I chat with Jose Bonilla, Co-Founder and CEO of Chiper. Chiper is the leading B2B distributor of consumer goods to corner stores in Latin America. They’re moving hundreds of thousands of products every month across Colombia, Mexico and Brazil.Corner stores are prominent in some cities in the US, but in other places around the world they have a massive market share of grocery sales. In India it’s around 90% and in LATAM they account for about 50% of groceries.Jose is more than the founder of Chiper, he’s one of the godfathers of the Colombian startup scene. He’s a cofounder of Imaginamos, a development shop that became a startup studio. His partner Simon spun Rappi out of their studio and it’s now a mega-unicorn in the region that has raised over $2B. Jose spun out Chiper. Collectively they’ve trained thousands of future entrepreneurs.We talk all about Chiper, tips for founders and entrepreneurs, and the start up scene in latin and south America. It’s a fascinating chat. Enjoy!Show Links:Guest Links: ChiperPodcast Links: Website, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn

Hey everyone,It’s that time of year again - the pod’s second summer!Like last year, we’re not going to release any new episodes for July and August, so I just wanted to let you know that we’re not leaving you hanging.We’re going to focus on recording new interviews and ideate on some other content ideas.Though there won’t be new episodes, we’ll be releasing some snippets and highlights from past episodes on Twitter, YouTube, and our brand new TikTok account. The username for our TikTok is Interplay.vcLast but not least, I just wanted to give a heartfelt thank you to everyone who’s been tuning in to the pod. I truly appreciate the support.I hope you all have a great summer and we’ll see you on the other side!Until then,MPD

On today’s episode I chat with Dan Porter, Co-Founder and CEO of Overtime.Overtime is the leading brand for the next generation of sports fans. Dan and his team at Overtime identified that the traditional sports media players were (and still are) heavily invested in the old infrastructure like cable deals. That left an opportunity to create an agile sports media brand that would cater to the younger generation utilizing new technology such as social platforms.What started as an app turned into a community and has now morphed into creating and managing sports leagues. They currently operate two leagues OTE and OT7, one basketball and football.Dan is a startup guru. He’s sold a few companies before starting Overtime and teaches entrepreneurship at NYU. If you’re interested in media, the business of sports or entrepreneurship this episode will have something for you. Enjoy.Show Links:Follow us on Twitter: @overtime, @tfadp, @mpdGuest Links: Overtime, OTEPodcast Links: Website, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn

On this week’s episode I sit down with the CEO of Grayscale Investments, Michael Sonnenshein.Grayscale is one of the biggest heavyweights in the world of crypto investing. They offer investors direct access to crypto. Their premier product, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, is a long-bitcoin offering that anyone can access like they would a normal stock. You can simply buy the ticker. This is big, especially for folks looking to invest their money that exists in certain portfolios, like retirement savings accounts. With over 20b of assets across 17 investment vehicles they facilitate many people’s first interaction with crypto and Michael is at the center of it.Crypto is currently down, the market is taking a hit seemingly in-line with the state of the broader stock markets so it was great to hear Michael’s perspective on the market and the future of crypto applications. Enjoy.Show Links:Follow us on Twitter: @Sonnenshein, @Grayscale, @mpdGuest Links: Grayscale InvestmentsPodcast Links: Website, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn