The Irish Tech News Podcast

Suzanna Hayek met with Nick Ayton to discuss crypto's increased popularity, its role in countries in financial collapse, NFTs and NFAs, and finally, his TV drama.  According to crypto.com, the global crypto population in June doubled compared to the number of users in January, increasing from 106 million to 221 million. Nick discussed some of the possible reasons behind the growth in uptake, including new trends in crypto, people having more free time during the pandemic, DeFi, Elon Musk, and disenfranchisement in governments. Nick also comments on the shift towards cryptocurrency in countries with highly volatile currencies due to poor fiscal policies as they seek alternatives to their unreliable centralised systems. Some countries have backed crypto, while others have imposed strict regulations, but Nick argues that crypto is here to stay. There are security challenges, however. With increased decentralisation and smart contracts, there are more vulnerabilities, which hackers can exploit. On the topic of NFTs and NFAs, Nick explains that when you buy an NFT, you buy a token; the asset linked to it is on another chain, creating problems. The solution is NFAs, which bind the token exchange with the asset exchange within a legal framework. And finally, the discussion steers to Nick's TV drama about hacking and espionage. Nick Ayton is a leading deep technology influencer and thought leader who operates at the forefront of AI, Blockchain, Quantum Computing and is involved in Quantum Photonic Silicon Processing, real-time 3D rendering, Post Quantum Cryptography… A sought after speaker and strategist; he founded Chainstarter Ventures that helps entrepreneurs capital from Family Offices. The business focuses on the middle east and assists with capital raising, business development and market entry. Having spent 45 years in technology, founded several tech startups, he is a prolific writer and is making a TV series set against the backdrop ion the existential risk of AI and the race for supremacy between Russian, China and the USA. Suzanna Hayek is a Kuwait-born, MA Journalism student in London. Suzanna is interested in covering social issues, ocean conservation, and water sports. She is fluent in Arabic and English. Suzanna's love affair with the sea started whilst teaching English as a Foreign Language at a leading international organisation in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In her free time, Suzanna volunteers at EduPact, an initiative by a London-based, non-profit, which aims to provide free online lessons to children in Lebanon – where she is originally from. Suzanna is happiest when freediving and her favourite sharks are tiger sharks.

In today's podcast I speak with Chris Bellant and Jonathan McCormick about the role of Mars Initiative as a whole and how adding a HODL Strategy has been so successful for their brand.   Chris Bellant  Chris Bellant is an operations planner for the International Space Station (by day, but by night, he’s the executive director for the Mars Initiative. Through this nonprofit, he’s able to help humanity get closer to exploring Mars through both grant programs and its Mars Prize Fund. Jonathan McCormick (Pictured) Jonathan A. McCormick, Jr. is a cryptocurrency consultant and volunteer-at-large for the Mars Initiative. He is passionate about accelerating the growth of technologies and ideas that can improve the human condition, including making humanity multiplanetary. Outside of the Mars Initiative, Jonathan also builds censorship-resistant websites, writes articles, and pursues self-education. Website

Neftyblocks is a free service for NFT artists to put together NFT collections in digital boxes. This sophisticated software was once extremely expensive and consultancies would charge thousands of dollars to create these boxing and other crafting solutions. However, time moves fast in the blockchain world and founder of Neftyblocks, Juan Paniagua, wanted to create his own solution for a fun Alpacaworlds collection. He did this and then decided to put the service online for free for other artists. The resulting Neftyblocks is a web application that allows artists to easily manage their collections on the WAX blockchain. It is built on top of the AtomicHub marketplace, meeting AtomicHub standards.  Neftyblocks.com Your host is Jillian Godsil, award winning journalist, broadcaster and author. Her latest book can be found at https://persons-of-interest.io/

NFT’s are becoming more popular and they are being used in many innovative ways. One company doing this is Olyseum the star-led, virtual social engagement platform for fans and brands to trade and rent experiential Non-fungible Tokens (xNFTs). Olyseum has introduced a new breed of NFTs, which they call 'xNFTs', and these grant holders the rights to a predefined in-person or digital interactions with one of Olyseum’s 40+ stars, which includes former FC Barcelona football players Carles Puyol and Andrés Iniesta, MotoGP star Jorge Martín, motorcycling icon Toni Bou, and 5-star Michelin chef Eneko Atxa. The company's star roster encompasses icons from a wide range of verticals: sports, fashion, culinary arts, Moto, film, and this roster will continue to grow this year. Ronan talks to Shant Kevonian the Chief Operating Officer of Olyseum about his background, what Non-fungible Tokens are, what Olyseum does, the FC Barcelona link, and Olyseum’s upcoming milestones. More about Shant: As COO of Olyseum, Shant works closely with Olyseum CEO Carlos Grenoir in directing the company’s growth strategy, while overseeing the day-to-day administrative and operational functions of the business. During his distinguished career to date, Shant has excelled at creating proprietary algorithms and solutions geared towards scaling early and medium stage enterprises. Shant has demonstrated exceptional analytical, managerial, and technical acumen across a number of C-suite positions, including CTO of cang.eco,  a marketplace for eco-conscious brands and sustainable products, and CTO of Youtiful.net, the carbon-neutral cosmetics brand and genesis platform that would subsequently launch cang.eco. An entrepreneur in his own right, Shant founded Prodcast.tv in 2018.  A fully-integrated marketplace and live video-streaming platform delivering a dynamic video-shopping experience to consumers, providing a competitive alternative to Twitch and Amazon. Prior to this, Shant served as Head of R&D at Pippa&Jean, a social selling community geared towards empowering 100,000 women to start their own business, as well as CTO of Deliverea, a cloud shipping management service that manages the logistics of users’ e-commerce platforms. Shant is passionate about driving fan engagement forward through NFT and crypto innovations, while leveraging technology as a force for good.

From studying at home during the pandemic, to working at home with Irish Tech News, Ria McGuire talks to Ebony about all thing’s internship. Ria was a college student that graduated from Dublin City University. She interned with ITN for three months and during her time she was a sub-editor, podcast host and managed to write her own pieces too. We discuss challenges Ria faced, things she would have done differently, and she gives advice on how to successfully get through an internship. Ria McGuire studied journalism for three years at Dublin City University. She has written for TheJournal.ie, Irish Tech News and Leicester Leader.

We catch up with Andrew Craissati to learn more about his plans to revolutionise and successfully monetise the podcasting world. More about Auddy With monthly compound audience growth of 91%, Auddy is on a mission to build a data-driven podcast publisher for mainstream audio podcasts from top producers. A 5.5m historical download catalogue means clients such as Vodafone & Open University are already on the books. Auddy is led by ex-Virgin, Netflix & Warner senior execs. More about Andrew With over 20 years' senior roles across investment banking, Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, Universal Studios, National Geographic and the David de Rothschild family office, I have now spent 7 years investing in and supporting successful and high growth early stage companies around the World. In addition, my co-founding of a audio technology and content venture, Auddy.co, calls upon my past experiences in mobile telephony, radio and tech.

Jamil Hasan catches up with David Kay, from Liti Capital to learn more about this important topic Representing traders financially injured on Binance and the importance of Blockchain Ethics with David Kay @ Liti Capital David Kay Executive Chairman & Chief Investment Ofcer, Liti Capital NYC-based David Kay is the Executive Chairman and Chief Investment Ofcer of Liti Capital. A qualified lawyer and investment banker, and one of the most successful and in-demand litigation finance strategists in the history of the 15-year-old litigation finance industry, David joined Liti Capital in early 2021. Before joining Liti Capital, David provided board representation, corporate governance, capital raising, and strategic planning advisory services to several public and private multi-billion dollar organizations. He has proven expertise in complex conflict management and financing processes across various sectors, including but not limited to: multi-jurisdictional litigation and/or arbitration, international law issues, governmental contracts or disputes, judgement enforcement, and forensic asset-tracing.  For the better part of the last decade, David was also a Founding Partner and the Portfolio Manager of a US$1 billion+ private equity fund focused on investing in complex commercial litigations and arbitrations around the globe. While at the fund, David conceived and developed an investment strategy that focused on investing in (i) international commercial litigations and arbitrations and (ii) other complex special situations. This strategy was realized by successfully raising two funds, providing the opportunity to create outsized, non-market correlated returns via strategic investments where there was both (i) a strong risk-adjusted return and (ii) an ability to directly/positively impact the outcome. David led the deployment of capital at the funds, and he was responsible for building out the entire team and executing the strategy across approximately 40 investments in more than 17 countries. Prior to that fund experience, David served in the Restructuring and Recapitalization Group at the Jeferies Financial Group. In that role, he was responsible for analyzing and facilitating corporate restructurings, with an emphasis on advising corporate clients and their creditors in large, multifaceted transactions. Representative engagements included: Nortel Networks, The Trump Organization, Verasun Energy Corporation, Delphi Corporation and Hard Rock Park. He also practiced law as an attorney at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP in the Financial Restructuring Group, where he focused on advising creditors committees and bondholder committees in complex corporate restructurings, both out of court and in Chapter 11. Representative cases included: Delta Airlines, Loral Space & Communications, Calpine Corporation, Anchor Glass Container Corporation and Vertis Communications.David earned his Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania. He earned his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Fordham University School of Law, where he made the Dean’s List and wrote for the Urban Law Journal.

While the promise of flying cars might not have materialized, plenty has transpired in the startup space, at least in fintech. From investing to payments and super apps, from Asia to Latam and Africa, startups have raised record-level of funds. While it might seem consumers have a myriad of choices (just take a look at your smartphone), do we truly have the right solutions to the day-to-day challenges we face?  In this episode of One Vision, Theo and Bradley chat with Ben Soppitt, co-founder and CEO of Unifimoney, on entrepreneurship, culture, and the art of automating wealth management.

T. Dylan Daniel write books. Now he is a publisher of books. And in another great step he has set up his own coin - $PAGE - to reward authors in this space. Read his white paper here https://opensea.io/assets/0x0c0e9457c330ac68addaa97913663115b28ac38f/7 And his medium post here https://medium.com/work-in-progress-publishing/page-token-liquidity-mining-guide-c7d701c6025e and listen here to his genius :-) Your host is Jillian Godsil, award winning journalist, broadcaster and author. Her latest book can be found here https://persons-of-interest.io/

The PÜRE Collection is prestige, gender-neutral skincare, that is award-winning, 100% Certified Organic (COSMOS standard), cruelty free, PETA and vegan brand. So how does The PÜRE Collection maintain being 100% Certified Organic, gain new customers, whilst continuing to innovate and grow during the pandemic? Ronan talks to Robert Mars and Stephen Scarman Co-Founders of The PÜRE Collection. Robert and Stephen talk about their backgrounds, why they started the Pure Collection, why being organic is so important, taking the extra step to become certified organic and their branding. They also talk about why they don’t do white labeling, the tech updates to their websites including AR & VR, making the online shopping experience special, and their future innovations. More about The PÜRE Collection: It uses only rare and exotic oils, such as Rose Otto from Bulgaria, Sandalwood from Australia and Oud from Thailand, all formulated in-house by aromatherapists and stylishly presented in 100% recyclable packaging. PÜRE 100% Organic Prickly Pear Seed Oil is hailed by skincare buffs as one of the most powerful skincare products available.  It is an anti-ageing power oil to stimulate cellular renewal and healing, and to combat free radicals, reducing wrinkles and sagging. Robert and Stephen say they advocate healthy ageing, with a simple, but uncompromising approach to ethical skincare.  Their market is the discerning, health and environment-conscious consumer, and the pair are on a mission to dispel the claims of so-called ‘clean beauty’, ‘natural’ and ‘organic’ skincare that is far-from properly regulated and not certified at all. Robert and Stephen are also offering a 10% discount to Irish Tech News readers, just use the discount coupon  ‘Tecdr10’ at the checkout and it is valid until 30th Sept 2021.