Finding Genius Podcast

In the US alone, approximately five to 10 million people require a brain injury assessment and potential intervention every year; globally, that number rises to somewhere between 75 and 100 million. These numbers may shock you, but what's perhaps even more shocking is that as it currently stands, brain injury assessments are highly subjective, relying more upon a particular clinician's capabilities and experience with diagnosing brain injuries than on any form of objective measurement. This has not only led to misdiagnoses, but an extreme overuse of CAT scan technology. Michael Singer is the CEO of BrainScope, a company that's developed an AI-based, non-invasive, handheld device capable of helping clinicians objectively and reliably determine whether or not a patient actually needs a CAT scan to look for bleeding in the brain, and identify whether or not a patient has suffered from a functional brain injury, such as a concussion, which is something that CAT scans can't do. Developed in coordination with military and clinical partners, the BrainScope device is applied to a patient's forehead in order to measure the electrical activity in their brain and provide as assessment as to whether or not the patient is at risk of a bleed in the brain, and whether or not the patient has suffered a concussion. As a whole, this device provides a panel of capabilities that allow clinicians to feel more confident in making decisions about what's best for an individual patient. Tune in for all the details about this exciting new technology, and visit www.brainscope.com to learn more.

Andrew Hubbard, CEO of Ai-London (ai-london.com), delivers a thorough discussion on the many new tools that businesses and individuals can utilize to expand their use of cloud service-based technologies for investment, insurance, and beyond. Hubbard's realization that people of all ages and backgrounds wanted to engage with insurance companies digitally drove him to push Ai-London to solve the problem and open up new avenues for discovery. Hubbard explains how the information and policies were once completely geared toward underwriters, insurance agents, and claim specialists, but was woefully lacking in the digital and mobile arena. He talks about how Ai-London seeks to move core systems into the cloud in order to truly innovate and turn the industry on its ear. Ai-London is a strategic management solutions company that works with life, savings and investment providers who seek to place customers directly in the center of their strategies and systems. Ai-London offers software assets, process and project management skills for business, as well as a full range of technology support services. Hubbard's company focuses on four primary performance areas: organizational efficiency, digital transformation strategy, line of business convergence, and customer experience. And the company seeks to offer strategies that focus significantly on the management of risk. Ai-London offers multiple software options that deal with policy administration, customer-based compliance, and innovation. Their Ai-PAS system that deals with policy administration are an end-to-end comprehensive system that covers the lifecycle of the policy. It offers web services, batch management, product configuration and more that provide for an optimized business model and successful business results as they pertain to current and future investments. Their Ai-CXP system (customer-centric and compliance-conscious) establishes secure records for customer engagements with a focus on the insurer/customer transaction. And their innovation software, Ai-LAB, is an advanced incubation platform for firms that desire to engage in digital and social media type initiatives. It encompasses many digital insurance products, such as those that are social media oriented or short-term, utilizing blockchain. By innovating and reinventing the social media aspects of investment and savings opportunities, Hubbard outlines how his company is helping to launch many investment strategies and situations that help not only businesses but everyday people who may want to help friends and family or social causes. Hubbard details the ways blockchain has expanded opportunities for many transactions and how industries are excited to begin using blockchain as it offers careful recording of information that is secure. Hubbard states that from an industry point of view, sponsoring independent innovation hubs is a means to break through the barriers to adopting blockchain, and AI. The technology innovator discusses some pitfalls and issues that may develop in the use of AI as it pertains to his industry. And he details some of the successes of his company's platform, AI LAB, as the technological advances of cloud services expand and develop.

Disclaimer: "The opinions stated herein are those of Warren Katz, and do not reflect the position of the US Air Force." Warren Katz, CEO of Techstars (techstars.com), provides a detailed analysis of the current state of technology startups, and the assistance his company can deliver to steer them in the right direction, help them reach their goals, and launch their products faster. Warren Katz is the managing director of Techstars Autonomous Technology Accelerator with the US Air Force, a partnership designed to increase active engagement between promising startups with state-of-the-art counter-drone technologies, and the Department of Defense. Katz was President of Neurala, a top artificial intelligence company that is focused on AI with continuous learning. Additionally, Katz co-founded MÄK Technologies, which was later acquired by VT Systems of Alexandria, Virginia. Katz is a mentor to many industry leaders as well as an angel investor who notably invested in Harmonix, GrabCAD, Neurala, Oblong, Bevi, LovePop, and PetNet. He holds bachelor's degrees in both mechanical and electrical engineering from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Katz discusses his work with the US Air Force to help them keep pace with emerging commercial technologies. But beyond the US Air Force, many private sector companies are also looking to Techstars to accelerate their connections to the latest technology. Techstars' team combs through thousands of startups and selects an elite group of the most viable and commercially relevant, that are either currently manufacturing or about to manufacture groundbreaking technology. After the selections are made, Techstars vets those selected and assists them with advanced development toward their launch. Techstars is the worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed while helping companies access the technology they need. And Techstars Corporate Partners provides powerful industry expertise by offering hands-on mentorship, as well as strategic business development, and access to abundant resources to help startups accelerate their overall progress toward their goals. And with 150 countries involved, 10,000 mentors, and 300,000 alumni, it's clear that valuable connections are being made. The technology expert discusses some of the hard problems that the Department of Defense (DOD) faces in its struggle to bring the best tech on board. He states that while the DOD has big pockets, their money does not flow as easily as some private industry companies, and the wheels for progress are often slower moving. For these and other reasons, Katz states that many of the best tech startups are choosing to work in the private sector to avoid headaches and to accelerate their progress. Thus, Katz is helping the US Air Force to streamline their process, to make it easier for the best and brightest startups to say yes to working with them first. By combining outside money with the startup, the DOD can accelerate their process as well, and be less drained financially as two separate teams are working to advance the technology and deliver robust products. Katz gives an overview of some of the most exciting technology startups that he is working with. From blockchain advances to invisible ink and specialty drones, the technology products are diverse and offer amazing advances for the public and private sector. He discusses drones that attack other drones, technology that can map cellular and WIFI signals and locate unauthorized or enemy equipment, drone-based radiation detectors, and more. As technology and autonomous products continue to advance, Katz expects to see many probes and unmanned devices taking their place on the battlefield and in the private industry world as well.

James Albis, founder and CEO of SnoHub (snohub.com), provides a complete overview of the snow removal business and how his company's digital app is creating jobs and helping to alleviate the snow problem that faces millions of people annually. As a boy, Albis saw an opportunity in snow removal. Teaming up with a neighborhood friend when he was just ten years old, Albis shoveled many driveways in the winter and earned a decent amount of extra cash, enough to make a ten year old pretty pleased. Fast forward many years and Albis, now a businessman, found himself pondering why snow removal was still a continual problem for so many people living in areas that get pounded by the winter weather annually. His desire to solve this problem motivated his launch of SnoHub. SnoHub is a fully automated snow clearing service that, finally, solves the snow-clearing crisis in a super convenient, easy way. It's a simple to use app for customers and contractors alike that benefits everyone. Snow clearing is no longer difficult, for as Albis states, SnoHub has solved an inefficient problem through the use of mobile technology. Albis explains how their service covers the full range of customers' needs, from snow blowing to snow plowing, snow shoveling, and deicing. It's a compulsory, gig economy type of service as Albis explains, and his app solves the problem by bringing literally thousands of new snow removal workers into the solution. From a person with a truck and pro equipment to the college student with a good shovel and strong arms ready to work, SnoHub brings every willing body into the snow removal equation when they are needed! For customers who need snow removal, SnoHub offers the benefit of easy contracts with no long-term commitments, easy ordering of the service on demand, preorders for when you know the storm is coming, order tracking, and full documentation of completed work with before and after photos. Additionally, SnoHub can alert customers via SMS and phone contact, and their advanced secure channels allow for concise, convenient, and confidential communication throughout the entire process from early ordering all the way through to a final tip to the contractor for a job well done. For contractors, the benefits are also plentiful. Contractors who work through SnoHub can reserve jobs, up to five at a time in advance of a coming storm or during the storm. They can receive bonuses for meeting specific SnoHub goals, which could put extra money in their pocket. Contractors benefit from the same easy means of communication, via phone or SMS notices. They can view jobs in advance, calculate their time and distance to jobs, and earn extra for completing additional services clients may request, and count on easy payments for their hard work in just three to four days after completion. Albis discusses some exciting partnerships that he is bringing SnoHub into, such as equipment providers that SnoHub's contractors can utilize in their work. And Albis stresses his desire to work with American companies as SnoHub strives to bring more workers into the snow accumulation problem through the creation of many viable job opportunities. And for the future, Albis hopes to broaden his company's services, as they have the database of customers who will probably also need additional services during the non-winter months as well.

Payam Banazadeh, the co-founder and CEO of Capella Space (capellaspace.com), shines some light on the important topic of satellite surveillance. Banazadeh's company, Capella Space, is a venture-backed Silicon Valley company that builds satellites capable of imaging earth day and night, in all weather and light conditions. Banazadeh was named to the prestigious Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2017 and Capella Space has been touted by The New York Times, Bloomberg, and Inc. as one of the top-25 disruptive companies in the world. Banazadeh graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. in aerospace engineering from The University of Texas at Austin. During his time at UT, he received the Texas Outstanding Scholar & Leader Award for his formidable academic skills, performance, and exceptional leadership. Additionally, he holds a graduate business degree from Stanford University. Banazadeh received the NASA Mariner Award for his work on two multi-million dollar missions and the prestigious NASA Discovery Award for outstanding achievement in the formulation of novel concepts for the development of projects for NASA. Banazadeh co-founded Capella Space with William Woods with the common goal of developing a means to monitor the planet more accurately and efficiently from space, which could have far-reaching applications for multiple industries. He discusses the frustration they shared as the world watched the unsuccessful search for Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 on live TV. Banazadeh and Woods collectively felt that there should be a better way to monitor the planet, and track objects such as airline flights, etc. He discusses some of their initial findings, reasons behind the ineffectiveness of satellites, such as satellites' inability to monitor in a comprehensive manner during cloudiness or darkness. He describes how traditional satellites utilize optical imaging, which cannot see through either—clouds or darkness. Capella Space's satellites use Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to achieve their excellent capabilities. SAR is a type of radar that can create 2D or 3D images of objects, such as landscapes, and it uses the motion of the radar antenna over a specific region to provide a sharper spatial resolution than traditional beam-scanning radars. Clouds and nighttime are no longer an issue, or a problem, with Capella Space's advanced technological satellites. Banazadeh gives a detailed explanation of the power and energy necessary to bounce satellite signals with the SAR system, and how Capella Space's satellites inhabit lower orbits to facilitate the power/energy and distance issues. He provides details on the measurements and imagery that exist with the SAR-based satellites versus traditional satellite technology that has been utilized in the past. He talks about the minute details that are visible with their company's offerings in the satellite technology arena, such as reflectivity, texture, and moisture information that is incredibly helpful for applications in many industries. Banazadeh states that their strategy is not to observe the entire globe but to look at important, key areas globally where changes are occurring, changes that could severely impact security and industry. Capella Space's satellites can identify and classify most objects that are one meter or larger in size and can be accessed anywhere in the globe at any time, day or night. Additionally, they provide new imagery hourly and can easily penetrate clouds, fog, pollution, haze, and nearly every atmospheric condition. And with penetration and accuracy at such a high level, it's clear why Capella Space is attracting attention and praise for their outstanding leadership in global surveillance.

Isaac Dallas, co-founder, and CMO of XSPACE (xspaceapp.com) provide an overview of the future of product content generation for ecommerce, and how augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR) will play a significant role. As co-founder, Dallas is intently focused on using visualization to simplify business. In addition to his work in the business arena, Dallas is a strong advocate for education reform initiatives and was a key player in a strategic Harvard and Apple sponsored project that seeks to create advanced programs to assist children with problem-solving skills and strategies for learning. Dallas is a graduate of Illinois State University where he specialized in marketing analytics. Dallas's company, XSPACE, provides a simplified end-to-end solution for product information and visuals. XSPACE's platform ensures that businesses continually provide high-quality images and product descriptions to their customer base. The XSPACE platform will help your brand cut costs, save time, and give customers exactly what they want and need to make a purchase. XSPACE delivers an updated database of products to business websites and streamlines the product management process through their efficient and affordable solutions. Dallas describes their platform's automation and the benefits and savings of automating. By introducing an efficient way to deliver 360-degree photography to businesses, customers have greater control over their shopping and buying experience, for about the same cost to a business as their average spends on traditional 2D photography. The platform could contribute to significant savings over the long run, sometimes as much as 70%, and value-added options of 3D, AR, and 360 capabilities will help to build brand trust with customers in the marketplace. Dallas discusses the next wave of product marketing and the technology that will continue to impact how customers consume. He provides detailed information on browser issues, and viewing options that are available for presenting product displays online. The online and display marketing expert delivers an analysis of available market data that provides insight into average sales increases, as well as the dramatic decrease in product returns. He explains the tremendous upside for sales that exist as businesses convert their inventory to more experiential imaging. For example, in regard to furnishings, as consumers can look at multiple products in a room, they are then more inclined to purchase all of their individual furnishings through the very same store. From sizing, to mix and match options, it's clear that 3D, AR, and VR are providing unique customer experiences that boost revenue.

"A lot of what ails us comes from improper inputs...food, how much light we get, how much exercise we get, how much sleep we get...if you can get your environment and diet right, you can reverse some disease processes and greatly improve symptoms of other disease processes," says Craig Emmerich, founder of keto-adapted.com and author of Keto: The Complete Guide to Success on the Ketogenic Diet, Including Simplified Science and No-Cook Meal Plans. Having been on the ketogenic diet for 12 years now, Emmerich can speak first-hand about the progressive improvements in his health, as well as the challenges faced by many who are just starting out. The Keto-Adapted program has received over 1,000 testimonials from clients who have seen significant improvement in their disease processes and symptoms after adhering to the ketogenic diet, including those who suffer from MS, Parkinson's disease, IBS, acid reflux, eczema, and diabetes. Several people with MS and Parkinson's disease have reported such significant improvements in their symptoms that they're no longer dependent upon any medication. And of course, the ketogenic diet carries with it the added bonus of weight loss. Tune in to hear Emmerich discuss some of the highlights from his book, such as the three phases of keto, as well as the most difficult aspects of starting and sticking to the ketogenic diet (and some tips on how to do so successfully!) Check out the blog at mariamindbodyhealth.com and learn more at keto-adapted.com.

In recent years, the idea of merging 3D printing with print electronics has become an area of both interest and skepticism. It is feasible, or is it just a gimmick? As the CEO of nScrypt, Ken Church set out to prove that it's not only feasible, but applicable and relevant. In order to do this, the team at nScrypt is designing and manufacturing industrial printers that will be capable of producing the products we use everyday. But that's not all, they are also printing biological materials such as collagen and red blood cells. This will pave the way for the printing of more complex tissues and organs, and will relieve biologists of the technological burden of the printing process and the software that's behind it. Most recently, nScrypt has began working with a new startup that's using pancreatic cells to create spheroids, a biologic drug that has already shown to lower blood sugar levels in mice from 600 to 120 when administered subcutaneously. Church discusses a variety of topics, including thermoplastics in 3D printing, the steps involved and the challenges to overcome in printing organs, and nScrypt's plan to have careful experiments conducted on the bioprinter in the international space station, which is set to launch February 2019. Tune in for all the details, and visit www.nscrypt.com to learn more.

Victoria Field began researching the ketogenic diet and understanding it as an underutilized tool in medicine and science after seeing the amazing results it had on her epileptic dog, who had previously been on anticonvulsants for years without good results. When a simple change in diet relieved her dog of seizures and replaced the medication altogether, she began wondering what other types of diseases a ketogenic diet could help manage--not just in dogs, but humans too. In 2014, KetoPet sanctuary was established with the goal of rescuing and improving the quality of life of dogs who have been diagnosed with cancer. With the implementation of a ketogenic diet, they've seen a 55% success rate in extending lives past prognosis. They also focus on educating the public on species-appropriate foods not often found on pet store shelves, and providing people with tools for easy implementation of ketogenic diets. One such tool is the KetoPet calculator, which is available on ketopet.org and helps owners develop tailored ketogenic diets based on a variety of factors, including the overall goal they wish to achieve and the state at which their dog's disease has progressed. Geared with the knowledge and evidence gained from the work done at KetoPet, the team at Epigenix decided to apply the same principles to the world of human health and medicine. The team at Epigenix is currently partnering with oncologists to explore the effect of combining ketogenic diets with the standard of care for patients suffering from cancer, and the results from pilot studies have been incredibly positive; within just four weeks of adhering to a ketogenic diet, one patient had regained the ability to speak and read. Field discusses the importance of taking a dynamic approach to treating diseases in humans and animals, the importance of empowerment that is provided by nutrition-based therapy, and the upcoming Metabolic Health Summit conference, an organization which she is proud to be named co-founder. The conference is open to anyone interested in learning more or getting started on a ketogenic diet, as well as scientists and physicians looking to hold clinical trials to more thoroughly analyze its effectiveness. Find all the details about the conference at metabolichealthsummit.com, and learn more about ketogenic diets at epigenixfoundation.org and ketopet.org.

Ben Godfrey, founder, and general partner of SportVEST (sportvest.io) delivers an overview of sports investing in a digital blockchain world. Godfrey manages the vision and direction of SportVEST with a focus on accelerating the company's market share and SVE token valuation. He is an innovation expert and has a track record of strong customer relationships, partnership building, and smart staff development and hiring practices for the sports and blockchain communities. Godfrey is especially interested in promoting the investment pipeline for the best visionary opportunities within the sports sector. He brings over 20 years of solid experience in global finance and investments to SportVEST and has worked for some of the top financial institutions such as Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Merrill Lynch, and others. Godfrey's company, SportVEST, is a blockchain-based venture capital fund that invests in the future of sports with the goal of creating a novel asset class. Godfrey discusses how he was curious as to why there were seemingly so many great sports business and technology concepts that were having trouble raising funds, and how he set out to create improved fundraising protocols through an innovative venture investment platform. The SportVEST venture fund uses tokenization. SVE is an asset-backed ERC20 digital token built on blockchain technology with token holders forming limited partners in the fund. The SportVEST mission, at its core, is to provide improved VC measurement tools while also bringing better liquidity to investments in the sports sector such that the SVE token holders can decide on the optimal time to acquire profits. And as Godfrey states, the sports economy is valued at approximately $600 to $700 Billion, thus the need for capitalization for sports-oriented startups within the sports economy is immense. Godfrey discusses the benefits and advantages of utilizing blockchain and tokenization for investment as opposed to traditional investment platforms. Godfrey explains that when you sell the token to an investor, the token represents a share in your fund, but liquidity is a big difference, as investors can get in and out in about one year. This is a significant upside for investors who don't want their funds tied up in investments for three to five years as is required by many traditional investment platforms. The blockchain investment expert provides an analysis of the various areas of the sports economy such as clubs, teams, athletes, merchandise, memorabilia, fan content, wearables, media, IP, data, gaming, AI, VR, fantasy sports, ticketing, events, and gambling, etc. And he discusses how some companies in the sports industry and economy are able to move more efficiently by working through this future-forward platform. And as Godfrey explains, the ease of their investment strategy is another advantage for interested investors. Godfrey details how his company not only helps these sports-focused companies with the investment side, but they also provide hands-on support for growth revenue streams, development, scalability, and more. The investment expert explains the process for registering, from thoroughly vetting the white papers they provide to contacting the general partners for investment contracts. He explains the importance of transparency in the process and how they take special care to ensure that each investor fully understands all the details every step of the way.