Alts
Stagione 1
di Horacio Ruiz
Horacio sat down with John Caldwell, also known as VegSurfer, the NFT Principal at Wave Financial. Before his current role, John was a successful NFT collector and Layer 1 business developer. His expertise in the space has made him a critical member of the Wave Financial NFT Fund and a big reason for its current success. Discussion topics include: Journey toward working with Wave Financial as the NFT Principal at Wave Financial Living in the CryptoPunk server with others as a “hivemind” for seeking alpha Similarities between NFT communities and World of Warcraft guilds What it means to be immersed in a space when finding arbitrage opportunities $AGOLD airdrop from the Loot Project Working with traditional financial analysts who don’t fully understand NFTs The importance of open communities when gauging an NFT project VegSurfer, as he is also known, as a quick way to describe himself Taking a chance on potentially life-changing opportunities Educating oneself in order to make the best possible decisions NFTs in its proper context within art history Strategies for conducting research on NFT projects and the pros and cons of Twitter The PFP as a status symbol Defining the metaverse, its future, and our present state --- Follow Alts - Website & newsletter: https://alts.co - Discord: https://discord.gg/DEkHgzggwC - Twitter: https://twitter.com/altassetsclub - Insta: https://instagram.com/alts_co - Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpmgk4gzQ56QvpyegBJJVQA?sub_confirmation=1
This week, Horacio sat down with Mendy Ouzillou, founder of SkyFall Meteorites. Skyfall offers meteorites for sale and other consultations and scientific analysis services. SkyFall is also Mendy’s platform to express his love for meteorites and a way to connect with other meteorite enthusiasts. Mendy has created a full-time business out of his hobby. Still, he approaches it with the analysis and consideration of a scientist. Discussion topics include: Meteorites as a wholly unique collectable His journey as a meteorite collector and the sense of introspection that it gives him Meteorites that carried prebiotics to Earth from outer space Pallasites as a meteorite class that has seen a rise in value in recent years Esquel and Imilac meteorites as highly coveted collector’s items Connecting with a meteorite association for amateur collectors, such as the Global Meteorite Association Spreading awareness about the hobby through his volunteer work The general scarcity of meteorites and the potential for a limited supply as demand grows Nomadic tribes that collect meteorites across the Saharan Desert can connect with dealers directly through the internet Meteorites as national relics and important scientific research items The economics of running his business with a buy low, sell high strategy Going on meteorite hunts and the work involved in it Potential damage to meteorites depending on its surrounding environment and the importance of proper storage Retail and consultation services provided by SkyFall Meteorites for customers, researchers, and museums The rise in value of iron meteorites because of increased demand from China --- Follow Alts - Website & newsletter: https://alts.co - Discord: https://discord.gg/DEkHgzggwC - Twitter: https://twitter.com/altassetsclub - Insta: https://instagram.com/alts_co - TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alts_co - Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpmgk4gzQ56QvpyegBJJVQA?sub_confirmation=1
This week, Horacio and Stefan sat down with Slade Michalec, Co-founder of Lumis, a domain brokerage firm. Slade talks about the intricacies of brokering deals for domain names. He also gives updates on the latest trends in the industry, including emerging domains and using equity for acquisitions. Stefan provides insight into the role Lumis played in helping us here at Alts acquire the alts.co domain Discussion topics include: The dynamics of acquiring domain names for businesses and individuals The challenges and processes of contacting owners of domain names Methods used to find domain names, including WHOIS records, proprietary tools, experience, and connections within the industry. Determining price points for domain names, including premium names, comparable sales, and integration into the owner’s processes and systems Using solid research during a meeting of the minds to help broker a deal Special payment plans as domain names have appreciated since the beginning of the COVID pandemic. Determining value for domain names and their potential subjectivity A rise in transactions involving equity or stake in a company The rise in .xyz domain extensions The .com domain still standing as the premier top-level domain, and its appreciation in value with increased scarcity --- Follow Alts - Website & newsletter: https://alts.co - Discord: https://discord.gg/DEkHgzggwC - Twitter: https://twitter.com/altassetsclub - Insta: https://instagram.com/alts_co - TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alts_co - Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpmgk4gzQ56QvpyegBJJVQA?sub_confirmation=1
This week, Horacio sat down with Ryan Stuczynski, founder of Gemrate.com Gemrate is a population report primarily focused on tracking PSA data. His site gives insight into the pace with which PSA is grading cards, as well as the cards that are trending. Discussion topics include: Bringing transparency to the card grading space Realizing the premium in value for a Gem Mint PSA 10 Difficulty with navigating the population reports on the PSA website Market inefficiencies with the rise of grading base cards Using social media as a way to deliver content through data Monetizing Gemrate and balancing its growth and staying true to his vision Creating a more accurate population report to provide a holistic view of grades across grading companies Potential impact of new graders “playing it safe” with the grades they gave Keeping lines of communication open with PSA while managing the site independently The staggering numbers for certain cards that have been graded and its effect on prices --- Follow Alts - Website & newsletter: https://alts.co - Discord: https://discord.gg/DEkHgzggwC - Twitter: https://twitter.com/altassetsclub - Insta: https://instagram.com/alts_co - TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alts_co - Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpmgk4gzQ56QvpyegBJJVQA?sub_confirmation=1
This week, Horacio sat down with Les Borsai, Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Wave Financial, an actively-managed liquid VC fund investing in crypto-assets since 2018. Les is a former music executive who started the Wave Financial NFT Fund after noticing parallels between young musicians and NFT artists. Discussion topics include: His roots in the music industry as a rave and concert promoter Common attributes between artists in the music industry and in the NFT space The ability to be someone else in cyberspace while taking risks to make money The advantages of being an outcast Wave Financial’s global vision and the genesis of the NFT Fund NFTs are art and collectibles, but ultimately about the creation of a gig economy in the metaverse The strategy in buying certain NFTs as opposed to others, including infrastructure plays The importance of building and supporting a community as an NFT artist Veg Surfer, an NFT analyst hired by Wave Financial, who is immersed in NFTs and spotting trends The importance of collaboration and learning to let go of ego Investing in the Wave Financial NFT Fund The NFT Fund adherence to regulations and potential tokenization Following the DAO blueprint for creating a community through the NFT Fund Thoughts on the adoption of NFTs by corporations including Nike’s acquisition of RTFKT Studios The future of intellectual property rights for NFTs --- Follow Alts - Website & newsletter: https://alts.co - Discord: https://discord.gg/DEkHgzggwC - Twitter: https://twitter.com/altassetsclub - Insta:https://instagram.com/alts_co - TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alts_co - Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpmgk4gzQ56QvpyegBJJVQA?sub_confirmation=1
This week, Horacio sat down with Evan Vandenberg Co-founder & CEO of Dibbs, the world's only 24-7 fractional trading card marketplace. Discussion topics include: The model behind fractional ownership and blockchain-based tokenization with sports cards Using tokenized ownership from Dibbs for future utility in different ecosystems and platforms that already exist Amazon as an investor in Dibbs and the opportunities it provides for future business opportunities, particularly in the multimedia space Expanding Dibbs offerings to include non-sport cards, other collectibles, international markets, NHL and Formula One offerings The ‘Sell with Dibbs’ initiative that allows collectors to fractionalize their own cards Using the Dibbs 24/7 platform as a de facto stock market for sports cards The feature of buying parts of every card of any athlete on the Dibbs platform and the potential for buying into broader categories The emergence of Formula 1 in the trading card industry and in the sports scene The differences between Formula One and NASCAR and NASCAR’s failure to catch on in the card industry --- Follow Alts - Website & newsletter: https://alts.co - Discord: https://discord.gg/DEkHgzggwC - Twitter: https://twitter.com/altassetsclub - Insta: https://instagram.com/alts_co - TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alts_co - Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpmgk4gzQ56QvpyegBJJVQA?sub_confirmation=1
This week, Horacio sat down with Justin Truong, Co-founder & CEO of PUSHAS, a sneaker marketplace (and sneaker fund!) based in Australia which is on the heels of global expansion. Discussion topics include: Building PUSHAS from the ground up by trading on sneaker groups on Facebook The Ultra Boost Yeezy as his first true immersion into sneaker culture How the sneaker industry is more accessible for women than typical asset classes Using consignment to build the business and making a decision to go into the sneaker business full-time in 2019 Finding a niche by dealing with high-end, high-volume resellers by managing the entire sales process Managing a limited supply problem by starting a sneaker fund overnight to provide more liquidity How the PUSHAS sneaker fund encompasses 6,000 pairs of sneakers and produced a 60% return The advantages of working full-time in the sneaker industry to spot trends Australia as a smaller sneaker market compared to other countries and the importance of a secondary market The advantages of the PUSHAS model of authenticating bulk sellers The prevalence of counterfeit sneakers and the importance of having a great eye and a system for spotting fakes PUSHAS expanding into the US with headquarters in Los Angeles Building the PUSHAS brand around community PUSHAS strategy to work with Stock X and GOAT rather than competing against them Sneakers as a stable alternative asset class --- Follow Alts - Website & newsletter: https://alts.co - Discord: https://discord.gg/DEkHgzggwC - Twitter: https://twitter.com/altassetsclub - Insta: https://instagram.com/alts_co - TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alts_co - Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpmgk4gzQ56QvpyegBJJVQA?sub_confirmation=1
This week, Horacio sat down with Anthony Zhang, Founder & CEO of Vinovest. It was a short chat but a good one. Discussion topics include: What it took to build his first business as a 19-year old, a food delivery service called EnvoyNow His decision to drop out of college to build his business The advice he gives to young, aspiring entrepreneurs The spinal cord injury that changed his life Recovering and having the motivation to return to being a CEO to resurrect his EnvoyNow After selling EnvoyNow, Anthony creates his second company; Know Your VC The genesis of Vinovest and the importance of gifting high quality wines in Asian culture VinoVest as a platform to help give more accessibility to retail investors His process in building Vinovest from scratch with his co-founder Vinovest’s strategy in tweaking its investing algorithm, offering investment tiers, risk-weighted options, and owning the physical bottle How investors can profit from their investments on VinoVest Why Vinovest is expanding into whiskey --- Follow Alts - Website & newsletter: https://alts.co - Discord: https://discord.gg/DEkHgzggwC - Twitter: https://twitter.com/altassetsclub - Insta: https://instagram.com/alts_co - TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alts_co - Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpmgk4gzQ56QvpyegBJJVQA?sub_confirmation=1
Horacio sat down with Bruce Pascal, the world's largest collector of Hot Wheels. They discuss: How he acquires collections, including his most recent acquisition of 6,000 cars from California The advantages of acquiring new cars and having distribution channels through other collectors on eBay The best way to get involved in the hobby (conducting research through Facebook groups, books, and websites) The most valuable cars (Sweet 16 cars based on real cars, or cars shown at car shows) His other collections (including Preston Tucker memorabilia) and how that led him to start collecting Hot Wheels. How he purchased the rarest Hot Wheels car in the world How one noted collector called Bruce’s purchase a fake, and what he did to prove it was real How he tracked down 400 former Hot Wheels employees and associated partners How his collection has gained increased acceptance among collectors and hobbyists The history of the famous Pink Rear Loading Beach Bomb Strategies and potential inefficiencies in the current market His personal museum The future of his collection and his thoughts on Hot Wheels NFTs This podcast was originally featured as part of the Alts newsletter issue: Hot Wheels Collecting with Bruce Pascal --- Follow Alts - Website & newsletter: https://alts.co - Discord: https://discord.gg/DEkHgzggwC - Twitter: https://twitter.com/altassetsclub - Insta: https://instagram.com/alts_co - TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alts_co - Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpmgk4gzQ56QvpyegBJJVQA?sub_confirmation=1
Stefan sat down with Jason Prado from The Drivers Cooperative: a driver-owned ridehailing alternative to Uber & Lyft that is 100% worker-owned. In the chat, we discuss: The history of ridesharing in the US The problem with Uber & Lyft What a worker-owned cooperative is, exactly How The Drivers Cooperative formed How owner voting works in the cooperative How profits are distributed among owners Marketplace dynamics: How they manage supply & demand The challenges of going up against Uber & Lyft The mechanics of investing in their crowdfunding campaign This episode was originally featured in the Alts newsletter issue: The Drivers Co-Op Ridehailing App --- Follow Alts - Website & newsletter: https://alts.co - Discord: https://discord.gg/DEkHgzggwC - Twitter: https://twitter.com/altassetsclub - Insta: https://instagram.com/alts_co - Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpmgk4gzQ56QvpyegBJJVQA?sub_confirmation=1