Somi Arian Podcast

#57 - David Heinemeier Hansson: Growth Mindset & Curiosity - The Essence of Human Progression

David Heinemeier Hansson is a programmer and the creator of the popular Ruby on Rails web development framework. He is also the co-founder of Basecamp, a fantastic platform for workplace scheduling and productivity which I’ve personally used. David also co-wrote Agile Web Development, a book about Remote working over a decade before we all started getting on Zoom. 
I discovered David on the Bankless podcast where he discussed why he was wrong about Crypto and decided that actually Crypto is really needed for our time. 
In today’s episode of the Somi Arian Podcast David and I touch upon all things tech, crypto and web3, diving deep into the philosophy of technology and the human ego, where change begins once we’re able to regularly update our worldview. 
 
Outline ⤵️
00:00 Intro
01:39 Basecamp
02:45 David’s interview on Bankless on crypto
10:07 NFTs are about the community
11:20 David on humbleness and curiosity
15:34 How can we make more people curious about the world?
22:24 Digital is a language
25:38 Finding a catalyst for good in the era of the metaverse
34:15 David’s prediction of remote working
36:41 David’s predictions for the near future
43:30 How quantum computing will disrupt blockchain technology
46:55 Somi’s Fempeaker’s NFT collection inspired by Nietzche
48:57 Could this life be a simulation within a simulation?
55:36 David’s new business Hey focusing on a new email innovation
01:02:30 Facebook to charge nearly 50% cut from sales of digital assets in the metaverse
01:02:57 “We need to do something about this” but who is ‘we’?
01:07:48 Outro
 
Sponsor of this episode 👉 https://athleticgreens.com/somi

#56 - Amrita Sethi: Interactive Art, NFTs & the Digital Age

Amrita Sethi is the first NFT artist in the UAE. In 2021 she was nominated by Dubai Arts and Culture to receive the prestigious Golden Visa Residency in Dubai for 10 years for her contribution to the Digital Art Market in the UAE.
In today’s episode of the Somi Arian Podcast Amrita and I speak about her art and how NFTs can empower artists in the age of Web3. I learned a lot from this interview and I think you will too. 
 
Outline ⤵️
00:00 Intro
01:50 Amrita on being the first NFT artist in the UAE
09:15 Amrita’s latest project
15:31 AlphaBYTEs demonstration by Amrita
17:12 Starting is always the toughest part 
18:28 About Amrita’s upcoming project 
20:19 Is the NFT space supported and backed by the community of the UAE?
23:15 Somi about the idea of leaving the UK 
27:17 Amrita’s next NFT drop
32:10 Not all people are going to understand and follow the web 3.0 world
34:48 Are today’s kids naturally growing into the metaverse?
37:30 Outro
 
Sponsor of this episode 👉 https://athleticgreens.com/somi

#55 - Allyson Downey: Keeping Up With Your Core Values - The Key to Success

My guest on today’s episode of the Somi Arian Podcast is Allyson Downey, the CEO of Stellar, and Co-Founder of Meta Angels, an NFT membership community harnessing the metaverse to unlock real-life opportunities, founded on the values of generosity, transparency, and accessibility.
They have a great business model and I think you will really enjoy learning about it.
 
Outline ⤵️
00:00 Intro
41:12 Sponsor
01:19 Allyson’s journey into Web 3 
06:00 Does the community you belong to matter in the metaverse?
07:41 Somi's TED talk about Moonbirds
08:20 Allyson's thoughts about Moonbirds NFTs
16:10 The future NFT societies
20:40 The value of connections
24:52 Endless possibilities of Web3
27:13 Allyson's plan on Meta Angles
29:45 You are always too late into blockchain
34:24 How Somi got scammed while minting her Moodbirds nft
38:44 Somi's vision for her educational programs community
45:40 What are Meta Angels and what are their core values?
53:21 Outro
Sponsor of this episode👉 https://www.metabrewsociety.com/

#54 - Lavinia D. Osbourne: Why Blockchain, Web3 and NFTs are History in the Making

Lavinia D Osbourne is a Blockchain, Fintech & Welltech thought leader and LinkedIn-Top Voice. She is also the founder of Women in Blockchain Talks, an award-winning networking and educational platform that shines a spotlight on dynamic women in the Blockchain ecosystem.
Lavinia has also been a regular speaker and educator on the FemPeak platform and we love having her in our sessions. 
In this episode of the Somi Arian Podcast, we discuss all things blockchain and Web 3.0 and the importance of building strong female-led and all-inclusive communities.
 
Outline ⤵️
00:00 Intro
01:51 Lavinia’s introduction and her work in Web3
05:29 More on Lavinia’s background and her journey into blockchain 
14:06 It is up to you how you use the blockchain space
15:25 Considering your current experience if you had a spare 50k, where would invest?
17:23 Lavinia’s court case on an NFT scam
19:58 The NFT community is actually very small
21:43 What is a “minting party”
24:08 The number of opportunities in the blockchain space
28:16 NFT projects are expensive to build
30:03 Somi explains how she got scammed when minting her Moonbirds NFT
32:00 Lavinia’s experience of collaboration with other companies
36:55 The Royal Mint 
40:07 Lavinia’s plan on funding Crypto Kweens
42:13 Final words from Lavinia 
47:21 Outro
Sponsor of this episode👉 https://athleticgreens.com/somi

#53 - Tara Annison - Round 2 - Bitcoin 2022: News, Updates & Catch-Up

Tara Annison is Head of Technical Crypto Advisory at Elliptic. She is also the winner of Young Leader of the Year - Women in IT Awards, Rising Star in Digital - WeAreTheCity Awards, TechWomen100 Winner, and a Certified Bitcoin Professional. This is also her second round at this podcast!
Tara is quickly becoming one of my favourite people to hang out with, we have recently attended the Coin Bureau conference and I always enjoy geeking out together.
In this episode, we talk about the recent Bitcoin 2022 Conference in Miami and Tara’s trip to El Salvador.
 
Outline ⤵️
00:00 Intro
00:51 The current situation of Solana and other Ethereum competitors
05:25 Most common mistakes when investing in crypto
06:17 Future prediction of cryptocurrency and security concerns
08:03 Somi's appreciation for NFTs
14:56 Tara's observation and experience at the Bitcoin conference in Miami
24:28 Tara's thoughts on Twitter
29:45 What is it like in El Salvador?
34:42 What are Tara's thoughts on the Bitcoin market going down?
37:46 Where does Bitcoin stand in the metaverse?
44:53 Is the UK government becoming more blockchain-friendly?
50:19 Outro

#52 - A Conversation with Moonbirds Mods on Inclusivity in the NFT Space

Today’s podcast is a superfun episode where I interview the two lovely community managers of Moonbirds, a fantastic NFT community that I managed to mint. I am absolutely thrilled to be part of this great community and I asked the two ladies who run their discord server Stevey and SodaPop, to join me for a chat. 
We discuss why they created a space for the ladybirds on the server and why most female-led projects struggle to gain as much traction as some of the other blue chips in the NFT space. 
I also showed them FemPeak’s NFTs (Fempeakers) and brainstormed what we are planning to do to encourage men to support the project and build allyship.
 
Outline ⤵️
00:00 Intro
02:08 Advantages of being a female-led all-inclusive platform 
03:55 Stevey and SodaPop on the Moonbirds community
08:40 Where did the idea of Ladybirds come from?
15:07 SodaPop’s journey into NFT’s and building a friendly community
19:40 The importance of collaboration in the NFT space
29:07 Marketing your NFT project 
32:56 Our children as the digital natives 
38:05 The potential of technology on mental health
41:40 Technology, Art and Business need to be fun and profitable
47:10 Amanda AKAStevey’s journey into Web3 
48:18 The future of big NFT projects
51:05 NFTs as the next generation of digital marketing
 
Sponsor of this episode👉https://www.metabrewsociety.com/ 

#51 - Adam Levy: Navigating the NFT Space Like a Poker Player

Adam Levy is an NFT Collector & Consultant and a Former Professional Poker Player. 
In today’s episode of the Somi Arian Podcast Adam shares with us his thoughts on why so many Poker players have been early to the NFT space, many of whom with a notable amount of success. We discuss personality traits and some nuances about the NFT space.

#50 - Abigail Bryant Spolar: How Crypto is Reshaping Finance in the Digital Age

Abigail Bryant Spolar is the Global Customer Success Leader for Notabene, a Crypto Compliance company doing important work in the industry as experts in crypto regulations. 
Today’s episode of the Somi Arian Podcast is a spontaneous one! Abi and I were having a meeting about some educational sessions that she was going to deliver on the FemPeak platform and the conversation was so interesting that we decided to press record and turn it into a podcast. I think neither of us were quite camera ready but the conversation took precedence.

#49 - Sadie Raney: Launching a Successful Tech-Startup with a Non-Tech Background

My guest at today’s podcast is Sadie Raney, CEO & Co-Founder at Strix Leviathan and Co-Founder at Makara. Sadie previously served as Controller for Blue Box pre and post-acquisition by IBM. She is part of the Female Founders Alliance and is a mentor for the Barcelona Technology Transfer Group. 
In today’s episode of the Somi Arian Podcast Sadie and I have a great discussion about the current state of the Crypto market, and her success as a woman in this space.

#48 - Anja Leissner: Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur & the Power of Listening to Your Body

One of the most impressive entrepreneurs that we recently featured on FemPeak is Anja Leissner, Founder and Head of R&D at Stockeld Dreamer. She has a fascinating journey as a health enthusiast, inventor, and innovator. For the past few years, Anja has dedicated her life to creating vegan cheese and now their company has just closed their Series A investment round. 
 
I really enjoyed this conversation with Anja, where we discuss entrepreneurship with a little bit of cheese thrown in the mix.