The evolution of blockchain-based digital assets has continued to create new opportunities, markets, companies, and products around the globe, attracting ever-increasing levels of capital inflow and furthering the approaching transition from Web2 to Web3. Leveraging the power of blockchain, decentralization, and smart contracts, the non-fungible token (NFT) is a special class of asset that is uniquely identifiable and non-interchangeable. NFTs are different from cryptocurrencies in that they are defined by metadata that ensures that their intrinsic role, function, and value are unique.

With sales now averaging $160 million dollars per day and a total market cap of over $23 billion, NFTs are innovating, disrupting, and transforming industries in several unique ways — including the digitalization of physical assets, arts, media, and gaming; the monetization of virtual assets in the metaverse; and the ownership and distribution of assets.

If founders and entrepreneurs want to capitalize on the potential of NFTs, there remain several challenges that they need to overcome — for example, volatility, plagiarism, regulatory implications, financial risk, cyber security, and standardization.

In this VLAB Founders’ Series event, Michael del Castillo, senior editor at Forbes, and Jordan Woods, founding partner at StarChain Ventures, will share their thoughts concerning the atmosphere for investing in NFT technology and provide advice about addressing current challenges and opportunities:

• How can investors capitalize on this potential outgrowth opportunity?
• What are the do’s and don’ts when raising capital for NFT companies?
• What are the perceived risks, opportunities, and regulatory implications now and in the future?

In addition to the fireside chat, a few select founders will have the opportunity to get in the “hot seat” and receive individual counseling about their unique situations.

Join us on April 28 to help us explore.

Our Panelists

Speaker

Jorden Woods, Founding Partner, StarChain Ventures

Jorden is a Caltech-trained astrophysicist, successful 3-time serial entrepreneur with exits, and a pioneer in Web3 decentralized technologies & online globalization strategy. He is a founding partner at StarChain Ventures, a Silicon Valley-based venture studio solving significant global challenges with Web3/Blockchain plus other advanced technologies such as AI/ML and IoT – a core thesis of his best-selling book, Enterprise Blockchain Has Arrived, co-authored with Radhika Iyengar. Jorden is the host of The Future of Business, an educational videocast series focused on business opportunities with Web 3 the Metaverse. He is also a managing partner at DoubleNova Group, a boutique Silicon Valley-based management consultancy advising the Global 2000 and top startups on advanced tech & global markets.

Jorden has raised over $200 million from top-tier Silicon Valley and global investors for both his own companies and advised startups. His first company GlobalSight became a market leader and was rated as one of the “Top 50 Private Companies in the World” by both the Red Herring and Upside magazines. His second company, in 2002, was focused on decentralized technologies and what we now call the Metaverse (the 3D Web). He has also generated millions of dollars in revenue, managed a $15M P&L, and expanded startups both nationally and internationally. Jorden has a successful track record leading strategy and technology initiatives with Fortune 500 organizations generating millions in positive ROI.

Moderator

Michael del Castillo, Senior Editor, Crypto and Blockchain, Forbes

As the senior editor covering cryptocurrencies and blockchain applications at Forbes magazine, Michael reports on how those technologies are being adopted by enterprises and the broader business community. His coverage includes the use of cryptocurrencies and extends to non-cryptocurrency applications of blockchain in finance, supply chain management, digital identity, and a number of other use cases.

Previously, he was a staff reporter at blockchain news site, CoinDesk, where he covered the increasing willingness of enterprises to explore how blockchain could make their work more efficient and in some cases, unnecessary. Michael has been covering blockchain since 2011, been published in the New Yorker, and been nationally syndicated by American City Business Journals. His work has been published in Blockchain in Financial Markets and Beyond by Risk Books, and he is regularly cited in industry research reports. Since 2009, Michael has run Literary New York, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to showing Manhattan’s rich literary heritage.

About the VLAB Founders’ Series

Founders’ Series events provide a unique opportunity for startups and technologists to take part in an interactive session. Come prepared with your burning questions!

If you would like to have the rare opportunity to take the “Hot Seat” on stage to receive feedback from the speakers, please be sure to enter your question in the field below. Startup founders selected for the “Hot Seat” will be notified in advance.

For all other questions, please contact founders.series@vlab.org.

Note: Founder's Series tickets are for startup founders and are subject to approval. Please allow 24-48 hours for final ticket confirmation.