At issue is what’s been deemed a “technological blackout” in Brazil that has already seen more than 100,000 tech jobs go unfilled this year due to a lack of qualified, educated talent. That number is expected to grow by more than 5x by 2025 to about 530,000 tech jobs – including software developers and coders, data scientists, AI engineers, and U/X designers – going unfilled unless there are more people trained in STEM disciplines to fill those roles. 

On July 20, iFood and XP unveiled the tech-education initiative and announced the two founding companies (a.k.a. “Maintainers) have invested BRL $5 million and 18 other companies or institutions have committed BRL $10 million to the various projects. The goal is to raise and invest a total of BRL $100 million (US $18 million) between now and 2025. 

“In the last year, we saw many companies investing in education, but these efforts are still very dispersed. Thus, we realized the importance of joining forces with others to help solve this deficit in this area that hinders the development of Brazil. Even expanding isolated efforts will not solve the problem. With this union of forces, we hope to promote the meeting between talented people who are just waiting for an opportunity, while contributing to a social transformation and the development of the country,” said Fabrício Bloisi, CEO of iFood.

The main beneficiaries of the coalition’s efforts are underrepresented populations in the tech industry today, including women, Black and low-income people. The Tech Movement’s initiatives range from high school students to adults. The member companies will be able to act at different levels, whether through investments, projects, or execution.

“Our objective is to contribute to making Brazil a prosperous country and a protagonist in terms of technology, with job and career opportunities for all Brazilians. Our big dream is to make a difference in the training of young professionals, so they’re prepared for the challenges of the new digital economy in terms of technology, innovation, and business. We believe that, through social investment, we can generate a structural impact in Brazil that is transformational,” said Thiago Maffra, CEO of XP Inc.

To learn more about the Tech Movement initiative, Grit Daily recent sat down to speak with Gustavo Vitti, Chief People and Sustainability Officer at iFood, to learn more about the progress the collective has made so far, and what to expect next from the coalition’s efforts to increase the diversity and preparedness of Brazil’s future tech-industry workforce:

Grit Daily: Tell us more about how the Tech Movement initiative came about. 

Gustavo Vitti: The Tech Movement is a private, social-investment platform for technology. It started a year ago, in a conversation between companies who were suffering from the tech-talent scarcity combined with a shared ESG goal of developing and hiring professionals from non-privileged backgrounds. In other words we have a mutual dream of transforming Brazil into a technological power through diversity.

Today, Brazil is a country with 10 million people who are unemployed, and at the same time, there are plenty of job opportunities in the tech sector that are not being filled due to a lack of qualified labor. This is not because Brazilians don’t want good jobs or higher levels of education, but because opportunities aren’t finding the right people; for example those who live in the favelas. This challenge is exactly what this movement aims to tackle.

So, with this dream in mind and a pinch of reality, we all know this is a marathon and not a sprint. We need to inspire our children to think and dream about working in technology fields which are forecast to see significant growth in the years ahead. In addition, we need to foster easy access to training for these jobs of the future and build bridges between these freshly qualified tech professionals and the Brazilian big tech companies.

What we’ve done so far: we’ve launched two initiatives that have already impacted more than 150,000 people. The first one is the Tech Marathon, for high school students at public and private schools. Set up as an Olympiad-style tech competition between educational institutions, teachers, and students, the first edition in May, earlier this year, had more than 80,000 students compete, including schools from 21 Brazilian states. The second one is Tech Power that has already awarded more than 6,000 intensive scholarships for tech education to underprivileged groups. There’s another two new initiatives being baked that we will launch over the next 3-6 months and the  Movement will continue to seek out or create similar initiatives and provide funding to accelerate them.

Today, iFood and XP Inc. are the two original maintainers and there are 20 sponsor companies and institutions in the collective that can contribute to the cause with investments or services, including: Accenture, Arco, Buser, CI&T, Cubos Academy, Descomplica, Digital House, English First (EF), F. Behring, Gama Academy, Grupo Boticário, Instituto Localiza, Kenzie, Let’s Code, ONE Oracle, Raia Drogasi, Rocketseat, Semantix, Telles Foundation, and VTEX. 

GD: What are the roles iFood and XP play as founding members? 

GV: Companies can take part in the Tech Movement as either Maintainers or Sponsors. For the Maintainers, they play a role in the strategic agenda of the initiative and in the decisions of the projects, being part of the Strategic Council. Sponsors play a role in the execution and funding projects. They also take part in the Consultative Council.

The Tech Movement seeks to attract more companies and organizations from all segments and areas. Participation can occur as a Maintainer or Sponsor, involving financial commitments as well as services. iFood and XP Inc are the first Maintainers. To find out how to participate and contribute to the Movement, just access www.movtech.org.

GD: Brazil is projected to need around 500,000 more tech workers by 2025 than are expected to be available. How many people do you anticipate can be trained by 2025 with R$100M being raised?

GV: With the initial projects, which are already underway, we expect to train one million people by 2025. The more companies and organizations that join the Tech Movement, the more scale we will gain to benefit an increasing number of people.

In the two examples we mentioned before, Tech Marathon and Tech Power, we believe both projects will have a scale of 10-15x bigger than today as we expand the coalition’s resources and gain more visibility. It’s incredible to see how fast we’ve been iterating and improving on the offerings. As an example, today we can provide high-quality tech learning almost 6x cheaper than we did for our first groups.

GD: The U.S. tech industry is predominantly white and male, with women, Black people and other minorities present in much smaller numbers than in the general population. What is the demographic of the Brazilian tech sector today?

GV: It is a similar situation in Brazil compared to the U.S. today The Tech Movement will prioritize underrepresented minorities and low-income people. As a result of the  “technological blackout,” as the lack of tech professionals in Brazil has been called, there are already more than 100,000 job vacancies open this year, with little prospect of being filled. 

Also, the digitization of the economy and companies, accelerated by the pandemic, has increased the demand for skilled labor, while the number of available professionals remains limited. That’s why our movement is focused on low-income public and non-privileged backgrounds, and prioritizes women and Black people, for example. We want to change the current inequities and have a positive impact on a different future from the one that is projected today.

We believe and invest in education – from basic education, so young people have a better education in Portuguese, Mathematics and Logic, to professional training that is specialized in technology. We also want to develop the technical and emotional skills for those who are already in the marketplace and are seeking new opportunities. That’s why we offer practical tech courses too. We dream to be a quality tech-education platform that will drive the growing tech ecosystem forward so qualified, trained talent are ready to dive into new opportunities and help drive innovation and social transformation.

GD: How and where will you recruit for the program? 

GV: Our purpose is to awaken more people’s interest in working in the tech industry, empower them through training – from basic education to practical knowledge,  and then help employ for the jobs of the future by building bridges between them and tech companies. 

Based on the various programs, courses and partnerships involved, people we’ll be approached from different communication channels as it fits to each initiative invested, and work together with private, public, and non-governmental organizations. We need and we’re calling for others to help with these important efforts.

GD: I can see how cultivating a more diverse workforce could help solve the labor shortage, but what are the less obvious benefits of more diversity?

GV: The inclusion of different people, life stories, and backgrounds is a way to promote more tolerance and societal integration. All innovation, services, products and ways of leading will be enriched by a broader world view; one in which solutions and achievements are sustainable. And most importantly, we will be truly changing lives. We want to reach 2030 with so many lives impacted that we’ll  be able to change social inequality in Brazil, with those who have always been the base of the social pyramids as the main protagonists who are creating the country’s prosperity.

GD: The Potentia Tech Platform, which was initiated by iFood, has awarded 6,000 scholarships over the past nine months and 450 of those people have already been hired. How many of those scholarship recipients are from underrepresented groups?

GV: The scholarships are being offered exclusively for low-income people. We prioritize people who are underrepresented in the society, having at least half of the people inside Potencia Tech being women or Black people.

The post The Tech Movement 2030 Coalition Pledges Millions to Train a More Diverse Talent Pool to Fill a Growing Number of Tech Jobs in Brazil appeared first on Grit Daily News.

How did you become involved in the Metaverse and virtual real estate?

I was looking to start a company, had just quit my job, and was doing different hackathons in the blockchain and Web3 space. I tried different ideas….I remember I tried mortgages on chain, I tried Airbnb on chain, I tried a few different things. Then I came across somebody at Web 3 weekend ETH Global last May who was talking about building something for the Metaverse. That was the first time I heard about it. That was the first time I hopped into Decentraland and then I got into ​​Crypto Voxels. I was just fascinated by the idea that these things have different land, that it was actually worth something and that people would build on it. It reminded me of a lot of Roblox and other games I used to play where you own a property that people can visit, and from there we scaled. I was trying to start a business and I had a background in real estate, data science and there was this opportunity where nobody really understood what was going on and, you know, people were talking about it and really liked it. I came in and looked at the data, saw the value there and so that is how I became involved.

Why is virtual real estate valuation such a difficult concept for investors to gauge?

This concept is difficult for many people to wrap their heads around because the Metaverse is still a challenging concept. The mere fact that the property is virtual makes it harder to conceptualize and attach a value to it. But it’s important to remember that the valuation of these properties comes not from their physical properties but from the fact that people still visit these virtual properties. With the death of a lot of people’s 3rd places due to the pandemic, the Metaverse is stepping in to fill that void, and this inherently provides value.

What are some of the most important differences between virtual and traditional real estate? How do these differences affect their valuations?

The differences are still undefined; they can be as similar or as dissimilar as the user wants it to be. Your Facebook page is virtual real estate, what’s its valuation? Quite high, actually. One of the things virtual real estate lacks is privacy. It’s almost impossible to be alone in the virtual world. Even your own phone is tracked, so there isn’t really the possibility of privacy.

The question is, what are you satisfying with virtual real estate? You can visit your virtual real estate from any physical location, which is another differentiating factory. In summation, their valuation becomes what is important to the consumer. The overarching factor though is the ability to generate revenue. Physical real estate is static but virtual real estate is inherently infinite, and thus has the potential for infinite possibility for growth, which is super exciting.

What are the important factors to consider with digital land? How does WeMeta use these factors to value properties?

Currently, digital land is evaluated in a largely location-based way. The constraints of building are really based on location the same way building physical real estate differs by location. However, there is more to the potential valuation besides location. In the near future, WeMeta plans to focus more on the amenities that these digital properties can provide, rather than just where the property is located in its respective metaverse. Over time we plan to flip the evaluation model on its head from being based on sales history of nearby properties to being based on similar experiences.

Where do you see the future of digital real estate? 

You own what you own and it’s not part of a central collective. The problem right now is it’s all running on AWS but in the future it could be completely decentralized.I think the future of digital real estate is super exciting. I see it almost as a GTA or Roblox, or any game with a map that can be built upon and innovated. Unfortunately, there isn’t a techstack that we currently have that allows for this. Ethic with their Unreal engine is doing a pretty good job but it’s not a Web3 native so we’ll see how it works.

What advice would you offer to those who are interested in investing in the Metaverse but don’t know where to start?

I would first ask someone how they define investing in the metaverse, because to some extent buying stock in any company with virtual real estate could be considered investing in the metaverse. On the other hand building experiences in these decentralized spaces is a great way to start as well. Learning how to create Web3 native technology is the best way to prepare you for the future of the metaverse.

The post The Valuation of Virtual Real Estate, Explained by Winston Robson, CEO at WeMeta appeared first on Grit Daily News.

We asked Daniel Nieh, founder of Sparq, about his business and the implications for car ownership.

What is Sparq? What is your mission, background, and entrepreneurial philosophy?

SPARQ is a tech startup disrupting the entire car servicing industry through an annual subscription-based model that eliminates labor fees. We remove what car owners hate most about traditional mechanic shops: obscurity, inaccessibility, inefficiency, and inconvenience. Our mission is to provide world-class automotive services that focus on convenience, transparency, and professional expertise. Daniel Nieh is originally from Taiwan. He had founded 3 different startup companies. His entrepreneurial philosophy is to challenge the status quo of an industry. 

Why is the future of car servicing subscription-based?

People value transparency. It’s built for people who don’t like having unknowns. Consumers value a set price, and having control over their maintenance expense. Knowing what their vehicle is going to cost them over the next 1-5 years is valuable to people. It allows them to plan ahead. SPARQ is the pioneer for subscription-based car servicing. As we’ve seen in other subscription-based services, it gives users complete control over their needs. A subscription model removes the possibility of having a conflict of interest with our users, and it allows them to have a frictionless car servicing experience without ever worrying about being overcharged. 

How does this differentiate you from traditional mechanic services?

SPARQ completely dominates in these five areas

Efficiency: We are 5x more efficient than any existing mechanic services at half the cost. 

Convenience & Accessibility: We made servicing your car as simple as ordering a coffee, simplifying the car servicing experience and making it extremely intuitive to our users.

We made car servicing accessible by being at close proximity to our users. We’re anywhere the users go. They can find us in any city, especially after our nationwide expansion. 

Transparency: Our entire process is as clear as a crystal. That includes pricing structure, servicing process, and procedure.

Assurance: Users won’t be deceived by us, since they know exactly what is included in the membership and what they need to pay for. 

Manufacturer Certified

Warranties

We’re anywhere they go. Find us in any city.

What does a ‘Lab’ look like and where/when will they be?

SPARQ had reimagined what service centers look like. SPARQ Labs will all be located in city centers. We’re launching our initial Labs in Boston at 2023.

How does the ‘Diagnostic Tool’ work and how does this change the driving experience?

SPARQ Diagnostic Tool is a device that we give out to all users for free when they sign up for our service. It allows our users to access their vehicle’s health information through their phone so they can become more aware of their vehicle’s condition. The device can be plugged into any vehicles manufactured after 1996.

What are your goals and rollout for Sparq moving forward?

We’re taking over the nation at rapid speed. Our goal is to have SPARQ Labs accessible in every US Cities by 2025. As we continue to expand, we’re looking to include more benefits for our users to make the car servicing experience enjoyable.

Do you have any final advice for other entrepreneurs in the tech-space? 

My advice for entrepreneurs in tech is don’t follow what’s hot in the space. Always be as bold and contrary as you can to make an impact. Pressure makes diamonds, and objections make entrepreneurs.

The post Sparq Is the Subscription-Based Future of Car Servicing appeared first on Grit Daily News.

We asked Valiot CEO Federico Crespo about this company and the growing role of AI in manufacturing.

Tell us a little of yourself and Valiot

Sure, my name is Federico Crespo. I am the CEO of the operations/manufacturing AI Valiot. We manage artificial intelligence for major suppliers like Heineken, John Deere, Metalsa, and more. From a young age I was exposed to inefficiencies within the manufacturing industry.

How has Heneken’s manufacturing benefited from Valiot

In the Summer of 2021, Heineken became the first major manufacturer to implement Valiot, and with incredible results. Since starting their partnership with Valiot, Heineken has reported a 25% Cycle Reduction Time, 17 % In Process Inventory Reduction, and a 5% Throughput Brewery Increase. Valiot’s data monitors assured BBT and filtration time were reduced in all cycles. Brewing capacity also increased significantly per month. The migration to digital has enabled Heineken México to have a real-time visualization of the bottling lines and filtering conditions in each batch.

What excites you about the future of AI

It’s super exciting to see all the capabilities that AI and robotics have. However, it’s a bit too early to know how these capabilities will develop in the next 10-20 years. AI is reminiscent of the early nineties of the internet, with infinite potential for growth, so it’s amazing to be part of it. It feels good to be present for these developments not just as a spectator, but also as a player.

What are some challenges you see for the future of AI

At the same time, there are certain concerns that remain about the future of AI. Access to education in math and computer science will have to be heavily expanded for people to remain competitive in the job market. In this sense, job extinction is a major concern. New technology evidently eliminates a lot of jobs, but it creates new, more productive jobs as well. In this light, it will be all the more important to invest in comprehensive coding education for children in order to reduce barriers to entry into this job market and get kids engaged in a time where people’s attention spans are shrinking.

How has Valiot changed the manufacturing industry?

We have proven false the notion that software is difficult to implement in an old school industry. In fact, AI-based software will likely be the key to keeping these industries relevant. Valiot recently spoke with Texas government officials about its potential to bolster statewide growth, reshoring, and Texas’s overall GDP. Connecting these two ecosystems is a unique opportunity that has the possibility for mutual benefit. Valiot’s team empowers factory operators to make use of the software independently, adjusting with little to no learning curve. Our approach is factory-friendly and time-saving across all industries.

How Could Valiot Change the World?

We are disrupting how operations are being executed in manufacturing facilities and providing AI capabilities to operators who haven’t even heard of AI in their lives. Our goal is to inspire growth not just for factories, but for their operators. We are transitioning away from how software companies used to implement new tech, which was extremely aggressive for factories and their employees. In addition, if you believe in free market competition, our tech is going to drastically reduce the cost of living for everyone. We’ll also reduce the carbon footprint from the manufacturing world.

How does Valiot implement Digital Twin Technology?

Valiot’s product ValueChainOS uses and analyses data from different sources to simulate value chain conditions. This helps companies better understand their production requirements and create actionable items regarding what and when to buy, produce, and more importantly, when to change. For example, they were able to help a chemical factory reduce costs and optimize inventory balance via the systems’ Smart Scheduler and Digital Twin interface. Using the digital twin allows owners to understand and predict how the factory is going to behave, and identify problems before they occur. Not only are production cycle times, manufacturing costs, and utility consumption all drastically reduced, but the UX of the application allows for clear and real-time communication between stakeholders.

The post How Valiot Has Changed North American Manufacturing appeared first on Grit Daily News.

Maria Pokrovskaya is a guest professor at the COMPOSTELA Arquitectura, Galicia, Spain, a member of the international research program Moving Boundaries and is active in various other professional organizations.

Her passion for architecture transformed motivated her to help as many people as possible to learn about design. In March 2022 she launched an initiative to support our colleges in Eastern Europe with creative career opportunities remotely and receive hundreds of offers from companies from the US, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Singapore, Australia, and Brazil. We asked Maria Pokrovskaya about her rough childhood, overcoming the barriers she faced to education, and her work now.

You’ve been on your own and supporting yourself since your early teen years. Nobody would want that, or would wish it on anyone, yet people often learn valuable lessons from such hardship. What did you derive from those early struggles?

If I could choose, of course, I would prefer to have parents and their full care. However, at the age of 11, the loss of my parents was simply my reality. I had nothing to compare with it, so it seemed normal to me.

Growing up as an orphan, I saw the life stories of guys like me, who, for various reasons, had no support, no dreams and ambitions, and did not value themselves or their lives. I was lucky to have the love and care of my grandparents, younger brother, and other relatives. But my conscience did not allow me to live at their expense, so I started to earn money at the age of 14. Until I was 17, I was the only one among my peers working. The main lesson I learned is that only you are responsible for what you have and what you do not have. If I can’t afford a new gadget, that’s my choice. If I want it, I have to work for it. I didn’t have much time to party, which was good. But, I must admit, I had to skip studying for the sake of work sometimes, which was bad.

Working has developed my empathy, communications skills, and self-confidence. I met professionals from different fields, and without realizing it, I had started networking.

You studied architecture on a scholarship. Where did you study, and how did you earn a scholarship given your early circumstances?

In Russia, children with the same status as I and with a high entry exams score can be exempted from tuition fees. But when I entered the University, all those places were taken and they could not provide me with a scholarship. They told me with a sneer that they would only accept me if the Minister of Education personally allocated one more place to this University, which was the country’s leading architecture school. I took this joke as advice and, on the same day, went to the Ministry of Education.

I came up with a short pitch about my dream for a better future. After six hours of waiting, the minister agreed to see me for three minutes. I told him in a few words about myself and my dream. He seemed to realize that I was not treated fairly and arranged a spot for me tuition-free. All the employees of the University were shocked! Some classmates still don’t believe this story, but it went exactly like that. After that, I was 100 percent confident that I was on the right path.

When you graduated from university after eight years of study, were you fully prepared to begin your professional career?

This is a question to the point! After eight years of studying, I was disappointed. The education I was receiving was not relevant, not exciting, and most importantly, it was outdated. With all due respect to the professors, who invested a lot of energy in us, the system itself is built in such a way that we study a huge number of disciplines using materials and programs that were created decades ago.

In addition, students have no connection with the actual practice of engineers, architects and designers, nor is much attention paid to the philosophy that forms the basis of the profession. Architecture is a complex profession, as it exists at the intersection of art, the humanities and the technical sciences. But when students enroll, they trust the program like a step-by-step guide, so that they become successful in what they love.

While dealing with the woes of the educational system, propaedeutics captured me more than the problems of the industry itself.

You started Artclever in 2016. What problem were you trying to solve, and for whom?

And of course, education should be accessible. We, as a platform, don’t tend to replace the academic format, but intend to make it more attractive and effective through greater integration into practical professional tasks and a remote employment internship service. Our partners — educational institutions and teachers — expand the geographic reach and the number of their students, saving resources and increasing income. Distance learning makes it possible to reduce the costs of the institution per student by at least 40%, so that reduces the cost of education accordingly.

Alternative training formats allow students to try out a profession with minimal risk (for example, two months of training would cost $350). Also, they can change activities by obtaining specific technical skills. For example, one could master a graphics program and become a home decorator, 3D-visualizer, animator or digital designer, filling out a portfolio while working at the same time.

You launched WeHire in February 2022. Was that in reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine? What is the goal of WeHire?

As I mentioned, Artclever has students and partners from various countries, including Ukraine. Our team is international and has worked remotely since the very beginning. I personally began receiving dozens of messages a day with questions about work.

Many people involved have lost their source of income. My co-founder and husband, Daniil Voronin, and I were looking for an opportunity to help, and I came up with the idea to make a simple and accessible online document where everyone can leave a suggestion and hire remotely or with relocation. Since our expertise is in the creative industries, we know that for creative professionals such as architect, director, screenwriter, interior designer, ceramic artist, etc., it is more difficult to find an offer than it is for, say, developers – normally, people get hired in specific locations and by referral. We focused on such offers. In the first days, I shared the document within my network and received responses from large companies, such as Nike and EPAM. They announced open positions and received applications. People from different countries started offering jobs.

Is there anything you want to mention that I haven’t asked about?

Art speaks all languages, and cultural cooperation makes us, no matter our societal background, more united, sensitive and respectful of each other. It starts with education. We are responsible for what we are able to share and get, and for how we can make cross-cultural exchange work. It’s crucial to participate in humanitarian causes and to save and develop the heritage of humanity.

The post Maria Pokrovskaya, Co-Founder & Creative Director of Artclever, Helps Others to Overcome Adversity appeared first on Grit Daily News.

She recently added author to her list of successes with publication of her first book, Your Hidden Superpower: The Kindness That Makes You Unbeatable at Work and Connects You with Anyone.

Grit Daily: Having the job of anchoring a national morning show is a significant achievement. What challenges did you come across in your journey to solo anchoring a national morning show?

Adrienne Bankert: My goodness … in some cases, to discover what was a personality trait or a weakness.  I think something we do is think that “this” whatever it is something we are versus something we have become. I had to overcome challenges of changing my own habits! I am a morning person but working in AM news you end up waking up in the middle of the night! ( 1-2 am) 

Grit Daily: TV has the image of a cutthroat business, but you wrote a book, Your Hidden Superpower: The Kindness That Makes You Unbeatable at Work and Connects You with Anyone. What is your message in that book?

Adrienne Bankert: Any industry can be hard to navigate. The roadmap I have found is kindness. (not in a, “just be nice,” or “sappy” way either.) You have to first be kind to yourself –  because no one will treat you better than you treat yourself. I hope that makes sense. If you think lowly of yourself, if you are constantly beating yourself up – no one will. Kindness means you value your time and believe you are worthy of respect. Know yourself – the biggest confidence booster is being aware of your strengths, weaknesses, boundaries, unique personality and purpose. Being your most assured self is the biggest gift to the world because that eliminates the need to compete. You know who you are – and you don’t try too hard. 

Grit Daily: You attribute goal setting to much of your success! What are some of your goal setting strategies?

Adrienne Bankert: Goal setting in a non sexy approach involves a lot of to do lists. Scheduling regular time for working on the goal and being rather laser focused & undistracted. My biggest success has been when I’m very very focused, and quite honestly living, eating & breathing the goals in mind. For many years it was all about TV. Then TV and booking public speaking, then add philanthropic goals, mentoring and getting a book published. But it’s a bit of eating your veggies. You end up moving anything that doesn’t have to do with your goal aside, whether than means no going out to the bar with friends or skipping the movie, or cutting back on social media. I must admit how much sacrifice is involved, where I had to put a lot of things on the back burner to stay on point. I think it was 70 percent goal setting, 30% personal life when I accomplished these tangible goals. Right now I would say my personal life is the largest percentage ever because my goals are more targeted to personal development goals.

Grit Daily: How does visualization apply to setting and pursuing goals?

Adrienne Bankert: I always say you can’t hit a target you can’t see. Vision is what changes a dream into a goal. I have used vision boards for years, but more recently I had a day dream session with a friend. It was highly emotional. My advice, take an hour and play a game. Either go back and forth in person, or send replies to a persons daydream, by adding personal details to create a mental map or picture of what you want your next job to be like, your next home, or relationship to be like. Speak like you’re writing your own script about your life in the near future.

I just had a wonderful chat with someone who met the love of their life by writing a letter to their dream soulmate, being very detailed about who that person is. A year later they met a manager who fulfilled everything but one of the traits she described in that letter. I think that we become skeptical the older we get if we aren’t careful; but if we imagine what we want like we did as a kid, it’s a lot more likely to happen.

Grit Daily: We’re about halfway through 2022. Do you recommend checking progress midyear, or is that simply arbitrary and you recommend something else?

Adrienne Bankert: I would check per quarter. Right now I’m revisiting  a goal I didn’t complete in time. So it’s a time of regrouping. Have an accountability buddy, someone who can help remind you throughout the year. Ask a friend or mentor to be your partner in getting the task done.

Grit Daily: What have I not asked about do you want to add?

Adrienne Bankert: Don’t think it’s too late for a goal. I have learned that like true love, true fulfillment takes time to develop and nurture. Those who attain it discover it takes years, much longer than they first anticipated, to reach. Goals are all stepping stones to bring us, sometimes over a much longer time, to becoming not just successful, but to an unforgettable legacy. If I’m impatient, I’ll hit a bunch of goals. If I aim for greatness, I might take longer, but I’m sure to help far more people and in doing so, make history. 

The post Adrienne Bankert, Host of NewsNation’s Morning In America, Talks About Kindness and Goal Setting appeared first on Grit Daily News.

We recently asked him about trading in crypto, where retail investors fit in, and what the pros know that everyone else should hear about.

Grit Daily: Would you say that trading in the crypto market is any riskier than trading in traditional markets?

David Weisberger: Potentially, but not necessarily. Crypto offers more leverage than traditional markets,
particularly in perpetual swaps and futures, but traders do not have to take advantage of that
leverage. From a counterparty risk perspective, there is no central counterparty, so that implies
more risk. That being said, the real time risk engines of crypto exchanges mean that there is
lower systematic risk, while 24 hour trading means there is more time to reduce risk when
necessary.

Grit Daily: Do you know of any strategies traders may use to reduce this risk with crypto?

David Weisberger: There is no need to use leverage to trade in crypto and even if one does want to use it, they can use the appropriate amount adjusted for the volatility of the asset. To be clear, if trading an
asset that is 3 times more volatile than the traditional assets one normally trades, then use 1/3
the leverage. Other risks in crypto include custodial risk, but that can be mitigated by using
counterparties who insure deposits and the appropriate multi-signature software for transfering
assets.

Grit Daily: Have you noticed any hesitation from institutional traders when it comes to crypto trading? Are there any ways to reduce this hesitancy?

David Weisberger: It depends on how one defines “institution.” Traditional institutional buy and sell side firms
hesitation is quite real and emanates from their compliance departments due to a lack of
regulatory clarity in the U.S. This would be mitigated if a bill such as recently put forward by
Senators Lummis and Gillibrand became law. Hedge Funds, however, are moving to trade
crypto assets at an accelerating pace.

Grit Daily: How does the platform Coinroutes provides help traders looking to get into crypto?

David Weisberger: CoinRoutes helps in multiple ways, but primarily by allowing traders to be confident in how to minimize transaction costs. Our system achieves prices superior to optimal smart routing and
provide institutional quality Transaction Cost Analysis on all the trades executed.

Grit Daily: What benefits do professional or institutional investors get from using the Coinroutes
platform? Are there any benefits for traders already experimenting with crypto?

David Weisberger: In addition to trading at lower cost per trade, the CoinRoutes system is dramatically more cost effective for firms. Instead of hiring programmers and paying datacenter and infrastructure
costs, CoinRoutes typically will offer its trading software for less money in the aggregate.
Considering that our software is the result of 15 years of developer effort and routinely
outperforms smart routing, the result is substantial net savings.

Grit Daily: Do you think now is a good time to get into crypto trading? Why or why not?

David Weisberger: As Warren Buffet says, “buy when others are fearful and sell when they are greedy.” At this point, there is substantial fear in the crypto market, but there is also a certainty among
participants that the market is here to stay. As a result, while DeFi trading via distributed
exchanges is viewed as extremely risky, there are still good opportunities for traders to
profitably implement strategies on trustworthy centralized exchanges or with well capitalized
market makers that are rapidly maturing.

Grit Daily: Do you still see a lot of potential for growth in crypto, or has it already hit its peak?

David Weisberger: Crypto is probably comparable to Internet technology in the 1990s, with the investable assets more comparable to those which existed in 2001. I say this because the actual technology to create an internet of value is in its infancy, but investment in protocols and use cases ran ahead of the technology twice already (in 2017 and 2021-22). The potential, however, is enormous in
three distinct areas:
1) Bitcoin as the base layer to transfer value seamlessly on a global basis. While individual
transactions will likely use networks (such as Lightning) built on top of Bitcoin, the base
layer is likely to be THE store of value for the digital world. Despite prices sinking, the
adoption metrics have been improving.
2) DeFi as disruptive technology to introduce competition and efficiency to financing
businesses globally. Much of today’s DeFi is based on regulatory or tax arbitrage and
the protocols & businesses are immature, but there is substantial promise for the
technology.
3) Web3 including NFTs and individuals retaining control and value of their own data and
application usage. This is a very broad topic, but I will use one example to illustrate.
Consider the immense value created by open source software. Most of that was done
without compensation to developers, so imagine what could be created with financial
incentives built into the process. Similarly, consider the potential if all creators had the
means to earn value directly without paying intermediaries…

The post David Weisberger, CEO of CoinRoutes, Explains How Crypto Traders Reduce Their Risk appeared first on Grit Daily News.

The list of Diane’s achievements is long and stellar. She is in the 1% of Asian-American female founders who are also a partner, and has founded angel networks, venture funds, and investment networks. She works extensively with more than 700 global companies.

Her next project is the toughest she has taken on yet. Diane Yoo is determined to level the playing field for talented women who are all but shutout from tech fundraising. She is co-founder of Global She Ventures, an accelerator in partnership with Rice University to catalyze global women entrepreneurs. Diane is also co-founder to a national media platform, Identity Unveiled, which highlights trailblazing Asian American women who have broken barriers and become firsts in their industry. Diane serves as an investment partner to several Silicon Valley funds, including the largest women’s fund and the first fem-tech fund in the nation.

Grit Daily: We were last in touch late last year. What have you been working on since then?

Diane Yoo: Since our last talk, I’ve been focused on pushing the envelope forward for Asian American female entrepreneurs and executives. I’ve secured numerous IPO candidates where diversity for board members and executives is ripe for women.

Since then I’ve founded the first IPO accelerator in partnership with Korea Investment Corporation (KIC). KIC is a sovereign wealth fund established by the government of South Korea. Their goal is “to enhance sovereign wealth and contribute to the development of the domestic financial industry.” Our program has secured several companies with market valuation of $600 million-$1 billion.

Grit Daily: From your perspective as an experienced and successful VC, why is it that female founders have such a hard time securing funding? After all, we are led to believe these decisions are data-driven.

Diane Yoo: While there may still be a gender bias towards investing, women founders still receive scrutiny such as, “Can she really close her raise (of millions) but more so, does she have the executive leadership and track record or ability to truly run a billion-dollar company?” There are so many highly qualified women who need opportunity and access to board seats to powerfully represent their voices.

Grit Daily: Are female founders scrutinized more than male founders? And since I presume they are, what should they anticipate and how can they prepare for that?

Diane Yoo: The scrutiny is sadly there. Countless women receive endless questions to affirm if their credibility stands. Female founders have proven to have higher returns, be extremely successful as founders and CEOs, and outperform their male colleagues, yet they still remain highly underrepresented.

I’ve seen countless women apologize or feel that they are not enough. That needs to stop. Women should be as unabashed as their counter colleagues and never back down or feel as if they are “not enough” due to internal excuses. I’ve seen women focus on leadership education materials or classes, when really, they need to go out into the field powerfully, even when they don’t feel like it.

Grit Daily: If female founders in general have a harder time successfully pitching VCs, how much harder is it for minority female founders?

Diane Yoo: Minority female founders have more difficulty overall, as there is not only a gender- but also an ethnic-biased lens. Less than 2% of people of color have successfully secured venture money in a trillion dollar industry.

Don’t shy away from how credible you truly are. Nor justify any anxiety in the lens of comparison. All that needs to go, and women and minorities should stay close to a community that supports their ambitions and go out powerfully.

Grit Daily: Entrepreneurs are fixated on networking, which really suggests that who you know is at least as important for successful fundraising the pitch itself. What’s your networking advice to female founders, and how is it different from what you would y tell male founders?

Diane Yoo: Networking is crucial, and it’s absolutely crucial that the founder understands her or his own networks. I see many “connectors” who actually lack the ability to harness the power of their network, and they absolutely are not able to reap from their own curated backyard. VCs look to invest not only in the company, but more so in the founder and their success and DNA.

Grit Daily: I know from our previous Q&A that you are passionate about seeing women succeed in business. What are you doing to help them?

Diane Yoo: I want to place more women in powerful positions. I’ve secured partnerships in efforts to work toward the advancement of diverse leaders through sourcing women, incubating talent through a leadership institute. I’m working with organizations to put more women in power, from board seats to publicly traded companies. I’m very passionate about empowering more women to be in powerful decision-making roles through my work with Wall Street in efforts to bring leaders together to help elevate the industry as a whole.

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Roer and Carpenter have published a new book, The Security Culture Playbook: An Executive Guide to Reducing Risk and Developing Your Human Defense Layer, to bring some hard facts to light. For instance, more than 85%of breaches trace back to humans and there is a new ransomware attack every two seconds. These attacks are costing billions of dollars, and neither better technology or promoting security information and “awareness” is hardening organizations sufficiently.

We asked Kai Roer about the limits of tech solutions, and what security culture is and how to develop one in organizations as varied as tech savvy startups and local government.

Grit Daily: Why doesn’t good security technology limit how much damage can be done by human error?

But it does! Without good security technology, errors would be much larger, more expensive, and impossible to combat. The challenge isn’t a lack of good technology; it’s that technology isn’t enough. As we innovate and create better tools and technology, all kinds of new threats come along, too, forcing us to change our behaviors and develop even better tech.

Over the past few decades, many startups have been successful in doing just that. Think about Cisco and Fortinet; both started small, both created technology, and both helped dramatically improve security for thousands of customers around the world, and they still do. Without these and other security technologies, we’d still be combating digital worms, viruses, and similar threats that we hardly ever see today.

Because of technology’s continued improvement, threat actors today have a better ROI (return on investment) when they target humans. It’s simply easier and cheaper to trick someone into opening an attachment or clicking an email link than it is to gain access to computer systems by other means.

So, the challenge isn’t a lack of security technology as much as it is a lack of technology to help humans do the right things more often—and the wrong things less often. The good news is that even in this space, new technology is quickly adopted to reduce this risk even further.

Grit Daily: What’s an example of an organization that has what you consider a good security culture?

Very few organizations demonstrate a good security culture. One reason is that a strong security culture is a moving target: what was considered “good” yesterday may no longer be good today. As new threats evolve, organizations must adapt and change. Another challenge organizations face is resilience: how well will the organization deal with a critical incident?

Some characteristics of a good security culture include: 

Resilience: Are your employees, procedures, and technology able to adjust quickly to threats and changes? For example, most organizations were forced to make dramatic changes due to COVID; over weeks—not months—employees had to move out of the office and work from home.

A way to gauge your organization’s resilience is to examine how fast—and how successfully—it managed that transition. Now apply this to your business contingency plans, and consider how a security incident would affect your company.

Preparedness: Research shows that people who are more likely to survive critical accidents, like a plane crash or train wreck, are mentally prepared. They pay attention to the security notifications and know where the emergency exits are.

This also applies to organizations. Organizations that understand and accept that there will be security incidents, regardless of their security measures, are generally doing better than those who believe “it won’t happen to us.”

Communicating to employees, “When it happens, this is what you need to do,” is a great way to prepare. Putting business contingency plans in place is also essential. And making sure employees dare to report mistakes, such as opening a loaded email attachment, is critical! Hail those who report incidents! They are your key assets.

Ongoing communication: We see over and over that organizations that communicate security and its value to employees and stakeholders do better in all aspects of security compared to those that don’t.

Consider the Government Pension Fund of Norway (GPFN), a fund with assets valued at 11 754 billion NOK, which is over $1.35 trillion USD. Its managing director, Nicolai Tangen, has made it clear that the biggest threat to the organization is cyberthreats.

He recently shared his personal experience of being the target of a cyberattack, in which the perpetrator played to his own ego to get him to open a compromised document that took control of his work computer.

Rather than pretending this never happened, Tangen shared what he and his organization learned from this experience at a number of public events. This kind of ownership demonstrates that no one is perfect; it’s just a matter of time before you’re the one being hit. And when that happens, the key is knowing what to do.

Grit Daily: The county government of Somerset County, New Jersey, which is not very far from where I live, was recently paralyzed by a ransomware attack. How do you build a security culture at government offices, school districts, and these sorts of crucial but not-very-tech-sophisticated organizations?

This is a critical question. We see government offices, schools, and other public services being hit daily, and not only in the United States. This happens all over the world.

A similar event to the Somerset County attack happened in Norway: Østre Toten Kommune (the municipality of Ostre Toten) was devastatingly hit by ransomware, and all their systems died. They are still, many months later, struggling to recreate data and bring systems back online.

The solution to this problem is to wake up politicians and public management to the reality we all face: we are all targets, and preparedness is what counts.

Now, the challenge is that funding security and IT can be difficult in many of these offices, where scant funding is often coupled with regulatory demands on how and where to spend allotted funds, leaving very little for “other services” like security. This lack of investment has led to many government offices having weak security measures in place and very little employee training. Thus, when disaster strikes, it hits hard. 

To adequately secure these organizations, they need to invest in technology, procedures, and educating the workforce. A security culture won’t replace technology or procedures; it works with and alongside these areas. 

Grit Daily: What are the metrics, aside from whether there was a breach today, for measuring an organization’s security culture?

In our book, we propose a new and more accurate method to help organizations measure security culture in a meaningful way. We call this the Security Culture Maturity Model (SCMM).

Unlike other maturity models, this one is evidence-based, meaning that it’s easier and more accurate to place your organization on the model compared to the guesswork that’s often needed in other models. By using indicators that are based on data from the organization itself, what we call Culture Maturity Indicators (CMIs), we can lay out a detailed and useful understanding of your security culture.

Example CMIs include the Security Culture Score, which is the resulting score of a security culture assessment by KnowBe4. Other CMIs are calculated based on security behaviors, such as clicking on phishing links, reporting threat emails, and so forth.

One of the benefits of the SCMM model is that CMIs can be created when new technology and methodologies evolve, so it will stay accurate and relevant even years from now. 

Grit Daily: Does security culture require organizations to hire a director or vice president, or whatever, of security culture? Who should own this role?

No, it doesn’t require hiring someone. But doing so certainly helps! As with all organizational work, having dedicated resources to champion and focus on the topic makes a huge difference. Ultimately, this role should bridge the work performed by your security and HR teams. Organizational culture, of which security culture is a part, typically belongs to HR or executive leadership.

Grit Daily: Any other points you want to make that I haven’t touched on?

Security and security culture are board-level topics because of the dramatic risk and effect security breaches have on organizations.

If your board isn’t yet discussing security and security culture, we strongly encourage you to bring it to the table. You may even propose bringing in a board member with industry experience and knowledge. More tips can be found in our book, The Security Culture Playbook: An Executive Guide To Reducing Risk and Developing Your Human Defense Layer, and at our website securityculturebook.com.

The post Cybersecurity Specialist Kai Roer Discusses Cybercrime and Explains Security Culture appeared first on Grit Daily News.

Kelly Hyman, founder of The Hyman Law Firm, P.A., knows all of this very well. We recently discussed high profile legal cases, celebrity hijinks and no-nonsense business advice from her perspective as a nationally-known legal justice advocate.

Elephants and Lawyer Jokes

I got to business right away with Kelly, tackling one of the big questions of our time: whether, and I say this tongue-in-cheek, lawyers are a “litigious drain of time and finances,” or a first-on-the-field needed defense of rights and the law.

Kelly responded in the spirit of things, commenting that this goes back to the age-old joke, “what do you call 100 hundred lawyers at the bottom of the ocean…?” Of course, no punch line needed here; it’s oldie and not necessarily a goodie so far as humor goes.

The reality is, she noted, that as much as people bemoan our legal system, we have one of the finest working systems of justice in the world. It’s not perfect (very few things are) but people have access to

the court systems, and the juries are made up of our peers siting in fair judgement according to the laws of the land and instructions about those laws.

My thought at this point is that, in an enterprising society shouldn’t the most talented, determined and knowledgeable individuals in any field deserve to create a prosperous living based on their success? While I personally have no issues with people earning good (or great) incomes based on their skills, perseverance or talent, Kelly had the type of perspective that comes from commitment to social justice.

Righting the Wrongs

Some of the most important societal protections of our time, Kelly pointed out, have come from expertly prepared and passionate attorneys arguing their case with conviction in our court of law. From voting rights to racial equality to righting egregious wrongs from unscrupulous business, attorneys – and the legal actions they bring to a court of law – are the defenders of individual rights and democracy at large. This makes sense, as Kelly has been involved in a number of critically important class action and mass tort lawsuits. One such important case involves the fight against human trafficking, in another she and a legal team have gone up against Big Tobacco in the fight against American Spirit cigarettes.

In our interview, Kelly is humble regarding her work. She feels honored that she’s been able to help large numbers of people prevail against wrongs done to their health, wellbeing and ability to earn a living or live a full and unencumbered life. Kelly noted that her passion for creating social justice and equity is what drove her to pursue a legal career and her commitment is to stand up and make the case for the legal industry’s role as the first line of defense in a free, fair and democratic society.

Johnny and Amber

Time for a shift in gears and topic. Clearly the legal system does, albeit at times imperfectly, function as the first line of defense in ensuring fairness and practice of the law. But now, it’s time to talk about the topic that is on all of our minds: Johnny V. Amber. I knew that Kelly had changed course from a career as an actress to the legal field. As an attorney with professional acting experience, including a stint on “The Young and the Restless,” I wondered if she could tell us where the legal defense ended and the acting and emotional engagement picked up in this lawsuit. And would there have been a different outcome if some of these purported acting or emotional elements were handled differently?

Court of Law Versus Court of Opinion

Kelly believes that, while this was a fascinating case, it was thoroughly and appropriately adjudicated through our court system – but the “court” of social media was an entirely other issue. In that arena, she felt, it was much less fairly judged through the lens of social media.

She shared that she is a strong advocate of our legal system as well as the #MeToo movement. Being raised by a single mom, she’s always been a strong advocate for women supporting women on all women’s issues. Having said that, there are standards to achieve in any juried courtroom and these legal standards outweigh belief systems and any attendant emotions. Kelly then proceeded to outline the things we need to remember about our legal system – and the process and outcomes in any highly visible court case:

Credibility Counts

It’s important to remember that we have a great jury system in the U.S. and that, based on the facts and evidence, the jury believed Johnny Depp on all of his claims of defamation, she explained. Based on the facts and evidence, the jury made a determination that Johnny proved all the elements for his case of defamation and he prevailed on all of his counts. It’s important to note that it comes down to the credibility of the witness–who the jury is going to believe based on the facts and evidence presented–the jury verdict reflects the fact that Johnny Depp was very credible and the jury believed what he had to say.  While Amber did win on one of her defamation counts, she didn’t win on all of her claims.

Having clarified this, Kelly proceeded to add that connecting with the jury and helping them understand – or believe – you are telling the truth is important to presenting your case. While jurors should adhere to the instructions they are given regarding adhering to the law, being credible, succinct and sincere can help greatly in conveying your case.

To Be or Not to Be: Truthful

So here is where it gets a bit juicy and draws upon Kelly’s experience as an actor. Informally, her impression is that Amber was overly dramatic. While this might not have changed legal outcome, it certainly made an impact in the court of public opinion. It further undermined the perception of her case in that she made several accusations that were proven not to be true, such as her statement that Johnny Depp had pushed a former girlfriend down a flight of stairs. Once the jury feels you have lied to them, they will be very vigilant to ensure “standards of truth” are met in the case before them.

Acting and Law

While Shakespeare’s Hamlet ponders to “be or not to be,” one might wonder if an acting career was meant to be a help in the legal field, or not?

Kelly feels her acting career enables her to see things in life from different people’s perspectives, that it was literally her profession to take on other people’s lives, personas and perspectives.

Because she honed that particular skill, she has the ability to understand, and have empathy, for what another person may be experiencing. The advantage for her is not only seeing things from her own perspective but also experiencing the situation from the eyes of the other person.

The take-away? This filter has helped Kelly tremendously in her legal career as a plaintiff’s class action and mass tort attorney, where she is tasked with the duty to help people who have been harmed. Empathy, she shared, has enabled her to step into their shoes and understand what they’re going through. This empathy also helps her to prepare clients for their deposition by guiding them through their experience and helping them capture their thoughts, feelings and experience in a way that helps them communicate and connect with jurors.

Having grown up in the entertainment business, the skills and values of empathy, communication, creativity and passion are tools Kelly relies on every day to advocate clients and get justice for them.

The First Rule for Entrepreneurs

Redirecting the conversation, I wondered about entrepreneurs. What are their stumbling blocks, legally speaking? What should they be mindful of to avoid legal action? Once again, the take-away from Kelly was succinct. If the motto “Think First” could be emblazoned on a t-shirt for every entrepreneur, that would be an excellent first step was my impression from Kelly’s feedback.

Her priority for business owners is simply: it is important for entrepreneurs to think before acting or reacting. “Think First, Act Second” should indeed be a guiding principle, whether it’s emblazoned a t-shirt, positioned prominently on their desk or simply top of mind each and every day.

The Big Three: Advice from the Trenches

Kelly had three key action items for entrepreneurs:

Seek Advice

Create a Plan and

Prepare for Outcomes.

Sounds great, but what does that look like in the real world?

First and most importantly, seek legal counsel before forming your business. Just as critically, make sure you connect with a legal expert who specializes in the area in which you need legal advice, whether it’s forming a corporation or just the day-to-day business. It may seem convenient and inexpensive to tap a friend or family member who, for sake of argument, is a divorce attorney, but it is important to seek the legal advice of someone who focus on the area of law in which you need legal advice.

Secondly, every entrepreneurs should plan to have business plan.

When she launched my own firm, one of the first things that Kelly did was create a business plan to establish the type of structure I wanted and envisioned for her firm. It’s the key to success, as it creates the roadmap to the type of business and outcomes you are seeking. As entrepreneurs, it’s important to think about different outcomes and the impacts of those outcomes so you can be prepared for the experiences that may come your way. Kelly added that outcomes can include success as well as failure and the middle-earth realm of so-so success. Understanding that you may end up in any of these three outcomes – and knowing how you want to respond, can turn almost any situation into the success you are aiming for.

When You’re in Front of a Jury

Time was starting to run out now, Kelly has some to go forth and battle evil in the courtrooms, yet there was a final burning question I needed answered. What to do to increase your odds of success if you find yourself on the wrong side of the juror’s box? Kelly’s thinking on this was equal parts advice and philosophy.

She feels that if you’re bringing a civil case, you have the burden of proof and you need to prove all elements of your case. Understand that jurors are human beings, and if someone comes across as not being believable, the jury sees that. Credibility is key. It’s important that when someone testifies they come across as believable and sincere.

We as human beings are not perfect; we make mistakes, but it’s important to own up and take responsibility and be accountable for the mistakes that you make. Owning your mistakes ( Like Johnny Depp did in his trial) can create empathy and connection with a jury in the right situation. Otherwise, you don’t come across as being believable – and it’s very hard for a plaintiff or defendant who the jury doesn’t find believable to overcome that obstacle and successfully make their case.

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