Seeking Alpha – Details, episodes & analysis

Larissa talks with Jason Jones, founder and CEO of entertainment company Everything Entertainment and tech consulting firm Disrupt 2 Innov8. They discuss Jason’s experience reentering society after spending 13.5 years incarcerated, his professional success since returning home, and how tech can be used in reentry to lower America’s recidivism rate – which is currently over 60%.

Follow Jason’s companies on Instagram at @_everything_entertainment and @disrupt2innov8.

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• Learn more about Bitcoin
• Learn more about Ethereum
• Learn more about Solana
• Learn more about Tether (if you dare)
• Learn more about BNB (but don’t)
• Follow Seeking Alpha on X and Instagram at @seekingalphapod
• Subscribe to Seeking Alpha on YouTube
• Submit questions and share feedback at seekingalphapod.com
• Follow Larissa on X at @larissabundziak and Instagram at @larissabundz
• Follow Lindsay on X at @lindsayposs and Instagram at @lindsaytheboss

Joining the show today is Ashley Washington, the Game Changers EMEA Product Manager at Riot, where she works on building spaces for folks in marginalized genders to play, compete, and have fun. We talk about Game Changers, and how it creates a safe space for women who are interested in competitive play and removing some of the negative factors that often keep them from progressing and finding further opportunities. Plus, we both get to flex a little about our foreign language skills (Ashley is the far more talented one in that department).

Episode Resources:

https://www.theloadout.com/valorant/game-changers-ashley-washington-interview 

Today's episode features Maya McClendon, the Founder of Timeout. Timeout is an app designed to specifically aid athletes and other high pressure performers with tools to aid in bettering mental health. While Timeout is focusing first on athletes, Maya believes expansion into all kinds of competitive areas is going to be critical to Timeout's success. We talk about how to build a business, what it's like to get funding, and the intersection between tech and mental health. Maya teaches me about problem curation: figuring out what the issues actually are is the way to actually solve problems.

This week's episode features Sandy Carter, the VP of Unstoppable Domains. Sandy has had an illustrious career in tech (so much so that she has her own Wikipedia page, definitely check it out), and is right in the middle of the Web3 revolution. We talk about the transition from Web2 to Web3, the opportunities that are out there, and why the Metaverse is exciting. Sandy's musings show why it's important to keep up with the youths, and help me understand how Web3 can democratize the internet.

Episode Resources:

https://decrypt.co/106009/unstoppable-domains-reaches-unicorn-valuation-with-65m-series-a-round 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdAfucJNC88&ab_channel=SiliconANGLEtheCUBE 

https://www.businessinsider.com/why-i-quit-amazon-for-web3-sandy-carter-crypto-nft-2022-6 

Nadja Bester, Co-founder of Engage of Earn investment platform AdLunam, Inc., joins the show today! Nadja has a career in tech, journalism, and travel all rolled into one. We talk about building a platform, why crypto and Web3 projects are important, and what tools founders can use to set themselves up for success.

Episode Resources:

https://adlunam.cc/

https://hackernoon.com/engaging-to-earn-with-adlunam-co-founder-nadja-bester

https://www.benzinga.com/fintech/22/05/27186631/women-leading-in-the-journey-toward-web3

https://metaverseinsider.tech/2022/04/28/an-interview-with-nadja-bester-the-ceo-of-adlunam-a-transformational-ido-launchpad/

Today on the show is Ashley Olmested, Associate Experience Design Director at Ripple Studios where she works on Battlefield 2042 and Battlefield Portal. Ashley FINALLY teaches me what the difference between UX and UI (which is actually critical and really interesting), and what life is like as a developer. One especially prominent note: failure (and subsequent feedback from the community) is actually a starting point for making things better. In short: Ashley teaches me not to be afraid of criticism, which is easier said than done!

Swatee Surve, Founder and CEO of Litesprite, joins the show this week. Litesprite is a new way for employers and employees to experience mental health benefits through an interactive environment that teaches people how to master their own zen. Swatee and I discuss mental health, what it's like working in the healthcare space, fundraising, revenue models, and plenty of stories about life and learning.

Episode Resources:

https://venturebeat.com/2022/05/14/how-game-leaders-can-change-systems-to-improve-employee-mental-health/

https://venturebeat.com/2022/03/19/swatee-surve-interview-showing-gratitude-to-your-friends-in-a-game/

https://venturebeat.com/2019/11/10/litesprites-game-for-treating-depression-gets-an-endorsement-from-bayers-startup-accelerator/

Are you interested in putting fun back into esports? This is the episode for you! Paige Cameron, VP of Miscellanea and general wizard from Beastcoast, joins me to talk about building an international esports organization, what opportunities are out there, and what it's like to constantly adapt and switch roles. Digressions include digital goods, fan engagement strategies, how old neopets are, the queer community in South America, and managing more than one Twitter page at a time.

Episode Resources:

https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/state-lgbtq-rights-latin-america-0

https://beastcoast.gg/

Joining me this week is Holly Gray, the Human Resources Manager at Generation Esports. In addition to talking about esports and the importance of HR, Holly and I have a bit of a heart to heart about how to keep going when life is difficult, and also talk all about what Generation Esports is doing for students, veterans, and amateur players. Holly teaches me about the positivity of having kids play games in schools: higher engagement in school, better attendance, better grades because kids are getting to do things that make them happy! Hopefully that means the acceptance and normalization of it is coming.

Episode Resources:

https://generationesports.com/

https://edgeup.asus.com/2022/asus-gives-esports-programs-a-head-start//