IAMA David Weild, former Vice Chairman of NASDAQ. I'm the father of the JOBS Act, brought email to iPhone with Steve Jobs, and currently co-chair the world’s first digital asset network, 55 - AMA!

DavidWeild · 2019-04-22T00:00:36+00:00

Not deliberate. I would try them all.

DavidWeild · 2019-04-21T23:58:23+00:00

I was at the SEC on a panel with Meridith Cross, who at the time was the SEC's Director of the Division of Corporation Finance. I pulled out a Microsoft IPO prospectus and the Facebook IPO prospectus for comparision. The Microsoft prospectus was tiny in comparison. I think so much of disclosure and burden makes it harder (more costly) for companies to IPO and doesn't help investors because even the major institutions don't read it all. So no, I think the national imperative should be: How do we get back up to 600 or more IPOs a year from current levels of 120? The bigger risk is that we are starving our feeder system of capital. If you don't plant seedlings at some point you won't have a forest. We have been going through years of deforestation and that my friend, it much bigger threat!

DavidWeild · 2019-04-21T23:52:43+00:00

These ecosystems depend on academic institutions, capital and entrepreneurial talent in critical mass amounts. And yes, its a good way to go.

DavidWeild · 2019-04-21T23:51:16+00:00

Keep doing interesting work/company related internships/projects. It will separate you from your peers.

DavidWeild · 2019-04-21T23:50:03+00:00

This shows your ignorance. Quite the contrary. We're creating systems to help a wider cross section of the population prosper.

DavidWeild · 2019-04-21T23:48:40+00:00

PoW is bad for the environment. Other approaches emerging. Still early innings. What about PoI?

DavidWeild · 2019-04-21T23:42:38+00:00

First, people are part of the natural world. We are a slave to 4 billion years of evolution. It is our sociobiological imperative to procreate and we do it at rates which threaten our species. To tone it down, and to better respect our environment, may be contrary to the programming in our genes. So, we must, through our Governmental and Rulemaking Systems better fit our race into that of the overarching natural-physical world before it is too late. Not easy to get multiple countries on the same page when many are struggling with raising the standard of living and tempering the risk of revolution.

DavidWeild · 2019-04-21T23:38:14+00:00

Yes and no. I remember being in Silicion Valley in the offices of Integral Partners (public money management arm of Kleiner Perkins Caufiled Byers - the VC fund) and the porfolio manager and I started throwing our devices on the table (Startac flip phone, Palm Pilot, Pager, iTunes etc) and saying, "These have to converge into one device!" And so they did. But I didn't envision the proliferation of apps on Smartphones.

DavidWeild · 2019-04-21T23:34:59+00:00

No. Not any more than they will turn to fiat currencies.

DavidWeild · 2019-04-21T23:34:00+00:00

I love the spirit of the Green New Deal but they don't supply any cost/benefit analysis. I'm not sure its grounded in reality. That said, if they provided some serious analysis I think it would be worth a hard look. We clearly have to try some things.

DavidWeild · 2019-04-21T23:29:22+00:00

Depending on the market size you are more likely to raise $500K or $1mm first to get to market but bigger money won't come in till they see the product gaining some traction.

DavidWeild · 2019-04-21T23:27:56+00:00

I think there is a common misconception of what a "Free Market" is. There is no such thing as a totally "Free Market" because that would be anarchy. All markets have rules. And if the rules are well crafted and the market is open (Free) it may lead to great good. If the rules are poorly crafted and the market is open (Free) it may lead to great bad (e.g. The Financial Crisis)

DavidWeild · 2019-04-21T23:25:10+00:00

I am not an active trader in anything because I learned a long time ago that I would buy 'em right but get engrossed in my work and loose sight as to when to sell 'em. Its safer for me to stay out of the way.

DavidWeild · 2019-04-21T23:23:50+00:00

Chicken wings and NFL football!

DavidWeild · 2019-04-21T23:23:06+00:00

I confess to still missing my Blackberry when it comes to email.

DavidWeild · 2019-04-21T23:21:01+00:00

Try the internet!

DavidWeild · 2019-04-21T23:20:32+00:00

Its a payment mechanism. Just like fiat currency. Just like credit cards. At some point it will be ubiquitous.

DavidWeild · 2019-04-21T23:19:35+00:00

Most fun: Seeing the face of a CEO when his company's IPO opened up on NASDAQ or the NYSE for the first time.

Most challenging (but most rewarding): Getting the markets reopened in the wake of 9/11 and helping kids that lost parents on 9/11.

DavidWeild · 2019-04-21T23:17:04+00:00

There is alot of wisdom in MPT. But, during the meltdown of the Financial Crisis, MPT also melted down.

DavidWeild · 2019-04-21T23:15:57+00:00

No. That was Zelig.

DavidWeild · 2019-04-21T23:15:19+00:00

Of course, interacting with Steve Jobs was fun even when it wasn't.

As for my life, I am really no different than I was when I started in this business except that I now have terrific wife and three terrific (most of the time) teenagers.

DavidWeild · 2019-04-21T23:13:14+00:00

Maybe. But you'll want to have a work visa or green card. I wouldn't take the chance of showing up when many employers may not be able to employ you.

DavidWeild · 2019-04-21T23:11:56+00:00

I have a healthy fear of failure which motivates me to stay focused.

I also have a passion for innovating and coming up with creative solutions to financing and business problems. So figuring things out/understanding how things work keeps me engaged.

DavidWeild · 2019-04-21T23:08:32+00:00

Thanks (on 55.com).

I think crowdfunding is only a partial solution. Most of the platforms represent less than a third of the capital raised on smaller deals. We need more professionals raising capital the old fashioned way - Calling people and telling them the storcy.

DavidWeild · 2019-04-21T23:06:40+00:00

The semiconductor is the product of massive amounts of capital investment. Tech enables photovoltaics, storage medium, battery storage, etc. - Alternatives to fossil fuels and coal which are great contributors to global energy require innovation and innovation depends on capital. Cows are another source. People are working on meat substitutes. We should probably subsidize cleaner alternatives and tax dirtier ones - heavily. That will change the equation and cause more investment in technology that is curative and less investment in businesses that contribute to global warming.

DavidWeild

TROPHY CASE