Blockchain Month

April 2023

A monthlong series featuring lectures and events to enlighten and engage regarding blockchain technologies
and applications

Blockchain Lecture Series

Industry-leading experts will show how blockchain can be used inside UCLA companies to accelerate their growth, marketing and capital raise. Speakers from all facets of business will share the various ways they’ve seen blockchain revolutionize a plethora of industries.

These events are open to UCLA graduate students, UCLA Anderson alumni and invited industry experts. Capacity is limited.

Blockchain Applications
Monday, April 3, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.

In the first lecture, students will hear about some successful uses of blockchain technology in traditional companies. Brad Yasar will speak about his experience leading EQIFi. Rebecca Hwang will share how she has seen the tech lead to successful ventures at the ASU Thunderbird Accelerator and through the investments of her $100 million VC fund. Jose Montero will share his experience integrating blockchain into his business card company. Coming from a hardware background, Dennis Lee will share his plans for Blockchain Applications in his new Santa Monica–based venture accelerator. Join us for drinks and light bites following the lecture.

Blockchain Development
Monday, April 10, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.

In the second lecture, students will hear about going from zero to one with blockchain development. Industry experts will share industry-expected costs and timelines for common hires. They will also discuss the benefits and detriments of using in-house devs or dev shops. Sam Kazemian, Patrick Hale and Jonas Simanavicius will share the lessons they have learned in launching multiple large scale projects. Join us for drinks and light bites following the lecture.

Web3 Marketing
Monday, April 17, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Michael Terpin will discuss the nuances of Web3 marketing as he shares his experience with marketing the second-most-successful blockchain project of all time, Ethereum. He will dive deeper into the portfolio of projects he invests in and advises currently. Dani Mariano will speak about lessons learned leading Razorfish. Sean Kelly will share how he was able to create his own marketing company in order to market his own projects. Sean will describe his journey from ideation to finally being acquired two years ago. Join us for drinks and light bites following the lecture.

Web3 Fundraising & Venture Mixer
Monday, May 1, 5:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Speakers will share their vast array of perspectives about the outlook of VCs investing in blockchain-enabled companies. Alexandra Dumas will share her corporate experience with Web3 at Google Ventures. Yiwei Li will speak about experience investing in blockchain enabled companies. Zhen Cao will share her success angel investing in some of the largest blockchain companies of the last bull run and what she is looking for currently. Ben Tsai will go into detail about what makes or breaks an investment pitch in his fund, Wave Financial.

Join us following this final lecture of the series for a mixer with investors and experts. If you RSVP for any of the events in the four part lecture series, you are welcome to RSVP for the mixer.