Lubo Smid Podcast

As the CEO of Vacuumlabs, Matej believes in scratching your own itch to create an easy-to-use product. That’s how you make an impact — and he should know. Before leading the company that “puts the tech in fintech,” Matej spent years winning startup events, earning multiple Forbes features and co-founding creative space The Spot Slovakia. How? Prioritizing unorthodox ideas. Product featured: Vacuum...

The co-founder/CEO of community-based media platform TheFutureParty, Boye Fajinmi, joins our Tech Trends Special for the first time (but not the last!) to talk the year’s biggest news — from AI blowing minds to fragmentation of social media, the crypto sphere cleanse, the unraveling of Big Tech and what we can expect from 2023. Spoiler: don’t be so quick to roast the Zuck! Topics based on: STRV Te...

A multi-company founder with an 11-year tenure at Wharton is just a part of Howard’s resume spanning 3 decades. As the founder/CEO of Innovation Refunds, he’s helped businesses recover $1B+ in tax credits. It’s no wonder he’s been featured in The Wall Street Journal, CNN and more. So, when a guy this busy talks about “the theory of disruptive innovation,” we’re all ears. Product featured: Innovati...

Switching it up! STRV CMO Fedor Filimonov interviews our host Lubo Smid about STRV’s upcoming event at Miami’s Art Basel and how web3 changes the experience. Lubo also shares tips on getting the best out of networking at leading events, how STRV Labs product Enter aims to onboard millions to the web3 world and why the bear market’s not so bad (really). Product featured: Enter https://www.enter.xyz...

Owning parts of companies that make the world better? That’s what Birdwingo enables — thanks to the CEO/co-founder’s vision of making an investment app with heart…and the lowest fees in most of Europe. Andrej explains why the platform offers ETFs along with stocks (unlike Revolut), what makes the US way ahead of Europe and how today’s generation stands out. Product featured: Birdwingo https://www....

On the first episode of our monthly Tech Trends Special, STRV Marketing Manager Nikki Korobeynik joins us to discuss Meta’s billion-dollar bet on VR, the Twitter Blue shakeup and which pitch deck slides really get the most attention — even during bear market times. And why are startups Resound and Agapé on Nikki’s radar? Uhm, we’ll let him, uhm, explain. Topics based on: STRV Tech Trends Report ht...

Started at Duke and Stanford, now we here. Dylan is the founder/CEO of Lucra, a betting platform for (not just) casual sports fans that includes everything from the NBA and NFL to Wordle, TikTok trends and custom games. Dylan talks partnering with brands like Spartan Race, BTS of the business model, fundraising, legalities being a “chicken and egg on steroids” matter and more. Product featured: Lu...

Mag has long been the man behind the music — managing artist IshDARR, running Magic Studios and directing accelerator programs at gener8tor. Turns out, it was all leading to EVEN. As the founder and CEO, Mag empowers artists and fans to invest in each other by giving musicians the chance to connect with fans directly under one web3-powered roof. Product featured: EVEN https://even.biz/ Mag Rodrigu...

Trezor, the crypto hardware wallet used by the likes of Twitter’s Jack Dorsey, is getting a new CEO. Matej joined the team a few years back as a product manager. He swiftly became the CPO and now, it’s time for his biggest challenge yet. How’d he do it? We discuss his journey, how to protect your Bitcoin, hot wallets vs. hardware and what’s on the horizon. Product featured: Trezor https://trezor.i...

Years before impressing on Shark Tank, Techstars and hitting Forbes 30 Under 30, Thomas was an injured high school NBA hopeful in need of an affordable, portable b-ball shooting machine. And since it didn’t exist, he designed and built his own. Today, along with CMO Brian, the guys are taking the fan-favorite GRIND to new heights — via gamification, virtual training and more. Product featured: GRI...

Backpacking, Buddhism, engineering, consulting… Milan discovered life on his own terms before becoming the CEO of dating app portfolio Cosmic Latte. How has mindfulness informed his leadership? What does it take to keep the market-leading lesbian (Zoe) and gay (Surge) apps on top? And how can Neuralink help us achieve ultimate love and understanding? Product featured: Cosmic Latte https://www.cosm...

William may be a prince, but he also leads the Digital Media & Innovation activities of the Lobkowicz Collections — which houses 100,000+ historical artifacts. Thanks to him, the noble family is the first ever to turn its heritage into NFTs. He’s convinced that a new patronage model and the metaverse will help preserve a 700-year legacy… and it’s looking like he’s not wrong. Organization featu...

B-ball player, AR video game founder and the man behind huupe, the world’s first smart basketball hoop, Paul has put in the work. He talks securing $3.1M while in stealth mode for 3 years, sidelining marketing and how he combined hardware, software and gamified data into a product that has NBA players investing — and potential streaming and gaming partners excited. Product featured: huupe https://...

As the first curator-driven NFT art platform, Artpool’s got a lot to figure out. Luckily, its Founder and Director Pauline is well-equipped for the job. As a curator and artist herself, she’s helped galleries worldwide thrive. Today, she talks defining art now and in the future, helping artists sustain themselves, building communities and prioritizing mental health in a breakneck industry. Product...

Joining us to discuss Apple’s latest announcements is STRV CTO and self-proclaimed Apple fanboy Jan Kaltoun, who’s been developing products and mentoring iOS engineers for over a decade. Jan analyzes the good and the strange of the new Apple Watches, Airpods Pro 2, iPhone 14/14 Pro… plus the #1 missing piece of the puzzle and what’s next. Jan Kaltoun on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jan-ka...

The name behind CryptoKitties, NBA Top Shot and Flow (one of the world’s top 5 blockchains), Dapper Labs makes web3 seamless across the board. As the SVP of Partnerships, Mickey talks hitting $1 billion in transactions with NBA NFT collectibles, securing collabs with the likes of UFC, NFL and Ubisoft, and removing the friction in the web3 world. Next up, space exploration? Product featured: Dapper...

Before setting out to build an empire in the music industry, BPM Supreme founder and CEO Angel “AROCK” Castillo began his DJ career at the age of 12. Years later, thanks to the newest tech and a variety of impressive partnerships, BPM Supreme is a leading record pool for music creators worldwide. Next up? Expand and become the Adobe for music. Product featured: BPM Supreme https://www.bpmsupreme.c...

A true master of his craft, Richard is the founder and CEO of you.com — a search engine with zero targeted ads powered by trust, kindness, facts and AI. What led the former Salesforce Chief Scientist to build a safer internet? His thoughts on Google paying Apple $15B a year to invade our privacy, current dangers of online searching and the future of AI. Product featured: You https://you.com/ Richa...

Today, TheFutureParty keeps its 160,000 subs happy by striking a balance of business and culture. But it all started with its Nigerian-born co-founder Boye throwing some fun Hollywood events. Brands took notice, then came content for and by the community… and now, even Kendrick Lamar can’t get enough. Next up: entering web3 without jeopardizing value. Product featured: TheFutureParty https://futur...

After decades of helping people find clarity, Jim believes that all negative emotions are rooted in perceptions of the past and future. Everyone can achieve stillness — it’s just a matter of rebooting your system. That’s why he co-founded Still Life, a leading app that helps the body “downregulate.” We discuss the process, why the audio space is undervalued and how AI fits in. Product featured: St...

When you start your career as a producer by spearheading movies like The Hunger Games, where do you go from there? If you’re Clubhouse Picture’s Bryan, you link up with your crypto-enthusiast colleague Bryce, create a colossal multiplatform world housing an epic saga called Omega RUNNER, and kick it off with an NFT-centered (already sold out!) comic book.  Product featured: OMEGA Runner https...

Learning football through Madden, owning a team with a rockstar, nabbing millions thanks to a PowerPoint presentation… Patrick’s earned his place as the co-founder and Chief Gaming Officer at Fan Controlled Football. So what does building a league run by fans and passing on meetings with the NFL get you? Nearly 20 million people tuning in, that’s what.  Product featured: Fan Controlled Footba...

A new asset class and a global liquid marketplace used to be sci-fi dreams. Today, according to Metaversal co-founder/CEO, it’s all a few steps from reality. With 20 years of experience and a $60 million investment locked in, Yossi’s a guy worth listening to. He shares advice on entering the NFT space, thoughts on Meta’s twisted DNA and incoming trends. Product featured: Metaversal https://www.met...

“When it comes down to the metaverse, we’re living in one already.” Lubo and Martin discuss all things Decentraland as the foundation’s Growth Marketing Manager talks bringing 60+ brands like Dolce & Gabbana to the first-ever Metaverse Fashion Week (literal catwalks included) and allowing a community to govern the world via the DAO. Should users really have all the power? Product featured: Dec...

Lubo and Lamine dive into financial inclusivity, Lamine’s approach to building products and his opinion on DeFi. A guy that’s “unafraid to aim too high and miss, terrified to aim too low and hit,” Lamine’s gone from refugee and young marine to a successful founder spearheading universal access to credit via StellarFi. A fascinating life story we’re thrilled we get to share. Product featured: Stell...