The Pomp Podcast

Jon ‘DRJ’ Najarian was linebacker for the Chicago Bears before he turned to another kind of contact sport – trading on the Chicago Board Options Exchange. He became a member of the CBOE, NYSE, CME and CBOT and worked as a floor trader for some 25 years. He built and sold a number of companies, including a $750 million exit to E*TRADE in September 2016. In this conversation, we discuss the physical...

This is an episode of The Pomp Podcast with host Anthony "Pomp" Pompliano. He answers a bunch of questions from listeners about everything from finance to business to his personal story. =============================== BlockFi allows you to keep your crypto, put it up as collateral, and receive a USD loan funded directly to your bank account. They do loans ranging from $2,000 to $10,000,000, and t...

Cameron Porter is a Venture Architect at Alley Corp, an organization in New York that originates a startup idea, hires the team, funds the initial 6-12 months and launches the company. Occasionally, they invest in very early stage companies as the first seed investors as well. In this conversation, we discuss Apple as a services company, the rise of the quantitative self, why Apple will need to ge...

John Shahidi is a businessman, software developer, manager and producer. He and his brother started Shots Studios, a management company that produces content and serves as the creative studio for top internet talent. In this conversation, we discuss data-driven content creation, how audience is the new currency, why Shots Studios focuses on YouTube, the importance of Shopify, creators as a micro p...

Michael Arrington is the founder of Arrington XRP Capital. He is also the founder and former co-editor of TechCrunch, a blog covering the Silicon Valley technology start-up communities. In this conversation, we discuss the modern media landscape, what he learned from TechCrunch, how regulation is affecting crypto, what is happening in US politics, why the 2nd Amendment is important, and a conversa...

Marc Levine is the Former Chairman of the Illinois State Board of Investment. He also started Chicago Asset Funding, which navigated the 2008 financial crisis very profitably. In this conversation, we discuss runaway pension liabilities, the disciplined systematic approach Illinois used to go from 3rd quartile of performance to top 8% in 3 years, the importance of overweighting tech and innovation...

Douglas Boneparth is the president and founder of Bone Fide Wealth. He is also the co-author of The Millennial Money Fix, which helps millennials learn the reasons for their financial challenges and provides the mechanics for their solutions. In this conversation, we discuss how access without knowledge is dangerous, why advisors are better than roboadvisors, FOMO culture, Doug's current view on c...

Amir Haleem is the co-founder and CEO of Helium, a technology company that built the Helium Hotspot. The Helium Hotspot has created an innovative way to decentralize and democratize ownership of wireless networks. In this conversation, we talked about Amir's time as one of the top gamers in the world, why he thinks we have to decentralize wireless networks, how the Helium Hotspot works, and what i...

Parker Lewis is the Head of Business Development at Unchained Capital.  In this conversation, we discuss the Federal Reserve, their mandate, what actions they have recently taken, how the economy has been impacted, and why Bitcoin continues to be an obvious solution to the structural issues presented by fiat currencies.  =============================== Choice is a new self-directed IRA product tha...

Jason Calacanis is a technology entrepreneur, angel investor, and the host of the popular podcast, This Week in Startups, and Angel. He boasts one of the top angel investor track records in recent history in Silicon Valley and has written a book to teach others how to replicate his success as well. This conversation was a little different than normal as we recorded a dual-podcast episode. Rather t...

Bradley Miles is the Co-founder and CEO of Roll, a platform that helps individuals create unique and branded fan-based digital currency or what they call social money. In this conversation, we discuss social money, how content is currency, what the bull case for fan-based currencies are, and how big of an opportunity this could end up being.  =============================== Our second sponsor...

Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins is an American social justice advocate and the co-founder and CEO of Promise, a California-based company reworking the bail system. In this conversation, we discuss the devaluing of content, radical honesty, criminal justice reform, bail reform, and how technology can solve society's problems in a for-profit model. =============================== The Helium Hotspot is a new p...

Soona Amhaz is a Co-Founder of Token Daily and General Partner at Volt Capital. In this conversation, we discuss open finance applications, the failure of the Lebanese Lira, end user infrastructure, crypto's opportunity in African countries, and inflationary vs deflationary shocks.  =============================== BlockFi allows you to keep your crypto, put it up as collateral, and receive a USD l...

Tyrone Ross is a financial consultant, early-stage start-up advisor, entrepreneur, and athlete. In this conversation, we discuss the importance of financial education, how Bitcoin was built for the inner city communities, what financial advisors are missing right now, and what you can do as an average person listening at home. =============================== The Helium Hotspot is a new product tha...

PD Mangan is a 65 year-old author and scientist focused on using pharmacology, biochemistry, and microbiology to better understand how diet and exercise can be used for anti-aging and longevity. In this conversation, we discuss the importance of lean muscle mass, the science behind caloric restriction, why he is a proponent of high intensity resistance training, and the difference between lifespan...

Dustin Wilson is a Master Sommelier and a co-founder of Verve Wine. He was previously the Wine Director at Eleven Madison Park, a 3 Michelin-starred restaurant in New York City. Dustin was also featured in Somm, a popular documentary about the challenging Master Sommelier exam. In this conversation, we discuss the Master Sommelier process, how he built Verve Wine, the COVID-19 impact on the hospit...

Adam Townsend is a private investor who now manages his own capital through his family office. He previously was one of the largest producers on Wall Street and has spent the last two decades investing in some of the world's most valuable companies. In this conversation, we discuss Wall Street in the 1990s, why Adam started a family office, how society has exchanged the Constitution for Terms of S...

Mark Jeffrey is the co-founder and CEO of Guardian Circle, a service tackling emergency response through a unique community approach. He's also a serial entrepreneur with five exits, a published author, and worked closely with some of the biggest names in tech including Jason Calacanis and Travis Kalanick. In this conversation, we discuss how emergency response can improve, why disbanding the poli...

Jack Murphy is an eight-year Army Special Operations veteran who served as a Sniper and Team Leader in 3rd Ranger Battalion and as a Senior Weapons Sergeant on a Military Freefall team in 5th Special Forces Group. In this conversation, we discuss the use of military personnel on American soil during periods of social unrest, what it takes for a soldier to disobey unlawful orders, what average citi...

Peter Pham is the co-founder of startup studio Science, which is behind many of the world's best consumer internet companies, where they co-build these companies with founders in Santa Monica, CA. In this conversation, we discuss the secret art of fundraising, what Science looks for in great companies, why Peter spends so much time networking, how to build a great brand, and the stories behind Dol...

Daryl Morey is the general manager of the Houston Rockets of the NBA. He is a strong proponent of analytical methods, having created the true shooting percentage statistic, and co-founded the annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. In this conversation, we discuss the latest NBA update, how the Rockets use advanced analytics to make decisions, why Daryl spends so much time supporting civil l...

Matt Ridley is a British journalist and businessman. He is best known for his writings on science, the environment, and economics, including The Rational Optimist and his new book, How Innovation Works And Why It Flourishes In Freedom. In this conversation, we discuss how prosperity evolves, why optimism is important, the difference between innovation and invention, how innovation is bottoms up, w...

Alex Kantrowitz, the author of a new book on big technology called Always Day One: How The Tech Titans Plan To Stay On Top Forever. He was previously the lead technology reporter at BuzzFeed, but recently left to start his own media company called Big Technology. In this conversation, we discuss the role of big tech in society, the commonalities between each of them, why Alex left his job to go ou...

Andrew Wilkinson is the Co-founder and Managing Partner at Tiny. He previously founded MetaLab, one of the world's top design agencies. He has gone from working out of his apartment a little over a decade ago, to today overseeing a group of companies with over 300 employees and tens of millions in revenue. In this conversation, we discussed the no code movement, subscription business models, how t...

Shervin Pishevar is one of the most successful venture capitalists in Silicon Valley. He has previously invested heavily into companies like Uber, Airbnb, and many others. Shervin was also the former founder and executive chairman of Hyperloop One, an ambitious plan to change the way that humans and cargo are transported. In this conversation, we discuss Elon Musk, Travis Kalanick, the various ind...