This Week: Part 2 of Discrimination in Tech and Episode 2 of the Highly Regulated Podcast on Making Smart Contracts Smart Again.

While we’ve all been sleeping and planning summer vacations in our head the U.S. Treasury’s cash balance has dwindled to a whopping $87 billion. There are companies with more money in the bank than our own country. Not comforting. I know. I’m sorry. I really don’t want to be super doom and gloom, but I wish for once people around the country would understand that our nation’s debt isn’t a fictional piece of propaganda. It is in fact very real. Just like us, the government has to pay its bills as well. Big ole’ whomp whomp.

It’s honestly not just our nation though. Global debt is at a near-record high of $305 trillion. This paired with the statistic that around 39% of adults in the United States are struggling to make ends meet leads me to a few direct economic theses (that aren’t big leaps…but are hard to hear.) I believe that everyone, no matter what generation, is struggling to live within their means.

Dependence on debt and credit to make your lifestyle work for your income level is absolutely incinerating for economies and we are again approaching crisis levels because of it. I also believe that a focus on earnings at all costs without seeing upward income pressure from employees has let our income stagnation issue become critical to the economy. These two theories I have are unfortunately on a direct collision course with each other. My fingers are crossed that we can come to a solution but without creating a society that values self-accountability we are going to continue to face this rubicon time and time again. In the meantime…pay your employees a decent wage to live and stay away from taking on more credit card debt. You’re welcome. Now onto the good stuff…

Do we hate TikTok that much?

Montana has become the first state to ban TikTok. Not gonna lie - I’m a little confused by this kinda performative action by the leaders in Montana. I can promise you that Montana has many other issues that should take priority in this day and age. However, this was the hill they chose to die on. I expect that many 1st Amendment lawsuits will follow and that it will empower other states to follow suit in an election year. (And yes, I did just link to the Constitution in the hopes that someone will click on it and actually learn what is held within it lol.)

Montana’s new law prohibits downloads of TikTok in the state and would fine any “entity”, likely an app store or TikTok $10,000 per day for each time someone “is offered the ability” to access the social media platform or download the app. These penalties would not apply to users. (That’s good!) However, the penalties will likely also spur their own legal fight as it seems a bit arbitrary and high in light of the dangers actually posed by TikTok usage even under the most propaganda-based setting. So yeah, people in Montana hate TikTok, so let’s just hope they never discover other methods of surveillance being used by governments these days.

Bitcoin mining gets ice-cold…

Ever since the Biden administration (and let’s not forget states like New York) threatened to impose big ass taxes on crypto miners folks have been scrambling to figure out how to hedge against those (and other) regulatory impositions. At the same time, the fight between climate warriors and the crypto mining industry continues to rage each day without much headwinds for either side. This means that the crypto mining industry has to make some changes ASAP to continue to see growth.

For Bit Digital, this means expanding into Iceland!!!!!

I love Iceland. It’s a beautiful country that has a very tech-forward mindset. I can’t wait to see what this means for the growth of renewable energy and mining in the Icelandic ecosystem. I expect to see a lot of other mining entities and even crypto companies, in general, follow suit now. Yay for Iceland!!!!!!

…But the E.U. is ready with crypto regulations.

The E.U. states approved the first comprehensive rules surrounding the regulation of cryptocurrency on Tuesday. (Why yes, this does mean that the United States is officially lagging on comprehensive crypto rulemaking…no more hedging or parsing of language.) Expect these regulations to take hold in 2024.

I think that unfortunately, the more the U.S. falls behind our peers the more likely regulatory actions will step up for companies operating in the crypto space. I’m also hopeful that these regulations make it more likely that the United States has to take action or it will be afoul of international economic contraventions.

What happens when smart contracts aren’t that smart?

Highly Regulated Episode 2: How to Make Smart Contracts Smart Again w/ Harrison Leggio of Pop Punks LLC

Harrison Leggio is the co-founder and CTO of Pop Punk LLC, the first company to provide gas optimization audits. Additionally, they will be launching a suite of highly gas-optimized public goods smart contracts to ensure that every developer has access to highly efficient smart contracts.

Harrison can be found on Twitter at @PopPunkOnChain and @PopPunkLLC.

For this week’s episode of Highly Regulated, I have the great honor of speaking with my friend Harrison Leggio about what happens when smart contracts aren’t exactly the sharpest tool in the web3 shed. Harrison is quite frankly, THE person you need to talk to about smart contracts. Too many folks are putting smart contracts out into the world with little knowledge of how they work and what can go wrong when they’re done incorrectly. Thankfully, Harrison is an amazing resource for people and he is working to help everyone in the space develop efficient contracts so that we can continue to build in this space. If you listen to anyone in web3 about smart contracts, please for the love of G-d, let it be Harrison! I want to thank Harrison so much for chatting with me and for also having all the patience in the world when my wi-fi went out halfway through recording lol. (Thanks Spectrum!) He was such a great guest and so knowledgeable about such an important subject!

I really love talking about smart contracts. I realize this might be kinda surprising to hear. I had to become pretty adept with smart contracts early on in my legal career when I had a case that hinged on one. And to this day it remains the one technical aspect of the web3 space that I am incredibly passionate about and will get on a soapbox about. The downside of smart contracts is quite heavy when they are put out into the world incorrectly or when they are riddled with errors.

There are two people who audit smart contracts that I trust. Harrison is one of those two people and I am so excited to see him start his own venture in this space - Pop Punk LLC. When Harrison and I spoke he was still at Magna and doing smart contract auditing as a public service. Now seeing him bring his smart contract auditing talents to everyone is such a joy and I am happy to send anyone and everyone in need of a smart contract audit to him.

Enjoy this episode and hopefully, y’all learn quite a bit about smart contracts from Harrison!

Part 2: Disability Discrimination Series

What You Need to Do to Prevent & Combat Discrimination

Last week I wrote about disability-based discrimination and I received some very interesting feedback. Almost everyone wanted to know what they could do better to prevent this kind of behavior. I honestly was quite taken aback by the fact that so many folks just…didn’t know where to start. It’s my theory that because most tech companies (and startups in general) start out in a grit-based survival mode you don’t see many HR positions come into play until loooooong after they are needed. Without an expert on the team looking out for this kind of issue discriminatory actions can become an afterthought on a company’s path to unicorn status. With that in mind, I would love to see more accelerators, incubators, and funders offer HR services (even fractional) to startups so that we can start to see a shift in mindset around the importance of good HR policies and procedures when building solid companies.

As I mentioned last week discrimination is an issue that affects individuals and societies worldwide. Almost every, single person has been a victim of discrimination whether they realize it or not. It is essential that startups take proactive measures to prevent and combat discriminatory behavior at all levels of the company. By creating an inclusive and welcoming workplace, startups can not only prevent harm to their employees but also improve their productivity, morale, and retention.

Below are some simple steps that even early-stage startups can take to ensure that they maintain an inclusive and welcoming workplace:

1. Establish a Clear Anti-Discrimination Policy

Startups should create a clear anti-discrimination policy that outlines the types of behavior that are prohibited in the workplace from the get-go. The policy should also outline the consequences of discriminatory behavior and the process for reporting incidents. This policy should be communicated to all employees, and they should be required to sign off on it during onboarding. This will ensure that all employees understand the expectations regarding behavior in the workplace.

2. Provide Anti-Discrimination Training

All employees, including founders and management, should receive anti-discrimination training. This training should cover what constitutes discriminatory behavior, the consequences of such behavior, and the steps employees can take if they witness or experience discrimination. This training should be mandatory and should be reinforced regularly, either through workshops or online courses.

3. Foster a Culture of Inclusion

Startups and their founding team should create a culture of inclusion that values diversity. This means ensuring that all employees feel welcome, respected, and valued. This can be achieved by celebrating diversity, promoting cultural awareness, and creating opportunities for employees to build relationships across different backgrounds. Startups can organize team-building activities, cultural events, and diversity and inclusion workshops to foster an environment where employees feel comfortable expressing their opinions and ideas.

4. Have a Zero-Tolerance Policy

All companies should have a zero-tolerance policy for discriminatory behavior. This means taking swift and decisive action when incidents of discrimination occur. This can include disciplinary action, up to and including termination, depending on the severity of the behavior. It doesn’t matter if it’s a founder or a high-performing employee that needs to be terminated. Sometimes we have to let people face the real, tangible consequences of harmful behaviors. The company should also have a clear process for reporting incidents of discrimination and provide support to the victim. This will demonstrate that the company takes discrimination seriously and is willing to take the necessary steps to prevent it from happening.

5. Conduct Regular Reviews.

Startups should regularly review their anti-discrimination policies and practices (I recommend at least every 6 months during periods of high growth) to ensure that they are up-to-date and effective. This can include conducting anonymous surveys to gauge employee perceptions of the workplace, as well as conducting audits to identify areas of potential improvement. The company should also be open to feedback from employees and be willing to make changes to its policies and practices based on that feedback.

By following these steps, startups can create an inclusive and welcoming workplace that values diversity and combats discrimination. Not only is this the right thing to do, but it can also improve employee morale, productivity, and retention. Startups should take the lead in promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace, setting an example for others to follow. I’m going to be creating some additional training content around preventing discrimination in the workplace for subscribers over the next few months so keep an eye out for some additional content as well.

Mail Call

This DM hit me pretty close to home because it really mirrored my own experience as a founder when dealing with the expectations of social media…

“Hey Stevie! Love your Twitter content so much but I am curious about something. I’ve just started tweeting and am the founder of a very early stage startup. Investors I was speaking to said they expected me to have a social media presence and to be very active on various channels. I have never used social media before and I’m not sure if their advice is correct or a rabbit hole I want to go down as I begin my founder journey. What would you recommend doing if you were in my own shoes?”

Ooooof okay. Y’all this was literally me in early 2020 when I had started my own company. When I started my company I had no social media. I got off Facebook in 2008 when my mother joined. I got off Instagram after a weird stalker situation when I dated someone famous. And I never saw any need to be on Twitter. And then as many of you know that changed.

When I was in the early days of founding my company it felt like there was immense pressure to be on social media. I would fill out accelerator applications and they would require a Twitter handle attached to the application. And so, as many of you know I started back up on the various social media channels and started tweetin’ about everything and anything under the sun.

Looking back many investors demanded that I post things but at the same time, many investors only wanted me to post innocuous fluff. It seemed like I was starting to be pushed and pulled in many directions around creating content for social media. I was spending more time fielding social media inquiries than I imagined and investors had feedback on my posts daily.

Did being active on social media help me raise or get partnerships? Initially, yes. But after a certain point, it became a distraction. Even though we did get a few investments solely because of my social media presence I don’t think those few investments made it worth it in the long run.

My advice to any founder struggling with the social media question is to keep up with whatever you were doing prior to being a founder. Don’t start becoming active on social media to court investments or make investors happy. You will never be able to make everyone happy so just keep on keeping on what worked for you prior to starting your founder journey.

Thanks for reading & watching this week! Let me know your thoughts and catch y’all next week!

xoxo

Stevie

P.S. Are You Looking for Biotech Interns in L.A.?

If anyone is looking for interns in the biotech space for this summer in Los Angeles, I recommend BioscienceLA’s great BioFutures program! During my biotech founder days we had an amazing intern come to us from the program who made a significant difference in our data pathways. This program offers interns from historically under-represented backgrounds a paid internship at an LA life sciences company (including biotech, medtech, and digital health companies and both technical and non-technical roles), subsidized by BioscienceLA. If you’re still on the hunt for biotech or life sciences interns this summer for your company definitely take a look!