Financial Testimony

The long awaited trial of Elizabeth Holmes and her blood testing startup Theranos is here. Alyssa and Hayden give their take on what is going to make or break this case for Elizabeth. On trial for defrauding investors and patients, Elizabeth Holmes was once a huge name in Silicon Valley for her a myriad of reasons. She was the next Steve Jobs, she achieved a huge valuation for her startup as a female founder, her (presumed) ground breaking science would change blood testing forever, and she was respected as one of the youngest self-made billionaires to name a few previous accolades she used to hold. Now she is one of the biggest names appearing in court this year.

Back in January of 2021 when GameStop was all the buzz, trading platform Robinhood disabled the buying of GameStop and many other companies that frequented the WallStreetBets subreddit. This led to dramatic decreases in the stock because the many buyers of those stocks could not purchase them and only sell them. Vlad Tenev of Robinhood and Ken Griffin of Citadel later were at a hearing where their statements contradicted internal communication at Robinhood recently released when it came to the story of why they actually halted purchases on Robinhood's app.

Bill Ackman is an interesting hedge fund manager on Wall Street currently under some scrutiny, well that never changes just the reasons do, for his SPAC that he has yet to use for its "Special Purpose". Ackman is known by many on Wall Street, and very few in the realm where he shines the most, acting.

SPACs or Special Purpose Acquisition Companies were a hot trend in the start of 2021. It became a trend so popular that "celebrities" became big time investors in the scene more than they previously were, personally Hayden is not a fan of the celebrities who abuse their personal life and monetize their entire family for personal gain. Needless to say, the SPAC market was overloaded with inexperienced "business professionals" and had created a frenzy of buy outs and unique IPO activity.

Pressure to decide what you want to do in life career wise starts so early, and that means you have to make your first decision early on in life and of course many more as you continue. We talk about the decisions we made to either continue education or not to continue education after our undergrad, and why we made those decisions.

Facebook the social media behemoth, is still changing its platforms to keep its user base engaged, as all companies should, but what does that look like moving forward? We talk about our ideas of what that may look like for Facebook and Instagram, the two platforms that derive just about all of Facebook's revenue.

California's Proposition 22 was recently ruled unconstitutional in a Superior Court a few days ago, it previously allowed Uber and other app based work companies to have people who work on their app be treated as contractors rather than employees. Now that this proposition is facing some opposition Uber and their competitors are rallying to resolve this issue before they pay serious taxes to the government.

People love feedback on what they are doing, it guides them to continue, pivot, or completely stop what they are doing. On the other hand, criticism can be beneficial when both parties understand the sentiment around it but a detriment when the perception of the criticism is misunderstood. Criticism can turn bad habits into good ones or lead to over corrections into more bad habits, but it is all about how both parties are communicating with one another about the feedback being given.

It is a hot *legal* topic to discuss vaccination records lately and our resident law student has some words for the matter. The other host, with no aspirations to study law, has a much more simple approach, be honest and move on. While we both talk a bit about Covid we get down to another concern, the perception of information and the lack of faith in the current distribution methods.

Trevor Milton was the founder and former chairman of Nikola Corporation, a direct EV competitor to Tesla only in name. It used to be thought that Nikola was going to create insanely powerful and green cars with their hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, however after General Motors spotlighted the truth behind the tech, their presumed EV dominance faded.

We took many tangents recording this one, from work life balance, to pressures through out life, to pivoting careers in life. It is hard when you are work from home to separate work from home, life has become so fast paced that we have begun to fill every waking moment with stimulation and take no time to step away from it all. Work life balance is a tough conversation because everyone has different expectations of working for a living or living to work, it can go many ways and it can change depending on where you are in life personally and professionally. Lastly, take a breathe and relax, no matter the type of stress or pressure you are under at work or in your personal life, you have always managed to get through it before, this too shall pass. Apologies for the tangents and the upload delay for this week's episode.

In exchange for free services such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, and much much more, we give up privacy to use said services with no barrier. As consumers we love that, but it sparks concerns about how much is too much. What types of information do you consider too much and how aware are we of our own ability to protect ourselves and our data in the age of CCPA and GDPR, because literally no one reads those pop ups so how can we justify tech companies knowing so much about our lives? We can either make anti trust laws or accept that we have no privacy anymore with everyone walking around with microphones and cameras potentially recording us at all times.

Today anyone can announce their position and why, while also being able to trade securities from their phone, making it incredibly easy to trade from anywhere for any reason. This has led to insane trading volumes on securities and cryptocurrencies, which has led to impressive gains on trades for many while also damaging many financially. Where does regulation intervene and how does it do so without hurting access and ability substantially?

Hot off the press, NCAA changed one of their rules last week that would prohibit college athletes from being compensated on their Name, Image, and Likeness. Now colleges can compensate students in the name of education and corporations can get in on paying athletes without the restriction of education. It can go many directions from here, but it is only just beginning. Who knows what will stem from this *temporary* change?

Space is an interesting one because we are barely beginning our exploration of it in the grand scheme of humanity. Billionaires are racing to go to space, a branch of the US military has been created for this domain, a new marketplace for precious metals is in sight, and a goal for many futurists for colonization. The limits of space are only our imaginations, well... once the capital has been deployed and until the governments decide to intervene with their treaties, they always ruin the fun. Tune in to hear our discussion of this uncharted industry.

Welcome to Financial Testimony, a bit of a pivot from Tech Talk. Same goals, new name to find easier, formatted in a simpler manner, and much more focused on finance and law. Expect new episodes every Monday 10 AM PST.

In our favorite episode to make thus far, we lightly touch pretty interesting topics behind our main topic of Elon hosting SNL and how this is a man that defies all expectations of himself, getting to show off his comedic side when it comes to his role in current events. We go over some history of the battle between a former US President and another celebrity billionaire whose name has more weight than all the gold in Fort Knox. Lastly, we bring up our favorite subreddits, the value in community, and why Reddit is a healthier form of social media than others.

In this month's regularly scheduled episode, we discuss comments from JP Morgan Chase CEO, Jamie Dimon, on FinTech taking over traditional banking. We get into the now seemingly annoying conversation of cryptocurrencies with Coinbase's IPO, which was a metaphorical proclamation that FinTech doesn't want traditional banking. Lastly, we talk about burnout because it impacts us all at different points in our careers. For Hayden, it came at a transition period leaving school, but for many it will come after excess overworking of ourselves.

In this week's quick and easily digestible episode, we discuss Robinhood's plans to IPO coming back in full swing and why they are still trying to IPO. We talk about digital art or what the common current use of NFTs are, Alyssa thinks this new digital art is vaguely similar to past art mediums, while Hayden thinks NFTs in particular are a very overrated art medium. Lastly, we get into the long-term and short-term effects of last year's college deferrals due to Covid-19 and the implication they have on more than just school but what traditionally happens after school.

On this month's super delayed episode, we briefly discuss audio licensing and how strict copyright is. A little late from when we recorded this but Covid-19 had its anniversary in the United States and we have changed a lot because of it, how fast vaccines were rolled out, how they work, and a bit of politics at play in how the nation has handled it, and we wanted to bring it up. Lastly, we bring up our own job hunting experience and important factors that have played a role in our idea of landing and keeping a job. Fun fact: this episode was recorded before a survey was released where investment analysts begged a large investment bank to only work 80 hours a week.

In this week's regularly scheduled episode, we discuss conspiracy theories that have gained traction around the Covid vaccine and the one sided thinking that tends to follow them. At (10:40) we give our hot takes on when the economy changes cycles and goes into a recession, arguing over definitions and deep topics, if they have any effect on the events that ultimately play out. Hayden makes a bet $5 with Alyssa over their opinions on when a recession will strike next, then at (26:30) we begin to compare post-pandemic life with pandemic life so far.

In this week's poorly produced and painfully postponed episode, you get to listen to Alyssa's microphone pick up the noise from her dragging her laptop and Hayden's decibels rapidly change due to poor internet connection. Hayden backs up his comments from last week about 90% of Bitcoin ‘investors', we discuss Google's iron grip over the web search query process, and how u/DFV is holding up in the GameStop hearing on Thursday. Google is at odds with Australia over paying for media companies using their services and DFV is David, fighting the Goliaths of Wall Street and Robinhood over potential market manipulation. Note from Hayden: To be clear I am bearish on Bitcoin investors but bullish on the idea of Cryptocurrencies, and I have positions in Bitcoin and Tron.

In this week's great episode, we discuss the protection of Free Speech, how the medium has completely changed since the inception of the First Amendment, and how governing the medium has become the norm. At (12:42) we bring up the age old question about the correlation to money and a person's happiness, how it impacts an individual's investment behavior and strategies moving forward. Lastly at (27:36) we begin to share our personal thoughts on how we think about investing and how people should behave during the buying and selling phases of trading a stock.

In this week's highly anticipated episode of Tech Talk, Hayden breaks down the value play that was GameStop before mass media spoke about a short squeeze, we discuss how Robinhood has not made friends this week as lawsuit after lawsuit is forming against them as well as a potential SEC investigation, Alyssa finally watches Hayden's suggested show Billions and we discuss how relevant the show is in the current status of Wall Street. If you are interested in the article Hayden wrote as a WSB insider check it out on techtalkpod.com, he breaks down the history of how WSB invested in $GME.

In this week's structurally challenged and lately posted episode we briefly discuss Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates' philanthropic goals and how they give back to their local community or internationally, we go over the clear change that has taken place over the past 30 sum years in start up funding and why investment funds have gone heavy into start ups with a focus on social impact, and lastly we discuss a bit of our personal experiences with Hayden working at Starbucks for 2+ years or Alyssa getting placed in a group project for class at USC. (Side note: Our audio may sound different over the next couple of weeks we have recently changed how we record)

In this week's poorly recorded conversation we call a podcast, we discuss the relevance of Section 230, how it protects companies from what users say on their platform, and different ways we thought about how it could change. At (8:31) we begin to talk about how medicine is advancing in what seems like the most unsophisticated way possible. Lastly, at (19:48) Hayden explains his favorite personal topic right now GameStop, the massive short squeeze surrounding the stock, and the subreddit that may see an SEC investigation any day now. Obligatory Disclaimer: Hayden currently holds shares in GameStop and Chewy.

In this week's on time episode, we give our hot takes on why everything is valued outrageously high, a combination of Market Manipulation, FOMO, and Supply and Demand. (13:32) Next up we talk about Amazon and Twitter's popular acquisitions the week of recording (January 8th) into podcast related companies, we each say which one makes sense and which one seems like an off move. (26:00) Lastly we discuss our personal thoughts on Tech Talk, a little behind the scenes as well as the things we want to do moving forward.

In this weeks' regularly scheduled podcast, we discuss our outlook heading into 2021 and how Voice of Consumer and Cloud Computing are going to be making the largest impacts in business. Another thing we noted was the massive shift from California and New York to Texas and Florida to restructure companies and how they can make profits on the opposite side of operations, we do not have a solid pick for the next hubs of industry but it is clear, new ones are forming on the horizon (11:07). Lastly Hayden breaks his silence on one of the many reasons he does not like the word entrepreneur or the self-proclaimed entrepreneurs of the internet, and we point out how people are easily falling victim to financial schemes 'entrepreneurs' promote with simple predatory marketing phrases (23:41).

In this week's regularly delayed podcast episode, we throw stats at each other left and right to back up our differing views on tech's most recent controversy (their IPOs), we discuss the struggles of the hospitality industry and suggest that it make a more personal experience for consumers going forward suggesting that this is an excellent time to pivot as an industry, and lastly we chuckle at how California's Governor angers everyone no matter the political party. If you get to reading this far thank you for listening to us and please feel free to give us any feedback you have either personally or by LinkedIn direct message.

In this week's regularly delayed episode, we discuss the House passing a bill that would decriminalize weed, our brief take on the matter, and how we believe it will turn out when it goes to the Senate, we bring up some insight on Black Friday and the first bits of analytics that come out on the sales done on Black Friday, and Alyssa shares her first thoughts on Forbes 30 under 30 for 2021 list and why she is upset with the people listed. We go off on many tangents discussing Forbes like reasons why people become famous on TikTok, people who genuinely deserve to be recognized on 30 under 30, and the points where capitalism meets effective social impact. We apologize for the delays and intend on getting back to our regular schedule of posting on Mondays at 10 AM PST.

In this week's delayed episode, Hayden admits Alyssa is right about a Tesla bubble after Elon becomes the 2nd richest person in the world, Covid Vaccines are starting to be used and we discuss about the data surrounding Covid cases in the US, lastly we briefly talk about consumer spending habits and one reason we may acquire the urge to purchase an advertised product this shopping season.

In this episode of Tech Talk, we discuss the battle between Pfizer and Moderna for 1-upping one another over vaccine data results, we bring up the ever so fun topic of video games and business with the reason behind Apple changing their revenue cut on developers and Fortnite being the reason for Apple to change their ways, lastly we breakdown the business model of a distribution platform and how they become a necessary middle-man in their respective industry.

This week we discuss the previously ongoing election in the US and how it takes eons to count votes, the aftermath of the results and what financial gains or losses may arise from the current incoming president elect and the senate, and lastly Hayden brings up his gripe with buzzwords to spark story time where we mention times in our lives where we encountered poor examples of entrepreneurship.

Today we discuss the first company to receive legal action from the big anti-trust tech hearing this year, Google, and how they truly make a barrier for companies they want to compete with, Hayden explains why he wants to reward Quibi with an Olympic Gold Medal equivalent for the start up with the best belly flop, and lastly Alyssa admits she lied about investing a dime in the electric vehicle industry along with some commentary on the state of investing the US stock market.

On this week's episode, we discuss Facebook's Big Data policies and who is cracking down on them to protect the general public's information, Palantir's quiet debut on Wall Street and their strong aptitude for losing money and Hayden forgets to complete his thoughts on how he sees Peter Thiel taking Palantir in a distant yet soon to be profitable direction, we get sidetracked briefly on the topic of Silicon Valley and how a new tech giant may not be able to develop as easily anymore, and lastly we conclude our thoughts on how Big Data is going to get managed in the future by the US government, the European Union, and the tech companies themselves.

On this week's regularly scheduled podcast, we discuss the growing subscriber bases of streaming services and the decline of cable television watchers, we get political talking about the ads that everyone in California are seeing lately on Prop 22 and its implications with Uber and Lyft drivers, and lastly we give our takes on how to consume and process news to understand the truth and not just the opinion of the second hand source. Additional note: Do your own research on anything we mention or discuss, we ourselves do not know the full length legal implications of Prop 22, this is just our commentary on the matter.

On this week's podcast, we discuss the emerging business model of a cloud kitchen and how you may not even know they are growing but still use them, Disney's recent layoffs and how they can reach their old potential as the media giant they once were while briefly mentioning the state of cable sports, and lastly we discuss LinkedIn and its fascinating ability to spread content with little to no restrictions.

On this week's podcast we discuss comments we made last week on economic bubbles and how they started, we begin to go over Amazon and their acquisition of Whole Foods but get side tracked to debate how the most wealthy use their money for good or bad, and lastly we talk about the latest books we are reading or movies we are watching that go over corporate life in America.

This week we discussed how retail can use brick and mortar effectively going forward in 4th quarter 2020, a brief commentary on Nikola and Tesla's battle for electric vehicle superiority and other further developments of the automobile industry, and lastly how are colleges assuring that students are retaining information in a virtual classroom format.

We originally recorded this episode on August 23rd, we delayed posting it for awhile due to the poor production quality we felt it had then decided that posting it would be better for the future to show what progress we have developed in quality and content in the future. Since recording of course companies' valuations did change and Oracle had only recently placed a bid for the Tik Tok acquisition at the time. Thank you for taking the time to listen to our podcast, and we hope you have a wonderful week.

Here is just a little background about Alyssa and I, plus our intentions with developing a professional commentary on finance, tech, and business governance news. We hope with our podcast we are able to spark more conversations with younger audiences that connect them with professionals further along in their career.