From Supply Chain to the Blockchain-Heal the Body, Mind, & Earth

18 years ago, I got into IT sourcing not to make a buck, but to fix the wrongs that I saw in building the backbone of the internet in the 90s. The world of large technology deals was (and, let’s face it, decades later still is) full of FUD, price discrimination, poor decisions, and outright corruption. I knew I could bring transparency, cut waste, and eliminate ill-conceived decisions. And I did – saving hundreds of millions and preventing bad decisions.

But what is the good that you do in that world? On a successful day, it’s taking a few million bucks from overpaid salespeople and egregious margins and giving it back to talented technologists to build great products. However, most days it’s just a transfer from one Fortune 500 to another – almost like Indiana Jones taking back the lost Ark and having it lost in the archives of the government.

That said, I still like that job of helping my friends get more out of IT. It pays the bills, including those for a brilliant team. No one is as good at it in areas like CDN, hosting, and telco. I have clients I can be proud of – Hearst, eBay, Microsoft, Nike, Merrill Lynch, Sony, and dozens of other brands you know. More than that, I’ve made friends that have done business with me for decades and trust that only time buys. I really like it, so if you have a problem with your external IT OpEx, we will still fix it.

We’ve Done Well. Time to Do More Good

But then I got lucky and found that I don’t have to settle for a job I like – I can do one I love. We will shortly announce an important partnership with a group of the foremost authority and experience for social impact investment, measurement and reporting, who will help guide us on this journey. We have been measuring CSR- corporate social responsibility for clients for 15 years, dating all the way back to the foundation of Clinton Global Initiative and our work with Aspen Institute and Socrates Society. And that is helping bring new socially-conscious ventures to the market.

These firms are using the blockchain to reconfigure how we do business, democratize access to finance, stabilize volatile fiat currencies, change healthcare, enable mindful spending, and most importantly, include social impact calculations into every aspect of their business. Here’s just a sampling of the organizations we are working with recently: (updated in real time on ramprate.com/tonyg)

1. Good Money (advisor) – on-ramp for consumer crypto-ization and real-time feedback on social responsibility of the dollars we spend and incentives to reward the companies that do good in the world.

2. Yoti (advisor) – the next generation of digital identity verification, helping more than a million people around the world encrypt IDs and share less data.

3. EOS, Hashgraph, and other proof-of-stake platforms (advisor, investor or contractor) – replacing highly wasteful bitcoin mining- which we have been sourcing for 6 years- with a trust-based blockchain platform that is many orders of magnitude more efficient. We're supporting node and block producer buildouts for these teams to ensure that these efficient platforms are trustworthy.

4. Block.one (investor) – block.one designs free market systems to secure life, liberty, and property by publishing open source software that is free for everyone to use.

5. DNA.fund (shareholder, technology partner & investor) – picking out the most innovative and impactful ventures to connect with crypto-investors and philanthropists who want to impact a billion lives. We source and service technology and social impact projects with them, participate in due diligence and help their clients source the right infrastructure.

6. Quantum Water (advisor) – world-changing water technologies and sustainable energy solutions.

7. Deedcoin (advisor) – blockchain for removing friction and complexity in real estate and reduce agent commissions by 80%.

8. PRIVATE (informal advisor) – This Ag-Tech solutions increase crop yields by 200% or more. Increasing phytonutrient density and pathogen resistance, achieving and maintaining the perfect chemical balance eliminates the need for pesticides and fertilizers.

9. Unitus Ventures (partner) – India’s top social impact fund that has already impacted 1.2 million people.

10. Codex Protocol (advisor) – Codex is a decentralized registry for assets like art, fine wines, watches and more.

11. PRIVATE (informal advisor) – a platform for real-time worldwide communication and deployment of artificial intelligence bots to help us make sense of the flood of open data it opens, sourcing a new high-frequency trading network for crypto exchanges.

12. UpChannel–Spire Protocol (advisor) – connects carriers and smartphone manufacturers with their customers, enabling data-driven insight for emergency response systems, documenting identities, and establishing basic banking and financial protections in emerging markets.

13. Solo Sciences (advisor) – understanding provenance and attributes of cannabis as medicine to help conduct meaningful research on health impacts and potential benefits.

14. PRIVATE (advisor) – innovations in addiction and PTSD treatment through a holistic framework with potentially radical results.

15. Additionally we are running various global confidential audit projects to ensure that no bad actors sneak in under the cover of the innovation and enthusiasm of the blockchain revolution (see Blockchain Audit Services) and an OTC trading desk for Block Trades  (pw trust) that not only weed out fraud, but allow miners and investors to connect with individuals that share their vision for positively impacting the world.

Within these blockchain-related projects, I work with my team as a mix of advisor, connector, auditor, and lodestar to ensure the venture is always pointed towards a positive social impact. So if you’re building a blockchain business that makes an impact and you need investors, connections, objective validation, or just friendly advice, get in touch.