Tuni Talks 41 - The Official Event Recap

By Leandra Grant

Happy St Patrick's Day!

I'll admit, I've never been much of a St. Patrick's Day person, but after leaving my heart in Ireland following my Euro trip a few months ago, all things Irish have been venerated in my mind. Plus, I've got family on that side of the pond now so the connection is real! Sunday's St. Patrick's Day parade kicked off the celebrations here in the city, and a quick Google search of "St. Patrick's Day events Toronto came back with enough events to make my head hurt. Every bar, club, and food establishment is doing something, so if you feel like getting your Irish on this weekend, you won't have to go far. 

Of course, we all know where the real party was at this week: Tuni Talks! For our 41st incarnation, we were back at the lovely Hotel Ocho, and man, was it a packed house. Let me put it this way. I grabbed a seat on the sidelines of our stage, and all I could see were people's legs. Seriously. I could hear our speakers perfectly, but I had absolutely no idea what they looked like until we gathered for our Tuni team photo op during the mix and mingle. No complaints, though! That just means that word is spreading and more and more people are joining our community, and that is of course, what we aim for. I met a lot of first-timers Tuesday night, and few things make me happier than welcoming new members to our Tuni family. But I digress! Let's talk about our esteemed speakers who came out to share their knowledge with us. 

Knowledge was definitely a key word last night. First to take the mic was Chris Kay, with the tagline "What the Heck is Bitcoin, Anyway?" Now, let me make a confession: I'm a huge fraud when it comes to technology. Meaning, I work in IT and I have gadgets galore, but I'm secretly much happier with a pen and paper and would gladly send messages by carrier pigeon if that was still a thing. So for me, bitcoin conjured images of a secret underground network of tech wizards buying and selling assets with a currency of their own creation. And surprise, surprise, Chris's talk taught me that I wasn't entirely wrong-but there's a lot more to it. As Chris put it, bitcoin is a currency created by a bunch of "anarchist math geeks" who rebelled against the idea that banks and government should have control over money and how it is moved around. Bitcoin has been around since the early nineties, but it really found its footing after the financial crisis, when people's trust in banks and finance industry leaders was at its lowest. Chris then went on to explain some of the specifics of how bitcoin works, and I really have to congratulate him for being able to simplify it into terms that even I could understand. I'm going to attempt to replicate his explanation here, but be gentle--remember what I said about carrier pigeons? So bitcoin works through a process that is called "mining." Every bitcoin transaction is sent out as a math puzzle of sorts, and these miners (which are computerized automated systems) race to solve the puzzle and add that transaction to the bitcoin public ledger (which keeps track of all bitcoin transactions). Solving the puzzle updates the ledger and validates the transaction. Simple, right? Kind of? I tried. Chris summarized the benefits of using bitcoin, highlighting its usefulness in terms of the developing world, where wire transfers can be costly and take a lot of time. Bitcoin transactions, he said, cost six dollars and are almost instantaneous. Not only that, it is automated and decentralized, which means it can't be controlled. Also, it is deflationary, as no more than 21 million bitcoins can be created before the system stops. This keeps the value intact, and eliminates the risk that comes with inflation, and its eventual collapse. There's a lot more to bitcoin--as Chris said, it essentially rewrites the rules of the financial system. I don't know enough yet to say whether that's good or bad, but thanks to Chris, I'm a little bit more savvy and a lot more intrigued. 

Our second speaker was Kundan Joshi, founder and CEO of The AppLabb. After all that bitcoin talk, my ears perked up a little at the word "app." I know what that means! Apps are those things I download from the Play Store (yes, I'm team Android) and they let me do cool stuff on my phone. Unfortunately, that's about the extent of my app knowledge and like Chris, Kundan made me realize that I am the polar opposite of tech-savvy. Kundan, however, is the definition of it. TheAppLabb has developed 450 apps or more. They have multiple offices and their clients include Dell, Pepsi, Unilever...you get the idea. However, they are not all about the big clients, not by a long shot. Kundan explained that he and his company are really in the business of innovation. They subscribe to the notion that businesses really thrive when they operate based on where the market is going to be, not where it is. This is an idea that they really stress to their clients, particularly entrepreneurs and small startups. TheAppLabb's mandate is to help their clients not just with the technological aspect of app development, but with all the components to make their app/business successful--from defining the idea, to building the product, to connecting their clients with investors, Kundan and TheAppLabb want to be there every step of the way. Kundan's talk included a really cool slideshow taking us through the history of apps and their development. I'd really like to tell you all about it, but remember, I was looking at the backs of people's legs the whole time. I know it was cool because several people commented on it while I was doing my mingling thing. I did stand up to get a look as he was talking about the first app that really took over people's lives. Everyone's favourite game, "Snake." Remember that? Kundan took us back nearly a decade ago to 2007 when Apple launched the first iPhone, which is when apps really took off. A year later came the launch of the App Store, and between iPhones and Androids, there were nearly 100 million app downloads in 2008. Jeez. Imagine how many app downloads there are now! Actually, don't. It'll hurt your brain. His presentation also took us forward, talking about where apps will take us--that seamless connect between the real world and the digital world, tailoring apps to individual preferences, more features within apps to reduce the number of apps we need. He talked about the possibilities of technology as more data is recorded and provided, referencing the headlines about Pepper the Robot as he delved into the possibilities of artificial intelligence. I don't know about you, but I've seen Terminator and iRobot and The Matrix enough times to have a healthy suspicion of robots and AI. There will be no Pepper the Robot in my house anytime soon, sorry. I'll stick to pen and paper. My aversion to machines aside, I will say that Kundan wrapped up with a lovely summation of the beauty in technology:

"We are at a stage where science and technology has progressed to a point where our only constraint is imagination. Extend yourselves, imagine, think creatively about the problems in the world that you want to solve. With technology, you can achieve that."

With that, I bid you adieu! Thanks to Chris and Kundan for making us all a little smarter, thanks to all those who attended the event, and thanks to you for reading! Our next event takes place on Tuesday, April 5th and I can't wait to see you all there. Happy St. Patrick's Day to all, be safe, and may the luck of the Irish be with you. Until next time! 

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The views and opinions expressed by contributing bloggers and any comments posted in conjunction are solely those of the original authors and other contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Tuni Talks, the staff at Tuni Talks, or any other affiliated contributors to Tuni Talks.

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Leandra Grant is a freelance writer and Tuni Talks Ambassador based in Toronto. Coming from a journalistic background, she's written for clients and publications worldwide covering politics, pop culture and everything in between. When she's not blogging for Tuni, she's penning what she hopes will be the next great Netflix Original Series. For all inquiries, you can reach her at [email protected].

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 Tuni Talks is a free-to-join community that promotes mingling and idea sharing over drinks and music among professionals and entrepreneurs in the GTHA, while hearing from great speakers who educate and inspire. We formed this concept because we believe passionately in The Power of Community to change attitudes, lives, and ultimately, the world. To see photos from our last event, click here, and be sure to join us at our next event, Tuesday April 5th at The Hard Rock Cafe. Details to follow.