Blockchain is the technology that has been called "the new internet" and ICO funding has reached $2.8 billion worldwide in 2017, far surpassing early-stage venture funding. There is plenty of buzz around this topic but what type of project is blockchain suitable for? How does one get from an idea to a demo-able product?

This series addresses these questions with insight from leading experts in this fast-changing space, culminating in the chance to pitch at the annual MIT AI conference held in April 2018

PARTICIPANTS RECEIVE

• 4 in-person sessions in SF with experts on key topics to build a blockchain project - investors/founders, legal implications, tech, marketing/partnerships. Unlike some of our larger events where over 500 people were in attendance, we are capping registration to facilitate building projects and meaningful interaction.
• FREE (if current student) or 75% off annual subscription to Blockgeeks, an online learning platform for blockchain and how to code blockchain - a $399.99 value. Subscription includes on-demand video courses, Code Challenge Engine, support forums, webinars, progress reporting, help with job placement, personal success team, and more
• Smart Contracts 101 Code Lab run by Oakland Blockchain Developers, who will also help with coding questions in Slack
• Direction to other resources for learning about blockchain and how to program for blockchain
• Slack community and support
• Access to bonus webinars with experts not located in the SF Bay
• Access to on-demand professional video of the sessions (don't worry if you have to miss a session!)
• Chance to pitch at the annual MIT AI conference
• Certificate of Completion

Decentralized Option:
In a decentralized world, we realize not everyone has the capability to attend in-person sessions in San Francisco. Therefore, we offer a video only option with access to post-production session recordings. Participants selecting this option are not eligible for email support, pitch competition, or Certificate of Completion. However, participants will be invited to participate in any bonus webinars and the Slack community.

Details for Other Sessions, Including Bonus Webinars
For more details on the other sessions, please see the Eventbrite link. You must register on the MIT site to receive preferential pricing:

WHO IS THIS BLOCKCHAIN SERIES FOR?

This series is for individuals interested in taking an idea and building a blockchain project. While blockchain programming experience is not assumed or necessary, we do assume a level of technical expertise such that a demo product can be built if provided direction to self-learning resources (this is not a learn how to code blockchain course). You do not have to be an engineer if you would like to team up with participants who are engineers.

The guidance provided is from experts in the space regarding various aspects that need to be considered when launching a blockchain project. Since blockchain is evolving so rapidly, this often means lively debate and commentary versus a playbook-to-ICO instruction manual.

Applied Blockchain:
Start With The End In MindThursday,

January 11th 2018 | 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Applied Blockchain:
Legal Considerations & Pitch IdeasThursday,

February 12th 2018 | 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Applied Blockchain:
Marketing and Recruiting, Pitch SelectionMonday,

April 9th 2018 | 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Applied Blockchain:
Project Pitch - Crypto Idol 

@MITCNC AI Conference 2018

April 20 - 22, 2018 | 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Event Details

You have a demo-able project that makes sense for blockchain, a legal strategy, and test plan in place. Now comes time to market the project and develop the right partnerships. How is blockchain marketing similar and different to more traditional start-up marketing? How do you identify and recruit advisors and members to your team?

The first half of today's session will discuss marketing and recruiting with ICO marketers, business development/partnership professionals, and recruiters.

In this session you will learn:

• Most important considerations from a technical standpoint
• Different programming languages and stacks in blockchain
• ERC20 token standard
• Scalability & speed of transactions concepts - Lighting Network, Raiden, Plasma, state channels, sharding, off-chain Consensus concepts - Proof of Work, Proof of Stake, Casper, other alternatives
• Privacy concepts - private or semi-private, default or not, popular algorithms
• Testing and security - deploying to testnets vs mainnets, auditing, bounty hunting, white hats, best practices Phishing, scams, porting numbers, 2FA (2 Factor Authorization)
• Open source contributions
• Local communities to join and where to follow the conversation online
• Innovative technical developments and trends
• Philosophical differences in developer communities Hard forks, soft forks