Jimmy Song

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Bitcoin advocate, Developer and Author

Previously working as a software developer in a number of industries, Song joined Monetas, a crypto-finance software company, in 2014. After a one-year stint, Song joined Armory Technologies, an open-source bitcoin wallet management platform, to develop a bitcoin wallet intended for enterprise business. He then became the principal architect for Paxos, a New York-based financial institution and stablecoin issuer.

In January 2018 Song joined Blockchain Capital, a company focused on funding projects based on blockchain technology, as a bitcoin fellow. In 2019 he published “Programming Bitcoin,” a book that aims to teach readers the basics of bitcoin. In addition to his book, he runs a for-profit company, Programming Blockchain, that instructs students around the globe on different techniques to develop bitcoin.

In January 2019, Song began lecturing as a professor of two graduate-level courses at the University of Texas at Austin. He also began serving as an expert witness in certain events involving bitcoin.

Song is well known for arguing that blockchains have limited use cases. More specifically, he has argued that the blockchain’s sole use case is for “sound money” – which is how he characterizes bitcoin. He has been a vocal critic of permissioned blockchains, alternative cryptocurrencies and the argument that Ethereum will decentralize the internet.

Song has made several bets about the future of blockchain with Joseph Lubin, an Ethereum co-founder and the founder of ethereum venture studio ConsenSys.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO FAITH DRIVEN INVESTOR

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Episode 201 - Marks on the Markets: Beyond the Bubble: Why This Could Be Venture's Most Explosive Era Yet with Rob Go of NextView Ventures


Episode 201 – Marks on the Markets: Beyond the Bubble: Why This Could Be Venture’s Most Explosive Era Yet with Rob Go of NextView Ventures


The venture capital world can currently feel like chaos—founders are “quietly freaking out” about AI’s explosive impact while trapped in a brutal liquidity crisis that’s left investors without returns for years. Yet beneath the turmoil, top VCs believe we’re at the precipice of the most transformative technological revolution since the Industrial Revolution, with AI reshaping everything from software to hardware investing. In this raw conversation, three battle-tested investors reveal why they’re more bullish than ever on venture capital and how faith-driven founders are stepping up to shape AI’s future where social media let us down.



Episode 200 - Building More Than Returns: 200 Episodes In and Just Getting Started


Episode 200 – Building More Than Returns: 200 Episodes In and Just Getting Started


When investors start asking “What are we FOR instead of just what we’re against?” everything changes—from deal selection to due diligence to the very definition of success. In this 200th episode of Faith Driven Investor, Henry Kaestner, Luke Roush, and Richard Cunningham reflect back at where the movement started and where it is headed. What began with a handful of investors has grown into a global community spanning nearly 100 countries, yet with Christians controlling over half the world’s wealth, the opportunity ahead is staggering—and this milestone conversation exposes why we’re still in the “top of the second inning” of a fundamental shift in how capital gets deployed.



Episode 199 - The Good Investor with Robin John, CEO & Founder of Eventide Asset Management


Episode 199 – The Good Investor with Robin John, CEO & Founder of Eventide Asset Management


What if the biggest mutual funds in America force you to invest in companies that violate your deepest values? Robin John, CEO of Eventide Asset Management, refused to accept that trade-off and built a different path—one where capital flows toward companies that actually make the world better. In this raw conversation about his new book “The Good Investor,” discover why the question isn’t just what you won’t invest in, but what you should be rooting for every single day.



Episode 198 - Marks on the Markets: Credit Downgrades, Trade Wars, and the Magnificent Seven with Matt Monson of Sovereign's Capital


Episode 198 – Marks on the Markets: Credit Downgrades, Trade Wars, and the Magnificent Seven with Matt Monson of Sovereign’s Capital


With the US credit rating downgraded and tariffs reshaping global trade, markets are sending mixed signals about what comes next. Hosts Richard Cunningham and John Coleman welcome Matt Monson, Partner of Public Equity at Sovereign’s Capital, to break down why the Magnificent Seven’s dominance might be masking hidden risks in your portfolio and how massive AI investments from Middle Eastern partners could reshape America’s economic future. From the Federal Reserve’s impossible position to the real impact of trade uncertainty on Main Street businesses, this episode cuts through the noise to reveal what investors actually need to know.



Episode 197 - Nothing to Fear, Nothing to Hide: Brent Beshore's Viral Letter


Episode 197 – Nothing to Fear, Nothing to Hide: Brent Beshore’s Viral Letter


When Brent Beshore penned his annual letter reflecting on lives disassembling around him, he never expected it would resonate so deeply with business leaders and investors across the country. His invitation to step into “nothing to fear, nothing to hide” relationships offers a refreshing counterpoint to the isolation that often accompanies success in today’s achievement-oriented culture. Through his 30-year investment horizon at Permanent Equity, Beshore demonstrates how faith-informed patience might just produce better returns—both financially and humanly—than the standard “buy, lever, strip and flip” model.


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Don't Steal


Don’t Steal


I think at least in the fiat economy, I think we’re all guilty of stealing, whether we know it or not.



Are you for us or for our enemies?


Are you for us or for our enemies?




This Season with Rob West


This Season with Rob West


The love of money has the potential to be one of the most common things that will dethrone God from first position in our lives.



Sanctuary Providers


Sanctuary Providers


Exodus 25:8 And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.



Gaze on God


Gaze on God


What God called us into and through in some difficult places. It took me a long time. I’m probably like you. I want to change the world where there’s brokenness. And Isaiah 61 is the call of God in my life when there’s brokenness and lack of hope and opportunity. I want to change the world.


James Noronha

Links:

General Manager | TURBOCAM Energy Solutions

Bio:

As a student ready to go to engineering school, James was interested in learning cutting edge science and dreamed of creating new technologies. He also loved competing with his track team, and looked forward to the next challenge. He found it when he saw the news from the fronts of the Iraq and Afghan wars—stories of Marines fighting through cities and up mountains with camaraderie and a drive to create a better world.

James trained in ROTC while studying mechanical engineering. He spent most of his summers at Marine training schools, but interned at TURBOCAM during two available breaks. When he graduated he went into active duty service and selected infantry as his specialty, which he knew would give him direct leadership in the most challenging situations. The Marine Corps delivered as expected, and sent him from training school to a battalion on its way to Afghanistan. He trained the Afghan Army and coordinated their operations from a group of outposts in Helmand Province. After they returned, he commanded Marines in training exercises throughout the Pacific.

He came to work at TURBOCAM after he finished his service. He found that many of the skills he learned in the Marines were valuable at TURBOCAM.

James is now the General Manager of TURBOCAM Energy Solutions. He enjoys working with his team to engineer new metal technologies and processes, and he finds the new applications exciting. With TURBOCAM exploring new markets and opportunities around the world, he’s sure there will be adventure ahead.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO FAITH DRIVEN INVESTOR

James Waters

 Links:

Bio:

James Waters is the director of the Kingdom Impact Framework (KIF) at Eido Research. This is an entrepreneurial project he launched two years ago after spending some years as an international development consultant, and previously an academic researcher. He has a passion for Kingdom business and community development done really well, documenting impact, and local and global missions.

James’ current work on the KIF sees him engaging with Christian development organisations, businesses, and impact funds. He travels extensively, currently piloting the tool in different organizations around the world. His last role at Arup International Development involved providing strategic and technical advice to large development organisations. Previously, his research projects included understanding the use of natural resources in townships in South Africa and investigating the resilience of slum-dwellers in Uganda.

Life:

Part-time, James leads “Burn 24-7,” a worship and prayer movement in the UK. He is leading a European youth prayer event this summer called Uprising Europe. He loves equipping churches, speaking all over the UK, and is on the Council of Reference for a church, as well as on the prayer core team of the “Europe Shall be Saved” network. He lives in London where he enjoys playing sport with friends when not travelling!

CONTRIBUTIONS TO FAITH DRIVEN INVESTOR

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Lessons from Partnering to Better Steward Capital for Impact

Lessons from Partnering to Better Steward Capital for Impact

Through the launch of our tool to measure social and spiritual impact in business, we are seeing the same lessons hold true. We believe that embedding a culture of measuring and celebrating impact will lead to an explosion of Kingdom investment.


Let’s Move Past “Can We?” – How to Measure Your Business’s Kingdom Impact

Let’s Move Past “Can We?” – How to Measure Your Business’s Kingdom Impact

Two years ago I quit my job to explore whether it was possible to measure the Kingdom of God coming through businesses and non-profits all over the world. My background was researching and helping the largest secular development organisations understand if they were being effective.

Jason Fisher

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Co-Founder and CEO | Cornerstone Technologies

Fisher graduated from the University of Memphis in 1995 with a BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Upon graduation, he founded a company specializing in Internet software development for enterprises using a new programming language released that year called Java.

In 1997, Fisher designed the web-based event management solution that became the core of EventU, now in use by thousands of non-profit organizations and Fortune 500 companies.

In 1998 after a trip to Romania, he sold his business (dba ServiceU) and moved to Romania to start Cornerstone Technologies, an outsourcing software development firm. While living in Bucharest, Fisher helped build churches, organize Bible studies in government and organize Romania’s annual National Prayer Dinner in Parliament. During the era of the dot-com bubble, Cornerstone Technologies was blessed to do highly specialized software development for a number of Fortune 500 companies.

In 2002, Fisher acquired the intellectual property for an application he developed for Regions Bank and co-founded Asentinel. Fisher is the principal architect and patent inventor for Asentinel’s telecom expense management (TEM) solutions. In 2003, Gartner began tracking the TEM industry which grew to over $2B by 2015. In 2008, Fisher received the first of his patents and successfully licensed his patents with several publicly traded competitors.

In 2013, he left Asentinel to again be the CEO of Cornerstone Technologies. In 2014, he finished his Master of Divinity at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary and co-founded Highland Harvesters, the largest apple orchard in Ethiopia located among thirty-two unreached, unengaged people groups. In 2016, he became the Executive in Residence at Emanuel University where he is pursuing graduate work on “business as missions”. Currently, he is overseeing over a dozen kingdom businesses on five continents. 

CONTRIBUTIONS TO FAITH DRIVEN INVESTOR

Jason Illian

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Managing Director | Koch Disruptive Technologies

Jason Illian is the Managing Director of Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT), the venture and growth arm of Koch Industries. KDT’s role is to invest in technology companies that disrupt and transform Koch’s core businesses and expand into new platforms and capabilities. Artificial intelligence, blockchain and crypto, bio IT and genomics, and industrial robotics are just a few segments being explored by KDT. Jason serves on the board of D2iQ, the cloud-native leader in open-source applications and Kubernetes management, and as an advisor to 8VC and Steve Case’s Rise of the Rest fund.

Jason has 20+ years of experience leading and building technology companies. Prior to assuming this role, Mr. Illian was the Founder and CEO of BookShout, the world’s leading B2B e-book company which was acquired by a private equity group. In addition to being a Senior Advisor/Entrepreneur-in-Residence to the PE group, Jason has advised and consulted for numerous investment and technology companies.

Jason is also a published author and nationally-renown speaker. Jason has presented at the Amazon Web Services (AWS) re: Invent conference, the Goldman Sachs Technology & Internet Conference, and hundreds of other organizations. He has been featured in Bloomberg, The New York Times, VentureBeat and regularly does interviews on behalf of KDT and Koch.

Jason graduated Magna Cum Laude from Texas Christian University with a BBA in International Finance. He continued his education with TCU and the London School of Economics, held the distinguished honor of being named one of the top 20 students in America by USA Today, was a Rhodes scholar finalist, and was an NCAA Academic All-American while being captain of the TCU football team.

When Jason isn’t spending time with his family or digging deeper in his faith, Jason is studying blockchain and cryptocurrencies, AI, medical technologies, robotics and manufacturing and other future technologies. He lives in Wichita, KS. 

CONTRIBUTIONS TO FAITH DRIVEN INVESTOR

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Episode 53 - Defining Disruptive Technology with Jason Illian


Episode 53 – Defining Disruptive Technology with Jason Illian


Jason Illian, Managing Director of Koch Disruptive Technologies, Shares How His Faith Helps Him Lead a $120 Billion Company.