Athan Didaskalou—entrepreneur and Melbourne hustler—talks about his humble beginnings as a hospitality boy and how that’s affected his attitude to business today. We talk about his failed and successful start-ups, discuss the future of social media and contemplate how to get the most out of life. Ath also shares some predictions about the upcoming tech revolutions of virtual reality and augmented reality, as well as how fintech is disrupting the Aussie banks. Oh, and Ath tells the hilarious story of the time he met Gary Vaynerchuk, after sneaking into a conference and sending him provocative tweet!
Links and resources:
- Three Thousand Thieves coffee roasters subscription
- Send a text to Magic and get anything you want delivered
- Three Thousand Thieves On Demand: SMS for coffee anytime, instantly.
- Stripe payments processing software
- In a world of automation, customers crave human interaction.
- Aardvark social question and answer site, which was bought (and later killed) by Google.
- Paul Osborn from Secret Agent Buyers Advocates
- TechCrunch technology and start-up news site
- Gary Vaynerchuk: entrepreneur, author, speaker and hustler.
- The fabled tweet that got Ath called out on stage by Gary:
@garyvee doesn’t like to iron his shirt. That’s just how he rolls. Deal with it. #cnow http://tweetphoto.com/17562282
— Athan Didaskalou (@Ath) April 7, 2010
- Gary Vee visits Sydney on his #AskGaryVee book tour
- The rise of native content on social platforms
- Facebook Instant Articles
- Snapchat and the authenticity revolution
- The 30,000 days quote, as seen on @Ath’s Twitter bio:
- Is there value in having a higher purpose? [PAYWALL]
- NASA janitor tells JFK: “I’m helping put a man on the moon”.
- Tech billionaires who make a $1-a-year salary
- Elon Musk is the real-life Tony Stark
- The best virtual reality (VR) headsets
- Mark Zuckerberg’s creepy virtual reality photo portrays a dystopian future:
- Zuck explains the photo afterwards
- Apple’s 1984 Macintosh commercial
- Microsoft HoloLens, the augmented reality (AR) headset.
- ‘Blended reality’ is the next big thing
- The cutting-edge technology that shows you what it’s like to suffer Alzheimer’s
- Zero Latency VR lets you fight a zombie apocalypse in virtual reality (located in North Melbourne).
- Oculus Rift virtual reality headset
- Fintech companies are disrupting the Australian banking sector
- Apple Pay launches in Australia, but only with Amex.
- CommBank is one of the most innovative companies in Australia
- Acorns app launches in Australia, turning loose change into diversified investment portfolios.
Special thanks:
- The guest on this episode: Athan Didaskalou of Three Thousand Thieves.
- Podcast logo cover artwork by Courtney Carman
- Music from “Ghosts I–IV” by Nine Inch Nails, used under a Creative Commons licence.
Connect with MATE:
- Subscribe on iTunes
- Subscribe on Stitcher
- Subscribe to the RSS feed
- Listen on YouTube
- MATE podcast website
- Follow us on Twitter
- Like us on Facebook
MATE podcast is a show about Marketing, Advertising, Technology and Entrepreneurship. Hosted by Adam Jaffrey: Digital Strategist and Entrepreneur. Made with ❤ in Melbourne, Australia.
MATE podcast is a production by branded podcast agency Wavelength Creative.
Great banter here, loved hearing all the interesting stories!