Jesse Walden - A Primer on NFTs

**Patrick O'Shaughnessy** (0:00)
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Hello and welcome everyone. I'm Patrick O'Shaughnessy and this is Invest Like the Best. This show is an open-ended exploration of markets, ideas, stories, and strategies that will help you better invest both your time and your money.
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**SPEAKER_2** (2:25)
Patrick O'Shaughnessy is the CEO of O'Shaughnessy Asset Management. All opinions expressed by Patrick and podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of O'Shaughnessy Asset Management. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
Clients of O'Shaughnessy Asset Management may maintain positions in the securities discussed in this podcast.

**Patrick O'Shaughnessy** (2:50)
My guest today is Jesse Walden, the founder of Variant, an early stage venture firm focused on crypto networks and platforms building the ownership economy. With all the hype surrounding NFTs and given Jesse's background in the music industry and his focus on the creator and ownership economy, he's the perfect person to teach us about the future of NFTs.
We discussed the basics of what an NFT is, what new creative paradigms they may unlock, and where we are in the NFT hype cycle. This episode is the first in what will likely become its own show that we are calling Primers. Our goal for Primers is to bring investors and operators from a zero to a seven understanding of a topic, concept, or industry. The goal here is for the education around these topics to be fast and entertaining. I hope you enjoy this discussion with Jesse Walden and hopefully the first of many Primers to come.
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So Jesse, I think just to level set, it's probably appropriate to begin with just a simple explanation or definition of an NFT from your standpoint. And then we're going to jump a little bit backwards in time to your origins in the music industry to help the audience understand this interesting new concept.