Stonks Go Moon

Rocco Strydom
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Stonks Go Moon (SGM) - is a value driven, punch in the mouth Podcast featuring exciting business, tech and finance guests

  1. #225 Matt Ober | AI, Markets, and the Death of Signal

    4D AGO

    #225 Matt Ober | AI, Markets, and the Death of Signal

    Markets feel louder than ever, but somehow less clear.In this episode of the Stonks Go Moon Podcast, Rocco Strydom sits down with Matt Ober, Managing Partner at Social Leverage, to unpack what’s really happening beneath the surface of today’s markets.With AI-generated research flooding Twitter, Substack, and trading platforms and capital pouring into anything labeled “AI” even professional investors are struggling to separate real signal from machine-amplified noise.Matt brings a rare perspective shaped by:Building data systems inside quantitative hedge fundsBuying and operationalizing alternative data before AI was mainstreamServing as Chief Data Scientist at a major activist hedge fundNow backing early-stage founders simplifying finance instead of overcomplicating itIn this conversation, we break down:Why “alternative data” is no longer alternative, it’s just dataHow AI is changing market sentiment, research, and investor behaviorWhy email, ownership of audience, and direct distribution still matterHow consumption-based data pricing could reshape finance and AI economicsWhat founders misunderstand about AI, noise, and real leverageIt’s a grounded look at how markets, media, and investing are evolving in an AI-saturated world and what still actually matters.

    21 min
  2. #224 Amos Bar Joseph | What Happens When AI Does the Work

    JAN 17

    #224 Amos Bar Joseph | What Happens When AI Does the Work

    Most founders still believe scale means hiring faster.Amos Bar-Joseph doesn’t.In this episode of the Stonks Go Moon Podcast, we break down how Swan AI is building what may be one of the first truly AI-native companies — a business where autonomous agents handle outbound sales, lead qualification, research, and execution, while just three humans focus on strategy and creativity.We go deep into:Why the traditional startup “hire → burn → raise” loop is breakingHow AI agents can replace entire go-to-market teams without killing qualityThe idea of revenue per employee as the real metric that matters nowWhat “zone of genius” actually means in an AI-first workplaceWhy future companies may scale intelligence instead of headcountThis isn’t theory.This is a live experiment in how businesses may actually run over the next decade.If you’re a founder, operator, or investor trying to understand where AI is really going — this conversation will challenge how you think about work, teams, and scale.

    24 min
  3. #223 Chris Hallberg | This Is Why Companies Fail

    JAN 11

    #223 Chris Hallberg | This Is Why Companies Fail

    Founders love talking strategy.But strategy doesn’t break companies; people do.In this episode of the Stonks Go Moon Podcast, Rocco Strydom sits down with Chris Hallberg, a military veteran, entrepreneur, and EOS coach who has scaled and exited companies through some of the toughest economic cycles in modern history.As AI accelerates execution and pressure inside companies intensifies, Chris explains why leadership failures show up long before financial ones and how weak systems, misaligned teams, and tolerated bad behavior quietly kill growth.This is a grounded conversation about what actually breaks when companies scale.In this episode:Why the right people matter more than perfect systemsHow culture degrades when leaders avoid hard decisionsThe six core components that determine whether a business scales or stallsWhy vision without execution is hallucinationWhen remote work works and when it failsHow AI exposes leadership blind spots instead of replacing humansWhy smaller, aligned teams will outperform bloated orgs in the AI eraThis episode is for founders, operators, and leaders navigating growth without losing control of their company or themselves.

    27 min
  4. #222 Wenny Cai | $2.7T Wipeout - Why Pros Are Buying Bitcoin's Crash

    JAN 1

    #222 Wenny Cai | $2.7T Wipeout - Why Pros Are Buying Bitcoin's Crash

    $2.7 TRILLION erased from the S&P 500 as Bitcoin plunges to a 7-month low around $88K. Is this the end of the bull run... or the perfect coiled spring for a massive rebound?In this explosive episode of the Stonks Go Moon Podcast, host Rocco Strydom goes deep with Wenny Cai, COO of SynFutures – the #1 decentralized perpetuals DEX on Base and one of the fastest-growing DeFi derivatives platforms.Wenny pulls back the curtain on what REALLY happened beneath the headlines:Why derivatives amplified the drop (and cleared out excessive leverage)The key difference between retail panic and sophisticated players' calm hedgingWhy open interest and funding rates show this is an orderly deleveraging, not a full-blown crashSmart money already bidding at $70-75K – signaling a maturing marketAltcoin season? We might have missed it (AI agents peaked, now RWAs are next)SynFutures' massive upgrades coming Q1 2026: Own infrastructure, tokenized stocks/RWAs, bridging TradFi & DeFi liquidity

    21 min
  5. #221 Tamara Laine | AI Is Rewriting Money for Gig Workers

    12/22/2025

    #221 Tamara Laine | AI Is Rewriting Money for Gig Workers

    On this episode of the Stonks Go Moon Podcast, host Rocco Strydom sits down with Tamara Laine, founder and CEO of MPWR, to break down how AI and behavioral data are reshaping access to credit for gig workers, freelancers, creators, and underbanked founders.Tamara started as a freelancer, won top journalism awards, and now runs a fintech startup building AI-driven lending infrastructure for the new economy. We unpack why banks still struggle with irregular income, how agentic AI models assess real creditworthiness, and why ethical AI decisions now sit squarely with founders.In this episode:Why traditional banks fail gig workersHow AI models assess thin-file and irregular incomeThe rise of agentic systems in fintechWhy female-founded companies still face funding gapsEthical AI in finance and who is accountable

    27 min
  6. #220 Dana Love | When AI Starts Signing Transactions

    12/16/2025

    #220 Dana Love | When AI Starts Signing Transactions

    Most people still think AI is just a chatbot on a screen. That era is already over. AI is now signing transactions, executing smart contracts, interacting with DAOs, and moving assets onchain without a human clicking a single button. This is not AI for Web3. This is AI becoming an onchain actor. In this episode, Dana Love, founder of Poohbah AI, joins the show to unpack what happens when autonomous AI agents can execute, transact, and govern directly on the blockchain — no middle layer, no human in the loop. We break down: How AI agents are now interacting directly with smart contracts and DAOs Why Web3 has locked out 99 percent of builders The real reason decentralization is both Web3’s biggest strength and its biggest weakness Whether AI agents can ever have legal standing or ownership Why “code is law” was always a lie How Poohbah AI turns ideas into onchain execution using low-code and no-code tools The rise of the “virtual co-founder” and what that means for startups and VCs Where AI hallucinations come from and why they are not going away Quote from the episode:“The law is law. Code is code. Have fun figuring out the difference.” — Dana Love If AI can execute, transact, and govern onchain, the real question is simple:What exactly are humans still in charge of?

    29 min
  7. #219 Daniel Martin | Get a Job with JobJack

    12/06/2025

    #219 Daniel Martin | Get a Job with JobJack

    In this episode, Daniel Martin, COO of JobJack, breaks down how the platform is automating frontline recruitment across South Africa. JobJack replaces travel, paper, and manual screening with mobile-first hiring, psychometric assessments built for the local market, and fast matching that connects employers with job seekers in hours instead of weeks.We unpack:Why traditional entry-level hiring fails both businesses and job seekersHow paper CVs and manual screening silently hurt retention and productivityThe hidden cost of bad hires, discipline cases, and turnoverWhy JobJack runs assessments before interviews, not afterHow mobile-based hiring removes the R900 monthly cost job seekers faceReal results from major employers in retail, logistics, and QSRWhat it takes to scale hiring tech in one of the toughest labour marketsWith over 50,000 people placed into jobs, JobJack is proving that better hiring isn’t just about speed. It’s about fairness, fit, and long-term impact on the economy.

    20 min
  8. #218 Eric Chu | Forget Robinhood. Meet Tradesk

    11/30/2025

    #218 Eric Chu | Forget Robinhood. Meet Tradesk

    Retail investing is having a moment. Markets are volatile, AI is everywhere, and busy professionals are trying to build wealth using tools designed two decades ago. Tradesk, led by Eric Chu, wants to change that.It is a mobile-first brokerage built for real people with real jobs. Clear design. Calm decision-making. And an AI co-pilot that supports investors instead of overwhelming them.In this episode we unpack:Why most retail platforms feel like casinosThe “intimidation gap” and why professionals freeze when markets moveHow Tradesk builds confidence with paper trading, thematic investing, and recurring strategiesWhat Eric learned from two decades on Wall Street, starting in the chaos of 2008How AI can become your investing assistant instead of another distractionWhere Tradesk fits in a world of Robinhood, eToro, and legacy brokeragesQuote to remember:“Busy professionals want clarity, not chaos. Our job is to remove fear and simplify the path to long-term wealth.” — Eric Chu

    24 min
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About

Stonks Go Moon (SGM) - is a value driven, punch in the mouth Podcast featuring exciting business, tech and finance guests

Information

  • Creator
    Rocco Strydom
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    228
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Rocco Strydom
  • Show Website
    Stonks Go Moon