Blockchain Boot Camp: Register Today

Blockchain Boot Camp: Register Today

From venture capital, to real estate, to the fine arts market—blockchain technology is poised to transform the worlds of investing and business. According to the Lundquist College of Business's Stephen McKeon, this change is right around the corner.

“The pace of development is unlike anything I've witnessed previously," said McKeon.

Blockchain Boot Camp Details

Date: Saturday, February 16, 2019
Time: 9:00 a.m.-5:15 p.m.
Location: Oregon Executive MBA, 109 NW Naito Parkway, Portland, Oregon

Tickets
  • $299.00 Guests
  • $249.00 Alumni and current students: Oregon Executive MBA and UO AIM programs
  • $249.00 Two for the price of one - for alumni who bring prospective executive MBA students as their guests.

Agenda

9:00 a.m. - Coffee and registration
9:30 a.m. - Introduction to Blockchain
11:00 a.m. - Introduction to Bitcoin
12:15 p.m. - Lunch
1:30 p.m. - Blockchain Regulation
3:00 p.m. - The Token Economy
4:00 p.m. - Summary and Takeaways
4:15 p.m. - Reception with continued Q&A

 

Stephen McKeon

About Stephen McKeon

Professor McKeon's professional experience includes a venture capital backed startup in Silicon Valley and six years as the chief financial officer of a high-production winery in Napa Valley. He cofounded Skyward, a commercial drone software company, which was acquired by Verizon in 2017.

His work has been published in top academic journals and cited in media outlets, such as The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, The New York Times (Dealbook), Forbes, MarketWatch, Smart Money, and Fox Business News.

An associate professor of finance at the Lundquist College, McKeon has focused his research on blockchain since 2015. McKeon compares the state of blockchain today to the infancy of the internet. While the earliest versions of email and the web required specialized knowledge to use, these days nearly everyone uses some form of the internet—thanks to the creation of tools that made it easy and accessible.

"As new applications come to the market in the next few years, the general public will use blockchain technology as seamlessly as we use email, online banking, and Facebook today," said McKeon.

This prediction stems not only from McKeon's research but also from his experience in the industry. He currently serves as an advisor to Harbor, a company that is making blockchain more accessible by building a decentralized compliance protocol that will remove barriers to issuing and trading ownership claims on private securities.

McKeon's involvement with the company came about when an article he wrote attracted the attention of Harbor cofounder David Sacks, a serial entrepreneur who was the founding COO and product leader of PayPal, as well as the cofounder, chairman, and CEO of Yammer, Inc., which Microsoft bought for $1.2 billion.

A background in technology—McKeon worked for a venture capital-backed startup in Silicon Valley in the early 2000s—combined with his formal training in finance gives McKeon a holistic understanding of blockchain that's rare in the current scene. This knowledge combined with a knack for making even the most arcane topics easy to understand have made McKeon a widely sought commentator, with appearances on CNBC's Power Lunch show, as well as in such publications as The Wall Street Journal, Nasdaq.com, TheStreet.com, and the CNBC blog.

On the academic front, McKeon has added a multi-week blockchain lesson plan to the curriculum of the venture capital elective he teaches in the college's MBA and Master of Finance programs. He has also served several times as a presenter at a popular three-day executive academy on blockchain at the University of California, Berkeley. 

On Saturday, February 16, 2019, those in the Portland region will have a chance to learn more about blockchain, bitcoin, and cryptocurrency when McKeon presents Blockchain Boot Camp at the UO's White Stag Block, at 70 NW Couch Street, just across the street from the Oregon Executive MBA program facility at 109 NW Naito in Old Town/Chinatown. The daylong event is a powerful opportunity for participants to grow their knowledge while gaining a strategic grasp of how these new technologies will affect their businesses and lives.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer our alumni, current students, and the Portland community the opportunity to learn about blockchain from one of the nation's leading experts in the topic," said Oregon Executive MBA executive director Julianna Sowash.

Anyone interested in future-proofing their business, learning about innovation in a rapidly growing new space, diving into a new investment ecosystem—or simply finding out more about a significant new technology—is encouraged to enroll.