Orion Parrott, EMBA 14 - Investing in the Future of the Crypto Ecosystem

Our guest today is Orion Parrott, General Partner at the Orange Fund. He is an experienced leader in business and technology and uses his background to build, explore, and invest in crypto. 

In this episode, Orion talked a bit about his background, his experience going to Haas for the EMBA program, and his transition from being an entrepreneur to an advisor and eventually becoming a general partner.

Orion also shared about Orange Fund, the investment fund of Orange DAO that invests in crypto startups, some critical aspects of DAO, and what to expect in building, exploring, and investing in crypto.

Episode Quotes:

On getting his MBA

I looked at the MBA as a way to really focus on this other set of skills, the people skills, but also some hard technical skills in terms of finance and accounting, and to be able to get a broad picture of what it would take to start a business. Some people will say you don't need an MBA to start a startup, but for someone like me, I prefer to go at it all at once. And it was such a whirlwind of productivity, growing a dollar, and seeing different perspectives. So many things that I had always wondered about the world made a lot more sense.

On how DAOs can impact the investment world

I am excited about participating in the evolution of DAO, doing the group decision-making, and keeping it really about the people so that we can support each other and really be a community. I'm excited to see how being a DAO can be an enabler of the community rather than something that detracts from it. Because, honestly, it's not necessarily a better world by being a DAO, right? You lose some of the legal definition of how things might be treated, and we believe we're paving the way to make it possible for more folks to create DAOs, which will create more opportunities for community capital and investment.

Words of wisdom for the Haas community

Being in Berkeley Haas opens many doors, and folks should feel bold about reaching out to whomever they want to connect with. I refer back to what Dean Lyons would say during our EMBA program: Berkeley Haas takes you from saying they do things to I do things, and I guess that's the encouragement. When you see people doing amazing things, you are the people who are going to do that—now and in the future.

Show Links:

• Orion's first OneHaas episode
• LinkedIn Profile
• Orange Fund