Let’s Build a Brighter Future Together
Introducing Longtail Financial’s ReFi Bootcamp
July 15th: We’re excited to announce that the bootcamp has just begun. But don’t forget, there’s still time if you want in on this pilot cohort! We have more information below for those who are interested.
Tell me more about this bootcamp!
Think less “bootcamp” and more “guided learning experience with a passionate group of solarpunks” (the latter just doesn’t roll off the tongue as easily).
This eight-week crash course focuses on the role of token engineering in regenerative finance (ReFi). It incorporates fundamentals from different fields like physics, mathematics, and economics. Participants will become familiar with the various concepts involved in token engineering, from simulations of financial systems to agent-based modeling.
There will be five streams available to students:
- data scientist
- software developer
- scientific writer
- mathematician
- community builder
At the end of the bootcamp, students will put their theoretical knowledge into practice by completing a capstone project.
Why are you offering this program?
We believe that the nascent field of regenerative finance offers new economic mechanisms to incentivize and reward the regeneration of our planet. ReFi is an evolution of DeFi (decentralized/open finance) that is emerging in response to the following core question: Why are we building out financial services on the blockchain? What is all this new financial technology in service of? ReFi is our opportunity to create an alternative and purpose-driven economy based on principles of collaboration, justice, and regeneration. We want to attract like-minded individuals to engineer this brighter future together.
Who is it for?
Because token engineering and regenerative finance are transdisciplinary fields, we are looking for people with diverse backgrounds and complimentary skills. If you are active in regenerative projects, community building, writing, software development, data science, DeFi, or token engineering we’d love to hear from you!
Who are the mentors?
Below are some of the mentors who will be leading the lessons. This is only a snapshot — we have many more mentors lined up!
- Andrew Penland (Octopus), Advisor, Longtail Financial
Octopus is a mathematician, crypto-anarchist, and educator who serves as a general advisor to Longtail Financial. He has experience with mathematical modeling related to automated market makers, quadratic funding, and stablecoins. He holds a PhD in mathematics from Texas A&M University.
- Darren Zal, Token Engineer, Longtail Financial
Darren contributes to several ReFi projects including conservation financing for old-growth forests and open source community currencies. He finds meaning in applying the principles of living systems to economics to enable the liberation and sustainability of humanity.
- Mike De Melo, CFO, Longtail Financial
With 25 years of experience in finance and technology, Mike discovered Blockchain in 2017 and has not turned back. He has become a deep spike user in DeFi/OpenFinance and is passionate about helping people understand how this general purpose technology can help them take control of their financial decisions.
- Pedro Parrachia, Founder, Floristic
Pedro Parrachia is a participatory action researcher and activist, focused on decentralized governance and digital public goods. Founder of Floristic, a project that cultivates digital gardens as intranets for ReFi DAOs, and former ResearchOps at Rhizom, a LATAM Web3 ecosystem. He is passionate about dissent tech like agroecology, civic platforms, DAOs, token engineering, and speculative fiction.
- Sebnem Rusitschka, Founder, Freeelio
After a decade of P2P and Smart Grids R&D at Siemens, Sebnem founded Freeelio to explore decentralized finance and business models for decentralized energy. She curates the community-sourced crowdfunded book “A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Token Engineering” and contributes to the Token Model Generation chapter.
- Shawn Anderson, CEO, Longtail Financial
Shawn is a technology pioneer, thriving at the intersection of data science and web3. He founded Longtail Financial in 2018 to create a financial engine for driving economic change towards global sustainability. He holds a master’s degree in computer science from Simon Fraser University.
- Zhiwei Li, Token Engineer, Longtail Financial
Zhiwei is a former cognitive science researcher working at the intercept of mathematical modeling and behavioral studies. She’s a data scientist and token engineer at Longtail Financial. Zhiwei is excited to share her knowledge of mathematical simulations to help people understand the world and make it better. She holds a PhD in neuroscience from New York University.
The deets
The entire bootcamp takes place online, so anyone with an internet connection can participate. The main platform used will be a Discord server like Longtail Financial Discord server.
Once student applications have been reviewed and processed, we will determine the timing of lessons according to everyone’s availability.
The format of the bootcamp is a mix of Seminars, Office Hours, Instructions, Labs (SOIL framework) and self-guided learning.
Overall, the duration of the bootcamp is approximately 8 weeks, starting July 15th. Students can expect to spend approximately 10 hours per week participating in and studying for the bootcamp.
How do I sign up?
Participants have been selected and applications are now closed. But don’t worry, there will be many more cohorts. And in the meanwhile, you can apply to audit the bootcamp below.
You can apply for a spot as auditor in the bootcamp by filling out an application here: https://forms.gle/7chu1DVsVEVwpEGv7
Seats are limited in order to provide a high-quality learning experience. Successful applicants will be notified via e-mail.
If you have any questions about the bootcamp, please contact Jugaad Bhatia, People and Culture Partner at Longtail Financial: jugaad@longtailfinancial.com
