Start-up Society #87: March Madness 🏀

Keeping the American Dream Alive

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Start-up Society

6 min readMar 22, 2022

Welcome to the 87th edition of Start-up Society! This blog highlights some of the most exciting start-ups in the country striving to keep the American Dream alive.

Make sure you check out the previous issue, if you have not already, here.

This week we are highlighting two start-ups whose founders have graduated from two colleges that are still competing in March Madness: the University of North Carolina (8) and Villanova University (2). In the coming days, UNC will be facing UCLA (4) and Villanova will be facing the University of Michigan (11).

In the meantime, let’s explore these two innovative start-ups that are shaking up the blockchain space and live entertainment business!

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heels

NuCypher

HQ: San Francisco, California

Founded: 2015

Employees: 14 (on LinkedIn)

ABOUT THE COMPANY

NuCypher is a blockchain company specializing in privacy and encryption. They have launched the Threshold Network, shortly after their merge with Keeper, which is a Proof-of-Stake network.
The NuCypher Network proxy re-encryption (PRE) service is now the PRE Application on the Threshold Network. PRE is an end-to-end encryption protocol that is a more scalable, more flexible form of public-key encryption and enables a group of proxy entities to transform encrypted data from one public key to another, without the power to decrypt the data or gain access to any private keys.
The NuLink platform provides endpoint encryption and cryptographic access control. Sensitive user data can be securely shared from any user platform to cloud or decentralized storage, and access to that data is granted automatically by policy in Proxy Re-Encryption or Attribute-Based Encryption.

MEET THE TEAM

MacLane Wilkison, CEO & Founder

MacLane previously earned his Bachelors of Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he played Tennis.
He started his career in software engineering and was an investment banker at Morgan Stanley, where he provided M&A and financing services to enterprises in technology, media, and telecommunications.
He is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), and certified Financial Risk Manager.

David Nuñez, CTO & Cryptographer

Previously, David earned his M.Sc. in Computer Science in 2009, his M.Sc. in Software Engineering and Artificial Intelligence in 2010, and his Ph.D. in Computer Science in 2016.
He then spent almost 10 years at the NICS Lab at the University of Malaga as a researcher of cloud computing until 2018. After this, he joined NuCypher as a Cryptographer in 2018 and rose to CTO in 2021.

THE START-UP SOCIETY ASSESSMENT

NuCypher is taking a more privacy-focused approach with their blockchain technology similar to 0x or Monero. However, as opposed to specializing in privatizing transactions, NuCypher is specifically protecting user data.
This concept is an interesting one as there have been a variety of user information cases, most recently involving Hubspot and Blockfi. The company enables the sharing of sensitive data for Decentralized and Centralized Finance applications.

GO DEEPER

WHAT IS THRESHOLD CRYPTOGRAPHY? THE NETWORK EMPOWERING NEW USERS

NuCypher Whitepaper

Villanova University Wildcats

Special Guest

HQ: Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania

Founded: 2016

Employees: 9 (on LinkedIn)

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Special Guest is a talent booking management platform that streamlines the entire talent booking process via mobile and web applications.
Whether it’s musicians, impersonators, or even comedians, Special Guest allows users to browse through a myriad of categories based on the type of event and location. The company also ensures payment security by holding the payment in escrow and disbursing it to the entertainer after the event.
Companies that book with Special Guest include Geico, Home Depot, FedEx, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, Hard Rock Café, and the American Navy.

MEET THE TEAM

Kristopher Jones, Co-Founder & Co-CEO

Kristopher is concurrently the Founder of LSEO — a SEO technology and services provider, the Founder and Owner of The Accelerator at Wilkes Barre, a TV Host on Keystone Edition: Business (WVIA/ PBS), the Founder, President and CEO of KBJ Capital, and an Official Member of the Forbes Agency Council.
Previously, he was an Advisor at Buying.com, a Chairman at Internet Marketing Ninjas, Co-Founder and President of Pepperjam, which was acquired by eBay Enterprise, and District Director of the Office of Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (PA — 11).
Kristopher earned his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Penn State University, his M.S. in Experimental Psychology from Villanova University, and his J.D. in Government Law from Albany Law School.

Damon Wayans Jr., Co-Founder & Co-CEO

Damon is an actor, writer, and comedian. He is well-known for starring as Brad Williams in the ABC sitcom Happy Endings, for which he was nominated for the Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2012, and as Coach in the Fox sitcom New Girl. He also starred in the comedy film Let’s Be Cops, and provided the voice of Wasabi in Big Hero 6.
Damon comes from entertainment royalty, being the eldest son of legendary actor-comedian Damon Wayans, and the nephew of Keenen Ivory Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Kim Wayans, and Marlon Wayans.

THE START-UP SOCIETY ASSESSMENT

Special Guest is transforming the business model for live entertainment. A prominent part of the conventional business model used to be the entertainer’s agent. The agent would facilitate events, promote the artist, and ultimately spearhead the talent booking process, coming up with their own fee structure. While an agent’s contributions may still be rendered effective, the talent booking process is now becoming automated, simplified, and much cheaper due to the services provided by Special Guest.
Special Guest has several growth opportunities, one of which is working with A-list entertainers and large venues. If Special Guest can scale its operations, it can manage the payment between the two large counterparties, facilitate the discovery and communication between the counterparties, and even ingratiate itself within the deal between the counterparties by charging a percentage of all ticket sales as a fee.