Many of us are wondering the same thing - What exactly is this conference? What does it stand for? How did it come about?
I got the opportunity to sit down with Andy Crane, founder and creator of the NAC3 event. He was the first person to spot Cryptonauts and invite us out, so I had to get the story. I transcoded the audio to type as best I could, in order to preserve the reality of the conversation. Here goes!
CAPT. CRYPTO: As we know… NAC3 stands for the North American Crypto Currency Conference. Who came up with the name? What’s the story behind it?
ANDY: David, myself, and our friend Tim were sitting in Tim’s backyard on a beautiful Southern California fall day. You might recognize Tim’s backyard from the scene of David Hay’s Youtube show “Crypto Riot” with the iconic Tiki men in the background.
CAPT. CRYPTO: Oh that’s right! I went up there for the last conference to see how David worked his BTS magic. Anyway, you were saying..
ANDY: We were sitting around talking about the business wondering what we should call it. After kicking around a few names, it was Tim who came up with the name. The “3” stands for the three “C’s” of Crypto Currency Conference. As soon as he said “NAC3” it just rolled off the tongue so perfectly that we knew that was it.
CAPT. CRYPTO: Hey… Captain Crypto from Cryptonauts is also 3 c’s… best watch out I might just take your name.
ANDY: Haha, great minds think alike.
NORTH AMERICAN CRYPTONAUTS, CAPT CRYPTO: What is the most difficult thing about running a conference at such a high caliber?
ANDY: Where to begin…as I see it, the essence of event production is the art of being able to effectively balance a great many tasks simultaneously. On any given day, you are dealing with a multitude of different personalities from different organizations with different goals.
CAPT: Wow, I don’t know how you do it. I can’t multitask to save my life. Hats off to you! Okay. Next question… How do you feel when people realize that this conference is different from devcon, or any other huge conferences?
ANDY: That is essentially the goal. So once people realize that, I feel that the goal is being achieved. I’m trying to create a community that is different from everything else out there. As far as I know, we are the only Blockchain conference that focuses on including the retail investor: these are the every-day people like you and me who are really interested in learning about cryptocurrency, but probably aren’t a Blockchain programmer themselves. But don’t get me wrong, about 70% of our attendees are retail investors and the other 30% are more involved in one way or another.
CAPT: I think what you’re doing with this conference is exactly what the world needs. I work in film and most of the directors and producers I interact with have no idea what crypto is - this conference can help from overwhelming them with information.
ANDY: Exactly. Whenever someone asks me what I do, almost without fail, the person’s face lights up. They aren’t invested in crypto yet, but they know a friend who has, they’ve been meaning to, but they just don’t know where to begin. Everyone is excited about it but there’s a major gap between the excitement of wanting to do it and knowing how to.
CAPT: Right. Okay, next one… What is your proudest moment at the last NAC3?
ANDY: For me, that moment came as the last session of the day started; which was the open panel with David, Ivan, and Bobby. That was the moment that I was finally able to take a breather and reflect on the day’s success. I had just finished MCing the event for the day, everything at the event had run smoothly, and I was finally able to head over to the open bar and join some of the participants for an early drink. It’s the moment when everything is finally running on autopilot, the energy is still high, there’s a smile on everyone’s face, and you get to just take it all in. It’s really fulfilling to be able to create an experience that makes so many people happy.
CAPT: I remember that! I was right there with you, haha. That grin on your face was priceless. So... How do you want NAC3 to be seen? 5 adjectives to describe it please.
ANDY (taking a moment to think about it): Fun, inclusive, connective, informative, and unique
CAPT: ah, what about the opposite… What don't you want NAC3 to be seen as? 5 adjectives
ANDY: Cookie-cutter, boring, stale, exclusive, insignificant
CAPT: my favorite thing about this is the idea that everyone is welcome to join the community. As a kid, I remember there were always cliques… the cool kids, the jocks, etc. But now, anyone from anywhere can join - that’s awesome. Since its a conference about crypto... What would you say is your top 3-5 cryptocurrencies and why?
ANDY: It’s been really interesting seeing how the cryptos have performed during this last down turn. It seemed to really solidify some plays in my mind and do the opposite for others. My top pick is Ethereum. Out of all the coins, it’s got the most utility. So many other coins run off its platform. No matter what happens to Blockchain, I think Ethereum is going to be around for a long time. My next pick would be Stellar. It’s held pretty well, has a great team, concept, and community support. I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if we see a huge run up with Stellar like we saw with Ripple. My last pick would be NEO. If it really is the Chinese Ethereum, and NEO’s market cap is currently 1/10th that of Ethereum, you’re going to really be kicking yourself if you didn’t buy any NEO and it does give ETH a run for it’s money.
CAPT: I’m mostly Chinese and I bought NEO back when it was antshares. It was the first crypto release from China I heard about and I jumped on it immediately cause I know my people, they gonna use it so its gonna go up! haha. Cardano would be one of my favorite picks, to add to your list of honorable mentions.
Okay, let’s go a bit further into NAC3. What do you think NAC3 could work on to make it better each time? Honestly. What sucks about it? What's good about it?
ANDY: What we definitely plan to improve from last time is our Check-In process. Almost half the attendees where at the venue lining up an hour before the doors even opened. That caught us off-guard. We weren’t as organized as we should have been. For our next event I’ve brought in a good friend and Big Gun who’s been the Operations Director for many large music festivals. She’s the Navy Seal equivalent of an event operations director. Things will run smooth as butter this time or I’ll eat my hat.
CAPT: Alright, I’m holding you to your word. Along with everyone in the community on the internet reading this…
ANDY: Absolutely.
CAPT (Gestures towards the crew): Alright, smooth things in New York City Feb. 24 or this dude eats his hat! (chuckles are heard). Haha, where do you see NAC3 in 5 years? 10 years?
ANDY: In 5 years I see NAC3 as being a household name when it comes to Blockchain Conferences in North America. There is no conference that caters to the average person except for us. This year alone we are planning 8 events across the country. In 10 years, maybe that number is 80 across the globe.
CAPT: that’s huge. I’m digging the ambition. Would you say that this concept sprung from running music festivals and being an artist yourself?
ANDY: Experience curation is who I am. It was only natural that I combine one of the most exciting emerging concepts with the ability to turn it into a weekend experience.
CAPT: What is the ultimate goal/dream for NAC3? what will happen in order for you guys to be like "okay. we've done it."
ANDY: Yeah it would be reaching that household name status…to be the “Coachella” of the Blockchain world. When it’s pretty obvious that we’ve attained that status, I’ll feel like NAC3 has reached its full potential.
CAPT: With the momentum you guys have, I think its def. a possible thing. There are doubters, however…. how do you deal with the haters who say its all a scam?
ANDY: Hater’s gonna hate. We just saw the head of one of the world’s biggest investment banks, Jamie Dimon, backtrack on the statement he made calling Bitcoin a fraud. That’s pretty much the best proof any mainstream hater could reference that might change their mind. Beyond that, if someone still thinks that Bitcoin is a scam, my time is better spent surfing than trying to bring them into the 21st century.
CAPT: I feel the same way. Don’t knock it till ya try it, er… learn about it! Oh dude, the market is DIPPIN'….. how do you survive the dips? Got any advice for new comers in the blockchain space?
ANDY: Oh boy…yeah…I just realized this morning that I haven’t logged in to my wallets and accounts for a couple weeks now. Disconnecting and staying strong with continued faith has been my strategy. The market will come back. It’s just a matter of time.
CAPT: thats why they call its HODL right? Hold On for Dear Life? haha. Alright, lets talk about something personal. Who is the most influential person in your life? In and out of the crypto space?
ANDY: At the moment my nose is so close the grindstone building the community that I guess I haven’t really had time to look for any kind of influential people outside crypto. Inside crypto, that’s easy. It would be David Hay. He and I have been good friends for a long time and he’s the one that initially got me in to crypto. I stay current with his videos more than anyone else’s and his is the advice that carries the most weight for me.
CAPT: Yup, David’s a stand up guy. His kindness and hospitality is inspiring. ALRIGHT! Done with crypto. Now its ANDY CRANE TIME. Tell me, what is yo favorite food?
ANDY: My favorite food at the moment is probably anything that comes from a Mexican spot down the street from my house in Encinitas called El Pueblo. Everyone is always so happy when I go in there and it really shines through the food they make.
CAPT: so if I were to go there right now, what should I order?
ANDY: a California burrito of course.
CAPT: okay, so ima go get one when I visit you down there. What else could we do? What is your favorite activity to do outside of crypto?
ANDY: I’ve been a daily surfer for the last 20 years. It’s taken me all over the world to every continent except Antarctica. Surfing is the only sport that exists where the playing field is constantly changing. It keeps you balanced and on your toes, in and out of the water.
CAPT: GET OUT! Think you could teach me? I can skate and I can swim… never combined the two before though..
ANDY: standing up is easy, it’s getting good that’s the challenge.
CAPT: Alright, my producer is telling me we are running out of time. Last question - its a nostalgic one. Did you ever think you would end up at this point in your life when you were kids? Explain.
ANDY: Well crypto didn’t exist when I was a kid, but I always knew I would be an entrepreneur. What I didn’t know was how hard it would be to actually make it. This is now the seventh startup I’ve been a part of, five of those I launched myself. Some failed, some broke even, and a couple made a little bit of money for a brief stint. More often than not I’ve struggled to make ends meet at the end of the month. It feels long overdue to finally not have to worry so much about that anymore.
CAPT: Cryptonauts is my 4th startup as well, entrepreneurship is all I know. I never went to college, and I would rather live my life free. Less things, more happiness. It’s encouraging to hear your story.
ANDY: Right on. Thanks for reaching out!
That concludes our interview. It’s been real. Mark my words, NAC3 is coming to take the world by storm and I hope to see you guys there! Happy Chinese New Year Folks!
Here's a picture of the speakers from the last conference.
For more info, go to www.nac3.io
