Blockchain Books & Myths: Interview with Dominic Steil, CTO of Dapps Inc
Dominic Steil is an San Francisco, California-based blockchain entrepreneur and developer, CTO and co-founder of Dapps Inc.
He went down the Bitcoin rabbithole back in 2013, when he became captivated by the power of the Blockchain technology and, since then, he’s been an evangelist, writing about its development, building applications, trading cryptocurrencies, and more.
Dominic began his career at Apttus Corporation, working in sales engineering and enterprise software development in the pre-sales process.
He’s currently focused on building Dapps Inc, a software company that builds enterprise blockchain solutions on the Salesforce platform (with a focus on Bitcoin, Ethereum and Hyperledger). Dominic started the company with the vision of combining his experience building innovative enterprise solutions with his passion for blockchain, and he’s in charge of the development and strategy.
Keep on reading to find out what books he recommends for those who want a better understanding of the blockchain technology, common mistakes made by first time entrepreneurs, and more!
What’s your favorite book and why? Business and non-business, if possible.
Business most recently has been Principles by Ray Dalio. He talks about systems and causation very clearly. His philosophies of idea meritocracy within an organization are at the core of Bridgewaters decision making in capital markets.
Was there a moment, specifically, when something you read in a book helped you? Can you tell us about it?
In a longer term classic Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill had an impact on daily routines such as auto-suggestion and overall building a solid foundation for putting yourself in a position to be successful.
What books had the biggest impact on you? Perhaps changed the way you see things or dramatically changed your career path.
– Ponder on This
– Autobiography of a Yogi – Yogananda
– Ready Player One
– The Second Machine Age
– The Stuff of Thought – Steven Pinker
– The Future of the Mind – Machio Kaku
What five books would you recommend to young people interested in your career path & why?
– The Age of Cryptocurrency
– Applied Cryptography
– Zero to One
– Blockchain Revolution
– Life After Google
We’re interested in finding out more about your reading habits. How do you make time for reading? How often do you read? What format do you prefer?
I read mostly when on airplanes. I always try and find a great book before a long flight. I also read technical books when picking up a new technology and will have it in parallel when following introductions or overviews online.
Do you take notes or have any other technique for conquering the torrent of information?
I take notes in the book and write blog articles. Writing the blog article helps my clearly articulate and understand it.
How do you choose what books to read next? For example, do you prioritize books recommended by certain people?
Usually by wanting to learn a new technology or if it a biography about someone who I am interested in learning from.
What are the biggest aspects that people can’t seem to understand about blockchain technology? Or myths that you encounter?
Some myths seem to have a short sighted view that the attributes such as immutability are all the technology is applicable for. On the other hand it is often pitched as a panacea for all IT. The biggest aspect that people can’t seem to understand is that for the first time on the internet machines/people can programmatically transact and store value on a globally accessible substrates. It represents the third stage of the internet.
What are three common mistakes made by first time entrepreneurs?
– Having a great Idea is different than having great Product/Market fit.
– Not showing customers and getting the feedback loop needed to alter the product.
– Clearly explain how you can make an investor in your business money.
Links where you can follow Dominic Steil or learn more about his projects:
- DomSteil.com
- Connect with Dominic Steil @ Twitter | LinkedIn | GitHub
- Dapps Inc
All books mentioned by Dominic Steil in our interview:
- Principles: Life and Work, by Ray Dalio
- Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill had
- Ponder on This: A Compilation, by Alice A. Bailey
- Autobiography of a Yogi, by Paramahansa Yogananda
- Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline
- The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies, by Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee
- The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature, by Steven Pinker
- The Future of the Mind: The Scientific Quest to Understand, Enhance, and Empower the Mind, by Machio Kaku
- The Age of Cryptocurrency: How Bitcoin and the Blockchain Are Challenging the Global Economic Order, by Paul Vigna and Michael J. Casey
- Applied Cryptography: Protocols, Algorithms and Source Code in C, by Bruce Schneier
- Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future, by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters
- Blockchain Revolution: How the Technology Behind Bitcoin Is Changing Money, Business, and the World, by Don Tapscott and Alex Tapscott
- Life After Google: The Fall of Big Data and the Rise of the Blockchain Economy, by George Gilder