Let’s Talk About Tech

In this episode of Let's Talk About Tech - Vienna Blockchain Week 2026 Edition, host Philipp Sakuler sits down with Ariel Navarro, CEO of Whale Capital, to explore how digital assets are maturing into an institutional asset class, from 26 years inside traditional finance at Banco Santander, Citibank and Allfunds, to building algorithmic strategies that navigate crypto market cycles.
They discuss why institutional investors remain cautious, what MiCA does and does not solve for Europe, where tokenization is actually gaining traction versus where it is still conference talk, and why valuing a protocol still looks more like venture capital than equity analysis. Navarro also breaks down why he expects the vast majority of tokens to disappear, and shares his perspective on derivatives, 100x leverage, self-regulation, and what the industry is quietly building during the bear market.
Guest Speaker: Ariel Navarro ➡️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ariel-navarro/
Whale Capital: https://whalecapital.digital
 
Vienna Blockchain Week: https://viennablockchainweek.org
 
Moderator: Philipp Sakuler ➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/philipp-sakuler/
 
Venionaire Capital:
🌐 Website: https://www.venionaire.com
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/venionaire/
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/venionaire/

In this episode of Let's Talk About Tech, host Berthold Baurek-Karlic sits down with Albert Quehenberger, founder of AQ Forensics and Austria's first certified cryptocurrency forensic investigator, to explore the world of crypto forensics, from tracing stolen Bitcoin and unmasking scams to freezing criminal funds across a global network. They discuss how Albert went from two decades in the Austrian Armed Forces and intelligence to losing six Bitcoin and building a forensics practice, why "privacy coins" leave more traces than people think, and how investment, romance, and Ponzi scams actually unfold on-chain. Quehenberger also breaks down the Global Crypto Defenders Alliance, what DAC8 and CARF mean for money-mule networks, and shares his perspective on why even the largest institutions — as the Bybit hack showed — can never be fully safe.
 
Guest Speaker: Albert Quehenberger ➡️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/albert-quehenberger-6791a3174/
AQ Forensics: https://www.aq-forensics.com
 
Moderator: Berthold Baurek-Karlic ➡️ https://www.baurek-karlic.at
Venionaire Capital:
🌐 Website: https://www.venionaire.com
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/venionaire/
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/venionaire/

In this episode of Let's Talk About Tech, host Philipp Sakuler sits down with Florian Wimmer, CEO of Blockpit, for his second appearance on the show, to explore the impact of CARF, DAC8 and the GENIUS act, AI agents and the current "SaaSpocalypse". They discuss whether SaaS is really "dying" in the age of AI agents, how a software business has to adapt to stay ahead, and why crypto tax compliance can't simply be handed to a black-box AI. Florian also breaks down the incoming CARF and DAC8 reporting frameworks, and what an open book of crypto transaction data means for investors, and shares his perspective on stablecoins, a potential euro stablecoin under MiCA, and the enforcement wave he believes is finally here.
Guest Speaker: Florian Wimmer ➡️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/florian-wimmer/
Blockpit: https://www.blockpit.io/de-at
Moderator: Philipp Sakuler ➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/philipp-sakuler/
Venionaire Capital:
🌐 Website: https://www.venionaire.com
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/venionaire/
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/venionaire/

In this episode of Let's Talk About Tech, host Philipp Sakuler sits down with Max Sherwood, CEO and co-founder of H2O Nodes, to explore the world of blockchain infrastructure, from Bitcoin mining in 2013 to running validators on Solana, Sui, Monad and Ethereum, and building real-yield products on top.
Recorded live at Vienna Blockchain Week 2026, organized by neob.ai and Austrian Blockchain Center - ABC Research, the conversation explores what it really takes to keep decentralized networks secure, resilient, and online 24/7.
They discuss why H2O Nodes runs its own bare metal instead of the cloud, what node operators actually do and why decentralization depends on it, and how a lean team decides which chains are worth betting their time and hardware on. Max also breaks down Distributed Validator Technology (DVT), unpacks RevTech, a staking pool that splits Solana's yield into two separate liquid staking tokens, and shares his perspective on where blockchain infrastructure goes next as stablecoins, prediction markets and new L1s take shape.
 
Guest Speaker: Max Sherwood ➡️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-sherwood/
H2O Nodes: https://www.h2o-nodes.com
Vienna Blockchain Week: https://viennablockchainweek.org
 
Moderator: Philipp Sakuler ➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/philipp-sakuler/
 
Venionaire Capital:
🌐 Website: https://www.venionaire.com
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/venionaire/
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/venionaire/ 

In this episode of Let's Talk About Tech, host Berthold Baurek-Karlic sits down with John Kojiro Moriwaka — better known as "Crazy John," global ambassador of the World Venture Forum, the global event for investors in the first week of July in Kitzbühel, Austria. John, as the winner of its Crystal Unicorn Award of Excellence, explores how genuine relationships, not transactions, build a truly global network. From conference culture and cross-border friendships to bringing Japanese founders onto the world stage. They discuss what really makes the World Venture Forum special, how John stays connected across 15+ countries without ever chasing return on investment, why getting out of your comfort zone is essential to developing a global mindset, and how he inspires Japanese entrepreneurs to engage the world. John also breaks down the role of local chapters and ecosystem-building from Israel to Kyrgyzstan, shares his upcoming travels across South America and beyond, and makes the case for his ultimate legacy: entrepreneurship as the biggest peace project on earth.
⛰️World Venture Forum: https://worldventureforum.info 
Guest Speaker: John Kojiro Moriwaka ("Crazy John") ➡️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-kojiro-moriwaka-431a334a/
Moderator: Berthold Baurek-Karlic ➡️ https://www.baurek-karlic.at/
Venionaire Capital:
🌐 Website: https://www.venionaire.com
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/venionaire/
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/venionaire/

In this episode of Let’s Talk About Tech, host Philipp Sakuler sits down with Christoph Boschan, CEO of the Vienna Stock Exchange, to explore how European capital markets are evolving, from IPO dynamics to tokenization and the increasing role of financial infrastructure as a tech business. They discuss why Europe struggles with equity participation, how listing decisions are really made, and Boschan also breaks down the transformation of exchanges into fully digital infrastructure providers and shares his perspective on tokenization, regulation, and the future of capital markets in Europe.
 
Guest Speaker: Christoph Boschan ➡️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christoph-boschan-67bb21b/
 
Moderator: Philipp Sakuler ➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/philipp-sakuler/
 
Venionaire Capital:
🌐 Website: https://www.venionaire.com
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/venionaire/
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/venionaire/

In this episode of Let's Talk About Tech, CEO of Venionaire Capital Berthold Baurek-Karlic sits down with Dr. Günther Dobrauz-Saldapenna, Founder & Partner of exelixis capital, to explore his journey from decoding disruption and the science behind it with his publications on interlinked S-Curves, pioneering Venture Capital, spending more than 15 years combined at Deloitte and PwC to navigating the future of exponential technologies like AI, longevity, and the blockchain economy.
Guest Speaker: Dr. Günther Dobrauz-Saldapenna ➡️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dobrauz/
Moderator: Berthold Baurek-Karlic ➡️ https://www.baurek-karlic.at
Venionaire Capital:
🌐 Website: https://www.venionaire.com
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/venionaire/
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/venionaire/

What is the actual key to a long, healthy life? In this episode of Let’s Talk About Tech, host Berthold Baurek-Karlic speaks with Johannes Weiss, founder and CEO of Longevity Center Vienna, who reveals why there isn't just one "magic pill," but rather a biological "key" involving your brain, your cells, and your community. We move past the hype of social media supplements to discuss the Root Cause Medicine that is actually moving the needle. Johannes explains how to modulate your nervous system to erase stress and why the next generation of humans might just breeze past the 120-year mark.
Guest Speaker: Johannes Weiss ➡️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannes-weiss-8ab828197/
Moderator: Berthold Baurek-Karlic ➡️ https://www.baurek-karlic.at
Venionaire Capital:
🌐 Website: https://www.venionaire.com
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/venionaire/
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/venionaire/

In this episode of Let's Talk About Tech, CEO of Venionaire Capital, Berthold Baurek-Karlic, sits down with Andreas Perotti, Defense Tech expert and entrepreneur. They explore why the "startup community" in defense exploded after 2022 , the reality of the "drone war" in Ukraine , and whether true technological resilience is even possible in a globalized world.
Guest Speaker: Andreas Perotti ➡️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreasperotti/
Moderator: Berthold Baurek-Karlic ➡️ https://www.baurek-karlic.at
Venionaire Capital:
🌐 Website: https://www.venionaire.com
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/venionaire/
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/venionaire/

In this episode of Let’s Talk About Tech, host Berthold Baurek-Karlic sits down with Florian Wagner, CEO and Founder of Emerald Horizon, to explore one of the most ambitious energy innovations currently emerging in Europe. From hedge fund management to building a deep tech company in the energy space, Florian shares how his journey led to the development of Emerald Horizon's core technology ADES which are SMGs (Small Modular Generators) — a potential alternative to traditional SMRs.
 
Guest Speaker: Florian Wagner ➡️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/florian-wagner-emerald/
Emerald Horizon: https://emerald-horizon.com/en/
 
Moderator: Berthold Bauer-Karlic ➡️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/berthold-baurek-karlic-30228045/
Venionaire Capital:
🌐 Website: https://www.venionaire.com
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/venionaire/
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/venionaire/