>> Announcer: Live from San Juan, Puerto Rico, it's theCUBE. Covering Blockchain Unbound, brought to you by Blockchain Industries. (upbeat samba music) >> Hey, everyone. Welcome back to our exclusive coverage in Puerto Rico for Blockchain Unbound Global Conference, where everyone from around the world is coming here. And the Blockchain cryptocurrency, a decentralized application market, changing the game, the future of work, future of government, the future of the world happening. The biggest wave in the tech generation we've seen in centuries. And I'm here in Puerto Rico at the Vanderbilt Hotel. Our next guest, Anthony Delgado, the CEO of Disrupt. We're got some real innovative projects around bringing his work and his vision to Puerto Rico. Anthony, thanks for spending the time. >> Thank you for having me. >> So, talk about your project. Tell me a bit about your project. For instance, you learn how to code. What's goin' on with that? You're doing it in New Jersey, in Newark schools there. Just take me in to explain what you're working on. >> Absolutely. So, back in January, I met a gentleman. His name was David, and he's from Puerto Rico, and he's lived in Puerto Rico for the last eight years, and he runs a tourism company. And when the hurricane happened, his for-profit company transformed into a non-profit. And the same trucks that he used to do tours, he start doing humanitarian work. And I met him at an app release party for a client of mine, and he looked me in my face and says, "Anthony, I'm doing to best work of my life." And I was like, "oh my God! "I'm not doing the best work of my life!" And so, we go to a diner, and I had the worst tuna fish sandwich that I've ever had in my life, but the best conversation. And we start brainstorming about how can we transform and help the people of Puerto Rico? So, the first problem is energy. Close to 50 percent of the island still does not have energy. In the capital, in the beautiful place we are now, power has been restored, but there are many cities that are still forgotten. So, me as the tech guy, I'm like, hey, we can do solar panels. Like, there's tons of sunshine in Puerto Rico, right? So, solar energy. And then the next thing he brought to my attention was that the entire economy is actually based on tourism. So, now, with the hurricane and all those things that are in the media, not only did people lose their jobs, ah, not only did people lose their homes, but they lost their job as well. So, we start brainstorming. We're like, okay, well, let's create a coding school to teach the digital skills that are needed, to the people in Puerto Rico. So, we're goin' back and forth, and he said, "Okay, that's a great idea, "but how are these kids going to pay for this school?" So, the concept that we've come up with is to combine education with vacation, and basically encourage people who are paying to go to school in New York City and encourage them to come to Puerto Rico, experience this beautiful island, learn how to code in the a.m. and have an amazing vacation in the p.m. And that's what we're building. So, we're building the Caribbean Institute of Technology, where we combine education with a vacation. >> So, Institute of Technology. We were talking before we came on camera that you were at the Institute of Technology, a school my two brothers went to. Great engineering school, renowned for it's program. You're doing work there there as well, so you're taking your mission of what you're doing there in New Jersey and bringing it to Puerto Rico. Sounds like you were really impacted by that conversation. As you're here in Puerto Rico, what's your assessment? Good call? Are you happy, and what's on your to-do list as you're down here? So, it's beautiful. I mean, I was here two weeks ago, and now I'm back for this global currency conference. I really feel like there's an unlimited amount of opportunity here in the island. It's the strongest internet, there's huge tax incentives if you start a new business here, and it's really a blank canvas. You know, the hurricane was a horrible atrocity that happened, but now we have this blank canvas to create a vision for Puerto Rico. So, we created a foundation. It's called Vision for PR. And the question that we're asking ourselves is: What would we do if we were creating a new city in America today? What would it look like? It would have solar energy. The power lines would be below ground instead of above ground, right? You know, the economy would be based on the digital economy and not tourism, right? So, we look at countries like Bali, we look at countries like India. We look at countries where they have this huge influx of currency that's getting generated from overseas. So, we really want to be part of the driving force that has Puerto Rico being the Hong Kong of the Caribbean. >> And it really is a clean sheet of paper, because certainly the hurricane puts a real awakening to the needs here. And now that you look at the infrastructure and how it needs to be revamped, this is an opportunity to lay down some fat pipes, high-speed internet, loop Blockchain, the Blockchain.edu chain project that they've got goin' on, http://educhain.io is interesting. The young people, they want more. I mean, that's my vibe here, I'd sense. Yet the old guard, they're scared. They want to preserve their culture, yet there's this huge incentive to move beyond tourism. This is an opportunity for Puerto Rico to be sovereign nation at a level that could go significantly higher-level than they are now. So, that's all great. What do you do? I mean, it seems like Brock Pierce is laying down his vision: come here, bring your cash, bring your community, do good. How is the playbook evolving? Because that's a question people want to know How do I come to Puerto Rico, do it right, not offend the culture, enable them, come together? What's your experience with the playbook? >> Absolutely. So, you know, technology and access to the internet, it democratizes the world. You know, now you're on a level playing field. If you have four G connectivity, and you're on an island, you can compete globally and be a part of the global economy. So, really the opportunity here - [Interviewer] Are you going to start a company here? >> Yeah, so we are starting the Caribbean Institute here in Puerto Rico. And um, yes, so we had this-- >> As a separate corporation? >> Separate corporation. So, we have a non-profit that runs in New Jersey called Newark Kids Code, where we teach kids to code, and we really want to take that model and teach people to code here in Puerto Rico as well. So we started a corporation, it's the Caribbean Institute of Technology-- [Interviewer] Is it going to be a virtual school? Is it going to put up a facility? >> No, no, it's in person. It's in person, so, we have the architect right now working on the renderings. I'd love to share those with you as well. >> Well, certainly, we'll publish them on our blog. But so you're going to put an actual location here. So this is your notion of having people take a vacation and work here. >> Yeah, so that's all well and good, but, like you mentioned, how does that help the people from Puerto Rico? So, what we've created is a scholarship program. So, for every single person from the United States or overseas that comes here to take our coding school, we sponsor someone from the island. >> It's like a fellowship. >> Yes. (Interviewer laughs) >> Alright, so what else are you working on? I see Disrupt is your company. Tell us a bit about you and what you do, and what's goin' on with Disrupt. >> Absolutely! So, Disrupt is a media agency based in New York City. And we focus on creating innovative products that change the world. So, we work with clients who have innovative products that are making a big impact. One of the products that we're working on is called True Connect. It's AI for sales people. And basically it syncs with your Google calendar and it gives you recommendations on ways to connect with your clients. So, it gives you a news feed of news stories, but it's not stories that you're personally interested in, it's stories that your clients would be interested in, so you have topics of conversation. >> It's kind of like a reversed Linked In. >> Yes. (Interviewer laughs) A reversed Linked In, absolutely. >> You also do some really important projects that matter to peoples' lives. Talk about the project that you're working on for the autism kids, that's really interesting. Take a moment to explain that. >> Absolutely. So, another one of our clients is Debbie Stone. She has a non-profit called Pop Earth. And it's basically a free school for kids with autism. So, based on that she's starting a IOT company called the Popu Lace. It's an IOT device, it's about the size of a quarter, and it has GPS, 4G connectivity, and it hooks into a student's shoelaces. There's a huge problem with kids with autism, if they wander off from school, they can get hit by a car, and they don't have the communication skills to get found again. So this device puts a geofence around their school-- >> Alzheimer's, there's a zillion use cases. So, geofencing a location, like Snapchat ads they do, but this is for a good reason, safety and impact to people's lives. >> Absolutely. >> Caregivers, too, they matter. >> Yeah, caregivers, people who go mountain climbing, hiking, all of these other use cases. Primarily focusing on children during the beginning, but yes, Alzeimer's, and hikers, and tons of uses for this. >> Great stuff. Congratulations, Anthony, great to have this conversation with you, really inspired. Good luck with the Puerto Rico opportunity, the Caribbean Institute of Technologies. Will it be on the Caribbean, Bahamas? We were just there for Poly Con. Other islands, start at Puerto Rico... >> Absolutely. So, we're actually open-sourcing the floor plan for the building that we're building. So, the building that we're building has solar energy. It's a green building. And we're open-sourcing that floor plan so that anyone in the Caribbeans, South America, anywhere in the world can adopt this model. >> It's the wee work for paying it forward. >> Absolutely. >> Well done, Anthony. Anthony Delgado, CEO of Disrupt, doing amazing work here, paying it forward, contributing here with the Caribbean Institute of Technology. I'm John Ferrier, in Puerto Rico for our on-the ground coverage of Blockchain Unbound. Be back with more. Thanks for watching. >> Thank you for having me.