GQ South Africa – September 2019

september 2019 / 59

That’sa

largepart

ofwhati’mdoing;

sketchingthe

Numeraimyth

The

mythmaker

in sunny san francisco, a mere sixteen-thousand

kilometres away from his hometown, there’s a south

african rapidly being recognised as one of silicon

Valley’s brightest creatives: Jonathan Sidego

aforementioned friend, Richard

Craib, would eventually go on to

found Numerai: a new kind of

hedge fund with a complex data

science competition at its core.

In essence, the fund operates by

giving away its data, albeit in an

encrypted format, all for free.

Anyone, anywhere in the world,

can then access this data and

attempt to make predictions.

The fund then creates a meta-

model to make trades.

Confused? As it happens,

explaining these brilliant and

complex concepts is exactly what

Sidego does best, as well as what

he’s been doing for Numerai in

Silicon Valley for the last few

years. As a filmmaker for the

hedge fund, it’s his responsibility

to produce short-form videos that

eloquently explain these elaborate

ideas. However, in his own words,

‘it’s still advertising’. So why does

he feel so much more fulfilled?

‘What’s unique and interesting

is that at Numerai, I’m the one

setting the goals. I have to think

about what the message we want

to send is, what our brand is,

how we want to be seen, and then

execute it.’

Sidego’s varied visual identity

is far more present in these works

than in his previous adverts. In

one, pastels and neon introduce

a retro-inspired look that’s more

reminiscent of ’80s arcade games

than the average monotone

marketing material that you

might expect from the industry,

introducing playful elements that

seem to gently parody tech rather

than stoically celebrate it. It has

a clear narrative and exhibits

Sidego’s visual acuity. However,

If you were to ask him, he’d

probably demur and pass the

markets work through their

model. It’s an absurdly ambitious

idea, yet those are not uncommon

in the world of startups. Part of

what makes it special is the way

they relate their idea, reflecting

an authenticity desperately

needed in advertising.

It’s this sentiment that best

captures why Sidego’s work is so

well-received among his peers

in San Francisco. Prints made

from single frames of his Numerai

videos adorn the walls of NASA’s

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where

some of the brightest minds of

each generation work so that

humanity might touch the stars.

Whose engineers hold a deep

fondness not only for the

“game” at the heart of Numerai

but also for Sidego’s explanations

of its nuances.

In a setting so densely packed

with innovators and ideas, where

everybody has an app or an ICO,

it’s more important than ever to

create stories that are authentic,

that come from a real place of

excitementforthefuture.

However,thetechindustry

nowfacesitsadolescence and all

thepainfulgrowththat comes

withit.Universitydegrees have

beendecreedallbutobsolete

bytechgiantslikeGoogle while

thenetworkstheseinstitutions

providetheirstudentswith are

stillcriticalwhenit comes to

gettinga footinthedoor. But

despiteominousportents and

pessimisticviewsofboth online

andIRL,you’llstillfind Sidego

oftensportinga smile.It seems

thatinthebusinessofmaking

myths,he’sfoundsomething

meaningful.

• James Nash

praise onto his team; which

includes producer Natasha-Jade

Chandler, who worked alongside

him for over six years prior to

joining him at Numerai.

Sidego still gains great

satisfaction from meeting the

goals he sets for himself and

seeing the successes that stem

from telling Numerai’s tale.

‘In a place as storied as Silicon

Valley, you’ve got to differentiate

yourself,’ he elaborates. ‘That’s

a large part of what I’m doing;

sketching the Numerai myth.’

What Numerai intends to do

is change the very way financial

See the full interview at

gq.co.za

Photogra

Phy Su

PP

lied by Numerai, Su

PP

lied by Jo

Natha

N Sidego