Heather Vescent is a social scientist who studies future trends to help people understand and take advantage of change. She does this through speaking, consulting, research projects, design fictions, and media productions. Her company, The Purple Tornado, has been around since 2006. Prior to The Purple Tornado, she helped build and launch more than 50 Internet products at over 30 startups from 1996 to the 2005 in Silicon Valley and Los Angeles. Recently, Heather completed an assignment with the Swift Innovation Team, Innotribe, based in New York, NY and La Hulpe, Brussels. She is best known for her research on the Future of Transactions, which she presented at SxSW, Sibos, TedxZwolle, The Future of Money,Tomorrow's Transactions and other conferences around the world. She is the producer and creator of 4 short films, including "Fly Me to the Moon;" nominated for the Most Important Futures Award by the Association of Professional Futurists, 2012; "Flowers for Grandma;" "Innotribe Startup Challenge Documentary," and "Slices of Life."