Bill Bing
@BillNBingBill Bing is formerly the founder of Durham startup Loyalese and Square 1 Ventures and currently co-founder of DAS Communications.
Bill Bing is formerly the founder of Durham startup Loyalese and Square 1 Ventures and currently co-founder of DAS Communications.
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Trying to Follow Laws that Don't Exist
The predicament of Bitcoin startups in an unregulated world.
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Filed Under: NEWS: Startups
I'm already on the record with a position that, broadly speaking, lawmakers and regulators don't know what they're doing. But that doesn't keep them from making rules that businesses have to contend with. Two weeks ago, I attended Cryptolina, a Bitcoin-focused conference that drew speakers and attendees from around the nation including former Director of the U.S. Mint Edmund Moy, and fourth generation venture capitalist Adam Draper. Figuring out how to deal with regulation was a recurring theme at the conference, and several different tactics were discussed.
At one panel, a lawyer focused on Bitcoin-related matters advised entrepreneurs who are unable to receive guidance from lawmakers to attempt to self-regulate by implementing reasonable and fair policies that might eventually become law. He noted that demonstrable adherence to these policies and clear intent to cause no one any harm would likely be looked upon favorably and perhaps produce the desired outcome: a No Action letter.
To be clear, this is some Zen hand-waving, particularly coming from a securities lawyer: --Read On
A Call to N.C. Startup Communities: Stop Leading with Weakness
It's time for leaders to foster authenticity and collaboration.
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Filed Under: NEWS: Startups
When I worked at Square 1 Ventures, a big part of my job was hearing the pitches of VC fund managers who wanted us to invest in their funds. We ultimately made nine investments, but met with over 100 funds. And whenever we'd meet with a manager based in a market outside California, Boston or New York, there was a high likelihood of seeing a slide called “Underserved Geography” or something similar.
This slide, or series of slides, would go on to make the case that New Mexico, Kansas, or yes, even our own state of North Carolina was a huge opportunity and that the fund managers had access to the best deal flow in the area. The more creative folks would put together some graph manipulating cherry-picked data points to demonstrate that Tennessee was in fact the ideal site for VC investment.
This tactic always cost presenters credibility points with me. If they wanted our money they should have told me how they were going to produce great returns DESPITE their geographic challenge—not sell me that this was actually a positive. If these areas actually were as attractive for investors as they claimed, other funds would be putting money to work there. Smart investors don't ignore areas out of spite. If enough high-growth companies sprout up somewhere, they take notice.
Here's an analogy—if you were at a job interview for a position that required more years of experience than you have, you wouldn't go in and say, “My lack of experience is actually a benefit, because I haven't developed all sorts of bad habits that I have to unlearn.” At least I hope not. Instead you would probably try to make the case that despite your lack of desired experience, you are a really strong candidate because of your other abilities and focus the discussion there. --Read On
REEDS Jewelers: Bitcoin is Our Competitive Advantage
Wilmington-based fine jeweler speaks at Cryptolina about decision to embrace crypto currency
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Filed Under: NEWS: Startups
What does a jewelry company have to do with Bitcoin? If you think about the industry—a store in the early days looks the same as it does today. Precious metals and gems, display cases and a person to assist you in selecting an item.
Technology and innovation is how a jeweler must differentiate itself, and evolve to meet the needs of customers.
Executives at Wilmington-based REEDS Jewelers Bradley Zimmer and Mitch Kahn gave us a handful of examples of this in practice, and with context over time. It all helps to explain why in June it became the first fine jeweler in the country to accept Bitcoin as payment.
The context of the retail industry provides an interesting backdrop for cryptocurrency. Even the Internet is relatively new from the perspective of retail. The first jewelry was created in 100,000 B.C. and in 4400 B.C. was the introduction of precious metals.
The ability to keep time with any degree of precision only came about recently. The first challenge was to find a way to determine longitude and latitude—that happened with the first version of the modern watch, the Harrison H1 Chronometer in 1730.
Fast forward to 1946 when REEDS was founded. It hired technicians who are experts in Swiss watch-making—it takes years and years of apprenticeship to do this type of work. Same holds true for precious stones and metals—making brilliant cuts to maximize intensity and sparkle. --Read On