Tag Archives: Entrepreneurship

BitInstant Founder to Forfeit $950K to US Government in Plea Bargain

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“Further details have emerged of former BitInstant CEO Charlie Shrem’s plea bargain with US authorities, which saw him plead guilty to aiding and abetting an unlicensed money-transmitting business on 4th Sept. Shrem and Robert Faiella’s plea bargains, [with the government’s decision to drop a charge of money-laundering,] provide for jail terms of up to 60 months. The guidelines also include a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the amount of money derived from the crime or double the loss to the victim, whichever is greatest. The Manhattan US Attorney, Preet Bharara, said that Shrem and Faiella sold $1m in bitcoin to ‘outlaws’ on Silk Road.”

http://www.coindesk.com/charlie-shrem-forfeit-950000-us-government-plea-bargain/

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US Gold Dealer Launches “Gold-Backed” Virtual Currency

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“Announced at FreedomFest 2014, which was held in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Independence Coin or INNCoin is the first open-source, gold-backed cryptocurrency. The currency was symbolically launched on July 4 by Anthem Vault’s technology team in collaboration with Vancouver-based Newnote Financial Corp.  All of the coins will be backed by 100 grams (3.5 oz.) of gold that is stored at Anthem Vault. This alt-coin is also commonly referred to as a Micro Gold Coin (MGC).  Anthem stated that it will launch 10 million INNCoins that will be backed by 100 grams of gold with all coins expected to be mined within the first year; all of he coins will be made available by July 2015.”

http://cointelegraph.com/news/112089/us-gold-dealer-launches-gold-backed-coin

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Inside Hermès: Luxury’s Secret Empire

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“Last year the company set a record, reporting an operating profit of $1.69 billion with $5 billion in sales–the fastest-growing company in its industry over the past six years, fueled by a sort of branding and marketing craftsmanship as exacting as the stitching on one of its iconic Birkin bags.  The payoff for this softer kind of innovation is enough to make a social media startup founder blush. In examining Hermès’ ownership structure, FORBES estimates that at least five family members now belong on our global billionaires list. And the collective fortune for Dumas’ family now tops $25 billion–more than the Rockefellers, the Mellons and the Fords. Combined.”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2014/08/20/inside-hermes-luxury-secret-empire/

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Liechtenstein for hire at $70,000 a night [2011]

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“The principality of Liechtenstein has decided to make itself available to private clients, from $70,000 (£43,000) a night, complete with customised street signs and temporary currency. Last year Snoop Dogg tried to hire it to use in a music video, but received a stern refusal from authorities.  Since then they have woken up to the marketing opportunities of their mountainous landscape. The price tag includes accommodation for 150 people, although the 35,000 inhabitants would remain. Any personal touches, such as an individual logo created out of candle wax or a customised medieval procession, come at an extra, undisclosed cost.”

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/15/liechtenstein-hire-rental-scheme

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Love It or Hate It, You’re Missing What Really Matters About Bitcoin

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“What matters are the people whom I call, affectionately, ‘the Bitcoin kids.’ This is a very loose grouping of thousands of people, mostly fairly young and widely dispersed, who are thoroughly committed to the cryptocurrency revolution and all that it entails.  What the uninitiated don’t understand is that these people are not just trading bitcoins; they are busy developing a whole new generation of products and services—things like Silent Vault, Monetas, Etherium, and many others. Lots of them are involved in 3D printing, and some, in the maker movement. Others are involved in humanitarian efforts like BitcoinNotBombs.”

http://www.caseyresearch.com/freeman/whether-you-love-or-hate-youre-missing-what-really-matters-about-bitcoin

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Sending Money Home: Technology or Bureaucracy?

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“Some of the world’s poorest people depend on the money they receive from relatives working in developed countries. In fact, this money dwarfs the world’s official foreign aid budget, and the gap is increasing.  In 2011, total private flows of aid totaled $680 billion—almost five times the $138 billion official figure.  This increase in private aid is great news for all concerned.  Except, perhaps, for bureaucrats, who are loath to let good deeds go unpunished. World Bank and United Nations bean counters are denouncing remittance transfer fees as exploitative. The U.S. C.F.P.B. has issued a rule to crack down on supposed fraud and exploitation affecting the existing remittance-transfer infrastructure.”

http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/sending-money-home-technology-or-bureaucracy

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David Crane’s Green Vision For Carbon-Belching NRG Energy

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“To further justify NRG’s push into ‘distributed generation’ like solar panels and basement generators, Crane talks up his belief that the U.S. power grid will succumb to a slow death caused by anticarbon regulation and ever-cheaper alternatives like rooftop solar. It’s like the U.S. Postal Service, he says. All the important mail already goes by UPS or FedEx. That puts the post office in a death spiral: It has to raise rates to cover costs, but those higher rates drive away more customers. Electric utilities have already begun responding in the same way by charging home solar adopters new fees for staying attached to the grid.”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2014/07/02/david-cranes-green-vision-for-carbon-belching-nrg-energy/

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Dr. Phil’s Doctor On Demand Raises $21M As Telemedicine Heats Up

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“Doctor On Demand, a start-up that facilitates quick video consultations with physicians closed a $21 million Series A round led by Venrock. Consumers can access in under three minutes a physician from a smartphone or a desktop.  Founded only eight months ago, Doctor On Demand has gained rapid visibility thanks to its founders, television personality Dr. Phil and his son Jay McGraw who produces The Doctors, a health talk show where viewers can submit questions to a small stable of doctors.   A TV promotion caught the eye of British mogul Richard Branson while on a trip to the U.S.  He joins Venrock and Shasta Ventures in this round.”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/zinamoukheiber/2014/08/06/dr-phils-doctor-on-demand-raises-21-million-as-telemedicine-heats-up/

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The Most Fascinating Profile Ever About a Guy and His Boring Startup

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“Stewart (Butterfield) is well known in certain circles as the founder of the ur-photo-sharing service, Flickr. When he and his two partners sold it to Yahoo for, Stewart says, ‘somewhere between $22 million and $25 million’ in 2004, it kicked off the Web 2.0 era and signaled the end of the dotcom bust. Flickr was a treasure chest of innovation, but Stewart never even intended to make the damn thing. He’d set out, instead, to make a game called Game Neverending. It was a financial failure. Flickr was merely based on a set of features broken out of the game, but it took over the company and his life. This was one of the original pivots. Everybody does it now.  History has circled back on Stewart.”

http://www.wired.com/2014/08/the-most-fascinating-profile-youll-ever-read-about-a-guy-and-his-boring-startup/

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BitPay Offers ‘Free and Unlimited’ Payment Processing for Merchants

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“One of bitcoin’s leading merchant processors, BitPay, has introduced a new pricing plan that makes its basic level of service free and unlimited.  The new plan allows merchants unlimited use of any plugin, API or app from the BitPay library and access to the company’s email support.  The company’s business and enterprise plans, which offer customers additional features, will continue at existing prices. The new pricing plan helps further reduce the barrier to entry for new merchants that are looking to accept bitcoin payments.  Previously, BitPay’s basic pricing plan was available to merchants at a cost of $30 for 30 days, for transactions of up to $10,000 daily.”

http://www.coindesk.com/bitpay-eliminates-fees-basic-merchant-processing/

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