Quarify

quarify

Opportunities in Engineering by Charles M. Horton is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . QUALIFYING FOR PROMOTION QUALIFYING FOR PROMOTION Immediately upon graduating—indeed, often several months before graduating—the engineering student finds his first job awaiting him. Frequently he finds a number of first jobs awaiting him and must make a selection. For it is the custom with large manufacturing concerns to send out scouts in the early spring of each year to address the engineering student bodies, with the idea in mind of securing the services of as many graduates as the scouts can win over for their respective organizations through direct appeal. What is usually offered the coming graduate is a brief apprenticeship in the shop, at a living wage, with promise of as early and rapid promotion in the organization as the work of the apprentice himself will permit, or improves. These offers are generally splendid opportunities. The graduate may learn much of a practical commercial nature which perforce has been denied him in his student days, and also, having entered upon this apprenticeship, he not only gets acquainted with production on a large scale, but he is brought into touch with what constitutes most recent acceptable practice as well. This, provided he be a mechanical or an electrical engineer. Graduates in civil and mining engineering, while offered positions from executives in these particular branches also, have no such large opportunities offered them. The work itself does not permit it. Yet in any of the branches there is never a scarcity of jobs open to graduates upon their leaving college. To qualify for promotion in any work, but more especially in the professions, one must know one's business. That is a trite statement, but it will bear repeating. The young graduate at first will not know his business. His mind will be a chaos of theories based upon myriads of formulæ which cannot but confuse him in the early days, when he is most earnestly trying to apply one or more of them to the more or less petty tasks which will be assigned to him. All he can do under the circumstances—all anybody could do under the circumstances—is to wait patiently, the while doing the best he can. Problems have a way of working themselves out—the correct formula will present itself; its true application will become manifest—and thus the young engineer has learned something of a practical nature which need not forsake him throughout the remainder of his engineering career. 40 Engineers are especially tolerant of one another's mistakes and errors. They are much more so than medical men, for instance. In the field of medicine one must show by many practical cases wherein a certain treatment has proved effective before the fraternity at large will even give the practitioner a hearing. This is not so among engineers. Engineers turn to one another in difficulties with earnest desire to help if they can help; and when one of their number is in trouble in his efforts to solve a difficult problem the whole body will turn to him with friendly encouragement and advice, if the latter is wanted. The young graduate who is struggling with a problem come up in his daily work, if he will but make the fact known to the engineers on the job in association with him, will find himself surrounded by engineers every one of whom will be seriously concerned for him and anxious to render assistance. So the young graduate need entertain no fears on the ground of possible errors when starting out. Merely he must go slow; take his own good time on a job; ask all the questions possible of his engineer neighbors. Frankness in engineering, as in any other walk of life, pays. The bluffer is not wanted. No man knows it all, and certainly no engineer knows all there is to know about his profession. Time was when this might have been true; but it isn't true to-day. The work of engineering research and development has become so complex that engineers are forced to specialize. The engineering graduate, entering upon his first job, will discover early that he, too, must specialize. This will not be difficult, owing to the fact that his engineering education has been general and designed to embrace in a liberal way all practice. Drawing, as he will, from this liberal source that which he finds necessary in the solving of his initial problems, he will find himself within a short time becoming, willy-nilly, a specialist. 41 In the earlier years there should be considerable study done after hours on the part of the graduate engineer. Because his education has been general in the field, and he now holds a position with a company manufacturing steam-turbines, say, he must "wise up," as the saying goes, on the subject of steam-turbines. It will do him no harm to trace back to its source all progress made in the field of turbine engineering and construction. He will find no scarcity of books on the subject, and with every hour spent with these volumes he will become more valuable to the organization employing him. Likewise, if he find himself working for an electrical manufacturing concern, and himself a graduate in electrical engineering, if the product be only a single line, and so small a thing as spark-plugs, it will profit him greatly to read whatever has been printed on the subject of spark-plugs. So with the mining graduate in the matter of the different processes of recovering minerals; so with the civil graduate, especially in the concrete field of construction, which has made rapid strides in the past few years—the graduate should absorb as much as he can of the available works printed on the subject. Indeed, this is the profession of it, in that the practitioner must ever be alive and alert to what is being done and has been done from the beginning in his chosen line of endeavor. 42 Next must come fealty. The graduate on his first job must believe—and if he does not believe ought to change connections—that the product of his company is the best in the market. This need not necessarily be true; but he must feel that it is true. For only in this way can he put the best that is in him into his work. Industry—and the engineer is the backbone of industry—is a hotbed of competition. Any organization needs all the enthusiasm it can get. Greatest enthusiasm of all must come from within its own circles. Lacking this enthusiasm within its own family, the organization as a whole suffers. The graduate must first of all supply enthusiasm to the source of his employment, because at first he can supply but very little else. He must be true to his trust in ways other than the mere doing of what he is told or producing what he is expected to produce. This attitude cannot but help him qualify for promotion, and rapidly. It is a very important factor in any engineer's advancement. 43 Then there is the matter of patience. The writer knows of no other qualification more fruitful of reward than patience. The word control is frequently used in this regard—self-control. Its other name, however, is patience—the thing that gives a man to try and try again until he succeeds. Engineering is a difficult profession, though not more difficult than other professions, and in the average engineer's working-day many things occur which, if he be not possessed of infinite patience, will serve to try him to a considerable degree. Patience with those below him—patience with those above him—patience with himself—these are all necessary and will prove helpful to him in reaching the top. He must accept the petty tasks with a cheerfulness no less apparent than he accepts the more important ones. He must present his own ideas to his superiors with a degree of caution which, where the ideas are rejected, will yet permit him to withdraw within himself without giving the impression of being peeved. For engineering is above all other things the interchange of ideas among men having an equal training but a vastly different quality of experience. Men of diverse experience thus drawn together make for a balanced engineering staff, and a balanced engineering staff makes for a well-organized whole. The young engineer must conduct himself in such a way that his superiors will like him for what he is, as indicated by his personality, rather than for what he knows or does in his daily work. 44 To sum up, then, the young engineer, having entered upon his first job, must do three or four things in order quickly to qualify for promotion. He first of all must spend time in study after his day's work is done—absorb all information having to do with the company's own product; hold himself ever alert to the company's own methods of production; watch for an opportunity whereby this production may be improved upon or the methods of production themselves improved upon. The young engineer must proceed slowly in everything he undertakes; when brought to a halt through difficulties he should instantly appeal to one or another of his associates or superiors; he must be absolutely frank in all his dealings with these associates and superiors. In this regard, also, it might be said that the young graduate, following a habit become almost second nature with him in his school-days, must keep a note-book covering his activities throughout each working-day, a book wherein he will jot down everything of value to him which comes up in the day's work. Such books often form the basis of complete text-books in after years, and, indeed, are acknowledged to be the foundation of more than one recognized authority. Though in this regard, further, such a practice is sometimes discouraged in some organizations, since it is apparent that these note-books often contain facts which the organization does not wish to have made public, being, as these notes often are, in the nature of trade secrets. However, the student with a conscience will effectively guard the secrets of his employer as contained in his note-book, holding its contents for his own use in furthering the interests of the company which employs him. 45 46 And finally—in the matter of personality—patience and regard for the foibles of others will go far toward advancing the young engineer toward success. He must never forget in his earlier years that he is embryonic in the profession; that the profession is a difficult one and with many ramifications; that if he was able to live through three normal lives he would yet know only a very little of what there is to know about his chosen work. Thus he will conduct himself in a manner designed to win the interest and affection of men who are superior to him. Life to-day consists more than ever of service, and no man can go the path alone. Service—assistance one to another—makes up the sum total of life. No engineering graduate—no young man in any walk of life—can progress far without assistance, however brilliant as a student and capable as a man he may be. If he will but bear this last in mind—this and the other even more important truth, that as a man gives so shall he receive—that a dollar spent in charity means two dollars in the bank—I mean that exactly—then the heights themselves will beckon to him at an early age. 47 "Early to bed and early to rise"; "take care of the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves"; "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush"—we don't need—the engineering graduate does not need—that form of admonition. It means nothing and is false. What alone counts for success is a considerable regard for the rights and privileges of others, the unfortunate as well as the fortunate. Greed never brought success that was lasting to any one, and certainly it breeds unhappiness. Engineering is a work of service—service to others—and to the graduate who "gets" this truism will come all things of this life, not the least of which will be material rewards. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Charles M. Horton (2008). Opportunities in Engineering. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/24681/pg24681-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html .

QUALIFYING FOR PROMOTION

The Rootstock Blockchain Developer Course officially launched last week. The course aims to teach budding blockchain developers how to develop on the Rootstock blockchain, with a heavy focus on smart contracts. The course is part of the , where members of the public are rewarded for contributing to the growth of the Rootstock ecosystem. By completing the Blockchain Developer Course, participants will pre-qualify as official Rootstock “Dev Ambassadors” and be awarded an official certificate recognizing their skills (upon full release). The course is free of charge and open for anyone to take. Rootstock Ambassador initiative Take the course now: Rootstock Blockchain Developer Course Register to become a “Dev Ambassador”: Ambassador application What is the Rootstock Developer Course? The course is divided into eight modules; each module will focus on a different area of smart contract development, with a variety of teaching techniques being employed to maximize student success. The course covers how to write, test, compile, deploy, secure, and verify smart contracts using Solidity, and how to set up a node on the Rootstock network. The course is entirely about blockchain or web3. All course materials will be available on demand to all participants. self-paced and does not require prerequisite knowledge Who can take the course? The course is It is perfect for developers or anyone familiar with programming in any language seeking to upskill their capabilities. It is also suited to developers already familiar with web3 and blockchain technologies looking for a pathway to become a Blockchain Developer. free of charge and open for anyone to enroll! What are the benefits of the course? Beyond leveling up your smart contract knowledge, participants will earn an recognizing their skills (upon course full release) and qualify to become a Rootstock Developer Ambassador. official certificate of completion Rootstock Developer Ambassadors will be eligible to that encourage and support further development on the Rootstock network. Full details on Developer Ambassador rewards and tasks will be revealed in the coming weeks. Join the Rootstock ambassador to stay up to date! earn rewards for completing specific tasks discord channel Is the course only useful for Rootstock? The course is focused on developing and deploying smart contracts on the Rootstock blockchain. The good news is that Rootstock is EVM compatible, plus this course focuses on Solidity. So most within the space. skills learned through the course will be applicable and transferable to multiple other major blockchain networks More about Rootstock Rootstock was created with the intention of introducing the latest technologies and capabilities to the security and resilience of Bitcoin. It is the ‘smart’ version of Bitcoin that operates as a layer 2 on top of the main Bitcoin blockchain, combining the functionality of smart contracts with the security of Bitcoin. Rootstock is secured by Bitcoin's hash power via Merged Mining. Approximately 60% of Bitcoin’s mining hashpower is simultaneously mining on Rootstock, making Rootstock the world's most secure smart contract-enabled blockchain. Find out more by visiting or following the official . rootstock.io Rootstock social media channels

Learn to Build Smart Contracts on Bitcoin and Qualify to Become a Rootstock Developer Ambassador

I have been working for clients from almost every industry and each presents exciting new challenges. Large or small companies generally have very specific problems found in the Conversion Rate, in the CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost), AOV (Average Order Value) and LTV (Lifetime Value). In this guide, I'll explain through a simple tactic how to lower customer acquisition cost and generate new sales. The One Time Offer Once I analyzed data available in Google Analytics, Heap or somewhere I can read analytics, I created an acquisition strategy that leverages a very simple concept: One Time Offer, which is an offer available only once and at that moment for a potential customer. It's a very simple concept, it's one of the 6 of Cialdini's rules (scarsity), present in many popular platforms such as Wish and Aliexpress. Acquisire e qualificare un lead con la OTO Upon registration, the potential customer landing on "Thank You page" where you can give him much more information about the offer: you can talk about the benefits or the value that this offer could driven to him. Shortly after, an initial email with coupon is sent to him. If you have an high CAC, up to 30% of a customers' LTV, with this tactic it's possible to acquire a new customer, giving him a timed special offer. Our main goal isn't sell something or make single sell but it's qualifing him, feeding him with interesting contents and products, at the right time, as much as more in line with his interests. Who wants to be bombarded with uninteresting contents? I don't think anyone would like to receive only email offers or one-size-fits-all content via newsletters. This happens in many e-commerce, not understanding that you're burning / saturating your customer base, generating many and many inactive customers. Most of the information you need to scale your business or generate new revenue streams is under the hood, in your order database. 1 – Customer Base and RFM Analysis If you have never created an RFM Analysis before, you where I explain how to create it, starting or any . can read this article from a Shopify other E-Commerce Source: Clevertap 2 – Attracting the correct audience What may interest an e-commerce the most is the acquisition of new customers who are much more interested in the products that it's selling. The answer to this question is certainly given by the "Champions" and "Loyals" segments which "should generate" a significant part of total sales. I used the conditional because, stand to my experience, I found few clients correctly having this composition. In platforms such as Facebook and Google, it's possible to create a similar audience (LAL - Lookalike) importing that segments. You can follow . this guide, which explains step by step, how to import and create Facebook LAL campaigns Importing Email in Business Facebook It's equally important to exclude from the selected audience all those people who have liked the page, have visited the e-commerce in the last 30 days and have had a minimum interaction with your company. That's because if you want to grow your business, acquiring new market shares, you need to be sure that all new customers are really fresh new! 3 – Creating a Landing Page . The landing page structure is critically important, as it make the difference between significant percentage conversion points The OTO (One Time Offer) is represented in the landing page using by a countdown which communicates the scarsity concept. The price and product need to be clearly visible and the problem or the benefit your special offer need to be writting using a good copywriting on the left side of the form. These values need to be clearly explained because they drive the potential customer to filling the form or leave the page. Landing Page Example The form was created using a , with a large submit button and a clear Call To Action. quite large and clickable fields 4 – Marketing Automation for qualifying the lead Once the potential customer's email has been acquired, an email with the coupon is sent shortly after to obtain the discount or offer proposed on the landing page. Lead purchase is monitored over the next few days to understand which of these potential leads have purchased and therefore have become potential customers of the company. Marketing Automation Flow All leads that have not purchased yet are sent reminders in the following days, to "push" them to the bottom of the funnel. Note It's clear that the and inside in a structured strategy. acquisition cost could drop dramatically if this tactic generates big numbers If you want to structure a customer acquisition campaign that generates a new continuous revenue stream and improve your business growth, contact me for a free evaluation. Previously published at https://alexgenovese.it/blog/acquiring-and-qualifying-e-commerce-leads-using-sales-funnel-and-marketing-automation/

How I Use Marketing Automation For Acquiring and Qualifying Your E-commerce Leads

WOMEN IN BLOCKCHAIN | DO YOU QUALIFY?

Are you overwhelmed by hundreds of users signing up daily to use your online services? Do you need a better way to track and qualify leads? If so, look no further! Here are all the tools you’ll need to help you and your team 😉. We’ll create a bot that alerts your channel when a visitor enters data into a Typeform embedded on your site. Our bot will flag individuals as “High priority!” if they belong to a company with over 50 employees. Our bot will also display individuals’ full name, email, title, location, Linkedin, company name, number of employees in company x, the amount raised, estimated annual revenue, and company domain as seen in the example below 🤓. What We’ll Build: Slack Slack So… Let’s get started! What You’ll Need Beforehand 1x free account Slack 1x free account Typeform 1x free account Clearbit 1x free account Standard Library 5x minutes (300x seconds) If you’re not familiar with Standard Library , you’re in for a treat! Standard Library is turning everyone in your organization into a developer with Code on Standard Library — an embeddable development environment for easily building APIs, webhooks, and workflow automation tasks. Minute 1: Prepare Your Slack App on Slack’s API Page account and visit your Slack Apps page at . Click on You’ll be presented with a modal to enter your App Name and the Development Workspace you’d like to add it to. From here, click on and you’ll find yourself on a page. Sign in to your Slack https://api.slack.com/apps Create New App. Slack Create App, Basic Information Find “ ” under the “ ” category on the left side menu bar, and toggle the button on to activate Incoming Webhooks. Incoming Webhooks Features Toggle the Button On Select Add New Webhook to Workspace Next, select “ ” and authorize your Slack App to post on a channel. Add New Webhook to Workspace Once authorized, automatically generates a unique URL that you will use to send messages into Slack via HTTP request with a JSON payload from . Copy and Save this URL; we will need it shortly. Slack Clearbit Check to make sure that you’ve set up your app properly. If you have, you should see a message like the one below on your channel. If not, repeat this step 😉. Slack Slack Minute 2: Set Up and Deploy the Signupalertsbot API using Code on Standard Library Now that you’ve set up your app and activated incoming webhooks, you need to deploy the code that will connect , Clearbit, and via webhooks. To do this, we’ll be using API platform and the online editor for APIs — if you’re not a programmer don’t worry! You won’t need to write any of the code. We’ve provided the code for you, and it automatically handles high priority sign ups and cases where does not have information on an email! Slack Typeform Slack Standard Library’s Clearbit Head on over to . If you click that link, a will automatically open. If not, navigate to the “ ” tab and search for . Open to the file on the left sidebar menu, and you’ll find three environment variables that you’ll need to fill in. Code on Standard Library template for the Signupalertsbot API Community API Sources “janethl/signupalertsbot” env.json Code by Jacob Lee Enter the webhook URL from Part 1 into under the section. Slack SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL dev Minute 3: Copy and Paste Your API Key Clearbit Next, you’ll want to log in, or sign up for a free account at . Clearbit https://clearbit.com/ Once signed into your dashboard, navigate to the tab and copy the first key — the Clearbit’s API Key secret API key. Note that below your keys, Clearbit has suppression settings to exclude certain contacts from your enrichment project to satisfy GDPR . Now return to Code on and populate the variable inside Standard Library “CLEARBIT_API_KEY” env.json. Finally, populate the variable by right-clicking between the two quotes and select from the drop-down menu. “STDLIB_LIBRARY_TOKEN” Insert Library Token Now that your three environment variables are filled in, save these changes by clicking the orange button on the bottom right. “Save” You are now ready to deploy your API. Return to the file and click the green button on the bottom right. __main__.js “Run” Once you’ve deployed your API onto , you’ll notice a “ ” because your endpoint requires two parameters. The two parameters; , , will be provided by . The final step is to take the “ ” for your API and set it as a webhook on . Standard Library Parameter Error functions/__main__.js event_type form_response Typeform API Endpoint URL Typeform Minute 4: Set a Webhook on Typeform Once you’ve logged in to , select from the dashboard. Find and select the “ template**.** Typeform “New typeform ” Contact Form” For now, let’s use this template as is; you can return at any time to modify the style and questions to your liking. Select on the top menu. “Integrate” Navigate to the upper middle tab and select “ ” and then “ ” Integrate WEBHOOKS. Input your API’s endpoint url onto the Destination URL and toggle the “ button on. Standard Library Webhooks” Minute 5: Test Your Slack Bot Your Bot is ready to test! Select the button on the upper right corner of your Typeform. Slack “ ” View Input a valid e-mail to test it out and answer the sample questions. Once submitted you should get notified by your bot. 🙌 Slack That’s it! 🤗 Thank you for taking the time to read and test this out! If you found this tutorial helpful please let me know! Reach out if you’d like to connect and in a different way - I’d love to help. Just drop your name, e-mail, and request in the form to the left, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I am notified by my bot. Clearbit Slack Slack

Build a Slack Bot in 5 Minutes to Qualify Leads from Typeform with Standard Library and Node.js

Are they going to waste your time? How much time should you be spending with them, versus the rest of those in your fundraising funnel? I hope founders remember that they have something awesome, and investors are lucky to get to come along for the ride, most of the time. With that in mind, you need to be prepared to vet potential investors even while they are conducting diligence on you and your business. Your time, especially when fundraising, is very valuable I see what I consider “time waster” investors more often in tier 2 and 3 ecosystems (where I spend a lot of my time), but they do exist on the coasts as well. I’ve met plenty of time wasters at top accelerator demo days, so don’t be fooled when you’re in Mountain View, you can still run into folks who will waste your time. Obviously, there are some VCs who have great reputations, and long standing track records, so you don’t need to insult them with a question you can easily answer by looking at their website or profile. However, with the increasing number of Angels and Micro-VCs out there, I thought a list of qualifying questions would be helpful when the answers aren’t readily available. Crunchbase Please, also note that you should be tactful about how you ask these questions. This list below is what you need to find out, it doesn’t mean you need to ask these exact questions, in rapid fire succession during your first meeting with a VC. Your goal is to gather the information you need to answer these questions and often that can be done indirectly, but don’t be afraid to ask some of these questions directly as well. Be smart about it. Use your network, and all available resources first. 1) What is your average check size? If someone is slow to answer, or dodges this, or it sounds like they don’t know off of the top of their head, then they likely aren’t consistently investing at the early stages. Investors who are active, know this number because they get asked for it all the time. 2) How much dry powder do you have or how much time is left in your current fund? This question is for institutional funds, not angels. It can tell you if they are looking for shorter duration investments (maybe they are in year 7 of a 10 year fund), or if they do or don’t have capital for rounds, etc. Sometimes this can alert you to an investor who is just taking the meeting to stay in the flow while they are out fundraising themselves, which is a waste of your time, in many ways. future 3) What investments have you made in our space? Even if they haven’t invested in your space (B2B, B2C, Esports, Fintech, East coast, West coast, etc.) they should have thoughts about what they like and don’t like. The specific answer here isn’t that important, but the lack of a well thought out answer should be alarming. For angel investors, you may want to direct this question to more of how they decided to invest in what they have so far. 4) What is your decision making process? This is another one of those questions where the specific answer isn’t that important, but often a time waster, is caught off guard by this question. When you ask this question to an experienced investor, you will get some intel that will help you manage your capital raising pipeline and expectations around closing. Also, if you find that your path forward with an investor migrates away from what they mapped out for you, then you can judge their interest level using that feedback (or lack of feedback). A sub-question on this line of thinking is “who is the decision maker for an investment in our business?” Further, if someone’s title is “Partner” or “Principal” there is a good chance they have to go through multiple approval levels to get your deal done so their enthusiasm isn’t really indicative of getting funding. 5) Can I meet (or speak with) a few founders you have worked with? You are sorting out two thing with this question: 1) Have they ever invested before and 2) Do their other investments even know who they are? Some investors are in one or two deals as part of an angel network, etc. and they boast about those deals as their own, when the founders don’t even know them. Also, often an angel investor is someone who hasn’t invested much, but they have advised many founders, so you can learn a lot about this investor by speaking to founders they have mentored. Do not overlook this step. 5) How many deals have you invested in within the last 2 years? I run into investors who invested in the past, or worked for a VC fund in the past, but they haven’t done anything recently. You can overlook this, but if they aren’t familiar with current market terms, structures, dynamics, then they may be difficult to work with as you near closing or worse. They may be dragging out the process and wasting your time with no intent to close and fund. Another good question to ask here is “how many deals do you do per year?” 6) In what ways can you add value to our business? Not every investor can add a ton of value in every deal. However, experienced investors know rather quickly if they can or can’t add value in a business and are usually rather transparent about that. An investor may not be able to add much more value than just adding capital, but this question is another one that can catch someone off guard so the way they handle the answer can tell you if they are a time waster or not. 7) At what stage do you typically invest? Similar to the check size question, this is one where a well articulated answer is all you’re looking for. If someone starts saying, “Well you know, I do a little of this and a little of that” then it is a red flag, but not a deal breaker. You should dig in more on their experience. Experienced investors know what their sweet spot is and can articulate it. 8) Ask about their domain knowledge in the space — where did they gain it? If they mention some expertise in an area applicable to your business, ask about their background and how they obtained their domain knowledge. If they don’t bring this up, then ask them about their knowledge of your space. You don’t have to do be super direct about this, you can tease this out more subtly. In conclusion, you are trying to get a sense of if this investor is real, or a time waster. You can be tactful about how you ask these questions or seek the answers in a less direct way (which is probably best). Don’t forget, . I really like it when founders come to a first call or meeting prepared to ask questions along these lines, but also show they have read all available information on our fund before hand. It drives me nuts when someone asks me what we focus on. I’ve written about it extensively. you have a great idea and you are interviewing them for a long term partnership just as much as they are interviewing you Stephen Hays is Managing Partner at Deep Space Ventures, a Micro-VC based in Dallas, TX that focuses on both Esports and B2B enterprise . startups Follow Stephen on Twitter Here Read More About Deep Space Ventures Here

Qualifying Questions for Angels / VCs

So in keeping with my mission to help people buy homes, I put together this little list on what you need to know if you’re an entrepreneur who wants to buy a home. The ability to qualify for a mortgage is based on 3 things: your income, your assets and your credit. 2. You make your money when you buy the house, not when you sell. 3. You need to be in business for at least 2 consecutive years, and your income is averaged over the last 2 years to qualify. So you need to have 2 years of positive income. The average of the two years net profit is what the bank thinks you make. 4. Your credit should be at least a 620 if you want to get a mortgage in today’s lending environment. Though you can possibly get a mortgage with a lower score, 620 is the ideal minimum standard. 5. You can get the seller to pay your closing costs using a sellers concession 6. Your credit score and amount of down payment affect your rate. The lower the credit, the higher the interest rate. The lower the down payment the higher the interest rate. 7. Do not cosign for anyone if you can help it because his or her debt becomes yours. Car loans and mortgage liabilities can be waived if they are paid on time for 12 months with no late payments by the person you cosigned for. 8. You do not need to put 20% down. You can do a down payment of as low as 3.5% but you must have money for your closing costs in addition to your down payment. If you are a veteran, you can do 100% financing but you still need to have the money for closing costs. Also try to have some money for reserves. You can also get gifts for your down payment. 5% must be your own funds on conventional is you are putting less than 20% down. On FHA all can be gift funds. 9. It’s easier to get a mortgage when you still have a full time job 10. Owning a home and paying interest on a mortgage can save you money on your income taxes This is just a brief starting point. If you want to know more, you’ll find out everything you need to know in my book : “The House Hustle: The Insider Secrets To Buying A Home For Black Entrepreneurs” Connect with me at The House Hustle.com

The Top 10 Things Entrepreneurs Need To Know About Qualifying for a Mortgage

The NikolAI project has announced the release of its first NFT collection on the TON blockchain, coinciding with mathematician Nikolai Durov's 44th birthday. The collection, comprising 1,000 unique profile pictures (PFPs), represents the project's expansion into digital collectibles. The initiative targets existing token holders, with eligibility restricted to the top 44% of $NIKO holders on the TON blockchain. The qualification period extends until November 28, 2024, at 23:59 UTC, after which eligible holders can participate in the free mint. Market data indicates significant growth for the project, with the $NIKO token reaching a fully diluted valuation of $180 million within two weeks of launch. The project has gained attention for its AI integration, including an automated social media presence across X.com and Telegram platforms. The NFT collection introduces several features for holders: Participation rights in governance decisions


Priority access to future project developments


Potential yield opportunities


Integration with upcoming AI tools The collection's launch occurs amid increasing interest in AI-blockchain integrations within the cryptocurrency sector. Industry analysts note that such projects often aim to combine technological innovation with community engagement mechanisms. Technical implementation details include: AI-generated artwork for each NFT


Smart contract integration on TON blockchain


Automated eligibility verification system


Decentralized distribution mechanism Participating users must hold their tokens on-chain, as centralized exchange positions do not qualify for the NFT distribution. This requirement aligns with broader industry trends encouraging on-chain asset custody. The development represents a significant milestone in TON blockchain's NFT ecosystem, potentially influencing future projects in the space. Market observers suggest that successful implementation could establish new standards for AI-integrated blockchain applications. For cryptocurrency markets, this launch demonstrates continued evolution in NFT utility beyond simple collectibles. The integration of governance rights and future benefits indicates a shift toward more complex token economics in digital asset projects. The collection's timing coincides with increased attention on AI applications in blockchain technology, as projects explore combinations of artificial intelligence and distributed ledger systems. Industry participants suggest such integrations could influence future developments in both sectors. The project's expansion into NFTs reflects broader market trends toward multi-faceted cryptocurrency platforms combining various technological elements. Success metrics will likely depend on community engagement and technological implementation quality. For TON blockchain ecosystem participants, this development potentially signals increasing platform capabilities in NFT and AI integrations. The project's performance could influence future development directions on the network. Don’t forget to like and share the story! Vested Interest Disclosure: This author is an independent contributor publishing via our business blogging program. HackerNoon has reviewed the report for quality, but the claims herein belong to the author. #DYOR The NikolAI project has announced the release of its first NFT collection on the TON blockchain, coinciding with mathematician Nikolai Durov's 44th birthday. The collection, comprising 1,000 unique profile pictures (PFPs), represents the project's expansion into digital collectibles. The initiative targets existing token holders, with eligibility restricted to the top 44% of $NIKO holders on the TON blockchain. The qualification period extends until November 28, 2024, at 23:59 UTC, after which eligible holders can participate in the free mint. Market data indicates significant growth for the project, with the $NIKO token reaching a fully diluted valuation of $180 million within two weeks of launch. The project has gained attention for its AI integration, including an automated social media presence across X.com and Telegram platforms. X.com The NFT collection introduces several features for holders: Participation rights in governance decisions Priority access to future project developments Potential yield opportunities Integration with upcoming AI tools Participation rights in governance decisions Participation rights in governance decisions Priority access to future project developments Priority access to future project developments Potential yield opportunities Potential yield opportunities Integration with upcoming AI tools Integration with upcoming AI tools The collection's launch occurs amid increasing interest in AI-blockchain integrations within the cryptocurrency sector. Industry analysts note that such projects often aim to combine technological innovation with community engagement mechanisms. Technical implementation details include: AI-generated artwork for each NFT Smart contract integration on TON blockchain Automated eligibility verification system Decentralized distribution mechanism AI-generated artwork for each NFT AI-generated artwork for each NFT Smart contract integration on TON blockchain Smart contract integration on TON blockchain Automated eligibility verification system Automated eligibility verification system Decentralized distribution mechanism Decentralized distribution mechanism Participating users must hold their tokens on-chain, as centralized exchange positions do not qualify for the NFT distribution. This requirement aligns with broader industry trends encouraging on-chain asset custody. The development represents a significant milestone in TON blockchain's NFT ecosystem, potentially influencing future projects in the space. Market observers suggest that successful implementation could establish new standards for AI-integrated blockchain applications. For cryptocurrency markets, this launch demonstrates continued evolution in NFT utility beyond simple collectibles. The integration of governance rights and future benefits indicates a shift toward more complex token economics in digital asset projects. The collection's timing coincides with increased attention on AI applications in blockchain technology, as projects explore combinations of artificial intelligence and distributed ledger systems. Industry participants suggest such integrations could influence future developments in both sectors. The project's expansion into NFTs reflects broader market trends toward multi-faceted cryptocurrency platforms combining various technological elements. Success metrics will likely depend on community engagement and technological implementation quality. For TON blockchain ecosystem participants, this development potentially signals increasing platform capabilities in NFT and AI integrations. The project's performance could influence future development directions on the network. Don’t forget to like and share the story! Vested Interest Disclosure: This author is an independent contributor publishing via our business blogging program. HackerNoon has reviewed the report for quality, but the claims herein belong to the author. #DYOR Vested Interest Disclosure: This author is an independent contributor publishing via our business blogging program . HackerNoon has reviewed the report for quality, but the claims herein belong to the author. #DYOR Vested Interest Disclosure: business blogging program business blogging program

NikolAI Launches AI-Generated NFT Collection on TON Blockchain

Hello developers, let's talk about donations for a minute. Imagine a "hypothetical" world where the top 50% earners around the world donated only but just $1 monthly out of their annual income. Surprisingly, this small gesture could rake in a staggering $42 BILLION - money that could empower small NGOs to bring that "small" change that could bring about transformative change to people's lives across the globe. Yes, in the “hypothetical” world where this happens, there would be enough to meaningfully improve lives, reduce inequality, and address urgent needs. But, how did I come up with that number? Let's do the math together now, shall we? Who are the top 50% of earners? You may be thinking, “I’m not exactly wealthy, just an average person.” Well, the statistics would rather say otherwise. You might be surprised to learn that a lot of people do qualify as top earners by global standards. If you earn approximately $23,380 annually, you are already above the bottom half of the global income distribution -- alongside approximately 3.5 Billion others. This also means that almost half of the world's population is positioned to make a tangible impact on the other bottom half, even with very small contributions. How did the $42 Billion come about? Since we have now established some of the facts: There are approximately 3.5 BILLION people who are above the bottom half of the global income distribution which makes them 50% of the top earners around the world.
The top 50% earners on planet earth earn approximately $23,380 annually which can be said to be $1,948 per month. If each of these 3.5 billion people contributed just $1 per month which by the way is 0.0513% ($1/$1948 = x %100) of their monthly income -- the collective impact would be massive: 3.5 billion people × $1 × 12 months = $42 billion annually The need for Trustless Donation Platforms Currently, the charitable landscape is marred by significant trust issues between donors and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). High-profile scandals, like the cases of Oxfam and Kids Company, where funds raised through donations were misused and there were serious ethical breaches. Events like these have led to increased skepticism amongst potential donors, who fear their contributions would not be utilized as intended. According to the report on a study done by the World Economic Forum, trust in NGOs has rapidly declined due to bad perceptions that these organizations have become overly focused on fundraising at the expense of their core missions, further alienating the public they aim to serve. This rapid decline in trust is also further compounded by a lack of accountability and most importantly transparency in traditional donation methods. Since donors usually feel disconnected from the impact of their contributions they have doubts about whether their contributions are being put to good use. Studies have shown that if there is no transparent and clear information on the operational and performance models of NGOs, the public's confidence in them will reduce which directly impacts their funding and sustainability. The rise of these challenges further calls for solutions, like  -- trustless donation platforms. These are platforms that use blockchain technology to create transparent and immutable records of donations, ensuring that funds are tracked accurately and transparently between donors and NGOs. One such innovative solution is Rootstock, a platform that enhances Bitcoin's capabilities by enabling smart contracts and decentralized applications. By eliminating the need for middle-men and allowing direct oversight through smart contracts, trustless donation platforms built on Rootstock can rebuild confidence among donors. What is Rootstock? Rootstock is the first and longest-lasting sidechain for Bitcoin that represents a significant evolution of blockchain technology. Rootstock or RSK integrates Bitcoin's proof-of-work consensus with the dynamic capabilities of smart contracts that were originally popularized by Ethereum. This enhances Bitcoin's functionality and also opens a new world of possibilities for developers. By introducing smart contract functionality to the Bitcoin network, Rootstock allows developers to create decentralized applications (dApps) that can autonomously execute complex agreements. They were able to achieve this by using a forked version of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), known as the Rootstock Virtual Machine (RVM). This is great because now developers can leverage existing Ethereum tools and resources, making it easier to build and deploy dApps on Rootstock while also simultaneously leveraging Bitcoin security. In addition, Rootstock adds a programmable layer to Bitcoin by allowing faster creation times -- approximately every 30 seconds compared to Bitcoin's 10 minutes. Now that block generation is faster the execution of smart contracts has become more efficient enabling a great ecosystem of applications that can now easily interact with Bitcoin's infrastructure. The integration of features like the Powpeg — a trustless bridge that allows for the transfer of Bitcoin to and from Rootstock—further solidifies its role as a critical layer in the broader blockchain landscape. Designing a Trustless Donation System Architecture To build or design a system for a trustless donation system we have to bear in mind that the key feature of the system is to foster transparency and accountability in donations. As previously mentioned, as philanthropy evolves, so do the need for solutions that addresses the inherent trust issues between donors and organizations becomes evident. Multi-signature Wallets The foundation of this architecture is the use of multi-signature (multi-sig) wallets that require private keys to authorize transactions. This approach ensures that security is enhanced by distributing control among several parties, thereby reducing the risk of fraud or mismanagement of funds. For example, in a 2-of-3 multisig setup, at least two out of three designated signatories must approve any transaction, ensuring that no single individual has unilateral control over the funds. This unique approach not only safeguards assets but also ensures trust among donors who can be assured that their contributions are being managed responsibly. Smart Contracts In addition to multisig wallets, smart contracts play a very important role in managing the funds donated. Using solidity, you can design contracts that automate certain aspects of fund distribution, including setting donation limits and setting up voting systems for the distribution of funds. This level of flexibility allows responsiveness to the preferences of the donors, allowing a more democratic approach to how funds are managed. Smart contracts can ensure that certain conditions are met before funds are released to enhance accountability. Real-time tracking Another key aspect of this architecture is real-time tracking of funds. Integrating with the RSK block explorer, donors can monitor the flow of their contribution transparently. This is to further enhance transparency and allow donors to hold the NGOs accountable. Two-way Peg Finally, the technical security provided by RSK's two-way peg mechanism ensures trustlessness when converting Bitcoin (BTC) to Rootstock Bitcoin (RBTC) and vice versa. This system allows users to transfer their Bitcoin assets to the RSK platform while maintaining the integrity and security of their original holdings. The two-way peg ensures that each BTC on RSK is equivalent to an RBTC, directly reinforcing trust in the conversion process and enabling seamless interactions within the donation ecosystem. Conclusion: Future Applications and Expansion The benefits of a trustless platform could extend beyond just technological advancements; they could represent a fundamental shift in how donations are perceived and managed in the charitable sector. One of the main features or advantages of a trustless platform is its ability to provide security and transparency. By leveraging a range of Bitcoin's security features and Rootstock's smart contract features, donors can be assured that their contributions are safeguarded against fraud and mismanagement. Looking ahead, there are many ways to expand the platform’s functionality. For example, adding multi-currency support could attract a broader range of donors from different regions, enabling them to contribute using their preferred cryptocurrencies. More so, RSK-based DeFi features could be integrated into the platform to allow for financial products that can allow ending or yield generation from donations. In summary, the future applications and expansion of a trustless donation platform hold immense promise. By leveraging the power of Rootstock and Bitcoin, we can create a more secure, transparent, and trustworthy environment for charitable giving. Resources Rootstock Built for Bitcoin
Blockchain for Good
Sidechain and RSK
Rootstock Fundamental
Does Social Trust Influence Charitable Giving for NGOs?
Why is Trust in NGOs failing – World Economic Forum
What is Multisig and How does it work
Smart Bitcoin Hello developers, let's talk about donations for a minute. Imagine a " hypothetical " world where the top 50% earners around the world donated only but just $1 monthly out of their annual income. Surprisingly, this small gesture could rake in a staggering $42 BILLION - money that could empower small NGOs to bring that "small" change that could bring about transformative change to people's lives across the globe. Yes, in the “ hypothetical” world where this happens, there would be enough to meaningfully improve lives, reduce inequality, and address urgent needs. But, how did I come up with that number? Let's do the math together now, shall we? hypothetical hypothetical” Who are the top 50% of earners? You may be thinking, “I’m not exactly wealthy, just an average person.” Well, the statistics would rather say otherwise. You might be surprised to learn that a lot of people do qualify as top earners by global standards. If you earn approximately $23,380 annually , you are already above the bottom half of the global income distribution -- alongside approximately 3.5 Billion others. If you earn approximately $23,380 annually 3.5 Billion This also means that almost half of the world's population is positioned to make a tangible impact on the other bottom half, even with very small contributions. How did the $42 Billion come about? Since we have now established some of the facts: There are approximately 3.5 BILLION people who are above the bottom half of the global income distribution which makes them 50% of the top earners around the world. The top 50% earners on planet earth earn approximately $23,380 annually which can be said to be $1,948 per month. There are approximately 3.5 BILLION people who are above the bottom half of the global income distribution which makes them 50% of the top earners around the world. The top 50% earners on planet earth earn approximately $23,380 annually which can be said to be $1,948 per month. If each of these 3.5 billion people contributed just $1 per month which by the way is 0.0513% ($1/$1948 = x %100) of their monthly income -- the collective impact would be massive: 3.5 billion people × $1 × 12 months = $42 billion annually 3.5 billion people $1 12 months $42 billion annually The need for Trustless Donation Platforms Currently, the charitable landscape is marred by significant trust issues between donors and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). High-profile scandals, like the cases of Oxfam and Kids Company , where funds raised through donations were misused and there were serious ethical breaches. Events like these have led to increased skepticism amongst potential donors, who fear their contributions would not be utilized as intended. According to the report on a study done by the World Economic Forum , trust in NGOs has rapidly declined due to bad perceptions that these organizations have become overly focused on fundraising at the expense of their core missions, further alienating the public they aim to serve. Oxfam Kids Company a study done by the World Economic Forum This rapid decline in trust is also further compounded by a lack of accountability and most importantly transparency in traditional donation methods. Since donors usually feel disconnected from the impact of their contributions they have doubts about whether their contributions are being put to good use. Studies have shown that if there is no transparent and clear information on the operational and performance models of NGOs, the public's confidence in them will reduce which directly impacts their funding and sustainability. The rise of these challenges further calls for solutions, like  -- trustless donation platforms . These are platforms that use blockchain technology to create transparent and immutable records of donations, ensuring that funds are tracked accurately and transparently between donors and NGOs. One such innovative solution is Rootstock , a platform that enhances Bitcoin's capabilities by enabling smart contracts and decentralized applications. By eliminating the need for middle-men and allowing direct oversight through smart contracts, trustless donation platforms built on Rootstock can rebuild confidence among donors. trustless donation platforms Rootstock What is Rootstock? Rootstock is the first and longest-lasting sidechain for Bitcoin that represents a significant evolution of blockchain technology. Rootstock or RSK integrates Bitcoin's proof-of-work consensus with the dynamic capabilities of smart contracts that were originally popularized by Ethereum. This enhances Bitcoin's functionality and also opens a new world of possibilities for developers. Rootstock is the first and longest-lasting sidechain for Bitcoin By introducing smart contract functionality to the Bitcoin network, Rootstock allows developers to create decentralized applications (dApps) that can autonomously execute complex agreements. They were able to achieve this by using a forked version of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), known as the Rootstock Virtual Machine (RVM) . This is great because now developers can leverage existing Ethereum tools and resources, making it easier to build and deploy dApps on Rootstock while also simultaneously leveraging Bitcoin security. Rootstock Virtual Machine (RVM) In addition, Rootstock adds a programmable layer to Bitcoin by allowing faster creation times -- approximately every 30 seconds compared to Bitcoin's 10 minutes. Now that block generation is faster the execution of smart contracts has become more efficient enabling a great ecosystem of applications that can now easily interact with Bitcoin's infrastructure. The integration of features like the Powpeg — a trustless bridge that allows for the transfer of Bitcoin to and from Rootstock—further solidifies its role as a critical layer in the broader blockchain landscape. Rootstock adds a programmable layer to Bitcoin by allowing faster creation times -- approximately every 30 seconds compared to Bitcoin's 10 minutes. Designing a Trustless Donation System Architecture To build or design a system for a trustless donation system we have to bear in mind that the key feature of the system is to foster transparency and accountability in donations. As previously mentioned, as philanthropy evolves, so do the need for solutions that addresses the inherent trust issues between donors and organizations becomes evident. trustless Multi-signature Wallets The foundation of this architecture is the use of multi-signature (multi-sig) wallets that require private keys to authorize transactions. This approach ensures that security is enhanced by distributing control among several parties, thereby reducing the risk of fraud or mismanagement of funds. For example, in a 2-of-3 multisig setup, at least two out of three designated signatories must approve any transaction, ensuring that no single individual has unilateral control over the funds. This unique approach not only safeguards assets but also ensures trust among donors who can be assured that their contributions are being managed responsibly. multi-signature (multi-sig) wallets Smart Contracts In addition to multisig wallets, smart contracts play a very important role in managing the funds donated. Using solidity, you can design contracts that automate certain aspects of fund distribution, including setting donation limits and setting up voting systems for the distribution of funds. This level of flexibility allows responsiveness to the preferences of the donors, allowing a more democratic approach to how funds are managed. Smart contracts can ensure that certain conditions are met before funds are released to enhance accountability. Real-time tracking Another key aspect of this architecture is real-time tracking of funds . Integrating with the RSK block explorer, donors can monitor the flow of their contribution transparently. This is to further enhance transparency and allow donors to hold the NGOs accountable. real-time tracking of funds Two-way Peg Finally, the technical security provided by RSK's two-way peg mechanism ensures trustlessness when converting Bitcoin (BTC) to Rootstock Bitcoin (RBTC) and vice versa. This system allows users to transfer their Bitcoin assets to the RSK platform while maintaining the integrity and security of their original holdings. The two-way peg ensures that each BTC on RSK is equivalent to an RBTC, directly reinforcing trust in the conversion process and enabling seamless interactions within the donation ecosystem. Conclusion: Future Applications and Expansion The benefits of a trustless platform could extend beyond just technological advancements; they could represent a fundamental shift in how donations are perceived and managed in the charitable sector. One of the main features or advantages of a trustless platform is its ability to provide security and transparency. By leveraging a range of Bitcoin's security features and Rootstock's smart contract features, donors can be assured that their contributions are safeguarded against fraud and mismanagement. Looking ahead, there are many ways to expand the platform’s functionality. For example, adding multi-currency support could attract a broader range of donors from different regions, enabling them to contribute using their preferred cryptocurrencies. More so, RSK-based DeFi features could be integrated into the platform to allow for financial products that can allow ending or yield generation from donations. In summary, the future applications and expansion of a trustless donation platform hold immense promise. By leveraging the power of Rootstock and Bitcoin, we can create a more secure, transparent, and trustworthy environment for charitable giving. Resources Rootstock Built for Bitcoin Blockchain for Good Sidechain and RSK Rootstock Fundamental Does Social Trust Influence Charitable Giving for NGOs? Why is Trust in NGOs failing – World Economic Forum What is Multisig and How does it work Smart Bitcoin Rootstock Built for Bitcoin Rootstock Built for Bitcoin Blockchain for Good Blockchain for Good Sidechain and RSK Sidechain and RSK Rootstock Fundamental Rootstock Fundamental Does Social Trust Influence Charitable Giving for NGOs? Does Social Trust Influence Charitable Giving for NGOs? Why is Trust in NGOs failing – World Economic Forum Why is Trust in NGOs failing – World Economic Forum What is Multisig and How does it work What is Multisig and How does it work Smart Bitcoin Smart Bitcoin

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