Welcome to Hacker Noon Good-Company Interview Series! See all other Interviews here.
HackerNoon Reporter: Please tell us briefly about your background.
Jeremy has 20+ years of experience in financial planning, stock selection, portfolio construction and macroeconomics. An avid futurist and economist, he famously predicted the 1999 Tech Wreck, the 9/11/2001 crash, the 2008 GFC and the 2020 crash; sometimes six months or two years in advance.
Jennifer is a corporate governance specialist, with 20+ years in corporate law, business structures, regulation, legislation and ESG. She grew her business and became Australia’s first NASDAQ partner during the pandemic, whilst other companies were shrinking.
What's your company called? And in a sentence or two, what does it do?
BostonCoin is the world’s first “coin of coins” and the world’s first diversified cryptocurrency fund. We “take the bite out of Bitcoin” using strategic diversification and the proprietary “COIN” protocol. This makes it easier and safer for investors to get into crypto.
What is the origin story?
When we first started in 2015/2016, crypto was very complex. It was hard to get a wallet, it was hard to find good information, and almost impossible for the average investor to create a balanced or diversified portfolio. There were no managed funds/mutual funds, SMA’s or IMA’s for crypto, so we decided to create the world’s first diversified crypto fund. As we are tech-boffins and not marketers, we struggled to come up with a name. Then the Boston Terrier walked into the room, and behold: we had a name and an adorable logo.
What do you love about your team?
We have a team of very passionate people who love to assist others, and all of us are on a mission to bring crypto ownership to the masses. Our team is spread across different countries and cultures, but our underlying culture is of service.
If you weren’t working at your company, what would you be doing?
Jeremy: If I wasn’t being paid to do this, I would still be helping people to get into crypto. Financial education has been a passion for decades. I have devoted decades of my life and two books (so far) to the cause. If I live as long as Martin Weiss (he’s 74) then I will be still living the mission of “Abundance through Education”, just as he does.
At the moment, how do you measure success? What are your core metrics?
Are we happy? Are we having fun? Are we helping others? Are we profitable? Two out of three is OK, three is better, four is ideal.
What’s most exciting about your company traction to date?
We have faced many regulatory challenges as we were first to market, and there were no rules around what we do. Broad-based bans on crypto ads on all social media sites made it difficult for us to advertise. We have been running for six years on word of mouth and growing well.
What technologies are you currently most excited about, and most worried about? And why?
Decentralisation is very exciting, as we have been to countries where the internet is censored, or the money supply is tightly controlled. Most people in free societies do not comprehend the magnitude of having information systems and financial systems that cannot be throttled by governments. DeFi and DAO’s will transform the world in a way that has been previously impossible.
Artificial intelligence may be a concern in the future. We are not concerned that robots with 900 IQ’s will take over the world; it’s more of a worry that robots with IQ’s of 74 will all become telemarketers, scammers, and so on. The Terminator is not as scary as the rise of the Scambot.
What drew you to get published on HackerNoon? What do you like most about our platform?
HackerNoon is up to the minute, innovative, and often irreverent. As we share the same qualities, it was naturally a match.
What advice would you give to the 21-year-old version of yourself?
Take big chances. Fail often, learn fast. Keep moving forward.
What is something surprising you've learned this year that your contemporaries would benefit from knowing?
Jeremy: As a reformed day trader of both stocks and crypto, I would like a lot of people to know this: It is possible to make greater gains with less stress by investing wisely.
Step One: Buy well.
Step Two: Hold like hell.
Step Three: Diversify and Rebalance.