conversations

Jan 15 2021

High-tech Babel fish: How the Timekettle WT2 Edge Translator breaks language barriers

Normal conversations are energetic and messy. You and your friends might talk over each other, interrupting each other with new ideas and clarifying questions. Which means that if you and your friend don’t speak the same language, a traditional translator would slow down your conversation to the speed of a walkie-talkie. Helpful, but not exactly a replacement for a fluid chat.

The Timekettle WT2 Edge is the first in-ear translator that preserves the nuances and flow of a natural conversation. The WT2 Edge are bi-directional simultaneous translation earbuds that translate in real-time as you speak and listen, delivering what you said to your listener’s ear in as little as 0.5 seconds with up to 95% accuracy in 40 languages and 93 accents.

We sat down with the Timekettle team to learn more about how they made a working Babel fish and how they hope to foster more connections worldwide by breaking down language barriers.

Who are the team members of your project? What’s their story?

Timekettle was founded in 2016 by Leal Tian, who was named to the Forbes China 2018 30 Under 30 list. Over the past four years, the Timekettle team has acquired a number of rising stars: Doctor Liang Tian, who works in neural machine translation; Wei Shiei, one of the leading experts in the vector voice algorithm field; Yuman Wang, a software and hardware architect with over a decade of experience; and Alex Qin, a serial entrepreneur who has generated millions of dollars with his business successes. Timekettle has become an open and international start-up, and our staff includes specialists from Japan, the United States, France, and more.

How did it all begin?

We knew we could make a handheld translator faster than an in-ear style, but we believe the cross-language conversation is more than the translation itself. A face-to-face conversation involves exploring and enhancing a relationship from start to finish, and we knew that our design would determine whether our translator would push the conversation forward or hold it back. The in-ear translator seemed to be the best way to achieve our goals, but we lacked a technical solution to make the concept a reality. We re-rooted codes and architected the software and hardware. We spent more than one million dollars and worked on it for a year and a half, but we still failed. We thought about abandoning the in-ear concept and reverting to a handheld translator instead, but we believed in designing a product that made the conversation so natural, it was like the translator wasn’t there at all.

We were lucky: We broke through our technical bottleneck and created a wearable, in-ear translator in 2018. Timekettle WT2 series Translator earbuds are still the best experience translator in the world. We appreciate the backers who supported Timekettle’s product idea, and media outlets like Techcrunch who introduced our idea to the world. They inspire us to feel what we’re doing is worthy. We’re excited to help people break the language barrier in a new way.

How did backer feedback help you make this latest version of your earbuds?

Over the past year, more than 100,000 backers and users from 89 countries and regions have used the WT2 Plus Translator. We received thousands of emails with feedback on the product that helped us design new features. We’ve created a more intelligent voice pick-up capacity, and we also released a feature that allows people to chime in while the other person is still speaking. With other translators, speakers have to wait their turn to talk, but that isn’t how a real conversation happens. Simultaneous Mode lets people speak more naturally. It also enables people to use the Translator in places where there might be a lot of background noise, like streets, restaurants, shopping malls, and more. We’re excited to showcase these features with our new model, WT2 Edge.

Can you briefly explain what your product is?

Timekettle WT2 Edge Translator Earbuds are the world’s first two-way translation earbuds, meaning you can speak and hear other people’s translations at the same time. The vector noise reduction and bi-directional simultaneous translation make our earbuds different from other existing translators. The WT2 Edge effectively prevents interruption from the external environment and improves translation accuracy significantly to give you a natural and fluent conversation with your friends around the world.

What are you raising funds for? What is the purpose of your campaign?

It takes years to transform our ideas into a final product. Indiegogo is a global platform for innovative products from all over the world where we can receive feedback from backers around the world. Crowdfunding for the product allows us to continuously update the hardware and improve the software to bring our customers a refined user experience.

What inspired you to make your product?

Our team was inspired by the Babel fish in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The Babel fish is small, yellow, and leech-like, and probably the oddest thing in the universe. When the main character, Arthur Dent, puts it into his ear, it translates the universe’s languages for him and allows him to finish his exploration of the galaxy.

We wanted to make a real-life Babel fish — something that made communication between people who speak different languages as easy as it was for Arthur Dent. We believe that communication is connection. Translation is about more than words: It’s expression, eye contact, and body language. The WT2 Edge expands on its predecessors to make connections even easier.

Why did you choose to do crowdfunding?

Language barriers have divided human beings for thousands of years. For most people, language translation is very expensive. Plus, it’s difficult to find a good interpreter. And learning a new language yourself is time-consuming and hard to do well.

In 2016, artificial intelligence technology was growing fast and neural machine translations were already being used in travel, social networks, business communications, and more. However, very few people were paying attention to the industry back then, and they didn’t realize that this new technology could be turned into a wearable device and bring consumers a cost-effective translation experience. We knew we wanted to launch our Translators through crowdfunding to find our early adopters.

Crowdfunding backers are engaged and supportive. They’re passionate about sharing their ideas for how to optimize products, and passionate about telling their friends and family about a product they backed. Through crowdfunding, we build the Timekttle brand together with our backers.

What have been your biggest challenges so far?

2020 was an unstable year, and the pandemic has restricted most of our international travel. Timekettle is also a startup, and as a new company, our staff’s time is limited. While some companies were spending 2020 changing directions and putting their efforts into new businesses, our team was working hard to improve our translating system to create an accurate and stable technology that encompasses multi-lingual support. We believe in our mission because of the encouragement, love, and anticipation that we see in our backers all over the world. We made our Translators because we believe that language barriers should be overcome.

Want to support Timekettle? Check out their campaign page to back their campaign today!

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Dec 14 2020

A Day in the Life of Michelle Fno, Founder of Aromeo Diffuser

Running your own business is no easy feat. It takes a healthy dose of passion, discipline, and commitment. Ever wonder what a day in the life of a small business owner and founder is like? We’re here to give you a glimpse!

This week, we’re talking with Michelle Fno, the founder and CEO of Aroma Diffuser, the only sleep aid and stress reliever in the world that uses the combined power aroma, light, and sound therapy. Michelle is running an Indiegogo campaign to bring the Aromeo to an international audience.

But enough with exposition — here are the details of a typical day for Michelle, and as well as a brief Q&A to get to know her better and get inspired!

6 A.M. I wake up just before the sun rises so that I can catch sunrise. I love the tranquility that sunrise gives me, and it really sets the tone for the day.

7 A.M. ‘Me time’, which includes meditation and mindful drinking of warm green tea with some writing.

8 A.M. Mindful walking. Workout at the gym near the office. Mindful eating.

9 A.M. Plan my thoughts about key issues at work. I do this either by writing on the whiteboard or in my journal.

10 A.M. Daily scrum meeting with the team. Each of us talks about the status of what we have been doing, and what we plan to do for the day.

11 A.M. Check product development status and sales status.

12 P.M. Team lunch. It’s part of our company culture to share a meal together and have some warm conversations about what’s been going on in our lives, what new hobbies we’re picking up, or cool ideas we want to try.

1 P.M. Answer emails, engage with backers and followers on social media.

2 P.M – 6 P.M. Focus sessions: each session is centered on one topic at a time with different team members. For example, industrial design focus session, or customer experience focus session.

Aromeo aims to boost productivity through the power of aromatherapy.

7 P.M. Wrap up work, update status and jot down to-dos for the next day.

8 P.M. Travel back home, mindful cooking. Mindful eating the nutritious meal I prepared for myself.

9 P.M. Call home and self-care (read: skincare) time 😉

10 P.M. Get ready for bed, ending the day with a total body relaxation and light reading.

Michelle shows off the Aromeo Diffuser at a trade show earlier this year.

Now that you’ve gotten a glimpse of what her day is like, get more inspiration in our exclusive Q&A with Michelle Fno below!

INDIEGOGO: How and why did you become an entrepreneur? Was it something you always intended for yourself?

MICHELLE FNO: I grew up in a plastics factory that my grandmother built from scratch; she was an immigrant child who grew up trading scrap plastics, and she created a plastics factory to provide a livelihood for her community. As a kid I looked at how the factory created many products that end up creating value to the customers, and how the workers would come every Saturday, collecting their week’s pay and sharing stories about what’s happening in their lives. This is why I want to become an entrepreneur, because I believe an entrepreneur can really make an impact in this world – by creating better products that create value in the society, and by providing livelihood and a sense of community for its stakeholders.

INDIEGOGO: What makes your Indiegogo project unique?

MICHELLE: Aromeo Sense is unique because it’s the only sleep aid and stress buster in the world that uses aroma, light, and sound therapy. In 2015, I struggled with anxiety and chronic stress. Through natural therapy, I discovered my peace and became a stronger person. Now, I want others to be happier and healthier too, especially in this challenging time. From this, the concept of Aromeo Sense was born. Our team designed this device to have aroma, light, and sound therapy because our sense of smell, vision, and hearing are the main instruments that we use to gather information about the world around us. By affecting these faculties, we can shift our mood into a more desirable state, and promote better sleep.

INDIEGOGO: What’s your biggest piece of advice for women who want to start their own business?

MICHELLE: If you have decided to start a business, then do it as early as possible. Because your business and skills need time to grow. Doing it early will give more time for you to grow a fan base, develop your intuition, and learn from the parts that you may be lacking.

INDIEGOGO: What tools (gadgets, apps, books, podcasts) would you recommend to anyone starting their own business, crowdfunding campaign, or project?

MICHELLE: Gadgets – Aromeo Sense to manage my time and make sure I do one thing at a time and dedicate 100% of my focus onto it.

Apps – For work I use Slack (team communication), Notion (task management), Figma (design), and of course Zoom. For meditation I use the Calm app, and I think it would be cool to integrate it with Aromeo Sense. For writing I use the Bear app.

Books – For work: The Lean Startup by Eric Ries, Sprint by Jake Knapp. For life: You Are Here by Thich Nhat Hanh, What I Know For Sure by Oprah Winfrey.

INDIEGOGO: What’s your favorite Indiegogo campaign, or a campaign you’ve recently supported?

MICHELLE: NeoRhythm – I think it’s a great idea to control your mood using a headband. I think it could be used together with Aromeo Sense for a synergy effect – Aromeo Sense can provide the multi-sensory stimuli using aroma, light and sound, while NeoRhythm can provide stimulation through vibrations.

Form and function blend seamlessly in the Aromeo Diffuser.

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Nov 16 2020

Seeing Color in a New Light: A Q&A with Katie Engelking and Marley Olivera

There’s no easy way to talk about race in America. Many people simply opt out of the conversation as a result. But how can things change if no one is willing to acknowledge that inequities exist?

Educators Marley Olivera and Katie Engelking are tackling this issue head-on with their project Seeing Color, Acknowledging Differences, a pair of complementary children’s books aimed at bringing conversations about race into schools.

We recently caught up with Marley and Katie to hear about their experiences writing the books, the challenges of teaching in Chicago, and how to best encourage conversations about race in America. Here’s what we found out.

What’s your founding story? How did it all start?

Katie: For me, the journey began when I was finishing up my Masters this year. I was doing a program at the University of Illinois to become a principal, and a lot of my studies centered on equity and leadership. As I did my reading about equity, I kind of found myself doing a few double takes as a white person. I found myself constantly learning or reflecting on what I learned growing up, and I began realizing that we didn’t really talk about race. It just wasn’t a topic of conversation, nor was it talked about at school.

You learn that you’re supposed to be color blind — we’re all human, let’s hold hands, we’re all the same. And of course we are all the same on many levels, but in the real world it’s just not how it works. So I began really digging into the reading.

Then I thought to myself, Marley and I are super close and we had these kinds of conversations when we were teaching together in Chicago. And so I said, Marley, what do you say we join the conversation? I think the two of us together could do something really meaningful. If people are reading something that was written by people of different races and coming together to think about where we could do more learning, then something could come of this. It could help teachers have discussions in the classroom. We could help parents at home. It could help businesses in professional development settings. A lot of parents and adults in general just don’t know how to talk about race. And we can start with making sure everyone knows you can and should see color and you can and should acknowledge differences.

Marley, where does the story start for you?

Marley: For me, it starts even further back. Like Katie said, we’ve been friends for a long time, starting off as teachers many years ago. And at the time we started teaching in Chicago, a lot of things were happening in the city of Chicago. You had the murder of Laquan McDonald and a lot of similar issues of police violence happening around the country. And of course, students brought these issues into the classroom. We spent lunches talking about these events so that we both could better understand the community where we were and the students that we were serving. It built an atmosphere of trust between us. What’s what all of that stemmed from.

Even as a Black woman talking to my Black students about certain things, sometimes it’s hard to use the right verbiage. It made me feel vulnerable in a way. So having both perspectives, mine and Katie’s, has helped create a lot of balance along the way.

It’s clear, so nothing can be misconstrued as well.

*I See Color, I See You* follows Lincoln, who learns that his Black friends sometimes have different experiences from him.

Could you tell us about your project, Seeing Color?

Katie: Seeing Color is two books, representing two different perspectives around race and equity. They’re children’s books, so they’re relatable for children, but also for the parents and teachers who’ll be reading them to children.

The first one is called I See Color, I See You. It’s about learning to be okay with acknowledging the different races around you. It starts with a kid saying to a classmate, I don’t care that you’re Black — that doesn’t mean anything to me. And he thinks he’s doing the right thing by saying that. And really what he does is upset this other student because being Black is an important part of his identity.

Along the way, you learn that your Black friends are different from you because they have different experiences from you. And maybe as you get older, you understand why, because of the history of this country and the systems of racism that exist. Part of the book is also a dad acknowledging to his son that he has a lot of learning to do too.

What’s the second book about?

Marley: It’s called Do You See Color, Do You See Me? It centers around a young Black girl, McKinley, who understands who she is as a young Black girl in America. She understands she’s Black, but she also understands that she’s much more than that, that she’s talented, that she’s smart, that she’s outspoken.

And she’s at this point where she’s trying to do something and other people’s ideas of what a person like her should be doing. They put a limit on her. She’s taken aback. She begins to question herself.

But through talking to her parents, she starts to understand that it’s okay for her to say she’s talented. She can do these things not just because she’s talented, not in spite of being Black, but because she’s damn good at them.

A lot of times people like to pigeonhole Black girls, consciously or unconsciously. And in this story, McKinley overcomes this. She becomes the person she wants to be.

*Do You See Color, Do You See Me?* is about McKinley, a young Black girl who overcomes the expectations of those around her.

How much does personal experience inform these stories, both as white and Black women, and as teachers?

Marley: Do You See Color, Do You See Me? is deeply personal for me. I’ve seen it as a teacher, and I’ve seen it as a Black woman. If a Black girl expresses herself a particular way, the response that she gets from adults can be completely different from the reactions other girls get.

It’s about planting that seed really early for young girls that they don’t need to conform or change themselves in order to be palatable to others. And as a teacher, I know that teachers and other adults are the ones who are stifling them from the beginning, most of the time without even realizing it. So I’ve seen it on both ends.

How did you come up with the idea of addressing multiple audiences?

Katie: We knew that some of these ideas might be a little bit difficult for a child. They’re going to have trouble grasping some of the concepts in there. So we intentionally wanted to emphasize the fact that a parent should follow up with their child about these ideas. But they need to understand the ideas themselves first. We purposely embedded social and emotional moments into the story to show that our adult characters in the books are still learning. They’re a little uncomfortable at times, but it’s okay. They realize, “I’m learning, and that means I’m growing.”

So you’ve just surpassed your $20,000 goal. Congratulations! What will your fund be going towards?

Katie: A lot of it will be going to the publishing process and to our illustrator. The self-publishing process has a printing minimum, and eventually we want to give back and and start distributing these books to schools throughout the Chicago public school district, and hopefully beyond. We have so many friends that are working in other schools, and we plan to print as many as we can to get it in as many hands as possible.

Where will we be able to get this book once it’s published?

Katie: We’re publishing through BookBaby, which has print-on-demand distribution. You’ll be able to visit our page on Bookshop and not only purchase our books, but books we love from other authors and have placed in our shop. Through print-on-demand our books will be available on online stores like Amazon, Barnes and Noble or wholesale book networks. We will have information on our social media accounts once the books are ready for purchase. People can also visit our website theracetounderstand.com for updates!

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

Marley: I want to share that this is not a time to shy away from these types of conversations. More than ever, we need to have these conversations. And the earlier that we can start to have these conversations with our kiddos, the better off we’re going to be in our subsequent years.

These conversations only get more uncomfortable the longer that we decide not to have them. And no matter what community you come from, you have to be well aware of how to address these various situations. As a Black woman, I have to be aware of how to address the situation. As someone who is white, Katie has to be aware of how to address the situation. It’s not just the one or the other. It’s everyone having to come together and do the legwork.

Katie: I would definitely say do not be afraid to pick up a book that pushes you outside of your comfort zone. Do not be afraid to have White Fragility in your hand on a plane, for example. Do not be afraid to give your money to a cause you believe in even if others aren’t there yet.

Final question: What are a few books that everyone should read to better understand the topic?

Katie: Definitely White Fragility. It’s a great book for understanding that when you’re doing this kind of learning, people around you are going to receive it differently. You’re going to be uncomfortable, and that’s okay. It’s part of the process.

How to Be Anti-Racist is another good one. It has similar lessons and shares how to put them into action.

Marley: I love Stamped from the Beginning by Ibrahim X. Kendi. There are two versions of it. There’s the adult version, and there’s a kid version of it. I also like Nic Stone’s Dear Martin. It pulls a lot of different issues that teenagers may be facing how a student navigates between those different inequities. It helps open up the conversation early, and that’s so crucial in bringing people together.

To support Seeing Color – Acknowledging Differences, check out the campaign page here.

Want to explore some other great crowdfunding campaigns? Check out some of our current favorites.

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Oct 15 2020

On Love, Obsession, and Stephen King: A Q&A with Filmmaker Julia Marchese

At what point does love become obsession? Julia Marchese, filmmaker and Stephen King devotee, thinks it’s a matter of perspective.

Her latest project, a film adaptation of King’s classic “I Know What You Need,” tells the tale of infatuation-turned-obsession and explores what happens when love is only in the eye of the beholder.

We sat down with her to discuss her project, her narrative process, and her love for Stephen King. (Or is it an obsession…?)

Here’s what we found out.

Where does your Stephen King journey begin?

It all began in junior high for me. I read It, Pet Sematary, and Carrie all back to back when I was about eleven years old, and I absolutely fell in love with Stephen King.

Pet Sematary, both the book and the movie, were the ones that completely sucked me into the whole world. And before that, I hadn’t really liked horror movies. It was my gateway into it. And now, horror movies are kind of my life. I have a podcast called Horror Movie Survival Guide. I pretty much breathe horror movies now, which I absolutely love. So this has been a big part of my life since I was a kid. And Stephen King has been my favorite author since then.

So have you read everything by Stephen King?

Well, I’ve read almost all of his books and stories, which there are a lot of, but I realized about two and a half years ago that I hadn’t read his Dark Tower series, which is his big masterwork. I started to read it, and I didn’t want it to end. He has over 40 novels or short stories that are connected to the Dark Tower series through different characters or different situations or different towns.

So I’ve been going through and reading all of those books that are connected. It’s this giant multiverse and a grand literary puzzle where everything is connected. But the cool thing is that you don’t know how connected until you start reading more and more, then the Dark Tower brings them all together. And I’m still doing it. It’s been two and a half years. I’m having the time of my life. And when that’s done, I’ll read the Dark Tower series again.

How did Stephen King’s Dark Tower series inspire your film?

My Dark Tower journey led me to my favorite Stephen King short story of all time, which is called “I Know What You Need.” It’s about a college girl who meets an odd boy in the library one night, and his first words to her are, “I know what you need.” And he does. And so it’s this love story, but a Stephen King love story.

And I loved it so much that I thought, well, when not ask for the film rights? So I did. And they said, yes.

*I Know What You Need* will adapt Stephen King’s classic tale of infatuation-turned-obsession.

Just like that they gave you the film rights? That’s incredible.

It’s part of Stephen King’s Dollar Baby program where you can buy the rights to certain short stories of his for a dollar, and the contract lasts for one year. The film has to be 45 minutes or less, stay nonprofit and non-broadcast. So you can’t sell the film, or show it online or streaming, but it can be shown at film festivals and private screenings. And you have the honor of adapting a Stephen King short story. The coolest part is that the contract says you have to send a copy of the finished film to Stephen King himself to watch.

He’s been doing this program for over 40 years. It’s basically his idea of seeing how other people see his work. He’s still interested after all these years to see how other people envision his work, because obviously, even though everybody is reading the same story, everybody’s version of that story is different in their own mind. So I think that it’s amazing that he sells rights to his stories for a dollar and wants to see all of the films that come from that.

Did you have to submit a lengthy application for the film rights?

It actually was really easy. If you go to his official website, there’s a Dollar Baby tab. You click on it and it shows you the short stories that are available. There’s a contact form right there that you can just email. That’s it.

I think that’s the thing, that people just don’t ask. I feel like in life you get what you have the courage to ask for. This is the perfect example.

The idea for me, as a constant reader, to be able to adapt my very favorite short story by my very favorite author is mind blowing.

What’s your vision for the adaptation?

I am setting this film when the short story was first published, which is in 1976. It was first published in Cosmopolitan magazine and then was added to Stephen King’s Night Shift collection of stories in 1978.

It’s important for narrative reasons to keep it in the 1970s. If the internet existed, the story couldn’t really work, or it would have to be drastically changed. That’s something that I feel very strongly about. I want to keep as close to his story as possible. So it’s going to be very 1970s, which I think will be cool.

As for the story, I really am going for the love story aspect. Of course, as you can guess, a Stephen King love story is going to get creepy. I want to lean into it because we have a main character who walks this very interesting line between love and obsession depending on how you look at it.

When you look at love and obsession from different perspectives, it looks different. And so I’m going to play with that. And I really want the camera work to look as 1970s as possible. In fact, if we get to our stretch goal, we’ll be able to shoot on film, which I would really love to as a big film nerd. To film this on 16mm would be incredible and add even more to the 70s aesthetic. And when things start to go weird, I want to really lean into that as well with a lot of distortion and fisheye lenses. I have to get to a Stephen King level.

Also filmmaking in the 1970s was at a much slower pace. You had slower scenes and longer conversations and longer takes. And that’s something that I’m going to explore as well. I’m not afraid to slow it down a bit and let it really build.

Your funding goal is $53,019. That’s an oddly specific number.

The magic number… the magic number… If you’re a Stephen King junkie, you’ll know the 19 is important. I’ll just leave it at that.

What will the funds go toward?

The first thing is getting everything era-appropriate. So we’re going to need vintage clothes. There are also going to be two vintage cars for the shoot.

Next, the core crew will come from California and be flown out to Maine. We’re going to do an East Coast cast and crew and have them come up to Maine. It’ll be shot in the summer of 2021, so hopefully the pandemic situation will be a little calmer by then. And it’s also a small crew and a small cast, but we’ll have to account for health and safety.

But most of all, I want to show how gorgeous Maine is. The University of Maine has agreed to let us shoot on location at the campus, which is where the story takes place, which will be incredible.

I really want to lean into my own narrative style, because although it’s a Stephen King film, it’s a Stephen King film through my eyes. And even though the story has a female protagonist, it’s written by a male author. Now it’s going to be adapted by a female director. So it’ll be cool to see how it comes back around and how it alters the story.

How’s it been working with the backer community?

Everybody has been great. Stephen King fans are pretty enthusiastic, so they’ve been a big part of the support for this campaign so far. There’s also a big Dollar Baby filmmaker community, and everybody kind of supports each other. They’ve been very helpful as well. I’ve been on some podcasts, and I was even on Stephen King’s own radio station in Bangor, Maine called Dead Zone Radio, WZON. I was on that earlier this week, which blew my mind.

Where can we see the film when it’s done?

Backing the campaign is the only way you’re guaranteed to see the film. When you back the campaign, you’ll be sent a private live stream link. We’ll do a few live streams in different time zones. And then it will do a film festival run, which will be open to anyone in attendance. We can probably live stream a couple of those screenings as well. If it’s something that you’re really passionate about, and you really want to see the results, you’ll have to back the campaign to be able to see it.

And that’s what’s so cool about the Dollar Baby project. There have been hundreds of Dollar Baby shorts over the years, and it’s kind of this underground network of content. You have to be an insider to know what’s coming. And this is a chance for that.

Anything else you’d like to share with potential backers?

Please share the campaign! I think that that’s the most helpful thing. Of course, donating is fantastic. But donating AND spreading the word is even better! It’s so crucial for a crowdfunding campaign to get the network effect going.

Also, I’d like to tell my backers to follow their passions. This is my passion. 2020 has been a pretty grim year, but my passion has given me something to look forward to next year. Even though I’m living alone and it’s a pandemic, and the future is uncertain, this project has made 2020 a little rosier.

Oh, and how can I forget? Read Stephen King! He’s the absolute best. So do yourself a favor and read his books and short stories. You’ll thank me later.

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Want to support I Know What You Need? Check out the campaign page here!

Follow Julia Marchese on her Twitter, Facebook & Instagram accounts.

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Sep 22 2020

It is ignorant not to embrace crypto at this time, says Binance U.S. CEO

Chief Executive Officer of crypto exchange Binance US branch, Catherine Coley, explained that businesses who adopt cryptocurrency may find it easier going forward in this pandemic period.

During an interview with Tracy Alloway and Joe Weisenthal on Bloomberg, she said cryptocurrencies can offer “uses beyond speculation” as investors can apply cryptocurrencies in real-world scenarios like driving new businesses and engaging in e-commerce transactions. She pointed out that startups that do not think about integrating digital assets into their systems will be ignorantly going about their business, particularly in the precarious period.

She also revealed that firms should learn a lot of lessons from cryptocurrency, as it has made conversations about money more accessible to professionals in the mainstream sector as well as more digestible for everyone. She also said crypto has made a lot of people stay off the streets, including her. There are loads of benefits to gain from the cryptocurrency and its industry. Although it is still underestimated, cryptocurrency has a huge role to play in the mainstream finance sector, she pointed out.

Coley has been serving as the chief executive officer of Binance US since last year. In August the exchange revealed that it has been granted full regulatory permissions to expand operations to Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. With the new legislation, the crypto exchange can make it easier for all crypto traders to enter the U.S. market by next year.

Bridging the gap between fiat and cryptocurrencies

Many market observers are taking Coley’s stance on the benefits of cryptocurrencies in the traditional finance market. The development of digital technology is moving at a high pace, prompting some crypto experts to believe cryptocurrency will become highly relevant in finance in the next few years. This is because there are several positive signs of transactions involving cryptocurrencies that are not seen with the Fiat currency. Apart from transaction efficiency, there is another benefit that cryptocurrencies will usher in more financial participation for everyone.

Coley is bemused that some companies are still skeptical about integrating cryptocurrencies into their platform even after seeing the immediate and future benefits of digital currencies.

Fintech companies should tap into cryptocurrency growth

The fintech project started some decades ago when the first credit payment credit card rolled out its services. And the invention of self-service devices, ATMs, and banks started moving the financial industry forward.

The financial sector has been affected by a series of innovations at different stages. Right now, cryptocurrency and Bitcoin is the rave of the moment. While some fintech firms are trying to work their way to integrate the digital currency, others are still backing out, fearing regulation concerns.

People lost confidence in the classical financial system after the 2008 global financial crises. Coincidentally, digital currencies were introduced at that period, which is quite different from the Fiat currency. Several experts have predicted that fintech companies who will take advantage of the present benefits of the cryptocurrency will reap the reward in the future, as the world changes its financial and monetary course.

It is ignorant not to embrace crypto at this time, says Binance U.S. CEO

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