Biz Builder Mike

You can't sail Today's boat on Yesterdays wind - Michael Noel

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Move over DOGE as Tiger King star launches CAT

Dogecoin’s status as the top memecoin may be (but almost certainly isn’t) under threat following the news that controversial Tiger King star Carole Baskin has launched her CAT coin.

In a blog post via Baskin’s non-profit Big Cat Rescue on May 4, she revealed her social token had been launched on Rally, an open network that enables creators to launch their own coins on the Ethereum blockchain. However, she emphasized her coin is not an investment tool, it’s actually a terrible pun:

“Our new $CAT coin is not a currency for investment, but rather is a purr-ency of our fans to show their love for the cats and to reap the benefits of being our most forward-thinking partners in creating a world where all wild cats live free.”

However Baskin’s interest in cryptocurrency seems to have some basis to it, with the reality TV star explaining she had concerns surrounding money printing fueled inflation and that: “I like the idea of putting the power of money in the hands of the people, rather than banks and governments.”

Despite her newfound bullishness, Baskin appears to have misunderstood the different attributes of Bitcoin versus many altcoins as she said: “At this point, both the USD and Bitcoin are fiat currencies, but at least Bitcoin and other altcoins have scarcity built in and now there is much more broad adoption of them in our everyday lives.”

Baskin’s CAT currently has 123,600 coins in circulation and is sitting at a price of $8.20 per coin. Since launch, $CAT has seen 492 transactions, with a total USD support volume of $206,000.

Holders of CAT will be eligible for rewards such as “elite access to LIVE walkabouts and conversations with Carole Baskin and her crew of big cat lovers and keepers, discounts and first access to new merchandise and activities.”

Baskin has teased future plans for the CAT community, which include shared access to big cat metaverse world called ARzoo, a virtual reality collectible game called Big Cat Rescue VR and a new set of unspecified, but presumably cat-centric NFTs set to drop in two weeks.

This is not Carole Baskin’s first move in crypto. In April last year, she began accepting donations in Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ethereum via Bitpay.

It is yet to be seen if her arch-nemesis Joe Exotic or better known as the Tiger King has woken up to the significance of blockchain technology behind bars.

Move over DOGE as Tiger King star launches CAT

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We Love You, Moms: Our Favorite Mom-Related Campaigns for Mother’s Day

Here at Indiegogo, we love Mother’s Day. The hard work of being a mother often goes unnoticed, and we relish the chance to honor the world’s moms for the tireless work they put in. In a normal year, this barely enough. But this year, moms around the world deserve extra recognition for the herculean efforts they’ve put in during the pandemic to care for their families.

In an effort to support the campaigns that help support moms thrive, we picked our top 11 favorite mom-related campaigns (and one bonus campaign too!). If you want to see these campaigns go to market and make them a reality, show your support by backing these campaigns and helping their visions come to life.

Here are our 10 favorite mom-related campaigns of the year:

1. Letters to My Brown Mother: Stories on Mental Health in the South Asian Diaspora

Letters to My Brown Mother is about the struggles with mental health in the South Asian (desi) diaspora. The book details experiences of everyday South Asian immigrants and children of immigrants. Written by Muzna Abbas, Letters to My Brown Mother aims to dismantle the stigma surrounding mental health in the South Asian community. Mental wellbeing is rarely prioritized or discussed in South Asian households, causing many to suffer in silence without any help and support. This book will outline how to overcome cultural factors in an effort to prioritize mental health.

2. Ceres Chill: The World’s First Breastmilk Chiller

Ceres Chill is the World’s First Breastmilk Chiller and the only grab-and-go solution for busy parents and caregivers. Safely store breastmilk for over 20 hours with style and convenience no matter where life takes you. It’s truly a cutting-edge, patent-pending design that will keep up with the demanding lives of modern parents. By backing this campaign, you’ll bring the Ceres Chill closer to being available to mother near you.

3. Lomi: Turn Waste To Compost With A Single Button

Food waste doesn’t have to be nasty. The team behind the Lomi compost system is changing composting from a grimy, smelly affair into a hands-off, odor-free one by turning food scraps into compost at the press of a button, perfect for any eco-conscious mom’s kitchen.

4. Zumy: Quality Light For Video Meetings

Moms are asked to do a lot these days, and working mothers in particular often find themselves running between attending the kids and Zoom meetings — not always a recipe for looking presentable on video calls. Enter Zumy, the portable, clip-on light that helps you look brilliant in Zoom meetings, videos, and photos. No more fussy mounting hardware, just clip and go. Support Zumy so you can see this product come to life and help working mothers, no matter which home they’re working from.

5. ORIMEI: The First Packable Coat for On-The-Go Women

The Orimei UME Packable Coat is a compact, wrinkle-resistant coat created to be  minimalist, timeless, and fashionable. The Orimei coat folds compactly into an over-the-shoulder purse and is designed to aesthetically and functionally meet the modern-day woman’s everyday on-the-go needs. 

6. The Book of Cultures: Stories to Explore the World

The Book of Cultures is a picture book with 30 fictional stories featuring characters from different countries around the globe. The stories are lovingly created to introduce children to the wonders of our world and encourage them to embrace diverse perspectives. It’s an educational experience for young readers to not only discover the differences that make our planet so special, but also to uncover the similarities we often overlook. 

7. Snorble: For Imagining A Better Bedtime

Snorbles. Flutterflies. The Rainbow River. These are all part of the imaginary land of Lullaboo the Snorble team has created to address a serious issue: developing healthy, consistent, customized bedtime routines for children. If you’ve ever found it difficult to get your child calmed down and relaxed by bedtime, Snorble understands. What about getting them to sleep in their own bed instead of yours? Check. Brushing their teeth? Putting their pajamas on? Check, and check. Snorble gets it, and he’s ready to make bedtime fun.

8. 360 Robot Vacuum Cleaner S10: Two-in-One Mop & Carpet Cleaning

It’s 2021. Time to start thinking about cleaning your home in 3D. Most robot vacuum cleaners today are living in 2D, but the team behind S10 Robot Cleaner has different ideas.

Triple-eye LiDAR sensors put the S10 ahead of its class, allowing it to 3D scan your home in ways other cleaners can only dream of. It detects objects as slim as .04 inches, then decides in real-time to steer clear or hoover it up, ensuring a thorough clean without any surprises. 

And it never asks for a day off.

9. Monument 2: Smart Photo Storage and Organization

Monument is a smart photo storage device that automatically backs up and organizes all of your photos and videos while protecting your privacy and security. Monument is smart enough to organize all of your memories by people, scenery, location, camera and more while automatically eliminating duplicates. It’s more intuitive than what you’re doing, and without clutter. With built-in SSD, Monument provides you the reliability that you can trust for your precious memories. SSD is the fastest, most reliable storage technology. That’s what any mom needs for her photos. 

10. MamaP: The Game-Changing Sustainable Dish Brush

Meet MamaP’s newest creation, the Do the Dishes brush. It’s the eco-friendly brush you didn’t know you were waiting for. What makes the MamaP different? A replaceable brush head, made out of natural wood and sisal fibers, replaces unsustainable products in your kitchen. And the plastic handle is made of post-consumer recycled plastic, diverting waste from landfills. The best part? Its ergonomically designed handle makes for a better more comfortable grip. Back this campaign to bring it to life!

11. PastedPaper: Reimagining Wallpaper

Imagine gorgeous, easy-to-use, organic sheets of removable high-quality wallpaper. Imagine no more, with PastedPaper. With the help of its backers, PastedPaper will be available in an assortment of historic designs based on antique artwork, allowing you to easily bring timeless, unique, and affordable elegance into your home.

Honorable mention (for all the dog moms out there): Monch Bar

After delivering over half a million meals to dogs, the team behind Monch Bar stumbled on a new problem: keeping your dog’s energy topped off during their daily dose of exercise. If you’ve ever tricked packing kibble in a plastic bag, and left a mess in your backpack? Or maybe even just finding crumbled treats in your pockets? Monch Bar aims to have you covered. Creating individually wrapped bars for easy to grab and go, keeping it affordable, without any fillers, artificial coloring, and preservatives! Back it today before it hits the shelves, your dog will thank you later!

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Accenture and Digital Dollar Foundation to trial United States CBDC this year

Fortune 500 company Accenture has teamed up with Digital Dollar Foundation to conduct Central Bank Digital Currency, or CBDC, trials in the United States.

Announced on Monday, May 3, the newly formed Digital Dollar Project will carry out five CBDC pilot programs over the next 12 months. The project’s objective is to generate data to inform U.S. policymakers on how to develop a domestic digital currency.

The Digital Dollar Project will launch three pilot programs in the next two months, generating data on the functional, sociological, and business benefits of a digital greenback.

Al Jazeera reports that former chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and co-founder of the Digital Dollar Foundation, Christopher Giancarlo, emphasized the lack of U.S. data regarding CBDC:

“There are conferences and papers coming out every week around the world on CBDCs based on data from other countries. What there is not, is any real data and testing from the United States to inform that debate. We’re seeking to generate that real-world data.”

However, the Fed is taking a cautious approach as the guardian of the world’s reserve currency, the report added, with chairman Jerome Powell responding that it is far more important to get a digital dollar right than it is to be fast.

Giancarlo countered that Powell was correct to be cautious, but warned that the U.S. could fall further behind as China pushes ahead with its own CBDC testing and deployment.

While the U.S. Federal Reserve has been conducting research into the technology and applications for a CBDC, the United States lags behind the digital currency initiatives currently ongoing in numerous other jurisdictions.

China’s central bank and leading state banks have recently been preparing to test the digital yuan for a shopping festival on May 5.

Accenture has also worked on a number of CBDC projects in other countries, including Canada, Singapore, France, and Sweden — which has already completed the first phase of its pilot.

According to a study by the Bank for International Settlements, 80% of the world’s central banks are already researching central bank-issued digital currencies.

Accenture and Digital Dollar Foundation to trial United States CBDC this year

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Four Assets to Hedge Against Inflation

In April 2019, Bloomberg Businessweek magazine’s cover story asked “Is Inflation Dead?” The subtitle accompanying it was “Did Capitalism Kill Inflation?” 

I recall thinking at the time that this story was probably a contrarian indicator. It reminded me that nearly everyone in the financial world was ignoring the threat of inflation.

It also has similarities to an infamous BusinessWeek cover story from 1979 titled “The Death of Equities.” Stocks had performed miserably for a long time, and everyone was convinced that performance would continue to be horrible. But it actually marked the beginning of one of the greatest long-term bull markets.

Bloomberg Businessweek Covers

Today, inflation is starting to become more of a widespread concern. I detailed some of the latest signs in a recent article. And I recommend that all investors start hedging against the threat of inflation.

How I’m Hedged

My strategy against inflation is straightforward. There are basically four aspects to it.

  • Gold, silver and miners
  • Bitcoin
  • Foreign stocks
  • Startup investments

Let’s briefly go through each.

Gold, Silver, and Miners

I remain extremely bullish on gold and silver as well as quality companies that mine them. Realization about rising inflation is slowly setting in with some people — but most investors still have near-zero exposure to precious metals. 

As governments around the world continue to print unimaginable amounts of money and interest rates stay at rock-bottom levels, I believe demand for gold and silver as investments will soar. I think people are still underestimating the scale and length of what’s coming.

Bitcoin

Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency I consider to be a viable inflation hedge. It’s a scarce, speculative store of value. Needless to say, it’s a lot riskier than gold and silver. But it also has much more upside. 

Bitcoin is a bet on continued reckless government spending and monetary policy. I still like that bet. See my recent article for more details on why I think bitcoin is an excellent hedge.

Foreign Stocks

If the U.S. dollar declines against foreign currencies, it may benefit investors to own stocks in foreign countries. Because the revenue of foreign companies is in a different currency, owning stock provides investors with exposure to the value of that currency. If the currency goes up against the dollar, the value of the investment will rise (approximately) the same amount. 

Startups

Startup investments have an incredible amount of upside. If you invest in a company when it’s worth $10 million and its value grows to $1 billion in five or so years, that’s quite a return. It’s one of the few asset classes that has the potential to outperform significant annual inflation. 

Needless to say, startup investing is risky. And it takes a while to get good at. So start out with small investments and be selective! I recommend going for companies with significant traction, at least at first. It’s the most reliable signal there is.

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UK Fintech Freetrade Survey Reveals that Brits Struggled with Financial Literacy Questions on ISAs, Retirement Planning

A recent research study has found that a lack of proper financial education has left consumers across the UK a bit confused with how to manage their funds. The study reveals that UK residents may be dealing with detrimental effects on their confidence, mental well-being and their overall health.

Digital investment app provider Freetrade had prepared the Great British Financial Literacy Test— which includes 18 questions on savings, investment, ISAs and retirement that most people will have to deal with at some point in their lifetime.

Asking 2,000 UK residents to complete the financial literacy test, Freetrade found that nearly 50% of respondents (48%) were unable to answer simple questions regarding personal finance such as what an (individual savings account) ISA stands for, the difference between fixed rates and variable rates, and what annuity providers do at the time when a person gets ready for retirement.

Notably, the Freetrade study reveals that retirement was a key area of personal finance that UK consumers really struggled to understand with around or 4 in 5 or 80% of respondents saying they couldn’t correctly answer this part of the financial literacy test. This particular figure was 81% among people 55 or older (getting ready to approach retirement age).

The average pass rates for questions related to making investments were the second-lowest at 44%. This was followed by savings (34%) and ISAs (32%). The Freetrade survey further revealed that consumers weren’t too confident about aspects of personal finance. Approximately 88% of UK citizens claim they lack confidence when it comes to money, and 32% noted that this also created a negative impact on their mental wellbeing.

Around 90% of survey participants said that they’re not confident when making investments. About 90% of UK residents responding to they sruvey also said they feel like they can’t effectively manage their retirement funds. Around 88% of the UK consumers taking part in the survey noted that they’re not too confident about ISAs.

Dan Lane, Senior Analyst at Freetrade, stated:

“The greatest advantage you can give your investments is time. So it’s concerning that the cohort with the most time on their hands feels so ill-equipped. Whether we realise it or not, investing early on in life could be the difference between reaching our eventual financial goals or missing them entirely. Getting to grips with the basic concepts later in life might just be too late.”

Lane further noted:

“There should be alarm bells ringing about the fact that 90% of Brits lack confidence with their pensions. With advances in medical technology and increased life expectancies we’re likely to live longer in retirement than ever before. But a massive gap in our understanding of how to invest for our third age, or even how to access those investments suitably later on, means we really aren’t prepared for a sizable portion of our lives. Unless we’re thinking about investing for retirement long before we get there, we could end up in the awful position of regretting the simple financial decisions we made 30 years ago.”

Lane added:

“It’s a real sign of the nation’s lack of financial education when a huge portion of the population doesn’t know the name of one of the most common savings products. The frustrating thing about the lack of confidence around ISAs is just how helpful, accessible and easy to use ISAs can be. Chances are, if we’re unsure about the headline facts around ISAs, we’re not using them to help us as much as we could.”

Lane continued:

“Basic concepts like compound interest might be ticked off in the National Curriculum but setting us up to deal with that in the real world takes more than a textbook exercise. These results should be a wake-up call for the nation’s education system to equip young people well enough to put theory into practice.”

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