I believe, strongly, that entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial capitalism can be democratized, and wealth can be created in the middle of the pyramid using capitalistic principles. In the next 2-3 decades, the potential for distributed capitalism is very high and the outcome should be extremely positive around the world. That is the mission upon which my current work with One Million by One Million is based.
>>>If you haven’t already, please study our Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page.
Artificial Intelligence startups are very hot these days. Read how CEO Dave Copps built Brainspace from Dallas. After we spoke in 2016, Brainspace was acquired by Cyxtera Technologies in 2017.
Sramana Mitra: Let’s start with the very beginning of your story. Where are you from? Where were you born, raised, and in what kind of background?
Dave Copps: I was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. My dad was an eye surgeon. My parents had moved down from Wisconsin. They were snow birds, as they called themselves. My mom was a community leader. My dad was very smart. He graduated from college at 17. His dad had the same background. He went to the Navy while his friends were graduating.
Sramana Mitra: Now explain the structure in one of these cases where you’re investing as Plutus21.
Hamiz Awan: In Uniswap’s example, there’s a governance token for the protocol called the Uni. How does a company that doesn’t have a CEO make decisions? It’s actually the community that makes the decisions. They vote on that using their token. Their token gives them a voting right. That is the asset that we invest in. Investing in that asset gives us voting rights today. We believe that, in the future, it will give us a piece of their cash flows or some connection to their cash flows. Today it’s really a governance token. It gives a voting right.
>>>Zendesk (NYSE: ZEN), a leading complaint management services provider, recently announced its third-quarter results that continued to outpace the market’s forecast. The big news for Zendesk though was the $4 billion acquisition of Momentive announced last month.
>>>A very effective way to dance the entrepreneurial Waltz is to do a bootstrapped company first, sell it, and then do another with a more ambitious agenda. Jeremy’s journey is a great case study in this method.
Sramana Mitra: Let’s go to the very beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born, raised, and in what kind of background?
>>>Teachers need to inspire their students to ideate, guide them on how to evaluate their ideas and make sure they are viable and scalable.
>>>Every student is different, every entrepreneur is different, and every sector is different. It is important to study domain-specific case studies to validate a concept, discover product-market fit, and learn about various forms of startup funding. Based on your student’s interest, point them to the right resources that can help them understand a domain’s opportunities and pitfalls.
>>>Entrepreneurs are invited to the 554th FREE online 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable on Thursday, November 18, 2021, at 8 a.m. PST/11 a.m. EST/5 p.m. CET/9:30 p.m. India IST.
If you are a serious entrepreneur, register to “pitch” and sell your business idea. You’ll receive straightforward feedback, advice on next steps, and answers to any of your questions. Others can register to “attend” to watch, learn, and interact through the online chat.
You can learn more here and register to pitch or attend here. Register and you will receive the recording by email, even if you are unable to attend. Please share with any entrepreneurs in your circle who may be interested. All are welcome!