Lily Liu,CoFounder Earn.com #blockchainwomen

Summary

Lilly, a co-founder and former CFO of Earn.com, discusses the evolution and challenges of the company, which started as a mining venture and pivoted to paid email services, eventually being acquired by Coinbase. She reflects on the volatility and public perception of cryptocurrency, sharing her experiences from early involvement in the industry and her belief in its long-term potential. Despite facing skepticism and market fluctuations, Lilly remains optimistic about the future of blockchain technology and its transformative impact on society.

Takeaways

• 👋 Introduction: Lilly, the speaker, was the CFO of 21 (now Earn.com) which was sold to Coinbase earlier this year.
• 🔄 Company Evolution: 21 started as a mining company in a rough spot and pivoted to a paid email profile business model to combat spam.
• 💡 Innovation: The company implemented a novel idea to tax spam within its ecosystem, which eventually became a successful business model.
• 📈 Business Growth: The company experienced significant growth and was eventually sold to Coinbase, indicating a successful outcome.
• 📱 Personal Experience: Lilly uses Nomorobo to combat spam calls and texts, highlighting the ongoing issue of unwanted communications.
• 🚀 Cryptocurrency Experience: Lilly entered the cryptocurrency space around 2013-2014, witnessing its highs and lows.
• 📊 Market Volatility: The speaker discusses the volatility of the cryptocurrency market and the personal challenges of navigating it.
• 🤔 Self-Reflection: Lilly questioned the use of her time during the low points of the cryptocurrency market, reflecting on her career choices.
• 🏢 Industry Perception: Lilly contrasts the outside perception of cryptocurrency as 'dark web money' with her belief in its transformative potential.
• 🌐 Blockchain Belief: Despite challenges, Lilly maintains a strong belief in the long-term vision and transformative power of blockchain technology.
• 🔑 Future Outlook: She sees the current state of the industry as a correction rather than a downturn, maintaining an optimistic view of its future.

Q & A

What company did Lilly co-found and sell to Coinbase?

Lilly co-founded Earn.com, which was sold to Coinbase earlier this year.

What was the original name of Earn.com?

The original name of Earn.com was 21.

What was 21's initial business focus before becoming Earn.com?

21 was initially a mining company before it transformed into Earn.com.

What was the primary idea behind Earn.com?

The primary idea behind Earn.com was paid email and pay profiles, aiming to create a system to tax spam in the ecosystem.

How long did Lilly work with the company before it was sold?

Lilly worked with the company for about three years before it was sold to Coinbase.

What were some challenges Lilly faced in the cryptocurrency industry?

Lilly faced challenges such as the volatility of cryptocurrency prices and skepticism from colleagues about the legitimacy of the industry.

How did the price of Bitcoin fluctuate during Lilly's early involvement in cryptocurrency?

The price of Bitcoin saw a dramatic rise to around $1300, followed by a significant drop to around $170-580, which created uncertainty about the industry's future.

What were some of the misconceptions about cryptocurrency according to Lilly?

Some misconceptions included the belief that cryptocurrency was primarily used for illegal activities and was viewed as 'drug money' or 'dirty money.'

What does Lilly believe about the long-term potential of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology?

Lilly believes in the transformative potential of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology and is excited about their long-term vision and impact.

How does Lilly view the current state of the cryptocurrency market?

Lilly sees the current state as a correction from the previous parabolic rise but believes that the industry is still on an upward trend with ongoing innovation and investment.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Transitioning from Earn.com to Coinbase

Lilly shares her journey as the CFO and co-founder of Earn.com, which was sold to Coinbase. Initially, Earn.com started as a mining company and evolved into a paid email and pay profiles business. Despite the challenges, the team turned it into a successful venture. Lilly reflects on the early struggles and eventual success, including the volatile nature of cryptocurrency, which tested their resolve. She mentions her previous experience at McKinsey and KKR, highlighting the skepticism from former colleagues about her involvement in the blockchain world. Lilly emphasizes the transformative potential of cryptocurrency and blockchain, despite the industry's ups and downs.

05:02

🌟 The Future of Blockchain Technology

Lilly discusses the pioneering nature of blockchain technology and its transformative impact on society. She highlights the passion and interest in the industry, noting the diversity of opinions and the non-consensus environment despite the significant attention it receives. Lilly believes in the long-term vision of cryptocurrency and blockchain, stressing that the current challenges are part of the industry's overall growth and development. She remains optimistic about the future, recognizing the ongoing work and potential for innovative ideas in the space.

Keywords

💡CFO

The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is a senior executive responsible for managing the financial actions of a company. In the video, Lilly mentions her role as CFO of Earn.com, indicating her leadership in financial planning, risk management, and financial reporting, which are crucial for the company's strategic growth and stability.

💡Earn.com

Earn.com is a company that Lilly co-founded, which was sold to Coinbase earlier in the year. Initially a mining company called 21, it transitioned into a business model focused on paid email and profiles, aimed at tackling spam by allowing users to pay for email communication. This pivot and eventual acquisition highlight the company's adaptability and success in the cryptocurrency industry.

💡Coinbase

Coinbase is a major cryptocurrency exchange platform that acquired Earn.com. This acquisition represents a significant milestone for Lilly and her team, reflecting the value and innovation of Earn.com's business model in the cryptocurrency market. Coinbase's role as a leading platform underscores the importance of this acquisition.

💡Mining company

A mining company in the context of cryptocurrency refers to a business that uses computational power to validate transactions and add them to a blockchain, earning cryptocurrency rewards in the process. Earn.com, originally known as 21, started as a mining company before pivoting to a new business model, showing its ability to adapt and evolve in the face of industry challenges.

💡Paid email

Paid email is a concept where users pay to send emails, often to reduce spam and ensure that the recipient values the message. Earn.com implemented this idea, allowing users to earn money by responding to emails, thus creating a new revenue stream and reducing spam. This innovative approach reflects the company's creative problem-solving in the digital communication space.

💡Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that uses cryptography for security and operates independently of a central authority. Lilly discusses her experience with the volatility and transformative potential of cryptocurrency, emphasizing its significance in the tech and financial sectors despite challenges and skepticism from traditional institutions.

💡Blockchain

Blockchain is a decentralized digital ledger that records transactions across many computers, ensuring security and transparency. Lilly highlights the long-term vision and transformative potential of blockchain technology, which underpins cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and supports a variety of innovative applications in different industries.

💡Volatility

Volatility refers to the degree of variation in the price of a financial instrument over time. In the context of cryptocurrency, Lilly mentions the significant price fluctuations and the emotional and strategic challenges they pose for individuals and businesses involved in the industry. This volatility underscores the risky yet potentially rewarding nature of cryptocurrency investments.

💡Bear market

A bear market is characterized by declining prices and widespread pessimism in a particular market. Lilly refers to the current state of the cryptocurrency market as a bear market, indicating a period of reduced investor confidence and falling prices. Despite this, she remains optimistic about the industry's long-term prospects and overall upward trend.

💡McKinsey and KKR

McKinsey & Company and KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) are prestigious firms where Lilly previously worked. McKinsey is a global management consulting firm, and KKR is a leading global investment firm. Lilly's experience at these respected institutions highlights her strong background in finance and strategic management, contrasting with the unconventional and volatile world of cryptocurrency.

Highlights

Lilly was the CFO and co-founder of Earn.com, which was sold to Coinbase earlier this year.

Earn.com started as 21, a mining company that was in a rough spot before pivoting to a paid email and pay profiles concept.

The initial idea was to tax spam in the ecosystem, which eventually turned into a successful business model.

Lilly and her team worked hard to turn the company around and build a new product and business by the end of 2016.

One of the challenges in the cryptocurrency industry is dealing with its volatility, which can be difficult to get used to.

Lilly entered the cryptocurrency space around 2013-2014 when Bitcoin saw its first significant price spike and subsequent drop.

There was a period when Bitcoin's value dropped to as low as $170-$580, making it unclear what the industry's future would be.

Working in the cryptocurrency space during the mid-2010s was challenging due to skepticism from peers and the industry's association with the dark web and illicit activities.

Despite these challenges, Lilly believes in the long-term vision and transformative potential of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.

She reflects on the industry's development, noting that higher highs and higher lows indicate an overall upward trend.

Lilly mentions that many people are still raising funds for interesting ideas in the cryptocurrency space, indicating ongoing innovation.

She acknowledges the current bear market but remains optimistic about the industry's long-term prospects.

Lilly finds the cryptocurrency industry exciting due to its transformative technology and the diversity of opinions and perspectives within it.

The non-consensus nature of the industry, despite the attention it receives, highlights the pioneering work being done in applying this new technology to society.

Lilly used to work at prestigious institutions like McKinsey and KKR before joining the cryptocurrency industry, which added to the initial skepticism from her colleagues.

Transcripts

sure my name is Lilly view up until

recently I was CFO when with co-founders

of earn calm which we sold to coinbase

earlier this year about half a year ago

and so I was there at was originally 21

turned to earn for about three years at

the beginning when I when I joined 21

was a mining company that you know had

found itself in a little bit of rough

spot and so we spent we spent some time

figuring that out and then came upon the

idea of initially sort of paid email pay

profiles which is its you know gonna

concepts people then thinking about and

thinking about for a while which is what

if you could tax spam in the ecosystem

we found a way of implementing that and

eventually got it to be a pretty good

business and then sold his home base

earlier this year well I get several

every day as well as several spam text

messages every day so I use something

called nomorobo you know earlier this

year I'd say that was a success for the

company and so you know when we started

three years ago with his company was 21

at the time it wasn't clear what the

perspective on that was going to be I

said we work pretty hard to you know get

it back into shape and then to you know

that was for about the first year and a

half and then the end of 2016 we had to

come up with basically entire new

product entirely new business and we

were able to build something some

traction and so that was that was pretty

great certainly and I would say one of

the challenges has been certainly you

know it's no secret there's a lot of

volatility and cryptocurrency and and

you know personally when you're riding

that wave it can really take a lot of

getting used to right so I got a new

cryptocurrency and kind of 1314

timeframe when it was really hot right

you saw the first hockey stick and then

it you know dropped to the depths of

despair for really a couple of years

actually

right

it went up to 1300 dropped down at its

lowest to about 170 580 dollars at that

point when it was just a Bitcoin world

and it was very unclear what the

perspective on this as an industry would

be so you know personally was even

challenging you're sitting and thinking

is this really the best use of my time

right and I remember also you know

having worked in larger companies and

working at Mackenzie and then KKR

previously which are you know very

respectable institutions filled with

really really smart people I remember

talking some of my colleagues back then

in kind of the 15 16 even into 17

timeframe and just getting a look of you

know oh look of you know Lilly what

happened to you a little bit sorry for

you even for being stuck in this you

know weird corner of the tech world I

was playing with you know funny sort of

you know dark web type of money is the

way people outside of the blockchain

world really saw it that's right it's

drug money or something right that it's

drug money and sort of dirty money

somehow right when you know in reality

you know the suitcases of cash are

actually used more to perpetuate those

activities than really anything else but

so that was personally challenging even

for a couple of years right thinking is

this really you know I'm excited about

the long-term vision I do believe in the

long term vision of what can be

accomplished through cryptocurrency

through blockchain and how

transformative it is as a technology but

you know a couple of years in there

where you sat down sometimes looked in

the mirror and thought a little bit

right and so that's I think a good

reminder even now because people think

that in comparison to you know the price

of Bitcoin December 17th or something

like that

it looks pretty pretty you know dark

times right now you know bear market so

to speak but in my mind you know over

the longer arc of development of this

industry you know we're still seeing

higher highs and higher lows and there's

still plenty people who are able to

raise money to fund some really

interesting ideas and so to me you know

it might be a bit of a correction from

this parabolic rise at the end of last

year and that comes with some pain

points and and and other things like

that but I think generally we're still

on an upward trend and you know it's

it's gonna be it's gonna be alright

quite possibly quite possibly you know

this is still to me one of the most

exciting industries out there

transformative technology there's so

many different perspectives and opinions

it's a very non consensus area which is

unusual given how much attention is on

the industry right for there to be such

a diversity of opinions I think we'll it

just shows how how much kind of work we

have ahead of us

how much kind of passion and interest

there is and how we really are I think

pioneering and you a new technology in

this application to to to society really