Entrepreneurship

Internet Archive Federal Credit Union Backed by Internet Pioneer Brewster Kahle

"Jordan Modell has experience working with Citibank, American Express and the Bank of New York. Brewster Kahle is an Internet pioneer who helped develop precursors to the World Wide Web and Amazon.com and sold them for millions of dollars that he has used to form a foundation that supports the Internet Archive, an effort to digitally record everything that has been on the Internet since 1996. The pair decided to found a credit union after coming to the conviction that the existing financial services industry has largely stopped working for low-income and middle-class people and that a bank was not the best vehicle to meet the needs of those populations." Continue reading →

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Bitspend, Bitcoin payment system, ceases trading after bank accounts frozen

"The bitcoin payment system, Bitspend, has been forced to stop operations after its bank accounts were frozen. Bitspend is a service that acted as a bridge between those who held cash in the form of bitcoin, and merchants who did not accept bitcoin payments. According to the firm, its banks (Chase and another unnamed bank) both told it that they regarded businesses which trade in bitcoin as 'too high risk'. The banks allegedly did this without notice. Furthermore, Chase bank has also closed the personal accounts of the firm’s owner. The company stated that it will honour orders as soon as it can, but with the current state of affairs it cannot pay its own bills." Continue reading →

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Erik Voorhees: financial independence through gold and Bitcoin

"Félix Moreno talks to Erik Voorhees about Bitcoin, gold and the nature of money. They discuss the properties that make good or bad money and how both Bitcoin and precious metals are decentralised (a plus), while fiat money systems are centrally planned. They talk about free speech, property rights and liberty, and the role that money plays in these." Continue reading →

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Google reveals top-secret plan to beam Internet to developing world from balloons at the edge of space

"Google revealed top-secret plans Saturday to send balloons to the edge of space with the lofty aim of bringing Internet to the two-thirds of the global population currently without web access. Scientists from the technology giant released up to 30 helium-filled test balloons flying 20 kilometres (12.4 miles) above Christchurch in New Zealand Saturday, carrying antennae linked to ground base stations. While still in the early stages, Project Loon hopes eventually to launch thousands of balloons to provide Internet to remote parts of the world, allowing the more than four billion people with no access to get online. It could also be used to help after natural disasters." Continue reading →

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Teens Start Rental Car Company, Get Sued By City Of San Francisco For ‘Unfair Business Practices’

"Said three teenagers to themselves last year: 'Yeah, sure, we could go to college. But wouldn’t it be more fun to up-end the airport rental car business?' The idea was this: At every major airport, acres of cars sit idle, left parked by owners who have jetted off. Why couldn’t these same cars be rented to arriving travelers? Rates could be dramatically cheaper than those charged by traditional car rental companies, since, under this model, the rental company wouldn’t have to pay for or maintain the fleet. It’s easy to see how traditional rental companies might not be amused to have their prices undercut. But San Francisco International is crying foul, as well." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTeens Start Rental Car Company, Get Sued By City Of San Francisco For ‘Unfair Business Practices’

America Falls Behind in Creating Rich Entrepreneurs

"The creation myth of American wealth is almost always rooted in the entrepreneur. It's the two kids who start a computer company in their garage or dorm room. Or the former standup comic who creates form-shaping undergarments, or the South African immigrant who creates a new electric car and private space program. But despite the high-profile examples, America may actually be falling behind the rest of the world when it comes to creating entrepreneurial wealth. A new study from Barclays, 'Origins and Legacy: the Changing Order of Wealth Creation,' finds developing countries now lead the U.S. when comes to wealth creation by entrepreneurs." Continue reading →

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Spy-Coins.Com

"On the 'Products' page is a complete list of our fully functional hollow spy coins. They are all precision machined from actual coins, and are absolutely indistinguishable from a solid coin to the naked eye. They can be safely handled without danger of separation, and could easily circulate without detection. These products are proudly made in The USA. Although the technology of the hollow coin is not new, the data media is. Many of our coins are specially machined to secure the MicroSD Memory Card, which has capacities of several gigabytes." Continue reading →

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Schwagstock founder Jimmy Tebeau enters federal prison; should other music-festival organizers worry?

"At first prosecutors weren't sure what charges to press against Tebeau. They used asset-forfeiture proceedings to take his land and freeze his bank accounts. Finally, six months after the raid on Tebeau's property, they accused him of 'maintaining a drug involved premises' — a violation originally intended to punish landlords who lease houses to crack dealers. The law, broadly drafted to criminalize properties maintained 'for the purpose of unlawfully manufacturing, storing, distributing, or using a controlled substance,' dates back to the mid-1980s, but it was amended in 2002 at the urging of then-U.S. Senator Joe Biden." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSchwagstock founder Jimmy Tebeau enters federal prison; should other music-festival organizers worry?

Der Spiegel Laments The Rapid Spread of Printable Pistols

"A student from Texas has invented a plastic pistol that anyone can make with a 3-D printer. It is undetectable by metal detectors and capable of killing. And it is spreading unchecked across the continents. A few days after Cody Wilson's invention had been created, the United States Department of Homeland Security issued a warning to the rest of the world. The officials, responsible for fending off terrorist attacks, wrote three pages about the dangers of a weapon against which they are powerless. They wrote that public safety is threatened. They also wrote that, unfortunately, it is impossible to prevent this weapon from being made." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDer Spiegel Laments The Rapid Spread of Printable Pistols