In this episode, Hall welcomes Stephen Meade of MonetaPro, a B2B sell-for-credit exchange using blockchain technology to deliver better efficiency, liquidity, and trust to global trade. Stephen is an entrepreneur, executive, and founder who has built numerous successful technology companies over the past 20 years.

Stephen talks about how he entered the FinTech space and the importance of blockchain technology. Stephen advices that investors in the blockchain space should consider equity or a blended offering rather than token offerings alone - in other words, consider sacrificing some liquidity for better long-term control and value. He explains how companies are moving towards using blockchain on the funding side, while also highlighting those that are using blockchain technology as part of a product or service. In addition, he discusses some of the regulatory developments in blockchain, and how the challenges for startups remain fundamentally the same - acquiring customers and raising capital. Finally, Stephen expands on the role of MonetaPro, how they fit into the FinTech space, and where they are going from there.

A competitive advantage increases revenue by 30% over the competition or decreases cost by 30%.

Channel access is a key competitive advantage. Channel access lets you connect to a set of customers that others cannot.

Perhaps your previous job gave you contacts throughout the industry that you can now leverage for your startup.

Perhaps you have found a social media channel, SEO, email, or other marketing channel that works well. It may take some experimenting to find that channel but now you have something your competition does not.

In your pitch to investors, you want to highlight this as a key differentiator. It may not be a sustainable advantage for the long haul, but it can be crucial to launching your startup.

Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let’s go startup something today!