Hello Jim
Please feel free to use this article as is. If you would like an interview or comments on this and related topics, please let me know and I will be happy to facilitate.
Best,
Terry
Want In On The Fintech Trend?
4 Options For Funding Your Startup
Fintech companies are becoming significant players in the U.S. economy, with firms such as Credit Karma, Tradeshift and Plaid enjoying extraordinary success as they use technology and innovation in an effort to transform the financial services industry.
In 2018, for example, fintech investments in the U.S. reached $11.9 billion, a new annual high, according to CB Insights.
But despite the favorable trend, fintech startups also face the same reality that all startups do – raising the capital to launch a business is no easy feat.
The good news for fintech entrepreneurs, though, is that we are well past the time when investors might have viewed fintech as a fad that would pass.
“I think that most investors have come to understand that fintech is here to stay,” says Kirill Bensonoff (www.kirillbensonoff.com), a serial entrepreneur and an expert in blockchain.
“Finance is getting more and more high tech each year.”
Still, coming up with sufficient capital to start any business – whether it’s from your own savings, a loan from a relative, or cash from an investor – can present a formidable problem.
“One lesson I’ve learned over the years is that successful entrepreneurs must be persistent,” Bensonoff says. “You will face challenges and one of those could be raising capital. Perseverance will get you through.”
Options for raising that capital include:
In Bensonoff’s view, raising capital to launch a fintech company isn’t any harder – or easier – than raising money for any other type of business.
“I think a good company in any sector gets funded,” he says. “So for entrepreneurs who want to plunge into the fintech sector, the key is to develop something that’s useful and satisfies an economic want.”
About Kirill Bensonoff
Kirill Bensonoff (www.kirillbensonoff.com) has over 20 years experience in entrepreneurship, technology and innovation as a founder, advisor and investor in over 30 companies. He’s the CEO of OpenLTV, which gives investors across the world access to passive income, collateralized by real estate, powered by blockchain. In the information technology and cloud services space, Kirill founded U.S. Web Hosting while still in college, was co-founder of ComputerSupport.com in 2006, and launched Unigma in 2015. All three companies had a successful exit. As an innovator in the blockchain and DLT space, Kirill launched the crypto startup Caviar in 2017 and has worked to build the blockchain community in Boston by hosting the Boston Blockchain, Fintech and Innovation Meetup. He is also the producer and host of The Exchange with KB podcast and leads the Blockchain + AI Rising Angel.co syndicate. Kirill earned a B.S. degree from Connecticut State University, is a graduate of the EO Entrepreneurial Masters at MIT, and holds a number of technical certifications. He has been published or quoted in Inc., Hacker Noon, The Street, Forbes, Huffington Post, Bitcoin Magazine and Cointelegraph and many others.
===================
Live Well
Announces Debut Full-Length Album
Perfectly Temporary
Out September 6th, 2019
Available for Pre-Order: LiveWell.bandcamp.com
Yonkers, NY - July 10, 2019 - New York emo punk band Live Well is thrilled to announce their debut full-length album, Perfectly Temporary. Recorded at Lumber Yard Recording under the tutelage of Ace Enders (The Early November) and Nik Bruzzese (Man Overboard), Perfectly Temporary is set to be released on September 6th, 2019. For additional information, or to pre-order the album, please visit: LiveWell.bandcamp.com.
On the new album, lead singer Paul Masbad shares: "Perfectly Temporary is a collection of songs highlighting moments from the past; many you want to move away from but will never forget."
Live Well is an emotional punk band from the greater New York area. The band was started by Paul Masbad and Max Johl after traveling the country together in late 2017. In late April 2018 Live Well released First Demos and have been playing and writing relentlessly ever since.
With a full length completed, Live Well headed to Lumber Yard Recording studios to work with Ace Enders (The Early November) and Nik Bruzzese (Man Overboard) to record their debut album in August 2018. The band - comprised of Paul (guitar/lead vocals), Max Johl (guitar/vocals), Luis Castro (bass/vocals), and Neil Stafford (drums) - is excited to continue to share their nostalgic music and deep rooted lyrics with new fans through live shows.
Live Well are eagerly preparing to share their debut full-length album, Perfectly Temporary, out September 6, 2019. Pre-orders are available now at LiveWell.bandcamp.com .
For More Information, please visit:
Website: www.livewell.bandcamp.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/livewellbandny
Twitter: www.twitter.com/livewellband
Instagram: www.instagram.com/livewellband
Perfectly Temporary Tracklisting:
1. Regret
2. Beach Time
3. Bed
4. Drunk
5. Coked Out
6. Lying
7. Broad Street
8. Seeds
9. No Escape
10. Drive-Thru
11. Cardigan
12. Cool Bands
USDA Radio Newsline
Wednesday, July 10th Stories:
==============
SELFISH THINGS
SET TO SUPPORT
DON BROCO
THIS FALL
TICKETS
ON SALE NOW
RECENTLY RELEASED SINGLE "PRIDE"
AVAILABLE TO STREAM HERE
July 10, 2019 - Toronto, ON - Selfish Things have officially been announced as one of the support bands on Don Broco's upcoming North American tour. Alongside Trash Boat and Sleep On It, Selfish Things will be delivering their impassioned live performance to fans for a month long run kicking off September 12th in Boston, MA. Tickets are on-sale now with select dates already sold out.
Most recently, the four-piece dropped single "Pride". Showcasing frontman Alex Biro's unique vocals and lyrical depth alongside the band's simple, yet effective guitar melodies and unique percussion lines, the track has been added to Spotify playlists including All New Rock, New Noise and New Music Friday Canada. Fans can stream "Pride" today at https://smarturl.it/selfishthings_pride.
Selfish Things is currently finishing up The Midnight World Tour Part 3: North America supporting Set It Off. For tickets and updates on all upcoming tour dates, please visit: http://www.selfishthingsband.com/
Upcoming Selfish Things Tour Dates:
July 12 - Vinyl Music Hall - Pensacola, FL
July 13 - Empire Garage - Austin, TX
July 16 - 191 Toole - Tucson, AZ
July 18 - El Rey - Los Angeles, CA
July 19 - Strummers - Fresno, CA
September 12 - Brighton Music Hall - Boston, MA
September 13 - Gramercy Theatre - New York, NY
September 14 - The Foundry @ The Fillmore - Philadelphia, PA
September 15 - Milkboy Arthouse - College Park, MD
September 17 - Amos' Southend - Charlotte, NC
September 18 - Soundbar - Orlando, FL
September 20 - The Masquerade - Atlanta, GA
September 21 - The Basement East - Nashville, TN
September 23 - Barracuda - Austin, TX
September 24 - Club Dada - Dallas, TX
September 26 - The Nile Theater - Mesa, AZ
September 27 - The Irenic - San Diego, CA
September 28 - The Troubador - Los Angeles, CA - SOLD OUT
September 29 - Slim's - San Francisco, CA
October 1 - The Crocodile - Seattle, WA
October 2 - Biltmore Cabaret - Vancouver, BC
October 3 - The Paris Theatre - Portland, OR
October 5 - The Loading Dock - Salt Lake City, UT
October 6 - Marquis Theater - Denver, CO
October 8 - Bottom Lounge - Chicago, IL
October 9 - Mahall's - Cleveland, OH
October 11 - The Shelter - Detroit, MI
October 12 - Hard Luck - Toronto, ON
October 13 - Le Ministere - Montreal, QC
While taking their name from Jimmy Eat World's "23", with unmatched determination Selfish Things prove they are neither selfish nor self-serving. Having spent years cultivating and nurturing his raw, natural talent, dedication to musicianship and songwriting, Biro founded Selfish Things. All of this, in the hope of shedding light on one simple, yet oftentimes overlooked, concept - honesty.
With new music in the works and an exciting touring schedule ahead, 2019 is already promising to be a monumental year for Selfish Things. For more information, head to http://www.purenoise.net/.
Selfish Things is Alex Biro (Vocals/Guitar/Piano), Mike Ticar (Lead Guitar/Vocals), Cam Snooks (Rhythm Guitar) and Jordan Trask (drums).
###
Follow Selfish Things:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/selfishthingsband/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/selfishthings
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/selfishthings/
The mop closet of American history
by Robert C. Koehler
1002 words
“They were quiet, and just staring, blankly,” she said. “There were just blank stares and no expressions on their faces.”
Welcome to hell, as presided over by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
This image bears deep reflection. It doesn’t change. Children are taken from their parents, jammed into cages. They have no lives left.
The speaker is Dr. Sara Goza, new president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, who recently toured some emigrant detention facilities, including CBP’s Central Processing Center in McAllen, Texas. “The first thing that hit me when we walked in the door,” Goza said, according to NBC News, “was the smell. It was the smell of sweat, urine and feces.”
A few days later, combat planes roared over the nation’s capital and Trump supporters cheered wildly, sucked in by the noise and excitement. America is great again, right?
The children in the cages weren’t cheering.
I know, I know. Who cares, right? Out of curiosity the other day I opened one of the right-wing emails that I somehow manage to attract and followed its link to a story at Breitbart: “A majority of Americans want mass deportations of illegal aliens if Congress fails to reach a deal this week that closes loopholes in the country’s asylum system that allow mass flows of foreign nationals to pour through the U.S.-Mexico border.”
This paragraph requires as much reflective groping as the other one. Suddenly the caged hell at the border doesn’t matter; it has no emotional impact. All it took was a different choice of words. When the issue is “illegal aliens” flowing over the border into the Land of the Free . . .
“In addition to costing us money they also cost us resources.” So began one of the thousand-plus comments at the end of the article. “Would California even have had a water crisis if millions of illegal aliens were using water meant for actual Americans?”
And here’s the national divide, defined with a razor cut across the soul. Those damn illegals were drinking water “meant” (can’t you just feel the divine empowerment in this word?) for “actual Americans.” Are the majority of actual Americans really this intellectually and psychologically caged, this trapped in their own ignorance? What’s next, telling the illegals to drink out of the toilet?
This country — the one defined by “actual Americans” endlessly needing to defend themselves against some lesser aspect of humanity — is not the country I believe in, but it’s the one I live in, at least for the moment. Its days are limited, simply because ignorance does not remain bliss for very long. We, by which I mean all of life, will survive and prevail only if we relearn that everything is connected. All people are connected. If we obsess about borders rather than focus on understanding, we will choke and die from the very dehumanization with which we contaminate Planet Earth.
And understanding must begin with knowing there is no such thing as “actual Americans” — there are only actual human beings.
Eerily, the NBC story in which Dr. Goza described the conditions the children she visited were enduring contained this random bit of information: The Central Processing Center that held them is “known as Ursula.” I almost couldn’t believe it, since I had already begun thinking how much this real-life scenario was reminding me of perhaps the most disturbing short story I have ever read in my life. The story is called “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.” The author is Ursula Le Guin.
In this story, Le Guin cracks open the paradox of the human condition. She postulates a utopian city called Omelas, whose residents are joyous, loving and creative, their lives the fulfillment of all human striving. The scenario is seductive, though hardly credible, so the author pauses midway in the story to ask: “Do you believe? Do you accept the festival, the city, the joy? No? Then let me describe one more thing.”
And she tells us about a tiny room — not a cage, exactly, but a tiny closet: “In one corner of the little room a couple of mops, with stiff, clotted, foul-smelling heads stand near a rusty bucket.
“. . . In the room a child is sitting. It could be a boy or a girl. It looks about six, but actually is nearly ten. It is feeble-minded. Perhaps it was born defective, or perhaps it has become imbecile through fear, malnutrition, and neglect. It picks its nose and occasionally fumbles vaguely with its toes or genitals, as it sits hunched in the corner farthest from the bucket and the two mops. It is afraid of the mops.”
The child, the author explains, has been ripped away from a mother it still remembers and locked in a squalid mop closet. Its absolute misery constitutes the terms of the city’s prosperity and happiness. All the residents of Omelas know about the child; their visit to its cell in early adolescence is a coming-of-age ritual. They leave in tears, but most wind up accepting the bargain: one child’s misery in exchange for the happiness of thousands.
This isn’t exactly the American bargain, but it’s close enough to tear all certainty to pieces. Some of the children who left the Central Processing Center were asked to draw what their time was like at the detention facility. They drew pictures of kids in cages.
Fascinatingly, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History has contacted the American Academy of Pediatrics about acquiring these drawings and adding them to its collection. The museum wants to continue “telling the complex and complicated history of the United States and to documenting that history as it unfolds.”
And director emeritus Brent Glass explained to NPR that the museum has a mission “to inspire people to know more about American history and to hopefully create a more humane society.”
You mean inspire actual Americans? Show them the mop closet? That may not be enough. What if we all spent some time living in it?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~end~~~~~~~~~~
Robert Koehler(koehlercw@gmail.com), syndicated by PeaceVoice, is a Chicago award-winning journalist and editor. He is the author of Courage Grows Strong at the Wound.
