Bitcoin Bitcoins Cryptocurrency Fintech

Bittrex and Me

Posted on June 21, 2020

bitcoin

This is a post about Bittrex and eventually I get to that. But first, some context.

Someone said me in 2014: You are the Bitcoin whisperer of University Ave. (Palo Alto, CA)   He said that  because I introduced Scott Robinson, fintech advisor, founder of Bitcoin Accelerator and the original Bitcoin Meetup in Silicon Valley, and Jean Paul Coupal, owner of Coupa Cafe in Palo Alto which accepted Bitcoin early on.  These were the days when bitcoin was an exotic word and many had no idea what it was. I’m actually a nobody in the crypto world but if no one else knows what you are talking about,  and it is early days, maybe no one knows that.  One time long ago XAPO contacted me and asked if I would write about them. They were young, in Palo Alto, and in need of getting known and someone there knew I wrote about tech stuff and went to Bitcoin meetups and they needed some publicity. 
 
Quoting myself from that very long ago post wherein I wrote about XAPO:
 

He followed me out of the coffee bar and said, “Excuse me, was that a Bitcoin transaction you just did?” Since he was behind me in line at Coupa Cafe, Palo Alto’s only retail place I know to use Bitcoin, I assumed the question was rhetorical. Wasn’t it obvious?  I had my phone out and pushing buttons and doing the QR code and the entire drill. Purchasing with Bitcoin at the retail level is a bit of a sideshow. If my hair isn’t looking good, I’m using cash because everyone gathers round and looks at you. No wonder it isn’t mainstream. Kind of like, Does my SAT score make me look fat? Is my short story on artificial intelligence/machine learning too much for pillow talk?

Yes, it was a Bitcoin transaction I told him.  “Oh good”, he replied, “because I’m a lawyer with clients with Bitcoin startups and I have no idea how it works.”Hmm. My mind was wandering: “And you waited until now to find out? Do they know you are clueless? No googling, no meet ups? No purchasing and using? You don’t know what it is and they pay you? Can I become a lawyer too?”   How could he represent clients in this exciting field and not even know how it works? I jumped all over Bitcoin when I heard about it.  A cryptocurrency? The blockchain? Mining?  Feed me more.  I want to know what this is all about.
 
The above is just to establish my somewhat obscure and, if truth be known, thin street cred in the cryptocurrency world. I did defend BTC against the bubble theory, calling it an S curve and I did learn enough about the blockchain from Scott Robinson to prove to Coupa Cafe that I had been charged three times for the same cup of coffee, and I have met some amazing people in the crypto world (Thank you, Scott and how I miss the meetups. They were awesome. And so was the pizza.)
 
I saw bitcoin become a known entity. The meetups went from 10 or 15 people to 300. The price acceleration from say, $500, to almost 20K was the kickstarter for that. 
 
Enter Bittrex. (and you thought I’d put you first?)
Out of the blue one day my kid in LA who had no interest in crypto asked me  if I knew about LISK.  No, I did not. He said he had it on good sourcing that it was a buy.  This was shocking.  What circles was he running in now?  Ok, I bought some.  But it had to be bought on a special exchange which is how I found BITTREX.  I opened an account and over time lost interest in it as I lost my investment in LISK.   I still sometimes follow it on Reddit threads. 
 
I also lost interest in Bittrex because they changed the user interface and I couldn’t even find my barely visible whatever was left of LISK account.
 
On May 21, 2020 I received an email from BITTREX:
 
 It’s been a while since you’ve logged into your Bittrex account – we miss you  As a special offer, we are reducing your trading fees to 8bps for the next three weeks.*
And then, a few weeks later, I find out my account has been disabled.

No one can explain to my satisfaction why they need to verify ownership. Why would they? Did they lose something? Get hacked? Screwed up? How can they not know I am the owner? That’s the path I need to know about because that’s the problem area.

In order to verify my account I must take 3 pics with arms and shoulders showing and holding in one place a government issued ID (I use CDL) and in another place a piece of paper with BITTREX on it and the date.  I can’t do this the normal selfie way and since I am on the road and don’t know anyone to ask to take a pic I have to learn how to use my Apple watch camera app to take a remote using my iPhone.  Actually I am glad I remembered it can be done and I found instructions but checked with one of the many, many (too many) Apple employee/guards outside the Santa Barbara store about the 3 second timer. (This is why tech is fun. In what sci fi film did I learn how to take a picture with a phone using a watch. None. But Tim Cook and a slew of Apple engineers gave it to me. TY)

 

I’m not the only one not liking this freezing account stuff from Bittrex. Here’s another’s opinion:

Bittrex does fairly poor when it comes to public opinion, mainly on issues dealing with suspended accounts.  Occasionally, certain accounts will be temporarily suspended pending completion of a review. The process has drawn sharp criticism from the owners of the frozen accounts, who have taken to web forums to air their grievances online. Apparently, this situation has been going on for some time, with only minimal response from the Bittrex team. Overall, according to Bittrex, only about 0.1% of accounts are affected by suspensions, closures, or outright bans. However, many threads have been opened in various BTC forums regarding this matter.
Read more: Bittrex Review (2020 Updated) – A Critical Issue You NEED to Know About | 99Bitcoins

Ok, that’s all I have to say – Bittrex, you have the pics now. Time to get me unfrozen. And as soon as I can figure out where you put my baby LISK and whatever else is in suspended animation, color me gone.  I still don’t understand why you can’t explain you are no longer sure who owns this account and why this doesn’t bother you.
UPDATE: Bittrex replied: “These photos are almost perfect but since the date on the paper does not match the date you submitted the photos we cannot accept them. Can you please send in three new photos that will meet this requirement?”    BITTREX did not request the date that was to be put on the paper to be the date submitted.  I handwrote the date I read the email because the email said, put on “today’s date” and the date was June 20. Done, Bittrex, done!  So, I have requested in house counsel name, we can take it there if they want.
Artificial Intelligence

ALEXA, Can We Talk?

Posted on April 5, 2020
Alexa

Existentialism and ALEXA  The COVID time: As we shelter in place, remain under house arrest or do this for the good of everyone – pick your label – it is a very good time to bond with our intelligences aka virtual assistants.

 

Here is Larry talking to Alexa daring to be the one to ask questions.  Jeff, can you hear?

 

 

ALEXA
    Am I loved
    Will I love
    What is the temperature outside
    Am I loved
 
ALEXA
   Play La Bamba
    I want to dance
    To a song without meaning
    In my kitchen
    With my arms thrust up in the air
    Be intoxicated by rhythm
    Be the fool
NOT
   Just the one
    Reading the morning paper
    And puzzling over crosswords
BUT
    The one
WHO DARES
    To ask
THE QUESTIONS
General Government & Technology mail Start Ups

Digital Nomads and Mail in Silicon Valley

Posted on August 7, 2019
mail

How important is your mail? Stupid question, right? It’s critical. No matter the digital world we still need mail and a mailing address.  Increasingly, digital nomads are resurrecting mail on the go services. Are they doing their job?

What if you found out your mail person was misdelivering your mail? Or not getting it to you in some way? Or sent you other people’s mail and didn’t respond to you about it? And suppose it cost you $11.00 to get the other customers mail and you had to send it to them certified? And suppose they charge you for what should be free?

That’s the story of The UPS store in Palo Alto. The one on Bryant Street. The one visiting VC’s use. Start ups use it. Digital nomads use it.  And ordinary people. Like me. It doesn’t matter who we are – we deserve a) our mail b) customer service without attitude c) attention to postal regulations in getting us our mail. Not too much to ask when you’ve paid hundreds to receive your mail.

I think the most shocking violation of “my mail is safe” with them came from their not responding to three or four emails about the other person’s mail. They only respond when I purchase the overpriced service of having them send my mail to me: $22 for 2 pieces of mail and that was the least expensive packet over the past months.

Here’s the DNA of this story: (long and boring but I spent a lot of time on postal regs so please..read some of it. TY)

In order to become a UPS Store that offers mailboxes, they have to fulfill requirements from the USPS. (United States Postal Service). Seems logical doesn’t it? However when mentioned to an employee at another UPS Store (not the Palo Alto one) the response was “No, we don’t we’re individually franchised.” Hmm..methinks that’s unclear on the concept (the concept being the USPS is in charge of mail rules).

Mailing stores (of any kind) are called in Postal Service lingo Commercial Mail Receiving Agencies or CMRA’s for short.

I’m going to make this quick: to be a CMRA, the owner must fill out Form 1583a. That’s a US Postal Form which outlines what the store must do to receive and distribute mail. It is named Application to Act as a Commercial Mail Receiving Agency.

Continue Reading

Investing Start Ups

Pie Capital of Palo Alto Announces New Funding Limits

Posted on February 25, 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Pie Capital

Palo Alto, California

contact@pie.capital

PIE CAPITAL ANNOUNCES NEW ACCREDITED INVESTOR CAPABILITY

Current Funding Platform, formerly limited to Unaccredited Investors from $50-$2,000, now permits higher limits in excess of $5,000 for Accredited investors.

PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA – February 26, 2019 – Pie Capital, Inc. today announced the immediate availability of their new Accredited Funding Platform. The technology is available on mobile and desktop viewing.

For the first time we are proud to offer the ability for accredited investors to participate in a meaningful way in Pie Capital’s portfolio companies, explained Bill Eichen, CEO of Pie Capital. Family Offices, Angel Investors and High Net Worth individuals (HNWs) can now fully participate above $5,000 without limitations.”

“Pie Capital is a unique tool for our early stage startups to quickly access funding, and we are now vetting the accredited investors to allow them to participate as well”.  “Family Offices and Angels are busy with so many investment opportunities, and need 24×7 access to our portfolio companies.”

By using today’s mobile communications technologies, Pie Capital brings these investors to the startups in a pre-vetted environment.  Investors have immediate access to the pitch decks, valuation and video of the corporation’s tech business.

“Pie Capital utilizes the latest reactive technology to ensure multi-platform compatibility with mobile and laptops,” said Sanjeev Dharap, CTO at Pie Capital.  “Our active startups enjoy a secure, fast, and reliable service, and the HNW capability makes everyone more efficient.”

“Pie Capital has created an innovative platform that pairs smart money with pre-vetted startups, which is extremely valuable to Silicon Valley in early stages,” said Dennis Surabian Jr., of the Surabian Family Office. We would not have had access to BBuck and other great startups in Silicon Valley if it wasn’t for the Pie Capital platform.

“We appreciate being a lead portfolio company on Pie Capital’s platform, said Malcolm Flack, CEO of BBuck, a leader in next generation gaming technology. “Pie Capital has demonstrated a revolutionary technology for us to get funded quickly, and effortlessly using standard mobile devices” added Malcolm.

Online and mobile customer support is available 24×7 to registered startups and investors. “We have created a customer-facing corporate culture to insure our portfolio companies and investors receive information in a timely and reliable fashion,” said Eichen.  

ABOUT PIE CAPITAL

Pie Capital, Inc. is a privately held corporation in Palo Alto, California.  Pie Capital designs, develops and supports vertically oriented internet products and tools for the startup and financial community. Professionals and related ecosystem partners are encouraged to contact Pie Capital’s Affiliate department affiliates@pie.capital

Pie Capital may be reached at (650) 493-1801; via email at contact@pie.capital; or visit www.piestartups.com

Pie Capital, www.pie.capital, www.piestartups.com, AutoVet, and Pie Learning Center are trademarks of Pie Capital

apps Futurism Health Health Medical Technology

Blogger, Coder, Futurist: Michael McAnally Describes This Life

Posted on September 20, 2018
Proud to have a Guest Post today by San Francisco’s own Michael McAnally,  Founder, Futurist, Entrepreneur and Science Fiction Blogger who goes by the pen name Michael Blade. Mike lives in San Francisco as CEO-Dev of Touch Voice. He has apps in all major app stores which help thousands of speech impaired individuals and are used in hospitals and care facilities around the globe. Welcome Michael and thank you!

Michael McAnally

181,400 Mayfly years ago

Yes, I’m a dreamer and very proud of it!

I was born before the Smart Phone, before the Internet, before the Microwave Oven, before the Touch Tone Phone, before the Answering Machine, even Voice Mail. Before the VCR, CD player, Blu-ray, Netflix, before we landed on the moon July 20, 1969 (and we actually did, I saw it on TV [live black and white video feed] as a kid that day at my grandparents house). I hope to live long enough to see a stable human colony established on Mars!

I just realized by millennial standards I might actually be considered old. Yet, I’m okay with that, the age of the universe is 13.7 billion years old, give or take half a billion, so relatively I’m not even a few cells old.

Am I slowing down? I do know I’m somehow creatively smarter than your average joe (apologies to those named Joe). Why? Simply because I try harder, I don’t accept the status quo by default, I question everything I can until I run out of energy, and sometimes not even then. But over the years have I become much less arrogant? Humbler in disposition? I sure hope so for everyone’s sake! I do have a good sense of humor, and I can even laugh at myself occasionally.

Honestly, I could never have imagined writing something so personal, putting it out there about myself, posting it up for all to read. I really must say, I really have come a long way baby from that introverted, and frightened young teenager afraid he was so different others would notice and criticize him, or maybe even beat him up.

I’m approximately now 483,840 years old in Mayfly life times. The Mayfly lives 24 hours. That’s 483,840/12/30/24 hours (so if my age is so important, you do the math, please don’t forget to take into account the date this article was written).

My story is unique as all stories are. I started out as one of the “original computer coding nerds” when it wasn’t so cool (even worked for DMV at one point, and wrote video games, had a Radio Shack Model I, Vic 20, Commodore 64, then Amiga, built my own PC compatibles, now own a Macbook and code an Arduino). Suffice it to say I know a lot about computers, I’m even a computer science dropout, something many of us did back in the late 80’s (as “in good company” reference see: Steve Jobs and Bill Gates). Some lines of my code, probably over thirty years old, still executes on computer systems! I’m sure much more of it has been trashed or updated as well . . .

I have remade myself many times into a blogger and now entrepreneur. Along the way I have worn many hats; I’ve called myself a hacker (ethical hacking only), business analyst, solutions architect, network engineer, webmaster, designer of custom virtual worlds. I can honestly say over my 34 year career I have forgotten more technical computer knowledge than most average level programmers currently know today. I literally have coded in archaic programming languages now almost forgotten. (IBM 360/370 Assembler Language, COBOL, Fortran, Pascal, C, Basic, Pilot, RGB II, Z80, 6502, JCL).

Does this mean I don’t learn new languages? Exactly the opposite. (SQL, Perl, Visual Basic, Java [Servlets, JSP, EJB], ASP, PHP, Javascript, Android, Swift, now learning WebVR). The reason I have to forget things is so I can make room for new skills. My neural net, my connectome is complex and diversely connected.

I have even written short science fiction stories and now have my own indie comic online for free. I love using Photoshop regularly and editing and uploading interesting YouTube videos. I have real world experienced in UI/UX design.

Recently I have written Mobile Apps which help the speech impaired to speak, like the software that Stephen Hawking uses, but different still. This is the one thing I am most proud of because it helps so many people who really need, and use it daily. It hasn’t made as much money as I would like, but that’s okay . . . it’s still a win-win and really helps those who have lost the ability to speak.

So, what’s the point of my story?? I don’t know, I still don’t know? Each time I think I have it figured out, something new comes along, an idea, a technology, a different approach or solution, a new problem to try to solve. I guess that is what it really is about for me, change, revolution, reworking the old into the new. Saving the good things, tossing the bad and useless. I have met the most amazing people, some I have even helped to make a little famous. Am I famous, no. I’m comfortable with that as well.

So, if it is not about age, or experience, or becoming famous, then what is it all about? Money, really?! How shallow . . . What is that magic spark, that brilliance, that for me makes life so much worth living? That makes me want to get out of bed every morning, rather than pull the covers over and go back to sleep?

For me, I think it has to be wonder. Amazement, excitement at the potential for new technologies. I guess that is why I love science fiction so much, that future just can’t get here fast enough for me. Even though I know I never will, I want to walk on the surface of another planet circling another star, look up and know how far I have actually come. That’s why I became a serial entrepreneur, I wanted to bring that future just a little closer, just a little sooner. Yes, I’m a dreamer and very proud of it! If you have read this far, you should be too.

I guess in writing this, in explaining myself to others, I have discovered myself once again. That is the way to introspection and the ability to shrug off harmful criticism, but also the way to accept and learn from it, iterative self-improvement. In writing this and your reading it I hope I have helped you as well.

My story is not over, it is really just beginning. Filled with a new determination, soon a new purpose will follow

Fraud General Government & Technology Health Health Investing Medical Technology Start Ups Startups

Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes, Blood Tests: Fraud

Posted on June 16, 2018
theranos and silicon valley story

Theranos at Walgreens, Palo Alto

Fraud and Failure

Fail often, fail fast is often said to startup founders.  But why?  You can get an answer to ‘why’  from tech gurus, plain folk and failures as to why that might be a good thing. Supposedly the lessons learned are invaluable.

Here’s my take: if you need to fail to know what difficulties are, then good ahead and fail. But if you haven’t lived in the bubble called perfection then you know failure happens.

You don’t have to idolize failure however – or make it mythical –  which leads to complacency which leads to obtaining a lot of other people’s money, using them, lying, and more.

Let’s get specific. It gets us to Theranos and Noatta. You may not know Noatta (but you will because they owe yours truly) but you must know Theranos, the blood testing company now outed as a fraud.

I’ve written about Theranos since 2013, in the days when no one know who Elizabeth Holmes was. I called it “The Almost Perfect Palo Alto Start Up.” l loved the idea of faster, cheaper, better blood tests. I admitted I knew nothing of the tech but the idea of getting results according to Holmes’ view was great. I still think that way and agree with her you shouldn’t need an Rx to find out your triglyceride level or your vitamin D3 level. Health care costs are outrageous enough.  Why pay $400 to get an Rx to get a blood test? (ok, we know why – it’s a cash cow for the medical profession).

But today we know that Theranos had a talking head who was so very, very good at what she did,  con people  – that many are hurt. And she and lover boy, Sunny Bulwani may end up in prison.

I knew someone who worked closely with Holmes. She told me Elizabeth stayed late every night and was a real workaholic. She believed in Elizabeth through her outing. Maybe not now, I don’t know. Apparently Holmes had a way about her that could make you believe in her. Others not so much.

I knew she was special because the Executive Office of the President came to my website to my post called Blood Money  Also arriving was DOJ,  DOD and CIA. Initial soup – but why? Well, the Executive Office of the President came in on the keywords ‘general mattis and theranos’ The date was early December 2015. And Holmes’ Dad was CIA and her mom was also a Washington DC insider. And someone from Theranos itself would come with keywords ‘theranos fraud’. (November and December 2015).

And then came all the wealth management firms (to see what they could learn to consider investing), her competitors such as Lab Corps, Quest Diagnostics, etc and finally, the lawyers…including a firm involved with Enron case. I knew the end was near then.

Elizabeth, you didn’t have to fail unethically. Maybe if you announced your troubles, helpers would have come that you didn’t need to defraud.

And Noatta: you should have listened to what people were telling you. But that’s another story.

Failure is only good if it helps you. Not when your friends and helpers are bamboozled and betrayed.



 

Investing Start Ups

Investing with a Team: Palo Alto’s Pie Capital

Posted on June 14, 2018
Silicon Valley past and future

GIFT CARDS NOW AVAILABLE TOO!
 Did you forget a gift?  this is perfect  –  a GREAT gift. $50 gets a piece of the pie. What’s cooler than owning part of a startup? Nada. Nothing.  Click to see what’s available and give the coolest gift.  Birthday coming up for someone? Or yours! How about owning a piece of a start up? 9 unique windows of the future – go ahead, look:  PIE CAPITAL  


Time to Invest 

So you want to invest in a startup? Good – because the innovation machine is on a roll and you might be on for the ride of a lifetime.

However if you don’t live in Silicon Valley and you don’t know anyone in a startup and you haven’t got a clue what to invest in but you want a piece of the pie what are you going to do?

First, congratulate yourself that you don’t need to find a place to live in the highest priced real estate market in the U.S.  It really is true that a 500 sq ft.  shack will cost you over a million. That topic is exiting stage left right now.

Second, here’s the good news: you aren’t stuck with the guesswork of a Kickstarter or Indiegogo (though I love them they can be confusing to an investor) in order to invest. With a new company in Palo Alto, Pie Capital, you have someone looking out for you, finding the latest and greatest startups and doing all the pre-vetting work for you.  And then, letting you in on the ground floor for as little as $100.00 and even better…letting you decide how to allocate whatever amount you decide to invest. I recently spoke with Bill Eichen, founder and CEO of Pie Capital. He explained what Pie does differently.

I am quite impressed with the vetting process the team at Pie Capital does. A start up can’t just throw together a cool video, a dubious product, make an app and say, “Give me money and I’ve got a t-shirt for you.” and expect to make it to Pie Capital’s recommended list for investment.

Let me insert a personally embarrassing but relevant  anecdote here. I had the co-founder and then CEO of Pinterest renting the studio at my house while they were  in beta.  I saw their site before it was released to the public.  But then out it went and Paul (Paul Sciarra, co-founder, former CEO) was worried one day – VC’s were going to be looking at the site’s traffic the next day and he thought they might not have enough.  I had a  newsletter I wrote with 2000 on my list.  I told Paul I would send out a notice: “Drop everything, go have fun, here’s a great new site you are going to love.”  I sent it and silently felt like a fraud. I did not really like Pinterest. I thought it was silly and due to fail.  Now you know the embarrassing part: as of May 2018, Pinterest had 200 million active monthly visitors.

How wrong was I?

Very wrong. How wrong were the local venture capitalists that funded Pinterest? Not at all.  And that’s what Pie Capital brings you. Thorough vetting and not a single mini me to make the mistake of thinking: ‘If I don’t like it no one else will’. The team at Pie Capital brings sensors, software, engineering, MIT, finance experts, CEO’s, COO’s, which all adds up to an embedded sense of knowing which startup has the brightest potential. I asked Bill Eichen, founder and CEO of Pie Capital if they have any secret sauce in how they make a decision for inclusion. They do. (This is so cool!)  They have a trademarked AI they call an Autovet engine.  Input the cap table, balance sheet and income statement of the startup to the engine and out pops the magic Bill and the team at Pie Capital use to decide who gets in. (Ok, I gave you the TL:DR version. But it is proprietary and what’s important is that these veterans of the Valley know what to do with it and what it means.)

Most importantly, they know what VC’s do: you don’t have to like the product, use it, or want it, but will the market ?  If so, you have a winner. Like Pinterest.

As great as Kickstarter and Indiegogo are, they do not make it easy to evaluate assets which means  a high barrier for entry for the public. And if you have no experience or knowledge base and don’t hang out with the founder then you need the wisdom of the team at PIE to help you evaluate.

Many seek out PIE but only a few are chosen.  We have no lack of startups today but picking the quality ones is a skill and an art. I love that Pie Capital brings this to the table.

Everyone has a different tolerance for risk but no one wants to be last out of the gate. No one can guarantee a winner but you can have a head start. With a variety of vetted startups that range from coffee shop startups to the MVP’s (they have a minimum viable product) to those with traction (they are already on the go), Pie brings you choice.

It also brings you ease of mind in a chaotic arena when faced with hard to evaluate assets. There may not be a t-shirt in it but really is this what you want? And when you look at the startups on the front page of Pie Capital remember this anecdote: Years ago, sitting at Printers Ink in Palo Alto I overheard the following: “My friend’s roommate just did something stupid: he dropped out of Stanford temporarily  to start a website based on his bookmarks.” That website based on his bookmarks belonged to Jerry Yang and he called it YAHOO. Was it stupid? No 🙂

Click the logo and check out the startups at PIE. Come back and tell us what you like and why.

 

 

PS. Bill Eichen is going to be was a judge on June 15th at this startup meetup in San Francisco – hopefully soon the videos will be up:  Live Sharks Tank

General Investing Start Ups Startups

Pie Capital Launches Portfolio for Microinvestments

Posted on April 27, 2018

555 Bryant, Palo Alto, CA
 www.pie.capital
For Immediate Release

PIE CAPITAL ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF PORTFOLIO

 

Unique service allows anyone to invest as little as $100 in nine startups.

 

Revolutionizes the micro-investor startup industry

May 1, 2018…Palo Alto, California — Pie Capital​ today announced the immediate availability of their new pre-vetted investment platform across multiple technology market segments. Micro-investors can quickly evaluate companies by reviewing slide decks, business plans, pre-money valuations, videos, and detailed financials to make informed and efficient investment decisions on 9 different technology startups.

Investments from $100 to $2,500 are made online with a secure payment portal from PayPal, Stripe, Venmo and BitCoin.

Investors then receive either Common or Preferred shares in the company.

Pie Capital allows investments as small as $100 and all tools are free and available to all. Transaction fees are reduced by more than 40% for investments in the diversified portfolio.

“Pie Capital is a unique investment tool for early stage startup micro-investors who want early access” explained Bill Eichen, CEO of Pie Capital, Inc. “Our investors are busy professionals, angel investors, family offices and early stage investors who understand the risk and reward in early stage funding.”

By using today’s mobile communications technologies, Pie Capital users receive instant information about their investment opportunities and can make informed decisions. Clients update their preferences at their convenience to best manage their own portfolios and transactions to review business trends on prospective new companies.

“We encourage spreading micro-investments across the 9 company diversified portfolio” The companies span Fintech, automotive, digital health, sensors, sports, and IoT marketplaces.

“Pie Capital has demonstrated a revolutionary technology using standard mobile devices” said Brandon Apparcel, CEO of SportsNuttz, Inc, a leader in sports gamification mobile technology.

“Pie Capital utilizes the latest reactive technology to ensue multi-platform compatibility on mobile and laptop technology,” said Sanjeev Dharap, Founder and CTO at Pie Capital. “Our active clients enjoy a secure, fast, and reliable service.”

 Online customer support is available 24×7 to registered customers. “We have created a customer-facing corporate culture and strive to insure that our customers receive information in a timely and reliable fashion,” said Eichen. “Pie Capital provides a Learning Center reference guide for new investors.”

Pie Capital, Inc. is a privately held corporation in Palo Alto, California. Pie Capital designs, develops and supports vertically oriented internet products and tools for the financial industry. Financial professionals and related ecosystem partners are encouraged to contact Pie Capital’s affiliates department at contact@pie.capital. Pie Capital may be reached at (650) 493-1801 or via email at contact@pie.capital.

Pie Capital, www.pie.capital, Autovet, and LearningCenter are trademarks of Pie Capital, Inc.

Big Tech Government & Technology

Cambridge Analytica and Facebook

Posted on March 23, 2018
silicon valley story

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What took so long? This isn’t hidden info. I found Cambridge Analytica and its methods over a year ago. I tweeted. I told friends in the hopes they would stop announcing Trump was a narcissist and repeating it as news.  The Facebook echo chamber is so extraordinarily boring.  I begged them to stop complaining and devise strategy and tactics and begin with Cambridge Analytica and the Mercer Family.

Surely, surely, FB had to know.  If I did, didn’t they?

January 2017  I sent this email:

Subject: How Facebook shows the news that people like

It’s Robert Mercer’s company – Cambridge Analytica
 This article is on big data and its role in politics  – Rebekah Mercer is trying to get this page supressed
The entire article is  Orwellian   And right now there is turf war: Kushner wants his data people but Rebekah wants their company – the one described here – and all the data collected is enormous – a data base of great wealth – literally

How to keep Clinton voters away from the ballot box

Trump’s striking inconsistencies, his much-criticized fickleness, and the resulting array of contradictory messages, suddenly turned out to be his great asset: a different message for every voter. The notion that Trump acted like a perfectly opportunistic algorithm following audience reactions is something the mathematician Cathy O’Neil observed in August 2016.

These “dark posts”—sponsored Facebook posts that can only be seen by users with specific profiles—included videos aimed at African-Americans in which Hillary Clinton refers to black men as predators, for example.

“Pretty much every message that Trump put out was data-driven,” Alexander Nix remembers. On the day of the third presidential debate between Trump and Clinton, Trump’s team tested 175,000 different ad variations for his arguments, in order to find the right versions above all via Facebook. The messages differed for the most part only in microscopic details, in order to target the recipients in the optimal psychological way: different headings, colors, captions, with a photo or video. This fine-tuning reaches all the way down to the smallest groups, Nix explained in an interview with us. “We can address villages or apartment blocks in a targeted way. Even individuals.”

In the Miami district of Little Haiti, for instance, Trump’s campaign provided inhabitants with news about the failure of the Clinton Foundation following the earthquake in Haiti, in order to keep them from voting for Hillary Clinton. This was one of the goals: to keep potential Clinton voters (which include wavering left-wingers, African-Americans, and young women) away from the ballot box, to “suppress” their vote, as one senior campaign official told Bloomberg in the weeks before the election. These “dark posts”—sponsored news-feed-style ads in Facebook timelines that can only be seen by users with specific profiles—included videos aimed at African-Americans in which Hillary Clinton refers to black men as predators, for example.

Nix finishes his lecture at the Concordia Summit by stating that traditional blanket advertising is dead. “My children will certainly never, ever understand this concept of mass communication.” And before leaving the stage, he announced that since Cruz had left the race, the company was helping one of the remaining presidential candidates.