(Originally posted on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/my-next-journey-creating-blockchain-ecosystem-san-diego-gazdecki/ )

Back in 2010, when I was a senior in college, I founded a company called Bizness Apps. I wanted to help small businesses create mobile applications easily and affordably -- think Wix or SquareSpace but for mobile apps.

Recently, Bizness Apps was acquired by a $1 billion private equity firm.

Awards & Accomplishments:

• 2014 — Inc. 500 #58 Fastest Growing Company
• 2015 — Inc. 500 #91 Fastest Growing Company
• 2015 — 1st Place In North America Customer Happiness Award
• 2016 — Named to G2 Crowd's List of Top 50 Small-Business Software Products
• 2017 — Inc. Magazine’s 30 Under 30
• 500,000+ iOS and Android apps created for businesses, 22.9 Million Users reached each month, and over 40+ Countries served

I couldn't be more proud of our team's accomplishments, but the part I loved most about founding and growing Bizness Apps into one of the largest mobile application development platforms in the world (and what I will miss most) was the positive impact we made on millions of people across the globe.

I had the rare opportunity to work with extremely talented individuals, all of whom made the company a success. Business is a team sport, and it takes a hungry team with a shared vision to succeed.

I'm extremely grateful to everyone who helped make Bizness Apps what it is today and will continue to be in the future under new executive management. I learned from these individuals, made friends that I will keep forever, and created memories I’ll never forget -- for that, I feel truly lucky.

Since the acquisition, I’ve been asked the same question more times than I can count: “What are you going to do next?”

Well, as an entrepreneur it’s not in my nature to lie on a beach for the rest of my life, so I’m diving right into what I believe to be the next big shift in technology: blockchain.

Blockchain: a framework for change

Internet, mobile, and blockchain are among the three biggest technological changes we may see in our lifetime. That might sound controversial, but all three have changed or are changing society in unexpected ways.

When technology is new, it’s hard to predict what these changes will look like. What we’d struggle to live without today has likely raised a giggle or disapproving eyebrow at some point in its past.

2006: "Everyone's always asking me when Apple will come out with a cell phone. My answer is, 'Probably never.'" — David Pogue, The New York Times.

1995: "I predict the Internet will soon go spectacularly supernova and in 1996 catastrophically collapse." — Robert Metcalfe, founder of 3Com.

1981: “Cellular phones will absolutely not replace local wire systems.” — Marty Cooper, inventor.

1903: “The horse is here to stay but the automobile is only a novelty – a fad.” — President of the Michigan Savings Bank advising Henry Ford’s lawyer, Horace Rackham.

As the saying goes, the best way to predict the future is to create it, so I want to bring together San Diego’s smartest to create a blockchain ecosystem.

Blockchain technology has enormous potential – from banking to healthcare – but volatility in the cryptocurrency market has tarnished its reputation. Bitcoin dragged the market upwards in January and just as quickly fell. Not every cryptocurrency survived the fall, but those that did proved themselves of real-world value and not just another fund-grabbing ICO.

Considering all the industries that blockchain could disrupt, it’s the perfect time to make San Diego the blockchain hub of the future.

So why blockchain? Isn’t Bitcoin and cryptocurrency a giant scam?

By now, everybody has heard of ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings) and Bitcoin (I think). In 2017, ICOs outperformed venture capital funding and became the number one method of funding blockchain organizations.

But let’s go back to where it all started. When Satoshi Nakamoto (actual person still unknown) published Bitcoin’s whitepaper in 2008, it eventually led to the creation of a new currency and, more importantly, a new way of recording information.

Nakamoto’s greatest gifts to the world in my view are blockchain and the concept of decentralization. In general, decentralization means no single entity has exclusive control over data or processes, so there’s no single point of failure.

According to Nasdaq, “blockchains provide a basic level of decentralization because transactions are recorded by all users on the blockchain network. Any changes to the transaction record must be confirmed by the vast majority of blockchain users in order to be recognized as legitimate.”

Blockchain and the concept of decentralization could be one of the largest technology shift we see in our lifetimes.

Blockchain technology, which underpins Bitcoin and all other cryptocurrencies, at its most basic level is a digital ledger that arranges data in a virtually unbreakable way. It’s secure, efficient, and transparent, providing an indelible audit trail of every transaction.

Today, more and more industries are looking to blockchain to save them time, money, and even to create new revenue streams. Bitcoin proved to the world how effective blockchains are, paving the way for this radical technology to disrupt many industries.

If blockchain is such a technological breakthrough, why hasn’t it changed the world already?

I often think of the current ICO frenzy as similar to the dot-com boom of the nineties. The dot-com bubble burst, but still left a trillion dollar industry. Bitcoin’s fall in January might be seen by some as similar, and now the dust has settled to reveal the projects with real-world value, the outlook is looking very optimistic.

I believe blockchain is going to change the world. It’s already cut international payment processing from days to seconds, improved tracking of conflict-free diamonds, given artists better control over their music, and more. As the underlying technology evolves, the use cases multiply.

So, I started Altcoin.io with a talented team looking to help secure and improve the blockchain experience, especially when trading cryptocurrencies.

Sule, or Sulejman Sarajlija, is our CTO and lead developer. He specializes in back-end development and blockchain technologies. Day to day, he leads Djenad, Anto, and Azra.

Our advisory board includes Fabian Vogelsteller who has worked on many open-source projects, creating Ethereum's Mist browser and the Ethereum Wallet. He also proposed the ERC20 standard, ushering in a new era of token trading, and brings a wealth of technical expertise and insight to the team.

In addition to Fabian, we have five other advisors, four of whom are active cryptocurrency traders, and Alan Ezeir, a successful San Diego entrepreneur.

We’re currently focused on building a scalable, instant, and trustless trading exchange using a layer 2 Plasma-like sidechain model. Plasma’s goal is to scale the Ethereum network to transact millions of transactions per second (instead of just 10–15) by building a blockchain within a blockchain, and removing the need for every node on the network to verify all transactions as they occur.

In the same way Facebook takes ownership of your personal data, a centralized exchange like Coinbase takes ownership of your tokens. And just like Facebook exposes your data to cyberattacks, such as the huge data breach that crippled Yahoo! in 2014, Coinbase risks your funds by holding them on your behalf. At Altcoin.io, we don’t hold your tokens at any time, greatly reducing the risk of theft.  

If this sounds confusing here’s an overview that might help...

As a team we accomplished the world’s very first Bitcoin to Ethereum atomic swap and open sourced the technology for others to build upon. We’ve also seen over 100,000+ people preregister for our exchange which we plan to launch later this year.

Why do we need a decentralized exchange?

Centralized exchanges are a massive security risk. By holding your tokens/coins in a single vault during each transaction, they create a single point of failure, a weakness hackers can easily exploit.

Since 2011, dozens of centralized cryptocurrency exchanges have been hacked — with more being added to the list every month. The combined losses of these exchanges are in the billions. At Altcoin.io, we believe the cryptocurrency community deserves a safe, easy way to trade with a great user experience. So, we’re creating a decentralized exchange (DEX) with a Plasma-like sidechain architecture that guarantees the security of your funds.

Considering over $750 million has been stolen from other exchanges this year alone, triple the amount stolen in 2017, we need a safer trading environment for this market to grow.

Some of the smartest minds in the world are coming together to create a more secure, transparent, and trustless trading exchange. We’re proud to be contributing to this shared mission.

How big can the blockchain industry get?

Blockchains are solving real problems for many industries, including banking, internet identity, infrastructure security, ride sharing, cloud computing, intellectual property rights, healthcare, real estate, insurance, supply chain management, and many others. These are billion dollar markets which present billion dollar opportunities if successful.

To get a sense of scale, think of blockchain as a secure way of transferring information. The internet transfers more information than any other medium in the world; blockchain does the same thing, but securely, therefore allowing the largest transfer of value.

Netflix is one of the largest tech companies in the world, but that’s just one small transaction in everyone’s monthly budgets. Imagine if all of your transactions – from entertainment to mortgage payments – were handled through blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

No one knows for sure what the future of blockchain holds but many of these projects could change the world for the better. There aren’t many live decentralized applications being used in mass markets just yet, but people are working hard to make this a reality. We’re kind of revving the engine at the moment, building momentum for that moment when the handbrake lifts and blockchain really takes off.

Now the big question, how can San Diego benefit from a thriving blockchain ecosystem?

According to Crypto Fund Research San Diego currently ranks as the #16th best city for blockchain development.

Rank, # of blockchain job listings: 15
Rank, # of top 300 blockchain companies: 12
Rank, # of blockchain startups: 12
Rank, # of blockchain/crypto funds: 12

But there’s still very little blockchain activity. According to Crypto Fund Research, there are currently only 15 job listings for blockchain development roles, but there seems to be a good amount of investment funds (12), so why so few companies?

This presents a large opportunity for San Diego to embrace blockchain as an emerging technology and welcome companies to the area to thrive.

We hope to be one of the first of many successful blockchain startups in San Diego. If you are one, feel free to reach out, I’d love to connect and discuss what you’re working on and share ideas.

If you are interested in getting involved as an investor or joining the team, we're hiring and launched an equity crowdfunding campaign (not an ICO) through Wefunder.

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