Though experts are saying this crash will not last long, it is hard to know what to think when it comes to cryptocurrency these days. It seems as though every few weeks there is another company that loses value, and it would be easy to see why people call it a volatile investment.

But what does this all mean for investors? To get a better understanding of cryptocurrency and how it works I chatted with Erica Pimentel from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University.

Pimentel has a Ph.D. in accounting, is an assistant professor at Queens University and has been studying cryptocurrency for the last four years.

What makes cryptocurrency so intriguing, according to Pimentel, is its use of blockchain technology, which basically means that your crypto cash can be safe in a decentralized banking system. Having a system where people can trade or sell an NFT (non-fungible token) means that people can use, spend or trade their money independently without the government or banks’ interference.

The ability to have a decentralized banking system where people operate independently has a lot of appeals these days as mistrust of the government grows. According to Pimentel, the philosophy behind cryptocurrency is similar to that of libertarianism which bases its ideas on the premise that people should be able to rule themselves without interference from a government. By framing the rise of cryptocurrency as a social movement, we can see why there has been a quick rise and then a sudden crash of the system.

When cryptocurrency first came out, people didn’t really know what to think about it so it took some time to gain popularity. Over the years, however, companies such as Bitcoin, have been able to prove themselves as useful in the modern-day economy. Bitcoin was able to come out with ways you can use their cryptocurrency in your everyday life, making others notice and want to get in on the game.

There have been a lot of new companies started in the last few years and the way they have marketed the currency has given people “FOMO” or fear of missing out. With all the hype about how much you could make by investing in cryptocurrency, a lot of people signed up without doing their homework.

A lot of what has been seen in cryptocurrency has been produced by what Pimentel calls herding behaviour. “One person starts to sell their coin and all of a sudden everyone is” Pimentel explains. It is a very volatile market and unfortunately, scammers are rampant. Without the regulations that centralized banking systems come with, people have been able to get away with selling fake cryptocurrency and a lot of people have lost money.

And in terms of all the recent plummeting, it is hard to know whether cryptocurrency will rebound or become a thing of the past. With a possible recession on the way, people might be more apt to put their money into safer investments.

All of that being said, Pimentel and other experts believe these crashes are temporary. But be wary of investing all your money into cryptocurrency just yet. If you do want to invest, Pimentel says that it is important to ask the same questions from companies as you would when investing in stocks. And know that the system is still in its early days, so volatility is to be expected.

“You have to ask yourself what you can afford to risk. If you want to put $100 into cryptocurrency, you have to be okay with the idea of losing all that money” Pimentel warned.

And with crypto companies having crashes every few weeks, it seems as though Pimentel is right.

The post The Crash of Cryptocurrency – What is Going On? appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

What is your business called and what does it do?

Explorer Hop is a ground-breaking, top-rated financial education camp and after-school program for children that targets kids well before they reach their teens, empowering them with real-life money lessons and the fundamentals of investing. Explorer Hop’s Camp Millionaire and Young Entrepreneurs programs have been voted Top 6 Educational Camps in the GTA, Top Camp in the GTA, Top STEM Camp in the GTA, and Top Sustainable Entrepreneurship Camp, and have been roundly lauded by the BBC. As founder and CEO, I teach kids as young as 6 years old the value of a buck – a first. “I believe that trying to teach pre-teens, teens and young adults about money management and investment, while still important, is often too late. Canadian parents aren’t having the “money convo” early enough, household debt is at an all-time high, and mom and dad need help.”

What made you want to do this work?

Throughout my career, I mentored many motivated young people entering the workforce looking to make an impact on the world. Time and again, I witnessed the education systems failing to teach them important life skills — many unprepared for managing their finances in real life. I wanted to help these young people achieve their full potential by offering my decades’ worth of knowledge and experience. That’s when my then-10-year-old daughter gave her the idea for Explorer Hop.

What problem does this solve?

Explorer Hop aims to encourage money smarts in kids from an early age. While we are all focused on physical and mental well-being, we also need financial well-being for a happy life. It completes the basic tenets of a happy life. This is what we teach kids at a level that they can understand and relate to. Most parents talk about how kids have everything and “don’t understand the value of things”. We take this head on by coaching kids to transform their ideas into businesses by getting their hands dirty. This life-changing experience helps them understand the value of a buck and appreciate it in life. It also helps them understand and empathize with the money challenges their parents face.

Who are your clientele/demographics?

Kids as young as 6-17 years old and women.

How does your business make money? How does it work?

At Explorer Hop, we coach kids on various subjects covered under S.T.E.A.M. As a mom, my aim is to provide convenience and flexibility for parents looking for programs focused on life skills. We offer these programs as summer camps, after-school programs and PA day camps. We also provide bursaries for deserving children.

Where in Toronto can we find your profession?

556 Mount Pleasant Avenue, Toronto

What is the best question a prospective customer could ask a member of your profession when comparing services? Give the answer as well.

We have a wide range of camps and after-school programs around us. This makes it a tough decision for a parent to pick a particular program. Explorer Hop ensures that it covers a wide variety of S.T.E.A.M. and STEM programs and is known as the top-rated educational camp in the GTA for Camp Millionaire and Young Entrepreneurs.

During program creation, our programs go through three filters:
1. Core competency: How much of the core subject is the program covering?
2. Cohort competency: Are we able to make it “relatable and fun” for the age-group attending this program?
3. Delivery competency: How will we teach this program? Who will teach this program?

This 3-step process ensures that our programs are designed to deliver critical subjects in a fun way.

Our last step is to check if it passes the “individual learn by doing” test. The idea is to create individual responsibility, but to work in teams. The Young Entrepreneurs Camp ensures every participant has a responsibility in the team. They motivate each other and decide as a team on individual work allocation, as well. Explorer Hop programs move the needle on not just team accomplishments, but individual accomplishments, too. We also request a detailed “after-program feedback” that covers all the tenets of a great program.

What is the best part about what you do? What is the worst part?

The best part about my work is creating kids’ programs. As a financial literacy expert and as a mom, I have two hats that I use interchangeably to transform my knowledge into easy bite-sized program modules for kids. As a mom, I understand what gets kids excited and I am able to design the programs into relatable examples/activities. Gamifying these critical subjects is a great way to drive effectiveness.

My work starts after-school hours and weekends. This means busy weekends and busy evenings. Sometimes I am running pillar to post to keep up with my mom duties and chasing my mission in life!

What is your favourite joke about your own profession?

Being a role model is tough. Sometimes I like to splurge on a few little things that wouldn’t pass the “value test” and that’s when the jokes on me. LOL

PAY IT FORWARD: What is another Toronto business that you love?

Clearbanc is doing a great job as a start-up. Michele Romanow’s mission on easy funding options for start-ups with full transparency is a brilliant idea. I also find it inspiring to see the focus and support for women entrepreneurs.

The post Homegrown Business: Teach Kids the Value of a Dollar with Explorer Hop appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

Call him a serial entrepreneur, but at the age of 28 KOHO was already his second venture. Now at 32, Daniel’s successful FinTech company offers individuals the insight into their money that they deserve.
Launched in 2014, KOHO is a FinTech company that provides Canadians a financial alternative to the Big Five banks. Through an integrated app and reloadable Visa card, users have direct access into their finances with no hidden fees, an automated saving incentive, and real time spend notifications to name a few of the many user benefits. Instead of charging individuals unnecessary banking fees, KOHO profits from the interchange fees that merchants are already paying when individuals use a credit card in a store. For those who don’t know, banks have traditionally kept this fee for themselves.

Here, Daniel talks about the differences between the European and Canadian banking system and offers advice to aspiring entrepreneurs.

On the impetus behind KOHO.

“I had recently returned to Canada after traveling throughout Europe. It was in Europe that I saw firsthand the fundamental differences in the UK banking system as compared to Canada. There were far fewer banking fees and greater communication and transparency to consumers when charges did occur. When I returned to Canada and had to re-set my Canadian accounts, these differences became increasingly obvious. The process was complex. I had no visibility into the banking fees that I was being charged, not to mention the numerous fees associated with this process.

I decided to look into this. I asked 10 of my friends, including my brother, for their bank statements so I could directly see what they were being charged. My brother had paid $85 in bank fees within three months – and he didn’t know about this. This felt unfair.

In order to see if this was a universal issue, I built a website asking others if they had similar experiences. I was looking for other people’s testimonials. It turned out that a lot of people were looking for greater transparency and autonomy with their banking. I took these testimonials to investors and used this as market proof that there was indeed a need for a financial alternative – a challenger to the Big Five banks.”

On the Open Banking changes he wants the Canadian government to implement.

“There are a lot of things happening in the Canadian banking system right now that matter. In the EU and UK, there is something called “Open Banking” in which people have the right to determine who has access to their financial data. This is not the case in Canada. And this is used to exploit Canadians.
We need a government driven solution in Canada – similar to the UK- to democratize what happens to our financial data. Our own financial transactional data should not be used to exploit us. And it is vitally important for Canadians to pay attention to this.”

On the advice he would give other entrepreneurs.

“The first piece of advice I would give others, is to work on big meaty problems. This is important from both a capital and talent perspective. If you work on problems that matter and that people care about, then you will have an advantage when acquiring capital and talent. Individuals have optionality these days, and the best talent and investment goes towards problems that are meaningful.

Secondly, you need to be resilient. It is much easier to be resilient if you are passionate about the problem that you are trying to solve.

Finally, you need to remember that people are investing in you, so you need to give them a reason why they should stake their claim on you as an outlier. You must do something that is unique.”

The post Homegrown Business: Daniel Eberhard, CEO and founder of KOHO appeared first on Toronto Guardian.