Founder's Story My name is Jared Mimms. My time in bitcoin is storied. It all started from a young age when my father tried to explain banking to me. I asked the question: why would I give my money to other people? It took me a while to radically accept that other people could generate "interest" for me. I felt stupid when bitcoin came along - stupid that I didn't dedicate my life to overcoming the stigma of self sufficiency perpetuated by the very existence of the banking system as poor financial sense when you can "make your money work for you" by doing nothing but handing over your life savings to some middle manager. Still, I handed my cash over to Wells Fargo, and...we'll get to that.
My father didn't get into the details of the convenience side of things. I think that's where the "mainstream" adopters of bitcoin are stuck. Think about it - people go to work and every month get paid by direct deposit. Then, expenses like food and rent are automatically charged to an account. Why would anyone care when people don't even bother to look at the fees. Oh wait, fees on consumer bank accounts are a thing of the past. How are the banks still alive again?
I learned in high school, my cousin never got the banking system. He's the smart one.
Still, I had the idea of virtual money young and knew how to question things. I completed a senior project on FOREX trading. I stood on the trading floors of San Diego when Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae went down in 2007. I went to college. I received an invitation to a Goldman Sachs trading floor in New York City. I witnessed an overseer extoll the expense of his coworker's coat in coked up fashion. I promptly left.
When I got back to San Diego from a couple years at Davidson College, to my delight, Bitcointalk taught me a new way into financial independence. Too bad Charlie Shrem blocked my fledgling hedge fund Omega Hedge from
investing in an early Bitinstant. Or maybe his
persistence in being the sole investor saved my life.
I decided to go back to college, where I learned web development. I turned Omega Hedge into an intellectual property haven when I produced a script submission platform for cross server runtime. I envisioned a decentralized version. My vision would later become Ethereum.
After graduating University of California, San Diego (UCSD) with a degree in Bioinformatic Entrepreneurship, I decided to provisionally patent my script perpetuation prototype under the LLC Omega Genomics. I ran my mind to analogously apply my claims to decentralized, cryptographic systems.
I felt validated when I found out Charlie and Bitinstant succeeded, a company I had courted, in the time it took me to graduate UCSD. I too had succeeded as an entrepreneur (albeit in the field of bioinformatics) in that time, but I knew I had produced cross-industry value and had to move on.
I engaged in the forums again, this time joining the Ripple community. I started the historic
Bitinsure thread that brought the community together around the concept of peer-to-peer insurance.
I used Bitinstant to buy enough bitcoin to register for Bitcoin 2013 in San Jose. I walked into the conference listening to Zippity Doo Da and O Fortuna, wearing a blue Hugo Boss 70's threaded suit and the carnelian/gold "Ring of the Devil," a family heirloom bestowed in sin. My only sin was not investing in Bitcoin heavier. I sat in the audience of the main stage as one of only a handful of attendees positioned there at the beginning of the conference. I noticed Charle Shrem speaking to a young founder of Bitcoin Magazine onstage by the name of Vitalik Buterin. When Adam Draper of Boost.vc called for pitches onstage, I went up and pitched pay after peer-to-peer insurance. I called for Ripple and Bitcoin to work together by playing nice. I brushed shoulders with the Winklevii and shook Fred Ehrsam's hand after I presented to him a new way to do affiliate marketing called Dycomb. I met Chris Bishko from Omidyar and the new CEO of Prosper, Ron Suber.
When I returned home from the conference, the Bitinsure thread on the Ripple forum stayed active, producing team member Wolfgang Spraul, domain name peercover.com, testers, and a fan base.
I rapidly produced the produced the peer-to-peer insurance prototype, qualifying as an invention, with UI developer Chris commissioned with the help of Wolfgang Spraul and Jon Phillips. The community embraced Peercover. Beta tester, now counsel, Ian Reader joined the fray. I retained Procopio in Del Mar, a law firm recently advertising itself as a start up specialist. I filed a provisional patent with Noel Gillespie on peer-to-peer insurance. I kept Peercover alive with $40,000 I inherited from my grandmother's trust after I retailed XRP, Ripple's "postage stamp," on Google Wallet on the advice of MIT alum Benjy Thomas. Even though Google Wallet advertised itself as a means of selling digital goods, the service froze my account with $10,900 just as projections for one fiscal year topped $1,000,000. Later, I went to Procopio to prosecute. I was upset when I found out Google was also one of Procopio's clients and the firm would not prosecute its own. I realized the limitations of modern law and the delicacies of conflicts of interest. I hoped that automated systems could augment the field of law.
Wolfgand Spraul and Jon Phillips flew out to San Diego to meet me. We attended Money 20/20 together. They helped me secure a speaking spot at the Ripple conference. I spoke on reaping what you sow online, extolling the vision of Peercover. Ripple employee Evan Schwartz presented his face with various expressions in some kind of sick Bill Gates/Jobs joke behind me. Wolfgang, Jon, and I met with a venture capitalist after the presentation.
When I returned to San Diego without funding for the office we picked out, I felt disappointed. We met at Procopio and could not negotiate an equity agreement based on location. Wolfgang and Jon had ties to Germany and China. They were great assets for Peercover, but we had to delay the deal. Later I would find the XRP in our shared wallet drained. I did not blame them and would still work with them in the future.
Working in my new apartment in Pacific Beach, I invented the idea of "autonomous corporations" by progressing to investment groups as standalones and integrations with the reward, insurance, and yet to be developed merchant groups on the platform. I picked up angel investment from big names who requested to stay semi-anonymous. Chris Larsen, CEO of Ripple Labs, and S****, CTO of Private Internet Access, supported me.
I took a business trip to San Francisco, meeting with Adam Draper who directed me to Jered Kenna. Jered Kenna said he would invest but we never got around to a terms sheet. Later, he did not reply to my messages.
I ran a small experimental ICO, the first in the industry, and semi-automated dividends to help pay beta testers for Peercover.
I took a trip to Beverly Hills. Les Borsai introduced me to Shawn Fanning, who expressed interest in decentralized poker. We decided a business relationship could not happen there yet. Les later came down to San Diego to pitch a surgeon on an investment in Peercover. We would stay in contact.
During that time I experimented with ACH, aided by Jumio identity verification. The now "out of business" Y-Combinator supported company Balanced, "forgave my debts." All ACH fraud happened from Wells Fargo accounts. Jumio verified pictures of U.S. passports submitted with these accounts. Now Wells Fargo is in trouble for incentivizing employees to make fake accounts.
Jack Peterson joined my development team, demanding an exorbitant amount of equity for his contributions: graphs for our products, Simple Exchange and Simple Stocks. I later had to sell Simple Exchange to an Italian group when struggling to pay my rent.
I frequented the Ripple group on Skype. I recognized Vitalik Buterin in the group. Feeling safe about my patent, I dropped my prototype for contracts in the Skype group. I saw Vitalik Buterin download the prototype. Next thing I know he is pitching exactly what I did using his media connections. Vitalik Buterin claimed he was me, convincing Tim Swanson, who wrote
Great Chain of Numbers that Peercover would be on his protocol. I called the FBI. Vitalik Buterin directly blocked my funding with the Bitangels. Convinced that Peercover was dependent on Ethereum, the Bitangels decided to wait to invest in the protocol first. Later, I would write a whitepaper that actually works for contracts called
Webmata.
Based on demand from users of the Ripple Forum, I spun off a community called OpenXRPTalk with radio announcer Isabel Sierra recommended by Jack Peterson.
Matthew Liston contacted me about a deal. He said he could fund Peercover better than me. I paid him and the designer he brought to the table in XRP for a logo for Simple Exchange. I was disappointed when Arthur Britto conditionalized a Ripple Labs grant on his involvement. He started a derivatives trading platform called Dyffy. Jack Peterson left Peercover for Dyffy. Eventually, Jack and Matthew did a shady deal with Vitalik for a prediction market called Augur based on Peercover's reward groups. They raised too much money out of SEC regulation by claiming their service was of Canadian origin. Even though the platform would eventually pay token owners, they classified as a foundation. Their business model and reporting did not make sense to me. I approached Paul Sztorc of Truthcoin. He had published a blog post on his opinion of Augur. I believed we were taken advantage of.
In the meantime I decided to keep forging forward, without regard to finances. I had no way to secure myself. I had to return home and work with a new team on Providence, a company designed to acquire and monetize Peercover with a custom middleware solution I invented. Matthew Neumeier, Chris Bates, Peter Visser, and Tim Frost cofounded the Providence project that evolved into an enterprise proposal. While Tim did business development, Chris published articles, Peter produced videos, Matthew connected people, and I produced code.
Stephanie Murphy from
Let's Talk Bitcoin voiced the Pledger Club video.
The Providence home page contained a marketing game and faucet. It directed to our first two products, Pledger Club, and Pier Exchange. We started a Regulation S enabled fundraising effort. Matthew and I gained acceptance to Founder's Space, a technology accelerator in San Francisco. After a business trip, I was cut down mid stride by mental health allegations. My mother and father, jaded by Jack Peterson and my financial condition, involuntary committed me to a mental health hospital. I barely survived on the street level afterwards, draining my credit. The hospital placed me on temporary conservatorship, denying me the right to make contracts in the State of California. A physician named Dr. Koley put me on Riese petition, enabling nurses and administrators to forcefully inject me with harmful agents. They pushed me into the carpet, producing soft tissue damage and open lacerations on my body. In court ordered by my writ of habeas corpus, Dr. Koley testified, "anyone can start a business." My new c-corporation bounced.
I knew Pledger Club had solved the notary problem. With Pledger Club, no one can deny a contract is signed. Pledger Club went down. The State of California had denied contracts not only to me, but to the world.
I ran to Santa Monica and San Jose, only to get sucked back into the mental health system.
I regained stability when my parents agreed to sponsor me again. In recovery from the financial stress and survival at the street level, I regained my contacts. I joined XRPChat by the advice of Ian Reader. I found out my friend Taylor Warden had started a gateway called Xagate and had gone through a similar ordeal in mental health. Ripple Labs had agreed to compensate him for the gateway. Ripple Labs had stiff armed me by ignorance.
In recovery I publicized my legal capital against Ethereum, organizing and fielding efforts to collect money owed. I received a request to join a team and lend my founder's story. I decided to share it here instead.
I don't like how I have been treated. But, I had a lot of time to think. I have legal assets. I am sane. I am real. I have been defamed. But, I still have it. I have a plan. From all of my experience and all of my pain I have a plan for Bitcoin. The Ripple team failed to endorse productive community members. The efforts of Ripple could become the upgrade for Bitcoin. Since Ripple Labs has not paid me, I am the bridge between Bitcoin and Bitcoin 2.0.
Business PlanProvidence will standardly apply per request monetization middleware debuted with the Pledger Club app to static and dynamic content sites across the world, enabling a "pay for use" monetization schema in lieu of "pay per month" monetization schema. Providence will reduce stress on internet service providers (ISPs) and hold people accountable for the data they use at a higher sensitivity than today's monetization.
Providence will enable customers to self-service with copy and pasteable code implants in common languages. Providence will also do custom integrations.
Providence is an escrow business. Payments from consumers using Providence retrofitted apps and web pages on a request basis will go to Providence escrow, accessible by a management platform.
Corporate StructureStage 1:
Promissory notes are issued on Ripple Consensus Ledger. Providence Enterprises incorporated in California.
Stage 2:
Promissory notes converted to equity tracked on Ripple Consensus Ledger. New issuances governed by a Ripple multisignature address weighted on proportions of owned shares per address.
Stage 3:
Peercover reverse merges with Providence Enterprises.
Stage 4:
Providence Enterprises formally acquires Pledger Club, Pier Exchange, Providence Solutions, and Pecunia.
Stage 5:
Providence Enterprises licenses Omega Genomics script submission intellectual property. Providence Enterprises acquires
Webmata intellectual property.
Technical StructureProvidence Enterprises will leverage legal capital (stated below) for the upgrade of the Bitcoin protocol on the Interledger Protocol (ILP). Providence will develop a wallet plugin for consumers using bitcoin in web browsers.
The corporation will collect and distribute fees for stakeholders on the Ripple Consensus Ledger (RCL).
Providence Enterprises will consolidate technically into a standalone platform for doing business online. Providence.com
Legal CapitalLegal capital is the right to sue for a monetary sum.
A fully formed Providence Enterprises will have legal capital on:
Ripple Labs
Google Incorporated (Alphabet Incorporated)
Wells Fargo
Ethereum Foundation (and team)
Augur Foundation (and team)
OfferingProvidence Enterprises is selling promissory notes convertible to equity enabled by SEC Regulation S.
SEC Regulation S enables non U.S. citizens to invest in U.S. corporations.
Providence Enterprises is raising $2,000,000 (3,297.61 BTC @ $606.50/BTC) in BTC.
Promissory notes will be accounted on the Ripple Consensus Ledger.
2,000,000 PVD will be issued.
Fees from consumer wallet payments to sites monetized by Providence will route through the Ripple Consensus Ledger by the Interledger Protocol to Providence stakeholders (PVD holders).
PVD is non transferable. PVD represents restricted securities. Legal classification of PVD could change according to additional offerings approved by decentralized governance.
Conditions Purchasers of PVD are not U.S. persons and are not acquiring the securities for the account or benefit of a U.S. person.
Purchasers of PVD provide identification.
Purchase minimum $150 (0.2541 BTC @ $606.28/BTC).
HowTo 1. Download
Bitmessage 2. Download and extract
Ripple Wallet 3. Create Ripple wallet
4. Send a bitmessage to BM-2cXDD1oBsdaWwmDhYKtJQXBKJUsRbXij7Z containing:
Ripple address
Bitcoin address
Ripple address
signed by your bitcoin address
Photo ID image
encoded in base 64 7. Send bitcoin to address 12tRjyYdbZkheAM3ejTf8yfit3CUjNtFNp from your bitcoin address used in Step 4
8. Receive 30 XRP from Providence
9. Add trust line from trust line section
rBqbZZz5taf1dv4bfYo4BBMmfvJ5sc3eH2
X PVD where X is PVD expected you will purchase lifetime of the offering (currently $1/PVD or 0.001694 BTC/PVD @ $606.28/BTC)
10. Receive PVD from rBqbZZz5taf1dv4bfYo4BBMmfvJ5sc3eH2
11. Wait for paperwork, updates, and dividends
Why Ripple?Banks have announced plans to use Ripple as the new Swift/ACH. Settlements over the Ripple Consensus Ledger will prove profitable for Providence shareholders. Ripple Labs has indicated plans to license private ledgers. Providence will utilize a private ledger to help upgrade Bitcoin while maintaining value for bitcoin holders.
All links:Peercover's New Scientist Coverage with Ron Suber from ProsperPeter Visser's Pledger Club Video Voiced by Stephanie MurphyPledger Club LaunchBrave New Coin's Providence AnnouncementCointelegraph's Peercover/Providence ArticleCointelegraph's Ethereum ArticleProvidence ICO AnnouncementCode bases:All code bases are closed source.
Providence Main & Pledger Club BackendPledger ClubPierProvichatPeercover
