Bitcoin startups born after 1985: How to get a $10 million Series A round in one year

"Ten years ago, we missed the train of Internet development. Now, we cannot miss Bitcoin. This is an opportunity to participate in changing the world. We cannot say how much change Bitcoin can bring about, but at least it has given people a new way of thinking, and at least it will cause a great reflection on our existing economic system."

A startup team led by a post-85 generation received $10 million in Series A funding led by Ceyuan Ventures only six months after the product was launched. One year after its launch, its global market share exceeded 50%, making it the world's largest Bitcoin trading platform. They are OKCoin.

Now, the "most secure" Bitcoin payment application in history, OKLink, created by this "Bitcoin team", has been launched. OKLink is committed to making Bitcoin easier to use and more user-friendly, and connecting the upstream and downstream of the Bitcoin industry chain, so that Bitcoin can truly enter the lives of more and more people.

To start a business, you must have firm belief

"It doesn't matter who the founder of Bitcoin is. In this field, people believe in numbers and reasonable ways of calculation. The 21 million bitcoins in circulation in the world is a constant number. Based on the fact that Bitcoin is essentially a string of numbers, its limited quantity has the property of infinite divisibility. Bitcoin is a legal currency in California and a tool in Germany. Many e-commerce companies around the world accept Bitcoin payments. You can use it to book flights, buy pizza, buy advertisements, and even pay employees. All the rules of Bitcoin are transparent and open, and the currency is maintained by mathematical calculations and computer software. The use of mathematical encryption methods ensures that it cannot be forged, and there is no way to cheat, so in this virtual field, everything becomes fair and open." When talking about Bitcoin, Xu Mingxing, the usually slightly dull technology geek and founder of OKCoin, talked endlessly.

People have two polarized views on Bitcoin. One side believes that Bitcoin will eventually form a bubble, while the other side believes that Bitcoin is a new form of future currency. Silicon Valley, Facebook, Sequoia Capital and other companies have all bet on Bitcoin. There is no doubt that Xu Mingxing is a staunch supporter of Bitcoin. "Starting a business in the Bitcoin field undoubtedly carries the risk of a bubble, but if you don't have a belief that you will succeed, you can't devote yourself to it."

The road is certainly bumpy.

At first, the office of less than 100 square meters was crowded with people. There were 7 programmers sitting in the so-called general manager's office, and the CEO, who sounded high-ranking, worked in the conference room. When he was tired, he would take a nap on the chair, and when he had rested enough, he would get up and continue working.

"We will retire at 60, and we lose our creativity at 40, so before that, can we do something that we won't regret?" Zhao Changpeng concluded.

Complementary entrepreneurial teams are more likely to succeed

OKCoin's CEO Xu Mingxing, CTO Zhao Changpeng and CMO He Yi are known in the circle as the "Bitcoin Heavenly Team". This team consists of technology fanatics + Bitcoin geeks + senior media professionals, and they can crush many of their peers in terms of both appearance and IQ.

Xu Mingxing was the former CTO of Docin.com. As the company developed to a stable stage, Xu Mingxing found himself becoming a frog in warm water. He lost his drive in a stable environment. Should he continue to repeat his current life or change it and experience a different life? Xu Mingxing bravely chose the latter. He chose to start a business again and "reactivate" himself with the passion of entrepreneurship.

The same story happened to Zhao Changpeng. Zhao Changpeng, who used to be the technical director of Blockchain.info, realized that he was slowly losing enthusiasm for his work. He met Xu Mingxing and He Yi. With the ideal of changing the world and revitalizing life, they came together.

He Yi's transformation is more idealistic. He Yi, who used to be the host of Travel Satellite TV, has been observing the world from the perspective of the media for a long time. Joining OKCoin has begun her practice of changing the world. She met Xu Mingxing through an investor. "The first time I met Lao Xu, I felt that he was very honest and a partner worth cooperating with." During their communication, they reached a consensus. They both firmly believed that Bitcoin is the future currency without borders and will change the world one day. "We are all idealists and think this is a good thing, so let's try it and see if we can make it a reality."

1+1+1>3. Xu Mingxing's technology ensures that the website architecture is more solid than its peers, Zhao Changpeng's professional knowledge allows OKCoin to have the most accurate analysis in judging the market and launching products, and He Yi's rich media experience gives OKCoin an inherent advantage in brand communication. The result of the strong combination is that OKCoin has received tens of millions of dollars in round A financing within 6 months of its launch, and has become the world's largest Bitcoin trading platform within 12 months, but their goal is not just that.

It is important to choose the right "outlet"

"Ten years ago, we missed the train of Internet development. Now, we cannot miss Bitcoin. This is an opportunity to participate in changing the world. We cannot say how much change Bitcoin can bring about, but at least it has given people a new way of thinking, and at least it will cause a great reflection on our existing economic system."

The current Bitcoin market is far from mature and is only a "game for a few people". But where there are challenges, there are opportunities. "If you choose the right outlet, even pigs can fly." In the eyes of Xu Mingxing and others, Bitcoin is an outlet for the future.

Therefore, although the lack of Bitcoin knowledge in society and the government's regulatory policies have hindered the development of the Bitcoin industry, Zhao Changpeng is very open-minded. "On the one hand, we need to start with education to simplify the knowledge of Bitcoin so that more people can accept and understand it; on the other hand, we need to work hard on issuing applications so that the elderly can operate it easily. In the long run, Bitcoin still has a long way to go before it can be popularized."

OKCoin is also making continuous efforts. In addition to launching products such as margin trading and virtual futures, in December 2014, OKCoin launched a Bitcoin payment application, OKLink. Through OKLink, users can quickly receive and send Bitcoin to users anywhere in the world at zero fees as long as they know the other party's email address or mobile phone number. Even people who don't understand Bitcoin can quickly use it.

"Internet products iterate very quickly. For an internationally positioned company like OKCoin, the battlefield has expanded to the entire world. In addition to competing with ourselves in terms of time, we also have to compete with many rivals. In addition to competing in terms of iteration speed, we also have to compete in terms of our own growth speed." Therefore, Zhao Changpeng believes that "competition and rapid growth are OKCoin's biggest challenges."

Of course, there is also competition from the industry. In foreign countries, Bitcoin transactions basically require a certain fee, but in China, due to the fierce competition, there are similar Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache, which are competing with each other to attract users with 0 yuan fees. Naturally, OKCoin cannot stay out of it and has to fight back.

When talking about this, the three did not show the imagined worry, and seemed very calm. Zhao Changpeng said, "We welcome competition, because competition will make the whole industry better." Obviously, the survival of the fittest in Darwin's theory of evolution also applies to competition in the Internet. In their view, vicious competition is also a way to expand the scale of the industry, even if they face huge expenses, they will not hesitate. OKCoin now has a market share of more than 50% in China, and the venture capital of tens of millions of dollars they received at the end of 2013 gave them full confidence to face vicious competition.

They also have their own vision for the future, hoping that OKCoin can become the most influential company in the Bitcoin field.