Hi,
It's been a long time since I last communicated my progress on Gitchain. There's a good (or at least, an understandable) reason for this.
As you might remember, there was quite a story behind the closure of the campaign, raising only $1,760.53 because of a mysterious pledge that didn't go through.
That amount was definitely not enough for me to abide by the original plan of spending my summer on this project without interruption. In the course of making the decision at that point, I offered everyone an opt-out refund (i.e. you had to respond back if you didn't want a refund), acknowledging that the project will take much longer. The total of $1,760.53 was raised from those who decided to keep backing the project (for which I am truly grateful!)
But I still had to explore how I am going to continue supporting myself. Being a part-time consultant in the past, I tried arranging some interesting gigs, but there were no exciting opportunities on such a short notice.
So I made a controversial decision. Despite leaving the startup that I founded some time ago just few months before I started Gitchain, I decided to take the plunge again. And as of late July, I started working on an idea that I had for a while, a web app that would bring smart contracts into the mainstream use.
A few weeks later, Trustatom went live and got support for two contract types: document certificates & joint escrows. I organized a webinar on smart contracts, and it had some great panelists and a good attendance rate.
Two months later, I raised an early seed from a few really great angels to continue the commercialization of this technology... which is what is keeping me busy every day.
So what does this mean to you, Gitchain backer? The bad news is that I don't know when/if I will be able to continue the project. I have received some inquiries from people that might be potentially interested in taking the project over, but that might take a while to materialize... but I am happy to help out whoever will take on this project with some insights & advisory.
The good news is that your pledge is not lost. You have following choices:
- Option #1: Request a refund (will be refunded until Dec 31, 2014 by PayPal or an equivalent in BTC)
- Option #2: If you're interested in what Trustatom offers, you can become a "friend of Trustatom". What would that mean? Early access to new functionality, to begin with. Add a complimentary one hour in-person/Skype consultation on smart contracts and how they can be used to solve some of your problems. And some other perks ;)
All I need from you is a message letting me know if you choose the option #1 or #2 by Dec 1, 2014 (the earlier, the better!)
Thanks,
Yurii.
P.S. If you have any questions, thoughts or just have anything to say — you can do this either here or email me at yrashk@gmail.com
