I need to blog more

I need to blog and share video updates more often. TuitionCoin is a journey. One I want to share. But, it’s hard to share. I’ll start posting more often, starting with this post, which is about my fears around sharing. 

First and foremost; writing and videoing takes time. Time I want to spend coding, talking to people, planning, organizing, and connecting. What I need to do is make writing and videoing take less time. But, that takes practice; and practice takes time.

Second; I don’t want to etch something in digital stone that I may regret latter. If I say stuff that is good; great. But, one stupid comment can echo forever through time.

Third; there is an emotional up and down inherent in entrepreneurship. When you tie yourself to a mission it can feel devastating when things don’t go smoothly and it can feel euphoric when things come together. Finance is about confidence. Writing when in a valley isn’t very inspiring. Writing when on mountaintops makes the idea appear far-fetched and delusional. People want stability in finance. Yet, stable writing is boring and disingenuous.

Fourth; in a regulated industry sharing something that isn’t 100% figured out may expose TuitionCoin to risk. Let’s take the “Profit Share” as an example. I’ve promised to share profits with both investors and borrowers. At first I thought this was easy. Calculate the profit and send checks to people based on certain factors. Now, I recognize it’s not easy. (Skip this paragraph as it gets technical) What is the profit share? If it is a gift; it is tax-problematic. Also, as a gift I’m not sure if I can put it on the website. Once you promise something it is no longer a gift, but an obligation of some sort. What kind of obligation is it? Technically I’m giving away a share of the economic profits resulting from the business. Well, that’s called equity. With a distinction; I’m only giving away the profit share for a specific years profits. So, it’s equity that expires. I’ve researched and can’t find an example of expiring equity. And if it is equity it is a security. So, are the borrowers being offered a security; in which case the borrowers now fall under both consumer finance and security regulation. What if the profit share is a voluntary reduction of interest; or voluntary interest boost? That makes the regulation simpler. But, now the loan docs and investor docs are more complicated. Plus, it gets me away from one of my goals of not being obligated to do something forever. I mean, what if after year two I realize the profit share is too big; or I want to change a calculation for it. Well, all the loan/investor docs are signed and godfathered in. Stop; did you catch what just happened? While sharing an idea, I just wrote that loan/investor docs are godfathered in. Will writing that here today, legally screw me over tomorrow?

Fifth; my views may not always be popular. I’m trying to build something and if I say something people disagree with; I’m scared they won’t want to join this movement. Student debt is a big challenge; with polarizing views. I think the problem is solved by bringing people together. And I’m nervous some of my ideas may not resonate with people.

Sixth; although I’m trying to bring people together, I’m also pushing my ideas. You see, I believe if the popular opinion was true or if everyone knew the solution; we wouldn’t have a problem. But we do have a problem, because popular opinion and current solutions aren’t working.

Seven; finance is complex. I want to get into the weeds and share how things work. But, marketing 101 is all about simplifying.