[thinkcomp]

I definitely appreciate your support and you make good points about Pandora, Google and companies like them. However, from what I've read, it took Google five months to rack up those rejections, and I've spent five years.

That doesn't make it impossible, but for a number of reasons, it shouldn't take that long. Aside from the given entrepreneur, it harms industry and ultimately the country when it does.

[iamelgringo]

but for a number of reasons, it shouldn't take that long.

I totally hear you. It _shouldn't_, but it does.

I know we've talked about this before, Aaron, but I think you have to work like hell for the next 6 months to get people using _some part of your system. You've had uptake in libraries... try to get your system in as many libraries as possible. Get some press for that uptake and traction. You do this really well. Then, pitch 100 VC's in 3 months: 3 a day for 93 days, and raise money on that basis. If you can't raise money then, build traction like hell for another 6 months, mail monthly updates to those 100 VCs and then talk to the most interested 30 VCs again.

Your pitch: take on credit cards and beat them is _huge. I genuinely believe that you can do it. But, to do it all at once would probably take $100M up front as a series A round, and then a couple of follow rounds of $500M in series B and C.

Most VC's aren't going to believe that you'll be able to do it, and certainly won't give you $100M in a series A.

I suspect you need to show them that you can perform really well on one, small aspect of your system, and they'll probably be willing to give you money to expand.

I have no doubt you'll be able to do this. You've been doggedly working at this for 5 years. You have a very cool working product. At some point, I have no doubt you'll raise the money that you need. And, you can have your revenge in 10 years when you IPO. :)

The stories of people having money thrown at them by VC's for a business plan make for great TechCrunch reading, and it hits the main stream press, "The Bubble is popping! The Bubble is inflating! The Bubble is about to pop!". But, I talk with around a hundreds early entrepreneurs every month at Hackers & Founders, and _no _one is having money thrown at them. For every Color, or AirBnB, there are 3000 founders that pitch 60 times before they're able to raise.

[thinkcomp]

Unfortunately, domestic money transmission is illegal is California as of July 1st without a license. The only way around that is money, and I'm not willing to do jailtime for traction.

http://www.facecash.com/legal/ca.html

[mahyarm]

Get out of California then. Go to Nevada, Texas, Washington, anywhere that will be friendly at the moment to your idea. Seriously. Do what ever it takes to climb that mountain.

[thinkcomp]

That's not how the law works. It's a California law that applies nationwide. (Read the link.)

[mahyarm]

Then you don't do business in california for the time being until you get that funding to pay for all the paperwork.

[thinkcomp]

If VCs actually were willing to fund companies based on their potential, as this essay supposes they should, that might be an option. Unfortunately, most VCs do not want to fund startups that cannot do business in most states, especially California.

[VladRussian]

man, i viewed your demo video. You're trying to take on plastic. Plastic is "just swipe". If you make it simpler than that - you'll win big. So far, your thing is more complex. It has a bunch of nice advantages/features that stand on its own ( and that if marketed on its own to VC would possibly make it), yet not when presented as direct competitor to plastic.

[thinkcomp]

Barcode payments seem to be working okay for Starbucks.

[csomar]

I see you are hiring a handful of workers, so are you funding the start-up yourself?