Sure the latest initiatives from the Teslas, Apple and Googles of the industry tend to dominate the tech news space — and with good reason. Still, the tech titans aren’t the only ones bringing innovation to the sector.
In an effort to highlight up-and-coming startups, Built In has launched The Future 5 across 11 major U.S. tech hubs. Each quarter, we will feature five tech startups, nonprofits or entrepreneurs in each of these hubs who just might be working on the next big thing. You can check out last quarter’s Boston round-up here.
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The world of cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is one of the most sought-after industries in tech. Afterall, $28.8 billion venture dollars were invested in cryptocurrency and fintech startups in the first quarter of 2022 alone — as compared to the $33 billion invested in the space last year.
BEASY founder Bob Kramich has three decades of experience working in custom software and product engineering. He said the crypto boom looks a lot like the dot-com boom of the 1990s when a majority of investments were poured into internet-based companies. Having experienced the dot-com boom and subsequent bust firsthand, Kramich is hoping BEASY will be a platform that helps democratize NFT access and investment opportunity.
“I’ve seen this exact movie before in the context of the internet auction. When you think about it at a high level, what we’re trying to do today with blockchain was the same thing we were trying to do with the internet,” Kramich told Built In. “For us, it’s really about bringing blockchain and crypto and the benefit of digital assets to mainstream people.”
BEASY is a NFT platform that allows anyone to develop, mint, sell and manage the tokens directly from its website. According to the company, its platform is particularly helpful for social media influencers, athletes, entertainers and more because users who develop NFTs on BEASY can sell them for cryptocurrency or cash.
My belief is that every human being on the planet should have the right to authenticate their own stuff. And that’s what we’re doing. We’re democratizing blockchain.”
To date, BEASY has raised $1 million in funding from a family and friends round and an angel round in 2018. Since then, the startup has scaled its funds and is now working with over 20,000 users on the platform including the Recording Artist Guild and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
“My belief is that every human being on the planet should have the right to authenticate their own stuff,” Kramich said. “And that’s what we’re doing. We’re democratizing blockchain. We want to give it away.”
