Investing in Passion: A Q&A with the Founders of Emphy

Q. Why did you choose to focus on mobile application first, what are the benefits?

A. Statistics from recent years show that Internet traffic is rapidly moving from a stationary computer towards the mobile phone devices. This is due to several reasons, first of all, affordability for smartphones, increased release of phones with powerful processors, affordable prices for mobile Internet services, good data transfer speed, as well as mobility and light weight of the device. We also noticed a trend that more and more people travel with just a smartphone, leaving the laptop at home. We see that this is a long-term trend and for this reason, we are betting the mobile app. We are confident that mobile application will be able to unlock the full potential of the Emphy ecosystem for first adopters.

Q. Where will the platform first be launched? What countries will you focus on first and why?

A. The launching country of the platform is not yet 100% determined. We are considering several options for countries in South-east Asia and Africa. Events in the industry unfold rapidly, with this said it is difficult to say what legal basis will be in this or that country in half a year. In addition to many factors that influence our choice, one of the most important factors is the legality of payments and how convenient this is for our users. We intend to define the country for the initial rollout of the platform by the first half of summer 2018.

Q. When will alpha be available, will it be made public for the community?

A. We maintain that Alpha version of the Emphy platform will be ready in late April 2018. The alpha version will not be public, it will be used to test the product and gather feedback from testers and focus groups.

Q. It’s been mentioned a few times in telegram that the Roadmap will be updated, when can we expect the update?

A. Yes, the roadmap is currently being updated, we can name several important dates in product development.

1) February 2018 — UX / UI Design platform Emphy 2) April 2018 — Alpha version of the product (Non-public version) 3) May 2018 — Platform testing and further developments 4) June 2018 — Release of the beta version of the product 5) July 2018 — Announcement of the pilot country of the platform 6) August 2018 — launch of the Emphy platform

Q. Can we expect an updated white paper?

A. At the moment the team does not plan to make any changes to the white paper. If there is a need to make a clarification on certain issues, we will publish them as separate announcements. We have decided to do a monthly Q&A so any community questions can be answered and addressed regularly and in full. At the final stage of the development of the platform or when the ecosystem enters the market, it may be necessary to make adjustments to the white paper. In this case, we will update the white paper and make an announcement, if so we will write down which items have are new.

Q. Can we expect a new website?

A. Yes, the Emphy team is planning to update the website in the next couple of months. We intend to make it more attractive and informative. We are already focused on improving some branding and design aspects.

Q. Regarding Unbanked Areas: What areas in the world specifically are you focusing on? Is it the unbanked that you mean are forgotten and underestimated?

A. At the first stage of the launch of the Emphy ecosystem, we will focus specifically on developing countries with a poorly developed banking sector. First of all, we are talking about the regions of South-East Asia and Africa.

Q. What’s the real incentive for this coin to increase in value over time in context with it powering / a distributed lodging system? I’m looking to invest though I just need to understand the utility of the token and why it will appreciate in price over time?

A. For buyers and holders of EmphyCoin, the economic benefit is formed by the price growth of the token, which has real application, value and is the accounting unit in the ecosystem. The price growth of the token will occur primarily as the number of ecosystem users increases. The limited availability of tokens will help to support the rate of the cryptocurrency and we will see a network effect as transactions increase throughout the ecosystem. Tourists and travellers will always need our tokens to pay the rent, these people will be the driving force in creating demand for EmphyCoin. Thus, the growth of active users of the ecosystem of Emphy contributes to the increased demand for EmphyCoin, and further increased demand for our token in conditions of limited release of EmphyCoin pushes the price up.

Q. When will the Github code be available, if it won’t be made available, why not?

A. The Emphy platform is not an open source ecosystem. At this stage of development, this is our company policy and business model. We are well aware that some of our friends in the community support an open source policy and they would like to see Emphy on Github. We reserve the right to partially publish the code on Github, but this is a topic to cover more in the distant future and we are open to the communities thoughts on this topic.

Q. There is a strong demand for anonymous payments, Will the payments be anonymous or ever offer this option?

A. Each user Emphy platform must pass the identity verification. From our side, we will ensure maximum security and safety of the received user data. Blockchain will store wallet and transaction information regarding EmphyCoin. Thus, transactions in EmphyCoin have a similar degree of anonymity as Ethereum (ETH) it’s important we use identity verification to protect the users and property owners.

Q. Will Emphy be launched on its own unique blockchain? Will there ever be profit sharing or master nodes so investors can be rewarded by securing the system?

A. Emphy uses Ethereum based token as accounting unit in its platform. To solve the main tasks of the Emphy platform, it makes no sense to create your own unique blockchain, spend resources and time when there is an easy opportunity to use a reliable ready-made solution. We believe that the Ethereum development team will soon be able to solve the network scalability problems by increasing the bandwidth and reliability of transactions even at high network loads.

Q. Many people will love the fact they can use Emphy without going through a bank but will bank connection be available for those who want it?

A. Yes, for those people who want to use the Emphy platform, but they do not have EmphyCoin (or other popular crypto-currencies such as BTC or ETH), it will be possible in the future to pay for a rental service with a bank card. Thus, the money will be converted into EmphyCoin. In any conversion operations, the calculation in the system will happen only using EmphyCoin. As long as someone has access to the internet then they have access to the Emphy ecosystem and a structure that can produce revenue and opportunity.

Q. How do you feel about platforms like Rent Berry and Bee Token, is there enough room for all these new startups, what makes Emphy different?

A. Emphy in comparison to Bee Token and Rent Berry operate in different markets. Rent Berry is about long-term rentals, Bee Token wants to operate on well-established and competitive market like San Francisco. The Emphy initial target market is developing countries for vocational travel. For that, there is enough room for everybody, while the competition itself keeps us focused and motivated. We are focused on a blue ocean market, this doesn’t mean we won’t branch out into other markets after establishing Emphy in these areas.

Q. You have mentioned that the team is growing, could you please give a rundown of the whole team and how many developers are working on the project?

A. Currently, we have four developers. We regularly conduct interviews with candidates, but it not easy to find the right people, it’s important to us that team members are really dedicated to our ideas and goals. Also, we have several perspective cooperation offers with developer companies. Thus our team will grow organically, and new developers, designers and growth hackers will be joining it. We are also in the process of on-boarding two new marketing staff to join our team.

Q. I really like the idea behind this project and I’m for the long haul! I was just curious as to how Emphy plans to make it easier for users in emerging markets/developing areas to access this platform given people in these areas may not have access to phones/computers in order to book accommodation?

I’m imagining that many people may not have access to these resources and then furthermore, the tech savviness to be able to go through with using the software, how do you plan to deal with these challenges?

A. Currently, the availability of smartphones in the world is growing very fast, and the cost of mobile Internet traffic is constantly decreasing. You can see for yourself that in stores there is a whole model range of smartphones cheaper than 100 USD! Not to mention the price of used smartphones. To understand how popular mobile Internet is and what annual growth this market shows in developing countries, we can bring statistics from the report Hootsuite & We Are Social “Digital in 2017 global overview”. For example, in Nigeria, mobile web traffic makes up 81% of total Internet traffic. In India, 79%, South Africa 78%, Indonesia 69%, Thailand 66% and Turkey 61%. The annual growth of mobile Internet in 2016 in the world increased by 30%. Thus, now more than half of the world’s web traffic falls on smartphones and it is constantly growing. We have seen the same growth reflected in the digital marketing space.

(Rational Crypto Group)

Q. Payments will be made in a price-volatile currency, how do you plan to address this volatility?

Currently, all cryptocurrencies have high volatility, this is nature of this market currently. The Emphy team is interested in the moderate volatility and stable growth in the price of EmphyCoin. To achieve such results, we intend to dynamically develop and promote our ecosystem, attracting new users.

A. At the first stage, after the platform enters the market (June 2018), the company will track the number of offers for the “sale” of EmphyCoin. Stabilization fund formed from 10% of the received commission will be directed primarily to stabilize the supply and demand of EmphyCoin. This artificial measure will exist for a short time until EmphyCoin gets stronger as a cryptocurrency having practical application. This fund can not exert any real large price fluctuations, as its aggregated volume will not exceed 1.0% of the total issue, but in case of a large deficit, it will be able to offer the market EmphyCoin at a fair price. This measure will be applied in case of sudden growth or currency rates. After the day trading turnover in EmphyCoin on exchanges and in the system itself reaches the equivalent of $10,000,000, this stabilization measure will be completely cancelled and EmphyCoin will go into free float.

Q. How will you compete with Airbnb or Booking once they start to implement blockchain technology in their systems?

A. We are not going to compete with industry leaders, our plan is to take our own niche in this huge market. Just the introduction of blockchain technology for industry leaders will change little and their business model will remain the same. Emphy ecosystem- this niche product is primarily aimed at countries where banking services are still poorly developed and the population is always in search of alternative methods of accounting and additional income. We are more flexible and ready to adapt to the specifics of the consumer market in key countries. It’s like a large vessel moving through the water, it takes energy, faces resistance and challenges changing in direction. We aim to be nimble, agile and target our niches.

Q. You are currently targeting developing countries as an entry market. It feels like couch surfing or residing in other people’s home is not part of the culture in these regions. Wouldn’t it be best to directly target western markets thus pulling out the rug from under bigger competitors?

A. First of all, we would like to expand the market for short-term leasing at the new locations and offer our service in those places where it is still poorly developed for one reason or another. Therefore, the official launch of the Emphy platform is planned in one of the developing countries. Just 5–7 years ago in Western countries, renting a short-term lease was not as popular as it is today. We see that developing countries are already adopting the positive experience of Western countries in this area. People are always in search of additional earnings and the ecosystem of Emphy will help them in this. We also want to note that the service will be available almost all over the world. In the case of the success in different countries, we can make changes and apply resources to support the marketing and expansion of the company in these countries. We want to take the path of least resistance when delivering the Emphy ecosystem, this is because we are factoring in our the long-term goals and we’re confident in meeting the demands of less competitive markets first. This overall will play a great strength.

Q. On the technological side of things, what kind of custom functions you plan to add to the Emphy smart contract justifies the use of a custom token instead of an existing currency like Ethereum?

A. EmphyCoin is a utility token, that is intended for accounting in its own system. Using Ethereum blockchain, we depend on factors such as the scalability of the Ethereum network and the ability to provide transactions at peak loads. We are confident that by the middle of summer 2018 the Ethereum team will be able to significantly improve the technical characteristics of the network and the main problems will be solved. Using our own token, we untie it from the price of Ethereum. At the moment the price of EmphyCoin depends to a certain extent on the price of Ethereum (traded on the EPY / ETH exchange), but when EPY trades on the exchanges against BTC and other currencies with good daily trading volume, its value will be more diversified and stable.

Q. Browsed over the white paper. One big issue for me: It talks a lot about problems that exist in this space between short-term landlord and renter — often expectations aren’t met, like, either the accommodation doesn’t live up to what was presented in the advertisement, or any other such thing. So, they are competing with Air BnB. However, I can’t see anywhere they mention how to tackle this problem, other than a trust user rating system? So, what Air Bnb has this already. The key difference being though that Air BnB have teams of people to sort out these disputes between landlord and renter. Property damaged? You can email or phone Air BnB and find out what to do. Someone forgets to leave the key and won’t answer their phone? Call Airbnb. You might not get the key, but you have assistance. So, we have some people wanting to create this space on a blockchain…why? Who is the middleman you call to settle disputes? Surely a smart contract won’t suffice here. It seems Emphy identifies the main problem in this space, but then offers nothing to combat it? What makes this service on blockchain unique?

A. Let’s analyze in more detail the solutions to existing problems that are offered by the Emphy platform. Panoramic 360-degree photos provide the complete visual information about the property. Thus, the probability of conflict situations is significantly reduced. The guest is fully informed and consciously chooses to compare the offered real estate options, conditions and prices. The system of ratings, reviews and “cash back” work in a complex. Briefly, their main meaning is that through material rewards in the form of “cash back” people leave each other feedback. Based on feedback, the user’s rating in the Emphy system is formed. As you know real estate objects that have reviews and ratings, are in great demand among the guests. The occupancy of real estate will increase and accordingly the landlord will be able to get higher returns from real estate through a more efficient business model. The dispute resolution will also be decided by the support department, but due to the maximum transparency of the Emphy ecosystem, we intend to significantly reduce the number of disputable situations.

Q. The first thing that came to mind after reading the whitepaper was that they are trying to become a smicker AirBnB as people have already pointed out. Airbnb is a behemoth with a very smooth OS in place. We use them a lot throughout South East Asia and I’m always amazed how (generally) smooth it all works and how amicable and easy to work with renters are. The customer-provider review system they use (the same as most big retail and service providers) has been proven to be a strong tool in maintaining customer-provider integrity. Emphy plans to reach out to areas where people don’t rent out their properties, wouldn’t you think that Airbnb has a team on this as well?

A. At the moment Airbnb is the dominant player in the short-term rental market, like any big business it becomes less agile trying to customize users to fit their decisions. Emphy is ready to adapt to the needs of its users and respond to market changes in the short-term lease sector much more quickly.

Q. Also, there is a large segment of the population, particularly in developing countries that don’t and won’t rent out their properties because they are poor don’t have a need to vacate and rent out their property. These are the same people that are unbanked and don’t have ready access to data able phones. The BIG game changer for EMPHY, if they can pull it off, is their claim that they will be charging only 4% commissions plus the option to get some of the commission back by contributing to their platform via reviews etc. That point alone is enough to convince me to go in on it.

A. The majority of the population of the developing countries live modestly, but no one there refuses the possibility of additional earnings, same is true for western countries. In developing countries, a higher stratification of society and, accordingly, the price of rent for housing can differ many times depending on living conditions and the level of comfort. Part of the demand will be formed at the expense of the domestic market, the second part of the demand will be provided by tourists and travellers. We are not focused on creating a new way to travel, a new experience that market can adopt.