Blockchain Startups: Meet the founders of Hyperbridge
As part of our ongoing commitment to bringing you the intellects behind upcoming blockchain start-ups, we are proud to introduce our next set of founders, the team behind Hyperbridge.
Eric Muyser, Timothy Ko and Joseph Cullen are building tools on the blockchain that will empower creators to bring their projects to life. Their protocol-driven platform, BlockHub, will provide game developers with solutions for fundraising, marketing and publishing their games while giving consumers a vibrant marketplace to find new and innovative titles. Find out more about them and where it all began below.
1. How did you first get involved with the blockchain century?
Joseph: I had heard of Bitcoin many years ago, but hadn’t explored the technology behind it. I spoke with an ex-colleague around two years ago and became fascinated with blockchain’s capacity to change society. I’ve seen it referred to as a “foundational technology” — like electricity or the internet — that changes the way we operate as a society. First, I researched the space and started attending local and national events, meeting with people in the community and taking it all in. After a time, I left my job to become fully immersed in the space before starting Hyperbridge. I’ve never once second-guessed by decision.
Eric: I was consulting for a friend’s company in March of 2013 when he told me to buy this Bitcoin, and being in control of my income, I agreed to buy one for $53. A few days later, it rose to $120, and that was enough reason to read the whitepaper. It was clear right away that this was a game changer. Satoshi solved the notorious double spend problem, and it worked for any form of data, which opens a lot of possibilities to be explored.
2. What inspired the idea of your blockchain startup, was it spontaneous? Was it an idea you had for a long time?
Tim: We were originally formed to provide consultation to another venture that was trying to bring their project onto the blockchain, but the relationship became untenable. The project had us spending months finding blockchain solutions to convert heavily redundant legacy systems to the blockchain. Although it fizzled out, the benefits of applying trustless and immutable qualities of blockchain to old problems had been brewing in our minds for quite some time. We genuinely believed that this technology will change the world if only people were actually using it. And so we asked ourselves “How do we get people to start using the blockchain?”
3. What did you do before starting Hyperbridge? Did you demonstrate prior expertise in blockchain?
Eric: I was working as a software developer for a SaaS platform, Hootsuite, and organizing a lot of blockchain meetups. As the meetups went on, I noticed that our group frequently discussed worldwide problems and possible blockchain solutions. People would show up needing help with their own ventures, and that’s what got me into consulting. But I wasn’t consulting long before we started this venture — I’m a builder, I like to build.
4. Who is the team behind Hyperbridge and why are they awesome?
Tim: I don’t know if awesome is the right word, but we’re definitely passionate and sincerely committed to the improvement of life through technology. We all approach the concept from different angles, whether it’s a business viability approach, a technological innovation approach, or a social impact approach. Because we’re all aimed in the same direction, we act like boosters on the rocket, firing when needed to get us to the place we’re going. And we’re all terribly handsome, and unbelievably witty.
5. How did you bring this idea to life?
Tim: We just got to building it. Of course, we initiated the incorporation processes to make sure that we were legally compliant, but we began building. We started by building the systems architecture on the foundation of a secure currency holding platform, and made sure to design it in such a way that it would be modular and scalable enough to support massive growth over time.
6. What problem does your blockchain start-up plan to solve?
Tim: To our original point of “getting people using blockchain technology,” we knew from being active in the ICO investing scene that for blockchain to be used, some pre-conditions needed to be satisfied. Firstly, the rate of innovation in the space has been undeniably huge, with game changers popping up everywhere. That said, the number of usable blockchain products remained very low, and so the the expectation of adopters was similarly low. The problem in our minds was, “How do we get usable blockchain products in the hands of users?” And so we started making tools to let producers start building blockchain products.
7. Please walk us through the user experience of someone who would use Hyperbridge.
Tim: It’s a two-sided experience. On one side there are users, and on the other there are developers. For developers with an app or an idea, they will find that they are able to very fluidly walk through the process of identity creation, project creation, blockchain integration, project promotion, and project sale. Though it’s a multi-step process, it is relatively painless one especially in light of the fact that it aggregates into one place a number of functions that would require multiple platforms and an understanding of complex coding. And because much of the complexity runs “under the hood,” game developers simply go through the project submission process, and before they know it, they have a blockchain-based product that has tokenized assets, are able to receive crypto payments, and have a community of participants championing their games via incentives.
On the app-purchaser side, users will load BlockHub, explore the store, explore the Indie Launchpad section, and select the projects that interest them. If they desire to purchase an app, they simply click purchase and send currency from their secure wallet to the developer’s wallet. In exchange, users will receive a token/license that lets them download and use the game. And because the apps launch within the Blockhub platform, in-game purchases are seamless and secure. Additionally, users can support projects and developers they find interesting, not only monetarily via crowdfunding, but also by alpha testing, promoting, and moderating discussions. By carrying out support roles, users can actually earn tokens as they contribute to a project’s progress.
8. How big is the market you are addressing?
The first use case of Blockhub will be focused on the gaming industry, with a particular emphasis on indie-gaming and medium-sized developers. The gaming industry is a gigantic market, one of which blockchain and decentralized innovation will impact greatly. The gaming market is slated to continue its upward trend of a compound annual growth rate of 5.92% within the next 3 years, and the global video game market is expected to be worth $120 billion U.S. dollars in 2020.
9. Who are the major investors behind Hyperbridge?
We have been largely self-funded until this point, as we have been focused on the development of the platform. Moeju Game Studios is a development partner and will use our platform to launch its premiere game “Summoner and Succuba.” Neur Network is also a development partner. We will integrate their AI into our platform, and provide them with development support.
10. Where is your blockchain startup registered? Which country?
Hyperbridge is registered out of Estonia.
11. What is your favourite blockchain that was created and why? Do you use it yourself?
Tim: Ethereum, simply for the fact that it’s delivered the most value and more than just monetary value. Although on a small scale, it’s shown we can immutably change the state of the world as we know it, block by block.
12. If you had the opportunity to meet the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto, what is the one thing you would want to ask him?
Many are questioning the direction of the Bitcoin core team, what do you think and which blockchains are moving in the right direction?
13. If you had to switch places with another blockchain ‘celebrity’, who would you choose and why?
Erik Voorhes, for the interesting ride and interesting projects.
Follow the acceleration of Hypberbridge through their social media platforms, and if you want to listen to the men behind the curtain, check out this FutureTech podcast!
LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/company/hyperbridge
Telegram: https://t.me/hyperbridge
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HyperbridgeTech/?ref=search
