How cryptocurrency can help start-ups get investment capital | Ashwini Anburajan

翻译人员: Ying Lu 校对人员: Yinchun Rui

When I was raising investment for my startup,

当我为我新公司融资的时候，

a venture capitalist said to me,

一位风险投资人对我说，

"Ashwini, I think you're going to raise a few million dollars.

“阿什维尼，我想你会融到几百万美元的资金。

And your company -- it's going to sell for 50 to 70 million.

而你的公司——将会卖到五千到七千万美金。

You're going to be really excited.

你会非常兴奋。

Your early investors are going to be really excited.

你的早期投资者也会非常兴奋。

And I'm going to be really upset.

但我将会很恼火。

So I'm not going to invest in this deal."

所以这一单我不会投资。”

I remember just being dumbstruck.

我记得我当时是目瞪口呆。

Who would be unhappy

谁会对于投入四、五百万美元的公司

with putting four or five million dollars into a company

之后能以高达五千甚至七千万美金

and having it sell for 50 to 70 million?

卖出而感到不开心呢？

I was a first-time founder.

我当时是第一次创业。

I didn't have a wealthy network of individuals to turn to for investment,

也没有能为我投资的高端人脉圈，

so I went to venture capitalists

因此我去找了风险投资人，

the most common form of investor in a technology company.

这是科技公司中最常见投资者。

But I'd never taken the time to understand

但是我未花时间去了解

what was motivating that VC to invest.

怎样才能激起风险投资人的投资兴趣。

I believe we're living in a golden era of entrepreneurship.

我相信我们生逢 一个企业家精神的黄金时代。

There is more opportunity to build companies than ever before.

拥有比之前更多的机会来创立公司。

But the financial systems designed to fund that innovation,

但是为了支持创新所设计的金融系统，

venture capital,

即风险投资，

they haven't evolved in the past 20 to 30 years.

在过去的二、三十年都没有进化。

Venture capital was designed to pour large sums of money

风险投资是为了将大量的资金注入到

into a small number of companies that can sell for over a billion dollars.

一小部分估值能超过 十亿美金的公司而设计的。

It was not designed to sprinkle capital across many companies

它不是为了将资金撒向更多有成功潜力

that have the potential to succeed but for less, like my own.

但是估值低的公司而设计， 比如说我的公司。

That limits the number of ideas that get funded,

这也就限制了能够获得资金的项目数量，

the number of companies that are created

限制了那些已经创立的并能够获取资金

and who can actually receive that funding to grow.

来发展的公司数量。

And I think it inspires a tough question:

我想这就引出了一个难题：

What's our goal with entrepreneurship?

我们的企业家精神的目标是什么？

If our goal is to create a tiny number of billion-dollar companies,

如果我们的目标只是创立少量十亿美元级别的公司，

let's stick with venture capital, it's working.

那我们就把风险投资持续下去，因为它有效。

But if our goal is to inspire innovation

但如果我们的目标是激励创新

and empower more people to build companies of all sizes,

并赋能更多的人去创立不同规模的公司，

we need a new way to fund those ideas.

那我们需要一个新的方式来注资这些想法。

We need a more flexible system

我们需要一个更有弹性的系统

that doesn't squeeze entrepreneurs and investors

而它不会用一个冷酷的财务结果

into one rigid financial outcome.

来衡量企业家和投资者的决定。

We need to democratize access to capital.

我们需将获取资金的方式民主化。

In the summer of 2017, I went out to San Francisco,

2017年夏天， 我与其他30多个公司到旧金山

to join a tech accelerator with 30 other companies.

参加了一个科技加速项目。

The accelerator was supposed to teach us how to raise venture capital.

它本应教我们如何筹集风险投资。

But when I got out there,

但是当我到那时，

the startup community was buzzing about ICOs, or Initial Coin Offerings.

初创社区里都在谈论ICO，或叫首次币发行。

For the first time, ICOs had raised more money for young startups

有史以来第一次，ICO为新初创企业

than venture capital had.

筹集到比风险投资更多的资金。

It was the first week of the program.

在那个项目的第一周。

Tequila Friday.

周五的酒会上。

And the founders couldn't stop talking.

所有的创始人都不停地在说。

"I'm going to raise an ICO."

“我要发起一个ICO。”

"I'm going to raise an ICO."

“我也要发起一个ICO。”

Until one guy goes,

直到一个人说：

"How cool if we did this all together?

“如果我们一起来做， 将是多酷的一件事？

We should do an ICO that combines the value of all of our companies

我们应当将所有公司的 估值合在一起去发起

and raise money as a group."

一个ICO，并且抱团来筹集资金。”

At that point, I had to ask the obvious question,

那个时候，我不得不问一个显而易见的问题：

"Guys, what's an ICO?"

“各位，到底什么是ICO？”

ICOs were a way for young companies to raise money

ICO就是初创企业通过发行一种

by issuing a digital currency

跟它们的价值和提供的 服务绑定在一起的

tied to the value and services that the company provides.

一种数字货币来筹集资金的方式。

The currency acts similar to shares in a company,

这种货币扮演着类似公司的股份，

like on the public stock market,

就像在公开股市中一样，

increasing in value as it's traded online.

通过在线交易来升值。

Most important, ICOs expanded the investor pool,

最重要的是，ICO可以扩大投资者的范围，

from a few hundred venture capital firms

从几百家的风险投资公司

to millions of everyday people, excited to invest.

到数百万的对投资感兴趣的普通民众。

This market represented more money.

这个市场代表着更多的资金。

It represented more investors.

它也代表着更多的投资者。

Which meant a greater likelihood to get funded.

也就意味着更容易得到投资。

I was sold.

我被它折服了。

The idea, though, of doing it together still seemed a little crazy.

虽然我们一起来做这件事看起来有点疯狂。

Startups compete with each other for investment,

初创公司们在融资上是竞争关系，

it takes hundreds of meetings to get a check.

为了拿到一张支票可能 要参加上百个会议。

That I would spend my precious 15 minutes in front of an investor

让我愿意在一个投资者面前 用宝贵的15分钟

talking not just about my own company, but all the companies in the batch,

不仅介绍我的公司， 还有这一批所有的公司

was unprecedented.

这是史无前例的。

But the idea caught on.

但这个主意实在太棒了。

And we decided to cooperate, rather than compete.

我们决定一起合作而不是相互竞争。

Every company put 10 percent of their equity into a communal pool

每个公司拿出10%的股份 投入到一个资金池

that we then split into tradable cryptocurrency

然后我们将它们分成

that investors could buy and sell.

可供投资者交易的加密货币。

Six months and four law firms later --

历时六个月，四个律师事务所后

(Laughter)

（笑声）

in January 2018, we launched the very first ICO

我们终于在2018年元月发行了首个ICO

that represented the value of nearly 30 companies

它代表着将近30个公司的价值

and an entirely new way to raise capital.

和一个全新的融资方式。

We got a lot of press.

我们受到许多媒体的关注。

My favorite headline about us read,

我最喜欢的一个报道标题是：

"VCs, read this and weep."

“风险投资者们， 读完这篇报道你们将哭泣。”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Our fund was naturally more diverse.

我们的基金组成更加多元化。

Twenty percent of the founders were women.

20%的创始人是女性。

Fifty percent were international.

50%的创始人来自其它国家。

The investors were more excited, too.

而投资者也更加兴奋。

They had a chance to get better returns,

他们有机会获得更高的回报，

because we took out the middleman fees of venture capital.

因为我们去掉了风投中间人的中介费。

And they could take their money and reinvest it,

而他们又可以拿自己的钱再重新投资，

potentially funding more new ideas faster.

并能更快地投资更多的新项目。

I believe this creates a virtuous cycle of capital

我相信这创造了一个良性的资本循环

that allows many more entrepreneurs to succeed.

可以帮助更多的企业家获得成功。

Because access to capital is access to opportunity.

因为获得资金也意味着获得机会。

And we have only just begun to imagine

而我们只是才刚开始想象

what democratizing access to capital will do.

融资方式的民主化可以带来什么。

I would have never thought that my own search for funding

我从没想过自己寻找资金的过程

would lead me to this stage,

会将我带到这个舞台，

having helped nearly 30 companies get investment.

并帮助将近30家公司获得投资。

Imagine if other entrepreneurs tried to invent new ways to access capital

想象如果其他的企业家 也都尝试一种新的

rather than following the traditional route.

融资方法而不是走老路，那将会是怎样。

It would change what gets built, who builds it

它将会改变建造的结果，谁来建造

and the long-term impact on the economy.

并且对我们的经济有着长远的影响。

And I believe that's way more exciting

我相信这比起只是去投资

than just trying to invest in the next billion-dollar startup.

下一个十亿美元级企业会更令人兴奋。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）