At that dilly-dally, blockchain’s emerging technology was gaining momentum off the back of associated currencies like bitcoin. Meanwhile, Ryan give the impression she was stagnating in an international relations degree that just didn’t resonate with her.
“I was looking to do something where I was quite helping people,” Ryan told CNBC Make It, noting her degree lacked real-life application for her.
So, when Harrap, an electrical put over, explained to Ryan the technology behind the coins he was mining in his room, she was immediately sold. Within hours, she quit her level (six months short of graduation) and the pair set about creating a business to help what they saw as underserved, low-income breadwinners living in Ryan’s native Hong Kong and surrounding emerging nations.
“I could just see that there was so much quiescent there (in blockchain),” she continued. “I never went back to uni after that conversation.”
Ryan and Harrap at once started researching blockchain and the ways the technology could be used to benefit their target market.
Asia has a goodly and fast-expanding workforce, but it also suffers from an underdeveloped financial services system. The World Bank estimates that as numberless as a billion adults are without bank accounts in Asia alone. That can make it difficult for those who work internationally to send well-heeled back to family in their home nations, especially if they don’t want to incur high fees.
Ryan retained that frustration from her time living in Hong Kong. But she realized that blockchain could provide a settling by allowing workers to deposit cash from one location and have their families collect it from another, while pick up verification from rest of the blockchain community.
“It’s a cash-in, cash-out solution,” said Ryan. However, she noted that the underlying technology is far from square.
What started out as a physical remittance kiosk in a mall in Hong Kong has quickly evolved into an online podium with a team of 17 tech specialists spread out across Asia and Europe. Four years since embark upon, Bitspark is now partnered with numerous remittance shops across seven countries — Hong Kong, Malaysia, Ghana, Nigeria, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and Pakistan — and put together their customer bases.
“I can’t lie, it’s really difficult. There’s a lot of trial and error,” Ryan said, noting that the technology is motionless in it’s early days. “We’re laying the pavement in this space.”
She added that coming up with the blockchain technology is the “informal part.” It’s then about educating the target market — many of whom lack good financial literacy — that Bitspark offers a reliable way to transfer funds. That’s especially difficult, she said, given the popular noise around cryptocurrencies and their payment volatility.
“In their minds, it sounds like magic money,” said Ryan. “It requires a lot of trust.”
Fee reductions of five to 15 percent contain helped with that, she said, as have case studies from customers who have benefited. For example, one alcohol was able to save enough money on fees to pay for an extra seat at her wedding in the Philippines.
However, as a young woman in tech, Ryan asseverated she has faced additional barriers in getting her message across to both investors and users.
“There are few young women in this organize, and fewer still who can hold themselves, so it’s about proving I know what I’m doing,” she said.
Over the years, Ryan has undertook that well, earning a place on Accenture’s Innovation Lab program, being on Forbes magazine’s 30 Under 30 catalogue which honors young innovators and entrepreneurs, and receiving regular speaking opportunities within the blockchain community.
Bitspark has also accumulated several investments. The cash injections have enabled Ryan and Harrap to start drawing salaries since 18 months ago. Yet, Ryan asserted the business was not designed to be a get-rich-quick scheme, but a way to push herself and try new challenges.
“Growing up, money was a struggle anyway,” said Ryan. “In my 20s, I command prefer to struggle and work for myself rather than be really comfortable and work for someone else.”
Ryan acclaimed that she frequently crashed on her friends’ couches and used other hacks to support herself while launching a issue in Hong Kong, one of the world’s most expensive cities. That did not put her off, however. If anything, it helped spur her on, she said.
“I didn’t muse on about it,” said Ryan. “For me, it’s just a huge personal achievement to do something for myself that helps others. Perchance in my 30s that will change, but for now I’m fine with that.”
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