03 Dec 2018
By Charles Stack

Ohio Blockchain Backers Pooling $100 Million to Fund Startups

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BitcoinNews | Full Article As reported by local news outlet Cleveland.com, several investment fund firms based in Ohio, including local accelerator and venture fund JumpStart, are to be pooling their resources and investing USD 100 million into blockchain startups that give focus to utilizing the tech for business or government purposes. According to JumpStart CEO Ray Leach, who made the announcement on Sunday, 2 December, there is to be an additional USD 200 million poured in over the next three years by the funding teams. Ohio is home to “Opportunity Zones”, areas with tax incentives for investors to encourage economic growth…
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02 Dec 2018
By Charles Stack

Blockchain Can Secure Online Identities In Wake of Major Data Breaches, says Ethereum Co-Founder Joseph Lubin

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Cleveland.com | Full Article Lubin was the first keynote speaker at the sold-out Blockland Solutions conference held this weekend at Cleveland’s convention center. He co-founded Ethereum, a blockchain-based computing platform and operating system, and then started ConsenSys, a group of companies using the system. Blockchain, a technology in its early stages, is a online distributed ledger system. Though its most widely-known use is as the underpinnings of cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, it can also be used to securely store information such as supply chain functions or medical data. Lubin mainly spoke about the applications of Ethereum and blockchain technology, including online transactions.…
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02 Dec 2018
By Charles Stack

Blockland Conference Aims to Position Cleveland as a Blockchain Leader

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Crains | Full Article Moreno has gathered a "governing body" that includes more than 20 prominent Clevelanders to guide the development of this effort, and most are participating in the conference. They come from the region's businesses, law firms and nonprofits, including Case Western Reserve University, Destination Cleveland and JumpStart Inc. A key part of the plan to create a blockchain hub in Cleveland is a $150 million Blockland Cleveland incubator, a privately financed business Moreno has said he will build to be a place where would-be blockchain entrepreneurs could come to develop new businesses, making Cleveland an international center…
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25 Oct 2018
By Charles Stack
Blockchain Oversimplified

Blockchain Oversimplified

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The mysterious black box of blockchain. Explained. - CHARLES STACK -    One reason that explaining blockchain is difficult is because, while it is a relatively simple technology, it enables an array of very wide ranging new opportunities.   Here is the first of my oversimplified deciphering.   Blockchain is a bunch of really small, encrypted files (blocks) that are linked together (chained) and distributed across the Internet. One of the biggest advantages of this new architecture is that digital files can, for the first time, be unique and decentralized.  This combination of uniqueness and decentralization  lie at the heart of…
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23 Oct 2018
By Charles Stack
Adventures in Blockchain

Adventures in Blockchain

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- CHARLES STACK -  I have been casually following blockchain for a number of years now. About eight years ago, I made a small investment in bitcoin. That investment grew a lot and then shrank almost as much. My early investigations resulted in an initial conclusion that cryptocurrencies would be interesting, but limited. That was wrong. Cryptocurrencies were just the beginning of what now is clearly a blockchain revolution.                     (more…)
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30 Aug 2018
By Charles Stack
Experiencing Cleveland: My Summer at Flashstarts

Experiencing Cleveland: My Summer at Flashstarts

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In the beginning, I had no idea what working at Flashstarts and in Cleveland was going to be like. This was my first software development internship and first time coding outside of an academic environment. I wanted to explore working with startups some more after creating my own in a startup pitch competition at my school called LaunchU. I had an interesting experience with Cleveland, because I opted to live in one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city called Slavic Village. The streets, houses and stores are all either very rundown or abandoned. I didn’t get to know my…
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23 Aug 2018
By Charles Stack
“Startups, Bees and Cleveland,” by Jared Barlow

“Startups, Bees and Cleveland,” by Jared Barlow

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I found out about Flashstarts through the career center at my school. I applied to a variety of internships across the United States, and I chose Flashstarts for the opportunity to gain experience working with startups. I was not sure what to expect of Cleveland, but I have come to love the city after living, working, and exploring here for the past six weeks. My favorite Cleveland activities are going to the zoo and eating at the numerous fantastic restaurants. My most exciting work at Flashstarts has been my work for the GhostWave team. GhostWave is developing radio frequency noise…
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16 Aug 2018
By Charles Stack
“Oh yeah, I can do that.”

“Oh yeah, I can do that.”

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"Oh yeah, I can do that." I said those exact words after getting my first assignment at Flashstarts. I had just been asked to create some original graphics for a commercial website, and I was so inspired by the project and the company itself that I couldn’t wait to get to work. There was only one problem: I had absolutely zero idea how to do it, and wasn’t even sure how to start.  Undeterred, I opened up a new document on my freshly installed Adobe Illustrator and got to work. The more time I spent on it, the more apparent…
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09 Aug 2018
By Charles Stack
Learning to work with your Clone

Learning to work with your Clone

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What if I told you that cloning is no longer a distant goal of the future? Gone are the days when the only things that could be cloned were plants and sheep. I came to the realization recently that this technology had advanced a long way, under the radar. What spurred this realization? The shocking finding that I, myself, had a clone. It was orientation day for the new wave of FlashStarts summer interns. Just like any other summer program, we started off the day with an icebreaker. The task was simply to introduce yourself, making sure to include your…
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02 Aug 2018
By Charles Stack
Befriending Discomfort

Befriending Discomfort

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One Wednesday afternoon, I sat in my Data Structures course, yearning to be anywhere except there. That’s when I noticed a message in the YSU Penguin Hackers Slack channel about an interesting internship opportunity.  On a whim, I decided to apply to dive in and try to gain some job experience. From the very beginning, challenges arose. My webcam wouldn’t function, leaving me to interview with only a microphone and an animated gif of a Dalek for Flashstarts CEO, Charles Stack, and Director of Business Development, Alayna Klco to watch.  Nevertheless, the interview went smoothly, and we decided that it’d…
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