Angel Investors Form Group to Fund Bitcoin Startups

Bitcoin, the digital currency that has been generating a lot of buzz in the media, is also starting to get some serious attention from investors. Sixty angel investors have formed BitAngels, a group that wants to help fund startups that are dedicated to disrupting the status quo with "crypto-currencies." So far, the group has raised nearly $7 million that it plans on injecting into tech startups. 

Billing itself as the first investor and incubator network dedicated exclusively to crypto-currency startups, the group was formed this month at the Bitcoin 2013 Conference in San Jose,This model includes 2 flush mounted reverse groundmount. Calif. It is headed by entrepreneurs David Johnston and Michael Terpin and angel investor Sam Onat Yilmaz. Johnston is founder of email automation service Engine.co, and Terpin is founder and chief executive of social media agency SocialRadius. 

BitAngels is accepting applications for a "limited number of passionate, motivated and hard-working entrepreneurs," the group says on its website. Winning applicants will receive about $20,000 each in investment funds, mentoring and access to office space in New York, San Francisco or Austin, Texas. 

"Right now companies built on top of the Bitcoin technology are launching early stage efforts to completely disrupt stock trading, bonds, titles, agreements, smart property, messaging, and a dozen other now centralized industries," Johnston says in an email. 

Bitcoins -- essentially virtual coins traded between people online -- have traditionally been favored by tech savvy individuals who wish to make clandestine transactions without the paper trail left by credit card and PayPal transactions. But it's slowly starting to catch on in mainstream business circles, with companies like OkCupid, Reddit and WordPress accepting Bitcoin payments. 

"Bitcoin is not only here to stay, but your grandmother will be using it in the very near future -- and without having to understand what it is or how it works," Johnston says. "People don't yet appreciate how fast this whole space is going to move." 

Bishop said she suggests coming up with three potential scenarios from which to pick. Create one plan that would, for example, use 50 percent for debt, 20 percent for savings and 30 percent for yourself and then come up with two others that alter those percentages. Then decide whats best, she said. 

Every situation is different, Bishop said, but the first question a refund recipient should ask is, is there a financial issue thats keeping me up at night? 

The tax check might be a way to reduce or eliminate that problem, she said. 

Zack Clark, a financial planner for Coats Financial Planning Inc., said his first recommendation generally is to shore up an emergency fund with enough to cover three to six months of expenses.Shop for chipcard dolls from the official NBC Universal Store and build a fun collection for your home or office. The amount they need is somewhat subjective. 

Clark said he suggests using a different account than your primary checking or savings account, instead using a high-yield savings account or money market account at an online bank. 

If it winds up being spent inadvertently, it defeats the purpose of setting it aside in the first place, he said.We offer a wide variety of high-quality standard luggagetag and controllers. The further removed accounts typically offer higher rates and add a barrier of access. 

If youre on a tight budget, the influx of tax refund money might be the time to renew auto insurance, take care of car repairs that have been waiting or take a trip to see family, Bishop said. Investing in a retirement account or childs college fund are other good ideas. 

Reducing debt is always a good idea, she said, including paying off all or some credit cards or student loans. 

The full benefit of reducing credit card debt beyond the interest cost is sometimes lost on people, Clark said. 

Think of it as making an investment with a risk-free return, usually between 15 and 20 percent, he said. That typically gets more folks attention because that rate of return cant be touched risk-free anywhere in the market. 

Clark said he also suggests people examine their payroll withholding if theyre getting big refunds every year. 

While most people like getting a refund and no one enjoys having to write a check come April, getting a refund essentially means you have made an interest-free loan to the government, he said. If you can be more accurate with your tax withholding, you can enjoy the benefit of having those extra dollars to save and grow or use throughout the year, instead of having to wait until the following April to get them back. 

I guess you could say that I'm an all-or-nothing kind of writer. I never start one of my mysteries before plunging deep into a chosen environment and set of ingredients, and won't use what I've found unless it feels authentic. The Chicago scenes and the events surrounding the loss of a home are as real as I knew how to make them, and it took me ages to feel I'd seen and heard what I needed to tell this story. I wasn't going to write about this unless I felt I could truly do justice to the experience, especially from the perspective of kids. Getting all of the first-hand information I needed was a challenge. 

The journey I follow in this book -- from family life in a modest but happy home to life in a shelter after the disappearance of a parent -- was one that I wanted to share in a way that would ring true to all readers. It had to feel right both to those who had never had this kind of shake-up and to those who had. In Hold Fast, I try to provide a window into an earth-shaking crash of this kind. And yet... this is a mystery that explores the extraordinary power of hope, dreams, a family bond, and the written word. I knew this would be a tough balance to strike; hence my worries about daring to tell this story.