HackerNoon Reporter: Please tell us briefly about your background.
I am Kate L, Senior Marketing Manager at NOWPayments, and an avid crypto enthusiast. In my free time, I read, translate and write poetry.
What's your startup called? And in a sentence or two, what does it do?
NOWPayments is a crypto payment gateway that lets you accept payments in 100 cryptocurrencies offering various payment tools, like a crypto payments API, e-commerce plugins, such as WooCommerce, PrestaShop, Opencart, WHMCS, Zen Cart, and more.
NOWPayments also offers donation solutions: button, widget and link that can be placed anywhere.
What is the origin story?
The NOWPayments crypto payment gateway was created by the team behind ChangeNOW - a crypto exchange service with the aim to make crypto as widespread as possible and easy to accept by anyone. The more use cases crypto has, the closer mass adoption is.
Since then, NOWPayments has become a separate and independent project working tirelessly to make crypto payments easy, convenient and widespread.
What do you love about your team, and why are you the ones to solve this problem?
The best thing about our team is that each and every one of them, be that our CEO or our business developers, marketing managers, SEO specialists, devs, and so on - every team member is inspired and inspiring. We all work together to make the world a better and more innovative place. We all love crypto and the concept behind it: decentralization, equality, freedom, new and exciting tech development.
If you weren’t building your startup, what would you be doing?
Can’t imagine not working here! I would be looking for this startup, probably.
At the moment, how do you measure success? What are your core metrics?
Traffic and SEO are important for me, personally, as a marketing specialist. These metrics are not just about our own success but they also show how close Mass adoption really is, how many more people have learned the benefits of crypto payments this week.
The other part of the team focuses on new partners and their retention. Each new partner is a new use case for crypto, and this is always exciting to see!
What’s most exciting about your traction to date?
It’s going up! Which means that crypto, while being at its early stage, is getting traction.
What technologies are you currently most excited about, and most worried about? And why?
Obviously, I am very much excited about blockchain and its applications, as its real use cases are exciting. Finance, healthcare, travel, banking, supply chain, social media - blockchain can change any and every industry for the better. The decentralized nature of these innovations is also something that inspires me, as this is what the world needs, independence.
A also really like e-scooters (can we consider that a technology), and I know a place in Germany which accepts crypto payments for its scooters, so it’s perfect!
What drew you to get published on HackerNoon? What do you like most about our platform?
I was browsing exciting and innovative tech startups and saw the HackerNoon directory, which made me want to get our startup featured there as well. I love the HackerNoon energy and atmosphere - it is cool, modern, like a hangout spot for people with new, exciting ideas.
What advice would you give to the 21-year-old version of yourself?
Buy Bitcoin? That’s too stereotypical. I would say, “You never know what the future holds for you, and it is exciting”
What is something surprising you've learned this year that your contemporaries would benefit from knowing?
There are completely feeless cryptocurrencies, perfect for microtransactions.
Stablecoins can be accepted as payment by those who fear volatility.
Crypto-to-fiat off-ramps can be a bridge between crypto and traditional finance.
Philip Dick is an awesome writer.
“Nine Films about Technology” TV series has an episode about Bitcoin.
Crypto is meant to be used, and crypto payments are easy to accept - that is not new but I wanted to finish with that :)