Edmund McCormack

Edmund McCormack is a media and tech industry veteran with the goals of clarifying the nebulous world of crypto investing. With years of experience developing business strategies, and executing revenue and operational frameworks at leading tech companies, most recently Apple, McCormack has incorporated proven online education technologies with an enthusiastic community of experts to help everyday investors get started in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency investing.

Where did the idea for Dchained come from?

Over the last 10 years, there have been mainly two groups who have benefited from the meteoric rise of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies: tech and finance. Even today, the popular news sites that many beginners visit are filled with highly technical jargon and advanced financial charts that few can understand. It’s no surprise that most people have found cryptocurrency intimidating and unapproachable. This is where the idea and name for “Dchained” came from: unlocking and de-mystifying cryptocurrency for people by explaining everything in plain English and providing step-by-step instructions on how to invest in the space.

Investing has been a proven vehicle to wealth generation and quality of life improvement. Yet, in light of the economic impacts from COVID, we have seen cryptocurrency values increase by triple digits with large banks and public companies now announcing crypto-based products & services to capitalize on cryptocurrency’s upward trajectory in 2021 and beyond.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

Starting and growing a business from home, where I have two young children (1 month and 2 years old), involves a lot of planning ahead, scheduling blocks of time throughout the day to address important tasks, and coffee. I start my day in the early AM before everyone else in my home so I can catch-up on what’s come out in the news overnight or what will be happening later in the day. From 7:30AM – 9:30AM, I have standing 30 minute meetings with the heads of our writing, marketing, and product department where a major focus is what roadblocks they’re currently facing or what resources they need to progress what they’re working on forward. While I’m in and out of meetings throughout the day, there are two tips that have worked very well for me: 1) I reach out to 4-5 members each day to thank them and ask for direct feedback (the more honest, the better) and 2) schedule time each hour for email and then put it away to get what’s on the “to-do list” accomplished. If it’s an emergency, my team knows to call or text me so I know that the house is not burning down if I’m away from my email for 20 minutes.

How do you bring ideas to life?

Leading into starting Dchained, my career was spent in the tech and advertising world where 2 seconds is the benchmark for someone to see and absorb something. In that length of time, I’ve found that there is nothing that brings something to life for the reader than video and eye-catching visuals.

What’s one trend that excites you?

The diversity of individuals who are showing interest in cryptocurrency. As an early Bitcoin investor in 2012, there was a lot of uncertainty on whether cryptocurrency would ever be recover in a meaningful way from some well-publicized scandals from a few bad actors. However, there has been a wave of positive regulation and policies from local governments around the world that have paved the way for major banks and corporations to bring Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies to the mainstream. In fact, PayPal has garnered a lot of press in late October for announcing that all 26 million of their merchants globally would accept cryptocurrencies as payment directly from the PayPal app. This means that cryptocurrency is now as easy to buy, use, and sell as simply using PayPal.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

Carving out specific time to check email and then putting it away to focus on tasks that prioritized for the day. This was a difficult habit to create, as I always want to be connected, but it also benefits employees who get empowered to solve problems on their own.

What advice would you give your younger self?

1) Ask an older relative/friend/etc what lessons they felt they learned to late. You’d be surprised to hear how many wish they didn’t spend all those decades working for someone else
2) A corporate job doesn’t mean it’s a safe & secure job
3) As you’re trying to “climb the ladder,” stop and think if this is a ladder you really want to be on

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

In 10 years, the US will be an almost cash-less society – meaning, it will be rare that you’ll find people carrying around pieces of paper instead of using their phone, watch, or other connected device. In this sense, everything is “digital money” – even if it’s US currency.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

Reach out to customers every day to thank them for spending their hard earned dollars with you, and then ask them for their feedback.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

As a founder, it’s been hard to hand off control on important areas of the business but it’s necessary in order to ultimately grow your business. One strategy that I’ve done is to hire slow and fire fast. I spend a lot of time finding the right fit for candidates who are joining Dchained. However, hiring is not an exact science and you’ll need to be swift and respectful in parting ways when the employment is not working out.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

A failure that we had early on was not utilizing employee referrals to build our team. Initially, we hired freelancers for varying projects in the business; however, you will find that the freelancers’ reviews are often falsified and they are often including other individuals’ work in their portfolios. It was an expensive failure as we navigated the best way to staff but it’s one that we’ve walked away with some important lessons.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

A service that will pickup valuables that you have at your desk or office and deliver it to your home while you’re working remotely.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

Moving my company from New York to Delaware. The corporate taxes and regulations in New York are unjustifiable.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

Asana and Slack. Asana is a fantastic project management platform that helps provide transparency & accountability across areas of the business, while Slack is how our team communicates throughout the day

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

“Man’s Search for Meaning“. While originating from psychiatric principles born from the author’s experiences in the Holocaust, it provides lessons that entrepreneurs can apply as they shift focus from chasing market opportunities to identifying their purpose and how they’ll fulfill it.

What is your favorite quote?

“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things.” – Steve Jobs

Key Learnings:

• Reach out to customers every day to thank them for spending their hard earned dollars with you, and then ask them for their feedback.
• Your best employees will often come from your current employees
• Success will come as a result of you finding what purpose you serve in life and why you started your company to fulfill it. As explained by author Simon Sinek, “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.”