Everest’s CEO Explains How Digital Identity and Crypto Will Change the World

Everest is one of the solutions that is building the future, Bob Reid discloses how digital identity and crypto is doing that

First of all, how are you and your family doing in these COVID-19 times?

Bob Reid: We are doing wonderfully. Covid provided a respite from incessant travelling, and I’ve enjoyed spending more quality time with the family.

Tell us about you, your career, how you founded Everest. 

Bob Reid: I did a smattering of Silicon Valley startups, mostly leading teams for new market development. While at BitTorrent, the inventor of p2p technology (a precursor to blockchain), I traveled all over the world and became enthralled with blockchain technology. With that background, my co-founder and I made the observation that biometrics + blockchain technology + crypto “money” will revolutionize the world in terms of redistribution of power from gatekeepers to users and smaller communities…hence, Everest.

How does Everest innovate? 

Bob Reid: We innovate as collaboratively as possible. Over the years, we’ve learned that Everest and the problems we solve require different perspectives. Technical, legal, cultural, regulatory, etc., all need to be accounted for in the creation process.

How does the coronavirus pandemic affect your business finances? 

Bob Reid: The pandemic made the argument for Everest. Prior to the pandemic, I spent countless hours evangelizing remote onboarding, user-controlled data, fragile systems. The pandemic showed the world that existing systems don’t adequately solve these problems, and Everest is one of the solutions that is building the future. With that recognition, Everest’s finances have improved dramatically.

Did you have to make difficult choices regarding human resources, and what are the lessons learned? 

Bob Reid: I’ve learned that finding and filtering people is one of the most important jobs I do – hiring the best people early on makes or breaks a company, so I’m very careful. A lesson I learned early in my career was to empower people to do what they love. As such, I try not to make people do tasks they don’t enjoy and arm them with the tools they need to succeed.  

How did your customer relationship management evolve? Do you use any specific tools to be efficient? 

Bob Reid: Nothing specific.

Did you benefit from any government grants, and did that help keep your business afloat? 

Bob Reid: No.

Your final thoughts? 

Bob Reid: Crypto and blockchain will be mass-market in the near future, and Everest is leading the solutions (regulation, ease-of-use) to bring that future into reality. 

Your website?

https://www.everest.org/