Best Timing for Innovation and Disruption

Niky Achivei, Founder & CEO of Blyncc (formerly VTransFair) tells us how blockchain will shape many industries in the years to come.

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

Niky Achivei: Fortunately, my family is safe and sound. For us, this is the best time ever because our team is based in different countries and we were always working from home. So our normal become the new normal, forced by the pandemic – at a global scale. During the pandemic, I moved to London for the further development of our business and its vision.

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

Niky Achivei: It was while I was living in Spain and transferring money across borders that I realized how much money I was losing to the banks in hidden fees and due to bad exchange rates. I realized this was happening to millions of business owners like myself, and this was where the idea for Blyncc first started. I wanted to save businesses time and money when sending and receiving cross-border payments. So I started on my journey, creating a solution that radically simplifies cross-border payments and building a comprehensive solution that enables effortless payments through the use of blockchain. A solution that was built specifically for B2B payments. And since then, Blyncc has become my life, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.

How does Blyncc innovate? 

Niky Achivei: The Blyncc platform uses blockchain as its core technology, making payments simple, fast and secure. We believe blockchain will shape many industries in the years to come. We’re leading change in the payments market by adopting blockchain now because it will revolutionize the future of payments. We’re constantly looking at ways we can innovate with blockchain as there’s so much room for growth. But we’re also looking to build out the Blyncc offering to meet the banking and non-banking needs of small-medium businesses.

How does the coronavirus pandemic affect your business finances?

Niky Achivei: We bootstrapped, and so far, my co-founders and I sponsored this journey. I can say it has been tough. Very challenging were definitely the first months after this virus appeared, and we all thought we’d come to an end. Investors were sceptical about investing, and we had to find a way, ourselves, together, to face this challenge and pull through. It turned out that it was the right decision, and we feel and have the feedback that our solution will benefit even more businesses. Probably the best timing for us to enter the market after we raise the Seed investment, which we prepare now, in order to launch Blyncc as a full product and with the license in place, in order to be able to enable real money transactions and operate as a payment system. Per overall, this decision was risky for our pockets, but it starts to pay off. The corona times made us stronger than ever – without any outside investment. Not yet.

I guess it’s all about how you react in the tough times and how you make the best out of it. So without any complaints or excuses, there is always a way if you search for it.

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

Niky Achivei: My network of potential customers reacts quite well, and we actually have discussions in such a manner to build long-term trust, innovate and improve as much as possible, listening to their pain. Our purpose is to help these leaders expand their business activities and offer all the tools they need to fuel future business growth. At the end of the day, it is all about empowering greater connections between businesses. We see Blyncc more as a partner for businesses rather than a payment solution.

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

Niky Achivei: No. Doing bootstrapping and being at the pre-market stage, unfortunately, such support doesn’t come into question for us because we are not eligible. I view this as a disadvantage for people like us, people with the intention to shape an industry through technology and innovation. Such projects require money injection for such development. And the standard rule of eligibility can’t apply for startups like ours at this stage. I believe that the Government should also consider and pay more attention to the new generation of innovative businesses by supporting them. It has been a challenging time indeed for us, too. 

Your final thoughts?

Niky Achivei: I see the whole pandemic topic as a transcendence period for humanity. We all are forced to find a better way, get more creative and do the best out of it. This is a point of time that will remain in history and will mark the future of money, business, how we do business, human interaction, and respect. We probably now value more sipping a coffee on a terrace, enjoying a real human conversation instead of being occupied with the mobile phone or other digital distractions. It taught us to be fully present. In the future, we will pay more attention to socializing the right way and appreciating that. At least, I hope so. We’ve learned to be patient, strong, and economical. We’ve learned to adapt to online life and appreciate the little things and life more than ever. We’ve learned to cherish free travel, our families and friends, our loved ones. Is sad we had to learn it this way. But it is never too late, and that’s what matters.

I believe that although challenging, it probably is a lesson that we will always remember. 

Your Contacts?

https://uk.linkedin.com/in/nikyachivei