An introduction to a test case for funding startups on the Steem blockchain.
Welcome to the very first post of a startup venture for the Steem community! This will be the first of many – not only for our particular coffee venture, but hopefully for many new businesses in the future who decide to use the Steem platform!
So, let's get down to business!
Who are we?
The two main forces behind Blogging for Beans coincidentally share the same name: David. We are friends and business associates – one of us living in the United States and the other in Costa Rica. We have been working together over the last few years to build relationships, work on logistics, and establish long-term goals and plans for our coffee venture.
David in the United States – @ats-david – is an entrepreneur who has previously worked in the food and beverage industry and has been building the state-side foundation for this joint venture. David in Costa Rica – @vivopuravida (intro coming soon) – was raised in a coffee farming town in the Tarrazú region (which is one of the best coffee growing regions in the world!) and has been working for one of the premier coffee institutions in the Americas while also starting his own coffee company in his home country.
Since we know both languages, we intend to write English and Spanish-language content for this joint account!
What is Blogging for Beans?
Blogging for Beans is a crowdfunding campaign to fund the creation of a business entity and a marketing campaign for both the business entity and the Steem blockchain.
Blogging for Beans is the first phase of a Steem-centric business venture that will provide a test case for crowdfunding a startup company via the Steem blockchain. The company created through this venture will offer premium and specialty-grade coffee and other premium products for those using the STEEM and STEEM-Backed Dollar currencies. The first phase of this business venture will have two distinct phases itself, with the second phase having an indefinite time frame.
Phase One
The first step is to launch our campaign across various social media platforms in order to attract new users to the Steem community. All of our blog posts will originate on Steemit.com and will be shared on existing social media platforms and apps such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Steemit offers any user the opportunity to earn some STEEM currency by interacting on its social media interface. The opportunity to earn this currency by doing what the average person does on social media on any given day is precisely the reason why we believe that our startup goals can be achieved.
The purpose of this blog will be to document our journey as a business startup, to update our followers and supporters as we accomplish each objective and milestone, to provide as much transparency as possible for all of our projects, and to provide valuable information about coffee, coffee producers and regions, and the premium products that we intend to offer.
Our goal in phase one of this venture is to raise funds for the purpose of establishing a business entity and acquiring the necessary facility and equipment to roast and package premium and specialty-grade coffees. Our plan is to earn these funds through regular blogging on the Steem blockchain and from any donations made to our project. We will ensure that 100% of all blogging rewards and donations made by and to this account will be used only for this venture. All transfers and spending will be highlighted in relevant posts as we move forward.
Additional information, such as funding objectives and timelines, will be provided in a follow-up post.
Phase Two
By attracting more users to the Steem community, offering them an opportunity to grow with us, and providing an outlet for using their earned rewards on products and services offered via the Steem network, we believe that we can create a viable business and add tremendous value to that network.
While phase one of this venture is focused on our ability to raise funds via blogging, phase two will be focused on your ability to earn rewards through the Steem interfaces and providing you with products and services on which you can spend those earnings – namely, coffee! We will also help our followers in the community achieve some of their goals through various initiatives, including promotions and contests.
Why Coffee?
It’s simple: More than half of adults in the United States reportedly drink coffee at least two or three times per week and it’s one of the most traded commodities in the world. It’s a product with widespread appeal and it just happens to be a product in which we have a wealth of knowledge, experience, and access. We want to share with coffee drinkers what we know and what we can produce.
We also want to go far beyond simply offering coffee to coffee drinkers. We plan to incorporate many other products and projects as the business grows, including non-profit programs in the farming communities. More information about these ideas will be presented in future posts.
We need everyone’s help!
This project relies on spreading the message far and wide. We want users on other social media sites and apps to come to Steemit, to invite their friends and families, and to start earning rewards along with us. Please share our posts, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and help spread the word about our Steem coffee venture and this community!
Please follow us so that you can stay updated on our progress! And don’t forget to Re-Steem this post!
Facebook Page: Blogging for Beans
Twitter Profile: Blogging4Beans
If you would like to make any donations, please send transfers only to @bloggingforbeans. Thank you for your support!
That is definitely post of the day.
Fantastic concept - This may pave the way for similar projects. Following with keen interest.
Davids, I am excited to follow this venture.
As a lover of fine cigars, I have found many similarities between coffee and tobacco, from the farming processes to finished product, and the flavor nuances and unique characteristics of different regions and blends.
I hope to bring a huge cigar base to Steemit from Facebook, however most will not budge beyond viewing my posts until something like groups is established (communities). Almost all of these folks are also lovers of the bean.
Anyway, well done, can't wait!
Coffee and cigars! Sounds promising! Maybe we can collaborate on some social media/marketing once things are up and running?
Both of you might benefit from the upcoming feature to build ICOs on top of the Steem blockchain. You could have a SteemCoffee &/or SteemCigars token and raise funds that way
I love this initiative and it could be an example for others to start something similar in the future. I'll follow this with interest. And I'm also liking the product. I drink coffee the whole day.
Following, VOTED and RESTEEMED.
This is GREAT!!!
So far in my group, we have Designer Cakes, Watermelon Farmer with Grocery store contracts, Chef with Food Truck Ideas, Country singer song writer, "New Era, Investment to Lifestyle Management" and more to come. I am up for any collaboration ideas you may have.
STEEM ON my friend.
CHEERS, To possible future endeavors!!
Helping Others To Help (others) 1 By 1.
Voted, followed and resteemed, one can never have enough coffee. Post it when you start shipping to Europe and you'll have at least one loyal customer.
Best of luck with this idea
I love coffee. No homestead is complete without some good coffee. Our facebook page has over 100K likes. I'd love to follow this and share with our audience. I'll head over to your facebook page and share. THANKS! Would love to try your coffee on a video on my YT channel. Over 45k Subs!
That sounds amazing! Count us in! In what part of the U.S. are you located?
We are in the Arkansas Ozarks. Just shared your page on Twitter and FB.
Oh, right! Read that earlier on your profile. Sorry.
Thanks for the shares! We'll be sure to follow you back!
Oh wow... My vote added 4 cents! Normally my votes don't even show any addition.
This sounds like an interesting experiment. I'll follow to see how it grows. Wishing the 2 of you much success!
I have a coffee plant in my living room. It has about a half dozen beans on it. Is there anything I can do with those beans that is worth doing?
Eat them? Maybe try to re-plant a couple? There aren't too many uses for them, especially with so few. Maybe share a picture of them with us?
I took a picture to share with you, but there is no button to post an image automatically like there is for making a post. I'm not aware of how to upload my image so that it can be liked into a comment. I do know it can be linked from somewhere on the web, but I would like to put it with the other images that get automatically uploaded. Still so much more for me to learn about this platform! Sorry.
If you're on a desktop, you can just drag and drop it into the comment field. I'm not sure if there's a way to copy it from a phone. I've tried a few times with no success.
Oh sweet! Thanks for the tip! I probably should have shrunk the image a bit though before uploading. OOPS!
I just saw this resteemed by @ats-david, and I'm glad I did. I look forward to following this venture. I saw some crazy mountain-side coffee plantations during our time in Costa Rica. Im following @bloggingforbeans and @vivopuravida now too. Let us know where to donate to the project. Resteemed. Good luck, fellas!
Thanks, @customnature! Yes, there can be some pretty steep slopes on those farms. True mountainside growing!
Any donations can be made in STEEM or SBDs directly to the wallet for this account. And as stated in the post, 100% of all funding via this account will be used only for business-related expenses, including any non-profit projects that we start down the line.
All the best, Davids! Look forward to your future blog posts.
Out of curiosity, are you planning to account for blogging rewards as revenue? What about tips/donations? I've been trying to understand how blockchain can work for non-blockhain offline small businesses myself.
For now, revenue/gains will be claimed only if/when the funds are withdrawn and converted into fiat. This may change based on how creative the accounting can be - within the constraints of the law, of course.
At this point, taxes aren't my main concern, so we will fund the project with rewards/donations as needed.
What a great initiative! Thank you for your dedication to Steemit and for providing us with the great coffee, coming soon I would imagine... ;)
All for one and one for all! Namaste :)
What a really cool concept! Thank you for making this post and congratulations on getting more than $1,900! This really inspired me so I have upvoted it and also am now following you for more info @bloggingforbeans -JoeParys
Love the idea of bringing business ideas to steemit and exploring what to do myself like this and look forward to where this idea goes and grows into!
Nice project I have my daily routine with "Morning coffee with gregbit" https://steemit.com/life/@gregbit/good-morning-people
Every morning with coffee and coffee theme video!
I love your project and wish you the best of luck with your business! I think the whole steemit got your back :)
Hi David²
Very creative and inspirational idea. I'm sure you will have many startups following suit!
I look forward to reading about this project unfold and wish you both, and your venture, all the best...
Happy roasting and steeming!
excelente publicacion :)
Very amazing concept and well worth my follow. Will keep tabs to see how the progress goes for you guys in this excellent venture. Welcome to the community, wishing you great success with Steemit and your business model
Share the Tweet as well!
Nice! I like the simple product u guys are going for!
Yes, it's a simple product, especially to consume. But there will be so much more than just the coffee! We're going to make big things happen!
Please consider a complementary token called Starbucks ;P
Never! We do not wish to be associated with anything Starbucks. We have more self-respect than that! :)
I love coffee, steemit and your idea. Will follow closely. Best of luck.
Welcome to Steem @bloggingforbeans I have sent you a tip
welcome @bloggingforbeans! Good luck for this great project!
Thanks!
Cool...one good coffee is good :)
What kind of growing practices will u be using? Organic? Shade grown? Great idea for the coffee product
That depends on the farm/cooperatives. Most of them already use shade growing practices. Some of them are organic, but mostly not "certified." Certification costs can be expensive for these farmers.
I understand. The certification costs are waaaaaay too much. Shade grown with no pesticides is natural. I look forward to your future posts and good luck with this huge endeavor.
I love Coffee....the sacred bean :P
Well...one of the sacred beans at least!
Welcome to Steemit and the best of luck in your new venture. Now following you!
It's a fragrant idea! Followed and Resteemed.
Woooooow! This is inspiring. This is truely a great way to raise funding without venture funding. Nice thinking
Excellent initiative. Good job guys
Interesting direction the future is taking!
that sounds like a fun project!
That's amazing! Good for you guys, uovoted followed and resteemed! Can't wait to see more!
Coffee is always a good idea. So I'm curious where this adventure will lead to. Would be great to follow this succesfull story
great idea. is the full startup getting funded thru steem or just the sales aspect of it ?
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NOTIFY@bloggingforbeans this is such a great idea! Promoting your product, raising funds, and growing the real world value of Steem! :D
I wish you and your team all the best, and I look forward to your progress! :D
This post make My Day. Thanks
What a great post , time for a coffee :)
nice....you deserve resteem and upvote...
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Best of luck!!!!
So excited about this! I think the best thing about Steem is really the community; the community is self supporting and really about helping each other which in turn leads to more growth! In turn this motivates people to really dedicate themselves to the platform since they know others will be doing the same and there is a reward for doing so ;)
Followed and Resteemed!
Welcome to Steemit! I love coffee! :D
I like coffee I like tea,
I like the java jive and it loves me!
Count me in! I can't get enough of the stuff!
loved ur post check out my friends https://steemit.com/food/@whitedolphin/delicious-easy-urban-eatery-urban-plates-del-mar-highlands-san-diego-california-review
Best of luck!
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Coffee is LIFE