11–20 of 151 posts
Congratulations on your success, no matter what direction you decide to go with it!
ITT: People who do want to start full-blown startups, and are more than happy to replicate your idea. If your moonlight project is seeing significant traction, imagine what could be done with full-time commitment and funding. I think it's in the nature of an entrepreneur to always be hunting for promising new ventures. And that's not a bad thing. Just a heads up.
ps. I'd be interested: www.aakilfernandes.com
I would also mention, on the assumption you're not aware of it, that you are offering fairly effective money laundering for credit card thieves at below-market rates for that service, and you can expect heavy dedicated adversarial interest. I rather expect you are receiving it already and are as-yet unaware of it. Feel free to ask for more elaboration if you do not understand the mechanics of how this works, or why it will quickly dominate the pool of people willing to receive $50 in consideration for $100 of Starbucks cards.
WARNING - get legal advice now. You'll likely come under the umbrella of money transmission business laws meaning that you need to register with your state and the federal government (assuming you're in the USA).
Even if everything is in fact kosher, approving/solidifying any money-related operations would be a great idea (especially with Bitcoin's increasing relevance and scrutiny).
I would recommend speaking with an accountant or financial adviser before the lawyer first - you'll still need the lawyer, but if it's really blowing up, you'll need some advice regarding taxable status of all this newfound digital income. Congratulations on your success, no matter what direction you decide to go with it!
Aren't most gift cards "non-transferable"?
I would strongly consider not running a money transmitter as a side business. If you do not understand that you are running a money transmitter, I will be happy to elaborate. I would also mention, on the assumption you're not aware of it, that you are offering fairly effective money laundering for credit card thieves at below-market rates for that service, and you can expect heavy dedicated adversarial interest. I ra…