Mitchell is a serial entrepreneur and pioneering figure in the cryptocurrency industry. Globally recognized as an innovator – he launched the world’s first Bitcoin ATM in Vancouver, followed by locations and partnerships in London, Singapore, Bucharest, and Tokyo.
As President of Netcoins, Mitchell has helped grow the team, operations, and overall topline revenue. His vision is to make it easy and accessible for anyone to buy, sell, and understand cryptocurrency.
Mitchell’s core belief is that sound money is ultimately more beneficial for society; he is deeply passionate about the crypto industry and its limitless possibilities. He has been featured in publications such as Wired, RT, Time, Huffington Post, Fast Company, and Forbes. Mitchell Demeter is also a winner of Business in Vancouver’s prestigious “Forty Under 40” awards in 2020.
Outside of work, Mitchell enjoys travelling and the outdoors.
What is Netcoins all about?
Netcoins is Canada’s easiest, most trusted way, to buy and sell cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. We’re passionate about helping users invest in their future through education and a user-friendly platform. We offer a total of 7 different cryptocurrencies on the platform right now. In short, we make it really easy and simple for people to get started with crypto in a safe environment.
I’m also proud to say that Netcoins is paving the way for more industry regulation and security. We take the cryptic out of crypto and make it fun, approachable and easy to understand.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company?
I’ve been in the crypto space since 2013. I was initially drawn to bitcoin through my interest in gold and Austrian economics. It was a gold bug to begin with, but when I looked into bitcoin, it had many of the same underlying principles as gold, and even more advantages.
Like gold, bitcoin is limited in supply, which helps it to retain value in the long run. This stands in stark contrast to the dollar which is unlimited in supply, something that is increasingly concerning given the amount of money being printed these days by banks and governments.
My lightbulb moment came when I decided to purchase bitcoin in 2013 and saw that there were significant hoops to acquiring bitcoin. The whole process seemed relatively dodgy – having to wire money to Slovenia and waiting weeks for confirmation.
This is when I realized there had to be a better way for users to purchase bitcoin. I was already running a stable and successful business at that time, but I decided to sell it to focus full-time on a cryptocurrency startup instead. And that’s how I launched the world’s first Bitcoin ATM in Vancouver, followed by locations and partnerships in London, Singapore, Bucharest, and Tokyo.
I then later co-founded Cointrader Exchange, one of Canada’s earliest online digital currency exchanges, which was acquired in 2015.
Netcoins started out as a Virtual Bitcoin ATM provider but when I became President in 2018, we quickly pivoted to an online cryptocurrency trading platform which users can access 24/7. My goal at Netcoins is to make crypto easy to buy, sell and understand.
What are your plans for the future, how do you plan to grow this company?
We’ve been extremely focused on the Canadian market and providing a seamless and engaging platform for our existing users. We plan to grow in two main ways:
- By expanding our features to further enhance the Netcoins experience
- By looking outside of Canada and at new markets like Europe and the United States
Right now we’ve got instant trades, limit orders and price alerts on Netcoins.ca, and we’re looking into new features all the time. Some examples include borrowing and lending, a Netcoins branded credit card that allows users to spend from their Netcoins CAD balance or crypto balance and more!
We’ve been expanding our marketing efforts and growing our teams to handle the kind of growth we’ve been experiencing and will experience in the future.
We pride ourselves in being a people first company – and a big part of that is having a human element in all we do. As we scale further, it’s a big focus of mine to not just improve on the product and grow our clientele but also ensure we still manage to have ears to the ground, and keep the Netcoins experience very much authentic and personable.
How have the pandemic and Lockdown affected you or your new business?
With governments printing a seemingly unlimited amount of money (35% of all U.S. Dollars in existence have been printed in the last 10 months), many have opted to put some of their money into bitcoin. That’s because the pandemic has forced many people to rethink our monetary system and be smarter with their money. We’ve been fortunate enough to see positive effects of the movement towards bitcoin into the mainstream..
We’ve been very lucky at Netcoins in that our core business is online. Netcoins is now a remote-first company, and I’ve had to learn quickly how to lead effectively in these unprecedented times. I’ve learned to create a strong culture of mental wellness by giving employees the freedom to self-regulate, leading by showing (openly taking breaks myself), and by creating space for difficult conversations.
For instance, one of the ways we’ve made space for difficult conversations at my company is by ensuring social experiences happen even when a physical connection isn’t possible. From virtual bubble tea chats between employees to self-organized buddy systems for new hires and games between teams, we encourage employees to get creative and engage in non-work related interactions.
Tell us a little bit about your marketing process, what has been the most successful form of marketing for you?
Marketing in the crypto space is an extremely interesting and a challenging endeavour. Cryptocurrencies are still a “gray” marketing area where google and social media ads are banned. We’ve had to be creative and resourceful, and be willing to try, fail and succeed quickly.
Our referral program has been a great success. Having our users be our advocates has worked wonders. We incentivize our existing users to spread awareness of Netcoins by rewarding $50 for every active user they refer to Netcoins, and the referred users also get a $10 bonus.
There’s definitely a learning curve when it comes to cryptocurrencies, especially because it’s still so new and unknown to many. Money is also such a big part of people’s lives – people have emotional connections to their hard earned money, so it’s a big leap of trust people make when they invest their money into cryptocurrencies like bitcoin through us.
So it really helps when a friend or family member refers them to us at Netcoins, because there’s already a level of trust established in that relationship that we get to leverage. And we continue to build on this new relationship through transparency and a highly responsive, down to earth team.
We’ve also placed a big emphasis on education and reflect that in our marketing strategies. We actively take part in podcasts, interviews, and submit paid pieces to several publications to help educate the mass public. Crypto can be daunting, so my team and I make it a point to highlight the faces behind the brand to help personify it and make it more relatable. I’d say the marketing campaigns that have been the most successful are the ones that have faces to them. Whether it’s me or someone from my team personally writing an article, speaking on a podcast online or voicing a radio ad.
What’s a productivity tip you swear by?
The Pomodoro technique. The technique uses a timer to break work down into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks.
This helps to carve out some (uninterrupted) time in your schedule to focus on one thing and one thing only. It doesn’t necessarily have to be work related and really helps me to focus in today’s world of multi tasking and constant interruptions.
Brain.fm is something I recently discovered and love. It’s also structured around intervals but utilizes music to further help you get into the zone.
Can you recommend one book, one podcast, and one online course for entrepreneurs?
This course on Coursera called “Learning How to Learn” is amazing. It walks you through the process of learning and helps you understand what your brain is doing, and how to be patient as you’re learning new things. It’s especially relevant for entrepreneurs, who are (and should be) learning all the time!
My First Million – the podcast is equal parts inspiring and insightful. They cover the entrepreneurial journey, go through different business models and discuss it as if it’s your own business. It’s a really interesting way to get yourself thinking by putting yourself in another entrepreneur’s shoes. I think it’s a great exercise for anyone looking to learn how to build a business.
What helps you stay driven and motivated to keep going in your business?
Daily meditation. It sounds cliche but it has had a huge impact on every aspect of my life and I think it helps to start and end the day by clearing your mind and zero-ing in what you’re really here to do.
I’m also motivated by a personal sense of competition – I always want to see how far I can go and what I can accomplish. I enjoy building businesses – and with crypto, it’s especially exciting to be a part of something bigger; a new movement that will change the world. This gives me a strong discipline and work ethic.
What is your favorite quote?
‘If you do what everyone does, you will get what everyone else gets”
– Stephen Richards
It’s a powerful quote I love that applies to a lot of different aspects of life. This quote has always resonated with me and motivated me to do things differently, especially if I want to be different than the average person.
Think about this:
- According to CDC, 73.6% of adults over 20 in America are overweight
- Approximately 39.5% of men and women will be diagnosed with cancer at some point during their lifetimes
- When it comes to your career, an astronomical 85% of people are unhappy in their jobs.
I don’t like these statistics and I think it would be crazy to do what everyone else does, and expect different results. If you want different results, you need to do things differently.
What valuable advice would you give new entrepreneurs starting out?
Think long term rather than chasing down quick wins. Be patient. Be focused. Being laser focused will give you a competitive edge. The time goes by fast so set long-term goals and take little steps towards them each day.
What kills a lot of businesses is not having a defined goal and trying to do too much at once. Focus on doing one thing really well. Done is better than perfect. Go and get sh*t out!
What is your definition of success?
Success is when you have the ability and resources to create the life and businesses you want. Having that personal freedom to do what you want, when you want. If you’re able to help people, have an impact, and create the kind of world you want, I think that’s success. It goes further than having financial resources for me. Success is also tied to doing things that make you feel fulfilled as an individual.
How can readers get in touch with you?
I check my Twitter under the handle of @MitchellDemeter regularly and am happy to connect and have healthy discussions on the platform. I’m also active on Linkedin, where I sometimes share my thoughts on my health, business leadership, crypto, and the Netcoins business.
Both are excellent platforms to get in touch with me directly. My team at Netcoins is also great on social media and on our support channels. They can forward any pressing inquiries to me as well should you decide to get in touch that way.
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