General

Is there any significance behind the name PublicDropout?

Yes there is. Our Founder & CEO worked for Big 4 Public Accounting firm “Ernst & Young” prior to founding PublicDropout. Tired of working endless hours, he decided to leave EY in search of a new job that would allow him more time to focus on his true passion of starting his own business. This decision effectively ended his accounting career, which he had spent the prior 8 years building. It was this act of “dropping out of Public Accounting” which serves as the basis for the Company’s name “PublicDropout”.

How do you determine which projects to support and invest in?

We utilize a specific set of criteria for each project we choose to invest in. The factors we use to evaluate each project are: 1) Use Case 2) Team 3) Partnerships 4) Technology and 5) Price

Are there plans to add additional Divisions or expand into other areas?

Currently, we have no plans to add additional divisions or expand into other areas. That being said, if there are additional areas you think we should explore, feel free to get in touch with us using the information found on our Contact page.

Nodes

How exactly do you operate your nodes and what level of knowledge is required?

A node is computer software that connects to other nodes on a network and together they store, receive and transmit network transaction data. A node requires a piece of hardware to run. We operate our nodes in a couple different ways.

Physical Hardware

About 5% of our nodes are operated using our own physical hardware (laptop, computer). In these cases, we own the software licenses for each node and we run the node software on our own in house devices. We are responsible for the maintenance costs (electricity, internet, etc.) associated with operating each node.

Some technical knowledge is required to operate nodes on physical hardware.

Virtual Private Servers

About 15% of our nodes are operated using virtual private servers (VPSs) hosted by a 3rd party. A VPS is a virtual machine that runs its own copy of an operating system. In these cases, we own the software licenses for each node and we operate the node software on a VPS. This requires us to remotely connect to the VPS and then install the node software on the VPS. We are responsible solely for the monthly costs for renting each VPS, while the 3rd party VPS provider is responsible for the maintenance costs associated with operating each node.

Being a smaller business we find the monthly costs for renting each VPS is significantly less than the costs and time associated with operating our own physical hardware.

Some technical knowledge is required to operate nodes using virtual private servers.

Nodes as a Service (NaaS)

About 80% of our nodes are operated using Nodes as a Service (NaaS). NaaS is a tool that enables any non-technical person to launch a blockchain compliant node in seconds and be rewarded for running them. These nodes require no hardware knowledge as the tool developers take care of the equipment and technical resources for a monthly fee. In these cases, we own the software licenses for each node while a 3rd party operates the node fully themselves. We are responsible solely for a monthly fee which covers the costs of operating the nodes fully.

No technical knowledge is required to operate Nodes as a Service.

DAOs

What does your participation in DAOs consist of and how does it generate revenue?

Our stake in a DAO is signified by our ownership of the DAO’s token. DAO tokens are backed by the DAO’s treasury. Treasuries consist of other assets, usually stablecoins and other projects’ tokens. As a stakeholder in a DAO, we possess the ability to vote on governance and treasury decisions. This means we have a say in the decisions made by the DAO and how the treasury spends money. We generate income by staking our DAO tokens, which enables us to receive additional tokens. The amount of tokens we receive is comparable to the percentage of our stake in the DAO.

NFTs

How does owning NFTs help support play to earn economies in the Metaverse?

To understand how our ownership of NFTs helps support play to earn economies, it’s important to understand the current system and what a play to earn economy is.

The current system for gaming gives players 0 ownership over in-game assets. That means if a player purchases an in game item for $10, that $10 is lost forever. Play to earn economies fix this. These economies give gamers ownership over in-game assets and allow them to increase their value by actively playing the game. By participating in the in-game economy, players are creating value for other players and the developers. In turn they are rewarded with in-game assets. These digital assets can be anything ranging from cryptocurrencies to in-game resources that are tokenized on the blockchain.

Our NFTs are in game assets. For example, we support Polka City, an online virtual city where players can earn money by owning in game assets. We purchased and own a taxi in Polka City. Our taxi generates revenue each time it successfully picks up and drops off a passenger. The taxi, however, requires a real person to operate it; so we must operate the taxi ourselves. Due to the amount of NFTs we own and the current size of our Team, it may not be possible for us to spend time operating all of them. As such, we may end up hiring additional employees, whose roles will be to operate these in game NFT assets. Additionally, if a game is successful, we hope our in game assets will appreciate in value. This would allow us the option to re-sell our assets for profit should we choose.

Pre-IPOs

How do you invest in Pre-IPO companies?

Due the value of our assets under management (AUM) PublicDropout is an accredited investor per SEC Rules. Being accredited allows us to invest in Pre-IPO companies. We utilize Linqto for all of our Pre-IPO investments and are also an investor in the Company itself. If you are interested in investing in Pre-IPO companies we highly suggest checking out Linqto’s platform. Feel free to sign up using our referral code.

Careers

Are you hiring?

All of our current job openings are listed on our Careers page. If you do not see a position that matches your skill set but believe you have skills that may be a fit for our Company, please get in touch with us using the form on the Contact page.