CaliCoin is the world’s first and only cryptocurrency dedicated to helping what is termed “Animals of Determination” (AODs) around the world. Company CEO, Caroline Lafferty has been recognised by CEO Monthly as Most Influential CEO 2021 – the United Arab Emirates. We delve deeper to learn why.
The easiest way to describe CaliCoin is it’s a “marriage” of differing vectors. Firstly, it is the marriage of CEO Caroline Lafferty’s love of animal and charity work, coupled with her passion for the cryptocurrency space. Secondly, it is a marriage of two general characteristics of the Millennial generation – a passion for social causes and in particular, animal welfare, and a high level of know-how and preference for virtual currencies.
Put all this together and CaliCoin is a unique concept: A charity token and donation platform, enabling donors who wish to donate to animal welfare organisations the opportunity to do so, with high trust that their donations will be put to good use, and leveraging the transparency and seamless transactions a virtual currency provides. CaliCoin’s focus is on the less well-funded charities with low exposure and in more need of funding. It is a means to expand the donor base for very needy charities; and also gives donors peace of mind that their money goes to good use; and that the charities have been properly vetted. It is a win-win-win all the way around. The animals win. The charities win. And the donors win!
Noting the rising incidence of scandals and questionable use of donations among charities, CaliCoin starts by performing rigorous due diligence on prospective charity organisations worldwide that cater to AODs. Once a charity is fully qualified, it is added to the CaliCoin platform and assigned its own wallet. Prospective donors can then peruse the charities, choose one or more for a donation, and purchase and deposit CaliCoins seamlessly into the wallets of their choice. CaliCoin is 100% non-profit and takes no commission or added fees – the money goes directly to help the animals. Recipient charities may use CaliCoin for veterinary services, they may hold CaliCoins for future use, or they may convert it into fiat to pay other operating expenses.
Caroline Lafferty grew up in an entrepreneurial household as her parents always ran their own companies. So, starting up her own business is, in a sense, “in her blood”. CaliCoin is Caroline’s third successful start-up, and she would say that everything she has done to date has prepared her well to launch and lead CaliCoin. The key difference is, this is the first time she has coupled the entrepreneurial spirit with her passion for giving back and for animals. She firmly believes it is a moral obligation to help those less fortunate. There is nothing more noble than helping a disabled or homeless animal, or AODs. In this sense, Caroline’s CEO role is different and tugs at the heartstrings. She must do this job well as needy animals all over the world are counting on her!
She believes the only way a start-up can survive and thrive is behind a “Leadership from the front” approach. The leader has to be into every area and be willing to lead by example and pick up the broom and do the sweeping if necessary. She is hands on, and no work is beneath her as CEO, and she believes her team appreciates this. It is one team, one dream, and this is an important facet for inclusive leadership.
A firm believer in the power of a team, Caroline personally recruits everyone within her company. She’s always loved the quote “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” and she tries to embody this within her organisation. She is Chinese-Canadian, her parents were immigrants from Hong Kong, and she comes from modest roots. She believes in old-fashioned values of discipline, honour, work ethic, respect and dignity for the individual. She looks for people who embody these values and she trains the rest. As someone who embraces diversity, she doesn’t care about someone’s “résumé” or who they know. She hires people, not diplomas or labels. And she strongly believes this is why the company is successful. This is a committed team, unified by a common set of values.
Meanwhile, as a cryptocurrency, CaliCoin faces the normal challenges anyone in this space faces. Whilst the world of cryptocurrency is truly “taking off” and news about Bitcoin, for example, is seemingly a daily occurrence, relatively speaking, the market for virtual currency enthusiasts is still quite small. But it is a future trend that is definitely here to stay, and the company only sees the upside as growth and adoption continues. Many of its member charities on the ground in places like India and South Africa have faced funding challenges through the pandemic, as many of their sources of funds dried up. CaliCoin has been very grateful to be able to step in and provide a new source of funding for these amazing operations which are doing so much good in the world.
CaliCoin prides itself on how, since its launch, it has been a model of sustainability and consistent growth. The cryptocurrency space has been known for its volatility and wild swings in coin valuations. By virtue of being a charity token, and its discipline in a controlled “do it right” expansion, CaliCoin has seen a near-perfect linear progression in token values, despite the ups and downs of the overall cryptocurrency market. This illustrates the validity of the charity coin concept, and also validates the company’s approach of doing things right; as opposed to doing things solely for the sake of speed.
Ultimately, the company feels a huge sense of responsibility to its prospective donors to carefully vet all charities to ensure they operate at the highest standards; so, it can reassure donors that their donations of CaliCoins to these charities are put to good use and are fully utilised in a responsible manner. CaliCoins’ due diligence on charities is massive and it is constantly adding new ones and dropping current ones who won’t uphold its standards and values. It currently has nine different charities who are all doing such amazing work for animals! CaliCoins’ goal across 2021 is to eventually reach a critical mass of 50 charities across the globe – all upholding the high standards and values that are embraced at the company. If readers wish to donate, they can do so by visiting https://calicoin.me/.
