Hashgear

Hashgear is a business built on content that is automatically harvested from Social Media, and that can come with its dangers and pitfalls. In July, I met with an IP lawyer to discuss the possible risks of selling products with social media content.

I had a pretty clear idea of the risks and had done my homework on the differences between Trademark and Copyright, and how I could avoid flagrant violations of trademark law with my products. I had a free 30-minute consulting session with a lawyer, so I put together a 10-slide deck explaining my business and outlining the risks and potential "compliance mechanisms" that I thought could help me avoid legal trouble.

The first thing I learned is that you can learn a lot from a lawyer in a 30-minute free session if you have all your ducks in a row. I was really thankful that I had spent the time putting together the deck because it let us get to the unknown territory of the idea really quickly, without wasting too much time simply describing the business.

The next few things I learned will expose how new I am to creating a business. I had formed my LLC and was preparing my trademark defense strategy, but I really didn't know anything about professional liability insurance. The lawyer gave me a great tip to contact a liability insurance agent who could shop around for the right policy at no charge (kind of like a Buyer's Agent in real estate). That would turn out to be key, and a few months later I landed a liability policy with media + IP coverage that would protect me against trademark infringement suits.

The next thing I learned is that Privacy policies and Terms of Use are pretty important when it comes to potential risk. Specifically, it can be OK to use "pre-made" versions of this legal language, but you're putting yourself at risk if you haven't reviewed it with a lawyer and created a custom set of policies that are unique to your business. I didn't have the cash to do this at the time, but got a good sense that it was possible to go ahead with boilerplate language and then do it right when the funds became available (thanks to traction, hopefully). Of course, you are always running a risk doing this. One of the most interesting pieces of advice he gave me was to avoid duplicative language; that is, don't cover the same ground in two different policies, because it is that ambiguity that can open you up to risk in any potential suit.

All in all, it was a very informative and educational experience. I highly recommend taking the opportunity to consult with an IP lawyer at an early stage if your startup involves intellectual property in any way.

March 6th was the first commit to the Hashgear repo.

The idea for the company had been percolating for a month or two, after attending a number of events and rallies where I saw people wearing hashtags on shirts and waving hashtag signs. After a bit of research, I found that the market for physical products related to hashtags was largely ad-hoc (some random guy or organization made a hashtag shirt and put it on etsy) or had a "custom T" feel to the CX (e.g., Teespring). There was no site that would simply and reliably always have every trending hashtag out there, ready to buy. Why not?

I had done some research on various technologies that could automate the process of developing such products, and it seemed like a reasonably straightforward challenge, one that would push my technical skills but could have a clear path to revenue (selling actual things for actual money). I had spent a few years on big, sprawling social "network effects" types of projects that ultimately fizzled, so the idea of a short project -- I estimated 6-8 weeks in the beginning -- that could actually just be ready to make money was attractive.

All that said, it was one of those doodles in a notebook without any clear momentum. I thought about and talked about it occasionally at parties, but really wasn't a spark to light the fire. That all changed when I had "one of those days" at work. I've had a long and productive career (several actually), and I've been lucky to work for some great companies and great people. But even at great companies, there is no escaping those days that you feel like you are in a Dilbert comic. I had one of those days on March 5th, and on March 6th I made my first commit to the Hashgear repo. I was determined to put some of my emotional energy into another outlet, one that might be no less painful or frustrating, but one that I could control.

In the weeks to follow, I would start building the technology and fleshing out the concept for the company. One critical concern that has stopped me from starting the project was the idea that I would be creating ephemeral products that are part of an already wasteful ecosystem. I struggled with the justification for doing this, and ultimately struck upon a potential answer by returning to the origins of the idea, which was born at a political march for victims of gun violence.

What I realized is that hashtags are a cultural phenomenon and many of them are organized around philanthropic and humanistic causes. I decided that building a philanthropic arm of Hashgear could justify building an apparel company based on ephemera. More here:

https://hashgear.shop/blogs/hashtalk/hashtags-self-expression-activism-and-philanthropy

This part of the business is the least automated and most time-consuming, but perhaps will be the most important. I've yet to complete the work on that portion of the company, but I'm looking forward to making progress if Hashgear gets some traction.