If your looking for a “to the moon experience” some may turn to drugs such as tobacco. But there’s a new kid on the street, vapes. And now you can pay for it in Bitcoin. I met “R” through another interview I did with CCA regarding Arbitrage , and it turns out that he is very close with them. Small world indeed.
1. Why did you make Cloud99Vapes?
My two partners and I, we all vape. Humans have been smoking tobacco, herbs, spices or burning incense for at least 7000 years. It’s a pleasurable experience and vaping is the first harm-reduced — even comparatively healthful — alternative. The vaping industry has tremendous growth potential and we want to be a part of it.
2. History of Development?
The idea for a brick and mortar vape shop came together in January of 2014. My background is in software engineering so, in discussion with my partners, we decided to build a scalable, online-offline business from the very start. The online sales channel is being rolled out in stages, but with the backend infrastructure we’ve put into place we will be able to open additional online and physical locations quite easily.
3. What caused the acceptance of Bitcoin?
The first reason is that the vaping and e-cigarette industry is one of the most discriminated against by the credit card companies. The card processing rates, particularly for online sales, are usurious and burdensome. Bitcoin offers us a welcome respite. No transaction fees, no funds held hostage, no “Big Brother”-like oversight.
It’s decentralized and democratic in a world that increasingly needs this. And a bonus is that we can service international customers just as easily as US-based customers. The second reason is that Cloud99 Vapes isn’t just another business accepting Bitcoin — it’s a business built with Bitcoin. In 2012 and 2013 I operated a consumer electronics e-commerce site accepting Bitcoins.
In US dollar value at the time, the sales were disappointing. Two years later, with active trading and an exchange rate 60x higher, that’s no longer the case.
Success with Bitcoin has allowed me to join with two great partners and start Cloud99 Vapes. There’s no way in the world we wouldn’t accept Bitcoin.
4. Bitcoin: Do you convert to fiat? Do you pay employees with it?
At this time we convert to fiat. We would love to rely solely on Bitcoin, but until such time that we can pay our suppliers or our expenses in Bitcoin, this isn’t feasible. Salary will likely be our first use of Bitcoin-revenue once we reach a sufficient level of Bitcoin sales.
5. Current Status?
We are open for business online at http://www.cloud99vapes.com and at our brick & mortar shop, Cloud99 Vapes, 148 Main St, Nanuet, NY. We’re in Rockland County about 45 minutes north of New York City. Early sales have really exceeded expectations and it’s growing consistently.
6. Future Development plans?
We’re constantly adding new lines of e-juices, new mods and specialty hardware, and generally improving our offerings. We’re also in the early stages of planning our next locations, also to be in the NY metropolitan area. It’s an exciting time for the e-cigarette industry and an exciting time for Bitcoin. What better businesses could we choose?
For more information: http://www.cloud99vapes.com
