Bra tycoon Michelle Mone has turned her entrepreneurial skills to technology as she launches a new digital venture with life and business partner and Scottish billionaire Douglas Barrowman.
Scotland-born Mone rose to fame after founding lingerie company, Ultimo, but her latest business is her first move into tech.
Together with Barrowman – chairman of the Knox group of companies 鈥� she鈥檚 launched a 拢250 million Bitcoin-priced Dubai property development; the first international luxury property development to be priced in cryptocurrency.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not at all daunted at the prospect of this new business,鈥� Mone tells 老九品茶Cloud. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we鈥檙e entrepreneurs. When it comes to cryptocurrency the world needs trust.
“So hopefully the two of us together brings that trust. Doug is a very successful businessman, and I鈥檓 part of the House of Lords. I can鈥檛 think of anything better than what we鈥檙e offering with our new business venture.”
Both trailblazers in their own business sectors, the couple see Bitcoin as the future of currency, bringing it into the mainstream in a move that merges property development and the tech sector like never before.
鈥淗alf a billion transactions are being made every day with Bitcoin,鈥� Barrowman explains.
鈥淵ou鈥檝e got institutions and major players investing in this sector now more than ever.聽 The industry has moved beyond the 5 per cent of earlier adopters, the tech people who had faith in it, to the serious businesspeople in the suits and ties eager to invest.
鈥淥bviously there is a multitude of cryptocurrency out there, but we see Bitcoin as the gold standard and what we wanted to do was give the crypto community world out there, many of them who have made significant gains out there in crypto land, the opportunity not just to diversify digital currency but diversify conventional assets.鈥�
The highly-anticipated selection of 1,133 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, is due for completion in September 2019. Apartments offer floor-to-ceiling windows with unobstructed views of the Dubai Hills and the iconic city skyline.
鈥淲e鈥檝e taken our apartment on the top floor so if any entrepreneurs need any advice they can pop up for a chat!鈥� Mone declares.
鈥淭he development will sit bang in the middle of the science park in a place called Dubai Hills 鈥� the Beverly Hills of Dubai – and will have a very British theme throughout.
“When you buy an apartment in Dubai it tends to just come as a shell so we have taken on famous British architects and the interiors will also be designed by my company, Michelle Mone Interiors.
鈥淭he studios start at $130,000 鈥� which accounts to 30 Bitcoins, a one bedroom apartment is $240,000 which is 50 Bitcoins and a two bedroom is $380,000 鈥� 80 Bitcoins.
鈥淥nce we sell 50 apartments we鈥檝e decided to put one free apartment into a prize draw for a lucky winner too.鈥�
Industry-leading Bitcoin payments platform BitPay will process the Bitcoin transactions, a company that already provides Bitcoin payment tools to companies such as Microsoft and Richard Branson’s space venture Virgin Galactic.
鈥淏itcoin payments offer a significant leap forward for high-value international payments,” says Stephen Pair, CEO and co-founder of BitPay.
“These property purchases can now happen in minutes from anywhere in the world with the speed of sending an email. We are pleased to partner with Lady Michelle Mone OBE, Doug Barrowman, and the Knox Group of companies on this exciting opportunity for Bitcoin and for property payments.鈥�
So, how exactly will the business work?
鈥淓ssentially there鈥檚 a front-end acceptance of Bitcoin, a website which is an eCommerce platform,鈥� Barrowman explains.
鈥淪o customers can go on the website when it鈥檚 launched, pick their apartment then see the transaction go through right there and then through Bitcoin.
鈥淭he business is very disruptive. It changes the way we think about things. If serious businesspeople and developers like Michelle and I are prepared to do it, then ultimately it鈥檚 a massive investment into cryptocurrency and others should follow suit.鈥�
Not an industry either entrepreneurs have much experience in, it鈥檚 clear technology has now become a game-changer for the business moguls.
鈥淚 started off training as a chartered accountant in the mid-80s on a very old machine,鈥� Barrowman recalls.
鈥淭hen it was the fax machine, and then I saw the advent of the internet and email. Technology for me has been an evolution. In the 90s I was investing in a manufacturer company and then in the noughties I was buying and investing in tech companies. Tech has become an increasingly major part of my business life.
鈥淔or the younger generation the internet is just part of their life and blockchain technology will soon become a part of their everyday life. Soon enough we鈥檒l be doing conveyancing contracts through blockchain, we鈥檒l be looking at contracts, insurance contracts, medical contracts; you name it, every aspect of our lives will be changed by blockchain technology.
“The kids of today and tomorrow will grow up with it being an everyday part of their lives and obviously the financial application of blockchain is Bitcoin. It鈥檚 the future.鈥�