The decision to start Clear Sparrow was initially taken after a BSV conference, says Kirsty Barany, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Clear Sparrow.
Clear Sparrow allows online daters to easily exchange their verifiable information before or even during a date. This gives anyone a better picture of who they are going on a date with, providing them with a sense of security and allowing them to enjoy their date.
Having worked in the healthcare sector, Barany has long identified sharing personal information as a problem that needs fixing. However, it was after attending a BSV blockchain conference in Miami that she decided that BSV was the right platform to help build out her business.
‘50 million people are dating online and about half of them feel it is an unsafe way to meet people. Still, they do it. So I started talking to people, and they were mostly women in this situation.
‘And they shared with me how unsettling it is that you are going to have a face-to-face meeting with somebody that you have no information about, that you know nothing about. Essentially they’re ruining that first date in a way because they’re trying to psychoanalyse if that person is going to be safe to them.’
Why the BSV blockchain is the right fit
While attending a BSV conference in Miami, Barany realised that the BSV blockchain was the missing piece she needed to help build out her new platform. She highlighted the necessity to rapidly and securely process people’s personal information, but at the same time keep this information anonymous.
‘I needed to share electronic health records, but I needed to make sure those electronic health records were verifiable and they were immutable. So we wanted to make sure that if we were going to do this, the liability was lower and the quality of the service was top.’
‘Now we’re in the process of finishing the development of the app. We’re expecting to launch sometime at the end of this year, and hopefully, we’re going to be able to improve safety in the online dating space.’
The BSV ecosystem provides the right tools and people
‘Anybody that comes to one of these (BSV) conferences with a good idea, they’re going to find not only the tools but the people,’ said Barany.
She added that there was a surprising disconnect between what is being offered on the BSV blockchain and other tech platforms currently available. She added that other blockchain platforms are also often not as fast or as secure as promised.
‘All of a sudden I’m starting to talk to all these companies and they all have the tech. It’s unbelievable. And I’ve been involved in technology in the U.S. since the nineties.’
‘I was in cybersecurity and you see technology evolve and it always has glitches. But this technology is kind of different because it has a very good technology layer. And now there are all these tools and business solutions and new business models are arising.’
Barany added that the BSV blockchain has opened new doors for startups that were previously closed.
‘If I would have gone with Clear Sparrow to an investor maybe two years ago, they would have said forget it, there’s no way you can do anonymous identification. There’s no way that you can secure those records. There is no way you can give ownership of the data to the rightful owners, which are the patients. This is the first time we can do that.’
BSV provides a friendly community
Barany said she was also impressed with the friendliness and helpfulness of the BSV community.
‘Yes, it’s full of techies and geeks and hackers, but these are all geeks and hackers and technologies that want to help you. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know how to code, if you’re a business person with a great idea, this is the place to come. Because not only you will find that technology, you’ll find the people.’ ‘These people take the time to understand what you’re trying to accomplish, the social impacts, the financial impact. What is it that you want your solution or your product to do in the future? And they come back to you with ten ideas that make it so much better, and they will come to you with solutions that you didn’t even know existed.