Why I hired Mt. Gox ex-CEO Mark Karpeles as CTO of London Trust Media
Some of the greatest lessons I’ve learned in my life, came from some of the greatest failures in my life. However, when my dreams were met with failure, I was fortunate enough to have a network of support that encouraged me to get back up.
And I did get back up.
On Mistakes, Forgiveness and Human Progress
Let’s imagine a world, for a moment, that shuns those who fail and doesn’t let them get back up:
- Bill Gates failed on many business attempts and was even caught hacking. If he wasn’t given a second chance, there would not have been a personal computer movement.
- Steve Jobs was forced out of Apple. If Apple didn’t allow him to return later, it wouldn’t have created iPods and later became the most successful company of all time.
- Michael Jordan failed to make his Varsity basketball team. If he stopped right there and wasn’t encouraged by his mother, he would not have become the greatest player in the world.
“I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot, and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” — Michael Jordan
If we, as a society, do not give second chances to those who fall, then we as a society will cease to progress. It will have a detrimental chilling effect. I’ve been blessed with the ability to live out my vision of this world, and as many of you know, it has been reflected in the absolute position we, as a company, have taken in our philosophies. Privacy. Community. Transparency. Self Defense. We’re really all about power to the people.
And so the question is, does giving someone who led the way in the earliest days of Bitcoin with the roughest of early day hacks, arguably, helping cryptocurrency get to where it is today, a second chance, bring power to the people?
I strongly believe it does. And, I encourage every company in the cypherpunk space to do the same. The battle will be rough. There will be great successes and great failures. But, in the end, I am confident we will create a world which we all love living in.
Everyone at LTM knows that I believe so much in this and have always put my money where my mouth was. It wasn’t always the most beautiful choice, but like I always say, we’re not in a beauty pageant. We’re in the crypto wars. That’s why, as many have reported, we’ve brought Mark Karpelès into the firm. His many great successes, and mistakes, have made him strong and wise, and we can only learn from his experience. Specifically, as many have wondered, he is working as the global CTO across LTM, reviewing technical architecture from an efficiency and security perspective and providing advice and guidance. Each company continues to have its own individual technical lead that operates independently.
We’re here to achieve our goals and be the model company that forces all companies to do good. From the millions we donate, to the hardline positions we’ve taken when it comes to privacy, we’re going to continue to do the right thing and, again, create a world that we are all proud of.
We will bring power to the people.
I want to live in a world that will give me a second chance if I mess up and know I messed up. So I will do unto others, as I expect done for myself. If you agree, then I am honored to stand by you, my ally, in the quest for human prosperity. And, even if not, if you do stumble, we will have our hand out to help you when you fall.
Your humble servant,
Chairman and Co-Founder, LTMH
