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Mel: "Two things in my life that I could see straight down the line... selling online...and Bitcoin." - part 1
Episode 5221st August 2023 • Orange Hatter • Tali Lindberg
00:00:00 00:15:30

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In this episode:

Mel's Bitcoin Discovery

  • Buying $100 worth of Bitcoin in 2015.
  • Bitcoin's unexpected growth from $100 to $4,700 by 2017.

Twitter Lessons & Scams

  • First scam on Bitcoin Twitter and lessons learned.
  • Navigating through online spaces with caution.

Personal Background

  • Mel's upbringing in Metro Detroit and early interest in computers.
  • The entrepreneurial spirit, from eBay ventures to becoming a vintage and antique dealer.

"... there's been two things in my life that I could see straight down the line. One was selling online... and Bitcoin is only is the second thing..." -Mel

Mel's Info:

Telegram: @Mel

Twitter: @girls_bitcoin

Email: Mel@unconfiscatable.com

https://unconfiscatable.com

To learn more about Bitcoin: Join the Orange Hatter Women's Reading Club. Visit https://www.meetup.com/womensbitcoinreadingclubwithorangehatter

Please email questions/comments to Tali@orangehatter.com

Remember: Knowledge is empowerment! 🍊🎩

Mentioned in this episode:

Aleia Free Market Kids Sponsorship FULL

Get your HODL UP ("The best bitcoin game ever!") at www.freemarketkids.com.

Transcripts

Tali:

Hi everyone.

Tali:

Welcome to Orange Hatter.

Tali:

Today you're listening to a conversation I had with Mel.

Tali:

Well, hi Mel.

Tali:

Welcome to Orange Hatter.

Tali:

I am so happy to have you here.

Tali:

Thank you for joining us and sharing your stories with us.

Mel:

Thanks for having me.

Tali:

Awesome.

Tali:

So we'll jump right in with our first question.

Tali:

When did you first hear about Bitcoin, and what was your journey

Tali:

like from discovery to conviction?

Mel:

So in 2015, I bought a hundred bucks worth of Bitcoin and then

Mel:

immediately forgot about it.

Mel:

I don't really know why.

Mel:

I have a feeling it was during that Cyprus losing their currency

Mel:

thing, and I read about it and they were talking about Bitcoin and I

Mel:

thought, oh, that's interesting.

Mel:

I've been an early adopter on the internet.

Mel:

I started selling online in 1998.

Mel:

So when I saw that, I thought, oh, interesting.

Mel:

So I bought it.

Mel:

Forgot all about it.

Mel:

2017, someone said to me, have you seen Bitcoin or have you heard of this thing?

Mel:

And like, have you seen what the price is doing?

Mel:

And I went, have some of that.

Mel:

And so I go find it and that a hundred dollars is worth $4,700.

Mel:

Ta-da.

Mel:

So I'm like, what is this?

Mel:

Why did this happen?

Mel:

Is it gonna keep happening?

Mel:

And uh, that set me down the rabbit hole and my family was telling me to sell.

Mel:

And my dad, you know, it's like, oh my gosh.

Mel:

It's all, that's all that.

Mel:

I'm like, no, I'm not going to.

Mel:

I'm gonna wait.

Mel:

It was a hundred bucks.

Mel:

It's a hundred bucks for me to find out what is this.

Mel:

And I went down the rabbit hole and I've never looked back.

Mel:

I continue to educate myself as much as I can.

Mel:

I mean, I have been like trying to debunk it for years and I can't, I can't.

Mel:

So that is where I began.

Mel:

And so once I started to learn, so I'm like, okay, now how do I learn more?

Mel:

How, what do I do?

Mel:

I get on Twitter and I start following some people.

Mel:

I followed this kid who's, you know, I don't know, like who's

Mel:

a good trader, who's this?

Mel:

Because of course, my first thing I thought was, okay, if I need more

Mel:

Bitcoin, I could just learn how to trade and then I could make more Bitcoin.

Mel:

Okay.

Mel:

That's crazy.

Mel:

Don't anyone think that immediately, unless you already are a trader.

Mel:

That was my first thought.

Mel:

And because I'm an antique dealer and I'm buying and selling all the time,

Mel:

I thought, well, it's the same thing.

Mel:

And it kind of is actually.

Mel:

I mean, when you look at antiques and vintage, you're looking at something

Mel:

that has scarcity and something that has demand and something people are

Mel:

collecting, and that's exactly what Bitcoin is now, why they're collecting it.

Mel:

I think people have different reasons.

Mel:

People understand what Bitcoin is going to be, where it's already going,

Mel:

and then some people just wanna make money and they see the potential.

Mel:

Okay, either way, I don't care.

Mel:

I know some people care.

Mel:

I don't care if that's what it takes for you to get in and and

Mel:

learn some more, then do it.

Mel:

So I got scammed on Twitter almost immediately.

Mel:

I have been on the internet...

Mel:

I had my own home computer at, in like 1995.

Mel:

This giant, compact computer I was so proud of, and I couldn't wait to get

Mel:

that disc in the mail, you know, like to get my 30 minutes of being online.

Mel:

So I have not, it's like if I cannot get scammed all that time

Mel:

until I reached Bitcoin Twitter?

Mel:

Oh, these are clever little monkeys.

Mel:

And it was, um, it was the pretending to be the guy I was following and

Mel:

messaging me and saying, oh, my class is open now for registration.

Mel:

I'm like, awesome.

Mel:

So I send this person 0.01 Bitcoin, and it wasn't him.

So that's your first lesson:

be incredibly skeptical and pay attention

So that's your first lesson:

to usernames because it's very easy, especially if you're busy or you're

So that's your first lesson:

not, you know, totally focused, it's very easy to get scammed.

So that's your first lesson:

So I recover from that, and then somehow I find Tone Vays.

So that's your first lesson:

Okay.

So that's your first lesson:

Tone has been in the space a long time.

So that's your first lesson:

He is...

So that's your first lesson:

and for some reason I started watching his show every day.

So that's your first lesson:

He was the first person that explained s*** coins in a way that I understood.

So that's your first lesson:

Because I kept thinking, what is the rest of this stuff?

So that's your first lesson:

Like, I remember watching on Coinbase when they let Bitcoin

So that's your first lesson:

cash, like when they let that loose.

So that's your first lesson:

And it went from like nothing to 2,500 bucks in like five seconds.

So that's your first lesson:

Like I watched that happen and I'm like, what is going on?

So that's your first lesson:

What is this?

So that's your first lesson:

So Tone was the first person who explained it.

So that's your first lesson:

He explained it well, and I learned fairly quickly that Tone could not be bought.

So that's your first lesson:

You know, he did not have sponsors.

So that's your first lesson:

He wouldn't take sponsors that weren't like Bitcoin, absolutely, Bitcoin only.

So that's your first lesson:

And even then he was hard, you know, he had a hard time taking that kind

So that's your first lesson:

of thing, like doesn't wanna take people's money, wants to educate.

So that's your first lesson:

And so I stuck around and I've been, you know, hanging

So that's your first lesson:

on his every word ever since.

So that's your first lesson:

In 2018, I went to a conference in Chicago, the first Bitcoin

So that's your first lesson:

conference I ever went to because Tone was gonna be there and he

So that's your first lesson:

was teaching a class on trading.

So that's your first lesson:

Okay.

So that's your first lesson:

Now I listen at that moment, at that class, like I think I even

So that's your first lesson:

raised my hand and asked some dumb candlestick question, which is

So that's your first lesson:

like, I shouldn't have been there.

So that's your first lesson:

I met him and I met Mike, Mike Jarmuz, who's with Lightning Ventures, and they

So that's your first lesson:

were the first people I met in person.

So that's your first lesson:

And they were gracious and probably thinking, who is this woman?

So that's your first lesson:

You know, who is she and why is she here?

So that's your first lesson:

So I, I was there because I trusted him and I wanted to hear what he had to say.

So that's your first lesson:

And I have honestly tell you, and now I worked for ... and I

So that's your first lesson:

can honestly tell you I've never, that feeling has never faltered.

So that's your first lesson:

You know, he's, he still doesn't lie.

So that's your first lesson:

He still cannot be bought and because of that, his conference was the first

So that's your first lesson:

conference I went to outside of the state.

So that's your first lesson:

You know, I went to Vegas to the first Unconfiscatable, my first

So that's your first lesson:

Unconfiscatable, in 2020 by myself.

So that's your first lesson:

And I was, it was the best experience I've ever had.

So that's your first lesson:

I mean, that's what, that was my huge orange, orange pill.

So that's your first lesson:

Like I know I'm in, I'm in, I'm in deep.

So that's your first lesson:

So I have, that's how it started and that's my.

So that's your first lesson:

My journey and now I am the organizer of Unconfiscatable for 2023, and I'm excited.

So that's your first lesson:

It's really going well.

Tali:

So it, it takes, it takes a, a lot of like tiny pivotal steps for you to

Tali:

get from discovery to that conviction.

Tali:

2015 to 2017, it was...

Tali:

and then 2017 to when you're fully in 2020.

Tali:

Right?

Tali:

So can you give us an idea of your personal background?

Tali:

You are obviously very interested in learning and you said you were an early

Tali:

adopter even in the internet movement.

Tali:

So give us an idea of who you are, you know, your personal background.

Mel:

Well, I'm from, so I'm from Metro Detroit originally.

Mel:

That's where I grew up and you know, very probably lower middle class neighborhood.

Mel:

You know, definitely when I was in high school I was bored to death.

Mel:

I mean, I school board me and they had the computer lab over at the career center.

Mel:

So I would just because.

Mel:

It got me outta school and like doing different things during the day.

Mel:

I took these computer classes and I'll never forget Mr...

Mel:

And so this is what, 1987?

Mel:

Okay.

Mel:

1986.

Mel:

1987.

Mel:

There were computers.

Mel:

There was Lotus 1, 2, 3, there was Word Star, and I remember Mr...

Mel:

The one thing I took with me was, you can always get out of everything.

Mel:

Like there's a way to get out of any computer situation, just look for it.

Mel:

And like to this day, I use that, you know, if I'm in a situation, but I started

Mel:

there and I was so good at it, you know, I just, and I'm not a programmer or anything

Mel:

else, but I can use a computer and I can find stuff and I know how to do things.

Mel:

And that was my early adoption.

Mel:

I long, you know, long story, I won't even do this, but like, let's cut to 1998.

Mel:

My husband is a comic booking card collector from childhood on and we

Mel:

were gonna buy our first house and I saw this eBay, I kept hearing about

Mel:

eBay and I said, why don't we try selling some of this stuff on eBay and

Mel:

maybe we can raise some house money.

Mel:

Well, that was it.

Mel:

I was hooked.

Mel:

And I, I couldn't even buy a digital camera.

Mel:

It was so expensive to buy one.

Mel:

I bought a scanner.

Mel:

I would lay things on it.

Mel:

I would put a blanket on top.

Mel:

I thinking back on it, how much time this took on dial-up, mind blowing.

Mel:

But when I started selling things on eBay, people said to me, you're crazy.

Mel:

No one's gonna buy anything from you online.

Mel:

Nobody's gonna send you a check and wait, and you know, wait till

Mel:

they get their money, you know, wait till they get their item.

Mel:

I go, you wanna bet?

Mel:

I could see it straight down the line.

Mel:

I knew everything was gonna be online.

Mel:

Everything we bought was gonna be online at some point.

Mel:

And I said in like 20 years, everything's gonna be online.

Mel:

But at that time, eBay was the only place really that you could buy online.

Mel:

And people were into it, you know, I had no problem waiting for that

Mel:

check and then waiting for it to clear and then shipping it.

Mel:

And it was empowering, you know, it was like having, all of a sudden I

Mel:

didn't wanna work for anybody else.

Mel:

You know, I had a really good job.

Mel:

I worked for an accounting firm as a recruiter for financial

Mel:

positions, and I was like on track to make 80 grand my first year, and

Mel:

that's a lot for that time period.

Mel:

And I quit.

Mel:

I had hives.

Mel:

I couldn't stand it.

Mel:

I couldn't stand the drive.

Mel:

I couldn't stand any of the structure.

Mel:

Like I wanted my own freedom.

Mel:

My daughter was, I mean, she was probably five or six and like I

Mel:

knew we wanted to have more kids.

Mel:

I wanted to be at home with them.

Mel:

So I created that eBay business.

Mel:

And then I was part of the Power Chicks, which were all

Mel:

women power sellers on eBay.

Mel:

And they're still friends of mine.

Mel:

So Bitcoin...

Mel:

In fact, you know what?

Mel:

Now that, now that I just said that out loud, those ladies would

Mel:

appreciate Bitcoin in a big way.

Mel:

I know it and they would trust me, and if I said it was good, they'd

Mel:

be like, let's find out more.

Mel:

Let's check on that.

Mel:

But anyway, so yeah, I mean that was my, that was my thing.

Mel:

And I buy estates.

Mel:

I would, and I started looking for vintage stuff because the

Mel:

markup is, Is so much better.

Mel:

I mean, it's really hard to buy retail and sell that online or like go to

Mel:

a show or what do you call those things like in Atlanta they have that

Mel:

marked and it's really hard to go and buy retail things at half the price.

Mel:

You know, you have to make like five times your money or

Mel:

you are not going to survive.

Mel:

Vintage and antiques will do that where retail won't.

Mel:

So I had friends that went into different things and thought it would be easier to

Mel:

do brand new stuff, but the volume that they had to do was so huge to make a

Mel:

profit wasn't, that wasn't worth it to me.

Mel:

So that was my, that was my deal.

Mel:

And then in, now keep in mind at this point, I'm a

Mel:

completely clueless financially.

Mel:

I have no nothing.

Mel:

Like, we grew up with nothing.

Mel:

We didn't, you know, know anything about the stock market, know

Mel:

anything about anything, you know, we're not taught that in school.

Mel:

The only thing my mom taught me, which really annoyed about, to this day,

Mel:

money's only good for the things that buy.

Mel:

So, you know, I had no savings, I had nothing, and in 2007, the market started

Mel:

to fall apart and Detroit fell apart.

Mel:

My husband was working for a big three supplier.

Mel:

I had my own shop.

Mel:

No one could buy anything because no one had any income.

Mel:

Every other house on our street was being foreclosed on.

Mel:

I started going to Chicago to sell because nobody was buying.

Mel:

Pretty soon I got myself a job at the biggest vintage and antique

Mel:

show in Chicago, and I loved it.

Mel:

Absolutely loved it.

Mel:

So that's me.

Mel:

It's like I get into every portion of this, like I started my career

Mel:

in antiques online and then moved into live shows where most

Mel:

people, it's the other way around.

Mel:

You know, you're starting live and then you learn how to sell online.

Mel:

I couldn't tell anyone that I sold online.

Mel:

I was, I couldn't tell anyone that that was how I got started.

Mel:

You're expected to learn this from your grandma and your mom, and you like went

Mel:

to the antique shows with them, and that's how you're supposed to learn.

Mel:

You don't learn from eBay.

Mel:

That was like unheard of now today.

Mel:

So I worked for that and we made the decision to move here full time

Mel:

and move, uproot everything and come and we live in the northern Chicago

Mel:

suburbs now and we have 14 years.

Mel:

So when I did that, I left that job because once again, I.

Mel:

She wanted to go in more of a craft direction and things, and I'm a

Mel:

vintage person, so I started my own market called Vintage Garage.

Mel:

We did it in a parking garage, an actual parking garage in Uptown Chicago.

Mel:

We were at that location for seven years and happened every

Mel:

month, a hundred vendors.

Mel:

Get 1,500 to 2,000 people on a Sunday coming uptown, and then our

Mel:

parking garage was getting torn down.

Mel:

This was right before the pandemic and I was resigned that we were done.

Mel:

That I was done.

Mel:

That was it.

Mel:

That was my live show.

Mel:

And then we were invited by the city of Evanston to come and be a part of.

Mel:

Evanston and the Vintage Garage is now located on the fifth floor

Mel:

of a giant parking garage in Evanston, so we're still at it.

Mel:

I also have a vintage clothing and jewelry show in Nashville.

Mel:

So these events, since selling online, doing all of this

Mel:

stuff, that's been my life.

Mel:

You know, when we came to Chicago, I also wanted my kids to learn something.

Mel:

Let's see, how do you put this without sounding terrible?

Mel:

It's like, I didn't want my kids stuck in Detroit.

Mel:

I wanted them to be able to.

Mel:

Be in an area where they met different people and saw different industries

Mel:

and you know, the culture and everything else here is a lot better.

Mel:

Detroit's a mess.

Mel:

It's a big, it's a big old mess and it always has been.

Mel:

My husband was born and raised in, in Detroit.

Mel:

You know, he actually lived in the city limits of Detroit,

Mel:

which no one does anymore.

Mel:

I mean, I think the amount of people that actually live in the

Mel:

city of Detroit is very small.

Mel:

So that is what I do.

Mel:

I still do that.

Mel:

Vintage Garage still happens four times a year in Evanston

Mel:

and now Nashville in February.

Mel:

And now in the midst of all of that, I started to get involved in

Mel:

the Bitcoin conferences and event.

Mel:

Volunteering my time.

Mel:

Learning, learning, learning, learning.

Mel:

You know, conferences are different than what I do.

Mel:

You know, I set up a show in a parking garage.

Mel:

That's not easy.

Mel:

You know, you have no amenities, you have no light, you have no electricity.

Mel:

It's interesting to say the least.

Mel:

So it's been an interesting journey.

Mel:

You know, learning about the conference side of things seems a

Mel:

little easier, but I'm, I love it.

Mel:

And I spent 26 years, you know, there's been two things in my life that I

Mel:

could see straight down the line.

Mel:

One was selling online.

Mel:

I could see it straight down the line.

Mel:

20, 25 years, everything was gonna be online, and Bitcoin is only is

Mel:

the second thing in my entire life that I've ever felt like that 20,

Mel:

25 years straight down the line.

Tali:

Thanks for joining us today and learning with us today.

Tali:

If the discussion with our guest resonated with you and you would

Tali:

like to dive deeper into the world of Bitcoin, don't miss out on joining the

Tali:

Orange Hatter Women's Reading Club.

Tali:

The meetup link is in the show notes.

Tali:

Also, if there are women in your life whom you think will both enjoy and

Tali:

benefit from learning more about Bitcoin, please share Orange Hatter with them.

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