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Nearly 15 years ago, I had a major depressive event while I was managing other people’s money in publicly traded companies. I deviated from the fund strategy and then lied about it to investors. My lies only compounded my mental health problems. I lied more while I tried to make things right.
Eventually, an investor formally complained to the SEC. This resulted in a 2016 SEC finding. It was never my intention to harm anyone. I regret my actions to this day. I am thankful that I was able to make all my investors whole.
I am not the same person I was back then.
I am now married and have three small children; I love them more than anything in the world. I have also gotten a lot of distance and perspective on the event that triggered my behavior. I cannot fathom ever behaving like that again. I am eternally grateful that since that time, I have been able to work in a field that I am passionate about: teaching kids how to code.
Learning how to code was an important part of my own development as a child. In the process of picking up the tatters of my life, I wanted to do something worthwhile and far away from finance. I still feel that way.
I have genuinely no interest in managing other people’s money ever again. I am thankful that my customers and business partners appreciate the product and services that I have built in this new chapter of my life. I would never jeopardize this second chance. I give thanks every day for people who believe in second chances.
I take full responsibility for my past actions.
What happened is that the stress I had created in my own life led to me clearly investing outside the terms of the fund and then not properly disclosing to investors what I had done.
Investors complained to the SEC. The SEC investigated. They determined that I had acted badly. I accepted the terms and accepted the consequences. There was a determination which is now a matter of public record.
I deeply regret my actions at that time. I am sorry for all the people that I hurt. I wish I had made different decisions during this time.
Since 2014, I have built Hatch Coding, a company that teaches kids how to code. We have done business with many established, and reputable organizations: privately held, publicly traded, and run for public good. This graphic above is something I am extremely proud of: I have managed to do some good in the world since the events above. It has taken hard work to build this company.
The SEC finding is not something that I hide. It simply isn't relevant to Hatch Coding and the coding courses we offer. Truly, I have everything to lose by repeating errors of the past. I am extremely grateful that I can share my knowledge and passion for coding with the world. I am eternally grateful that since 2014, 50,000+ parents and dozens of well-known organizations have left these mistakes in the past as well.
I would never torpedo the second chance that I have been given.
As of March 2022, Hatch Coding has decided the following:
Hatch Coding only offers coding courses.
Neither Hatch Coding nor Hatch.Art will be selling or distributing NFTs in any capacity.
A Hatch Coding partnership means Hatch Coding is teaching more courses and more kids how to code. This is exactly what we have done successfully in web2 for 8+ years.
The Spring 2022 course is about generative art. There might be a course in the future about coding in web3, building smart contracts or something new. All of this is in our wheelhouse.
We are excited that students who go through our generative art content may be in a position to create their own NFTs. If and when they do, they will be doing this via smart contracts, which they and their family control.
In additional, Youth Artists and their families retain 100% of IP and full commercial rights from any art created on the Hatch Coding platform. Hatch Coding has been a successful learning environment for many years.
The SEC Finding is not relevant in any way, shape, or form to teaching coding courses. It hasn’t been for 8+ years and will never be.
If you are reading this, you might be responsible for the health of an NFT community. Your community members may have knee jerk reactions to what happens when you do a simple Google search on Peter Kuperman. They might have heard something indirectly from someone else in social media.
The health of your community is important. If you believe that Hatch Coding can add value to your community, and you believe that teaching coding courses is something Hatch Coding does well, then you need a strategy to clearly show to your community that Hatch Coding only teaches coding courses, i.e. there is no risk of blurred lines with the world of selling or buying NFTs.
In a tweet, you can announce a Hatch Coding course and then reply to this tweet with:
Hatch Coding only offers coding courses. They have done so for 8+ years to major school districts and through large corporations like FedEx and McDonalds. They do not sell NFTs in any capacity. (193 characters)
This way there is a clear answer to an expected question immediately following your tweet.
Similarly, any announcement you make in Discord can include the line:
Hatch Coding only offers coding courses. They have done so for 8+ years to major school districts and through large corporations like FedEx and McDonalds. They do not sell NFTs in any capacity.
This answers any concerns with your organization partnering with Hatch Coding.
Here are some questions and answers about Youth Artists:
In this scenario, the artist would have to create their own website and their own smart contract to release an NFT collection. They would have to find marketing and technical partners if they needed that support.
Hatch Coding will never sell NFTs in any capacity.
However, we may offer advisory services to a youth artist or family that wants to release a collection. We might help with introductions to potential marketing and technical partners. Ultimately, the bright line Hatch Coding will not cross is that we will never own a smart contract that distributes NFTs.
We want to be involved in helping to grow the space and to cultivate future web3 leaders. We just think it is best for everyone involved, given all the information above, is to stay firmly in the educating and advising space and firmly away from the releasing and selling NFTs space.