创业新招-把虚拟货币当钱用.doc

创业新招:把虚拟货币当钱用If you’ve ever been told that playing computer games won’t 1)amount to anything, well, you can tell those 2)naysayers they’re wrong, which of course, I already knew. A group of young entrepreneurs are out to prove you can 3)cash in pretty heavily doing just that. Our Ken Molestina explains why “Gratii” could soon be the currency of the future. A quick look around this place and you?ll think you just stepped into a 4)frat house. Pizza boxes line the walls, and beer 5)paraphenalia serves as decorations. But it won?t take long to notice this hometurned-lab is the birthplace of what could be the next big thing in the virtual world. Brian Feldman: It?s a 6)buzz and it?s almost like, oh my God, now, we gotta get back on our grind ?cuz it?s…it?s growing faster than we expected. Brian Feldman is talking about Gratii. He and his right-hand man, Matt Meyer, are both University of Maryland graduates. They?ve assembled a team of partners, and together, they?ve come up with virtual currency that is earned by playing simple computer games. Matt: I think people are really starting to 7)embrace it. So here?s how it works. You play the games, and then earn the points. The points then get 8)redeemed for real-life products like food or merchandise at 9)establishments who are signed up with Gratii. The 10)Beta launch has already hit College Park, their old 11)stomping grounds. Brian: People are spending real-world money to buy virtual goods. We said, let?s flip that. What if there?s a way to use virtual currency to buy real-world goods? The theme of virtual currency has even been the topic of TV shows like The Good Wife. But these local businessmen say there is nothing fictional about what they are trying to achieve. Matt: We?ve spent a lot of time doing this. The tech-12)savvy bunch have jumped on board with the latest website 13)coding trends and social platforms. Their push behind Gratii is giving traditional currency 14)a run for its own m