Port Coquitlam tech whiz kids Dominic and Michael Vogel have had a busy six months and now, with a pitch to Dragon’s Den under their belts, the Riverside grads are hoping for big things for their Bitcoin software Netcoins.

Last week, The Tri-City News caught up with Michael Vogel fresh from the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Silicon Valley, where he heard from the likes of U.S. President Barack Obama and CEOs from Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, AirBnB and Uber, who spoke about the latest trends in technology and entrepreneurship.

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There were close to 700 entrepreneurs from 170 countries at the event and Vogel said he was thrilled to be among those chosen to attend the seventh annual event held June 23 and 24 at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Cal.

“It’s not a cast you would see together. It was interesting to see these guys in their natural environment,” he said.

One of the biggest lessons Vogel said he learned is that you don’t have to be located in Silicon Valley to have a successful technology start-up; in fact, advantages such as lower start-up costs can be a benefit to techpreneurs launching a business outside the U.S.

That’s good news for the Vogels, who are forging ahead with their Netcoins (gonetcoins.com) software that turns any digital device into an ATM machine for bitcoin, which is a digital currency gaining traction in the finance industry, gaming and among online retailers.

Recently, they signed a deal with Gateway Newsstands, which has a store in Coquitlam Centre, to sell bitcoin through their Netcoins software, and a new partnership with Flexepin will allow customers to purchase up to $500 in bitcoin at a time at a variety of retailers, including all Esso gas stations.

Also this spring, the Vogels pitched Netcoins to the investors on CBC’s Dragon’s Den and while the outcome can’t be revealed, Michael Vogel said the experience was interesting and the episode should give more awareness to bitcoin as an alternative currency.

“When people watch it, they’ll enjoy it for sure,” said Vogel, who expects it will be on an episode featuring other family businesses. “I think Canadians will watch the show and they’ll get a good chance to get up to speed on the bitcoin narrative and they’ll root for us along the way.”

