#TheTechHustle Podcast 🎙

Backstage with BobbyD featuring Michelle Lilly

• BobbyD, D'Hustle and Raymond...don't call him RayRay

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Michelle Lilly—the first Black woman globally to earn a Master's degree in blockchain and digital currency—is transforming how we understand cryptocurrency's potential for building generational wealth.

The racial wealth disparity demands innovative solutions beyond traditional financial systems. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies represent that opportunity, not just as investments but as revolutionary tools for economic empowerment. Speaking with the conviction of someone who's lived this transformation, Michelle shares her remarkable journey from Bitcoin skeptic to cryptocurrency educator after watching her $30,000 investment grow to over $1.2 million during the pandemic.

"You're at risk right now anyway," Michelle emphasizes, challenging listeners to make educated financial choices rather than continuing with systems that haven't served our communities. With major institutions like Fidelity projecting Bitcoin could reach $1 billion by 2038, even owning a fraction could translate to life-changing wealth. These aren't just abstract numbers—they represent real possibilities for those who understand the technology's potential.

Beyond investing, Michelle's approach centers on education and community. "A lot of people want to just give you their money. And it's like no, I want you to fish. Because generational wealth is built when we pass it on. Not only do we pass on the money, we need to pass on the education." Her mission to educate one million people about cryptocurrency wealth creation stems from this philosophy.

For newcomers feeling intimidated, Michelle offers straightforward advice: start small with regular investments through dollar-cost averaging, use reputable platforms like Crypto.com to establish a wallet, and approach Bitcoin as a long-term treasury. Whether you begin with $10 or $10,000, the key is consistency and patience.

Ready to transform your financial future? Follow Michelle at @IamMichelleLily on Instagram and discover how cryptocurrency can help close wealth gaps while creating opportunities previous generations could only dream about.

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Speaker 1:

Fidelity is expecting one Bitcoin to be worth $1 billion by 2038, with a B, and so you may not have enough money to buy one Bitcoin right now. But what if you could buy a tenth of one Facts? And what if they're right? And in 13 years, one Bitcoin is worth $1 billion. That means you're worth $100 million?

Speaker 3:

Let's get it, let's get it, let's get it. What if they're wrong?

Speaker 1:

And it only goes to $500 million. That means you're worth $50 million. Look at that.

Speaker 3:

Even the way that you thought about that. Right there, light bulbs, eyes just open.

Speaker 1:

I'm trying to get us, as black people especially, to understand. You're at risk right now, anyway. Yeah, but if you're going to take a risk, take an educated one.

Speaker 3:

Facts what up D? What up Welcome, welcome, welcome. Yeah, it's your boy, bobby D, and we're back here backstage with Bobby D at the Black Wealth Summit here at Florida Memorial University. Did you know this is the only HBCU in South Florida?

Speaker 4:

No, I didn't know.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, big shout outs to Ted and everyone that's here supporting here at the Black Wealth Summit. And we got a special guest that just came off the stage and it's hot. I mean, she's hot, I promise you. Michelle Lilly, welcome her to the stage.

Speaker 3:

Oh, thanks for having me oh my gosh, let me tell you, um, I was walking with you backstage and I'm, like, so mesmerized by the story, the impact and the message that you really dropped for those that are attending, and I'm so looking forward for everyone to be able to understand the value around bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and how that's going to change people's lives. So give us a quick introduction, let us know where you're coming from and calling in, and definitely we're going to talk about Bitcoin today.

Speaker 1:

OK, well, I live here in Miami now, but I'm originally Chi-Town in the building.

Speaker 4:

Always.

Speaker 1:

I lived in. I got to give H-Town some shout out too, because I lived in Houston for 16 years before I moved to Miami. But it's Chi-Town some shout out too, because I lived in Houston for 16 years before I moved to Miami, but it's Chi-Town in the building.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, yeah, for sure, For sure. That's what's up Now. The topic that we covered or I seen on stage was about Bitcoin. And tell me how you first got started in Bitcoin. I mean, for me you're like a PhD on Bitcoin, for me as much as I've been doing some research.

Speaker 1:

Yeah Well, I do have my master's degree in blockchain and digital currency First black woman in the world to hold that title.

Speaker 4:

Beautiful Give her a round of applause for that. That's a gem too.

Speaker 1:

just in case nobody heard First black woman in the world.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, yeah, that's a gem Okay.

Speaker 3:

I know you say that again.

Speaker 1:

I'm like, have a responsibility. So I I don't say that to brag. I say that because the responsibility comes with that and that's to educate our people about, uh, the power of cryptocurrency and being able to use cryptocurrency as a vehicle to create wealth. But how I got started in cryptocurrency in 2017, I was introduced. I attended a meeting and I was introduced to Bitcoin. It actually was for the second time. The first time, I ignored it and, like I said on stage, thought I was smart and you know, figure like what they doing. I knew something they didn't know when.

Speaker 1:

I didn't know anything about it, which is most people. So in doing so, I started investing at twelve hundred dollars buying Bitcoin, and it was the year that it went up to over twenty thousand dollars.

Speaker 4:

Amazing.

Speaker 1:

And I had to understand it. Bitcoin had my full attention at that point because I was like what is this, why did it do it and how do I do this again? And so from that I went on a journey. Like I said, I had to understand it, and so I spent years and thousands of dollars to figure it out. I went and got blockchain certified. I went and got Ethereum. Food of Greece got Ethereum certified. Shout out to that. She's going deep yeah and uh.

Speaker 1:

In january of 2022, obtained my master's degree in uh blockchain and digital currency top five university, in the world university of nicosia, and um, and since then I've been um not only an active investor in the market, but someone who has been out here just educating and telling anybody who will listen, from my cashier at Walmart. I know we boycotting Walmart and Target right now, but when I was anyone who would pay attention, I'm just sharing. I don't care if you spend $25 every time you get paid, just buy you a little Bitcoin, just buy you a little.

Speaker 4:

Bitcoin.

Speaker 1:

Just buy you a little Bitcoin Just out here championing it, because we have a racial wealth disparity. We need a hack to close that gap.

Speaker 3:

The traditional ways are not going to get us there, because the traditional ways are going away a lot right now and, um, our means of income and everything is moving fast and so we need to move fast with it roger that right, roger, that now that's something that's truly like impactful in terms of just, uh, understanding how we can close this gap, because, uh, whenever I talk about bitcoin and just from me just being involved in bitcoin, um, I can already see that the gaps has helped me close, and if I'm leaving my people behind, I'm like yo, how can I keep moving forward and leaving people behind? So it's so passionate to hear that you're not only making the investments, getting the education, but giving back to our community. So tell us a little bit about some of the workshops and services that you offer.

Speaker 1:

Sure. So you know, I've partnered with the source, Ted and Hillman, and we are on a mission to educate 1 million people to utilize cryptocurrency as a vehicle to create wealth.

Speaker 3:

I'll give that a big round of applause. She said 1 million. That's what you're shooting for. That's what's up. Yeah, blessings to you.

Speaker 1:

And so I teach courses from small workshops, which is introductory for people to understand, Because my goal is to you know, a lot of people want to just give you their money.

Speaker 4:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

And it's like no, I want you to fish Because generational wealth and wealth is built when we pass it on.

Speaker 3:

And so not only do we pass on the money, we need to pass on the education. Yeah, 100%. And in terms of just my experience of learning and developing whenever I've been involved with workshop, group learning and group environments, I excel even more because I see other people that are number one, may have some challenges, may ask a question that I don't know, and or is just open up my insights into.

Speaker 3:

like man, I never even thought about it like that. So not just and this is the part about it not just telling people, hey, go and do it, but giving them the tools to actually do it, which is amazing.

Speaker 1:

You just touched on something. Community is important. You know you can't go at this alone, because even I tell people you know they went well, michelle, you're such an expert. I'm like you know it's. It's not a lot of experts in this space and I don't it. Technically I would be deemed an expert, but it's so much to learn when it comes to the digital currency space and everyone has their lanes yeah so you want to link up with a community where I get some of my students that tell me about coins that I didn't know anything about.

Speaker 4:

Look at that, you see what I'm saying.

Speaker 1:

So now, when they tell me I get to share with the other students and so community is important when it comes to really building a portfolio and really starting to understand what cryptocurrency is. And this is not like telling you to quit your day job or, you know, shut down your business. It's saying learn about a new money that you're going to utilize anyway, because most of us, the reason we haven't made the wealth gap we have right now, is because we are financially illiterate yeah, yeah, 100.

Speaker 3:

and and I like the way that you describe Bitcoin in terms of the new money Tell me a little bit more on what you have received from people pushbacking like, hey, I don't want to get into it, or maybe hesitant, and stuff like that.

Speaker 1:

One of the major criticisms that I've heard about Bitcoin is that it's volatile, that it's too volatile. But you know, I invest based on data and so the reason why most people can't stand the volatility is because emotionally they can't handle when it drops. But, like right now, Bitcoin is down compared to 108. But it's all about where you buy right, Because if you would have bought two months ago, it was $68,000.

Speaker 4:

Right.

Speaker 1:

If you would have bought last year, it was 40 something. If you'd have bought the year before, it was 24. So it's all relative to when you get in. I say. I say you you'll pay the price. You know you'll get the price you deserve.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, but what I'm really getting to is just trying to debunk or give give people some like insights into, like those questions that hold them back from making sure sure.

Speaker 1:

So volatility is definitely one um, I get that all the time. But if let's do the math and let's do the facts, bitcoin has outperformed every asset class over the last 15 years. So if you're looking to get rich quick, then you might say that you know you got in and two months later you want to be rich. Then yeah okay but if you look over time, like I gave the big mama story.

Speaker 3:

Yep, yep.

Speaker 1:

My mother bought Bitcoin at $2,200. Didn't even know it was Bitcoin. She called it BiggerCoin.

Speaker 3:

Big shout out to mom, though. I seen that video on her birthday.

Speaker 1:

She was there jamming. We was jamming and she was excited because big mama in Bitcoin now. So big mama like I got Bitcoin, I'm happy. You Because big mama in Bitcoin now. So big mama like I got Bitcoin, I'm happy, you know, and so you know she didn't know what it was. So what keeps us away, too, is our ignorance, and because we don't understand it, we shy away from it. But we'll go throw our money in something. Totally like you don't understand how the casino works against you Facts, but you'll go. I got $2,000. I can go to the casino tonight. So I would say education is one of the things. And then one of the things that I get all the time which is so interesting to me is that well, what if the Internet goes down? And my response to that is if the Internet goes down, do you think you're about to walk into your bank, america or wells fargo and pull your money out, your money?

Speaker 1:

yo, if the internet goes down, the internet goes down on everything facts you're not about to go and hop, just waltz in the bank for me. You know the internet went down. It's time for me to pull my money out. Well, you got bigger problems if the internet goes. Yeah, for sure 100.

Speaker 3:

Another thing that've seen on stage that you talked about is just the use case for it. Sure, I've seen when you were bringing up like hey, now we do Apple Pay like it's nothing, but before it was like yo, what is this new app? Do you feel like that adoption will help us move our mindsets away from that?

Speaker 1:

Sure, they're putting in the infrastructure right now. And what I'm encouraging people another reason I'm encouraging people to get into the market is because you want to be investing in the infrastructure, these coins that's on the cryptocurrency market. They're building the infrastructure that allowed no different than the internet when apps were being built.

Speaker 3:

Roger, that they're building the infrastructure.

Speaker 1:

Amazon was building an infrastructure for a retail market, so if you would have invested in Amazon in those years. Google was building an infrastructure for the encyclopedia to go away. Yeah, you know, and so I shared about Blockbuster. You know I'm still, like I said, some of y'all probably still owe late fees, y'all glad. Blockbuster went bankrupt.

Speaker 3:

Facts right.

Speaker 4:

I like Blockbuster said some of y'all probably still owe late fees. Y'all glad blockbuster went bankrupt. Facts right. The good old days right a lot of memories.

Speaker 3:

But hey, did you turn that movie back in though?

Speaker 4:

if not, that's that three dollar charge fee.

Speaker 3:

They do all right, but it's so true in terms of just adoption and evolution and evolving and and going. You know where the direction and the wind is blowing. It's like my mindset has always been to not you know. Everybody's like, hey, go again. No, you got to go with the green. You're already seeing it. Trans is your friend Right. It's like how easy it is right now in terms of money. You mentioned this on the stage. How many people carrying cash in their pocket Right Me? I'm definitely not.

Speaker 3:

Who definitely not. Who me you're gonna carry cash.

Speaker 4:

I'm still old school oh come on you're an 80s baby. That's why my mom always say if you don't have no money in your pocket, yeah, you're not a man.

Speaker 1:

Oh, I'm from shy town so I carry some cash just because I don't know who I'm gonna have to pay I might have to pay somebody and I am to make something happen for me while

Speaker 4:

I'm out, I'm not alone. I appreciate, let me shout out to that.

Speaker 3:

Shout out to that, right there, now they're moving these streets, but in general, it's like this momentum that I'm really hoping that events like this, summits like this, or even just our vibe, the scene that people can just understand.

Speaker 1:

We're doing it for them no-transcript want to semicolon what you said about a wallet with a few bitcoins. One of the things that I gave in on the stage that I hope people really call is that fidelity is expecting one Bitcoin to be worth $1 billion by 2038. With a B, let's make that. With a.

Speaker 1:

B, and so you may not have enough money to buy one Bitcoin right now. But what if you could buy a tenth of one Facts? And what if they're right? And in 13 years, one Bitcoin is worth $1 billion. That means you're worth $100 million, let's get it.

Speaker 3:

Let's worth 100 million, let's get it, let's get it, let's get it. What if they wrong?

Speaker 1:

and this only goes to 500 million.

Speaker 3:

That mean you worth 50 million look at that like even the way that you thought about that. Right there, light bulbs, eyes just open, right it's. It's like take the risk. What do you have to lose? Right?

Speaker 1:

so one thing I didn't share on stage um was in 2020, this was so I had learned about bitcoin. So I still had some, some bitcoin, but I had 34 000. This was during covid and I had 34 000 in my bank account. That was it I'm not talking about. I had some bitcoin, but you know, I played. Know, bitcoin is my savings account. That's how.

Speaker 4:

I look.

Speaker 1:

It's my treasury and so I took my bills every month was $4,000 at that time and I took $30,000 and put it in the market and it turned to over $1.2 million in less than a year. Let's give that a round of applause right there. Because in my mind $30,000 wasn't any money.

Speaker 4:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

And in the big scheme of things, it's not. I was going to spend it anyway, so either I was going to blow it this way or I was going to blow it that way, but either way I had to go make some more money. I just pressured myself to do it. You got $4,000 left to pay your bills next month and you better go get some more money.

Speaker 1:

But it was the decision that I made to take the risk, because I was at risk anyway, and that's what people I'm trying to get us, as black people, especially to understand you at risk right now anyway, yeah. So, but if you're going to take a risk, take an educated one.

Speaker 3:

Facts Facts, facts With the projected trajectory heading in that nice grace growth that we all need to be looking for, not that quick rich right and I don't know if you mentioned it or the speaker before said something about being rich versus wealthy right we don't want to get no quick rich. We want to build something that's going to build wealth absolutely oh, my gosh, one question I do have for you because, um, I do find um, at least when I speak to my elders about bitcoin.

Speaker 3:

Um, one of the things that they come up with is like hey, this new, uh bitcoin etfs and looking at their 401ks and be like hey, I want to make sure I'm diversifying and moving that direction. So what do you feel about Bitcoin ETFs?

Speaker 1:

I mean Bitcoin ETFs is a way for people to. I always encourage people to just get in the market, right? But if you can, you investing in a Bitcoin ETF is no different than you investing in your own Bitcoin, so you might as well own and control it and have it in your control.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, 100%, and I even I started Bitcoin. This is just a little bit about my journey back in 2015. I was out in Silicon Valley, I was working at Twitter for a minute, so you know I'm around a lot of people that don't know.

Speaker 1:

You was in that tech world.

Speaker 3:

You know what I'm saying and the whispers and talking about the paper that came out and I'm reading it and I'm like, oh, the technology, the concept, blockchain, data that can only be written once and can there? Oh, this one definitely. And I was like a little bit hesitant. I had a buddy of mine. I was like yo, let's go put some money. I was that one day I was driving into the city they said Bitcoin was $10,000. I was like oh my gosh, like I didn't even know. And for me it was like being in the right room, being in the right setting, being in the right environment, hearing that knowledge and then taking the risk. I didn't have to throw everything at it, but lining, but lining myself up so that I get just a little bit, just a little bit, and then just watch it grow. So it's always in terms of just my feedback that I give to our audience and definitely those that are going to be following along, because people are going to come following you. And you got two books too.

Speaker 3:

So maybe more I only know about two, but in general it's like you just don't be afraid to take the risk. That has the potential to make a life impactful change Right, absolutely. Has the potential to make a life impactful change right, absolutely. So it's definitely always inspiring for me when I hear these great speakers and minds talking about and bringing it to light is I'm just grateful that people will have a chance to hear this stuff right? So I want to say, first of all, thank you so much, thanks for having me.

Speaker 1:

Thank you so much.

Speaker 3:

And the last thing before we end our conversation is you mentioned something about actionable things. What would you say to the audience, those that didn't get a chance to attend, those that are in the rooms you know be like oh I want to hear this stuff. What would be the thing that you want to make sure that they've took an action when they actually hear this?

Speaker 1:

so if you, if you, if you have a wallet or don't if you don't have a wallet, get one, um, you can go to cryptocom and I'm use that simple it's an app on your phone you can register for Cryptocom. And so, if you do have a wallet so this is now for both people is to, when we talk about dollar cost averaging, every time you get paid I don't care if it's $10, $25, $50, get a recurring buy where it automatically comes out. You put it in there and it automatically comes out, and all you do is buy bitcoin every time. Don't touch it, don't think about it, use it as a treasury, let it build, let that be your savings account, if you want to say yeah and just sit down for the next five to ten years sit down and don't worry about it and

Speaker 3:

get wealthy oh wow, my lord any question before we end. I had a lot.

Speaker 4:

I don't think we have that time to say the truth, but there's a lot of people that I I speak to a little. I want to get your your opinion on basically, um, what about those, the ones that says that you know bitcoin is a hundred thousand, let's say, for example, and you only invest in, maybe to like five thousand into it?

Speaker 1:

uh, that's five percent, remember we let's go back to the, to the billion. If it goes to a billion and you own five percent, you got 50 million. If you don't have a plan to make 50 million dollars in the next 13 years and let's be real everybody in their fantasy can act like they have one, but most people don't have a plan to make 50 million dollars in the next, uh, in the next 13 years, for sure yeah five percent, that's your plan, right there in case anybody got in here at five percent that's what's up.

Speaker 3:

All right, d hustle cue that music up player. Well, I want to say thank you so much for pulling up. Thank you very much for your listeners D Hustle always holding it down in the cut he got the stickers all stuck on. I don't know what's going on, bro come on, man, that's our advertising man.

Speaker 3:

But anyway, I want to say thank you all so much for tuning in. Did not know there's a rewind button. There's a button that you go back and listen and watch it again. I want you to press that button. Take a listen. We marked it with the special sound. What's the special sound? D? There you go right. Only here at the Blackwell Sutton we're at Florida Memorial University.

Speaker 1:

Yes, sir, the only HBCU in South Florida, south Florida Big shout outs and yeah, yeah, you got two books, I got four books actually, oh, my bad, my bad, my bad, my bad On Amazon. You can follow me at IamMichelleLily on Instagram and let's get it.

Speaker 3:

Let's get it. Let's get it. Thank you all so much for tuning in, always backstage with Bobby D.