Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to John Magill. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi John, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

The idea for Zaprite came about from a desire to solve a personal problem. I was scratching my own itch. While doing contract UI/UX work for a Canadian bitcoin exchange, I needed to send an invoice that could allow me to get paid directly in bitcoin. Something that would automatically connect to my own wallet of choice and abstract away all of the exchange rate calculations and client communications. The bitcoin industry was something I had been passionate about for years, but had never found a way to get involved or contribute. This was it. This was a way to get my foot in the door. I could finally build something that at least had the potential to contribute and build upon the efforts of others I had followed and admired.
I realized quite quickly that bitcoin payments was going to be a huge industry—the question was, “When?” Being too early is always a risk. But I figured if I was having these issues, then more than likely there were others, even in a nascent industry like bitcoin.
There were no other solutions offering what I needed. At least nothing I considered a viable choice. And I quickly realized the solution I had built was not just filling a gap, but doing so in a very unique way that simply didn’t exist.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My educational background is in Design—specifically, Graphic Design. I earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Multimedia Design in Ireland, and after working for a few years in agencies I ventured out on my own quite early in my career. I moved from Ireland to Canada where I spent 12 years living in a ski resort doing freelance design work.
While living in Canada I fell deep down the bitcoin rabbit hole, which lead to a real interest in money and economics—something which I never came close to learning about in school. Do any of us? After many years, I realized that working on bitcoin was the most important thing I could do with my life, and so I began the process of figuring out how I could make that happen. My ‘lucky break’ came when I started contract work for a Canadian bitcoin exchange, and as previously mentioned, this started me down the path that would eventually lead me to starting my own software business: Zaprite, a bitcoin payment gateway. I moved to Austin, Texas in 2021 to work on my new startup full-time.
Zaprite is a suite of merchant tools that allows businesses, big or small, to accept bitcoin payments. Our core values of privacy, self-custody and bespoke design are key drivers for our success. What sets us apart is the ability for merchants to connect their wallets directly to our platform and accept payments in the easiest way possible, without the need for a middleman. I am personally passionate about society’s need to push back against a digital surveillance state. Our ability to transact freely and privately, is one of our most basic fundamental rights. Governments have no business being involved in our money and we need to build tools that allow businesses and communities to thrive without interference. These core beliefs are what drives me forward each day.

Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?

When I started Zaprite I made the decision to stop freelancing and work on my startup full-time. I had some savings, but perhaps like many founders I underestimated the length of time those savings needed to cover. There was a time early on when I was deep in debt and days way from having to give it all up. But I believed so strongly in what I was doing that I sold my apartment in Ireland in order to fund the business and allow me the opportunity to continue working on the startup.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

After funding the business with personal savings in the early stages, I was fortunate to have found myself in the right place at the right time: Austin, Texas in late 2021. At that time, Austin felt like it was the centre of the global bitcoin industry. There was a wave of excitement and economic activity in the city that brought with it a lot of new developers, businesses and opportunities. Soon after arriving in Austin, I was fortunate enough to meet some great investors that would eventually write the first cheque in Zaprite’s pre-seed round. That moment contributed to securing Zaprite’s first formative years and allowed me to hire my first developer.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://zaprite.com
• Twitter: https://x.com/ZapriteApp
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@zapriteapp

Image Credits

Photo of John (sitting, with cap): Pedro M.A. Faria
Photo of John (with US flag in background): Submitted