Meet EJ Gailliard | Co-Founder of VICCCI Protocol

We had the good fortune of connecting with EJ Gailliard and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi EJ, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
We started our journey by creating a community behind us known as Carolina Crypto Collab on June of 2021. This consisted of 10+ black business owners from Rock Hill SC, Charlotte, NC all the way up to Brooklyn, NY. We started out teaching others about financial education, blockchain technology and how this is relevant in our every day lives. As we expanded and grew our network, more partnerships became involved in our classes and events. After a year of teaching and hosting educational events, we shifted to primarily be in the technology sector. So our mindset is always about giving back first and creating opportunities for others to implement what we teach.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
VICCCI Protocol is a software company launched by myself and my co-founder Robert Lawrence on November of 2022. Our headquarters is located in Rock Hill, SC. We specialize in creating experiences in Extended Reality. There is Virtual Reality and then there is Augmented Reality. We create spaces in both worlds. Our first project as a company was in March of 2023 when we launched our own Cryptocurrency VCP. VCP is a layer 2 token built on the Ethereum Blockchain. As we created our coin, there were classes that we facilitated to the community so they could understand what the technology is and why it is important to our every day lives. We teach classes on FinTech, Artificial Intelligence, ISO 20022 and the SWIFT payment system and other related topics. In June 2023, we expanded into the Extended Reality sectors of technology to create projects for the community. These projects would include us creating a Web3 video conferencing platform called VSpaces and a magazine publication using Augmented Reality called Augmentique. The magazine has technology behind it that brings still images to life as an augmented feature using our AR App. Several business were able to promote themselves using our technology as we began to gain more popularity with the events we would attend. We have been able to showcase our technology in events like Invest Fest 2023 hosted by Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings from Earn Your Leisure.

This process was definitely not easy. There were many portions of the business where Rob and I had to make very tough decisions, but they were necessary in order for us to grow as a company. We overcome these challenges by researching everything we endeavor into as well as our communication is paramount to the way we conduct business. Our decision making process is extensive due to these reasons. Overtime we attended more events and one of the biggest lessons we’ve learned is to put everything in writing and read the fine print. Intellectual property is extremely important to protect when it comes to being a business owner. Most business don’t have the proper guidance in the beginning so it is important to research and become a student.

Our brand is unlike anything anyone has ever seen before. Rather, the technology is similar to what you may see in movies. We hope to inspire others that wish to embark in tech so that they can see there are people, young black business owners, who are able to create these kinds of successes. Where someone may see something as unattainable, we want to make that a reality.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
This is easy for me because I’m simple, I love sports! So my idea of a week trip is bar hopping or something close and watching the game or even going to a football/basketball game. That way there are food, drinks, and the whole nine yards. You will find the most interesting people at a local sports bar.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to dedicate this shoutout to The Hand of Mercy INC. This is my family’s organization and I would not be where I am if it weren’t for my parents and family pushing me to be the absolute best I can be at all times.

Website: https://www.viccci.xyz

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viccci_protocol/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/viccci-protocol

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/edgailliardjr

Image Credits
Tawny Jones (TJ) J.R. Roseborough