Founder statement (Hershel) — My investment, what happened, and what I’m doing now
Hi everyone,
I’m Hershel, the founder and initiator of ReUse. I want to respond clearly and responsibly.
- My role and personal investment in ReUse
I started ReUse as a creator with zero technical background, but with a clear vision: make second-hand clothing measurable, rewarding, and scalable through real-world partners.
For roughly a year, I’ve invested heavily into ReUse:
Personal budget (out-of-pocket costs to keep the project moving)
A full year of consistent work on the “front-end side” of the project: product direction, UX thinking, use-cases, partner outreach, storytelling, community building, and brainstorming campaigns
Countless hours trying to turn an idea into something that could benefit the VeBetter ecosystem and real-world circular initiatives
This situation hurts deeply, especially because my personal life has not been easy, and ReUse was one of the few things I was building with genuine hope. When I first saw the evidence and analysis, I was honestly shocked.
- How ReUse was built and why I was dependent
Because I’m not technical, I relied on a technical builder to implement ReUse. I asked for help in the builder community, and Vehunt (Yoel) stepped in to build the technical side. I contributed vision, use-cases, partnerships, and product direction. He handled development, wallets, and implementation.
When this surfaced, I chose to communicate and cooperate rather than deny or hide. I also considered whether ReUse could continue without Vehunt with consequences and restructuring. But the reality is: I am not capable of running ReUse alone, because the technical structure is complex and I do not control it independently. This choice was still pending because i do not take this choice lightly.
- What I’m doing about the latest milestone grant (149,000 B3TR)
I want to be explicit:
I will repay the latest milestone amount: 149,000 B3TR.
I moved the grant amount to my personal wallet only as a safety measure, because I was informed that the ReUse setup may be compromised and I wanted to prevent further risk or loss.
I have not spent it. I still hold the full amount and will return it.
I understand how this looks externally, but my intent was custody/safety, not personal enrichment. Regardless, the cleanest path is full repayment to remove all doubt and restore integrity.
- Voluntary removal / pause from the DAO
Given the seriousness of the situation and the uncertainty around technical control, I will ask the VeChain / VeBetter team to voluntarily remove (or pause/delist) ReUse from the DAO while this is resolved.
This was already under consideration since the moment I learned the information and I hope the community understands why I needed time to process before taking irreversible steps.
- My current position on continuing ReUse
I still strongly believe the use-case and potential of ReUse are real, especially because real-world partners and NGOs have shown interest recently. This was exactly my vision to build out to the real world. That this happend to ReUse hurts me on also personal level.
However, I cannot continue ReUse in a responsible way under the current conditions:
I cannot maintain the technical system alone
Trust and safety must come first
The community deserves clarity and integrity, not “hope” or excuses
- Open invitation: takeover or continuation
If a capable and trusted team/member wants to take over ReUse and continue building, I am open to discussing:
transferring the concept and vision
handing over brand/community assets where appropriate
supporting the transition from a non-technical product/vision angle
My priority is that the underlying mission (circular impact through second-hand) can still live, even if it’s not under my leadership going forward.
- Next steps (what I will provide)
Proof of the 149,000 B3TR repayment (tx links) once executed
A clear update on the voluntary delist/pause request
Any further steps requested by the grant team/community to close this properly
I’m sorry this happened under my watch. I didn’t build ReUse to exploit the ecosystem. I built it to create real-world impact. I accept that as founder I must take responsibility for restoring integrity, even if I personally did not execute the technical actions.
— Hershel