 Are you tired of watching boring old press releases? Then you've come to the right place, the right channel, the number one channel for CEO interviews and company overviews. Welcome to Rich TV Live, subscribe to our channel and make sure to hit the like button. On our videos to help with the YouTube algorithm for more information and in-depth discussions and analysis, join our trading club at richpigsdaily.com and don't forget to subscribe and hit the bell for notifications to get alerted when our next CEO interview is released so you can discover the next 10-bagger. Hi, how are you doing today? I'm your host, Rich here. We have a Rich TV Live with our very special guest, Ben Samaru, the CEO of WonderFy Technologies. How are you doing today, Ben? Hey, Rich, I'm doing great. How are you? I'm doing fantastic. Thank you for joining us today and I'm very excited about learning more about WonderFy. I have a few questions for you to get started. First of all, WonderFy is a company aiming to build a seamless, secure, and simplified platform for educating and allowing access to decentralized finance, DeFi, love DeFi. Can you tell us more about the company and the primary goal? Of course. Our mission with WonderFy is to bring decentralized finance to the masses. The problem with DeFi right now is it's extremely fragmented, very complicated. There's a super steep learning curve and a ton of obstacles for anyone that wants to get involved in DeFi. You may have seen this if you've played around, I'm sure you've encountered that. Our platform will be a gateway to this new financial system and really our goal is to level the playing field. You can think of us like a trusted gateway to the new financial system. The platform really allows users to access all the best parts of DeFi. It's so simple that someone with no crypto experience can use it. You can buy assets, earn interest, track your performance without any of the complexity. I think a good comparison, which I always like to use. I know it's very overused, but when Netscape Navigator was released, it gave consumers an easy access point for the internet, which at that time was not usable for your average consumer. It was just not at that stage yet. That was the first front-end that really opened things up to your everyday person. What we think is that we're really the same stage with DeFi, where existing tools are really built for crypto traders or experts, and there really is yet to be a platform that provides that dead, simple user interface. Our platform, it's really addressing the biggest problem in DeFi today, which is accessibility. Our thesis with one or five is that the informed consumer is going to want to increasingly own and control their assets directly, rather than having a centralized entity own them. That comes back to our core focus, which is really enabling and empowering individuals to do this. It's really a big social movement behind this. Absolutely. We love cryptocurrencies. We love decentralized finance. Can you give us a better understanding of the DeFi basics and how you got involved in the space? Yeah, of course. The movement here, it's really around fair and democratized access to finance. That's DeFi. In the traditional financial system, you have issues with censorship, high transaction fees, legacy infrastructure, and almost 2 billion people in the world that are unbanked for various reasons. Another major issue is access to investment opportunities. You and I have access to all kinds of different investment opportunities rich. The fact of the matter is, there's many, many, many people who are excluded from investing in a number of different financial markets. DeFi creates the potential to decrease this wealth inequality, which has major potential there. I think if you want to summarize DeFi for somebody that doesn't have background in DeFi or crypto, it's really a new financial system that presents a faster, cheaper and easier way to do finance. I think it's really easy to get caught in the technical jargon when you talk about crypto and DeFi. It's much better to focus on the value that it has to offer. A couple of examples, it allows you to borrow money instantly without having to be onboarded or approved by a bank. Another one is you can earn interest in the range of, say, 3 to 7% on your assets instead of close to 0% that you're used to earning in your bank account at BMO or CIBC, not to single anyone out, but at any financial institution. With DeFi, you can lend, borrow, earn interest, trade assets, all through smart contracts, which are more efficient than traditional financial products and don't require you to rely on a bank. You have that control. The stage that we're at here, we're on the verge of a major disruption to finance, which is the biggest industry in the world and it still uses technology that was built decades ago. It's really DeFi at the heart of that disruption and the potential is that it's going to democratize and really transform finance for the future. I love everything you're saying and you touched on it a little bit. How will the DeFi platform benefit those looking to gain a stake in the crypto market? Yeah, so I think it's important to mention that we're in the very early stages of DeFi. I can emphasize that about this. This is probably Bitcoin in 2014 or something like that, nowhere near mass adoption. Like I said before, the space is really fragmented. It's really complicated. A lot of obstacles for someone that wants to get involved. And so just like with any early technology, it's a lot of engineers in the space and they're building tools that are for people with that type of knowledge and experience. And so that's really preventing wider adoption of DeFi. There is no trusted platform that makes it easy for people to use. And the existing platforms are really catering towards power users. And so as the functionality in the ecosystem grows, platforms are incorporating more and more different products and protocols. And you're getting further and further away from something that's actually suitable for your average consumer. So it looks great to people that are knee deep in crypto and DeFi. But the moment that somebody logs on to a DeFi platform that doesn't have any background, they get lost in a matter of seconds. And so what our focus is is really providing this trusted and easy way for people that have no background or experience to play in the new system. And I think it's really, again, comes back to our thesis around the consumer really wanting to own and control their own assets and have that direct ownership rather than trusting sort of an intermediary within it. And so with WonderFi, really our key opportunity is to harness all of the great protocols, assets, and opportunities that are being created in the DeFi space and put them all within a simple access point that aligns with the mission of democratized, compliant, and sustainable access to DeFi. I love it. DeFi is everywhere now. It seems like over the last six months, it's become mainstream for people that are in the crypto space. You keep hearing it. I keep hearing it. I keep interviewing companies that are getting into it. So let's talk about that. There's going to be some competition in the space. What sets you guys apart from your competitors in the DeFi space? So from a product perspective, it really comes down to user experience. And so since we are so early in DeFi, as I mentioned, a lot of the existing tools really are catering towards that early adopter segment. So it's power users, people with a lot of experience. And so you're not really seeing something that is looking at tapping or accessing the early majority segment. And so what we're doing is we're really taking a different approach. And I think we've just come to accept that all or the vast majority of users in DeFi are early adopters right now. And they have completely different needs than your early majority segment, which again is what we're targeting. And so our view is that the platform, which if executed properly, it really opens up the technology to a much larger audience than is currently serviced, even though you're seeing these amazing numbers of growth within DeFi. It's really just this small, small segment of people that are using it. And that really goes against the core principles of democratized finance. The foundations behind this are moving away from a centralized system where there is inequality in terms of income, access to opportunities, access to services. And we have this incredibly powerful technology, but because of the stage that we're at with it, it's just creating that inequality in a different way where you have to be an engineer or have the time and expertise really to understand the ins and outs of what's happening. So I think we're really laser focused on that opportunity. And I think our alignment with some of our partners, strategic investors, really helps us to access that early majority segment and help to bring DeFi to the masses. And so that's on the product side. I'll touch just a little bit on the public company side as well. And so there are a couple of companies in the DeFi space that are publicly traded. And we know well and look favorably upon. Just in comparison to One or Five, they're structured more like holding companies. So they'll hold DeFi assets or minority investments in companies in the space. And so rather than an operating business. And so with One or Five, we're building a trusted brand. We're focusing on our mission of creating better access to DeFi. And that really starts with our platform as the first tool to accomplish that. And there's much more kind of in the roadmap. So what are the barriers to DeFi? And what's One or Five doing? And what is One or Five strategy to overcoming those barriers? Sure, so I'll focus on one barrier. And I think, again, just giving a bit of a lens on where we're at. The DeFi market, it's around $60 billion, very early stages. Like I said, I think if we look back to Bitcoin at a few hundred dollars, that's sort of where we guess that it's at right now. But there is real traction and there's real value in the space. The use cases are real. You can send money globally. You can earn a yield on your assets, lend and borrow all in a decentralized, permissionless way. And so one of the challenges that you'll always see in new industries and particularly in crypto is challenges around getting talent. And so what we're seeing is as Bitcoin is getting more mainstream adoption, there have been more and more talented developers moving into the space. And they're working on big problems like scalability. And so we're going to continue to see more useful applications within DeFi as more talent comes in and the value proposition continues to grow. And so with our team, we have two of our co-founders, our excellent engineers and our CTO Kong. He's really an engineer and a mentor for a lot of really talented people kind of across Canada. And so we're fortunate in the sense that wherever Kong goes, there's a following of amazing engineers. And so we've been able to attract talent from Amazon, PayPal, Shopify, which really is essential at this stage when we're in the very early days and you really need those talented, really bright minds to help solve the big problems like accessibility in DeFi, which is what we're working on. I think you guys are doing great and you guys have garnered some incredible strategic investors and lots of interest. Can you tell us about your strategic investors and how they got involved? Some big names. Absolutely. So I can start with Kevin O'Leary. So Kevin, we got introduced to through one of our investors, Argo Blockchain. They're one of the biggest Bitcoin mining companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. And so we got a kind of connection to Kevin and through our conversation, we really quickly realized that there was a lot of alignment there. He had a shared view, DeFi is the next big thing. He's really into sustainability. And so there are really key aspects to sustainability within the core tenants of DeFi. And so we just aligned and saw that this is the biggest area of focus in finance over the next five or 10 years. And his business acumen and background really is such a good fit for what we're doing. I think he brings a lot of perspective from the traditional financial world. He's a bond guy, which he always talks about and is well known for. And there's a lot of parallels that can be drawn from that world into some of the most useful applications within DeFi at this time. And Kevin, at first I was thinking, oh, this is great. There's a lot of PR that comes with Kevin O'Leary. But really, it's much, much more than that. I think there's a lot of relationships and connections that the moment you get Kevin O'Leary involved, he's all over getting you introduced to people that have a shared vision and complimentary missions to what you're doing. And so Kevin, one of the first people Kevin introduced us to was Josh Richards. You know who Josh is, not everybody does. Not yet at least, but I think Forbes calls him a business mogul, which I think is pretty appropriate. And the other nickname that's being thrown around is Mr. Wonderful Jr., which I think Josh is a fan of. That's impressive. For a 19-year-old kid, wow. For a 19-year-old kid, yeah. And so you're familiar with him. He runs an investment fund. He's got a production company with Mark Wahlberg. He's obviously got this incredible TikTok following. He's got a deal with the NHL where he's helping them repackage and repurpose their content for Gen Z. And so he's just got an incredible lens and sort of breadth. And he's always surprising people with what he does. But what got us super excited was my first conversation with Josh was around financial education. So he told me he didn't get any personal finance education in high school, which a lot of places you don't. And I know there are some places in Canada now where that's starting. But his experience was, I didn't learn anything. There's a huge gap there. And so what he sees as his duty and part of his mission is really helping to educate and empower his generation to take their personal finances into their own hands and look at money differently. And so crypto and DeFi is a part of that. And really, he's chosen WonderFy as a vehicle to do that with his incredibly powerful voice. He has 40 million followers across his social platforms. And I think the big takeaway for the team at WonderFy really is that this validates that this is an intergenerational movement. It's boomers, millennials, Gen Z. And they're all looking to get involved in whatever way they can to fulfill this mission of democratizing finance, which is really exciting. And then there's one more person I want to mention who's gotten involved with us recently. And for those in the crypto world, this will be a very familiar name, Sam Manckman Freed, who's the founder and CEO of FTX, which is one of the top three crypto exchanges in the world right next to Binance and Coinbase. Sam has built the most technologically advanced exchange in two years. And they just closed a massive financing. They're valued at almost $20 billion. Incredible technology. They're really innovating. They're really not only on the technology side, but now they're pushing the envelope and bringing crypto to mainstream really. So their official sponsor of the MLB, like Tom Brady is the spokesperson for them. They've renamed the Miami Heat arena. I think it was the American Airlines arena. It's now the FTX arena. And so they're just laying their stamp everywhere really to help bring crypto to the masses. And so Sam is an extremely unique, incredibly... I mean, for me to say he's incredibly bright is such a... It would just fall short. I think in my opinion, it's not going to be long before he's right up there on the Forbes list next to Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. That's sort of the path that he's on in my personal view. And so anyways, we have a shared vision really with Sam and with FTX, which is again, creating better access to decentralized finance. And so we have several things in the works with them, which will help us carry out that mission. So we're really excited about Kevin, Josh, Sam, and all these individuals who are supporting and behind our mission at WonderFly. Very, very, very impressive team of strategic investors and advisors. Now, in addition to that, WonderFly has built a very impressive leadership team. Can you tell us a little bit about your key members? I know you've touched base a little bit on it and the experience they bring to the team. Of course. So yeah, I talked about Kong a little bit who's our CTO and another one of our co-founders is Cardak, who's also an incredibly talented engineer. I worked with Kong and Cardak going back to 2017. We were part of the first point capital team, which we built in 2017. It was acquired by Galaxy Digital in 2018. And so we were part of Galaxy's public listing, which was one of the first companies in the world to go public with crypto on its balance sheet. So it was a really important milestone for the industry. We've all been involved in the space for a long time. In a previous life, I was a securities lawyer and now I sit on the Securities Commission, FinTech Advisory Committee, and on the FinTrack Virtual Currencies Committee. So I have a really good lens on the regulatory environment, which is always important when you're dealing with crypto. And my co-founder, Dean, he's founded and advised a number of different crypto companies, going back five years, five or six years. Our goal blockchain, who I mentioned earlier, is one of those. And so we've got a really well-rounded leadership team with a lot of experience in this space. And yeah, that's helped us attract some amazing talent on our team and a great board of directors as well. So Sean Clark, who's somebody I've worked with closely over the last few years, he was the co-founder and CEO of HUD-8, which is now listed on the NASDAQ. They just recently completed that uplifting. He's one of our directors. And then also Mark Bins, who is the CEO of Big Digital, one of the leading publicly traded crypto companies. So we've got a really great support team around us, whether it's board advisors or our core team. That's great. Sounds like a star-studded team from top to bottom. Very impressive. And what should investors keep an eye on from Wunderfai in the coming months? So our focus right now is the platform. And that's because it really addresses this accessibility problem, which is in our view the biggest issue in the space. And so we're planning to launch the platform in Q3 this year. And our focus really is it's constantly improving the experience for our users and for newcomers to the space. And there's a lot of labor in that process, but it's really an important one, and we really believe in it. And so our platform, it provides access and opens up DeFi to the masses, helps us really establish the Wunderfai brand. And it becomes a springboard for a lot more. So our plans in the future really extend far beyond the platform. I think the future is really collaboration between DeFi companies and platforms like Wunderfai and traditional financial institutions, other licensed entities. And I think we're already seeing a lot of interest and engagement from these types of institutions who are keenly interested in DeFi. And our team, our leadership team has been a part of educating incumbents, regulators, insurance companies, underwriters, like you name it on crypto going back to the very early days. And so we're seeing the same types of needs here where it's just getting people up to speed and then finding ways that we can help to grow the technology through collaboration. So from a strategic standpoint, that's how we're kind of looking at the future. And then at the same time, we're in the process of our go public transaction. And so the company Wunderfai is expected to list on the NEO later this year. So we're really excited about that. And we're very excited about that. I'm very excited about that. And our community is literally all over the world. And I know that they're going to want to know where to find more about Wunderfai. So where should they go? Sure. So the best starting point is our website. So that's Wunder.fi, Wunder.fi. And so you can sign up for updates on our platform and also investor updates and sort of more on the corporate side. So we're in the process of launching a refresh website, which is also going to have a learning center, which is going to be a great touch point for those that are interested in DeFi, regardless of knowledge level. And then when we list on the NEO, our ticker will be Wunder, WNDR, which we're really happy we were able to get that. I think it's a good fit. I think so too. WNDR guys is the symbol when it comes out, hopefully soon. Thank you for joining us. The CEO of Wunderfai Technologies, Ben Samuru. Thank you for joining us today, Ben. Thank you, Rich. Always a pleasure. And for those of you that are watching, please put this on your radar, put it on your watch list. It's coming soon. And remember that Rich TV Live is strictly information and education purposes. Please do your due diligence, do your research before you invest in anything that we talked about here in Rich TV Live. In saying that, I love DeFi. I love new technology. I love the crypto space. I love FinTech. I love technology. I love banking. And this is putting it all into one. So I think this is something that everyone needs to take very seriously. I believe this is an industry that is very undervalued, underappreciated, underexposed, and just getting started. And I think the future is very bright. Thank you for watching. If you're not winning, you're not watching. We bring you the winners, and we bring them to you first. Thank you for watching, everybody. Have a nice day. And thanks for joining us, Ben. Thanks.