seanbonner_usa t1_ivyycja wrote on November 11, 2022 at 5:31 PM

Reply to comment by backcountrydrifter in We’re Sean and Kaj, two Navy veterans (intelligence officer /SEAL, respectively) who started a company to help build financial health and wealth for the military community. Ask us anything! by kajlarsen1

That's crazy, we ran into so many US Vets over there. I actually had a guy stop me on the street in Lviv, which was a little sketch since it was early day of the war.

you nailed the issue with Wall St. The real story around Wall St bets was people's lack of trust in Wall St and their desire for a trusted community in the investing world. That was a big reason we built Guild as a transparent platform with financial education.

You should not gamble with your investment accounts and day trading is just that. You should invest for the long term. I am not sure what the SEC can do than to ensure a level playing field. I think the private markets are trying to do that with Apps like Robinhood, Acorns and of course Guild.

But Trust is everything.

backcountrydrifter t1_ivz4blf wrote on November 11, 2022 at 6:10 PM

One of the projects we put together in Ukraine is a direct investment platform for Ukrainian farmers and small business.

Logic being- when war pops off all the bankers run for the coast. And crowd funding dries up like a drought at 90 days. But every war is eventually a war of economic attrition.

Ukraine proved they are stopping, so every dollar invested would be like a bullet shot 3 times.

We put together a portfolio of 7 million Ukrainian farmers that are still farming, they just need operating capital. And 10 million small businesses are supplying them in real time.

My buddy that introduced me to Jake was a CFO for blackrock so we thought- why not cut out the middle man?

Famine is coming. Investing in a farmer at 10% just makes more sense than diluting it into a compromised system controlled by a handful of hedge funds and brokers.

Before peer to peer money transfers it wouldn’t have been possible. But with the technology that comes with a 100% transparent DAO, and using Bitcoin and ethereum as the means to move capital fast with a fully transparent, open source backend and 98% efficient org structure, we could rewrite the rules of humanitarian aid.

From there it morphed into something bigger. Jim Mattis whom I respect immensely, was pulled into the theranos debacle because he trusted “authorities” in the financial sector but didn’t really know blood testing. Who does? Turns out a handful of scientists in that sector of healthcare but not really anyone else.

But if you rewrote the rules to Wall Street so that people could invest directly in the things they know and are passionate about, with a social media platform that looked like Instagram but functioned like Robinhood so you could watch your investment grow, identify issues early and effectively crowd source accountability, you could change the game forever.

And at the same time make waging war so financially unproductive that the rest of the world could just stamp it out by investing in the side of righteousness.

I was hoping to buy you guys a drink in Kyiv and get your thoughts. Nobody knows how predictable war is like soldiers. I think there is power in that and making some incentivized peace while we are at it.

seanbonner_usa t1_ivz5mzv wrote on November 11, 2022 at 6:19 PM

We have thought along the same lines for a while. You only have to see the cities in ruins from shelling and miles of farmland left empty due to mining to know there is a huge economic need away from bullets and bandages.

Ukraine has 2 powerful industries: farming and tech. Capital needs to go to both to get thier economy back on track. I have called it the Plate to Plate need. First the Ulraininas need ballistic plates to defend the nation but soon they will need to find ways to put food on their dinner plates.

Would love to dicsuss it. Through our foundation we actually have 2 Ukraininas coming to the US for medical treatment.

backcountrydrifter t1_ivzt43j wrote on November 11, 2022 at 8:58 PM

I think I have your number on signal but I’ll DM you mine now. I think we may be able to help each other and most of all, the Ukrainians.

And I have a few connections to share for the financial literacy side too. It’s absolutely embarrassing to me how much we neglect our vets. I will do anything in my power to help You guys right those wrongs.