In this episode, Keith Herman talks with Entrepreneur Brad Yasar, CEO and CoFounder of EQIFI. And Kim Oishi, President of Grand Rock Capital.
Brad, currently based in LA, has been an entrepreneur all his life. He puts an emphasis on being able to educate and communicate with the people he works with. In fact, he has learned 5 different languages to be able to communicate with global partners in a more genuine way.
Kim has been involved in growth companies since the mid-’90s and is based in Canada. He started working at a brokerage firm in Vancouver. He next went into business for himself, and has been investing in growth companies ever since. Now, with Grand Rock Capital, he provides value-added services around the capital markets. He works primarily with companies between 2 to 10 years old. They help private companies go public, invest capital, make connections, and assist in business development.
What is EQIFI?
EQIFI is a Decentralized finance (DeFi) platform that brings traditional banking and new blockchain models together. This blended structure is what sets them apart as game changers in the industry. Typically, projects that launch in the decentralized crypto spaces are interested in disruption and looking to the future with little concern working within the existing systems. Conversely, traditional financial institutions are normally resistant to change, want to stick to the status quo, and oftentimes don’t want to innovate too quickly due to the associated risk. EQIFI brings those two worlds together. Instead of disrupting one or being stuck in the other, they blend the incumbent players with the game changers to usher in the future
First Impressions of an Entrepreneur
Brad told us his first impression of Kim was great. It was clear that he was open to helping in any way he can. Kim has been in capital investment for decades. And sometimes a long successful career can cause investors to lose the bandwidth needed to learn new things. This is not the case for Mr. Oishi who has been a sponge for all the information in this new industry. For Brad, it was very exciting to have a partner. And an investor like Grand Rock who genuinely cares about the success of EQIFI. Not solely on when they will see the ROI. Kim and Brad were aligned in mission, vision, and goals from the start.
Kim’s history with EQIFI goes back to 2018. He and his partners at Grand Rock hadn’t met Brad yet, but they were one of the first investors in another company called EQIBank, a fully licensed digital bank led by CEO Jason Blick.EQIFI is the brainchild of Brad and Jason. Kim is typically a traditional banking guy, but he felt Grand Rock needed to get exposure in the digital asset world. Since EQIBank would service crypto and was one step removed, it was the perfect stepping stone. After hearing good things about Brad and what he was building, Kim decided to invest in EQIFI to get fully immersed in the world of digital assets.
Why is EQIFI a great investment?
Grand Rock invests in growth companies and provides advice regarding corporate finance, investor relations, business development, and mergers and acquisitions. Kim says they are “eclectic”, meaning they aren’t only focused on one sector. Instead, they look across the board for three main things – big growth opportunities, timing to get in reasonably early, and being able to work with good people. EQIFI fits that bill perfectly. They are at the ground stage of the revolution in digital assets and Brad has a track record that showed Kim they could rely on him if things went sideways, since early-stage growth companies come with inevitable ups and downs. Since this was their first investment in digital assets, it was also essential that they worked with a founder that could explain the industry well and Brad was the right one for the job!
There are a number of people that need banking services in the blockchain arena. EQIFI and EQIBank are the ideal combination of a licensed bank and a DeFi platform. Now is the perfect time to get involved if you are looking for exposure to the industry or if you are an existing investor in the space. There is a great opportunity to be a value add investor while also developing a relationship with a company that is certain to bring value to the rest of your portfolio as well.
EQIFI’s Fundraising Journey
Brad recounts that EQIFI has had a relatively pleasant journey financially and attributes it partly to his experience as a “serial entrepreneur”. With this being his 15th business, they had the luxury of seeding with internal funds. This allowed the founders to be pickier about where they got their capital from, ensured they were working with the right people from the start and gave them the opportunity to choose which investors were right to come in at each stage. In their first round, they raised about 10.5 million in a number of days. However, fast forward to the growth equity round this year and investors are more cautious. Brad welcomes the questions and advises you to “always do your homework before you buy anything”.
Despite the ups and downs, EQIFI has secured a lead investor and now has 15 million out of the 20 million they are looking for. Going through an incredible sold-out round and now a slower round has taught Brad a lot about timing and market conditions. It is the same project, yet they are seeing VCs react completely differently. Brad tells us “if you can, time your rounds based on market conditions.”
What role does Grand Rock play in the investment?
Grand Rock plays different roles depending on which company they are working with. Track record is the biggest factor in how involved the firm will need to be. Sometimes they are working with people who don’t need much help securing funding, like Brad who has a good track record and network of investors willing to back him since they had made money with him before. Alternatively, if it is someone who doesn’t have much experience or has only had private equity in the past, then Kim has a larger role to play. However, Kim points out that just because it may be someone’s first time raising capital for a project doesn’t mean they’re not a smart investment, and gave Mark Zuckerburg as an example. Kim says he and his team at Grand Rock will step up in both cases if they believe in the people and the opportunity.
With EQIFI, Grand Rock did participate in their initial rounds, but Brad was able to raise the majority. Now, a big part of the relationship is making introductions. Grand Rock has a large pool of investors who are starting to dip their toes into digital assets. EQIFI offers the perfect entry point. There are several companies in their portfolio that are very interesting use cases with DeFi and blockchain. that Kim is bringing to the table. For example, a company that works within the consumer loyalty and data business is interested in developing a loyalty token that EQIFI could be involved in. Another company has hard assets they are looking to tokenize and EQIFI can help with that process as well.
Brad’s advice on starting a company and raising capital
Brad’s number one lesson learned in starting and growing several successful businesses is that your partners are very important. Being in a partnership with someone may seem like fun at the start but if you don’t get along well, have mismatched personalities, or if all your skills overlap then it is very hard to sustain that relationship in the long run. Brad says it’s important to “pick your business partners wisely.”
His second lesson learned is don’t go at it alone. There are a lot of solo entrepreneurs that see massive success, but starting a new business is a lot of hard work. When we see the success stories, we typically don’t see how all the sacrifice it took to get there. Successful and sustainable businesses are a team effort. The stronger the team the better your life and results will be.
The third lesson Brad gave is to have persistence and resilience. It’s so hard to wear all the hats of a founder and entrepreneur. Add to that having to raise capital and then deploy that capital in a way that will get the results you are looking for. You will inevitably have moments where you feel like you made a mistake or this isn’t for you. Brad says if you can’t survive those moments you will not be successful. Patience pays and if you can stick it out eventually your luck is going to turn. It’s all about perseverance, believing in what you are doing, and knowing it is providing value.
Innovative Entrepreneur?
Finally, if you are an entrepreneur working in a field that is innovative and may not be as well known or recognized by investors, you will need to do a lot of educating. According to Brad, most of his time is spent explaining, educating, and making sure people understand his industry. He’s teaching people why DeFi exists. And why it is a good investment opportunity, and then dives into the blockchain aspects. “If you do your job as an entrepreneur in educating people on your vision, then the investment conversation comes naturally.”
Story Notes
- What is EQIFI
- How Brad and Kim met
- What Grand Rock looks for in investments
- The financial journey of EQIFI
- Advice for entrepreneurs in their quest for capital
- Advice on growing a company from the ground up
- How Grand Rock is supporting EQIFI
- Where is EQIFI in regard to raising capital
- Information for other investors interested in joining this venture
Watch the full episode on YouTube