Reimagined Finance: Investor Persona Interviews

Interview : #4 in a 10 part series

Introduction:

Hello I’m @Abraxas_Seven and welcome to the fourth in the series of $ReFi Investor Persona Interviews.

As CMO of Reimagined Finance, I explore and share investors insights across the #DeFi markets and the learnings we can apply to our own investment portfolios.

This week I interview @benkrong, a recent graduate and relatively new investor to crypto. He currently works in #TradFi in his first role. But someone who has already learned and applied a lot in a short time. What is interesting in this interview is the speed at which @benkrong evolved with a tight knit group of investors and that he in fact is very representative of the future investor profile we will see over the next 5–7 years.

He has been very active in the $ReFi community and has no fear to put a view forward. Something that I believe demonstrates the strength of the investor and the community they are in. He is epitome of DYOR, which we applaud!

This interview covers his journey and the key learnings that investors can consider for a better plan. $ReFi is committed to not just managing and farming your funds across the space but helping to educate our communities so they can make more informed decisions across the #FaaS space and create more secure, long-term portfolios with consistent ROI’s.

So let’s dive in!

And if you would like to be interviewed for the Persona Series please DM me @Abraxas_Seven on Twitter

1. Please introduce yourself as you see fit and then provide your crypto experience and involvement to date.

Thanks for having me on the interview! I am a recent graduate (just finished up with university a couple of years ago), and I am pretty new to crypto investing in general. Despite reading up quite extensively on the asset class while I was in school, I never made any personal crypto investments until last year (2021) — partly because I was a broke student and had very limited funds, and partly also because I was wary of the general volatility in the crypto market. I live in South East Asia, and where come from, I feel like people are generally more conservative with their investments (among many other things). Many of my personal friends are still skeptical about crypto, so my crypto social circle is quite small and tightly knit.

2. Could you please give us a 1-minute history of your general business experience and what you do?

I work in an international bank as a corporate finance analyst. This is my first job since graduating, and I’ve been doing this for just about 2 years. My formal education was in traditional finance (tradfi), which thankfully applies quite directly to my work. On a day-to-day basis, I typically work on financial analysis, client engagement, and a host of other mind-numbing and unglamorous administrative tasks that typically get thrown to to analysts.

3. How did you get involved with ReFi?

I heard about ReFi through a friend who attended the same high school and university as I did. I saw them mention ReFi in one of their social media posts, and being curious, I went on to read ReFi’s early Medium articles (I believe there were only 2 articles available at the time). I was pretty blown away by the degree of technicality in Huf’s writing. To be completely honest, I didn’t understand a good portion of the technical terms used, but it was clear to me at the time that ReFi’s farming strategy was coherently and professionally thought out. I was pretty interested in the thesis of having farming dividends paid out in Eth. I had a chat with this friend who was more than happy to share more about the project and to explain some technicalities in greater detail, and I made an investment about a week after that.

4. Do you have a crypto strategy and has that evolved since discovering ReFi and if so, how?

My personal strategy is to invest passively (hold long positions in assets in which I have high conviction for the long term). I am generally quite busy with my job, which involves long hours and tight deadlines. I know for a fact that at my current stage of life, I would not be able to trade in the crypto market actively and profitably in the short-term.

For me, ReFi has fit in well with this strategy because I am very comfortable with the project’s fundamentals. As the farm continues to grow exponentially, and as the team continues to provide transparency to the community, I personally don’t worry too much about the short-term price action daily, because I have a high conviction that ReFi’s long-term trajectory will be positive.

5. What problems were you facing in crypto investing generally and how has ReFi helped?

The greatest barrier/problem I’ve faced personally is dealing with the complexity of the general crypto market. There are many different tokens/protocols out there, each having unique selling points, different intricacies and technicalities, which can all be overwhelming at times especially for a crypto newbie like myself.

ReFi has helped me in two main ways:

(i) The most direct way ReFi has helped is by having a professional team (Huf and Marc) farm these complex protocols on my behalf.

(ii) The other way ReFi has helped is through its community channels — I particularly enjoy the telegram group. A good amount of the conversation is light-hearted and casual, but the group is also full of people who have been in crypto for much longer than I have, so it’s been eye-opening to get a glimpse of their experience in the crypto space.

6. What are the biggest mistakes you see when people engage in crypto investing?

I don’t think I’m qualified enough to comment on others’ mistakes, though I am more than happy to speak for myself! FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) is big a mistake I’ve made. Where I’ve hurriedly put money into investment(s) for fear of not getting in early enough, without doing appropriate research beforehand. I try to block FOMO out as much as I can nowadays, and am a big advocate of doing adequate research on a project/token before putting any money in.

7. What was your main concern that would have prevented you from investing And what put your fears to rest? In crypto and then ReFi.

I was initially apprehensive about crypto because of the volatility of the asset class. Back in 2015–2016, some professors in my university would talk about how cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin bubbles were waiting to burst, and that they were dangerous and risky investments. While the asset class in general is indeed more volatile/risky (relative to tradfi assets), doing my own research was what put my initial fears to rest. I spent some time reading up on blockchain technology and its utilities/risks, which has helped me understand the asset class more. I’ve also come to realize that most of my initial fears about crypto were born more out of ignorance.

With ReFi, my main concern prior to investing was whether the team would be able to deliver on the vision presented in their introductory Medium articles. In the Dec 2021 — Jan 2022 period, given that the project was still in its infancy, there wasn’t much of a “track record” for prospective investors to scrutinize. For me, what really put those fears to rest was the commitment the team continued to show to deliver their vision on various fronts: community engagement, unparalleled transparency in reporting, platform updates/initiatives, and overall professionalism. These factors were evidence of a strong and competent core team, which is often the make-or-break variable for small-cap projects.

8. What are three benefits you’ve experienced as a result of joining ReFi versus other crypto platforms?

(i) Much less stress over token price. As a holder, I own a share of the farm’s profits, so the farm’s growth is always my first concern. ReFi has performed extraordinarily well over the last 3 months — the farm’s annualized ROCE was recently reported at ~460%, which is even more mind-blowing considering this was achieved in largely bearish market conditions. As an investor, I don’t have to worry about whether there is sufficient “hype” to sustain token price. As the farm grows, dividends grow in tandem, and appreciation of the token price will naturally follow these fundamentals.

(ii) Assurance that the core team cares for the community. The developer and farmer teams are regularly interacting with us in the telegram chat — not just in the good times, but also when the markets are down. This often gets understated because curious investors tend to focus only on numbers (point (i) above). Though in my experience, having a genuine team running the project truly adds a whole lot more to the investment journey. One incident stands out for me — the market on the whole was really struggling in a downturn in early 2022. Eth was down to ~2.5k, and ReFi’s price action was negative as well. Sentiment in the chat group was muted, and at times strained. Across that period, Mathdroid (lead developer) would spend more time in the telegram group empathizing with holders and reassuring them of the team’s commitment to their investors. It’s very easy for teams to be chatty when the market is roaring, but interactions like these with Mathdroid showed me that the leadership at ReFi never shies away from communication and transparency, even in the most difficult of times.

(iii) Free education. One of ReFi’s core principles is to educate and empower the wider community. Through avenues like their Medium articles and the Real-Time Alpha Channel (where the farmers document their trades in real-time), I’ve learned much more about crypto and various protocols in general. I personally really appreciate that the farmers don’t shut us out and keep the farming work to themselves, but that they allow investors a glimpse into their perspectives and explain the way they view and interpret the markets.

9. What made you buy ReFi over other investments? And did the management team influence that decision? (i.e their backgrounds, approach etc.)

Within the FaaS space, I personally chose to invest only in ReFi with the sole consideration being the management team. Coming from a background in corporate finance, I have really admired their ability to deliver value, not only in the quantitative sense (farm growth), but also in daily execution (reporting transparency, marketing, engagement). I would be hard-pressed to find another team with such a complementary blend of professionalism and warmth. To be abundantly clear, this is not a slight on any other project! I am sure every project’s team has its unique strengths and capabilities. The hope is definitely for the entire FaaS sector to grow in unison, and for all of us to one day be fellow ‘lambo-owners’.

10. How has your personal life changed since joining ReFi and using this system? For example — are you less stressed about investing has it helped you feel more optimistic or secure?

I wouldn’t say it has had a big impression on my “personal life” — that might be over-dramatizing it. Though I will say I’ve been feeling the most optimistic about ReFi out of all my current investments (within both crypto and tradfi assets). The project is undoubtedly still in its early stages, but given the strong fundamentals in place, it’s hard not to be excited. Considering the farming team’s track record, institutional partnerships, and marketing initiatives in the pipeline all in combination, it feels like there’s something special brewing with ReFi that the wider market hasn’t quite caught on to just yet.

11. What surprised you the most or made you the happiest about being involved with ReFi?

I love the community giveaway competitions — and was very surprised to win $300 for tweeting in one of them! It’s not so much about the sum of money for me, but more of the engagement, friendly competition, and the community’s collective desire to see ReFi succeed.

12. How much has your investment grown with ReFi versus your initial crypto investment?

My ReFi investment has performed only marginally better than my initial crypto investment, though I’m considerably more optimistic about the long-term performance of ReFi. If the team keeps delivering and performing at the current levels, it’s hard not to feel excited for the future.

13. If you were to recommend ReFi to your best friend, what would you say?

ReFi is the FaaS industry leader by virtue of having the most capable team, strongest community engagement, and an unparalleled dividend yield. But please don’t just take my word for it — look at the abundant evidence and see for yourself!

14. If someone was unsure about joining ReFi, what would you tell them?

Don’t feel rushed or pressured to join if you are unsure about it. Take your time to examine the project and put in the required research before investing your hard-earned money. ReFi has a ton of available resources including (but not limited to) farm performance metrics, investment strategies, technical security, and team credentials. Feel free to also join the telegram chat group (it’s a public group and you don’t have to be a holder to join) and ask as many questions as you like! The community has always been welcoming and helpful, and I’m sure they would be more than happy to help you out and to answer any burning questions.

15. Is there anything you’d like to add either about your crypto investing experience as a whole or regarding your ReFi journey to date?

Red coin = ‘gud’ coin. A motto to live by.

Conclusion:

We want to give a big thanks again to @benkrong for taking time to provide us with his journey and insights! His approach and journey does not match his experience… Doing his own extensive research, having clear investment principles and looking at the long term and not be drawn in by the short win are all indicators of a seasoned investor.

While ReFi investors are more long term, considered and researched it is great to see this type of investor coming through. If the likes of @benkrong are investing now (and investing well) they will be running and leading the sector in the future.

We have a raft of interviews still to come and the range, dynamics and experiences continue to differ and provide insight into the investor world. I am grateful for all the interviewees time as we continue to learn about the crypto market and ensure insights help ReFi become a better project day-by-day! And if you are reading this hopefully your own personal investment strategy.

See you next week where we will be doing our weekly REFI Twitter Spaces and for more Persona Investor Interviews.

Have a great investment week!

-@Abraxas_seven