Cut The Tie Podcast with Justin Kuyper
For decades, hedge fund and private equity strategies were reserved for institutions and ultra-wealthy investors. In this episode of Cut The Tie, host Thomas Helfrich sits down with Justin Kuyper, founder of OpenVest, to break down why access to sophisticated investment strategies has been limited—and how technology and regulation are finally changing that reality.
Justin shares his journey from Wall Street to fintech founder, explaining how the traditional investment system was built with layers of friction, high fees, and structural barriers that locked out everyday investors. This conversation dives into how OpenVest is removing those barriers while staying compliant, transparent, and investor-focused.
About Justin Kuyper:
Justin Kuyper is the founder of OpenVest, a fintech platform designed to give individual investors access to hedge fund and private-equity-style strategies traditionally limited to institutions. With an MBA from Columbia University and a background working on Wall Street, Justin brings deep experience in financial markets, regulation, and investment infrastructure. His work focuses on reducing unnecessary middle layers, lowering fees, and expanding access to actively managed investment strategies.
In this episode, Thomas and Justin discuss:
- Why hedge fund and private equity strategies were built for institutions
- How high fees and intermediaries quietly erode investor returns
- The structural difference between passive index investing and active management
- Why access—not intelligence—is often the biggest investing disadvantage
- How OpenVest uses regulated infrastructure to protect investor assets
- Managing downside risk during volatile market conditions
- Why non-accredited investors have historically been excluded
- What responsible democratization of investing actually looks like
Key Takeaways:
- Access has always been the real advantage
Opportunity in investing has historically been about entry, not intelligence. - Middle layers quietly extract value
Fees, opacity, and intermediaries cap long-term returns without being obvious. - Technology changes who gets in
Platforms can unlock strategies once limited to institutions and insiders. - You don’t need millions to participate
Smaller amounts, invested consistently, can still compound meaningfully. - Control beats complexity
Clear systems and transparency outperform convoluted financial structures.
Connect with Justin Kuyper:
🌐 Website: https://openvest.co/
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-kuyper-a862b0103/
Connect with Thomas Helfrich:
🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/thelfrich
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/cutthetie
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomashelfrich
🌐 Website: https://www.cutthetie.com
📧 Email: t@instantlyrelevant.com
🚀 InstantlyRelevant.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_02 (00:00):
Welcome to Cut the Tie Podcast.
Hello, I am your host, ThomasAlfred, and I'm on a mission to
help you cut those metaphoricties holding you back from
success.
And that success, as I oftensay, is going to be defined by
you and only you.
Otherwise, you are chasingsomeone else's dream.
And today, Justin Kuyper isjoining us.
Justin, how are you?
SPEAKER_00 (00:18):
Hello, hello.
It's great to be here.
Uh, thank you for having me on.
And uh yeah, let's I'm happy todive in.
Let's do it.
SPEAKER_02 (00:25):
Let's do it.
Well, start like who is JustinKuyper and what is it that you
do?
SPEAKER_00 (00:30):
Yeah, so so I'm happy to uh introduce
essentially uh a platform thatwe've been working on for over a
year.
So I'll I'll I'll go back fromthat, but let uh starting with
uh Open Vest, which whichessentially is a fintech
platform giving people exclusiveaccess to the elite hedge fund
(00:50):
and private equity typeinvestments that you would not
get otherwise.
So basically, for as little as afew hundred bucks, any
individual can sign up and getaccess to these strategies that
they wouldn't have otherwisegotten anywhere else.
Uh so we've basically combininglegal technology and a
regulatory sort of framework,we've managed to condense it
(01:11):
down and make it very simple forany individual to get access to.
So coming from sort of thefinancial world, did my MBA at
Columbia, worked on Wall Street,did all that.
Uh one thing, one recurringtheme that kept coming up was
sort of realizing that thebroader community did not have
access to these types ofinvestment opportunities and
(01:33):
they wanted it, right?
So even when I was living there,uh living in New York, working
at these, you know, hedge fundand private equity uh shops and
you know was in that world, uh,this recurring theme kept coming
up.
So I was like, you know,obviously there are popular
platforms like Robin Hood and,you know, Wealthfront and Take
Your Pick and so forth.
But even there, what we realizedis these guys, one, they're not
(01:56):
telling you how to invest, andmost people don't have the time,
the expertise, or the knowledgebase to know how to do it.
And two, if they are giving youdefined options, they're
basically matching you to anindex and taking a fee.
So if you think about what thatreally means, they're
essentially implicitlyguaranteeing that you
underperform the market, whichis not something that anybody
(02:17):
should aspire for, right?
And especially over time, thosenumbers get compound, they get
really big.
And that makes a materialdifference in whether you're
able to retire or pay for yourchild's expenses, whatever the
case may be.
Uh, but obviously, you know,more disposable income is
(02:37):
better.
So um that was sort of the uhthesis or reasoning, if you
will, as to like why wouldsomebody why would you start
this platform?
What was the motivation behindit?
Uh it was just noticing amassive gap in the market and
and ultimately realizing thatthere actually was a solution,
there was a way to do this.
Uh, so we are leveraged on topof an existing platform.
(03:02):
Uh, so we're basically built ontop of interactive brokers uh
infrastructure.
So what does that mean?
They're they're essentially thecustody and clearinghouse.
So a lot of questions we getsometimes are what what happens
if my money, like if I'm withyou guys, like I don't trust the
early stage startup, you know,and so forth, and and you guys
go under.
Well, the reality is the moneyis custodied there, so it'd be
(03:23):
the same as having your moneyat, you know, a Fidelity, a
Schwab, interactive broker, likenothing will happen to your
funds.
So they're actually uh FDICinsured, SIPC, like it's it's
all very safe and above board,uh, and is done through the
appropriate legal channels.
Um, so ultimately the the wholereason for starting this was to
basically provide access tonormally to get into those types
(03:47):
of opportunities, you usuallyrequire tens of millions of
dollars to even get your foot inthe door.
Uh what we've done here isdistilled it so that anybody for
as little as a few hundred buckscan just sign up on the platform
and and get in.
And so we're currently live in11 states.
Uh so New York, California,Florida, Georgia, uh, Michigan.
There are a few other Colorado.
(04:08):
You can look up the rest ononline.
So that's uh at openvest.co andyou can put slash Kirk4K R K
for.
We're actually offering adiscount for anybody who joins
before the end of the year, sothey'll get four months free.
Uh, so that's obviously you'redoing that in honor of recent
events, but uh so we've beenrunning that as well.
(04:29):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (04:30):
So to still that, so you I not say you're Robinhood,
but you're the Robin Hood ofhedge fund like higher ends.
SPEAKER_00 (04:36):
The difference is Robinhood's not telling you how
to invest.
So what's happening there iswhat what we realized was that
actually more than half of theindividuals, especially during
the 22-23 era that were usingRobinhood, and I was uh there
were basically a lot ofindividuals that were losing
money trading or trying toinvest on Robinhood.
Uh, and so what we've done isessentially we have proprietary
(04:59):
data sets where we know what theactive managers or the best
performing individuals are doingat any given point.
And so we're distilling thatdata and actively managing it
for you amongst a set ofpre-filtered options, right?
And so those are constantlyactively managed.
So let me give you one example.
We're allowed to make moneygoing long and short.
(05:19):
So even during the Trumpvolatility that happened at the
beginning of this year, none ofour portfolios lost more than
4%, even during that entireraucous of so we can sort of
protect you and at the same timeamplify your performance coming
out of you know downturns, justto give one example.
But our point, the point beingthat it's actively managed.
(05:40):
So the way we would say this isthink of it as getting access to
you know a Citadel or aBridgewater or something or you
know, a Berkshire Hathaway at anearlier stage, but in your
pocket, basically.
You can sign up, uh, get accessto the platform.
And again, we're not encouraginganyone to put in their life
savings on day one.
Uh, we're just asking you to tryit out for a bit, throw in a few
(06:01):
hundred bucks, a thousanddollars.
Most people start between oneand two thousand, see how it
works.
And then uh more than 80% of theindividuals that have started
using it have subsequentlyreinvested.
So, meaning we've we've provenour business model works and
that what we're selling actuallyis providing value.
So uh yeah, at this point we'rejust uh optimizing for scale.
And so as I mentioned, we'rewe're live in 11 US states right
(06:24):
now.
We started with three and thenwe're continuing to expand
currently.
SPEAKER_02 (06:28):
Nice.
Uh tell me about your journey alittle bit.
You said you're on Wall Street,uh you know, there's in every
entrepreneur, there's this thingthat held them back.
Guard it.
Um, sometimes it was I had toget fired.
What what was your metaphor?
SPEAKER_00 (06:44):
Yeah.
So there uh I think there aretwo elements here.
One was when I was working sortof in those Wall Street jobs, I
realized that what was beingoffered was only being catered
to a specific set ofindividuals.
As I said, those with the tensof millions or more.
So what I realized was thatthere was a recurring theme of
people in either my friend groupor even like secondary, tertiary
(07:07):
networks that I knew that didnot have access to these
opportunities, right?
So, so I had I was in anexclusive position at one point
where I had access to the very,very, very deep knowledge and
proprietary data that all ofthese like mega funds that you
we all hear about.
So whether it's you know, theBlackstones, the Appaloozas, and
(07:29):
these guys, I had very specificsets of that information.
So I knew exactly who theirinvestors were, where they were
investing, why, what date, allof that granular data.
And I the more, you know,obviously you go there every
day, you do your job, you do,you know, the ins and outs of
what's required on a dailybasis.
But on the back of my mind, Iwas like, this is just not
(07:52):
working for everyone, right?
It's only working for a smallsubgroup of people.
And I was like, if you couldactually give people access to
the same types of investments,this could be a massive, massive
opportunity.
One, and two, actually solve areal problem.
So so that was the initial sortof forerunning.
Now, I will say what did hold usback initially.
(08:14):
So the idea is great, andobviously you start to build it.
We didn't actually have aback-end partner initially, we
built it sort of our completesort of tech stack minus the
back end.
And so obviously it wasn'treally working because you
obviously need the back-end, youknow, licensing, the clearing,
and basically all of the sort ofelements that Interactive
(08:35):
Brokers provides for us.
Uh, we didn't have thatinitially.
So uh, what I will say is thatwe were held back by the fact
that we didn't have a back-endpartner.
And ultimately, we did sort ofget lucky in the sense that we
managed to uh, after you know,weeks of and months of
convincing, actually managed tosell them on the vision where
they decided to sort of serve asour back-end partner in a in a
(08:58):
functional arrangement thatworked for both of us.
So uh so now we can sort ofcomplement the back end and the
front end and basically have thefull infrastructure stack, uh,
even as an earlier stagecompany.
So I think that's something thateven the other guys in the
industry have not managed to do.
Uh they all had to basicallyraise mega rounds in order to
(09:21):
even start in the business,whereas we managed, we're able
to cut the operating cost bothfor us and for our consumers,
which we think makes a materialdifference.
Um, so that would be somethingwhere we thought initially it
didn't work, but we ultimatelyfound a solution over time.
But I will say it wasn't, it wasa little risky, but ultimately
(09:41):
at this stage, I'm glad I tookthe risk on that front.
But uh that was sort of oneexperience where we thought,
hey, this only works dependingon sort of a mutual agreement
with somebody who already hasall those licenses in place.
SPEAKER_02 (09:56):
So it just just briefly here's uh so anybody's
just listening interested, whereshould they go to kind of just
do the initial stalking whileyou're talking here?
SPEAKER_00 (10:03):
Yeah.
So so we have a landing pagethat has more information.
So obviously we're live on theApp Store and the Google Play
Store, but you can go toopenvest.co slash kirk for
K-I-R-K, the number for, uh, andyou'll see the landing page with
all of the information that youcould possibly request and all
the info is down there.
SPEAKER_02 (10:22):
So if you guys do you don't have any accredited
investor requirements, anybodycan do it with uh we do not,
exactly, exactly.
SPEAKER_00 (10:28):
So again, combining the the regulatory, uh the
technological and the financialpieces, we've sort of put it
together in one platform.
So uh we've it it is so the SECactually has certain uh
exemptions as long as you'reselling exclusively as an
internet function, so meaningpurely they call it an RA with
(10:49):
an exemption, uh uh internetexemption.
So as long as you're exclusivelygoing through a technological
framework and not selling inperson, then there are certain
exemptions that allow you tobasically operate on more of a
just over federal oversight.
But in short, to answer yourquestion, yes, you you you can
be non-accredited and getaccess.
(11:10):
That is kind of the whole pointof why we did this, and the fact
that we found a framework tomake that possible is exactly
why we decided to you knowpursue this full-time and and
really go after it.
SPEAKER_02 (11:21):
And that's uh does that regulate like the Reg C
changes, or what was the whatwas the driver to allow that for
those?
SPEAKER_00 (11:27):
Uh so it's under the RIA with internet exemption,
right?
So so so uh I know there arespecific uh reg D exemptions for
you know 506c3 and all those,but those are through typical
private placements.
This is just more on the uh sortof RIA with uh internet, meaning
directly through a technologicalmechanism.
So so yes, it is it is allowedon this front as well.
SPEAKER_02 (11:49):
Right, and the reason I say it is so when
people want to look up, there'sa law behind it that allows for
it.
Correct.
It's something you could havealways done behind the scenes.
You can like skip a bunch ofmoney and I'll put 10 million
together and you're all part ofthat fund.
That would not be legal, but youcould have done it.
SPEAKER_00 (12:03):
Right.
SPEAKER_02 (12:04):
So this is illegal.
SPEAKER_00 (12:05):
Well, yeah, and and and again, we are partnered with
interactive brokers, so they'veobviously done their due
diligence in order to allowcompliance approval for us to be
sort of leveraging theirback-end system.
So, meaning, even on the thesort of, oh, is this legitimate
or not?
I mean, there's no way anorganization like that who's
trading at 100 billion plusmarket cap would like engage in
(12:25):
something that is sort of wouldmaterial materially adversely
impact their business, right?
SPEAKER_02 (12:32):
So like I mean Bernie may not say that same
statement, just to be fair.
SPEAKER_00 (12:35):
Well, to be fair, he he only part he only partnered
with himself though, right?
Like he didn't have a he didn'thave a different so to be fair,
yeah.
I mean, so yeah, so that's afunny joke, but uh uh all all
jokes aside, they he did nothave an external partner that
was meaning like a like a publicfa public company that was a
(12:55):
brokerage house, uh you know,doing the custody and clearing
for him.
SPEAKER_02 (12:59):
Uh so I'm I'm trying to dry his trust that he cleared
it out and you guys get thirdthree that does it.
SPEAKER_00 (13:05):
Correct, exactly, exactly.
SPEAKER_02 (13:06):
Over exactly.
That's right.
That's right.
Now eventually they'll they'llit it'll change, I'm sure, and
then there'll be plenty ofpeople who can rip off people.
But in curate case, it's verydifficult to do it in your
mouth.
SPEAKER_00 (13:17):
Right, right.
No, no, no.
We and to be clear, we have noexempt, we have no um
aspirations of doing that.
The whole again, we are keepingthe cost very, very low.
We are keeping it flat fee.
So in other words, on the wehave both the retail accounts
and IRA and 401k accounts aswell.
So so in both accounts, you'reactually paying less than you
(13:37):
would for even a standard ETFoffering, and you're getting
sort of the material sort ofoutperformance over time just by
virtue of actively managingappropriately what these sort of
you know typical investmentsizes or these opportunities
give to individuals who do getaccess to those types of funds.
So that's that was the wholereason.
So whether somebody invests5,000, 10,000, 20,000, a million
(14:02):
dollars or more, the cost staysthe same.
SPEAKER_02 (14:05):
No, I I get that.
And that's that's great becausethere's real bad, I mean, if
you're still only gonna have ahundred bucks a month, you might
rethink it.
SPEAKER_00 (14:10):
But if I put 50k work, and so my point is some
people they are like, oh, well,I don't fully believe you.
And I'm like, that's fine, startout small and try it.
And then even if you don't, evenif you even if you said that we
somehow, for some reason oranother, were only giving you
the same results as anothercompetitor, you're still only
paying a low flat fee.
So there's still more valuethere, even in the worst case
(14:32):
assumption.
So my point is like, in eithercase, it it brings you more, it
brings more value to theconsumer.
And what we found is that ourexisting individuals have been
very happy with it, as Imentioned, and have subsequently
reinvested more and more.
SPEAKER_02 (14:45):
Great.
Um one of the follow-upquestions I'd have with you
there is, you know, can you, youknow, on your platform where
you've expanded it to only thosetypes of things, but also maybe
higher-end crypto type plays, oris it just a so we are we have
just launched one cryptoopportunity as well.
SPEAKER_00 (15:00):
So we do have crypto as well.
Now, um, that being said, it didtake us longer because what we
do is we make sure that we'revetting all of the offerings
that we're giving on ourplatform.
And like we said, it's it'scurated to the individual such
that even when you sign up, youanswer, even if you had no idea
where to start, right?
You'd answer a few simplequestions.
And based on that, we give youdefault recommendations.
(15:23):
So, meaning uh we give onelong-term and one short-term,
what we call shorter termopportunity.
So even on the shorter term,those are more income focused,
but you're still getting betweenhigh single-digit and moderate
double digit appreciation, plusbetween a six and a half and
nine and a half percent dividendyield per annum.
So that is still more than twoto three times what you would
(15:43):
get at any Vanguard or Fidelityor you know, take your pick.
Um, so we've managed tostructure those in that way.
So on the crypto side, we had tofind out, like sort of figure
out those opportunities.
But to answer your question,yes, we just we also have a
crypto uh enabled offering aswell on there.
And to be clear, the user isallowed to pick whatever they
want.
So even if you twiddled yourthumbs and were messing around,
(16:05):
you couldn't possibly go wrong.
Uh, but we do have that offeringas well for individuals who are
interested in crypto exposure,yes.
SPEAKER_02 (16:12):
So you know, you you make the leap of faith, you
gotta find you know, you know,navigate through some things.
And it sounds like you're notwithout pains.
SPEAKER_00 (16:19):
I'm actually more interested in what's the current
metaphoric tiny in your businessyou can't cut or you're
struggling to cut or just don'twant to, or you know, what's uh
uh currently, honestly,currently I don't think there's
anything that like we're trying,all we're trying to do is
basically provide more value tothe consumer in a
customer-centric way, providingopportunities that work, right?
(16:41):
In terms of cutting, I wouldn'tsay there's anything.
What I can say is that there arethings that we're improving as
we go on.
So in other words, I think justlike, you know, whether it's
like uh standard ACH processingor or wiring money across the
board, uh, there is somethingthat once we reach the next
round of investment, we'll thethe sort of processing of
(17:04):
payments will becomeinstantaneous.
Uh, but that is something thatwe think even just a year or two
down the line at the most, uh,we will have on our platform,
meaning we already know how todo it.
It's just a matter of uh growinga little bit more and raising a
bigger round in the subsequentround.
SPEAKER_02 (17:19):
So that may be amazing if you could cut out the
percentage drain that creditcards and transactions cost
everyone.
SPEAKER_00 (17:26):
I mean, so I think yeah, so so ACH does not cost,
actually, what we've seen isthat that does not cost
anything, but it takes a littlebit more time.
And then wire specific, I thinkit's it's either ten dollars per
wire on average, or for someindividuals don't have a wire
chart.
So that depends on your bank.
Uh so but uh otherwise, yeah.
(17:46):
And then um the other thingwe've noticed is that for
individuals who have started onthe IRA and 401k front, that's
just a matter of doing arollover, so that doesn't cost
anything, actually.
Uh it's just a one-time setup,and then once you're on board,
that's that's pretty much it.
SPEAKER_02 (18:00):
Yeah, does that uh um does the 401k thing go
through like an RBS program likeRob's piece where you can do it
for alternative investment?
Is that the idea?
SPEAKER_00 (18:09):
Because you're not probably not going to run that
401k into this via like a well,no, you can still do it
one-to-one, meaning becauseyou're rolling it over and then
you're just putting it in thisin effectively this the
strategic offerings.
So the meaning there's no uhmeaning it's it's all done
legally, but it's just a matterof rolling over and then sort of
uh selecting the offerings thatyou want within the platform.
(18:31):
So we've structured in a waywhere there's no additional
paperwork, at least on a RobsonReporter alternative agreement
in that type of way.
I mean, obviously you can makeIRAs in 401ks self-directed.
There are ways to do that aswell.
Uh, but at least in the waywe've structured it, that's not
required.
Meaning, you can just roll overand then once you're on the
platform or you're trying outOpen Vest, you can just sort of
(18:53):
uh roll into the strategy andthere's no.
SPEAKER_02 (18:55):
And I know this isn't a typical show format, but
I think it's important for yourexplaining how you've built what
you build it, the people have acomfort level coming and that
you've done all the hard stuffthat a lot of people there's
there's other people who aretrying this or aren't doing it,
I think, quite like you'redoing.
I'll I'll leave it as correct,correct.
SPEAKER_00 (19:09):
Yeah.
Correct.
Yes.
They're not they're not doing itin what we what was important to
us, and we realized in order tomake this work, you have to go
as direct to consumer as youcan, right?
Meaning direct to the uh to thecustomers.
And so, for example, even a lotof the institutional private
equity funds and all those guys,they're trying to get into the
increasingly into 401ks andIRAs, but the way they're doing
(19:32):
it, we just don't think is gonnawork long term because they're
ultimately going through a thinstitutional third party
medium, and then they're tryingto convince those individuals to
go into very opaque offeringswhere they don't exactly see
what's going on, and thencharging them even more fees.
And so, you know, at some pointthat's bound to just not work,
right?
Like if you're overcharging andunderdelivering, it's just it
(19:54):
can only possibly lead to goodoutcomes.
SPEAKER_02 (20:00):
Adventure and it'll even help you based on what
you'd like to see.
Others are just correct moneygrabs.
SPEAKER_00 (20:06):
Correct.
Correct.
Money grabs.
We do not have an we're notyeah, our whole goal is to not
money grab.
If anything, we're the onlyreason we're even charging is
because there's like there'sjust some operating cost, but
it's it's such a flat de minimisfee that it's actually not it's
not gonna make any difference tothe individual.
SPEAKER_02 (20:23):
But is your exit strategy?
I know you're you probably can'tfully share, but I'm gonna sum
I'm gonna assume it's prove themodel, get a user base, get
acquired, and get a uh thatthat's one aspect that could be
happened.
SPEAKER_00 (20:36):
Yeah.
The other thing is if we havemeaning achieve that sort of
that level of user base, the uhthe other perspective is to
continue to run it because thenwe can come up with more
creative offerings.
So just to give one example, wecould probably get rid of the
entire fee and so it could justbe free, and then we can
monetize in other ways, whetherit's through uh selling
(20:58):
infrastructure, APIs, B2B, uhmaybe some form of advertising
down the line, if we think aboutthat.
So we'll play it.
But that that's one possibleroute.
But my point is we're we're alittle more flexible on that
front given that we're a littlebit earlier stage.
But if the user base isachieved, meaning and we do
provide the service that peoplewant and it generates that over
(21:19):
time, I think there are a fewdifferent directions we could
go.
And so it'll just be a matter ofseeing what fits.
SPEAKER_02 (21:25):
That's amazing.
Um, let me ask them.
So from from like a listener'sperspective, and uh if you've
never invested, and this isprobably like and it could be 50
year olds, what do yourecommend?
Like maybe your your platform isthe answer, but like what do you
recommend?
Where do they start?
Like, is it a buff?
Is it a podcast?
Is it what is it?
(21:46):
How do you start?
SPEAKER_00 (21:47):
So I would actually so I will talk about one feature
that we have that ties into thisquestion.
Uh, so we do have an auto-investfeature where if the user has
set up their account linked totheir bank account, they can
then select auto invest.
So every month or every week,they can decide to pull a small
amount, even if it's$100, right?
(22:08):
So the minimum amount that anyindividual can start with is
$300.
But after they've made thatinvestment, they can make
subsequent investments for aslittle as$100, either on a
weekly or monthly basis,whatever they want to do.
I would almost just start doingthat and just unconsciously have
it route automatically into oneof the pre-selected offerings
that we have, because that willjust naturally compound and grow
(22:32):
at such high rates that it'llmore than pay off anything
you're trying to pay off or getrid of any form of debt.
Even if you have debt today, Iwould still recommend doing this
because the only way you get outof debt, and whether it's the US
government or any business,right, uh, is you have to grow
your way out of it.
And right now we're in aposition and in a period in the
(22:55):
economic cycle where the growth,at least for the subsequent
years, will continue on thistrajectory.
And so it's only a matter of youhave to sort of take advantage
of the opportunity while youhave it.
Uh, but in terms of educatingyourself about investing, I
mean, there are a number ofbooks out there, but I think,
you know, if you were startingfrom ground zero, uh, I think,
(23:17):
you know, the intelligentinvestor is always a safe play
to start with.
Like uh, I think it's uhobvious, you know, a Ben Graham,
Warren Buffett recommendation.
Uh, I would sort of start thereotherwise just to get a broad
level of knowledge and then gofrom there.
SPEAKER_02 (23:32):
Uh thank you for that.
I appreciate that.
And I think um do you thinkdollar cost average, right?
I I and I I think it's maybepresumed that we didn't really
say it.
These higher-end investmentstake lots of money.
They kind of control they theycontrol the game.
Yeah.
And they're designed, peoplearen't putting that money unless
they're getting 10% or more in.
Like they're like they'regetting a significant return.
(23:53):
Market might be it, it's noteven that hard, I think, to
understand.
I mean, is the market might doseven, eight percent is because
they can buy into those and theymake their three percent spread
on the whatever the high-endstuff is, you're you're just
removing a middle layer.
SPEAKER_00 (24:09):
Exactly.
No, it's a pretty massive,especially in this industry,
it's a massive middle layerthat's being essentially kind of
per se driven.
SPEAKER_02 (24:15):
Why you see, well, why do they get 10 to 15 and I'm
only giving seven to nine?
It's because the the thefacilitation has a spread on it,
right?
SPEAKER_00 (24:22):
Well, and and sometimes even with in the
higher end funds, it's actuallyit can be anywhere from 18 up to
29.
Yeah, well, yeah.
And so you'll see.
And so what we're doing is we'remodeling after the guys that
have consistently gotten between18 and 29.
And so, you know, my point isthere there are high statistical
odds that you will get somethingcomparable to that just by being
(24:44):
in one of these offerings thatwe're giving.
But yes, correct.
SPEAKER_02 (24:47):
It's not guaranteed, of course, but it's like uh the
reason they get that much isbecause it's not even insider
training or anything, becausethere's no trading, they are the
game.
Like a friend of mine during amarket, you know, he he builds,
you know, he puts the dealtogether for let's say an Amazon
warehouse.
When when the interest rates arelow and the that market's in
(25:07):
that condition, it's aguaranteed two to 10x multiple
because they're gonna build it,put it, rent it, put sell it to
a uh uh, you know, a an annuityof some sort or a pension.
It's like you're like that, it'sit's guaranteed not guaranteed,
but it's gonna happen.
And then when the rates go theother way, there's other places
go put your money that have thatsame type of thing.
I'm not following that.
SPEAKER_00 (25:27):
And they can probably lock in those low rates
when they're there, so itdoesn't matter.
SPEAKER_02 (25:31):
There's always a way that do it.
And so where the big money is,it it dries the game, period.
Um then they're yeah, so wethat's a deeper that's probably
a whole podcast for you to have.
But I I barely understand it,but I understand that just
people when you put people inthe middle, the margins happen,
that's when they make theirmoney.
SPEAKER_00 (25:46):
Exactly.
Exactly.
SPEAKER_02 (25:48):
And so we just are all I'm adding a layer of of uh
retail.
SPEAKER_00 (25:53):
Yes.
Oh, exactly.
And so there's basically amassive opportunity there that
nobody's sort of tackled in theright way.
And I and yeah, as youappropriately said it, part of
the reason we pursued this fulltime was, I mean, obviously, as
I mentioned, it takes legalexpertise, takes technical
expertise, and obviouslyregulatory expertise, which, you
know, based on my prior workexperience and and my
(26:15):
co-founder, we both have thepieces to do that.
Uh, but there's exactly thatthat middle layer is was just it
was just too darn high.
And I think there's a sayingthat says, like, your margin is
my opportunity, kind of a thing.
And so, meaning the themiddleman's margin was so high
that we were just like, we haveto we have to do this.
SPEAKER_02 (26:34):
I mean, it's not there's there's a gap there, and
you saw the opportunity for it.
Uh, there's a question though Ishould ask you what was the
question and how would you haveanswered it?
Meaning any other question thatwould have been this is bare
game, this is a free-rangechicken time for you.
Anything you like that it couldbe anything, like what's my golf
handicap?
I don't know.
(26:54):
Don't ask.
SPEAKER_00 (26:57):
Uh, that's a good question.
Uh, let me think.
SPEAKER_02 (27:01):
And everyone listening is just thinking we
had this question in advance.
I just want you to know this isa hard question to answer on a
podcast, even though you'regiven this question that you
know it's coming.
People are like, I don't knowwhat it's well.
SPEAKER_00 (27:12):
I guess there's one other aspect, at least with
regards to the platform.
I can talk about sort of the uhthere is a referral incentive
that we're offering.
So, in other words, anyindividual that signs up and
starts investing with as littleas if$300 and refers a friend.
So we're you get a referral codewhen you sign up and you go into
(27:32):
uh, I think it's under settings,you click share your link.
If your friend subsequentlyinvests right now, at least up
until I think Jan of next year,you're getting$10 per referral
uh so into your account.
So so we've just started thatprogram and uh we're running
that now.
So so if there's one additionalpoint, at least with regards to
(27:54):
what we've been discussing, Iwould just I would mention that
as well.
SPEAKER_02 (27:57):
Uh yeah, well, that's great.
And if I was smarter and took amore commercial route with my
podcast, we don't even have asponsor because I who wants to
hear sponsors?
I would probably do moreaffiliate links.
Maybe I'll look at that for2026.
I say that because there's abusiness, there's a there's a
entrepreneurs on fire, which islike a really great podcast, and
they actually publish theirrevenue.
I'm like, how much do you guysmake from affiliate work?
SPEAKER_00 (28:19):
Like I so I'm like, well, we do we do run an
affiliate program as well, so wecan talk more about that if
you're interested.
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (28:29):
Um but yeah.
I'm not ever gonna put money on,like, hey, every time someone
signs up, just put that in myaccount and buy something.
SPEAKER_00 (28:36):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Well, you can do it, yeah,either way.
But uh, so that that that wouldjust anyways, that that would be
the one other question, I guess,that wasn't.
SPEAKER_02 (28:45):
No, that's great.
Listen, uh uh give me uh give methe once again, uh so just maybe
define your user who who shouldcome in, who who should be
starting and where do you wantthem to go?
SPEAKER_00 (28:54):
Yeah, ultimately uh retail uh so I I would say any
anyone from any age, let's say18 to 50, anywhere in that
range, because we've had usersacross the spectrum.
Anyone who's either looking foran extra sort of income base.
So in other words, if you'recurrently earning the two to
three percent at Vanguard orFidelity, we're offering six and
(29:16):
a half to nine and a half plusmoderate appreciation, or
anybody who's looking to reallycompound their money and grow.
Again, you can go to openvest.coslash kirk4 krk4, and that would
be the place to go.
And again, we're live on the AppStore and the Google Play Store,
but uh more information's on thewebsite.
So I would encourage people togo go there and check it out.
SPEAKER_02 (29:37):
I like your uh your alignment.
Uh actually alignment isprobably the wrong word, uh,
because I I generally stayneutral and stuff.
I will say I like your courageto do a promo code like that
because that is a polarizingpromo code.
Um, and it takes some guts,regardless of your view in life
and whatever else, to go putsomething out there, even though
it was a sh like an absolutehorrific event.
(29:58):
Anybody who thinks otherwise isstop listening and unsubscribe,
please.
Yeah, but um, regardless ofsomeone's views on politics or
whatever else, it was justterrible.
SPEAKER_00 (30:06):
But still takes courage, and I love when
something to be clear, it it'sin response to a tragedy.
We just thought we could it'ssome I may it in the tragedy.
SPEAKER_02 (30:16):
We're not getting this podcast on a negative.
I'm just saying I I'm giving youcourage that you said you want
that, it's bullshit and let'slet's go something, try to do
something with it.
Absolutely, absolutely, and soyou guys actually my last
question, you maybe just on thatnote, do you take any of what
you're doing and and put ittowards one of the the the
initiatives or funds orsomething that kind of helps in
that zone, or or is it justlisten, that just that's our way
(30:38):
of saying that we want to helpthe the world.
What do you guys do with that?
SPEAKER_00 (30:42):
Yeah, that's a good question.
At least for now, we're doing iton the meaning helping the the
users that want to take thatopportunity.
Uh we are exploring that.
I guess we haven't come to adecision yet.
I think what we'll do is we'llwe'll see where we're at, you
know, end of year, beginning ofyear, and then we'll we'll
decide how to contribute tothat.
But at least at least for now,uh we're just we're the the
(31:04):
initial thought was just to sortof you know help help the user
base in a way we any way we can.
And obviously with regards tothat, we just decided that it
was the right thing to do, atleast on this front.
SPEAKER_02 (31:14):
So awesome.
Thank you.
Thank you so much, Justin, forcoming in today and just
spending a few moments with me.
I really appreciate it.
I enjoyed it.
I learned some a lot about Ilearned a lot about how you can
go do something different, whichI absolutely love to hear
stories of why do we do it thatway?
You you change it.
So thank you for coming ontoday.
I appreciate it.
SPEAKER_00 (31:31):
Absolutely.
And uh again, thank you forhaving me.
And I I really appreciate thetime.
SPEAKER_02 (31:35):
Awesome.
Anyone who's still is stillhere, you absolutely rock for
listening to the full podcast.
And if you've been here before,um thank you.
And if you if this is your firsttime, I hope it's the first of
many.
Get out there, go cut a tie tosomething holding you back from
success in your career andrelationships and faith and
health, wellness, whatever itis, just get rid of it and get
on to the next thing.
(31:56):
You only get one life.
Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Cut the Tie Podcast.
Hello, I am your host, ThomasAlfred, and I'm on a mission to
help you cut those metaphoricties holding you back from
success.
And that success, as I oftensay, is going to be defined by
you and only you.
Otherwise, you are chasingsomeone else's dream.
And today, Justin Kuyper isjoining us.
Justin, how are you?
SPEAKER_00 (00:18):
Hello, hello.
It's great to be here.
Uh, thank you for having me on.
And uh yeah, let's I'm happy todive in.
Let's do it.
SPEAKER_02 (00:25):
Let's do it.
Well, start like who is JustinKuyper and what is it that you
do?
SPEAKER_00 (00:30):
Yeah, so so I'm happy to uh introduce
essentially uh a platform thatwe've been working on for over a
year.
So I'll I'll I'll go back fromthat, but let uh starting with
uh Open Vest, which whichessentially is a fintech
platform giving people exclusiveaccess to the elite hedge fund
(00:50):
and private equity typeinvestments that you would not
get otherwise.
So basically, for as little as afew hundred bucks, any
individual can sign up and getaccess to these strategies that
they wouldn't have otherwisegotten anywhere else.
Uh so we've basically combininglegal technology and a
regulatory sort of framework,we've managed to condense it
(01:11):
down and make it very simple forany individual to get access to.
So coming from sort of thefinancial world, did my MBA at
Columbia, worked on Wall Street,did all that.
Uh one thing, one recurringtheme that kept coming up was
sort of realizing that thebroader community did not have
access to these types ofinvestment opportunities and
(01:33):
they wanted it, right?
So even when I was living there,uh living in New York, working
at these, you know, hedge fundand private equity uh shops and
you know was in that world, uh,this recurring theme kept coming
up.
So I was like, you know,obviously there are popular
platforms like Robin Hood and,you know, Wealthfront and Take
Your Pick and so forth.
But even there, what we realizedis these guys, one, they're not
(01:56):
telling you how to invest, andmost people don't have the time,
the expertise, or the knowledgebase to know how to do it.
And two, if they are giving youdefined options, they're
basically matching you to anindex and taking a fee.
So if you think about what thatreally means, they're
essentially implicitlyguaranteeing that you
underperform the market, whichis not something that anybody
(02:17):
should aspire for, right?
And especially over time, thosenumbers get compound, they get
really big.
And that makes a materialdifference in whether you're
able to retire or pay for yourchild's expenses, whatever the
case may be.
Uh, but obviously, you know,more disposable income is
(02:37):
better.
So um that was sort of the uhthesis or reasoning, if you
will, as to like why wouldsomebody why would you start
this platform?
What was the motivation behindit?
Uh it was just noticing amassive gap in the market and
and ultimately realizing thatthere actually was a solution,
there was a way to do this.
Uh, so we are leveraged on topof an existing platform.
(03:02):
Uh, so we're basically built ontop of interactive brokers uh
infrastructure.
So what does that mean?
They're they're essentially thecustody and clearinghouse.
So a lot of questions we getsometimes are what what happens
if my money, like if I'm withyou guys, like I don't trust the
early stage startup, you know,and so forth, and and you guys
go under.
Well, the reality is the moneyis custodied there, so it'd be
(03:23):
the same as having your moneyat, you know, a Fidelity, a
Schwab, interactive broker, likenothing will happen to your
funds.
So they're actually uh FDICinsured, SIPC, like it's it's
all very safe and above board,uh, and is done through the
appropriate legal channels.
Um, so ultimately the the wholereason for starting this was to
basically provide access tonormally to get into those types
(03:47):
of opportunities, you usuallyrequire tens of millions of
dollars to even get your foot inthe door.
Uh what we've done here isdistilled it so that anybody for
as little as a few hundred buckscan just sign up on the platform
and and get in.
And so we're currently live in11 states.
Uh so New York, California,Florida, Georgia, uh, Michigan.
There are a few other Colorado.
(04:08):
You can look up the rest ononline.
So that's uh at openvest.co andyou can put slash Kirk4K R K
for.
We're actually offering adiscount for anybody who joins
before the end of the year, sothey'll get four months free.
Uh, so that's obviously you'redoing that in honor of recent
events, but uh so we've beenrunning that as well.
(04:29):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (04:30):
So to still that, so you I not say you're Robinhood,
but you're the Robin Hood ofhedge fund like higher ends.
SPEAKER_00 (04:36):
The difference is Robinhood's not telling you how
to invest.
So what's happening there iswhat what we realized was that
actually more than half of theindividuals, especially during
the 22-23 era that were usingRobinhood, and I was uh there
were basically a lot ofindividuals that were losing
money trading or trying toinvest on Robinhood.
Uh, and so what we've done isessentially we have proprietary
(04:59):
data sets where we know what theactive managers or the best
performing individuals are doingat any given point.
And so we're distilling thatdata and actively managing it
for you amongst a set ofpre-filtered options, right?
And so those are constantlyactively managed.
So let me give you one example.
We're allowed to make moneygoing long and short.
(05:19):
So even during the Trumpvolatility that happened at the
beginning of this year, none ofour portfolios lost more than
4%, even during that entireraucous of so we can sort of
protect you and at the same timeamplify your performance coming
out of you know downturns, justto give one example.
But our point, the point beingthat it's actively managed.
(05:40):
So the way we would say this isthink of it as getting access to
you know a Citadel or aBridgewater or something or you
know, a Berkshire Hathaway at anearlier stage, but in your
pocket, basically.
You can sign up, uh, get accessto the platform.
And again, we're not encouraginganyone to put in their life
savings on day one.
Uh, we're just asking you to tryit out for a bit, throw in a few
(06:01):
hundred bucks, a thousanddollars.
Most people start between oneand two thousand, see how it
works.
And then uh more than 80% of theindividuals that have started
using it have subsequentlyreinvested.
So, meaning we've we've provenour business model works and
that what we're selling actuallyis providing value.
So uh yeah, at this point we'rejust uh optimizing for scale.
And so as I mentioned, we'rewe're live in 11 US states right
(06:24):
now.
We started with three and thenwe're continuing to expand
currently.
SPEAKER_02 (06:28):
Nice.
Uh tell me about your journey alittle bit.
You said you're on Wall Street,uh you know, there's in every
entrepreneur, there's this thingthat held them back.
Guard it.
Um, sometimes it was I had toget fired.
What what was your metaphor?
SPEAKER_00 (06:44):
Yeah.
So there uh I think there aretwo elements here.
One was when I was working sortof in those Wall Street jobs, I
realized that what was beingoffered was only being catered
to a specific set ofindividuals.
As I said, those with the tensof millions or more.
So what I realized was thatthere was a recurring theme of
people in either my friend groupor even like secondary, tertiary
(07:07):
networks that I knew that didnot have access to these
opportunities, right?
So, so I had I was in anexclusive position at one point
where I had access to the very,very, very deep knowledge and
proprietary data that all ofthese like mega funds that you
we all hear about.
So whether it's you know, theBlackstones, the Appaloozas, and
(07:29):
these guys, I had very specificsets of that information.
So I knew exactly who theirinvestors were, where they were
investing, why, what date, allof that granular data.
And I the more, you know,obviously you go there every
day, you do your job, you do,you know, the ins and outs of
what's required on a dailybasis.
But on the back of my mind, Iwas like, this is just not
(07:52):
working for everyone, right?
It's only working for a smallsubgroup of people.
And I was like, if you couldactually give people access to
the same types of investments,this could be a massive, massive
opportunity.
One, and two, actually solve areal problem.
So so that was the initial sortof forerunning.
Now, I will say what did hold usback initially.
(08:14):
So the idea is great, andobviously you start to build it.
We didn't actually have aback-end partner initially, we
built it sort of our completesort of tech stack minus the
back end.
And so obviously it wasn'treally working because you
obviously need the back-end, youknow, licensing, the clearing,
and basically all of the sort ofelements that Interactive
(08:35):
Brokers provides for us.
Uh, we didn't have thatinitially.
So uh, what I will say is thatwe were held back by the fact
that we didn't have a back-endpartner.
And ultimately, we did sort ofget lucky in the sense that we
managed to uh, after you know,weeks of and months of
convincing, actually managed tosell them on the vision where
they decided to sort of serve asour back-end partner in a in a
(08:58):
functional arrangement thatworked for both of us.
So uh so now we can sort ofcomplement the back end and the
front end and basically have thefull infrastructure stack, uh,
even as an earlier stagecompany.
So I think that's something thateven the other guys in the
industry have not managed to do.
Uh they all had to basicallyraise mega rounds in order to
(09:21):
even start in the business,whereas we managed, we're able
to cut the operating cost bothfor us and for our consumers,
which we think makes a materialdifference.
Um, so that would be somethingwhere we thought initially it
didn't work, but we ultimatelyfound a solution over time.
But I will say it wasn't, it wasa little risky, but ultimately
(09:41):
at this stage, I'm glad I tookthe risk on that front.
But uh that was sort of oneexperience where we thought,
hey, this only works dependingon sort of a mutual agreement
with somebody who already hasall those licenses in place.
SPEAKER_02 (09:56):
So it just just briefly here's uh so anybody's
just listening interested, whereshould they go to kind of just
do the initial stalking whileyou're talking here?
SPEAKER_00 (10:03):
Yeah.
So so we have a landing pagethat has more information.
So obviously we're live on theApp Store and the Google Play
Store, but you can go toopenvest.co slash kirk for
K-I-R-K, the number for, uh, andyou'll see the landing page with
all of the information that youcould possibly request and all
the info is down there.
SPEAKER_02 (10:22):
So if you guys do you don't have any accredited
investor requirements, anybodycan do it with uh we do not,
exactly, exactly.
SPEAKER_00 (10:28):
So again, combining the the regulatory, uh the
technological and the financialpieces, we've sort of put it
together in one platform.
So uh we've it it is so the SECactually has certain uh
exemptions as long as you'reselling exclusively as an
internet function, so meaningpurely they call it an RA with
(10:49):
an exemption, uh uh internetexemption.
So as long as you're exclusivelygoing through a technological
framework and not selling inperson, then there are certain
exemptions that allow you tobasically operate on more of a
just over federal oversight.
But in short, to answer yourquestion, yes, you you you can
be non-accredited and getaccess.
(11:10):
That is kind of the whole pointof why we did this, and the fact
that we found a framework tomake that possible is exactly
why we decided to you knowpursue this full-time and and
really go after it.
SPEAKER_02 (11:21):
And that's uh does that regulate like the Reg C
changes, or what was the whatwas the driver to allow that for
those?
SPEAKER_00 (11:27):
Uh so it's under the RIA with internet exemption,
right?
So so so uh I know there arespecific uh reg D exemptions for
you know 506c3 and all those,but those are through typical
private placements.
This is just more on the uh sortof RIA with uh internet, meaning
directly through a technologicalmechanism.
So so yes, it is it is allowedon this front as well.
SPEAKER_02 (11:49):
Right, and the reason I say it is so when
people want to look up, there'sa law behind it that allows for
it.
Correct.
It's something you could havealways done behind the scenes.
You can like skip a bunch ofmoney and I'll put 10 million
together and you're all part ofthat fund.
That would not be legal, but youcould have done it.
SPEAKER_00 (12:03):
Right.
SPEAKER_02 (12:04):
So this is illegal.
SPEAKER_00 (12:05):
Well, yeah, and and and again, we are partnered with
interactive brokers, so they'veobviously done their due
diligence in order to allowcompliance approval for us to be
sort of leveraging theirback-end system.
So, meaning, even on the thesort of, oh, is this legitimate
or not?
I mean, there's no way anorganization like that who's
trading at 100 billion plusmarket cap would like engage in
(12:25):
something that is sort of wouldmaterial materially adversely
impact their business, right?
SPEAKER_02 (12:32):
So like I mean Bernie may not say that same
statement, just to be fair.
SPEAKER_00 (12:35):
Well, to be fair, he he only part he only partnered
with himself though, right?
Like he didn't have a he didn'thave a different so to be fair,
yeah.
I mean, so yeah, so that's afunny joke, but uh uh all all
jokes aside, they he did nothave an external partner that
was meaning like a like a publicfa public company that was a
(12:55):
brokerage house, uh you know,doing the custody and clearing
for him.
SPEAKER_02 (12:59):
Uh so I'm I'm trying to dry his trust that he cleared
it out and you guys get thirdthree that does it.
SPEAKER_00 (13:05):
Correct, exactly, exactly.
SPEAKER_02 (13:06):
Over exactly.
That's right.
That's right.
Now eventually they'll they'llit it'll change, I'm sure, and
then there'll be plenty ofpeople who can rip off people.
But in curate case, it's verydifficult to do it in your
mouth.
SPEAKER_00 (13:17):
Right, right.
No, no, no.
We and to be clear, we have noexempt, we have no um
aspirations of doing that.
The whole again, we are keepingthe cost very, very low.
We are keeping it flat fee.
So in other words, on the wehave both the retail accounts
and IRA and 401k accounts aswell.
So so in both accounts, you'reactually paying less than you
(13:37):
would for even a standard ETFoffering, and you're getting
sort of the material sort ofoutperformance over time just by
virtue of actively managingappropriately what these sort of
you know typical investmentsizes or these opportunities
give to individuals who do getaccess to those types of funds.
So that's that was the wholereason.
So whether somebody invests5,000, 10,000, 20,000, a million
(14:02):
dollars or more, the cost staysthe same.
SPEAKER_02 (14:05):
No, I I get that.
And that's that's great becausethere's real bad, I mean, if
you're still only gonna have ahundred bucks a month, you might
rethink it.
SPEAKER_00 (14:10):
But if I put 50k work, and so my point is some
people they are like, oh, well,I don't fully believe you.
And I'm like, that's fine, startout small and try it.
And then even if you don't, evenif you even if you said that we
somehow, for some reason oranother, were only giving you
the same results as anothercompetitor, you're still only
paying a low flat fee.
So there's still more valuethere, even in the worst case
(14:32):
assumption.
So my point is like, in eithercase, it it brings you more, it
brings more value to theconsumer.
And what we found is that ourexisting individuals have been
very happy with it, as Imentioned, and have subsequently
reinvested more and more.
SPEAKER_02 (14:45):
Great.
Um one of the follow-upquestions I'd have with you
there is, you know, can you, youknow, on your platform where
you've expanded it to only thosetypes of things, but also maybe
higher-end crypto type plays, oris it just a so we are we have
just launched one cryptoopportunity as well.
SPEAKER_00 (15:00):
So we do have crypto as well.
Now, um, that being said, it didtake us longer because what we
do is we make sure that we'revetting all of the offerings
that we're giving on ourplatform.
And like we said, it's it'scurated to the individual such
that even when you sign up, youanswer, even if you had no idea
where to start, right?
You'd answer a few simplequestions.
And based on that, we give youdefault recommendations.
(15:23):
So, meaning uh we give onelong-term and one short-term,
what we call shorter termopportunity.
So even on the shorter term,those are more income focused,
but you're still getting betweenhigh single-digit and moderate
double digit appreciation, plusbetween a six and a half and
nine and a half percent dividendyield per annum.
So that is still more than twoto three times what you would
(15:43):
get at any Vanguard or Fidelityor you know, take your pick.
Um, so we've managed tostructure those in that way.
So on the crypto side, we had tofind out, like sort of figure
out those opportunities.
But to answer your question,yes, we just we also have a
crypto uh enabled offering aswell on there.
And to be clear, the user isallowed to pick whatever they
want.
So even if you twiddled yourthumbs and were messing around,
(16:05):
you couldn't possibly go wrong.
Uh, but we do have that offeringas well for individuals who are
interested in crypto exposure,yes.
SPEAKER_02 (16:12):
So you know, you you make the leap of faith, you
gotta find you know, you know,navigate through some things.
And it sounds like you're notwithout pains.
SPEAKER_00 (16:19):
I'm actually more interested in what's the current
metaphoric tiny in your businessyou can't cut or you're
struggling to cut or just don'twant to, or you know, what's uh
uh currently, honestly,currently I don't think there's
anything that like we're trying,all we're trying to do is
basically provide more value tothe consumer in a
customer-centric way, providingopportunities that work, right?
(16:41):
In terms of cutting, I wouldn'tsay there's anything.
What I can say is that there arethings that we're improving as
we go on.
So in other words, I think justlike, you know, whether it's
like uh standard ACH processingor or wiring money across the
board, uh, there is somethingthat once we reach the next
round of investment, we'll thethe sort of processing of
(17:04):
payments will becomeinstantaneous.
Uh, but that is something thatwe think even just a year or two
down the line at the most, uh,we will have on our platform,
meaning we already know how todo it.
It's just a matter of uh growinga little bit more and raising a
bigger round in the subsequentround.
SPEAKER_02 (17:19):
So that may be amazing if you could cut out the
percentage drain that creditcards and transactions cost
everyone.
SPEAKER_00 (17:26):
I mean, so I think yeah, so so ACH does not cost,
actually, what we've seen isthat that does not cost
anything, but it takes a littlebit more time.
And then wire specific, I thinkit's it's either ten dollars per
wire on average, or for someindividuals don't have a wire
chart.
So that depends on your bank.
Uh so but uh otherwise, yeah.
(17:46):
And then um the other thingwe've noticed is that for
individuals who have started onthe IRA and 401k front, that's
just a matter of doing arollover, so that doesn't cost
anything, actually.
Uh it's just a one-time setup,and then once you're on board,
that's that's pretty much it.
SPEAKER_02 (18:00):
Yeah, does that uh um does the 401k thing go
through like an RBS program likeRob's piece where you can do it
for alternative investment?
Is that the idea?
SPEAKER_00 (18:09):
Because you're not probably not going to run that
401k into this via like a well,no, you can still do it
one-to-one, meaning becauseyou're rolling it over and then
you're just putting it in thisin effectively this the
strategic offerings.
So the meaning there's no uhmeaning it's it's all done
legally, but it's just a matterof rolling over and then sort of
uh selecting the offerings thatyou want within the platform.
(18:31):
So we've structured in a waywhere there's no additional
paperwork, at least on a RobsonReporter alternative agreement
in that type of way.
I mean, obviously you can makeIRAs in 401ks self-directed.
There are ways to do that aswell.
Uh, but at least in the waywe've structured it, that's not
required.
Meaning, you can just roll overand then once you're on the
platform or you're trying outOpen Vest, you can just sort of
(18:53):
uh roll into the strategy andthere's no.
SPEAKER_02 (18:55):
And I know this isn't a typical show format, but
I think it's important for yourexplaining how you've built what
you build it, the people have acomfort level coming and that
you've done all the hard stuffthat a lot of people there's
there's other people who aretrying this or aren't doing it,
I think, quite like you'redoing.
I'll I'll leave it as correct,correct.
SPEAKER_00 (19:09):
Yeah.
Correct.
Yes.
They're not they're not doing itin what we what was important to
us, and we realized in order tomake this work, you have to go
as direct to consumer as youcan, right?
Meaning direct to the uh to thecustomers.
And so, for example, even a lotof the institutional private
equity funds and all those guys,they're trying to get into the
increasingly into 401ks andIRAs, but the way they're doing
(19:32):
it, we just don't think is gonnawork long term because they're
ultimately going through a thinstitutional third party
medium, and then they're tryingto convince those individuals to
go into very opaque offeringswhere they don't exactly see
what's going on, and thencharging them even more fees.
And so, you know, at some pointthat's bound to just not work,
right?
Like if you're overcharging andunderdelivering, it's just it
(19:54):
can only possibly lead to goodoutcomes.
SPEAKER_02 (20:00):
Adventure and it'll even help you based on what
you'd like to see.
Others are just correct moneygrabs.
SPEAKER_00 (20:06):
Correct.
Correct.
Money grabs.
We do not have an we're notyeah, our whole goal is to not
money grab.
If anything, we're the onlyreason we're even charging is
because there's like there'sjust some operating cost, but
it's it's such a flat de minimisfee that it's actually not it's
not gonna make any difference tothe individual.
SPEAKER_02 (20:23):
But is your exit strategy?
I know you're you probably can'tfully share, but I'm gonna sum
I'm gonna assume it's prove themodel, get a user base, get
acquired, and get a uh thatthat's one aspect that could be
happened.
SPEAKER_00 (20:36):
Yeah.
The other thing is if we havemeaning achieve that sort of
that level of user base, the uhthe other perspective is to
continue to run it because thenwe can come up with more
creative offerings.
So just to give one example, wecould probably get rid of the
entire fee and so it could justbe free, and then we can
monetize in other ways, whetherit's through uh selling
(20:58):
infrastructure, APIs, B2B, uhmaybe some form of advertising
down the line, if we think aboutthat.
So we'll play it.
But that that's one possibleroute.
But my point is we're we're alittle more flexible on that
front given that we're a littlebit earlier stage.
But if the user base isachieved, meaning and we do
provide the service that peoplewant and it generates that over
(21:19):
time, I think there are a fewdifferent directions we could
go.
And so it'll just be a matter ofseeing what fits.
SPEAKER_02 (21:25):
That's amazing.
Um, let me ask them.
So from from like a listener'sperspective, and uh if you've
never invested, and this isprobably like and it could be 50
year olds, what do yourecommend?
Like maybe your your platform isthe answer, but like what do you
recommend?
Where do they start?
Like, is it a buff?
Is it a podcast?
Is it what is it?
(21:46):
How do you start?
SPEAKER_00 (21:47):
So I would actually so I will talk about one feature
that we have that ties into thisquestion.
Uh, so we do have an auto-investfeature where if the user has
set up their account linked totheir bank account, they can
then select auto invest.
So every month or every week,they can decide to pull a small
amount, even if it's$100, right?
(22:08):
So the minimum amount that anyindividual can start with is
$300.
But after they've made thatinvestment, they can make
subsequent investments for aslittle as$100, either on a
weekly or monthly basis,whatever they want to do.
I would almost just start doingthat and just unconsciously have
it route automatically into oneof the pre-selected offerings
that we have, because that willjust naturally compound and grow
(22:32):
at such high rates that it'llmore than pay off anything
you're trying to pay off or getrid of any form of debt.
Even if you have debt today, Iwould still recommend doing this
because the only way you get outof debt, and whether it's the US
government or any business,right, uh, is you have to grow
your way out of it.
And right now we're in aposition and in a period in the
(22:55):
economic cycle where the growth,at least for the subsequent
years, will continue on thistrajectory.
And so it's only a matter of youhave to sort of take advantage
of the opportunity while youhave it.
Uh, but in terms of educatingyourself about investing, I
mean, there are a number ofbooks out there, but I think,
you know, if you were startingfrom ground zero, uh, I think,
(23:17):
you know, the intelligentinvestor is always a safe play
to start with.
Like uh, I think it's uhobvious, you know, a Ben Graham,
Warren Buffett recommendation.
Uh, I would sort of start thereotherwise just to get a broad
level of knowledge and then gofrom there.
SPEAKER_02 (23:32):
Uh thank you for that.
I appreciate that.
And I think um do you thinkdollar cost average, right?
I I and I I think it's maybepresumed that we didn't really
say it.
These higher-end investmentstake lots of money.
They kind of control they theycontrol the game.
Yeah.
And they're designed, peoplearen't putting that money unless
they're getting 10% or more in.
Like they're like they'regetting a significant return.
(23:53):
Market might be it, it's noteven that hard, I think, to
understand.
I mean, is the market might doseven, eight percent is because
they can buy into those and theymake their three percent spread
on the whatever the high-endstuff is, you're you're just
removing a middle layer.
SPEAKER_00 (24:09):
Exactly.
No, it's a pretty massive,especially in this industry,
it's a massive middle layerthat's being essentially kind of
per se driven.
SPEAKER_02 (24:15):
Why you see, well, why do they get 10 to 15 and I'm
only giving seven to nine?
It's because the the thefacilitation has a spread on it,
right?
SPEAKER_00 (24:22):
Well, and and sometimes even with in the
higher end funds, it's actuallyit can be anywhere from 18 up to
29.
Yeah, well, yeah.
And so you'll see.
And so what we're doing is we'remodeling after the guys that
have consistently gotten between18 and 29.
And so, you know, my point isthere there are high statistical
odds that you will get somethingcomparable to that just by being
(24:44):
in one of these offerings thatwe're giving.
But yes, correct.
SPEAKER_02 (24:47):
It's not guaranteed, of course, but it's like uh the
reason they get that much isbecause it's not even insider
training or anything, becausethere's no trading, they are the
game.
Like a friend of mine during amarket, you know, he he builds,
you know, he puts the dealtogether for let's say an Amazon
warehouse.
When when the interest rates arelow and the that market's in
(25:07):
that condition, it's aguaranteed two to 10x multiple
because they're gonna build it,put it, rent it, put sell it to
a uh uh, you know, a an annuityof some sort or a pension.
It's like you're like that, it'sit's guaranteed not guaranteed,
but it's gonna happen.
And then when the rates go theother way, there's other places
go put your money that have thatsame type of thing.
I'm not following that.
SPEAKER_00 (25:27):
And they can probably lock in those low rates
when they're there, so itdoesn't matter.
SPEAKER_02 (25:31):
There's always a way that do it.
And so where the big money is,it it dries the game, period.
Um then they're yeah, so wethat's a deeper that's probably
a whole podcast for you to have.
But I I barely understand it,but I understand that just
people when you put people inthe middle, the margins happen,
that's when they make theirmoney.
SPEAKER_00 (25:46):
Exactly.
Exactly.
SPEAKER_02 (25:48):
And so we just are all I'm adding a layer of of uh
retail.
SPEAKER_00 (25:53):
Yes.
Oh, exactly.
And so there's basically amassive opportunity there that
nobody's sort of tackled in theright way.
And I and yeah, as youappropriately said it, part of
the reason we pursued this fulltime was, I mean, obviously, as
I mentioned, it takes legalexpertise, takes technical
expertise, and obviouslyregulatory expertise, which, you
know, based on my prior workexperience and and my
(26:15):
co-founder, we both have thepieces to do that.
Uh, but there's exactly thatthat middle layer is was just it
was just too darn high.
And I think there's a sayingthat says, like, your margin is
my opportunity, kind of a thing.
And so, meaning the themiddleman's margin was so high
that we were just like, we haveto we have to do this.
SPEAKER_02 (26:34):
I mean, it's not there's there's a gap there, and
you saw the opportunity for it.
Uh, there's a question though Ishould ask you what was the
question and how would you haveanswered it?
Meaning any other question thatwould have been this is bare
game, this is a free-rangechicken time for you.
Anything you like that it couldbe anything, like what's my golf
handicap?
I don't know.
(26:54):
Don't ask.
SPEAKER_00 (26:57):
Uh, that's a good question.
Uh, let me think.
SPEAKER_02 (27:01):
And everyone listening is just thinking we
had this question in advance.
I just want you to know this isa hard question to answer on a
podcast, even though you'regiven this question that you
know it's coming.
People are like, I don't knowwhat it's well.
SPEAKER_00 (27:12):
I guess there's one other aspect, at least with
regards to the platform.
I can talk about sort of the uhthere is a referral incentive
that we're offering.
So, in other words, anyindividual that signs up and
starts investing with as littleas if$300 and refers a friend.
So we're you get a referral codewhen you sign up and you go into
(27:32):
uh, I think it's under settings,you click share your link.
If your friend subsequentlyinvests right now, at least up
until I think Jan of next year,you're getting$10 per referral
uh so into your account.
So so we've just started thatprogram and uh we're running
that now.
So so if there's one additionalpoint, at least with regards to
(27:54):
what we've been discussing, Iwould just I would mention that
as well.
SPEAKER_02 (27:57):
Uh yeah, well, that's great.
And if I was smarter and took amore commercial route with my
podcast, we don't even have asponsor because I who wants to
hear sponsors?
I would probably do moreaffiliate links.
Maybe I'll look at that for2026.
I say that because there's abusiness, there's a there's a
entrepreneurs on fire, which islike a really great podcast, and
they actually publish theirrevenue.
I'm like, how much do you guysmake from affiliate work?
SPEAKER_00 (28:19):
Like I so I'm like, well, we do we do run an
affiliate program as well, so wecan talk more about that if
you're interested.
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (28:29):
Um but yeah.
I'm not ever gonna put money on,like, hey, every time someone
signs up, just put that in myaccount and buy something.
SPEAKER_00 (28:36):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Well, you can do it, yeah,either way.
But uh, so that that that wouldjust anyways, that that would be
the one other question, I guess,that wasn't.
SPEAKER_02 (28:45):
No, that's great.
Listen, uh uh give me uh give methe once again, uh so just maybe
define your user who who shouldcome in, who who should be
starting and where do you wantthem to go?
SPEAKER_00 (28:54):
Yeah, ultimately uh retail uh so I I would say any
anyone from any age, let's say18 to 50, anywhere in that
range, because we've had usersacross the spectrum.
Anyone who's either looking foran extra sort of income base.
So in other words, if you'recurrently earning the two to
three percent at Vanguard orFidelity, we're offering six and
(29:16):
a half to nine and a half plusmoderate appreciation, or
anybody who's looking to reallycompound their money and grow.
Again, you can go to openvest.coslash kirk4 krk4, and that would
be the place to go.
And again, we're live on the AppStore and the Google Play Store,
but uh more information's on thewebsite.
So I would encourage people togo go there and check it out.
SPEAKER_02 (29:37):
I like your uh your alignment.
Uh actually alignment isprobably the wrong word, uh,
because I I generally stayneutral and stuff.
I will say I like your courageto do a promo code like that
because that is a polarizingpromo code.
Um, and it takes some guts,regardless of your view in life
and whatever else, to go putsomething out there, even though
it was a sh like an absolutehorrific event.
(29:58):
Anybody who thinks otherwise isstop listening and unsubscribe,
please.
Yeah, but um, regardless ofsomeone's views on politics or
whatever else, it was justterrible.
SPEAKER_00 (30:06):
But still takes courage, and I love when
something to be clear, it it'sin response to a tragedy.
We just thought we could it'ssome I may it in the tragedy.
SPEAKER_02 (30:16):
We're not getting this podcast on a negative.
I'm just saying I I'm giving youcourage that you said you want
that, it's bullshit and let'slet's go something, try to do
something with it.
Absolutely, absolutely, and soyou guys actually my last
question, you maybe just on thatnote, do you take any of what
you're doing and and put ittowards one of the the the
initiatives or funds orsomething that kind of helps in
that zone, or or is it justlisten, that just that's our way
(30:38):
of saying that we want to helpthe the world.
What do you guys do with that?
SPEAKER_00 (30:42):
Yeah, that's a good question.
At least for now, we're doing iton the meaning helping the the
users that want to take thatopportunity.
Uh we are exploring that.
I guess we haven't come to adecision yet.
I think what we'll do is we'llwe'll see where we're at, you
know, end of year, beginning ofyear, and then we'll we'll
decide how to contribute tothat.
But at least at least for now,uh we're just we're the the
(31:04):
initial thought was just to sortof you know help help the user
base in a way we any way we can.
And obviously with regards tothat, we just decided that it
was the right thing to do, atleast on this front.
SPEAKER_02 (31:14):
So awesome.
Thank you.
Thank you so much, Justin, forcoming in today and just
spending a few moments with me.
I really appreciate it.
I enjoyed it.
I learned some a lot about Ilearned a lot about how you can
go do something different, whichI absolutely love to hear
stories of why do we do it thatway?
You you change it.
So thank you for coming ontoday.
I appreciate it.
SPEAKER_00 (31:31):
Absolutely.
And uh again, thank you forhaving me.
And I I really appreciate thetime.
SPEAKER_02 (31:35):
Awesome.
Anyone who's still is stillhere, you absolutely rock for
listening to the full podcast.
And if you've been here before,um thank you.
And if you if this is your firsttime, I hope it's the first of
many.
Get out there, go cut a tie tosomething holding you back from
success in your career andrelationships and faith and
health, wellness, whatever itis, just get rid of it and get
on to the next thing.
(31:56):
You only get one life.
Thanks for listening.
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