Ever wondered about the role of the Jobs Act of 2012 in wealth creation and minority access? We delve deep into the history of capital markets, highlighting how this legislation has revolutionized private markets and spurred over $150 billion in new investments.
In our latest episode, we dive into the world of financial empowerment with Oscar Jofre, CEO of KoreChain. Discover how technology is changing the game for investors and entrepreneurs. Join us for insights into the future of investing, exploring the limitless opportunities for legacy building. Oscar Jofre unveils the secrets behind KoreChain, the first SEC-Qualified blockchain for capital raising, and how it's reshaping investment possibilities. Get ready to think BIG and take control of your financial future!
Technology is not just about innovation; it's about democratization. Oscar enlightens us about the recent regulations that ensure everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, or English proficiency, can access new opportunities. We look at how KoreChain Inc. harnesses technology to safeguard investors and how their mobile app makes portfolio management a breeze. As a bonus, Oscar is gifting two free books on the subject, so don’t miss out! Ready to change your life dynamic?
Tune in, and let's start this journey together.
Key Takeaways:
03:14- Introduction to today’s guest
05:12 – Entrepreneur's Empowerment Journey
07:56- What are the capital markets?
14:38- Sustainability is not the only path
16:19 – Exploring Investing Opportunities and Creating Solutions
20:19 – Regulation and Business Growth in America
23:53 – The Exciting Journey of Technology Infrastructure
24:49- How to get in contact with Oscar
Connect with Oscar:
Email @: oscar@korechain.io
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oscarjofre
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oscarjofre/
Connect with Corwyn@:
Contact Number: 843-619-3005
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/exitstrategiesradioshow/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxoSuynJd5c4qQ_eDXLJaZA
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cmelette/
Email @: corwyn@corwynmelette.com
Shoutout to our Sponsor: ROBYN COLLINS
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CORWYN:
Good morning, and welcome to another episode of Exit Strategies radio show. I am your host Corwyn J Melette. Broken and owner of Exit Realty Lowcountry group in beautiful. North Charleston, South Carolina. If this is your first time listening to this show, you sir, ma’am are in for a treat. Because our mission here is very simple. That is to empower our community, doing financial literacy, and real estate education. We’re legacy building, that is what we do. So if you’re out there making things happen with your family, for the generations yet to come in our world teaches us to leave a legacy to leave an inheritance for our children’s children’s children and so forth and so on. We want you to put a hashtag on that thing that says that you are legacy building because that is what you are doing. You can find us on Facebook, YouTube, AnchorFM. You can also find us on Instagram, at our website, exitstrategiesradioshow.com. You can catch us in a number of different places on your favorite podcast applications. We appreciate you listening, please share this content with your friends, your family, your co-workers, even those in your groups, your church groups, etc, guys, cause sometimes the message in the word that we are speaking here today is for you. Sometimes it is for someone else that you know. Again, we appreciate you listening. Let’s get started
Welcome to another fabulous episode of Exit Strategies Radio Show. Hey, I’m your host, Corwyn J Melette. Broker and owner of Exit Realty located in beautiful North Charleston, South Carolina. If it’s your first time listening to this show, you sir, ma’am are in for a treat. Because our mission is very simple. That is to empower our community through financial literacy, and real estate education guys, we’re legacy building. That is what we do. We have been on this mission here with this show. I’m super excited. We’ve been sharing with you week after week, more guests, and more information we’ve been reaching wider, digging deeper, so that we can provide you all with options and insights into things that many of us never had any clue were going on. There is a whole other world out there of investors and ways to invest and ways to fund investments that many of us never tap into. So I am super duper excited today to have with us someone who is a leader in that space. And look, we had to go chase him down now. So look, if you hear me out of breath, that means I’ve been running, because we had to go get the best to come and talk to you about what it is that is available to help you to fund to invest if we’re going to have a good time today. So guys, I want you to grab your pen, your paper. Let’s get ready to make some notes. And let’s tune in because our guest today is none other than Oscar Jofre, the CEO and co-founder of KoreChain Inc. Oscar, how’re you doing today, man?
OSCAR:
I’m doing great. I’m doing fantastic. Actually. I just wanted to say one comment. I’m so happy to hear you use the word empowerment. It’s actually embedded in our tagline for the last 14 years of our journey. It’s a big word right? As everybody knows, it’s a big word, big undertaking. The biggest part of empowerment is you have to dedicate yourself to education unequivocally you have to give to actually empower. There is no other way to do it. And I’ll start with that. It’s great to be on the show today.
CORWYN:
That’s a great takeaway. A segue out of that in this conversation because you’re right. We got to humble ourselves in order to empower others. It’s a gift. Oscar. Wow, man, that is I love that. That’s the synergy right there. That is awesome. So Oscar, if you don’t mind for our listeners, give our listeners a high level overview. You’ve been, you’ve been a leader in a number of arenas over the years award winner just out there making a difference. So tell listeners about you and tell our listeners about KoreChain.
OSCAR:
Thank you for that. First of all, I’m Canadian. I’m immigrant Canadian. So my journey as an entrepreneur has been one of lots of bumps, lots of roads. It’s like the journey of roller coaster. But there’s been one thing that I’ve had with my entire journey that has been, I don’t think I realized it until the last 14-15 years ago that a lot of what I like to do is empowerment. But it wasn’t till about 15 years ago that I finally discovered that that’s why I was so enlightened by your opening that it resonates so well for me, because like any thing new, you can’t have expectation of everybody adapting. There’s a very small percentage of that. The rest with everybody else, we need to provide education. And there are those who are in it for long haul, the long game, which is what we’re doing. And there are those in for the short game. So my history into all of this is I come from the public markets, watching the one percenters, watching wealth accumulated in only one area bucket, we all know that I don’t need to spell it out for everybody again. But it wasn’t until 2008, 2009 that that bell finally went on. And everybody woke up and said, Okay, enough is enough. And there was one man in particular that changed my life. His name is David Weil the 4th, he is the Father of jobs act. He is the former vice chairman of NASDAQ. And when I mean he changed my life forever, is that it wasn’t just to come in to here’s this brand new sector, fabulous opportunity to make a lot of money. But there was also this entire untapped market that required an empowerment. And one of his dedications that he’s had, since I’ve known him is the same one we have. We give 100 times more than what we receive. And it’s tough. Because when you have shareholders that go, why you keep doing? Because in the end, when you give more back, whether you realize that you’re going to get it more in return without even expecting it. I’m not looking for it. I don’t do it for that, because I enjoy it. But if we don’t empower people, we will be doing the same thing we’ve been doing for the last hundreds of years in the capital markets. And that’s the arena that I play. What’s the capital markets? Well, the capital markets is where you and I get to participate? Well, let’s be frank, we weren’t allowed to participate until 2012. Until President Obama signed the job SEC into action. Up until 2012. Only the one percenters were allowed to participate. All you could do is stand by the sidelines and watch everybody else make it. And yes, you got swindled. Or I don’t know what other way to call it. But swindle I’ll call it that because you got to believe that if you bought the stock while it was public, you were going to become a millionaire. Well, the amount of people that become millionaires and public companies is very small, unless you put in large chunks of capital, the rest are just being played. Where’s the money and the privates, but you and I have never been able to get that opportunity to play there. And when the Jobs Act was introduced, it changed everything. But imagine, here’s a new regulation that changes everything. So you’ve been walking to school, down this lane, Main Street, and then you turn on King Street, and then Queen. That’s the only way you’ve ever known and all sudden, they go, no, no, no, there’s Queen Street. There’s Alidade. There’s all these roads, and you’re like, Oh, my God, what do I do? Right? I’m not going to go there. Because it’s the unknown. And that’s what it is. If this is an unknown, I watched a recent documentary. Sorry, Corwyn, I gotta tell you this. This is so true about minorities, black Americans, people from Africa from all over the world. Do you know that we’ve been taught to think small, we’ve been ingrained in our lives to always think small. And we’re taught to think small, because the bigger ones are the only ones that can do big. Well, why do we need to think small? Why can’t we think big? And we can, I’m not suggesting nobody else does. It’s just that the vast majority of people sometimes think they can’t. So our mission at coaching has been to do that empowerment. We call it the empowerment of the private markets, the private market. includes people like yourselves that are participating. You’re either investing, or you are creating something, and you need investors. And then you need to empower the rest of the economy that goes with it. The lawyers, the auditors, the broker dealers, the securities regulators, there are so many different other pieces do you need to know them all? Not initially. But you need to know that in order for something to transact from A to Zed in the most efficient way possible, you need to empower everyone equally, in order for that transaction to occur. Otherwise, people will keep taking the same route all the time, and nothing will ever change. Since Barack Obama signed in the Jobs Act, over $150 billion have been raised by private companies, over 10 million American citizens got a chance to invest where in the past, they didn’t have a chance. So the change has already occurred. And today’s show is just a little bit of expanding that.
CORWYN:
So 150 million people have begun investing as a direct result of that. So I’m gonna ask a very broad question asked if you have the answer, by all means, let’s share it if you don’t, approximations of obviously, just for some context, what has that done for legacy building, wealth creation, in those people’s lives that are now able to participate in those markets?
OSCAR:
That’s a great question. I don’t have the answers. I can only give you certain examples, how that materializes to people’s Well, look at a company called Atlas, Atlas was just your regular Nevada based opportunity that nobody would ever been able to hear about it, or let alone get involved in it. There were people that got to invest. So early on the company raised $250 million. And then it went public. While it was going public, of the 30,000 plus investors they had. More than 30% became millionaires. There were eight of them that became billionaires. What do they do with that transformation and wealth as they go through that, obviously, we don’t have any data on that at this stage. But what we do know is this, we know that money is competing. And as an entrepreneur, as an immigrant, this was probably the most unbelievable education I ever received in my life, about money, what I thought money was, and how money actually worked. And what I mean by that is that we have this big thing that we need to have money, I understand that we need it for our companies for our day to day and so on. But we have a wrong perception of who controls it. And we have a wrong perception of everything. So we keep thinking that we have to go to venture capital private equity, because they have all the money, but that’s not their money. So here’s the wake up call that I got from David Whale, there’s $36 trillion, sitting in people’s bank accounts. That’s right, everyone listening here, you have a bit of that money sitting in a bank account and get this money sitting in a bank account doesn’t make any money, money needs to work. So it was the banks that got to this whole idea that you should own a home, not for you to own a home for you to get a loan. So the money would work. And really, what are you talking, listen carefully the money needs to work. money needs to make money because there’s investors on the other side, hey, I’m not giving you $5. If I’m not getting a return, I need a return. So when you understand how money works, and then you start to understand who holds the money. So the real issue was that up until 2012, we could only go to those sources for capital, they were the only sources. And if they said no, you were done, or you had to find other ways, which was not always the right way, but you did it to keep things going. So now what is happening now in 2012? Well, it’s already changing. So this group here who normally can go and tap that money, no problem today has to compete with another group, which is us. The regulators have now allowed us the ability to go directly to the investor. So the investor now has a choice, wait a minute, I can put my money with this group on a 10 year, hold it there and maybe go maybe not or I can put the money directly in a company, and so on. So money is competing with itself. And it’s to the advantage of the entrapreneur. And the advantage to the investor. Look at that the cards have been turned. Going back to the financial crisis in the United States. When everything collapsed, Middle America went down, there was only one group of people that never lost anything. And people need to listen to this really carefully. It was the bankers. They were the only ones that walked out with cash. Everybody else lost their homes, their jobs, their companies. They didn’t, they didn’t lose nothing. Just because As you watch the documentary you see one day, they didn’t lose nothing. They got the bonuses. Remember, remember the bonus checks, they all got, they got money, they got cash, they didn’t build anything, create anything, we’re the creators. So after that, that’s when David just enough is enough time to turn it around. We need to put innovation back in the people, we need to create jobs, we need to create sustainability. And that’s what this is all about. So that sustainability is different. Because if that’s the only path, you know, my goodness, it can be very confusing. And many times when I speak at events, I tell people, it’s not an alternative, do not use that word. It is not A or B. No, no, no, is that the only road path you knew was go this way, this way, this way. I’m saying guess what, there’s other ways, and you’ll get to the same result. And that’s a new chapter that you need to read. So as human beings, we’re also trying to only do what we know. And that’s it. Anything that’s different, we tend to go, not sure, because we want the easy path.
CORWYN:
But one of the things you kind of touched on is something that our listeners know about us that we talk about is a limiting belief, that limited mindset, I see it often sometimes in immediate circles, we always lead with a problem, what we can’t do instead of working to find a solution to what we can. And I’m fairly positive for our listeners that when you started off talking about Atlas, and they raised $150 million, and most people said 100 million, I don’t have that much money. That’s the first thing. But what you said behind that, it was over 30,000 investors. So I did the math while you were talking. That’s $5,000. That’s not a lot of money for someone who doesn’t have 5000. It is but for other people is not. And but that’s also not what we miss with that I because I know because also her you said some people were made billionaires and trillionaires, some people made millionaires and other people’s made half the amount. So if the company performed as performed, then that tells me out of that 30000 investor, some invested, some people invested more, some people invested less, right. Listeners, look, we have got to see the bigger picture. We’ve got to stop leading with a problem and the issue what we ain’t got and start figuring out solutions to have what we want to have. If you want to have well, then you got to figure out how you’re going to create that, well, if you want opportunity. How are you going to work to create and take advantage of opportunity, because things will drop in your lap when you don’t have the money for it. But you have ability to go make the money so that you can take advantage of opportunity.
OSCAR:
Agreed and the regulators did a really great job in trying to– This is an important word for all of us. I mean, when you’re a minority, this word is everything: inclusion. It’s a big bloody word, right? It’s a big word that we need to remind ourselves, inclusion, you know, when I arrived in Canada, and then mid 1970s, inclusion men getting kicked in the butt, and being put to the side. But now inclusion with capital is everything. So yes, in this company, the average is almost 5000. But there’s some people that only invested $100. And that is the beauty of this. I mean, I have another client right now it’s called I Have a Dream mortgage, and feel good. Oh, it’s Martin Luther King, you know, he was part of the Martin Luther King Movement. But what he’s doing, he’s trying to empower people in Illinois, where so many of them are getting turned down by their banks purely by where they live purely by their ethnicity. And that’s troublesome, you know, in the 21st century, but the reality is the reality. So you could sit here all day long and complain, complain, or you can take control of what we have, and change it. Another great entrepreneurs, Monica Pool, Monica is, once again, she is creating a fund to invest in real estate, and the black community. These are entrapreneurs, who have said, Enough is enough, we too, can participate. And it’s getting bigger and bigger. So sometimes you’re right. I think the biggest issue with people in general, when it’s that privilege, well, that privilege now belongs to us. That privilege is now part of us. Now, because it’s privileged, you have to educate yourself really quickly. But the beauty now is that you don’t have to rely on one single source. You don’t even have to rely on me. There’s so much information available out there on the internet, just like your show today. We’re bringing that information 24/7, 365 to everyone. So the real thing that you need to do is engage so you don’t sit back and say oh my goodness. That was right there in my neighborhood. Yes, there is an opportunity in every neighborhood all over the United States. And it doesn’t have to be just technology or space. It could be anything. It could be a local manufacturing plant that is going to build new chairs. And people go, Oh, that’s crazy. Why is it crazy? We need to stop thinking that something is crazy, rather than do you like the product. Yes, they actually do. Would you buy the? Yes, I do I am, then why wouldn’t you invest in this? I think this is the part that and that’s where the regulator’s really did us a great job. They gave us a regulation. Again, remember what I said in the beginning, the only people you could get money from where the one percenters and the one percenters wouldn’t necessarily use your product using. But imagine, now you want to store but you want a business, and you got people coming in the door. They’re buying your products every day. And Corwyn walks in and goes, Yeah, I think I’m going to take that, well. Guess what? I’m doing a capital raise right now. Because we want to expand, we want to build a bigger factory and know that Oh, that’s fantastic. Minimum investments $100. Listen, but if you invest $500, I’ll give you 20% off on that order that, you know, we’re there. You can even incentivize the investor. So another word so regulators have understood, this is the important part, understood that every business regardless of size, plays such a key role in the way America will be rebuilt. Look, the numbers are the numbers, forget about the politics for a moment, because that could be another discussion altogether. But for the last 24 months, there have been 10 million companies created in the United States, the most in history, since 2008. That tells you that there is a movement, a rejuvenation of opportunity, there’s a whole new this things we haven’t even thought of. But why should we deny anyone the opportunity based on their race, their ethnic, the way they speak English, or anything like that the opportunities are available to everyone, and everybody else can participate?
CORWYN:
So your company, you guys focus on exposing people to these opportunities? Is that fair to say? Is that a way to address what you guys do?
CORWYN:
Well, it’s a great question. Yeah. So what do we do? So I’m doing this as part of the environment, this is part of my educational part of what I do. What do we do as a company, all of this needs to transact on technology. And technology plays a key role. You’re in Charleston, everybody’s there. Okay, all of you have a mobile device. Fantastic. That mobile device is powerful, it is probably the most powerful thing you will ever have in the palm of your hand. What does it allow you to do? It allows you to view information, listen to information, and invest. So in order to do that I technology infrastructure needs to make that happen. And that’s what I do. So we created a technology infrastructure that companies, investors, everybody works on that way, investors are protected. And what does that mean investors are protected? How do you know when you give someone $100 over the internet, that this is a legitimate company, I mean, I’m sure a lot of them are thinking that. So there’s legitimacy to all of this, because there are things that you can see on a website that are required that it needs to show you the Securities Exchange Commission link, there’s that. But there’s a technology that creates all of this, that puts it all together, that allows you the ability to use your mobile device to make any investment in less than two minutes. All of that is technology, that technology is what we built. And we then provide it to the companies, we’ve provided to the investors, all the investors that use our technology is 100%. Free, it allows them the ability to manage their portfolio, and the investments they’ve made, it gives them a mobile app, so they can reinvest in companies for the companies. It gives them the ability to put a button on their website, to do it compliantly with the SEC, and with all the regulatory components that they need to have. And we’ve been doing this now for the amazing how years go by. But the years go by, because they do but the exciting part is that even though I’m a technology, infrastructure, and people that what was he talking about? Stuff you never see stuff you never even think about. Think about it this way. If you live in Charleston, there’s a bridge been built somewhere. And that bridge, someone is going to pay for it. You are in your tax revenue, dollars and all that. And someone’s going to profit from it. Whoever created is going to charge a toll for it. And usually that infrastructure is to a big company that you guys have never even heard of. And you don’t really care because you’re just driving it and you don’t realize it I’m the same. There are people who are going to use us, never see us. But at the same time because we are in this journey of empowerment. I come out of that. And I come out here to educate everyone. I published a book. I got two books on this subject 100% free if you email me I’ll give them to you so good. gives you high level easy reading. Remember what I am, I’m an immigrant. So I think my mom here when she’s reading, it’s got to be really simple to understand the concept. So it’s an exciting journey.
CORWYN:
Good deal. Well, Oscar, look, we’ve quickly come towards the end of the show. So two things for you. Number one, how can people get in contact with you? Where can people get to you to get more information?
OSCAR:
Well, I’m very easy to find. What does that mean? You can find me on Twitter, Oscar Jofre, Facebook, Oscar Jofre. My email address is oscarkorechain.io. And I will respond to you. I’m not that shy. You can Google me as well. I’m really easy to find. In fact, if I’m not mistaken, my cell number, my social security numbers out there. So everything’s out there. I’m an open book. There you go. Good deal.
CORWYN:
So for our listeners, guys, Joffrey, um, spelling, his Jofre, and Korechain, guys is spelled with a K, that’s K O R E, C, H, A, I, N.. So that’s where you can find them. So Oscar, the last thing I got for you. And I call this my mic drop question. And I may know where you might go with this one here. Because I believe we kind of touched on some of it. But I like to ask our guests, if you would have known this, either way beyond when or whenever you first started doing what you’re doing, would have made all the difference in the world if you’d have known that, versus having to learn it
OSCAR:
Look, I’ve been an entrepreneur for over 30 years, you always go by? Wouldn’t it be nice to have known this beforehand? One thing that I’ve learned over the years now, and particularly these last 14-15 years, is that some things are truly out of our control sometimes to know, but I’ll leave you with this. If there’s one thing that I think that nobody should have this problem, because I was pre Internet era, like you Corwyn is that I didn’t reach out enough to get assistance to get help. In my first venture. My biggest mistake was, I was ashamed of failure. Don’t be ashamed. I know it’s hard, you fail. Fine. You don’t laugh at all. The important thing is about failure is that you analyze it, you do all this, you make sure you don’t duplicate it, you will make other mistakes. But the first, I would say the only time it was the first one. And I was so fortunate, I’m not kidding. Because my first venture was a success and a bomb filing for bankruptcy. I mean, all of it like within a 24 or 48 month period. And if it wasn’t for this lawyer that audited of it. And when I say audited, I don’t mean, like legals or anything. I mean, just mentally to understand that. The only thing Oscar, had you come to me sooner. See that? Was it? Had you come to me sooner? I’ll never forget it. I was so ashamed. I know. Look what that got you and look what we could have done beforehand. And that was it. Look where you got to? Because all you did was just make it worse. So the advice that I would give everybody, just ask for help. No matter how big how small. If you don’t reach out, if you don’t know the answer you got to reach out, the longer you hang on to it, it’s just going to get bigger and bigger. And it’s going to make it worse for you. And then once you do deal with it, learn from it. Don’t make that same mistake again, make another mistake. But then learn from that and always reach out. So what do you do? What am I really saying here? Make sure you surround yourself with the smartest people you have in the room. You look at my company, I have the Father, the jobs activity, we’ll have Dr. Dan Conway, you surround yourself with people that you know where your weaknesses are. That’s your strength in them. And you also need to trust them with your deepest thoughts. Because you’re gonna go through things that and if you don’t, so that’s the one thing I would have loved to have given myself back then. But you know what paved the road where I am today, and I’m giving back.
CORWYN:
Good deal. Well, Oscar, thank you so much for being on the show with us today. Thank you for being a part as we like to say a part of the Exit Strategies Radio Show family, you’ve shared a lot, you have given a lot just for our listeners have taken a will take this information and use it to motivate themselves folder and with that being said, as we close on today’s show, and for our listeners, guys, please make sure that you go back, listen to the show. Again, take out the nuggets from it. If you didn’t get it going through, go to the website, pull it down. Make sure that you kind of get an understanding of what is really going on and what you can do to kind of change your dynamic change your life. You know I listen to y’all know it but if you don’t. Y’all gonna get it from me today. Guys, y’all know how I feel. Y’all know what I say I’m gonna put them together. And I’m gonna do it to you this way which is I love you. I love you. I love you. And we’re gonna see you guys out there in the streets
Guys, that was a great show today and we thank you so much for taking the time to listen to Exit Strategies Radio Show. My name is Corwyn J Melette. Yes, that is me. And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for tuning in for today’s episode, Exit Strategies is my faith. It is how I give back to our community. It is how I foster goodwill. spread good news, and trustfully help you get great results. Guys, as I always say to you, as I always say to you, I love you. I love you. I love you. And we gon see you guys out there in the streets.
