> be Ray Youssef
> spawn NYC, son of Egyptian immigrants
> grow up broke, even homeless at one point
> 1999: launch ringtone startup aka “Napster of ringtones” → millions/month
> discover problem of “unbanked” teens can’t pay
> build social media platform w/out ads → disgusted it’s turning into proto-OnlyFans → ragequit
> spend 7 years as MMA fighter / spiritual wanderer
> come back to tech, fail a few startups → dark rabbit holes: health, politics, history, science, Quran
> 2014: broke, homeless again, learn to sell PayPal gift cards for BTC on LBC
> realize gift cards = world’s first digital bearer instrument
> idea.exe → build Paxful, LocalBitcoins for Global South
> teach Nigerians to bypass “economic apartheid” with gift cards → Bitcoin adoption booms
> Paxful hits \$88M revenue just by word of mouth
> builds 11 schools in Africa (13 worldwide) because “everyone eats”
> DOJ + US compliance nightmare → 88 compliance staff > most banks → \$4.5M in user funds frozen
> co-founder embezzles, blows \$40K/week on parties, booze, hookers
> Ray offers him \$87M to walk away → refuses → sues Ray → locks up payments → wallet goes down
> Ray personally saves it in 11 days no sleep → still walks away with nothing
> 2023: Paxful implodes, users stranded → emergency launch of Noones
> vision: “WeChat of the Global South” → gift cards, crypto, OTC, jobs, services + messenger + non-custodial wallet
> radical transparency: CEO dashboard public
> 50% of gross revenue back to users & schools
> mission: onboard 1B users in 5 years across Africa, ME, SEA, LatAm, CIS
> self-styled “War Chief,” building decentralized nation for free people
> “West doesn’t want Africa to be served? fine, I’ll build my own tech stack”
