The Contrarian Entrepreneur - Arun Benty

RareErth Podcast

My guest this episode is Arun Benty, Co-founder and Head of Business Development at Fandefi (a platform to create and sell utility NFTs.) He is also a Co-founder and Director of Business Development at Trellisys and Co-founder and Head of Business Development at Papertrell.

Arun, being a contrarian, sought opportunities in college that were not typical for his age group. While starting out, he ran a small magazine with a few friends, learning the basics of advertising sales. Soon he was earning money and had his mom to thank for being his first business partner. Arun tells us about how he learned to overcome the early confusion of his career choices and began a quest for visionary ideas in software development. In addition to his existing businesses, Arun actively develops business-based solutions for the artists community through Fandefi.

This episode covers a lot of ground, including Arun's childhood, his early work years, his passion for technology and his philosophy towards life and entrepreneurship.

Below are the highlights of this episode:

• How he started his first company "Trellisys" 22 years ago and what services the company provides for its customers.
• Why he believes entrepreneurship is a team sport.
• NFTs and how it’s the latest emerging trend in blockchain technology.
• About Fandefi: a crowdfunding application that lets innovators sell their artworks where the artists can gain directly from non-fungible tokens (NFTs.)
• How Digital Platforms are becoming a very important aspect of everyday life.
• How social media platforms and private companies use principles from human-machine interaction to maximize the user's experience.
• How technology is disrupting society.
• Explores the concept of Asymmetric Returns and explains how non-fungible tokens and crypto will be reshaping the future of investing.

Arun says that every person can hone their ability to look at both sides of an argument, because it’s a skill that will always serve them well. He also mentions books that have shaped his thinking over the years and some of his favourite pieces of work from various genres. We conclude our time together with a lighthearted round of rapid fire questions.

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. If you're interested in learning more about what we spoke about, click here for the show notes.