The Web2.5 Bridge

Cheres: Finance made social. Find your passion for capital through community

Meet Kat Garcia, the Co-Founder of Cheres. Kat is originally from Montreal. With a career spanning from entertainment to tech, she is now building the bridge to web3. Cheres is a social app teaches people how to invest from stocks and equities all the way to crypto and NFTs.

We dive into her path from actress to investor, moving through fear and bringing first-time investors into wealth.

Eve #WealthWednesday Highlight 41: Kat Garcia, Co-Founder - Cheres

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What was your first investment?

My first investment was the S&P 500. It sounds really boring, but it's very special to me because I was raised very much to not invest in the stock market. My parents were like, don't do it. Just save, save, save, and then buy real estate because my family's in real estate. And so for the longest time I had saved up and I was going to actually buy a duplex in Montreal, but I was moving to New York. I was in this weird dilemma. Do I spend all this money in this one opportunity where I can get a mortgage and I can use it as an investment, but then I'm not going to be very liquid? And that's a problem because I'm paying incredible rent in New York.?

I sat in first class next to the CEO or the CFO of real estate Morgan Stanley at the time. I didn't know who he was, but I started talking to him about this dilemma of mine. I told them exactly how much I was making, what my rent was, the mortgage payments, what they were going to be in Canadian versus USD. He was like, “Just save your money. Don't do it.” And he described the market at the time, 2018 or something. He was like, “You need to wait for fear.” I was like, I have no idea what that means. But, I guess he knows what he's doing. I remember not getting the duplex. I waited for fear.?

When the pandemic happened, everybody was really scared. I was like, I guess this is what I've been waiting for. I was so scared and I put all my money in the S&P and it went really well.?

How/why did you get into your space?

Personally, it's always been about women. There are a lot of people like me who have not been encouraged to invest. And actually a growing percentage, like 50% of retail investors in 2020, were people whose parents had never invested in the stock market. Whether you're a minority or you're a woman there are a lot of differences in the way that we are explained how to invest. I studied finance and here I was at 25 making my first investment, which was really embarrassing at the time. I have found solace in knowing that I'm not alone. This is something that is really important. And not only is it in traditional finance, but we are seeing massive shifts in web3 across NFTs, and cryptocurrencies. People like me want to be a part of that change because we just no longer want to be siloed. I was seeing a lot of people like myself being excluded from conversations.

I think often, banks and tech companies will think women aren't interested in investing. And that's just not the case. It's more so how information is presented and designed for diversity, and that's often not taken into consideration.?

What role do you play in the wealth space and why is it important?

I feel like I'm a dot connector. Our platform serves to be a dot connector, whether it's on the social side of making, investing, engaging. So we have a lot of features that connect to all of your different brokerages, as well as Eve wallets and even Coinbase.?

I think we're taking a point of view, like if you want to just invest in web3, go and do that. Connect those wallets. If you want to invest in web2 and you're comfortable with that, awesome.?

But having all of those opportunities connected in one platform to then also have your information presented to you in a better way, being able to have that community where you can see what your friends are investing in. Being able to transact and, and having those different platforms be connected, all in one, serves as a way for you to be exposed to opportunities that maybe you wouldn't be, if you're just on one platform that is just for one kind of asset class. In many ways, we're dot connectors. Financially technologically and in a community-driven way.?

What do you believe is the most exciting thing you’ve learned and want others to know?

There's always a lot of noise in the market. As creators, founders, inventors, whatever you, you want to call it, it's being able to understand that.?

There's a lot of noise, especially on Twitter or on social media where sometimes you think that the world is going in one direction, but then when you actually speak to people and retail investors, you understand where the world actually is. I think my greatest takeaway is to just understand behaviors. And I do believe that we're not in a web3 world yet. I think that is still far away. It's great to ride that wave and be in that space. But at the same time, when it comes to investing your money, that is a whole different conversation. If you want to thrive in the economy, just being aware of web 2.5 and a diverse portfolio is really important for you to position yourself.?

Who is a person or company that inspires you in the space and why?

Oh, there are so many. I'm going to give a shout out to Clutch Wallet. I think Bec is amazing. And I would say not only what she is, her point of view on the space, but also the way that she's been building in a community-driven away and shares her knowledge so generously on TikTok. I think it's great. Also as a founder, she's never been shy to reach out and say, “Hey, how can I help you?” She's just so generous. I'm not used to seeing that in the world of traditional finance, at least for myself and what I felt before. Working in corporate, competitors aren't that nice.?

She always seeks to find ways to complement other technologies and find ways to say yes, rather than, than no.?

What advice would you give to someone getting started?

Just to do it. And that's with anything. I've always told myself that. And there's interviews of me talking about that when I was like 15 and I was working in television where I'm like, just do it, just live your dream, like go audition. Just like, go for it. But when it comes to investing, at least myself, like I've always been so afraid. And even today, I'll think about buying an NFT and go through all the pros and cons and, and be like, no, I can't do it because of this. Or I can't do it because of that.

Rather than thinking about no, think about “yes, and”. I will do this because of this. And if it doesn't work out like here, Here are the reasons for why won't oh, here, here, like the different contingent contingency plans. But having two male co-founders has been really helpful from an investing side to see the way that they interact with money. One of them protect, talk, where he bought a Poolsuite NFT in a minute and 27 seconds. I would never do that. Try to go for it and do it in a way that feels comfortable, but at least just try.?

It's better to understand when you're not fearful. And when you're in the zone of genius. So I'm not fearful when it comes to my career and I'm not fearful when it comes to making big moves, like I've moved to different countries. And I've always done it in a very controlled way. But at the same time, I've never been fearful of asking, negotiating, and going for what I want. And I'm very competitive in that. I feel there's a lot of alpha in me.?

But then there's the artistic side of creation, what really motivates me. And it's just the ability to create. So when it comes to money, instead of having a fear-based approach, think about abundance. I deserve this. I want this. I can have this. It's okay. While still having your plan. Like, obviously you're not going to go and buy a yacht and then be like, I vision-boarded it.?

Working towards your mentality and how you think about abundance. It has helped me a lot.?

How can we stay in touch?

I would love for you guys to sign up to the newsletter of Cheres. So it's mycheres.com and you get a weekly newsletter where we break down finance in hilarious ways. Web2, web3. We also feature incredible other companies building the space like you. That's a great place to start and you also get invited to our IRL and virtual events. Where, some of them are just hanging out with other retail investors and you can also meet other experts as well as educational programs so that we can get better together and help each other out.?

#fintech #womenswealth #futureoffinance #investing #investment

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Have thoughts on this week’s topic or questions for me or Kat Garcia Post your thoughts in the comment section. Until next week. ??

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