No Filter in Paradise
Two friends, one's straight one's Gay, with different backgrounds, interest, upbringing & outlook in life come together to have a Fun & honest conversation and discuss their opinions on different topics... with no filter.
No Filter in Paradise
Money Matters: Breaking Down Barriers to Wealth | EP 201
We sit down with Kwesi Charles, Managing Director of Facilito Cash Blue Star Capital, who describes himself as "one of the coolest people in finance" while sharing his journey from Trinidad to Aruba and his vision for making financial services more accessible.
• Kwesi's background includes venture capital experience in London and digital banking in Trinidad before moving to Aruba
• The importance of alternative financing options beyond traditional banks for supporting entrepreneurs
• How Facilito Cash offers loans up to 23,000 florins over a two-year period with plans to increase these limits
• Why most people hide when facing financial problems instead of communicating with lenders
• The lack of financial literacy education and how money management isn't taught in schools
• Untapped business opportunities in Aruba including gaming bars, experiential dining, and sports entertainment
• The balance between responsible lending and allowing people to use loans to enjoy life now
• Kwesi's personal passion for video games, sneakers (39 pairs of Converse), and changing the image of bankers
If you're looking for a financial partner to help you move forward, check out Facilito Cash.
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Most of the times when somebody runs into financial problems, they hide. But that's what I'm saying. If you don't, have a plan.
Speaker 2:You should not be borrowing money.
Speaker 3:Put everything on black and everything worse. Come back, here's your money.
Speaker 2:Thank you, wouldn't be me. That's like the white side of you.
Speaker 3:He's like what the fuck are you guys talking about?
Speaker 2:Y'all can enjoy that.
Speaker 3:I'm too gay for this conversation, I know every day I get somebody that loves gaming, so I'm like I take advantage.
Speaker 2:Listen, revenge of the nurse. I'm not bad, I'm not bad.
Speaker 3:You're living up to your reputation of the coolest finance guy I'm sorry.
Speaker 1:All the things you're telling around, all right.
Speaker 2:You're backing up what you're saying In Thailand your money is like magic Off-road is overhyped, though Just FYI.
Speaker 1:Huh. Off-road is overhyped, it depends, it depends I mean, if you have girls, you know, and you have them off-road.
Speaker 2:I mean, you know, it's a vibe, it's a vibe, it's a vibe, nah, nah, nah, you're not going to disrespect my island.
Speaker 3:We got so much things to do, and that's what you do.
Speaker 2:You've been, he's different and whatnot. He knows what he's talking about. Yes, all right. Hey yo, what's up, hola chemistess.
Speaker 3:Guys, welcome back to ABC Alan's favorite podcast, no Filter in Paradise, a show about anything and everything between two friends One is straight and the other.
Speaker 2:Melanated and super duper gay babies.
Speaker 3:I always love seeing people's reaction whenever he does this shit.
Speaker 1:He's keeping it to 100.
Speaker 3:Or they get super uncomfortable. It's like what the fuck did I just?
Speaker 1:get myself into Too fucking bad, not my problem.
Speaker 3:Today we have a special guest. We got reached out by a friend, robert Robert or Robert Robert, because people are like is he a Robert or Robert? People call him Tracy. It was the barber. It was the barber. All right guys. Today we have a special guest. We got Mr Questy Charles, I didn't fuck it up this time.
Speaker 2:You really did. I'm proud of you, thank you.
Speaker 3:I've been taking lessons For people who don't know or have no idea who you are. I just discovered, or just found out, who you are, or who you are and what you do on the island. So to give a little bit of a very short introduction, who is Kwesi?
Speaker 1:I'm Kwesi Charles. I'm 37. I think I might be one of the coolest people in finance.
Speaker 3:I think I might be one of the coolest people in finance, let's go. Okay, I was going to say the coolest, I'm going to wait, let you finish. Okay, finance, I'll give you that one, I'll give you that one.
Speaker 1:Currently, you know professionally, I'm the managing director for Asolito Cash Blue Star Capital.
Speaker 3:Oh nice.
Speaker 1:Outside of that, I love video games.
Speaker 3:I'm a converse fanatic, a YDK lover, you know I didn't plan this, though, just so you know, I am wearing YDK today.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that's about it. You know, I'm just about finance, about growth, about all things sports, entertainment, business, money.
Speaker 3:That's really about it. Are you in a relationship right now? No man, I'm single. Just like working on numbers data and put his headphones in. Big ass, tv, surround sound, legs up and just like Playing games.
Speaker 1:What games do you play the Life? Yeah, 100%. Last night I was playing Uncharted 4. I was playing over Uncharted.
Speaker 3:So I just downloaded it. I have issues with I don't know, just with the whole mechanics and stuff.
Speaker 2:I wasn't a big fan of it. Yeah, no.
Speaker 1:I then, interestingly enough, I was playing, you remember Siphon Filter.
Speaker 2:Who.
Speaker 1:Siphon Filter. It was like for the PS1. No yeah it was one of the coolest games for PS1.
Speaker 3:I was playing that he's like what the fuck are you guys talking about?
Speaker 2:Y like, come on, even about Barbies, he's in, yeah like.
Speaker 1:Housewives or something.
Speaker 3:Love island yeah love island, not me. I'm like I'm gaming. I like God of War, like I was playing like Harry Potter the open world. I like open world games where you got to go and explore, kill some people, animals, sorry monsters, actually, sorry Shark gaming is life.
Speaker 1:Gaming, sports, entertainment, fashion.
Speaker 3:It's a fun way to just clock out of reality, you know.
Speaker 1:I've been doing it for, like as far as I can remember, normal Nintendo, super Nintendo, gamecube, gamecube, nintendo 64, dreamcast, everything. I had all that stuff too.
Speaker 3:Yeah, man Like DV huh.
Speaker 1:We got that DV link. I had all that stuff too. Yeah, man Like DV, huh that's. We got that DV link. I had it for a time.
Speaker 3:No, no, no, I played too much, but.
Speaker 2:I had them.
Speaker 3:Was that I had, like a PlayStation. What did you play? Fuck you. Okay, listen, no listen. You say you played, so what did you play? I didn't play.
Speaker 2:I just got it as a birthday gift Cause I wanted a Barbie, but my mom and them, they bought me a PlayStation. I was so mad they put like Pac-Man on it.
Speaker 3:I was like, okay, I used to go to fucking Adventure Golf and play that.
Speaker 2:That is ridiculous. That is such a boring game. I'm sorry.
Speaker 3:I'm sorry, but I think one game that you probably enjoy would be like Sims.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Sims would be fine.
Speaker 3:Have you ever heard of it?
Speaker 2:Yes, I used to play IMVU. What it was like this online game where you could like talk to people online and stuff.
Speaker 3:Neither have I. I've never heard of it.
Speaker 2:You see, y'all just want to be killing and stuff like that, like driving over, stuff Like ew, we just like good.
Speaker 3:it's like a good storyline. A good Days Gone was a good one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but you know it came after Uncharted.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, it's kind of like a fake.
Speaker 1:It's like the Last of Us.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was still good. Yeah, you shady. No, no, no no, no, but the Last of Us is also a really good game. Yeah, yeah, fucking amazing.
Speaker 1:But then if you wonder, there's this new one. I'm playing Chinese karate beat-em-up. You should check it out. Oh gosh, he's going to love that 100%.
Speaker 2:Yeah he's childish like that. Hold up. Sorry, sorry, sorry, except the Barbie player Fine.
Speaker 3:Check it out, I'm not playing.
Speaker 2:Barbie.
Speaker 1:Back in the day, I would have Sifu, sifu. It's a real beat-em-up.
Speaker 2:Let's go Very.
Speaker 1:Double Dragon or Final Fight, you know but it's really cool.
Speaker 2:Y'all don't want to just go to a regular box and just like train, like regular people, like really we're gonna be great friends yeah, alright, go crazy. Anyways, let's jump into some. Sorry, we had a little moment over here, I'm sorry.
Speaker 3:I took over, I'm sorry every day I get somebody that loves gaming so I'm not bad.
Speaker 2:I'm not bad, I'm not bad.
Speaker 3:It's either gaming or anime. If I get one of those two on the show, I'm like yo, we're going to have to talk for five minutes. So sorry, shark.
Speaker 2:Let's hop back into the show. Have fun Animations.
Speaker 3:So where are you originally?
Speaker 1:from. I'm from Trinidad, trinidad and Tobago, but me born and raised in Trinidad.
Speaker 3:Yeah, who's got the best carnival? Aruba or Trinidad?
Speaker 1:Ooh, you're putting me on the spot. Ooh, that's who it is. It's two different things.
Speaker 1:It depends on what you want. It depends on what you want. Okay, I mean, trinidad carnival is the greatest Aruba carnival. It's, you know, still into the culture and the colors and the design of the costumes and watching people While it's in Trinidad. It's about the revelry, it's about the party and it's about being in the parade, not watching your friends in the parade, you know. But I would encourage anyone to really check it out. It's something that, even if I describe it and you feel my energy, it's different when you feel it yourself.
Speaker 3:Yeah, everyone has a different experience.
Speaker 1:Of course, man, You're talking about partying the week before the actual parade. You're talking about partying for like one week straight, Just partying, partying, partying. And then on the day of the parade. The parade is two days the Monday and the Tuesday. The Monday morning is the juve, so you know. Then the Monday evening is the Monday period where people sort of dress up, and then Tuesday is when they go all out.
Speaker 3:And I mean as a guy, I'm not saying home and gaming, I'm going out.
Speaker 2:As a guy, forget them games.
Speaker 1:Instagram.
Speaker 2:Carnival.
Speaker 3:Have you ever been to Trinidad for Carnival?
Speaker 2:Not for Carnival, no, only for Christmas. Really, I didn't even know you ever went.
Speaker 3:I used to live there, so we used to go for, like Christmas. Would you ever like sacrifice Carnival in Aruba?
Speaker 2:to go to Trinidad, maybe Some people in Aruba. It's like, oh, I've seen groups yeah, my friends have been before.
Speaker 3:A lot of people fly from here and go to Trinidad for the Carnival.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I probably would. I mean, I've experienced Ar like it's not like last year. You were in Curacao, different experience definitely so I'm definitely open to it. Yeah, you should check it out for sure okay, so sorry.
Speaker 3:So you were from Trinidad, then you moved to Aruba, or you lived your whole life in Trinidad, or so what's the story? What's the gap? Yeah, we need a back story is it a back story?
Speaker 1:yeah, so I was in Trinidad, high school in Trinidad, and then I left to go to university. I went to school in New York Adelphi University. Hey, and then after I was in New York for a bit and then I returned to Trinidad because I wanted to get into banking in Trinidad and Tobago.
Speaker 2:Why was that so?
Speaker 1:important Because I always see myself as owning a bank in Trinidad and Tobago.
Speaker 2:Oh shit.
Speaker 1:So, you know, getting into the system, getting to know the who is who yeah, To me it was a very important part. After I did that, I think one or two years, I got my master's and I moved to London. So, while in London it was really cool, I got into the whole. You know, financial markets, private equity, the whole thing you see on TV yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:And then, after doing that, for a while I was at this venture capital firm and it was working with entrepreneurs, so we were investing. I remember the guys who started Revolut I was at level 39 in London and Revolut when they just just started they were next to us and it was really, really cool. So after that, one of my school friends started a digital lender in Trinidad and he hooked me up and he said yo, you know, let's make some magic. And then the rest was history. I was in Trinidad for a while.
Speaker 3:What was the age right now?
Speaker 1:So now, we about three, maybe five years ago.
Speaker 3:Okay, yeah, so you're about like let's say 32. Yeah, 32, right now I'm in Trinidad doing my thing.
Speaker 1:So, after working with the digital bank Guardian, I moved to Guardian. You know Guardian Group.
Speaker 2:Of course yeah.
Speaker 1:So at the mergers and acquisitions level. So he's still doing big banking. And then one day a recruiter randomly called me and talked to me about Unicoma. And then, after Unicoma, they end up speaking about going to Aruba. As only what Onikoma Onikoma is like. So I work, for I am the MD for Fasolito Cash.
Speaker 3:Okay.
Speaker 1:And on top of that, the holding company is Onikoma, which is like a historical known company all over the Caribbean. Yeah, and they own a bunch of other businesses underneath like they were like yeah, we have something, you know, aruba. I was like sign me up, sure, I've been all over but I've never been to Aruba. I was like, oh yeah, let me see what this is about.
Speaker 3:And yeah, so, besides Aruba and Trinidad, what's like the other? Give me like your top three other spots that you've been to, and you're like yo, I fucking love this place one of the greatest oh, I've heard this look you're living up to your reputation.
Speaker 1:You're the coolest finance guy, I'm sorry all the things you're telling around, alright you're backing up what you're saying in Thailand your money is like magic, you know it goes far it goes, it doesn't end. That's where I have to go $100 in. Thailand you're living like a king, you're a saint, you know. So Thailand was really cool. Bali I actually went to Bali in 2022 to play video games, you know, as a sort of coach, kind of manager of our national FIFA team back in Trinidad and Tobago.
Speaker 2:Let's go, we went to the.
Speaker 1:IESF World Championships, video game stuff. So Bali was insanely cool too, and then, to me, one of the best countries I've been and lived in. I love London as a city because to me, when it goes from cold to summertime it's one of the craziest transitions. You can see how people live, how outgoing people become. No other country in Europe, to me, can top that.
Speaker 3:So basically, like during the wintertime, nobody's in the streets, it's just dead yeah in the cold.
Speaker 1:everybody's just, you know, watching.
Speaker 3:Don't fucking talk to me, I'm just going to my destination, Otherwise I'm going to freeze to death.
Speaker 1:And in May, june, you see people out in the parks and then they have festivals, they have all of these box parks and yeah, you know London, whatever happens any night in London, stays any night, yeah, yeah, yeah so to me. That's my top three anytime.
Speaker 3:Damn, damn there's a. Is there really that? Because you know, you see a lot of social media, the weather just sucks all the time.
Speaker 1:It's always raining, is it true? Yeah, it's always raining, but again, somebody coming from the caribbean if you're interested in the money and the school, you sacrifice it for a bit, right, small price, but when? It when it, when it gets warm it makes up for all of the darkness when it's warm, trust me, box park festivals, it's just a completely, completely cool, chill kind of cool vibe you know.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean, I've personally never been. I've just seen videos. You're in there. I follow some people on YouTube that live in London, so, like, if I see a vlog, I'm like that's the closest thing to London that I have.
Speaker 2:Besides that, it.
Speaker 1:Experiencing it as a tourist in the summer is great, but actually seeing the transition from when it's cold and rainy to when it's hot is even better.
Speaker 3:People always do that big-ass wheel. Everybody goes over the London.
Speaker 2:Tower.
Speaker 3:It's like people tell me you just avoid all that, because it's all touristy stuff, that's all the tourist stuff.
Speaker 1:You have to go like Shoreditch, shoreditch it's like East London yeah they did a lot of gentrification so it's, like you know, one of those really hip neighborhoods yeah it's really cool. South London. It all depends on your vibe, you know if you're into Grime and Skepta and those kind of guys.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're gonna feel that, that, that vibe yes, yeah, I'm familiar with in london is like camden market, yeah, camden is cool too that's the only thing I'm like really familiar because I'm in social media stuff camden is cool too. You can find a lot of collectibles and stuff in camden okay so so now at you moved to aruba two years, one and a half years yeah, so you're 30, 35, 34 years old.
Speaker 1:I'm 36, 36, now 36, now 37. See, I'm getting so old. Yeah, I'm 37.
Speaker 3:So you moved to Peru. What was your first experience, what was your first introduction to this whole island, the?
Speaker 2:island.
Speaker 3:Do you speak Papiamento? No, nothing, not even a few words. I speak Papiamento. If somebody's speaking in Papiamento, no, not yet Nothing, not even a few words.
Speaker 1:I say the bondia If somebody's speaking in Papiamento, I could understand If they write to me in Papiamento, I could understand. I mean, my introduction to the island was the nightlife when I just came. One of my boys who I was Tell me more.
Speaker 3:Tell me more, because I love nightlife. I recently slowed down, but like I love it, nah, nah, nah, it was your nightlife, it was your nightlife.
Speaker 1:Who introduced you to your nightlife, one of my former colleagues. He's like, yeah, let's so. The first night I was in Aruba, right, tell us, I was in Radisson Blue. So I came in on a Sunday.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yeah, Mumba.
Speaker 1:No, I went to sleep so when I woke up now, I was on that side. You know that side that dies at 10, 10 when everybody finished having dinner, I was on that side. So I didn't know the side with Gusto and all of this thing existed. So I was there on that side and I think I went to the pizza, the Italian pizza place, to get to get something to eat. North End.
Speaker 3:Yeah. And I was like my God, it's so boring here because I wasn't seeing anybody. Yeah, it's like so. Then I started. Sure about my playstation, damn it yeah, I was like.
Speaker 1:I was like this can't be it this? Can't be it. And then when I actually went to the office, one of my um then colleagues was like yo, you ever been to gusto and south beach? I was like no, he's like all right, let's go. And when I just came, we used to go wednesday, thursday, friday, saturday, sunday. Wednesday, thursday, friday, saturday, sunday. We used to go Wednesday.
Speaker 3:Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Wednesday.
Speaker 1:Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and yeah, that was my introduction no beach, no off-roading.
Speaker 3:Just that, like for like two months straight. What do you mean? Just that, it's like you're like freaking Batman, just like living like nightlife.
Speaker 2:Off-road is overhyped, though Just FYI, off-road is overhyped.
Speaker 3:I know I tell after that like it is overhyped it depends.
Speaker 1:It depends, I mean, if you have with a group of friends.
Speaker 3:If you have girls, you know and you have you take them off road. I mean, you know it's a vibe, it's a vibe.
Speaker 1:It's a vibe, I agree it's a vibe you know everybody's like yeah, let's go to dinner.
Speaker 3:Whatever you can be like alright a few drinks and you go with a group of friends. It's like it makes. It makes it more fun.
Speaker 2:I'm too local. I'm too local. I did it too many times, you telling me we work with tourism.
Speaker 3:I'm over it. I did it, so I used to do it at least once a month because my friends come down, yo, we'll get your UTV, let's go with us. I'm like fuck, okay, let's they rent more and more. Utv is more commission for me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I just go with them. Good business, good market.
Speaker 3:Yeah, 100%. So what are your hobbies here on the island right now? Go to the gym, yeah.
Speaker 2:That's it.
Speaker 3:Except for video games. You can't say that that's outside of.
Speaker 2:Nah, nah, nah, nah. You're not going to disrespect my island. We got so much things to do and that's what you do, sir. What should he do, shark? What should he not do? He's not even from here Like you should. There's a lot to do, like what Be outside.
Speaker 3:You know what the thing is Because he comes from Trinidad. It's like coming from an island to an island. No, it's different cultures. Yeah, but it's still like the weather is the same.
Speaker 1:No, in Aruba it's always hot. In Trinidad it's hot rain, but in Aruba it's hot and dry, and then you get cold at night. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And all this good stuff. It's like misty at night.
Speaker 3:It's a little bit of a sweater weather kind of stuff.
Speaker 2:Yeah it's like.
Speaker 3:I can wear like a little sweater.
Speaker 1:No sweater is a in Aruba, you know, like everybody you take a shower, you walk out like five minutes.
Speaker 3:You're already like dripping.
Speaker 2:It's time to take another one.
Speaker 3:That's what I hate. Like I just if I'm showering, I'm going out. I don't want to be sweating.
Speaker 1:It just like let me just go back in the shower take a cold shower. I was at this Airbnb once.
Speaker 2:I asked pipes, but sometimes I was like sometimes no, it's true, though no, especially every day, jesus christ, well, that's my wife dude, turn on the, the hot water.
Speaker 3:I'm like bro it's hot bro.
Speaker 2:It's always wild bro fucking be.
Speaker 3:You know, fucking white girls. They'd be peeling their skin off no, that's insane.
Speaker 2:Yeah, my wife's american.
Speaker 3:Yeah, she loved like she's like oh, the water is hot, let me make it hotter. I I'm just, I just see steam. I'm just like I'm just going to wait for you to finish and I'm going to turn that shit off. I can't do it. Baruba is good vibe.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you love it. Yeah, I love it.
Speaker 3:You see, you see yourself staying here for a little. I mean well, I think you move with work. Yeah, where work needs you, you move.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's how it goes.
Speaker 3:But it works like hey, listen, you can stay, but we have an option for you to go here. Do you want to stay in Aruba? It depends on where.
Speaker 1:What will make you move? What will make me move If I have to go to maybe the West Coast, la? Yeah, remember, I told you I'm the coolest person in finance so you know, la getting into sports and entertainment. That's really the only thing. Yeah, I understand something that Aruba just can't provide yeah, it's very true you understand what I'm saying. We have to be real.
Speaker 2:It's a whole different market.
Speaker 3:You understand what I'm saying and new challenges too, like in Aruba. The facts are, in Aruba there's a ceiling. Once you reach that, it's like nothing's going to wake you up, like, okay, I can do this, but it's not going to make much of an effect because it's only so far you can get in Aruba, especially in the entertainment world. It's only so far you can go. So that's why people go to Holland or go to the US or go somewhere else with a bigger country or a bigger city.
Speaker 3:But there's always a cap, and once you reach that cap, if you don't maintain it it's slowly going to go down because, like, somebody else is going to come in and take over their fucking top.
Speaker 2:That's facts. New journey. So listen, talking about like caps and all that good stuff Like let's talk Facilito Cash real quick. So what is this about? What exactly is Facilito Cash? Please break this down for us.
Speaker 1:So Facilito Cash is, I would say, a financial partner In its inception. We mainly do cash loans. So, for example, somebody you know they want to invest in their business or they want to go on vacation or they want to pursue some new form of education, they can come to Facilito Cash, apply for a loan and then we verify them, or whatever the case is, and if they're approved, we then disburse it as a loan. So that's really, in the simplest way, what Facilito Cash is. So if you're trying to ask me, who are we like, you know we have two other competitors on the island.
Speaker 3:That was one of my questions. How do you differ?
Speaker 1:So, right now, in terms of what we're doing, it's really about our messaging right and where we see the business, or where I see the business. At the end of the day, anybody can give a loan, right, you can go to the bank, you can go to a money lender, you can get a loan. But not everybody can. Everybody can be, you know, like, become a financial partner and and do more than a loan. So, for example, to enter the market, we have to start with given loans right. So you know, we go through all the cba, whatever, and we, we, um, you get the application and you get a license to do loans. But if you're looking at individuals and really helping the, the um what should I say? The Aruba community, right, we have to look at ways for them to not just borrow cash but ways for them to save, ways for them to invest, ways for them to grow their actual wealth.
Speaker 1:So that's really, in terms of the growth span of Fasolito Cash, how it's going to eventually differ. It's more than just a loan, mentally different it's become. It's. It's more than just a loan, it's a. It's. It's about, uh, enabling, using the money to enable life or even giving opportunity in aruba to me, a lot more could be done for entrepreneurship. A lot more could be done in terms of wealth management and investing right. Investing doesn't necessarily mean somebody with 10 million or 1 million guilders. You know you making three, four thousand, you want to invest in a normal fund. You should have an opportunity or know where to go to access something as basic as a mutual fund or something like that. So that's really where I see it in the future.
Speaker 3:So I want to ask, from your perspective, from somebody who's outside looking in, you talk about entrepreneurship, you talk about business and you talk about people that want to grow on in entrepreneurship. What of from your opinion, in your perspective, what do you, what do you feel like in aruba? Like that's holding people back from doing something, like that, like red tapes and like what's well, first of all, to start a business is too much as in too much time, it's too much the license um, you ever do the name search.
Speaker 1:The name search in itself, it's in itself. It's too long, right, it's too many questions, it's too much back and forth. That's the first thing. So all of those things are what we can consider as red tapes, right? And the second thing to me, and I can see it from I remember being in Trinidad In Trinidad we have what we call old money and new money.
Speaker 1:Old money is the people, like you know, the old time rich guys, the family, the generational wealth, whatever. And then they have the new money, which is guys you know, like us, who you know, coming up with their own ideas, group of friends coming together, fund the business and then the business turns into multi-million dollar businesses, whatever the case is. And to me, that's what I think Aruba needs, right, it needs way more people who understand that. You know, entrepreneurship is not specifically for some, because of what your last name is, or a family-owned company, but it's for anybody who has an idea and who has the appetite to take the necessary risk. And that's where institutions come in right. Most of the times you go to a bank, the bank starts to look at their risk profile, which we understand, you understand, you coming in and you saying here what I have this great idea. It might be a great idea, but you have no capital. You'd have nothing to give our security. Yeah, but the bank is funded by deposits, right, so they have to protect their shareholders money.
Speaker 1:So I think you know in, in, in looking at institutions like facilito cash, that's where an opportunity is for a sort of alternative type financing. So right now, we can support entrepreneurship directly through the actual business owner, you know. So the business owner, if they have a salary, whatever the case is, or they have a certain amount of income and it's on their name, we can do that. But when you look at the growth is actually to look at if we can fund the actual business, because at the end of the day, I always say there's a lot of opportunity in entrepreneurship. In aruba, all of the tour companies are basically the same one of them starting to to make a bit um, what should I say? Diversify their product. But in entertainment, in simple things, as you know, selling the amount of things tourists like we have to invest in that. Or even look at. I'm big into gaming. What is the opportunity for that? What is the opportunity for investments in a sport entertainment business, you understand, and when those opportunities start presenting itself, the locals will start dreaming bigger.
Speaker 2:Because they know there's a place, there's a possibility, there's an avenue, so basically correct me if I'm wrong.
Speaker 3:So basically, if I wanted to start something over here, exhibit A, I could just go to you instead of going to the bank. If I meet the criteria. If you meet the criteria.
Speaker 1:And if you yourself, whether you employed and or if the business is making the necessary, you know, three, four years of income.
Speaker 3:So wait, so you have to show. So I know if you go to, if you go to the bank, you have to ask, like you have to show. Two years of like constant.
Speaker 1:Yes, and it's almost the same thing, but the evaluation is different. Yeah, right, the evaluation is not, as how should I say? We manage the risk, but the criteria and the variables we look at is a bit different.
Speaker 3:I'm trying to understand, guys. It's what you said. It gives now people in Aruba like a let's say there's how many banks are there? Four?
Speaker 1:banks in Aruba yeah.
Speaker 3:So it gives you like a fifth option.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and the reality is right. Globally, banks are not structured to fund entrepreneurs. That's very true, right, globally. That's why we have venture capital funds, that's why we have alternative finance funds, that's why we have private equity, that's why we have all of these different things. So, unless there is that, if we continue depending on the banking sector, then it's not going to happen. How do people believe it should happen? It's not going to happen like that.
Speaker 3:I'm already like cooking ideas in the back of my head as we're talking. I'm like okay.
Speaker 2:I just feel it. I was like yeah, this one got silenced, so that means he's cooking.
Speaker 3:In the back of my mind he's cooking. In the back of my mind, I'm just thinking to myself like okay, like I think I have something that you might like, that I might tell you about later.
Speaker 2:In a few weeks.
Speaker 1:For sure I need to first confirm a few things, but in August A few million tourists I mean to me, not just the tourists, I mean you look at, look at the tourists. But then you have a population 100,000, that they need things too. They need cool spots, they need things too. That's a real living market that is employed as a certain pocket spend that entrepreneurs could provide something for.
Speaker 3:And I feel like in Aruba, because we're so heavy on tourism that I think we forgot that part.
Speaker 1:It's a bit unfortunate.
Speaker 3:Everything becomes dollar, dollar, dollar. It's a bit unfortunate.
Speaker 1:Everything becomes dollar. It's a bit unfortunate. I always tell people it's, it's, it's, it's. The gap is too wide and um, within the whole entrepreneurial vibe there is opportunities to provide for the locals and and they will spend so is you got something you want to say, or jump in.
Speaker 2:I want to ask, based on like, what's the cap so of the funding of all of this stuff?
Speaker 1:So right now. Right now it's at 23,. Right, because we started last two and a half years 23,000 flooring or above flooring, but we are in the process of looking to increase it. We have to get the necessary approval from the central bank and things like that.
Speaker 3:So one individual can come in and get a max of 23.
Speaker 1:Over a two-year period? Damn yeah.
Speaker 3:And you have to pay back in two years, or you have to pay back monthly over two years, and do you see this? Do you see the central bank making an issue with that? If you?
Speaker 1:want to increase it, not really Once we, you know, meet any necessary criteria. You know, managing a good relationship, making sure we dot our I's, cross our T's, build those trust with them, of course I don't see it being an issue, but from a business perspective as well, moving from two to three to four years, that's. That's. You know people, if you take a loan for two years and then you take a loan for four years, ideally you would pay two times less, right, yeah, but you don't want to keep people in debt for so long as well, you understand. So we're going to try to make it more affordable, but the idea really is not to have a customer forever dependent on you, do you understand?
Speaker 3:what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:That's why I started the conversation with. You know, with growing wealth making people feel better about their finances. You know how they see money finances.
Speaker 2:you know how they, how they see money, so that's really what it is. So does this also include, like a, like a coaching with the borrowing?
Speaker 1:So right now, when we just entered the market, we entered the market strictly as a money lender, right Together with with, with our marketing team, robert, who is here. We I have always shared the view that in this business, it can't always be about if you can't shut down. If you have an emergency, if you need money and you have somebody who's looking depressed and they're saying, hey, thank you for helping me. Now, it's great to help those people. But then they have people who simply want to go on a vacation and they don't want to use their money.
Speaker 1:They should be able to check you there are people who simply want to buy something and they say, okay, why am I going to take $10,000 out of my money today, when I could take $10,000 from you and pay?
Speaker 3:you over six months.
Speaker 1:You understand what I'm saying, so right now, why I say that you know the idea.
Speaker 3:You understand what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:We came up with the name, but we're gonna get there. The idea. The idea is really again, more, just more given, more than just a loan. You understand. It's actually about being a financial partner and in due course, we would have, you know, access to financial counseling and and things like that, because that's where people need help. Yeah, most people need money management.
Speaker 3:That's what you need. People be spending like that, regardless of our education money is not spoken around many tables when growing up many almost none of them you understand what I'm saying money is not a conversation, it's still a taboo thing, you understand.
Speaker 1:So people think because you know you have a degree and you have four degrees means you can manage money. That's no, not at all.
Speaker 3:And just because you have four degrees doesn't mean you can make a lot of money.
Speaker 1:Keep that in mind too. So yeah, that's really, that's really, you know what we are about.
Speaker 3:Who came up with the name?
Speaker 1:The name was. You know, our regional partners. They came up with the name in terms of looking at the Aruba market, yeah, Facilito. In terms of making it fast and easy.
Speaker 2:So wait does.
Speaker 1:Trinidad have one, yeah, but it's not named Fasolito. I mean, I can imagine that I was imagining like okay, so what are?
Speaker 3:the names of different regions.
Speaker 1:We have the Fasolito in Aruba, and then we're going to soon have Fasolito in Curacao. Nice, right. So in the Dutch Caribbean the name is going to be Fasolito, and then outside in the English Caribbean it's called ready cash. Yeah, just show up cash right here, so you cash right there.
Speaker 3:One thing I do like right now is that there's a cap at 23,000, because it also gives the opportunity of, like, someone who's a bad spender comes in let's say it was 75,000. Yeah, I'll take it and spends it on dumb shit, instead of investing like, for example, like you're building your house, but, fuck, I need $25,000 to finish my backyard and the pool. You know, instead of getting $75,000, spend $25,000 on the pool and then $50,000 on bags and shoes.
Speaker 1:It's always easy to get it when it's time to repay trust me, even for somebody who has great financial discipline, you see, every time to repay, you start saying wait boy. I really have to pay this boy.
Speaker 2:I really have to pay this boy, come on maybe next time do you need this money?
Speaker 3:man you want to donate, sign right here, please. So you've been here for two years. Have you met with customers or clients that have you've come with this hurdle where, like, people are hard to pay back or like, how do you manage like stuff, like?
Speaker 1:that. So I mean institutionally. When I mean institutionally, I mean within the organization. We would have a collections department and stuff like that. Even if you take a bit, most of the times when somebody run into financial problems they hide yeah, because, given our relationship with banks right, and this is nothing against the banking sector there is a sort of negative relationship, meaning if you go to tell them, yeah, you're not running into problems, into problems, you will be sort of punished. That's the feeling most people have. So usually when somebody runs into financial problems and you call, they didn't pay, and you call them they don't want to answer the phone. You understand what I'm saying. They prefer, they prefer hide. You go to their workplace, which I mean, yes, do it, but showing up at somebody's workplace is justifying them.
Speaker 3:That's ridiculous. Come on, you save them face. Of course you won't embarrass your client by going hey, you've been served. You understand you did it in front of half my family, you understand what I'm saying.
Speaker 2:You could have called. You could have answered the phone call, though.
Speaker 1:So it's really, it's really at at an institutional level, you know, um, understanding who the customers, what the customer issue is. Yeah, right, because sometimes I can give you a story my mom is very has very, very, very insane in a positive way financial discipline. Right, let's go and let's say she has when she used to borrow. Let's say she has to pay 500 at the end of the month, but she has 1500. What she will do is she'll go to the bank and pay five and she'll keep the next 1000 until the next month and I will tell her no, you know, because this is when I started learning about it, I said no till the next month and I would tell her. No, you know, because this is when I started learning about it. I said no, you go and you pay the next 1,000 one time because it reduces your total amount. But remember, in the old school way, for them, the financial discipline is making sure that you have the money on the day to pay.
Speaker 1:You understand. So when I gave you that example side, when somebody runs into problems, you know we have to be able to figure out. You know what is the core of the issue. Because if I keep calling you and saying here, what shark, if you don't pay, things going on I think we're not in well, we put it up yeah, you already know negative position yeah you don't care usually you like boy and an Aruba. Aruba is still very, aruba is still very quiet.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we chill, very passive. Aruba quiet. In Trinidad and places like Jamaica they will say okay, come. Very quiet, tranquilo, very passive.
Speaker 1:Tranquilo, aruba, quiet In Trinidad and places like Jamaica, they will say, okay, come, and when you reach you know you're going to collect the money and you realize that I might be going for 2,000, but then I might lose my car, my cell phone.
Speaker 3:You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:It's going to cost day when somebody runs into problems. Again, it's finance, it's money. Yeah, that's when it taps into an emotional state. Now they have the people who gonna be, you know, natural bad payers. By the end of the day. They're the people that we want to serve. Is is understanding that you run into financial problems and we are here to help. Yeah, you understand, we could try to refinance, we could try to restructure. We could say, okay, you know what if you could only pay one dollar a day, or whatever the case is?
Speaker 3:all of those things are your options, but if you keep hiding, then you know you're not gonna know what we can do so, just come to me and like as in like, instead of hiding from you guys, I was like, hey, just answer the damn phone and let's, let's work it out like hey listen, my dog just died. You know what? We'll give you an extra week. Come up with the next.
Speaker 1:It could happen to all of us. You know what We'll give you an extra week. Come up with it next week. It could happen to all of us. Yeah, we could be good today, right.
Speaker 3:You're flying high and then it seems like you guys are more, more human.
Speaker 1:Well, that's the idea, that's the. If you look at, you know global financial growth is really about banking and financial services more human. Yeah, right, that that particular touch and, as I say, anybody can run into financial problems and also anybody can give you cash by the end of the day is that interaction at the customer to institutional level, that that that we, we're gonna.
Speaker 2:That way, we see the opportunity so do people say like, hey, um, do they have to explain what exactly they're going to use for? And then, based off of that is what you decide, like, hey, we're going to approve this To manage to manage how should I say to manage and protect the institution.
Speaker 1:They have to declare what they wanted for Right, because that's if somebody's end up in fraud or whatever the case is, from our perspective, when they do the investigation we have to show that hey this is what it was for Shark, really came to do A.
Speaker 3:If he was bringing in something from Colombia or Venezuela when he was here this is it, so you guys don't do like, for example, shark wants to go somewhere, I mean buy something and he buys.
Speaker 1:Option B Does he have to?
Speaker 2:show you receipts no, no, no.
Speaker 1:So it's fully private. Whatever he wants to buy, you guys don't care. You don't have to bring it, you just got to pay us back. Of course you don't have to bring your ticket and say here what this is the quotation for the tickets, whatever, whatever.
Speaker 3:Here's what I'm buying. No, no, 20 different Confirmation.
Speaker 2:Confirmation yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but um, I was fuck, I was going. Going back on the. I wanted to bring up stuff earlier about um going to your workplace and exposing like who, who. There's some company here that used to do that. They go on Facebook. There's a few of them that used to do it Like there's some companies that it's like blast, I mean.
Speaker 2:I mean look, I mean it's yeah.
Speaker 1:I thought it was the other one, but it's again again, right Again, it's not, it's not, it's not the greatest. That's a lot of companies. I'm not sure yeah.
Speaker 2:Let me tell you this guy check this out.
Speaker 3:let me tell you this guy check this out.
Speaker 2:I saw him.
Speaker 3:Sunday this guy like I think he has probably five of those shirts in his closet and he wears it everywhere goes on a date. That's crazy. That's a true representative, 100%. I gotta give props to him.
Speaker 1:I gotta give props to him but look, at the end of the day, any company, any company that has money outside, they will try to recoup it because that has money outside. They will try to recoup it Because, if you think about it, if you go and put 1,000 or 10,000 in the bank and then you go one day and the bank say, here, what, we're going to swipe your card, no money, that's problems, yeah. But the reality is shark borrowed money, right, and the bank's saying, yeah, well, we don't want to post shark name on Facebook, and then you ponging down the door saying I need my money. You understand? So it's not. It's not the the ideal places for an institution to be, but sometimes customers push your limits and different companies will have different tactics to try to make people, to try to make people pay.
Speaker 3:I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but I think it's a great tactic.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but our message is always expose these hoes damn.
Speaker 3:I did it with Day Away. I posted something no joke. Within like 48 hours, I got an email from, like, the director. Like hey, samir, I just want to give you an update on this. Yeah, I've been waiting for six fucking months yeah, that's what happens so like you, sometimes you have to take that route, otherwise they're just gonna be like ah, so just like well, yeah, we'll get back to you later.
Speaker 2:What are the consequences? Yeah, they don't care. You don't have.
Speaker 1:I have to wait and when you take the route.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the same thing happens one, I would do it too. People comment and say, oh, you're not supposed to be doing this. Then the next set of the comments is oh, we're going to our lawyer. Yeah, please, I mean. But the reality is look, you borrowed money in good faith. Please repay in good faith. If something happens, come and have a conversation about it and we will see whether or not we can do A or we can do B. But don't be silent, don't be hiding, yeah.
Speaker 1:And then I, you trying to buy it or don't be owing, and then living your best life that's what I'm trying to say.
Speaker 2:If you can't afford it, sit your ass down somewhere or get a 23k.
Speaker 3:Invest in something like as a down payment. Now you have a loan a big ass loan.
Speaker 2:You invest in a house now you start fucking making money that should Like if you don't have a plan. You should not be borrowing money If you really can't afford it. Stop, don't do it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but we live in an age where you know people live beyond their means.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you understand what I'm saying.
Speaker 3:I might do it for a vacation.
Speaker 1:They borrow to look good on social media.
Speaker 3:I mean, think about it, you do. You said two years, I'd say 20 months. If I borrow, hey, I need 10,000 fucking Florence to go on this nice vacation. I'll pay you over the course of 20 months for a nice vacation, why not? I would do it.
Speaker 2:I don't know. I'm going to use your fucking money to go enjoy. I'm sorry.
Speaker 1:I'm not doing it.
Speaker 2:Put everything on black and everything worse, come back here and everything worse come back. Here's your mother, thank you, wouldn't be me. That's like the white side of you, cause the black, my black ass wasn't taking no vacation, letting no money to take vacation. What?
Speaker 3:probably trying to grow watermelons in the backyard.
Speaker 1:They're all dead if you don't have it, don't do it. Don't do it if you don't have it if you don't have it, don't do it, don't do it.
Speaker 3:So you mentioned your mom is really really good at finance. What made you want to get in? I'm backtracking a little bit here. Are we even facilito? Yeah, Back to you. Why did you get into financing?
Speaker 1:Long story, short right. Actually, I wanted to become a mathematician, Bro you love numbers, holy shit. So in high school, in choosing degree, I went, I started to do mathematics right, and then, I think in 2000 and 2007, I met this professor and he had on a really cool gucci loafers and a rolex right, and then he started to talk to me about, about wall street and I was like, oh, this song's cool. And then he started to talk about, you know, the financial markets and how old were you here, uh?
Speaker 1:2006. I'm about 18 19 and you're still in. I just, I just started university in new york okay, you understand what I'm saying. And when he started to talk about all of that, the rest was history right, I took a few classes and I realized, yo, this is this is what I love you understand, I love mathematics.
Speaker 1:This is an opportunity to make more money. You love numbers, so why not Right? And then now, within the market, you actually start to see who controls the capital. Meaning who controls the money is really who's going to become the most powerful, and that's what my journey has been about. You understand, you get different exposures, I should say, but then when you own it, that's when you become the real deal. You understand what I'm saying. So, and you know, over the weekend I was at the gym with my partner and he said something that made sense, I think he said at a club Nah.
Speaker 1:He said yo he said we watch basketballers right, Basketball, basketball are making 400, 400 million for 10 years, 280 million for four years, whatever the case is. But the real guys you have to watch is who's signing the check.
Speaker 2:Who own? The team who own?
Speaker 1:the team. Yeah, you understand what I'm saying and that's really what it what it's about for me. When you see and you get exposure to investing in companies and you really see, you know how powerful and the real thing from owning.
Speaker 3:Come on, you got to give me his number. It's a monopoly. I'm going to be like hey, excuse me, I need a financial advice.
Speaker 2:Where should I put my money? You?
Speaker 3:guys should do that. Actually Facilitas would probably do like a once a month. Hey guys, for free, come, let us educate you on this topic, about financing.
Speaker 1:Wait, what we have a plan. Yeah, of course, man, because we have to, because people, people don't.
Speaker 3:You don't get this. In school, I didn't take accounting. I literally took my accounting teacher. I don't need to learn this. I'm going to hire somebody to do this for me when I have're an accountant, financial literacy is completely different.
Speaker 1:Yeah, right, knowing how money works. Right, knowing how to manage your money.
Speaker 3:When you do it, let me know Beyond budgeting.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you understand what I'm saying. Knowing your financial capabilities, knowing wealth creation. Those are things that, again, it's not taught in school. It all depends on who are your friends. You understand what I'm saying, but we're growing up every day and we need those things. Those are the things that separates from the have not. Sometimes you understand Same conversation a rich person may have. I don't know if you all have read. You know, rich Dad, poor Dad Of course.
Speaker 3:My guy Famous.
Speaker 1:That's the first thing you spoke about.
Speaker 3:Listen that's the first book I've ever read in my whole life, yeah I've never read any book. I was 20, something I don't know, like mid-20s early 20s.
Speaker 2:How are you still proud to say this like?
Speaker 3:what do you mean?
Speaker 2:you've never read a book in your life and you on business on business and in school.
Speaker 3:I have three other, like you know, fairy tale books and shit, mice and men and whatever the fuck it is I never cared about business entrepreneurship until I did network marketing and then there's one of my top leaders that was making a fuckload of money he's like.
Speaker 3:I was in Miami. He's like when you go back to the airport, I want you to go to any bookstore and find this book. Rich Dad, poor Dad, pick it up and read it. That's the first book I've ever read. I was like holy fuck. I didn't know this was possible between that change my mindset.
Speaker 1:Think and grow rich also, napoleon Hill, that's my book Napoleon Hill. I did that. Black choice the black, a different version.
Speaker 3:Yeah, love that book insane how to win friends, influence people. Of course, atomic habits all these books yeah we got brains too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, maybe not fucking numbers, yeah, but it's about carrying the conversations to the community, carrying it to the schools.
Speaker 2:This would actually have been really great with Omar Steve's thing. Yeah, actually, yeah, it would have been amazing.
Speaker 3:Actually, to be honest, we should pitch Omar Steve this and have him as a speaker. We just did an event this past Sunday. You know, omar Steve?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I went to the Rotarac.
Speaker 3:Oh, you were there.
Speaker 1:That's the. He was the guy who won the privada stage, right.
Speaker 3:Correct. Yeah, yeah, actually, that event I believe I saw him in the gym this morning too, Really Probably. Yeah, I think so yeah, yeah, everybody goes to early morning school, but he was there. We should actually bring him. I'll talk to Omar Steve as a stock finance, no problem, yeah, we'll figure it out. Yeah, bro, done missing, to be honest of course.
Speaker 1:I mean you grew up, you start getting your first paycheck. You don't know what to do are.
Speaker 3:You just don't know what's that. Never heard of it how money works, bro that's the thing you understand.
Speaker 1:They always make you think that to know how money works, you need a lot of money. Yeah, right, but when you have a lot of money, if you don't know how one thousand dollar gonna work, you don't know how ten thousand follows for a million dollars.
Speaker 3:Nope, and also to learn patience. Yeah, like small sacrifices now, because you have to be able to see, like, what you want to achieve. If you can't see that, then you're gonna think I'll put this one thousand dollar here, I'm not gonna have it, and so now I can't go and do anything, yeah, but if you did this for a whole fucking year you invested here. You might have like a hundred thousand in two years, just like it's like. You have to understand that you'll sacrifice.
Speaker 2:That's something I'm going through, right now, yeah, sacrifice now, yeah, invest like my house fucking throwing money like I can't go here, I can't.
Speaker 3:I just canceled my trip to the states because money has to go there. Make sure the house starts to make money for you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, 100 I'm just kidding, it's my it's my house to live in.
Speaker 3:Ah, okay, okay, but um, I wanted to ask this. I wrote, I wrote down a question here for you. I'm not stupid, I'm just adg all over the place I can't help it. That's cool. That's cool now. But like if seeing you're here for two and a half years, you have a lot of knowledge and money numbers if you were to start another business in aruba. That's not fastly to cash. Give me three businesses you would do.
Speaker 1:You guys writing this down it's recording we good the first one that I would definitely start is a video game bar, where am I investing writing checks, that's? The first one to me. At the end of the day, a lot of the experiences in entertainment in Aruba is basically the same.
Speaker 1:Right so there's huge opportunities for themed entertainment, meaning you know when you go to like London, new York, miami these bars have a specific theme. I remember one of my former bosses started a bar based on Breaking Bad, so you had to dress up like you're going to cook your drugs whatever the case is Crazy money, and I mean with breaking bad, so you have to dress up like you're gonna cook your drugs, whatever the cases. Crazy money, and I mean with the amount of tourists and locals.
Speaker 3:Just people want the experience so we need more experienced bars yeah once it gets popular within the local community, they will tell you there's this one thing. It only happens this week. You have to go tourists like swallow that up, bro.
Speaker 1:You have an experienced bar in Aruba is going to be crazy. Aruba has so many people partying with two speakeasies yeah, and I mean it's great concepts, but it's basic speakeasies, not a speakeasy where you walk in and you open a washer or a fridge and then the door is behind and then they say, wait, have you ever been to Coyo Taco in Miami?
Speaker 3:No, in Wynwood it's literally a taco place and there's like it's like a bathroom men's, women's and there's one big white door and it's one big security. I'm like what the fuck is back here. Like hey, what's here? Like you wanna go see? I'm like that's why I'm here. Yeah, opens the door yo.
Speaker 1:Crazy, so I'll do that something into you know. Food and beverage. Yeah, I think there's a huge opportunity if you look at the food and beverage. These guys came with the Greek truck.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:You know. But beyond that, you know how people experience the food. People in their experiences. Now you know. So they're not just bringing the ice cream, but they want to see the ice cream doing a.
Speaker 3:Onto the table. That's where the money is. That's what people want On Instagram. It's like the guys that give you the ice cream cone. They take it out. You have the cone, but you don't have the ice cream. Have you ever seen those videos? No, Anyways, it's like a sideshow on the street, but it's hilarious to watch.
Speaker 1:I'll do that and then something in sports. I think we need a lot MMA, but you know, in terms of football, basketball, sports, creating a sporting event, even a video game sporting event, the island is full, good island, good tourism. I mean, you have an international video game sporting event. Yeah, it's crazy.
Speaker 3:Who's? I'm looking at you now. Who's doing the one at MC Unicon? In the past past I've seen soccer, little soccer, mini soccer tournaments and it's a smart way to bring people in the store to play. While the kids play, the mom goes hey but I don't think she's having no woman. Alright, cool, I'll take it. Kid loses the match, but mom took a fucking fridge you win yeah, but even in Curacao this weekend this weekend they started their own.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, the island so for me, I'm looking at.
Speaker 3:That's where I'm looking at yeah that's where the opportunity is would you be interested in something like that, what they're doing in Curacao, here in Aruba?
Speaker 1:of course, it's already about to happen, isn't it?
Speaker 3:we just put it like that okay, looks like we're gonna have a conversation. In a few weeks, specifically in August, we'll have a conversation. Yeah, it's, it's it's needed.
Speaker 2:Yeah, 100 it's needed you got something, you want to go crazy boys, what do you mean? Y'all in, y'all games. I'm not mad about it.
Speaker 3:We're going back. We're going back to facilito um, because we're going to be chump banking for because I also I know we. The thing about this show is like you could have a business, you have a product, but we want to see who's behind the business, who's behind the product. You know me again yeah a couple things I love Converse, yeah, and are these brand new or are you just keeping clean? I bought it just for today. Shit damn, let me hide my shoes, fuck.
Speaker 1:I've like this morning how many shoes you have Converse alone, 36 pairs in a Ruba alone and I just bought three more this morning, so 39 what?
Speaker 2:And I just bought three more this morning, so $39,000.
Speaker 3:What the f? Sir, are you okay? No, he got the money from Facilito. He's probably spending it.
Speaker 2:That's how he got it that $23,000?.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So outside of that it's again gaming, gym chilling.
Speaker 2:Okay, but what about conference? Does it for you?
Speaker 1:One. It's cool and I'll tell you this growing up in being in banking, being in finance, you know, and loving sports, loving entertainment, I just always wanted to establish myself as being, you know, a cool banker.
Speaker 3:You understand, versus the suit and tie, bro, you convinced me already.
Speaker 1:You understand the suit and tie and when people hear you talk they could relate. You understand what I'm saying. Even this weekend I was watching. I say you know what I need? To have some tattoos on my legs. You know, like all those basketballers do Short socks, whatever the case is. And then they say oh, you're an MD of a financial institution because we're living in a new era and you want something that would be your legacy. Outside of that, the shoes are very comfortable.
Speaker 1:All styles, comfortable, um all styles yeah, the most comfortable shoes I think you can have, and it just makes me personally feel cool. Two brands make me feel cool converse and ydk georgie, you paid us.
Speaker 3:To be honest, this shirt, specifically, is very comfortable. Yeah, and then they have the same.
Speaker 1:the new one? I haven't seen it. They have a new drop, like two weeks ago, like a remedy one. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:We went to Curacao last.
Speaker 1:I was trying to get it, but they didn't have it. I went. I was in Curacao last week.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I got it.
Speaker 2:When are you going to get me?
Speaker 1:things like that man, because at the end of the day, we, we all have to establish our own personality.
Speaker 3:You understand what we about, what, how, what kind of energy people feel from us, facts and what we're going to be remembered for I do want I sense you have a lot of knowledge on this like, what do you feel like somebody wants to get into finance? Yeah, what? Or just like literacy, like what? What do you? What are three things you recommend? Like, what do you? What are three things you recommend? Like, make sure you have these three things.
Speaker 1:Or you should do these three things if you want to go down this path it depends on what type of finance right I'll tell you this when I just finished my masters again my I went to Cass Business School, number three in London good school, but you have everybody else in your class who is also bright. Yeah, you understand what I'm saying. They all have expert CVs and they all can write a damn good cover letter, but we all trying to get a spot in these investment banks. Whatever the case is. A lot of people wouldn't know.
Speaker 1:When I just started working at the venture capital private equity firm, I was actually sorting my boss's LinkedIn with a master's degree Because that's a task he had at that point in time and I wanted to get in Right. Yeah, finance is something that you have to have a lot of grit If you want to get in places like those big banks even you know Revolut, any one of those big companies that we admire you have to have a lot of grit and you have to understand sacrifices. You understand, I could tell people. When I just graduated undergrad too, I used to dress up in a suit every day to go and deliver CVs. You got to do it in the beginning.
Speaker 3:You got to do it because, at the end of the day, it's not just you alone.
Speaker 1:It's you alone in your school, then all the other schools in Americaica. There are about 100 million in china, 200 million coming from india.
Speaker 3:You understand what I'm saying you have a lot of competition.
Speaker 1:You have to come on bro you have to have a lot of grit, um and think long term.
Speaker 2:I think you also have to love it, though. Like you, you have to have some type of love for it, because, like, look at, look at the passion that you, you stream out when you talk about finances, like this is not normal for like a lot of people, and that's the thing. So you have to love it in order to do it and in order to also be successful at it. I feel like, and you have to- see what it could do.
Speaker 1:You understand what I'm saying. I tell people again, when you invest in entrepreneurship and you see, it depends on how you see what it could do, right, you can see what it can do from you personally and I mean personally is like when those you know those Wall Street bonuses that people get, when you see and you know somebody who's sitting next to you that just received a check for six, $7 million, you know that's serious business. But then, on the flip side, if you're really about it and you see, you know, not just giving loans or whatever you know creating investment funds, investing in businesses and what that could go on to do, the rest is history. I had a question I was going to ask you.
Speaker 3:You have a lot of questions, no you know what my problem is Like whenever I have a question. My problem is like whenever I have a question, I either have to ask it right away, okay, okay if like three, four minutes go by, I'm like, and because I'm I'm investing and listening what you're saying like wait what the? Fuck, was my question again. Yeah, yeah, with facilito, where is there? Uh? So, for example, if I borrow 23k, max it out.
Speaker 1:Is there a percentage like a interest rate or yeah, we, we had the same 27 percent as as um, the other competitors on the island. Yeah, um, and that's what we offer. I mean it's three, four percent more than your credit card rate, so it's almost just like a credit card. Again, we're not at a place yet where we can have people coming in, because you see what somebody will say is but that is high because they're comparing it to the bank, but also to get through at the bank you need a lot more, a lot more right and also, what people don't understand is the bank is funded by all of us money, right?
Speaker 1:so you put in your money there, that you just keep in there, you're not even touching, and then you get in point zero, zero, one percent or whatever the interest rate somewhere else again, cheaper funds means you could lend at a cheaper rate. Yeah, but that's where we at at the 27, like everybody else.
Speaker 3:And what do you feel like are some of the goals, you guys? Before you answer that, what's like one proud achievement for Fastleaf in the last 12 months?
Speaker 1:The size of the portfolio.
Speaker 3:Okay.
Speaker 1:Right, I mean I wouldn't disclose the exact size, but we have done a significant amount of with little to no advertising in the last two years. It's been amazing. It's been a very good journey right the number of people we have helped. You know we have a very good customer base with a very small team.
Speaker 3:You know that's how I'm saying how big is your team? Right?
Speaker 1:now About 11 people.
Speaker 3:And you're looking to grow.
Speaker 1:Of course we're looking to grow, we're looking to make a statement yeah, right, because for people who don't know it would have, they would have known faster from being inside the AMC Unicorn stores Right, but for us it's really about standing alone, because to serve and to be a banking partner and a life partner, you have to stand on your own to serve your customers on your own you understand, and also we want to create um its own identity.
Speaker 1:So people must be able to go to a direct facility to branch and that's all they're gonna do.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's kind of like oh fuck, I need, I need money right now. Oh shit, like you wanted.
Speaker 2:You wanted to be the first thing, but you also want that like that privacy of everybody, don't have to know in hindsight that I'm going to.
Speaker 1:Facilito. Yeah, that's how I'm saying it Like that should be private.
Speaker 2:That hey, you know what if I'm going to Facilito?
Speaker 1:I'm just going to.
Speaker 2:Facilito.
Speaker 1:In hindsight and then they, when they see you. By far so they mightn't see anything, but when they see you post something on social media they say, yeah, that's what he knew, that's what he needed. You understand by judy about standing alone, um having our own identity and be able to to serve aruba.
Speaker 2:Well, that's, that's what it comes down to not that you should care, by the way, let me just add that on real quick to my people.
Speaker 1:Why?
Speaker 2:not that you should. I mean, if you're gonna borrow money for something that you're gonna invest in, then by all means, like that has nothing to do with anybody else. You know what I mean, but not that you have to feel like embarrassed to stand in line like no, no, no yeah, fuck that your money, your pocket is your pocket exactly that you know.
Speaker 1:That's how I'm saying how you, how you choose to use your money. As I always say, we all know things like proper financial discipline and literacy, but if you choose to, you know, take your money and buy it on a car, which is a depreciating assets, my friend do your big one, just make sure you pay us back.
Speaker 3:Just make sure you pay back pay it back, is that? What you want. That makes you happy just make sure you pay us monthly, you understand what. I'm saying Now. I'm curious to know this. I'm sure you've dealt with a lot of people that came in. I'm sure there are people coming for different reasons. What's the number one reason people come in? To borrow the money? Most of them say vacation.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's crazy. Most of them say vacation and or emergency situation, but most of it is vacation.
Speaker 3:That's what they see From a financial literacy, whatever you want to call it standpoint. What's your opinion on that?
Speaker 1:At my level. What's my opinion?
Speaker 3:Yeah, the reason why I bring this up is so like the next person who thinks about like renting or getting money to go spend on crazy stuff, like think twice before maybe invest some more.
Speaker 1:But look, it has two sides of it, right? Yeah, how we were trained by our parents because I assume we're the same age we think in borrowing money to live and have a good life. Yeah, it's wrong. Yeah, you understand what I'm saying. But if you again want to borrow money and you have the means to pay it back, and you want to borrow money to buy a carnival costume, do you? Yeah you understand what I'm saying, do you? At the end of the day, the world has changed.
Speaker 1:Nobody is living and saving up for 40 years to try and then start to live a lot of people want to experience life now again, once you, once you practice any proper discipline and you know that you're not borrowing to indebt yourself, and also because you want to look good on social media. Whatever, you want to enjoy life right and you know that. You know what the cost to enjoy life today will be this and you're prepared to repay it. Why not?
Speaker 3:I agreed.
Speaker 1:Why not? We can't go around convincing people anymore. This wrong that wrong.
Speaker 3:You should do this, you should do that.
Speaker 1:Come on, man at the end of the day, financial discipline. It doesn't matter what it looks like.
Speaker 3:Once you have it facts you understand what I'm saying if I want to go buy five conferences tomorrow morning, don't fucking judge me.
Speaker 1:I'm doing it with the fuck I want. You know you get a bonus. People say, yeah, why are you buying all of those gold chains, or they always? Again, it's To each their own, of course, man. To each their own.
Speaker 3:If they want to buy five shoes, or somebody wants to buy gold chains, if you want to buy a bunch of sunglasses, everybody has their own thing that makes them feel happy.
Speaker 2:Just got to have the means to pay it back, of course.
Speaker 3:That's it. I messed with that. What's your favorite thing about Aruba so far? Two years here like number one like you can't say gym, by the way, woman. You've been here for two years, no clubbing anymore. That's a phase you went through already. What's one thing right now that you love about Aruba?
Speaker 2:woman.
Speaker 3:I believe it what you mean. You really repeated the whole question.
Speaker 2:I was like why is he saying all of this?
Speaker 3:My God, I'm so sorry.
Speaker 1:Nah Reba has good produce.
Speaker 3:It's like a buffet. It's many options. Yeah, good stock, good stock.
Speaker 1:Good stock Look at the end of the day it goes back to what I just said. Right, there's a serious part of life, but this is part of who we all are, you understand, and if the island has a good stock, I mean you trying to call our girls hoes?
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:I'm not saying that. Why does it sound that way? I'm just saying a lot of beautiful you know, nah they outside, I'm not mad.
Speaker 2:Listen, they outside.
Speaker 3:Okay, pretty sure you're Catching my weekend At freaking Calibra.
Speaker 2:They taste different and whatnot. He knows what he's talking about.
Speaker 3:Yes, you call him Jose, you call him Jose. You tell me anything.
Speaker 1:I'm not editing anything out, I'm just letting you know Aruba is the greatest boy. No, I love it. He's the greatest. From the first I remember the first night we went.
Speaker 3:He's the greatest from the first night we went and you're like why did I not come here? Like fucking five years ago.
Speaker 1:No, it's a good thing, I didn't come five years ago.
Speaker 3:No money.
Speaker 1:You'd be spending all your money Money gone.
Speaker 3:With children? Yeah, Like financially. What is that I only spend Not?
Speaker 2:the children Some protection, please, hello.
Speaker 3:Kid services. Yeah, I got it. Yeah, yeah, put this guy on your watch list nah, I'm just kidding, he's calling all our girls facilitas why?
Speaker 2:why it's good vibes.
Speaker 1:Good vibes, but other than that, I like how the island everybody's quite welcoming yeah 100%, you know welcoming um, what you almost not underestimate about Aruba is the work-life balance. Yeah, that's a serious thing.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Somebody like me, you, coming from those high-paced environments, I had to adjust, you know, because this is an island island.
Speaker 3:This is not relaxed brother. You understand what I'm saying. Hey, we'll see you at 5, see you at 5. Bro, 5 o'clock. I'm leaving my house like bro, I've been here for like 45 minutes where you been.
Speaker 1:One time I sent an email like 10pm right, because I work in, yeah, and one of my colleagues is like you don't have a family. I'm like yo in train hard. Nobody will never tell me that.
Speaker 1:Do those emails reply like at 10 pm back? No, I mean, that's just next day. But what I'm saying is, in Aruba, the strong work-life balance to me. I respect that a lot, how people know when to lock off and how they see life too. A lot of people here live very relaxed, you understand, and in high-paced environments you're always chasing, chasing, chasing, chasing, chasing, chasing.
Speaker 2:Depends on the industry you work in they have work-life balance. Because it ain't it ain't all industries on this island. I don't really have much of a work life balance. Again, it's also I choose for the girls you were with, like they probably don't have nothing to do my school is cool, it's cool I, I, I, everybody's cool man yeah, no, I do understand the work life thing.
Speaker 3:Like even for me, like right now, I also choose for it because I don't have a kid right now and who knows the next two years I might. So I'm just like you know what, just put my head down and work as much as I can, and when the kid comes around I can like take my foot off, and he doesn't agree with some of the things I do, because it's like he has a really good work-life balance. He knows how to log the fuck out of work, I mean his crushing out affects me.
Speaker 2:So yeah, I have an issue with it. That's true, I got too much on my hands.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:But what's one thing we've missed about Facilito that we haven't brought up Like what's one thing, like a point that you feel like, hey, listen, this is something people have to know, that we need to touch base Again to me.
Speaker 1:I gave one of the most important points in terms of being a partner. Right To me that's an important thing to understand when you see a financial institution in terms of how they see you as a customer and having that human touch really there to help you move forward.
Speaker 2:Okay, so are you trying to say Facilito is the best out of all of them? That we got going on Of course that's what you're saying, of course. So people got to book Facilito.
Speaker 3:They have to. It makes it easier to get the cash.
Speaker 1:We have two other people on the island, right, one has been here. The other one is pretty decent, but it isn't Amazon Shots fired. The other one is is pretty decent, but it isn't Amazon, yeah oh shots fired?
Speaker 2:yeah, it's decent.
Speaker 3:He has experience in one of them respect is respect true am I lying? You talked about the show, the show. You even cussed him out. Don't fuck themselves, no fuck what for real?
Speaker 2:but why would you bring that up? Do you not see me? I'm just saying he, I'm just saying I'm just saying.
Speaker 3:You have a battery fucking experience with these guys and the fucking hell you went through, but that's about it.
Speaker 1:We're here to stay and we're about to. It's about making an impact.
Speaker 3:I fax. I'm definitely going to hit you up, for you said a few things like came in for uh.
Speaker 1:He said a few things like gaming bar bro we can go have drinks at fucking boutique and we'll talk about this yeah, man, and they have so many of them all over, so many again in Aruba, it doesn't really exist yeah, because of how, how, again how the island sees business, who has the capital, all of those different things.
Speaker 3:But I'm sure we all want to be sitting in that bar playing like there's like five screens everybody playing FIFA.
Speaker 2:We all know most of us. There are people when I say all.
Speaker 3:I'm looking at three people, okay we need new places.
Speaker 1:You know same people all the time it's just Long Island man.
Speaker 3:Everybody is like if you go out a lot every day, like you did, then you'll see the same people all the time. I stopped, no, I stopped oh my gosh, I apologize.
Speaker 2:I'm sorry, I stopped no, I stopped no all right.
Speaker 3:Well, honestly, thank you for coming on the show yeah, I'm definitely, I've seen. I've seen, uh, billboards. I'm driving around I'm just like I'm like all right. Who the fuck is this dude? What's fascinating to cash? That's how we got in contact. That's why you're sitting here, because I'm curious to know. And it's good to know there's a different way than more than the other two and also banking to get cash and invest in whatever you want to invest in as a different who.
Speaker 1:Yeah, right, as I've always told Robert and I told anybody in finance, you can be this, you know pine in the sky, great, great CEO, yeah. Or you can be a down to earth person that everybody knows.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And it all depends on which, which side of the field you want to play. If we keep keeping it high above and people feeling like, oh, it's not for me, then it's, they're never gonna. They're never gonna mess with you.
Speaker 3:Hey, listen on. Facebook is making billions of fucking dollars.
Speaker 2:So as long as you're part of a good fucking company.
Speaker 3:All right Kwesi. I want to say once again, thanks for coming, yeah, thanks.
Speaker 2:Kwesi oh, I thought you said Quincy. I was like, Did I say?
Speaker 1:Quincy Kwesi man you tripping? Yeah, man, thanks for the hookup. I think it. Thank you, and I always tell him when Trent was here, I didn't even used to play football in school and I used to look up to Trent no kidding, of course, man and I saw Trent at Buddy's own actually no, yeah, the day I think it was the same day with his speech. He was training and I was like.
Speaker 1:I wonder if that's him. Yeah, and then I saw him on the show. No, I saw him. The speech they had the thing with yeah and I was like shit, I missed my photo up.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know you should just do it at the gym, bro of course man. The guy was benching like four plates on our side strong American football you know, but I'm actually like one on each side the opportunity gonna come back, but y'all do, y'all do good work. I really like your work, appreciate it.
Speaker 1:I always share it with Robert. It's pretty cool. It's English too, and again, even the ones in Papiamento. I do follow Nice, but I like, I like the way it goes.
Speaker 3:We try to make. We try to make this entertaining.
Speaker 1:Yeah, man, so people can consume the information in a fun way, yeah, yeah, instead of keeping it so like strict.
Speaker 3:Nah, keep it up. Keep it up watching your one message. What would you want to leave behind?
Speaker 1:look into your camera from for me or for facilito no for both.
Speaker 3:Give me one one of each what's like one year, one message like yo, guys, you want to invest, or whatever the fuck, it is something um, for me it will always be it.
Speaker 1:If you want to invest, it doesn't matter if you have 100 or 1000, just start, manage your risk and start. All of us have the opportunity to become investors. It's just about calculating your risk and starting. Don't overthink it In terms of Fasolito is, if you're looking for a life partner, check Fasolito Cash Facts Period. Done, done.
Speaker 3:Thanks for watching this episode. Hope you guys enjoy it and we'll see you guys next week. Peace, see you, ciao.