Business

Discussing Business, Life, and Everything in Between with Danny Tran

Published

4 years ago

June 12, 2020

We had the opportunity recently to sit down with young millionaire Danny Tran and he shared valuable insights entrepreneurs can learn from. Danny is the man behind Highstoke Media, a company that scaled past 7-figures in just 18 months. In this interview, he tells us about his journey and vision.

Can you tell us something about your company Highstoke Media and how you got here?

I came up with the idea for Highstoke Media at the lowest point in my life. At that moment, I had just about 14$ with me. From day one, I had sincere faith in the company and gave it my all to make it bigger and better than anything I’ve done in my life.

The idea behind Highstoke Media is simple, we help people. We help companies grow with us. Many companies have benefited from our help and we’ve helped them grow to a six-figure level. We’ve helped aspiring entrepreneurs to reach their business goals and every day, we help as many people as we can.

Was it difficult to create a company that grew past 7-figures in just 18 months?

To be honest, anything worthwhile in life is going to be difficult. Highstoke Media was created for struggling businesses and entrepreneurs but at the same time, we faced significant challenges in our own journey to the top. I believe, what is important is to remember why we wanted to do this. Even when things were tough, we didn’t give up. We always kept in mind our mission to maximize impact in the modern world of digital marketing and paid advertising. So in moments like when we’ve lost all of clients and faced severe competition, remembering our “why’s” always pushed us through.

Even when we did start doing well, we always kept trying to find a better winning formula. If you stop after finding the key, your growth stagnates. The business and industry are always evolving and you have to evolve with it.

Do you have any advice for the people trying to follow your footsteps?

As a young entrepreneur, you are bound to make many mistakes. One of them is being focused on too many things or on the wrong things. Shiny object syndrome is a real thing and can lead to the demise of your business. In addition to that, too many people try to sell products and not solutions. Your key to succeed in the market is to solve an actual problem and not just push out a product you think that will sell.

Also, with so many things prone to go wrong at any given time, you have to be patient. So many people dive into entrepreneurship or the world of business thinking it’s a get rich quick opportunity. Remember that all great things take time and for us, we didn’t finally reap the rewards of all of our efforts until after almost two years.

Is there anything that one should avoid doing with their ventures?

The number one thing is remaining stagnant. In the world of digital marketing and entrepreneurship, the industry is changing daily. Strategies and tactics that worked a few months ago will not last forever. Simply put, if your business stops innovating, it will stop growing and eventually decline.

The second is to be a copycat entrepreneur. I’m a huge advocate for taking frameworks and improving on existing things that work but if you can’t expect to get very far if you model someone’s business to the exact details. With so many new businesses being created daily, it’s crucial that you not only break into the market place by solving a valuable problem, but to also stand out from the millions of other businesses out there.

Being a young millionaire, what goals do you have for the future?

To be honest, it’s crazy to look back at everything we’ve accomplished so far. If you asked me 2 years ago, I wouldn’t have expected to have built a million dollar company from the ground up with $14 to my name. Now with an amazing team around the world, I hope to scale Highstoke Media even further and be a household name in our industry.

In addition to that, we hope to continually grow our impact in the digital space especially with young entrepreneurs. To date, we’ve coached and mentored thousands of aspiring entrepreneurs and hope to build a larger community to maximize the amount of impact we can have in this ever-evolving industry.

What values do you try to instill in your daily life to maintain success?

Achieving success is all about having the right mindset. Introspection is a very important aspect of what makes me myself. Being self-aware helps you think clearly and make better decisions. The key to making better decisions in life is to understand perspective. Everything that happens to you in life can be perceived in a good or a bad way. If you look at things negatively, you will never be able to get out of a stump.

Most importantly, I try to live every day of my life to the fullest. Having a tough background, it is easy to be obsessed with achieving it all but you have to learn to live your life to the fullest and enjoy every moment of it. After all, you only live once.

Business

Opportunities for Black Banx in Emerging Markets

Published

2 days ago

May 5, 2024

Matthew Wiles

A significant digital transformation is underway in the world of finance, marked by the emergence of non-bank innovators offering a diverse array of financial technology products and services. This transformation is not confined to established markets; rather, it extends its reach into emerging economies, offering a compelling digital alternative to traditional banking institutions. These alternatives are particularly vital in addressing the issue of financial exclusion, which has left substantial populations underserved by traditional banking systems.

Among these innovative digital banking entities stands Black Banx, a fintech brand dedicated to fostering financial inclusion in emerging markets by seamlessly integrating banking services into digital ecosystems. Founded in 2014 as a visionary concept by German billionaire Michael Gastauer, Black Banx swiftly evolved into a global force in the global financial market Officially launched in 2015, the institution rapidly garnered international recognition, extending its services to 180 countries and territories from its inception. Within a mere 12 months of operation, Black Banx amassed over 1 million customers, marking its initial expansions in key regions such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Hong Kong. At present, with a customer base exceeding 40 million as of February 2024, Black Banx stands as one of the fastest-growing digital banks not only in developed countries but also in emerging markets.

What Are Emerging Markets?

An emerging market mostly describes the economic landscape of a developing nation progressively engaging with global markets during its growth trajectory. These economies possess some but not all of the defining characteristics of developed markets, which typically exhibit robust economic growth, high per capita income, well-established equity and debt markets, foreign investor accessibility, and a reliable regulatory framework, according to Investopedia.

As emerging market economies evolve, they tend to integrate more deeply into the global economy. This integration fosters increased liquidity within local debt and equity markets, heightened trade volume, and augmented foreign direct investment. Moreover, these economies witness the emergence of modern financial and regulatory institutions as they transition from low-income, less developed, often pre-industrial states to modern industrial economies with elevated standards of living.

With improving standards of living, the demand for financial security and opportunities escalates, underscoring the pivotal role of banking services. However, traditional banks face challenges stemming from bureaucratic processes and sometimes limited services. Conversely, fintech firms are gaining prominence owing to their convenience, user-friendly interfaces, and expedited signup procedures. Furthermore, their accessibility anytime and anywhere with internet connectivity enhances their appeal to the public.

Strong Demand for Financial Technology

The surge in digital banking adoption, particularly conspicuous in emerging markets, owes much to innovations originating in these regions. For instance, nearly nine out of ten consumers in the Asia-Pacific region, encompassing both emerging and developed markets, actively utilize digital banking services, with a significant portion expressing openness to expanding their usage through digital channels.

Enthusiastic adoption of fintech tools and e-wallets among consumers in emerging markets has propelled the market penetration of these innovative solutions beyond levels observed in developed markets. In the emerging Asia-Pacific region, the penetration of fintech apps and e-wallets surged to 54 percent in 2021, compared to 43 percent in the developed segment. This is indicative of the accelerating shift towards fintech transactions and services, as per McKinsey & Company.

A portmanteau of finance and technology, fintech refers to the burgeoning industry of companies utilizing computer programs and other technologies to provide support or enable banking and other financial services. In developed nations, there’s been a rapid expansion and adoption of fintech technologies ever since businesses and even governments started accepting digital financial transactions as a standard mode of payment. But even in emerging markets, the demand for fintech has also skyrocketed as more people report a diminishing reliance on cash for weekly expenditures.

Identifying Opportunities in Emerging Markets

Launching a successful digital bank entails navigating a myriad of challenges, irrespective of the market’s maturity. However, digital banking in emerging markets presents its own unique set of hurdles, particularly in securing widespread adoption among mass-market consumers. To thrive in any market landscape, a digital bank must first establish meaningful access to its target customers. While the initial interaction may appear straightforward in the digital realm, the reality proves more nuanced.

The proliferation of digital advertising notwithstanding, capturing customer attention remains a formidable task, compounded by the intricacies of onboarding procedures, even for digitally savvy clients. Moreover, the reliance on app downloads as a precursor to engagement further heightens the barriers to entry as first-time users may find them intimidating.

Building a solid trust relationship with customers is important for digital banks to maximize their opportunities in emerging markets. Trust, arguably the linchpin of sustained usage, demands meticulous investment in creating positive onboarding experiences and fostering comprehension of banking channels and products. However, achieving this trust quotient is not easy, especially in emerging markets with lower access to financial services and digital literacy.

Black Banx’s Success in Emerging Markets

Black Banx is a digital bank focused on empowering financial inclusion in emerging markets by integrating banking into digital ecosystems. It was founded by German billionaire Michael Gastauer who always believed that well-designed financial services have the potential to uplift even the most marginalized segments of society, providing them with enhanced economic opportunities.

Consequently, Black Banx is steadfast in its mission to promote financial inclusion while harnessing the advancements within the fintech landscape. Today’s digital technologies offer unprecedented tools to reconstruct banking paradigms, especially for those underserved by traditional financial institutions, with smartphones and laptops serving as gateways to financial empowerment. But while Black Banx makes use of the most advanced fintech technologies, including blockchain and artificial intelligence, it delivers an intuitive and easy-to-navigate user experience through its website and mobile app so even the inexperienced or less tech-savvy consumers won’t have a hard time using its platform to carry out financial transactions.

With his expertise and decades of experience in the financial industry, Gastauer has a keen eye for trends and what works in different markets. So instead of delivering different experiences for developed and emerging markets, the renowned fintech mogul opted to roll out the same suite of services to both because of his motivation to realize financial inclusion and offer only the best banking experience to all. As such, Black Banx facilitates seamless transitions between physical and digital currencies and even cryptocurrencies. The digital bank also tailors its channels to accommodate customers at various stages of their digital journey, ensuring that they feel guided every step of the way until they achieve their financial goals. All of these contribute to Black Banx’s success in emerging markets.