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In this episode, I stop by SoHo in NYC for a conversation with the very genuine Rob Petrozzo, Co-Founder and CPO of Rally, an alternative investing platform for blue-chip and digital collectibles, including classic cars, sports memorabilia, watches, and NFTs, totaling over 400 assets in 19+ different categories.
Founded back in 2016, Rally has grown to half a million users, and actively finds, manages, and fractionalizes some of the most important collectibles and museum-grade items in the world, including vintage wine and dinosaur fossils. Although I recorded the interview from Rally’s offices, unfortunately, I could NOT taste some of those top wines! They’re backed by Alexis Ohanian, Anthemis, Porche Ventures, Social Leverage, Upfront, and many more.
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In this episode, we discuss:
The fascinating world of collectibles. How does Rally find and secure some of the most incredible items in the world?
“We get 1000s of assets that come inbound nonstop. We have a team that runs through the process really quickly, and if it's something we want, we'll make an offer in either retained equity, for consignment, or purchase… and then the seller knows that when you come to Rally, you're finding a bunch of people who look and feel a lot like you a lot of time, and the community gets to own it with you.”
Power of community and how Rally actively incorporates client feedback into product design and company strategy
"We have like 1000 users in our core group, who are the most vocal set of users in any consumer product I've ever seen... They tell us when we're wrong, they tell us when we're right, but they also tell us what direction they feel might be right for the business. So we have this never-ending string of conversations with our users. And our product team is always in the conversation with new and existing users doing new interviews, about features, about things that we should be doing."
The intersection between collectibles and digital assets like NFTs, founder mistakes from the early days of Rally… and a lot more!
We have really, really good investors on our cap table… but something that a lot of people get wrong, and we did early… is that investors are not your friends. There's a binary outcome that goes along with that too, and you got to have their money back in three to five years. They're not looking to hang out with you.”
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Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder & Managing General Partner of Gilgamesh Ventures, a seed-stage investment fund focused on fintech in the Americas. He also hosts and writes the Fintech Leaders podcast and newsletter.
Rob Petrozzo, Co-Founder of Rally – The Fascinating World of Collectibles, Investing in Dinosaurs Fossils, & The Power of an Engaged Community