We had the opportunity to interview Alex Wang, Co-Founder and CEO of Ember Fund. The First app that allows anyone to invest in a managed cryptocurrency portfolio.
 

Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and Ember Fund?
A: My name is Alex and I'm the co-founder and CEO of Ember Fund. We built a mobile app that allows anyone from around the world to invest in a cryptocurrency hedge fund with just a few hundred dollars. Previously I've built, scaled and sold a consumer product company so I have some experience and understanding what consumers like and want. I also worked as a product manager at an artificial intelligence company, where I met my amazing technical co-founders Guillaume and Mario.
 

Q: How did you get the idea for Ember Fund?
A: When I first got into crypto, (and to an extent even now that I'm in the industry) I found it really challenging following the technology and market conditions for thousands of coins. Unlike traditional equities, this stuff moves at lightning fast speed and the tech evolves on a day to day basis. I wanted to get involved but it seemed like a full time job to follow the markets. The promise of crypto is to democratize access to financial products yet there wasn't an app that allowed me to invest alongside hedge funds and / or sophisticated asset managers. I really wanted a product like this and from that, Ember Fund was born.
 

Q: At what point did you realize you had a viable business model?  
A: I remember last year, we saw transaction volumes double or triple every month. We knew this was a product that people wanted at that point, it was just a matter of continuing to build, improve and iterate.
 

Q: Are there other companies in your space and if so, how are you different?
A: There are a few copy trading platforms and custodial solutions that allow you to buy portfolios but none of them have executed in the way that we have. Two very important and unique things to our platform are:

1. We allow everyday investors access to top tier fund managers with just $100
2. We are fully non-custodial. This means the private keys are encrypted on our users devices which in turn means more security and transparency.

Q: Where do you see the company in 5 years and how do you plan to get there?  
A: We want millions of people around the world at that point to have our app, and be able to invest in the same products that billionaires have access to with just 1-tap. Put it simply, we want to put a hedge fund and Swiss bank account into the pockets of everyone with a mobile device.          
        

Q: If you could go back in time and give yourself one piece of business/financial advice, what would it be?
A: Buy more Bitcoin (BITCOMP)!

Q: Are you looking for additional funding or have a crowdfunding campaign? If so, what are you looking for in a potential investor, and how can interested readers get in touch/learn more?
A: Between the investment from professional Angels/VCs, and our crowdfunding campaign on Republic, we're about to close our round and will hit our fundraising target so, we're not really looking for additional funding. With that said, if you'd like to learn more you can check out our website.

Q: Is there any advice you'd give to other aspiring entrepreneurs?
A: Make sure this is something you really want to do. You sacrifice so much more than you realize, it's worth it for some but not for most people and that's totally okay. Optimize for happiness, whatever that means for you. Work on yourself and gaining the level of self-awareness to know if this is for you and if it's something you truly want. Do a trial run by working at co-working space by yourself for 3 months contracting for a startup or trying to build your own thing. If you absolutely love it, then go find amazing co-founders. Don't compromise.
 

Q: Is there anything else you want to share with our audience?
A: Nope. Thanks for having me!