E84: 9GAG Founder: How To Turn Crypto Losses Into Lifechanging Wins

When Shift Happens Podcast

Ray Chan is the CoFounder and CEO of 9GAG, a massively popular online platform for sharing humorous GIFs, memes and videos. He is also the CoFounder and CEO of Memeland, a Web3 venture studio that aims to build social products around memes, creativity, community engagement, and NFTs Ray shares his journey from building the biggest meme company in the world, creating and cultivating a community from 0 to 200 million users, attracting the masses to Web3 with MemeLand, and his predictions for the next big trends in the industry. We also go deep in his young son's passing and how it changed his perspective on everything in life. In this conversation, we dive into: - Building the biggest meme company in the world - Chasing Trends in Crypto - The Impact of losing a young Son - The rise of 9GAG - MemeLand Vision - Pudgy Penguins - Being part of Y combinator 2012 with Coinbase - Prediction for the Next 12 Months And much more! __________________________________ PARTNERS 🚀 Jupiter is the most used Decentralized Exchange in Crypto and the largest DEX by volume on Solana. https://jup.ag/ 🐧 Pudgy Penguins is a web3-born brand that fosters creativity, freedom, and community. Join the huddle: https://pudgypenguins.com/ ♾️ Astar Network is a Web3 hub for innovation, offering tools and a blockchain platform for decentralized apps and smart contracts. It invites users to innovate and connect in a community-driven ecosystem, transforming ideas into reality with its robust infrastructure. https://astar.network/ 🤖 SwissBorg is Europe’s top trusted crypto app offering user-centric investment platforms and DeFi asset management with reliability and innovation. Sign up with this link and earn up to €100 : https://join.swissborg.com/r/kevinH6E7 ♾ Coinsilium provides vital funding and expert advice to Web3 and AI-powered early-stage technology companies. https://www.coinsilium.com 🍷 Dvin is building the operating system for the $100 billion wine industry. https://www.dvinlabs.com/ __________________________________ Follow Ray Chan 👇 • Twitter: https://x.com/9gagceo • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raychan/?originalSubdomain=hk • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/9gagceo/?hl=en Follow 9GAG 👇 • Twitter: https://x.com/9GAG • Website: https://9gag.com/ Follow Kevin & The When Shift Happens Podcast👇 Twitter (X): https://x.com/KevinWSHPod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kevinwshpod/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kevinfollonier_ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinfollonier/ Website: https://www.podpage.com/when-shift-happens/ __________________________________ DISCLAIMER The info contained herein is for informational purposes only. Nothing herein shall be construed to be financial, legal, or tax advice. The content of this video is solely the opinions of the speakers who are not a licensed financial advisor or registered investment advisor. Trading cryptocurrencies poses considerable risk of loss. The speakers do not guarantee any particular outcome. __________________________________ 0:00 Intro 1:40 Please Like And Subscribe 2:02 Our Partners 2:26 The Internets Attention Span 4:43 Trend Chasing 6:03 From Happiness to Purpose 6:51 What is Happiness? 7:45 Who is Ray Chan? 8:10 Life Before 9GAG 10:03 Boomers in Crypto 11:31 Youth in Crypto 12:48 “Winners Never Quit” 16:31 What Makes a Great Meme 17:25 Development of Memes 19:17 DVIN Partnership 19:40 Focus Shift Moment for 9GAG 22:55 Joining Y Combinator 25:34 Attention is the Scarcest Resource 27:57 Impact of Losing a Son 30:44 Greatness comes from Suffering 34:18 Message to Those Suffering 36:46 Pain, Memory, and Healing 40:25 Rise of 9GAG 42:58 Crypto Realization 50:04 Turning Misfortune into Fortune 54:43 Pay to Learn and Learn by Doing 57:55 MemeLand 1:00:34 MemeLand Ultimate Vision 1:03:53 Pudgy Penguins 1:09:44 NFTs 1:11:47 Working with Tangent 1:13:41 Respect for Crypto Teams 1:15:46 Advice to Past Self 1:18:58 Prediction for the next 12 Months