Fairlane Raymundo, Rebecca Binny of PR firm Web3 RayCo Media

Editor’s Note: RayCo Media has been named to The Story Exchange’s list of 12 Brilliant Business Ideas.

RayCo Media, founded by Fairlane Raymundo and Rebecca Binney, bills itself as one of the first communications agencies in the world to integrate Web3 expertise into the PR strategies it develops for businesses and nonprofits. . What does that mean exactly? The agency does everything from helping a domestic violence nonprofit use NFTs to earn income to providing digital marketing to a cryptocurrency investment firm . Binney adds that they will soon be offering services to customers for the Metaverse. The concept of the Los Angeles company — featured in Yahoo! Finance, PR Week and more – talks about the future of our financial and business worlds, while doing good in the process.

Here’s our slightly edited Q&A with Binney, from The Story Exchange 1,000+ Stories project.

What was your reason for starting your business?

As an illustrator, I’ve found a way to incorporate my passion for creating digital art (which I sell as NFTs) into my career in marketing. I’m also passionate about cryptocurrency trading, and saw the possibilities of combining all of these things in the future, so I thought I’d step up and create it.

how do you define success?

What made me pivot at the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey was the lack of support for social, environmental and other causes. Success was then redefined, for me, as the ability to cast a wider net and set a longer table as my journey and business grew. The goal of generating wealth then becomes the vision of helping those in need.

What is your greatest achievement so far?

The ability to overcome adversity. I have cultivated great resilience over the years. I was able to bring parts of my Asian culture to America and integrate East and West into the businesses I built, successfully assimilating polar opposite cultures and traditions and advocating strongly for diversity and social entrepreneurship. My latest success is uncovering the benefits of Web3 and the Metaverse to grow and fundraise for nonprofits and those they help.

What is your main challenge and how did you overcome it?

The brilliance of technology, which has often overshadowed the need for humanity. I am an artist, so I have a deep need for the human spirit as the source of all creativity. I also love technology, but we can’t be seduced by it to the point of allowing it to replace real human connection, concern and nuance. When you’re an entrepreneur with a big idea you want to share with the world, it can feel overwhelming to work in a world obsessed with superficial controversy.

Have you experienced significant personal situations that have influenced your business decisions?

My dad died two years ago during the pandemic and I couldn’t go home to the Philippines so my mom was there alone mourning him. At the time, we were creating an NFT comic (he was doing the artwork and I was doing the writing), and we were never able to finish it. I had two choices: either wallow in the pain that doesn’t change anything, or try to finish what we started in his honor. I chose the latter.

What’s your biggest tip for other startup entrepreneurs?

Defense is the greatest offense. If you want to venture into something big, make sure your most basic needs are secure first. You don’t necessarily need millions to get started, but you do need to be secure enough to know you can recover from a breakdown. Luck is a big part of success, not just hard work and brilliance.

How do you find inspiration in your darkest days?

I look my own failures in the face and remind myself that I’m still okay and I’ll get through it too.

Who is your most important role model?

My parents, emotionally and professionally. My father is an artist and my mother is an administrator, and they instilled in me a balance between creativity and organization. The business idea is based on a creative idea, but we operate with money and capitalist operations in mind. I would also say Filipino revolutionary hero Jose Rizal, because after 300 years of Spanish rule of the Philippines, Rizal led the revolution with his words, not with violence, and it actually led to Philippine independence. ◼

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