Prime DeFi Founder Dan Ryder Says Cooperation and Mentorship are Key to Success in Decentralized Finance Investing

Ask any newcomer to investing and they will say that their unfamiliarity and the inherent risk in investing is giving them a feeling of intimidation or uncertainty. This is especially pronounced in relatively new investment vehicles such as decentralized finance (DeFi), which is closely related to cryptocurrency. Over the past years, many people have become wary of cryptocurrencies, as fraudsters have abused the technology’s novelty to conduct various cryptocurrency scams, depriving victims of their hard-earned savings.

Credit: Dan Ryder Founder of Prime DeFi, Caption: Dan Ryder

Seeking to solve this feeling of wariness is a membership-only community Prime DeFi, which aims to teach people, especially those who are new to cryptocurrency, how to invest in decentralized finance. Unlike more aggressive investments, DeFi takes a ‘slow and steady’ approach to portfolio growth and wealth generation.

According to Dan Ryder, founder of Prime DeFi, decentralized finance is more akin to real estate investing, which involves a more long-term view of growth. While investors can approach DeFi aggressively, it is not a get-rich-quick scheme.

“DeFi is less capital-intensive than many other investments,” Ryder says. “I believe that anyone who has at least $10,000 to invest will find it worthwhile, unlike other investments where minimum investments start in the six figures. With that said, the saying ‘you need to spend money to make money’ still holds true, so I wouldn’t recommend any lower than $10,000.”

One major difference between DeFi and real estate investing is that it’s much trickier to exit real estate and selling a property takes more time. On the other hand, Ryder says that DeFi is more flexible and there are few, if any, holding periods, enabling better investor liquidity.

Ryder shares that he got into casual DeFi investing in 2017, before becoming more serious three years later. When he was starting out, he did not have any guidance from more experienced investors and was left to his own devices. He had to learn almost everything via trial and error, so he took the side of caution, investing more conservatively than usual to avoid costly mistakes.

After he had gained more knowledge as a DeFi investor, Ryder learned from the investors he had talked to that they shared the same experience of struggling to learn about DeFi investing due to the lack of guidance from experts and peers.

“Seeing the opportunities provided by DeFi, I had the idea of teaching interested individuals and creating a framework that would make it easier for people to get into DeFi investing. In early 2022, I established Prime DeFi as a coaching community where people can learn using this framework and kick-start their investing journey,” Ryder says.

Since then, Prime DeFi’s community has grown to more than 500 members and counting. Its diverse membership benefits from Ryder and his team hosting live coaching sessions each week, teaching participants how to build their wealth with the help of DeFi. According to Ryder, becoming a member of the community is a paid privilege, and each applicant is evaluated to determine if they are genuinely interested in learning how to invest.

Ryder adds that many of Prime DeFi’s members were previously unfamiliar with DeFi and cryptocurrencies, while others are familiar with the crypto space but unaware of new developments in DeFi. He adds that, when he first launched DeFi, he was unaware of how powerful a sense of community could be. However, he later saw how it empowered individuals and fostered meaningful relationships, helping members become more successful.

“Prime DeFi provides an environment of learning and mutual support for people who want to become more seasoned DeFi investors,” Ryder says. “The feedback we’ve been receiving from members has been positively overwhelming. Many of our members have rich life experiences and have adopted a mindset of sharing and helping other members. I believe having a community such as Prime DeFi in your corner is much more worthwhile than doing it all alone.”