In Spring 2020, Yulgan Lira and Caina Gasbarro were in Switzerland when the Covid-19 pandemic was declared and the country went into lockdown.

I discovered blockchain somewhat by accident.

The very first time that I heard about blockchain was actually at university over a decade ago.

I was talking to a professor in his office, and there was this book on the table called Blockchain for Business.

He took the book from the table, and said, “this is the next revolution of humanity”. From that moment, I was captivated.

I think blockchain is about freedom.

When I graduated from university, I had an opportunity to start as a Partner in a law firm working with blockchain companies in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Around the same time, and like so many other blockchain enthusiasts, I discovered the white paper of Bitcoin by Satoshi. Before even mentioning the technology, Satoshi had identified a use case in blockchain for banking, for finance, for society.

For me, Blockchain harks back to the ideals of Athenian democracy. It’s about enabling everyone to participate and work together towards achieving common goals.

The financial system needs to evolve.

Around the globe, people are waking up to the myriad of problems within the current financial system, and blockchain technology offers solutions.

Society, technology, even nature is constantly evolving to become more efficient, so the acceleration of blockchain is almost inevitable.

We are only in the infancy of adopting the technology and we have lots to do and build in the future, not only in terms of cryptocurrency, and NFT’s (which is in the mainstream right now) but also in terms of using this technology wisely.

Caina is a very important part of my life.

Together, we are creating something very exciting.

We are very proud of what we are delivering to the market, and we are very proud of the extraordinary community that have helped us along the way.

Life moves very quickly, and I want to ensure that we’re making a difference.

I’m really excited to bring Colb to the world; to show it to people, discuss it with people, make it better and advance.

Colb’s story began in Brazil.

I moved to Sao Paulo at the end of 2016 and began working as a partner in an asset management firm at the beginning of 2017.  

I wasn’t really happy there, so I started looking for a more challenging and inclusive working environment. I ended up joining a cryptocurrency company.

Things finally started to look up when…

I met Yulgan during a Blockchain event. Since then, we’ve never left each other. We quickly decided to be, work and live together; and to finally create a company on our terms.

In 2020, we travelled to Switzerland to visit my family, and in a matter of weeks, Covid-19 changed everything. Shortly after the lockdown, the Swiss government introduced the new Distributed Ledger Technology law.

We seized the opportunity to redirect Colb’s initial business model, permanently relocate and establish the company in Geneva.  

The goal of becoming a successful entrepreneur it’s to have the chance to give it back.

I hope we will contribute positively to society and the environment as we grow.

Currently, Colb is geared toward professional investors, mainly in Switzerland and Europe. As every person in every country deserves to have the chance to access investment opportunities, my goal is to extend our reach to all types of investors and markets.

Throughout my career, I’ve endeavoured to keep learning.

I’ve been working for around 20 years, and I still have about 20 years to go before retirement.

That’s a long time, so I don’t plan on getting complacent. I want to broaden my mind and experience new things, which is principally why I decided to transition into Web3. It’s an emerging space with lots of fertile ground for invention, experimentation and new understanding.

‍I recognise the practical applications of Blockchain technology.

I bought my first Bitcoin in 2017, and have spent the years since deepening my understanding of the systems that underpin it. I am particularly fascinated by the possibility of distributed ledger technology to tackle real-world problems, such as counterfeit goods.

The power of the blockchain to introduce trust, transparency and authenticity has huge potential.

‍Joining Colb at an early-stage, I can really help to shape its future.

I honed my skills within big organisations - private banks, research institutes and government agencies - where my principal aim was to maintain and tweak existing processes. Working in a fast-growing startup like Colb, I’m thrilled to be able to build, test and innovate these processes from the ground up.

I will be instrumental in ensuring the investment product is safe, securely, running well and sustainable over the long-term. Creating these secure foundations will ensure that we can scale at pace. It’s an exciting challenge.

My children are my priority.

Outside of work, my mission is to set my kids up for success in the future; to help them become well-rounded, kind, happy and understanding adults.

Together with my family I love cross-country skiing, gardening and playing video games. We also look after a flock of chickens!

I’m the new kid on the block.

It’s all very exciting.

One minute I was working in compliance on the corporate side, and now I’m going into investment with blockchain and FinTech. It’s a very exciting challenge, and I’m looking forward to immersing myself in this world.

I take any opportunity to develop my skills.

I started years ago in the legal environment, and I never expected to pivot into finance. An opportunity arose and I seized it. I worked my way from being an assistant, all the way to a role as a senior trust manager. I then completed another diploma and pivoted again into risk and compliance.

I love the process of always learning and achieving new things. I’m extremely proud of where I have got to today.

I like helping others maximise their opportunities too.

Outside of the office job, I work as a life coach. I’m a very empathetic person and love working with people. I believe in the power of individuals and I want to help others to push themselves further.

I have enjoyed the transition into the FinTech space.

I am an economist by trade, and have been in ‘traditional finance' for almost 17 years.

I started working with Colb as an advisor, and grew to love the blockchain environment.

Because Colb aims to connect the traditional financial world with blockchain and the FinTech environment, it felt like a natural progression, and I have since become a firm believer in the technology's revolutionary power.

We are changing the world using technology.

Blockchain technology has an incredible power to connect the worlds of economics, finance, technology and society.  

We are reducing costs, reducing intermediaries, reducing problems in financial markets. On the flip side, we are creating a solution that will bring more people to investment opportunities that were originally reserved just for high net worth individuals.

I am excited by assets that are shaping our future.

Colb is not an asset manager, but there are certain asset groups that particularly excite us.

I am future-facing and am always looking for sectors that will dominate the conversation over the next five, ten, or fifty years; tech, commodities, real estate, ESG and energy.

I have as much experience playing instruments as I do in finance.

I love music and am learning a whole host of instruments; guitar, piano, saxophone and the ukulele.

I also read a lot about philosophy. Great thinkers like Aristotle played such an important role in shaping society. You can learn a lot from them.

My relationship with Colb is very collaborative.

My relationship with Colb is interesting because I get to answer lots of questions for them. Whatever the problem, we always resolve it together.

Colb is truly visionary and I’m excited to work with them as they continue to grow.

Blockchain presents challenges and opportunities.

I have extensive experience in traditional finance, but made the pivot into FinTech two years ago.

I think the biggest challenge is to make accounting work with the specifics of the blockchain and cryptocurrency as the regulatory environment develops. It’s all very new, but it’s heading in an exciting direction.

I’m very active outside of work.

During the winters, I like to venture off the beaten track and ski. It really helps me to switch off. In the summer, I love exploring France and Switzerland on my mountain bike.

Our platform is inclusive and user-friendly.

I am an investor in decentralised finance, but I've been frustrated by the lack of attention that is paid to the user experience - it’s not friendly to people who lack a prior understanding of Blockchain technology. At Colb, we’re dedicating lots of resources to developing our user interface. I really want to empower anyone to participate in the Blockchain revolution, irrespective of their background.

We’re optimistic about regulation.

We’ve always known that regulation will be a challenge to blockchain companies, but we welcome steps to improve security and protect users. It’s exciting to see Switzerland leading the way, closely followed by the UK and US. Overall, regulation will be good for financial markets and good for blockchain.

When I’m not working, I settle down with a good book.

Alongside classical literature, I’ve developed a real interest in psychoanalysis and love reading around this topic. It gives you a unique insight into society and relationships.