Val Kleyman calls the Valorem Foundation the “niche platform for the 99 percent”. Kleyman believes his company will be the way Millennials pay for items in the future rather than using fiat currency.
What is the Valorem Foundation? Simply, it is a value-based platform that allows its users to participate in the global marketplace. The Valorem Foundation does this through the use of the VLR Token, which users can buy, sell and trade.
Kleyman’s vision is simple. People are paying more for less these days around the world. He believes the Valorem Foundation can solve this problem. It is intended that the VLR Token will expand consumers’ buying power, and eliminate the problems so many people have with fiat currency around the globe.
Recently, Kleyman sat down with Totalprestige Magazine to explain the Valorem Foundation and his career in-depth.
Val, Can you please tell us exactly what Valorem is?
Valorem Foundation is a small group of people who are tired of the high cost of low value. For as long as I can remember, the complex world of finance and investing has made it impossible for the individual to prosper. We are all about that concept. Empowering the individual. We are going to build a platform that is based on trust and sound principles that everyone can use. It will incorporate various levels of exchange and allow everyone to make smart decisions about their future within a trust environment.
Please tell us how the company began and what some of the highlights have been?
I’ve been investing in real estate for 12-plus years. As simple as real estate is, the systems around it are highly complex. Simple things like utilizing equity to grow ROI take forever and are difficult to do for the average person. I wanted to disrupt and simplify investing as a whole while solving the problem of personal finance and education. If we use the blockchain for all sorts of daily transactions like microfinance, P2P, car and student lending, investing and crowdfunding, we can create greater velocity of money for everyone via trust.
Val, who can benefit from Valorem and how?
We are all about the individual. While anyone can participate in our platform, the individual is the one that we are focusing on. We want to empower that person to build a better future for themselves through a trusted environment that we are going to create.
What is the VLR and your ICO offering?
The VLR token is the value measure in our ecosystem. The ICO offering is the means by which we are distributing that value for people to use it there later when we deliver the platform. Using a SAFT Agreement, we are selling 150,000,000 tokens at $0.5 per token; and hope that everyone that buys our token holds it for the long-term and actually uses it on the platform instead of selling it when it hits the exchanges.
Val, what have you learned about yourself while running your businesses?
I am lucky to have been an employee and a business owner. Both are tremendously educational, if one pays attention. As anyone, I’ve had setbacks and learning experiences and various degrees of success. However, the most important lesson I have learned is to persevere. Elon Musk said “starting a business is like staring into the abyss while eating glass,” I tend to agree only he forgot to mention that when you achieve your milestones, it’s blissfully enjoyable. Starting businesses has been a great pleasure in my life, and in all cases, adding value is the goal. Valorem Foundation is the culmination of numerous people, such as myself, who have started businesses and succeeded in them. We all bring value to this venture, and will make sure it succeeds.
How do you find inspiration?
Inspiration for me comes by creating value out of necessity. People need simpler ways to propel their financial lives forward in a world that gets more complex every day. With so much distraction and noise, it’s easy to lose sight of your goals. My inspiration is derived from my surroundings, books, movies and lot’s of educational material.
What is the most challenging part of your work?
Finding great people. It isn’t by chance that many of our team members are those that I personally know who have achieved various levels of success in business. Challenges are best overcome by people who know how to succeed. Building our team is my greatest challenge and pleasure.
What do you have your sights set on next?
After our ICO closes, our development is our focus. In phase one, we will create a simple environment for people to use and help us test out. It will incorporate microloans, student loans, car loans, P2P and rent payment. Using feedback, we’ll build the next version.
Were you ever influenced by other entrepreneurs?
Absolutely. Much of my success comes from reading and studying others. My favorite books include: Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Atlas Shrugged and Seeking Wisdom. My whole life has been an exploration into the various degrees of success of others. These authors and others like them have created in me a flame that burns and yearns to create and build value.
What is a day in your life like?
Time management is crucial. We all have 24 hours. The compound effect of all those days is what you will and will not become. I try to incorporate into my day a little of everything. Family, business, creativity and personal growth. All in that order. Sometimes it works and sometimes I fall short. The most important thing is to start the next 24 hours the same way.
What makes you smile?
When a plan succeeds. When goals are met. When value is created from nothing.
What scares you?
Failure. Little failures can manifest into big ones if you don’t learn from them, so to overcome that fear, I spend lots of time learning what went wrong and what went right. If you can shore up your wrongs and expand on your rights, you’ll enjoy a great life.
What has been your greatest achievement?
Being able to quit my job and work for myself. I worked for a great company for over a decade, FedEx. I was successful there. However, something inside me said I could do great things, if I was forced to leave my golden cage. Once I did, I never looked back. You never know how hard you have to work until that paycheck is no longer guaranteed. It’s the thrill of a lifetime. Enjoy the thrill and grind.
What is your secret talent?
To never give up and don’t listen to naysayers.
Which historical figure do you most admire?
I am student of all history. Not just one individual. The most interesting conclusion I have begun to grasp is that those historical figures that we admire would not be famous if not for a degree of luck and help from people around them. Yet, they are the ones remembered. What has served me well is to remember that if a series of events that transpired would not have, many of those figure that we know today would be unheard of. To be a student of history is to understand that those whom we admire had help and knew where to find it to become successful. That is the one facet of history that I absolutely love and implement daily.
Val, do you have any hobbies?
I love movies. Movies are my entire life. A great movie really inspires.
What are you never without?
A spreadsheet, a calculator, an iPhone, a laptop and a great support structure.
Can you share two of your favorite quotes with us?
I have so many more than two, so here are four.
“Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” – Robert Frost
“Do something someone won’t for five years and you’ll do something they can’t for the rest of your life.” – Mike Cantu
“I believe in dreams sooner than statistics” and “Living is an art, it’s not bookkeeping. It takes an awful lot of rehearsal for a man to get to be himself.” – The Time of Your Life
“I do not fool myself about my work or the response I seek – I value both too highly. I do not care to be admired causelessly, emotionally, instinctively – or blindly. I do not care for blindness in any form, I have too much to show – or for deafness, I have too much to say. I do not care to be admired by anyone’s heart – only by someone’s head. And when I find a customer with that invaluable capacity, then my performance is a mutual trade to mutual profit.” – Atlas Shrugged
What have you sacrificed for success?
Knowing how success works, you know that sacrifices are short lived. They are ROI, an investment in yourself, in the future. You can’t taste it today. Can’t hold it today, but it’s there. Give it time and let it blossom. But don’t lift your foot up off the gas, because you might lose it.
What advice would you give to anyone starting a new business?
Two things. Number one, If you see someone sitting in the shade, it’s because they planted that tree a long time ago. Number two, SW, SW, SW, SW: some will, some won’t, so what, someone’s waiting.
Is there anything else you would like to add and tell the readers?
The Valorem Foundation is a concept that is beautiful and simple. It is derived from the need and potential of widespread utilization. Once we get going, there is no stopping it. Join us and help us build it.
For more information on the Valorem Foundation, please visit www.advalorem.io.
