On the TechTO stage ×1
First seen on the TechTO stage in 2020. Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about Neal ↗
In their words
I want to do something where I know the market needs it, not I suspect the market might need it after I build it.
It's funny you phrase the question — well, if it's a rocket ship, why leave? I think if it hadn't been a rocket ship, I wouldn't have had the confidence to leave.
I think this stuff is hard, and it's so hard that if you don't use the team that you've got, and you don't use the relationships that you have, you're just handicapping yourself.
More from TechTO ×1
Around the web ×1
Quick answers
Who is Neal Desai?
Co-founder and CEO of Kafene, the New York lease-to-own financing platform he started in 2019. He traded derivatives on Wall Street from 1999 to 2016, then joined power-sports lender Octane as its twelfth employee, became CFO within weeks and sat on its board.
Why did he leave Octane to start Kafene?
Because Octane worked. He told TechTO in April 2020 that had it not been a rocket ship he would not have had the confidence to leave, and that he wanted a business where the market need was already proven rather than hoped for, and mission-driven enough to justify a decade or two of effort.
What does Kafene do?
It sits at a retailer's point of sale and offers lease-to-own agreements to customers who don't qualify for prime credit, mainly for furniture, appliances, electronics and tires. Kafene underwrites in near real time and holds the risk itself rather than passing it on.