Join host Rob Scott for an inspiring conversation with Ifty Nasir, the visionary founder and CEO of Vestd who literally created an entire industry category. Born in Bradford to immigrant parents in a cramped terrace house with nine siblings, Ifty's remarkable journey took him from teenage hustler selling refurbished sewing machines to becoming one of the youngest Vice Presidents at BP, before making the bold decision to walk away from corporate success.
That leap of faith led to Vestd - the UK's first regulated digital share scheme platform and the company that essentially invented "ShareTech." Under Ifty's leadership, Vestd has revolutionised how startups think about ownership, helping thousands of founders share equity with their teams and contributing over £1 billion to the UK economy.
Discover how Ifty's early entrepreneurial idea for "computer aided real estate" - essentially Rightmove decades before it existed - planted the seeds for his mission to democratise equity sharing. Learn about his transformative experience at Stanford discovering the "ownership effect," his strategic pivot from marketplace to SaaS, and how Vestd went fully remote just weeks before COVID hit.
From Applied Financials team members paying off their mortgages through share schemes to building a global platform spanning from the UK to India, Ifty shares the real stories behind creating life-changing wealth for ordinary workers. His philosophy is simple but powerful: giving people a slice of the pie creates better businesses and transforms lives.
This episode reveals the grit, vision, and unwavering belief required to build not just a company, but an entire ecosystem that lifts everyone up. Ifty's journey from Bradford to building Britain's equity economy proves that with the right mission and relentless persistence, you really can create an industry that changes how business rewards success.
If this conversation about democratizing equity and giving everyone a slice of the pie resonated with you, please do two things: subscribe to Binary to Billions for more stories of innovation with impact, and share this episode with at least one person who believes businesses should change lives for the better. Every share helps us reach more purpose-driven entrepreneurs.