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Finance and technology: Interview with Shane Caniglia

Shane Caniglia was searched out by The Rich Dad Company to take on the President position and spearhead technology initiatives never before tackled by this financial-education company. The Best You caught up with him to chat about his projects.

Robert and Kim Kiyosaki realised early on that serving financial literacy to the masses took an application of technology that did not exist in their company. When they met Shane Caniglia through their mutual business lawyer, it seemed like a natural fit. “Before I came to Rich Dad my business partner and I had just sold PFI, our small package delivery company, to FedEx,” Shane says. “In addition, we closed down our Phoenix based business due to complications with a bad partner and market conditions.”

With that chapter of his life over, it was perfect timing for Shane to become a part of the Rich Dad family. When one thinks of the Rich Dad Poor Dad franchise, technology isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. But in the 21st century, all businesses have to have a technological

 

aspect, which is where Shane’s expertise comes in. “At PFI, my old shipping company”, he explains, “I used my training as a certified database programmer to lead the team that created the proprietary software that ran the company and created the highest level of efficiency and profitability.” The way he has transferred these skills to Rich Dad is impressive. “When I came to Rich Dad, the entrepreneur in me realised that Rich Dad needed to transition from just physical products to the digital world. With that in mind, we wanted to do more than just create ebooks and websites; we wanted to lead the company into the world of apps, both iOS and Android. In doing so we have created whole new ways to learn and created the ground breaking app, Rich Dad Poor Dad powered by Clutch.” Developing a successful app these days is no mean feat. There seems to be an app for everything, on all platforms, from maps to plan your journey across town to games with candies to keep you occupied on your travels. What makes an app stand out above the rest in this saturated market? “One word: Quality. You simply make the best app you can with the best user experience. To succeed that you must constantly push yourself and your team to be better.” For Shane, the best app he has created at Rich Dad has been Rich Dad Poor Dad powered by Clutch; “This app takes all the lessons from the book Rich Dad Poor Dad and recreates them through games, videos, animations, simulations, and so much more. We took the boring topic of finance and made it fun. Now that is an achievement!” However, Shane isn’t just a geeky tech guy. He has many other interests, the main one being entrepreneurship, which he applies to various projects. In 2010 he founded Plush Creative Agency, a business that works with the largest brands in the business, specialising in liquor brand promotion marketing. This year he opened Krayvings Restaurant.

According to Shane, going into the restaurant business was a natural progression from Plush. “As owner in Plush, a marketing and promotional planning company, I worked with bars and restaurants regularly. It was through Plush that we saw the need for Fuduzu, our restaurant management system. After learning the restaurant business to make those business stronger, opening a restaurant was just a natural fit.” This adventure into the restaurant industry opened the door to Fuduzu, a proprietary software management system designed to revolutionise the food and beverage industry. Shane says that it was this business that taught him the most about entrepreneurship. “All my skills as an entrepreneur were required such as raising-capital, creating a ground breaking product from the ground up, sales as I have to open the eyes of the industry to this need, and execution as I am asking an entire industry to start over”, he explains. “The biggest lesson I learned or skill I had to acquire was people. You have to have great people surrounding you. You have to have a great team and you have to develop the personal skills to lead that team.” Clearly a rock star of the world of entrepreneurship, Shane reckons that if he wasn’t doing this, he would be a genuine rock star. “I’ve been playing drums my whole life. I’d be rocking and rolling. I spent my youth in a rock band. Just like my life as an entrepreneur, being the drummer for a rock band satisfied my creative needs, and as the band manager I fulfilled my business instincts.” Entrepreneurial rock star or musical rock star, Shane is having a great time. “Being an entrepreneur is awesome. There are ups and downs, but I love it. I have no regrets and would not change a thing.”

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