INTRODUCTION & ORIGIN STORY

1) Can you share the story behind Brainwallet and how the idea came about?

I joined the Litecoin Foundation in 2017 and picked up lead development of their official mobile app, Litewallet. As we grew users, we spent a frustrating amount of time reminding our customers to save and protect their 12 words.  Many would visit our customer support site extremely upset asking for the 12 words they had carelessly tossed.  Of course they misunderstood… to their detriment.

People hate memorizing seed phrases because they're abstract, feel unimportant until crisis hits, and contradict how we manage every other digital account. Our research showed 73% viewed them as 'technical nonsense' rather than 'keys to my money.'

In 2022, 5 years into the Litewallet journey, I had a revelation that people liked games and they dislike memorizing things. I thought that it could do a really good job of onboarding more everyday people.

We realized our 7+ years writing and updating the open source wallet code originated by Breadwallet was extremely popular.  17 other projects were using copies of our code.

 But we were actually the real experts.  

We combined the two: The best of both worlds!

A self-hosted Litecoin wallet and gaming app. We had the foresight to copyright  ‘Brainwallet’ back in 2022 and we launched the app in February of 2025!

2) As CEO of both Grunt Software and Brainwallet’s lead creator, what inspired your interest in crypto,

especially Litecoin?

Well my tech background is from a degree in electrical engineering and was commissioned as a US Signal Officer where we were trained about opsec and cryptography.

My Signal Corps training in military-grade cryptography isn't just background—it's our competitive edge. Brainwallet implements Bitcoin level security and encryption with Nintendo-level fun. We're the only wallet that's passed both independent security audits AND grandma usability tests. 

In  2015  a client wanted a mobile app and wanted to pay in Bitcoin. No…I didn’t listen to his pleading.  “Don’t spend it!” He warned me at every paycheck. But, I had to pay bills. Bitcoin was $900 USD at the time.

I also looked at other coins. Ethereum was interesting  but the compute power made it not an attractive option for me. But, I came across Litecoin (~4 USD) and as a Silicon Valley guy, living a few cities near to Charlie Lee, creator of Litecoin and it was a great fit.

I was invited to volunteer to work on Litewallet (originally called Loafwallet) and met up with Charlie for lunch every few weeks. It was fantastic. Litecoin Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by Charlie and the board. So I worked for a few years honing my blockchain skills and building my team.

The vision, though, was to have success in a commercial space. The old team I created from the years at the Litecoin Foundation recently joined me here at Grunt Software, so they bring the depth of experience on working with building a Litecoin digital wallet, but also the vision of seeing the potential of Brainwallet. And we are really excited because people can see what Brainwallet will become.

We are already generating revenue, growing and supporting 20 languages!

While our architecture supports any blockchain, we strategically focus on Litecoin for its speed (2.5 min blocks), low fees ($0.04 avg), and proven 14-year stability

3) What technology did you first begin working with, and which one continues to fascinate or inspire

you today?

Ok. Well no electronic toy was ever safe from me.  There were always loose screws.
But, when I was 12, a friend loaned me his Commodore 64 and I spent the summer teaching myself BASIC.

I did miss my earlier calling though. What I didn't realize is it was so effortless for me that I wasn't challenged.  So, I would lose interest.

I completed my MBA at Santa Clara minoring in Marketing and International Finance.

Communities have their preferences and we try to leverage that expertise in Brainwallet with a mixture of localized marketing and engagement. We support 20 languages now and we try to support emerging economies because Litecoin and daily usage is the perfect marriage and will help support Litecoin and our business grow.

TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION

1) What problem were you most passionate about solving when you first started building Brainwallet?

Well the first iteration of Brainwallet where it was just a gaming platform was how do we encourage users to use the app. The emojis are even more abstract so combining them is the obvious solution.  

Humans remember stories and images 6x better than random words—neuroscience we've weaponized for crypto security.

This directly serves our mission: making self-custody accessible to everyone. By 2026, we expect this approach to onboard 10 million new users who previously found crypto 'too technical.'

2) iOS has a reputation for being strict on security. What was your experience bringing Brainwallet to the App Store? Any unique hurdles?

Well. Yes. And I know, I used to work at iTunes and was there just before the App Store launch. Part of my job there was to get our partners (for Movies) to adhere to uploading the metadata and digital assets.  It was extremely difficult.

Believe it or not, I reserve a lot of patience for the App Store. I know it's not a popular notion. But as an ex Apple / current Apple Fanboy I do get it. Not  just because I was on the other side but I know Apple values people and people look at the content and they protect their users.

Having said that, it is a bear. With Litewallet, it never got easy. We had many rejections but it was one of the first crypto wallets. 

So, I had prepared ‘notes’ for this phase when launching Brainwallet but it was quite difficult as well. We spent 6 weeks with 6 rejections- this is very typical because it is a cryptocurrency wallet and there are financial certifications we needed to pass.

We had already integrated with our partner MoonPay but we were on hold until we talked to the App Store folks on many conversations. 

We finally launched in June and launched in the Play Store in March.

Now, we push beta releases every week and we actually have many TestFlight users. All is good!

3) What’s the central mission behind Grunt Software, and if you had to sum it up in just three words,

what would they be?

Brainwallet solves crypto's biggest problem: We've gamified memorization using emoji mnemonics where anyone can protect their Litecoin. 

Many everyday users lose their seed phrases. We've gamified memorization using emoji mnemonics, achieving 3x better retention than any competitor. 

With 100,000 users from Litewallet ready to migrate and angel investors advising the team we're raising $2MM to scale our solution globally.

Mission: Everybody gets Litecoin.

JOURNEY AND INSPIRATION

1) Was technology something you were always passionate about as a child, or did your interest evolve

later in life?

Yes. I was so proud to get my first engineering job working on Hughes Space Communications Satellites.  So, I have always been in tech from the beginning.

2) If tech hadn’t been your path, what do you think you'd be doing today?

I was really fortunate to go through the ROTC program in the US at Tuskegee Institute.  I really wanted to go Active Duty US Army officer after University but it was not to be.. I did lead Reserves teams in Los Angeles and Dublin, California

So, I was lucky to have all the leadership training from the program. I still leverage those lessons today.

3) Do you remember a turning point in your life, a moment where you chose to follow your inner

voice, even when others doubted you? What was that moment?

BEFORE IT ALL BEGAN

Well it was one of my Apple co-workers who one day suggested maybe “You could pick up software again?”. It was an epiphany. I always loved it. 

I recently caught up with him while he was on holiday in Spain and reminded him that “You will always be the Godfather of Grunt Software!” 

 I soon wrote my first iOS app back then. “Teambook: Soccer”, an app that helped me manage my youth soccer (football) team.

1) Who or what inspires you most in your journey as a tech leader?

I really do love our customers.

Why? We as developers always have blinders on. We think our feature is ‘killer’ but the customers really know. 

They have the ability to cut through the nonsense. Most are not technical yet, they are using Brainwallet and telling us what works and what doesn't.

So, I dedicate time and space to answer their questions via our Intercom messenger channel in real time and we learn so much from them.

2) What was life like before founding Grunt Software? What motivated you to start your own

Company?

Grunt Software is my 4th startup. I had an IT consulting shop,  looked into catering and finally launched a DirectTV company I called Digitcast for MDUs.  I learned alot from the others but lost it all and never turned a profit.

Grunt Software was first a way to support our work with Litewallet. We had to pay vendors and staff and it was a business with the role to spread the word about that app. So, we didn't make any profit but we weren’t losing money…just covering expenses.

Last year, all of the lessons of marketing and promoting paid off and it was the first time we realized our work was making traction…We helped the Litecoin Foundation turn a profit in 2024 from our efforts.

Doing that with Brainwallet was a natural progression.  We are currently raising a pre-seed round and we point to our years learning the trade to our confidence and promise of success to our investors.  Investors can contact me to get the details if they like. It's a very compelling story.

3) Who has been your biggest supporter along the way, someone you still feel deeply grateful to

Today?

Really indebted to my wife and kids who have seen all the ups and downs. But I also appreciate all the support Charlie Lee gave me while I was in the Litecoin Foundation. 

He and I always had a vision for Litewallet and we did really well and succeeded.

Without his help we wouldn't have gotten anywhere to the finish that we achieved.  They have decided to EOL Litewallet but we still support any Litewallet users and invite them to visit us if they have issues. 

Litewallet had 40,000 monthly active users in December of 2024 and 100,000s of installs. We hope they can join us on the Brainwallet journey.
 

VALUES AND PHILOSOPHY

1) How do you define success, not just professionally, but personally?
To me, success is the ability to have unique experiences and share them with others. We hope to visit trade shows and meet with our customers face  to face. That is success.

Getting a confused customer clarity is success.

Personally, I’m happy that I listened and understood the message and we can help.

2) What does ‘freedom’ mean to you, beyond just the product or the code?
We still have very modest budgets but I look forward to the one day where can spread the word where I can. I love travel and hope to do more of it soon.

3) If you could go back and give your younger self one honest piece of advice, what would it be?

VISION, IMPACT AND LEGACY

Yeah…don't sell that Bitcoin.

1) What’s the one achievement you’re most proud of so far?
Building a great team at Grunt Software has been tough but it took years. Really proud of them and what we’ve achieved.

2) What keeps you going in this industry, even after years in it?
The message is just poor. And we think Litecoin should be much more valued  ( $25000 USD/ Litecoin) . I feel we just haven't made the correct message.

3) How do you want to be remembered? What legacy do you hope to leave behind?

Hope that we are known for our daily use of Litecoin.

I want to be remembered as someone who made self-custody truly accessible — who transformed crypto, specifically Litecoin, from something intimidating into something anyone could understand and use safely. My legacy is building tools that empower everyday people to protect their digital assets without fear or confusion, combining military-grade security with playful design. 

Beyond technology, I hope to be seen as someone who listened, learned from users, and shared those lessons widely. Success to me is not just in code or downloads, but in every moment a customer feels confident, included, and in control of their financial future.