In this enlightening episode, Nick Rotola shares his journey from a graduate student to a visionary in the Web3 space. Learn about the transformative power of community and decentralized innovation as Nick discusses his success in blockchain technology and the birth of a billion-dollar cryptocurrency project. Tune in to explore how leveraging community power can be redirected toward the Church and its mission.
Welcome, everyone, to The Calling radio show to all the dreamers. I’m your host, Chrysandra Brunson, founder and CEO of The Calling. And it is such an honor to be with all of you today. You know, at The Calling, we have realized that so many people are afraid to go after the dreams that God has put inside their hearts because they are afraid to fail. And that is just plain wrong, because if God has given us a dream and we’re not living it out, We are wasting it and we do not want to die with regret. That’s why the calling loves to inspire, empower, and equip people to go after God’s calling on their lives to reap the best kind of harvest possible of eternal legacy on themselves and their families. And we do this through custom programs, tools, giving people the confidence to know that they can go after what God is calling them to for such a time as this through global conferences, workshops, seminars, and especially through this radio show to all the dreamers having world-renowned guests like we do today, the one and only Nick Rotola. And we’re so glad to have you, Nick.
NICK ROTOLA :
Awesome. Thank you. Yeah, it’s great to be here.
CHRYSANDRA :
It’s so great to see you. And we connected a few weeks ago and it was such an honor. But to be able to be reconnected, we are just so honored that you’re here for such a time as this. And can you just share with our audiences your background? Just tell us about yourself and some of the roles that you’re playing in humanity.
NICK ROTOLA :
Yeah. Well, you know, first, if you don’t mind, I felt like the spirit, you know, we said we’d let the spirit lead. Now you mentioned harvest. And, you know, as you know, you need to plant a seed before you can harvest. And, you know, the Bible says in Mark four, there’s basically four ways the seed could go after it’s planted. And the one that works really well is fertile soil. And so I just want to encourage everybody that’s listening or working on something or wants to do something incredible for the kingdom. Make your soil fertile first. It’s so important. You know, what’s in your heart ends up coming out of your mouth. And it’s just so important to have your walk with the Lord dialed in before you go do big things and try to harvest big. So I just encourage anybody on that front, just because I felt led to say that.
CHRYSANDRA :
Amen. Amen.
NICK ROTOLA :
You know, if our intentions can be God’s intentions, I think that’s kind of the goal and the design of how we’re meant to live. And if we walk in God’s will, things are going to come easily. They’re going to be blessed. They’re going to multiply. And so, you know, we do it either our way, which is maybe not pure intentions, I guess, where kind of pride and fear take over a lot of times for a lot of people. And then there’s the God’s way. Which that’s that’s what I would attribute all of my success so far in our company successes. We we have been pretty locked in on the fertile soil side and we’ve acknowledged God in all of our ways. And we’ve tried to stay in his in his will. And he’s just opened incredible doors that you just couldn’t imagine. You know, I was a graduate student. I graduated my MBA here at Oral Roberts 2018. So it’s just, you know, four and a half years ago. And so it’s just really crazy how quickly God can elevate you. And honestly, in 2023, how quickly you can be elevated with technology. And it’s just, it’s really not like it used to be. If you have a good idea and a lot of passion and drive and focus and fertile soil, I mean, you could just, the harvest is really great. And the workers really are few.
CHRYSANDRA :
Hmm. Couldn’t have said it better, Nick. And yeah, you are an alum and you were a part of the baseball program as well.
NICK ROTOLA :
Yeah. And yeah, your first question I can get back to. But yeah, I was part of the baseball program here. I played for four seasons. I came in as a junior and then had a couple big injuries. So I was able to stay to a sixth year, which was really uncommon. Six years? That’s neat. Yeah. Yeah, no, it’s great. You know, you learn so much being around Division One baseball. And it was just amazing to have four years with Coach Fulmer and the baseball team. And they just do such an amazing job. They got to bring mentors in that were just incredible for me. And then just the discipline you learn. And I was able to get my MBA and I ran a couple of businesses while I was in school here. So I learned a lot about hard work and, you know, success and failure and trying to walk that line. And I mean, it’s just… It’s insanely productive time when you’re here on campus. If you’re not getting smarter, you’re hopefully getting more active, more physically, progressing physically or mentally, spiritually. I mean, the spiritual, the fact that your downtime is a lot of time spent with talking about God, spending time with the Lord, I mean… What more could you want if you want to develop as a person? Then focus on those three things. So I just, I owe all of our success so far as a company. A lot of it’s come from Oral Roberts Education, so I’m really happy about that. And let me get to your question about what we’re doing.
CHRYSANDRA :
I love it. We all love it. So it’s all perfect.
NICK ROTOLA :
So we are in an industry called Web3. The way I define it is you have crypto right here, and then you have blockchain, and then you have Web3. So, crypto is just a tool. It’s a decentralized finance system where we can transact really quickly and easily, and you can build a lot of technology on top of it and all that. But it’s certainly not like, you know, if FTX blows up, it doesn’t crush Web3. Web3 is something much bigger. Blockchain is something much bigger. And so, we are in that business. We have a group of companies and we are focused on Web3, mass adoption, growth, communities, all that. So I had a couple successful projects. The first was a cryptocurrency that made it above a billion dollar valuation. A billion dollars, you guys.
CHRYSANDRA :
That’s what he said.
NICK ROTOLA :
So yeah, that wasn’t owned by me or anything like that. I was just part of the team building the project. But we built something that big that was totally community first, totally community owned, totally community operated. And so it’s really interesting if you’re thinking about, OK, If 350,000 people did that, because that’s how many holders you had of this currency, what happens if Christians decide to rally together? So what if you take the same dynamics that people are getting excited about on Wall Street Bets or GameStop or AMC or whatever, where they’re just changing the laws? They’re changing the rules to the game. I mean, what we’re realizing is community… will become the biggest asset probably in the world or maybe it already is it is it you know because community is what brings data which is the number one asset but if you really think about it i mean if you if you if you’re facebook maybe you think okay data is really valuable because you don’t see people on your platform as people you just see them as numbers and data But if you think about people as people, like Jesus would have, then you really think, okay, it’s not data, it’s communities that are actually the most valuable asset. And so what we have been trying to do for the last year and are really excited about is leveraging that community power for the church, for the kingdom, for missions, for the Great Commission. And so it’s really, really cool. It can be really amazing. So we’re excited about it.
CHRYSANDRA :
And tell us again what the name is.
NICK ROTOLA :
Yeah, so right now our company is called We3 Group. We own one of our companies that kind of we got famous for was the first, like the biggest and best NFT gallery in the world. So NFTs is a portion of Web3. We were on Fifth Avenue in New York City for six months. We got a lot of global press from that. I got to speak at the New York Stock Exchange and speak with a lot of really cool publications, you know, Time Magazine, reached out to us this week, for example. So that really elevated us on the kind of global scale. It’s like really early days. It’s like we happen to know how to do some of the stuff the IBM guys knew how to do early or whatever. It’s like we have this opportunity. So we ask ourselves, do we… What do we do next? And we really feel like what God is kind of organizing the steps for that. And so we’re just trying to walk in God’s will. We we yeah. So we have a group of companies and they’re all around Web three. And so and and God’s just been steering the the the car the whole time. And we’re just kind of along for the ride, just thanking him for taking us and just working as hard as we can, you know, as many hours it takes or whatever. And so.
CHRYSANDRA :
Are you guys so excited? I know that for me to take in this information for the first time, Nick, when you were sharing it with me and at the Forum 12 Web 3 conference from a few weeks ago, my mind just was exploding of just the imagination that God has. I see you much like a Steve Jobs of just having that ripple effect across humanity. And so it is such an honor to be with you, Nick, and to see your heart centered on the Lord and your family and just so much to come. The harvest is ready and. This is the time to be able to step into it. And so what is next on that forefront? You had mentioned that this shop on Fifth Avenue got so much attention. What was inside of there? If you can just take all of us there to visualize it if we haven’t been there yet.
NICK ROTOLA :
Yeah, and first let me just say, maybe Steve Jobs 1980 or 1968, not like iPhone time.
CHRYSANDRA :
Not yet.
NICK ROTOLA :
But I do appreciate it.
CHRYSANDRA :
It’s coming.
NICK ROTOLA :
I do appreciate that. So yeah, so Fifth Avenue, we were the first Web 3 store in the world. And so if you think about electronic stores, that’s where really a lot of us got started in what’s called Web 1. We went in, we figured out what computer to get, what mouse to get, what printer to get, and all that. We created that for Web3. And so it was about wallet selection. It was about NFT selection, understanding the why, the how. How does all that work? And then the second thing that we invented there was decentralized retail. So if you think about like this room, they have these different posters here. There’s a screen here, the screens there. Right now at a store, if you think about Gucci or Louis Vuitton or something, it’s all centralized. So whatever the CEO and the team decide, that’s in the store. We created a decentralized version. So each frame, each screen, and we had many of them in the store, almost 400, were controlled by companies around the world. So they got to be merchants inside the store. They didn’t have to worry about… all the headache of having a store themselves, but together as a community, we were strong enough. And so it’s just another case of community being stronger than a centralized authority. And I really believe that the technology is going to really, really grow. And when it grows, we’re gonna need a lot more physical places to go and figure it out. So that’s what that business was about, and we still own it in our group. And we are looking to expand it when the market’s ready for that.
CHRYSANDRA :
Can we know where the next location would be?
NICK ROTOLA :
Yeah, I’m under NDA, so I can’t say.
CHRYSANDRA :
Okay. Well, you guys can start praying that it could be in your hometown or in a place near you. But it is mind-boggling of where we’re at in humanity, where we’re at spiritually, with Jesus allowing revivals to be breaking out, and people are hungry for so much more. Yeah. What would be your simple statement, Nick, before we go to break of technology and Jesus being connected and his return?
NICK ROTOLA :
So I think technology is definitely a tool, and it can either be used for good or bad. It’s just the bottom line. It’s another level of spiritual warfare. I think, you know, there’s probably a lot more spiritual warfare going on than we really realize. And, you know, but this is one where we hope to be on the good side. We hope to pull people in the right direction. You know, it can either drive you to anxiety and fear, which is the highest levels of all time for any generation. Hmm. Or it can drive you towards love, joy, peace. And we want to drive you to those things. And it can definitely be used for that, for sure.
CHRYSANDRA :
Amen. We need to take a short break, but we will be right back. We have Nick Rotola on with us. Stay tuned. Twist and shout with Lee & Co. They are the premier oldies band delivering the rock and roll vibes you’ve been missing. Great songs, great memories. Book them at LeeAndCo.com. Hi guys, this is Chrysandra Brunson, host of To All The Dreamers. I am so happy to introduce personal training, nutritional guidance, and behavioral change coaching. Healthy, happy, and heavenly for your wellness, spirit, soul, and body. Contact Mimi Kroger at healthyhappyandheavenly.com. Continue to grow in the calling God has for you through ORU Online.
ADVERTISER :
You can earn your degree without changing your busy schedule. 100% online and 100% on your time. Learn more today. ORU.edu slash calling.
CHRYSANDRA :
At Ignite Brilliance Coaching, you will get 34 years of science teaching, a decade of university-level instruction, and over 10 years of instructional coaching to empower educators with the tools, mindset, and confidence to thrive. Contact Ignite Brilliance Coaching on Facebook. We are back. Thank you for tuning in to all the dreamers. We have the one and only Nick Rotola on with us today. And Nick, you’re just blowing our hearts, minds and souls of what is possible in this season for such a time as this as God’s children walking freely in him. And you were sharing the connection between Jesus and technology and technology. God has given you such incredible success. You and Sophie, your amazing bride, and because of your guys’ pure hearts, just wanting to see his kingdom come to earth. And can you just reinstate what the importance is of technology and serving Jesus in this season of life?
NICK ROTOLA :
Yeah, I mean, the easy answer there is, you know, we’re spending eight to 10 hours a day on technology, sometimes 11. And, um… We could be doing a number of different things, but we might as well be spending some of that time getting closer to the Lord. And so why is it important? I mean, it’s it’s the battlefield. It’s where people are. I mean, it’s like it’s like saying why is it important for a church to be in in a city of more than a thousand people or whatever? I mean, you have to go where the people are if you want to reach them. And that’s where the people are. They’re spending all their time and attention on technology.
CHRYSANDRA :
Right.
NICK ROTOLA :
And so we’ve got to innovate. I mean, the church for years has always played catch up. They’re gonna start streaming and they’re gonna start Netflix and then we’re gonna come out and try to start doing online church three, four, five years later at a really, really high level. And so I think with Web3 and this kind of new wave of the internet, I think God’s honestly putting the right people in place. And our view as a group is saying, well, maybe we can lead this thing. Maybe we can be in kind of control. I mean, if you look at the pulse that Zuckerberg has on community right now, which Facebook kind of owns community, you know, one of our, One of our good friends now who might come and join us, I think he probably will. He ran a page called Jesus Calling that had 33 million on Facebook. They were the most active group in any social media in the world. 33 million? Yeah. And they that’s pretty, pretty. Yeah, they were doing a million likes on a post and now they’re down to a thousand, you know, two thousand. I mean, Facebook has completely crushed them. Organic reach is less than two point two percent on Facebook. So what we’re asking ourselves is, OK, well, I think that’s. That’s going to catch up to them. There are multiple platforms that are stepping up, taking serious market share. But I think communities will start gathering elsewhere. And I think Christian communities will start gathering elsewhere. And I think once we… can reach each other at 100% reach instead of 2.2%, I think we’re gonna realize how many voices are out there saying, man, there’s some screwed up stuff going on right now, or man, this is what God was sharing with me today, or this just changed my life, I’d love to share it with you, or how can I pray for you, or how can I love on you, or how can I support your business? I mean, really, You know, economies grow because more money circulates. If you have a dead economy, it’s because no money’s changing hands. The same thing with communities. If you can build a really high circulation and people can reach each other quickly and you can instantly find someone, you don’t have to have a granddad that knows somebody or whatever, or uncle.
CHRYSANDRA :
I mean, to write a letter. Yeah.
NICK ROTOLA :
Yeah. We can connect people with technology at a very, very efficient rate. And I just want to say that. So I was a part of a cryptocurrency in 2021. And like I said, we actually we reached a billion valuation. We actually hit three billion and it was 350,000 people. And these people were joining and they were excited about one thing, which is making money. which is, we understand that, that’s on the flesh side. You know, we have, you know, the spirit and the flesh. And so they had the greed thing going. And they would get excited about things that could maybe make them more money and put it in the group. And then people would get all fired up about something, put it in the group. And then they would get together as a group and say, hey, let’s go out on Twitter, Facebook, wherever, and let’s go pull more people in. What they’re really doing is the same thing that Christians have been doing since the beginning. They were getting excited about something. They were all excited about posting it. They were joining a community. They were hanging out. They were going out and getting people and bringing them in. So why aren’t we doing that as Christians? I mean, so what we’re really excited about is those same dynamics for Christians. And how can we rally people together around things that really matter? I mean, you know, fear, lust, greed, all these things, they’re going to go away. They’re fleeting. I think people realize that. They see the most successful actors, actresses, the billionaires, they’re committing suicide. They’re unhappy. I think they know deep down that’s not happiness. Right. And so how can we unite people? That’s what we’re working on. How can we use the tech? We just did it with a worldly thing. God brought us through that season and we learned a ton and we’re a part of a group of maybe a hundred people in the world that really, really know how that works. And how can we build up for the kingdom? And it’s just a simple, it’s a simple job. We just need to get done. And so we’re hoping that the right people come in our path. So God’s already putting them in our, in our path. And we believe if we can really unite and work together and build the same dynamics, we can save a billion souls. And the reason I say a billion is that is the number from the crusade evangelists of the very reachable, very doable people that we can reach through crusade evangelism. And in the past, you’ve been able to save them for a dollar per soul. With economies of scale, you can actually probably get that down. And so that’s where our head is at, is on that number. And we’re not just going to talk about it for seven years at a coffee shop, you know, like like a lot of nonprofits do. We’re going to get to work and we’re going to work really hard and we’re going to we’re going to network and we’re going to we’re going to use extremely high end business practices, extremely high end technology, and we’re going to get it done. And God, we believe and we’re leaning on God that he is going to help give us the right ideas in the right time. He’s been doing it so far. Yeah. So we’re just walking in faith, not by sight. Yeah.
CHRYSANDRA :
And Colleen and I are so excited to join alongside.
NICK ROTOLA :
This partnership is huge.
CHRYSANDRA :
And this movement because it takes all of us being able to rally together to see it come to be. And I think it’s exactly right that it’s not just sitting at coffee shops rolling around trying to figure out how to do it. the capability and the gift of technology allowing that to come to be, it is very exciting. It’s an exciting season to be alive and what is in store. So Nick, what is next in that chapter?
NICK ROTOLA :
So, you know, we know let’s build a team the way the Bible tells us to. So the Bible says there’s one body with many members and we do not have the same function. So we know what we’re good at and we need to find people that are good at their thing. And we need to put people in the right seats on the bus, as Jim Collins would say, from good to great, which is a classic business book. We need to get the right people on the team. It’s really, really important for us to have the right people on the team. There are going to be a lot of people that want to come take the spotlight. That’s one of the most interesting things that I heard from my dad as a pastor last week, as he mentioned at the revival. At the revival, there were a lot of pastors that came up out of nowhere and wanted to come in for the spotlight. And they had to actually moderate and make sure that nothing distracted the spirit, that no pride got in the way. And so as humans, I think… with our movement, people are gonna wanna come in and it’s for their own agenda. And so we gotta make sure that we pick the right people that come in just completely humbly realizing that God is gonna run the show. He’s gonna make the decisions and we’re just, he’s the vine where the branch is. And so there’s financiers that are being dropped in our lap. And if anybody listening to this has interest in that, there’s opportunities there. There are media people. There are design people. There are blockchain engineers. Everybody is dropping in our lap. There are people that have run huge communities before. There are people that have run Web3 communities before. And so there are crusade people that are jumping on board. There are discipleship people that are jumping on board. And so we’re really, really excited. If there’s any… If you feel like the spirit’s leading you, please reach out to The Calling. We’re partnered. And let us know how you’d like to help. We’d love to talk with you about it.
CHRYSANDRA :
Yes. Well, we’re just so honored, Nick, for you and Sophie and your incredible daughter. She’s our youngest guest so far. And we should just keep it that way.
NICK ROTOLA :
That’s a record. Yes.
CHRYSANDRA :
Because how old was she at the time?
NICK ROTOLA :
Teenie was eight months when you interviewed her. She had a lot to say, too.
CHRYSANDRA :
She did.
NICK ROTOLA :
She did. She’s a passionate associate. Yes.
CHRYSANDRA :
Well, I think, Nick, we need to know people are tuning in. They’re listening and they want to be part of this. And just the keynote that you’re saying, community, that we’re all meant to work together. There is momentum in the Holy Spirit. He’s bringing his bride together to work together together. What would be your wisdom of being able to tell someone to not wait any longer, but to activate their God-given calling today, right now, while they’re listening right at this moment?
NICK ROTOLA :
Yeah, I mean, God sows talents into each one of us, and you could either hide it underground, you could do a good, decent job with it, or you could crush it. I mean, the parable tells a whole story. Be the person that turns one into ten, and I mean… Surround yourself with good people and motivated people. You know, come to ORU. If you’re young, send your kid or grandkid to ORU. A place like this that could be a hub and a platform and a launch pad. So I wouldn’t be where I am today, wouldn’t even be close if it wasn’t for this school. Everything good in my life, I can probably draw back to God, of course, but a lot of it through ORU. So I’m just so thankful that the Lord brought me here and helped me meet someone like you and just… I just want to stay small and so he can be elevated. And so that’s the goal.
CHRYSANDRA :
We just thank you so much, Nick, for your humble heart and heart just postured in Jesus’s heart. And your leadership in humanity right now is beyond measure. And we’re just so humbled. One last question before we’re coming towards the end of our show, but we’re so excited to have you back. Can you just share how to get through the valley season? And maybe it’s a hopefully it’s a valley day or a valley moment, but how to continue to persevere in the midst of, you know, Satan’s attacks. I mean, we’re having there’s all this revival and then also this spiritual warfare is combating it like never before. So how I mean, from the Grammys like that. outlandish, unholy moment. And then Jesus came back with the revivals a few days later. But what would you say if someone’s walking through the darkness?
NICK ROTOLA :
Yeah. I mean, if you have if you have Jesus, you know, if you fear God, you shouldn’t fear anything else. So, I mean, I’ll just pursue him. I mean, you know, come to me with heavy burden, you know, and I’ll give you rest. I think I mean, I’ve had those times. You know, what’s interesting is investors, they look for somebody that has a bigger calling and purpose and because they want to know you’re not going to give up when it gets hard. And so they’ve been really pleased with my faith and the fact that I’ll never give up because I feel like the calling in my life is much bigger than myself or the business or anything like that. So I personally feel like I don’t have a choice.
CHRYSANDRA :
It’s what you’re born to do.
NICK ROTOLA :
Yeah.
CHRYSANDRA :
I think that’s when you know that you found your God-given calling.
NICK ROTOLA :
Yeah. Yeah, so I just encourage you to, you know, go and wake Jesus up. If you’re on the boat and the storm comes, go and wake him up so he can still the water. You know, the story tells it all.
CHRYSANDRA :
Amen. Well, Nick, everyone wants to be part of this movement, to be partnered with you and Sophie. How can they do that to get in touch?
NICK ROTOLA :
Yeah, reach out. If you feel like you’re very, very good at one thing, that’s kind of what we’re looking for. Or if you feel like you can bring capital or make connections or sow a connection into us or whatever. If you could sow a seed into what we’re doing, that would obviously always be appreciated and appreciated. please reach out to The Calling or let us know how we can serve you. If you have anything, if you feel like the Spirit’s leading you to say anything to us, please speak up and say it.
CHRYSANDRA :
yes well we yeah we couldn’t have said it better nick and just thank you so much for being on here and we thank everyone for tuning in today ask yourself what you would do if you knew you couldn’t fail and know that god has put that answer inside of your heart for such a time as this be a part of this movement we are together with this is um it takes all of us to be able to see jesus do the impossible and we get to be part of it it’s a gift And you can go to thecallingnonprofit.org to check it out. Again, go check out ORU. It’s changed my life. It’s changed Nick’s life. It’ll change your life. www.oru.edu backslash calling. Till next time, Dreamer. Keep dreaming big.
