#34: Ray Blakney, Founder & CEO | Rayvensoft Ventures
Download MP3In this episode of “In The Thick of It,” we're joined by Ray Blakney, a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Rayvensoft Ventures, a holding company for multiple successful online businesses. Ray recounts his diverse upbringing, from his birth in the Philippines to his childhood in Turkey and eventual move to the United States. He shares his experiences in the Peace Corps, which led him to Mexico, where he met his wife and started a language school together.
Throughout the episode, Ray discusses the challenges and triumphs of building and scaling various businesses, including an online language school, a marketing agency, and a chocolate factory in the Philippines. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the lifetime value of a customer, learning how to have constructive disagreements, and trusting business partners.
Ray also opens up about his own struggles with depression and the lessons he's learned from his entrepreneurial journey. He stresses the significance of getting good at something to find enjoyment in it and the value of persistence in the face of failure.With 22 profitable businesses under his belt, Ray shares his insights on what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur and the importance of focusing on what you're good at to build a lasting legacy.
About Ray:
Ray Blakney is just your typical award-winning Filipino-American entrepreneur who grew up in Turkey and lives in Mexico. He has nearly two decades of business experience that have included starting, growing, and leading over a dozen profitable companies along with hundreds of staff from across the USA and Latin America.
Throughout the episode, Ray discusses the challenges and triumphs of building and scaling various businesses, including an online language school, a marketing agency, and a chocolate factory in the Philippines. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the lifetime value of a customer, learning how to have constructive disagreements, and trusting business partners.
Ray also opens up about his own struggles with depression and the lessons he's learned from his entrepreneurial journey. He stresses the significance of getting good at something to find enjoyment in it and the value of persistence in the face of failure.With 22 profitable businesses under his belt, Ray shares his insights on what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur and the importance of focusing on what you're good at to build a lasting legacy.
About Ray:
Ray Blakney is just your typical award-winning Filipino-American entrepreneur who grew up in Turkey and lives in Mexico. He has nearly two decades of business experience that have included starting, growing, and leading over a dozen profitable companies along with hundreds of staff from across the USA and Latin America.
Marked by a fearless approach to opportunity and a creative entrepreneurial spirit, Ray has always found fulfillment in the electric exchange of collaboration among colleagues and peers. He unintentionally stumbled upon business coaching in early 2023 and quickly found that the greater impact was not hidden in immediate conversations about business strategy but rather in helping calibrate and strengthen a person’s foundation first.
Thus began his executive coaching ventures within the online education industry. He often tells his clients, “You are my client first. Your business comes second.” And the results speak for themselves. When the entirety of a person’s life is in alignment, a business can’t help but flourish.
After hours, Ray can be found spending time with his family, traveling, or teaching semi-professional sword fighting. He lives in Playa del Carmen, Mexico with his wife and son.
About Rayvensoft Ventures:
To learn more about Rayvensoft Ventures visit rayvensoft.com.
To learn more about Rayvensoft Ventures visit rayvensoft.com.
