Farokh Samard is the Founder and CEO of Rug Radio, a Decentralized Media Ecosystem that serves as an incubator, accelerator, and brand builder for independent creators. ^[1][2]

Education

Farokh Samard attended Université de Montréal where he studied for a Bachelor's Degree in Law between 2012 to 2014. Afterward, he attended UQAM, Université du Québec à Montréal for a Bachelor’s Degree in Baccalauréat en relations internationales et droit international and graduated in 2017. ^[2]

Career

Farokh started his career as a Salesman at Influence-U from 2010 to 2013. In September 2013, he served as an Intern & Researcher at André Dorais Avocats until July 2014. ^[2]

In 2015, he became the CEO of Goodlife Media & Communications Inc. - a digital marketing agency designed to build communication strategies for brands and persons online and help market them through our large network of influencers. ^[2]

Rug Radio

In December 2021, Farokh Samard founded Rug Radio and serves as the CEO of the company. Rug Radio is a Decentralized Media Ecosystem that is an incubator, accelerator, and brand builder for independent creators. ^[3]

On his journey into crypto, Farokh described that one night, he was hosting a rowdy Clubhouse conversation when NFTs came up, a topic he knew almost nothing about; Logan Paul entered the room, and soon, dozens of the budding ecosystem’s biggest names joined too: ThankYouX, Fewocious, Tommy Kimmelman, Fvckrender, Greg Mike, Lady PheOnix, John Legere of T-Mobile, etc. ^[4]

“I immediately got it. I immediately fucking got it. It was so weird. It just clicked,” Farokh says.

“You’re telling me a community member who has a large following can build a life for himself within a space that values art and community building, and can give back at the same time? Bingo. My life’s mission.”^[4]

After this event, Farokh shut down his social media consultancy and pivoted to NFTs and Web3. Farokh chose the name as a cheeky reference to being “rug pulled” in crypto^[4]. He also mentioned to CoinDesk that one of the secret reasons why it's called "Rug Radio" is because:

"when you build a home, you first put the rug on the floor and then you put the coffee table, couch and TV around it because it ties the room together. It’s infrastructure for everybody to be able to live. You know, you don't have to support a specific PFP [profile pic] or whatever to be part of it."^[5]

The goal for Rug Radio is to build a network using blockchain technology where the incentives favor truth, ownership, and financial sovereignty for all. ^[3]

"Ownership means we each get to decide what we consume, how it’s delivered,  and we all benefit from the abundance created through it"^[3]

On what he expects Rug Radio to grow into in 10 years, Farokh stated:

"The goal is to build a fully decentralized media ecosystem. Right now, decentralization is easy to throw around as a word. So at "Rug Radio" we preach progressive decentralization, meaning we aim to be decentralized over the span of five years.

We're about 14 months in and it's working pretty well so far. In five years I really just want "Rug Radio" to be way bigger than I can ever be myself, and we're starting to hit that already. The idea is to empower creators and to allow people to own the narrative. In legacy media (let's call it that) creators don't actually own their own stories. Crypto changes the dynamics. I’m sure you guys [at CoinDesk] could relate. " - he responded in an interview with CoinDesk in March 2023^[5]

Rug Radio x Decrypt

In December 2023, Rug Radio and Decrypt merged to form a new parent company aimed at innovating tech and creative distribution. This partnership aims to leverage Rug Radio's strong presence in crypto and blockchain communities with Decrypt's diverse audience, including both crypto natives and the crypto-curious. By integrating their talents and resources, they aim to create a new media landscape and empower voices in a louder way. ^[6]

The partnership also involves collaboration with Ethereum's co-founder and ConsenSys, Joe Lubin to build out a tech stack for sustainable blockchain development. ^[6]