How Tony Klor is Revolutionizing P2P Wagering with Catoff Gaming

I had the pleasure of interviewing Tony Klor, the Founder or self-proclaimed Maestro of Meow at Catoff Gaming. With a decade of experience slaying go-to-market strategies in tech hubs like Silicon Valley & New York, Tony has practically seen it all. But his story isn’t just about business hustle. Tony is also a die-hard advocate for healthy living, blending his love for fitness and tech to inspire people to get off their butts, get social, and embark on new adventures. His adventurous stint in India, navigating over 30 cities and dodging scams, ultimately birthed the idea for Catoff.

Tony’s strategic acumen and dedication to community engagement position him to drive significant market penetration with Catoff (catoff.xyz), a P2P IRL Challenge Wagering dApp on Solana.

What motivated you to launch your startup?

Let me give you a number… $10,907 — that’s what my “friends” owe me from our various real-life wagers throughout the last 10 years. Will I ever see that cash? Ha! Not likely. However, I realized this frustration isn’t unique to me; many of us have experienced the hassle of chasing down friends for payments, like a freaking debt collector. In addition, I’ve always loved making daily step competitions with my mom, but it was incredibly hard to track and manage while living in different countries. Additionally, during a trip to the Philippines, I attended a boxing match where people would literally throw cash across the arena based on the outcome. These experiences made me realize the need for a reliable, fair, and efficient system to manage and track friendly competitions and wagers.

What is it that excites you about what you’re building?

I absolutely peak off building dope tech in the most thriving web3 builder scene in the world, Bangalore, India, and with the leading web3 community in the world, Superteam.

Product-wise, it’s the ability to bring something truly epic on Solana web3 rails to the next generation of web3 users. It’s the thrill of transforming those frustrating “where’s my money?” moments into a seamless, fun & motivating experience. Picture this: no more awkward texts chasing down friends for a $20 bet from last year.

What has been your biggest challenge when growing your startup?

The biggest challenge in growing Catoff has been navigating the wild west of blockchain regulations while convincing people that challenging their friends can be as seamless as ordering pizza online. Balancing the fine line between innovation and compliance is like trying to ride a unicycle on a tightrope — exciting but nerve-wracking.

What are your future plans for your startup?

We’re aiming to go mainnet in the next couple of weeks. Did I mention airdrops? Collectible NFTs? And so many more plans to offer even more unique ZKProof challenges and tokenized rewards.

If you had to share “words of wisdom” with a Founder who’s about to start their own startup, what would they be?

There are two mantras from Silicon Valley ingrained in me since birth: One, if your product is perfect, you shipped it too late, and two, do things that don’t scale. For instance, once our MVP was ready, we went low-key door-to-door to all the Superteam communities across India for in-person beta testing events.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

@tonycatoff & @tonykmontana on IG

This was very insightful. Thank you so much for joining us!