About GVRN

Operating a decentralised organisation is not easy.

We know.

And operating a decentralised organisation efficiently in a manner approved by your lawyers?
‍
Impossible.

‍This is why we have created GVRN - our flagship product which is a governance solution tailor made for DAOs by entrepreneurs that build them, investors that finance them and the service providers that do their paperwork. Yes - we even brought the lawyer along.

Our objective is to deliver a solution which seamlessly mirrors on-chain governance decisions onto off-chain legal infrastructure. Each DAO proposal which is voted through by tokenholders frictionlessly reflected in legal authorisations easily understood by the suits with no intervention required from the DAO’s administrators. We give on-chain governance decisions the force of law.

This way, we ensure that no DAO has to choose between moving fast, breaking things and risk its members potentially incurring the wrath of the likes of Mr Gensler and being buried under paperwork, red tape and absurd invoices from the suits.

Our long-term vision?

To deliver further products which will set a new standard for the operation and management of decentralised organisations.

TEAM

Meet the Team

YK Pek

wassielawyer

Formerly a biglaw restructuring lawyer, YK hung up his suit to become co-founder at Kapex, an advisory and corporate services firm servicing both TradFi and crypto companies. YK has advised all manner of crypto projects at various stages of their life cycle, traders, funds and DAOs on a wide range of matters ranging from incorporation, structuring and fundraising to crisis management, bespoke arrangements and distressed situations. Under the pseudonym “wassielawyer”, YK also provides commentary on Twitter on the various crypto bankruptcies of 2022, governance crises, general advice for young start-ups on how to deal with legal issues and observations of crypto current affairs through legal lenses.

Tiff Kuek

locomotiff_

The other co-founder of Kapex, Tiff’s area of expertise is in advising and guiding companies and DAOs on operational matters and serving as the interface between TradFi service providers and Web3 entrepreneurs and vice versa in order to achieve the best outcome for clients. Prior to Kapex, Tiff worked in private equity before becoming the director of a venture builder for a large engineering group and portfolio director of its associated fund. In this role, Tiff has taken businesses from early ideation phase all the way through to exit. A hands-on operator, Tiff was the chief architect behind the establishment of the Wassie Hotel, a 55-room pop-up hotel in Singapore and Coffee byWassies for the byWassies project.

Zech Ng

Zech is the Chief Technology Officer at GVRN. He has a wide range of experience running multiple other start ups across different industries such as gaming, ecommerce and fintech.

Ken

legallybullnde

Head of Legal at GVRN, Ken is an IP and technology lawyer with over 9 years of experience and crypto enthusiast since 2017. Having worked in a Big 4 law firm in Singapore, as well as in the BigTech and TradFi space, Ken started advising Web 3 start-ups since 2022, focusing on IP and licensing issues, corporate structuring and governance, fund-raising, employment and other matters. He now hopes to use his legal and commercial experience to help projects, startups and builders properly manage their risks and protect their business as they build in the Web 3 space.

Henry Chea

Henry is a full stack developer at GVRN. He has experience in building apps across many business domains such as healthtech, edtech and now web3. He brings his collaborative approach to helping GVRN's users have a smooth and refreshing experience whilst fulfilling their business needs.

Norman Kwok

Norman is a full stack developer at GVRN, driving the development of the product to ensure a seamless and fuss-free experience to meeting their back office needs. Prior to GVRN, he has been involved in several other startups, including DeFi, NFT and infrastructure related ventures.

Joslyn

Joslyn is the Operations Manager at GVRN, where she expertly manages client inquiries regarding incorporations across various jurisdictions, including Singapore, BVI, Cayman, Panama, and Delaware. With her strong organizational and communication, Joslyn ensures smooth operations and client satisfaction.

Kah Yong

Kah Yong is a full stack developer at GVRN. Fortunate to have tech and financial interest in early life and career to pave way for web3 era.

Shiyin

Shiyin is the Product Lead at GVRN, where she leads the product planning, roadmapping, and design for GVRN’s innovative legaltech solutions. Previously, she was working in Temasek-funded Web3 and blockchain companies, where she drove end-to-end product solutions in the verticals of verifiable credentials and NFT development.

Vigil

vigil_eth

Umi

umikathryn

As GVRN's U.S. Partner, Umi (Kathryn) focuses on the blockchain industry's global regulatory and compliance landscape. Since joining Web3 in 2020, she has represented and advised dozens of projects from L2s, DeFi protocols, GameFi, NFT projects, and DAOs, assisting them in international corporate structuring and governance, tokenomics and fundraising. Umi has been a legal advisor at a U.S.-based firm (OCA) since 2021 and joined GVRN in 2024. Her nuanced style and approach in helping early-stage founders navigate the emotional ebbs and flows of building while facing the unclear and evolving guidelines of the SEC, CFTC, and Fincen can often be found in her tweets (@umikathryn).