St. Cloud Live Publication

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https://www.stcloudlive.com/business/biz-buzz-from-rug-pulls-to-pay-it-forward-st-cloud-founder-launches-thebenefactor-net 

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ST. CLOUD - Darren Guimont turned a string of crypto losses into a business idea.

The entrepreneur-by-day, machinist-by-night launched TheBenefactor.net, a social networking platform that rewards users with digital PIF tokens for posting, engaging and “paying it forward.” Guimont said the St. Cloud-headquartered social media platform grew out of frustration with cryptocurrency “rug pull” scams, where developers hype a coin and then vanish, leaving investors holding the bag.

“It was like, there is a better way, I could just build the thing, I can build the better way, and so we took four or five years out of our lives, and fast forward, and built what we have today,” said Guimont, who started the project inside a closet at his Cambridge residence.

The platform operates on a “Pay-It-Forward” (PIF) model, which redistributes a percentage of platform-generated revenue to active users. There are about 15 “utilities” on the site, including banner ads that carry a fee. Portions of these fees are returned to users as PIF rewards, meaning every participant earns an equal share of the platform’s reward pool.

“Rendy (Laase, director of administration), and I feel that (if) you do good, you should get rewarded, and why can’t people just be good?” Guimont said. “We’re good people … and you know, people, if they’re going to help us build something, they’re going to get max benefit. Why not? That’s where the world should be.”

TheBenefactor.net features other "utilities" including a newsfeed, where users can “tip” others with PIF tokens. There are also communities, page monetization options, PIF token-based lotteries, video, music and photo feeds, a task center where users can earn PIF tokens for different assignments, donations and more.

“TheBenefactor.net, is everybody’s benefactor,” Guimont added.

Laase and Guimont recognize that trust in crypto has hit lows. More than $500 million in cryptocurrency was lost to rug pulls and scams in 2024, according to Coindesk

“It really made me open my eyes, like, ‘Oh my god, this is really easy for people to get sucked in, and how in the heck does the trust ever come back?’ Still, to this day, it’s pretty tough,” Guimont said. “The trust is so huge … that’s what we’re aiming for.”

Community is equally important to their mission, as Guimont and Laase are regulars at networking events, including Start.Up Connect at the Davidson Opera House, where they rent cubicles to anchor their local presence.

“This is where we have decided (to) root,” Laase said. “It just felt like our place, and we want to give back to the community, we want to give back to downtown, and we want to see change and businesses back into downtown.”

The two also see TheBenefactor.net as a way to foster connections and mentorship. They have onboarded five interns from St. Cloud State University to strengthen those community partnerships, offer real-world experiences and contribute to the platform’s growth.

“I believe in the community part of it… the personal connection of community and being that neighbor and friendly person and always helping, regardless of your situation,” Laase said.

TheBenefactor.net is currently in its pre-sale phase, Guimont said.

“We’re launching a product first, and then the (PIF) token,” Guimont said. "We want to have a good, minimal viable product; we have that. Everything is fully functional on the platform... people can actually kick the tires, get the feel for it and not necessarily have to invest a whole lot.”

Guimont said the token will be proprietary and housed on its own system, meaning it won’t be listed on crypto exchanges, such as Coinbase and other platforms. That’s to give back trading fees to TheBenefactor.net users, he said.

“There’s 2.25% of the 3% buy-and-sell token tax that goes back to the users,” Guimont said. “Some tokens trade with a volume of millions of dollars a day, so if you do the math on that, that’s a lot of money going back to pay it forward rewards for users on the platform, and that’s just one way of giving back.”