Darren Solanki
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MiamiTechnology executiveBitcoin evangelist since 2016Founder, Herd AppsEmbracing AI

Darren Solanki, technology executive, Bitcoin evangelist and founder of Herd AppsCode. Credit.Capital.No 9-5. No single point of failure.

Darren Solanki spent 20+ years running technology and security for brokerages, insurers, lenders and a credit union. Now he is a Bitcoin evangelist, in crypto since 2016, and the founder of Herd Apps. He embraces AI, and the superintelligence that comes after it, to build the apps for what comes next. Now he has put the playbook in a book: Bankable, a plain-English guide to building credit, using leverage and climbing any ladder.

Get Bankable · Kindle $6.99 Paperback · $14.99
ask-the-stacktype help, or tap a chip
20+ yrsin global technology leadership
7 C-leveltechnology roles since 2011
174 pagesBankable, out now on Amazon
16.3KInstagram followers, @scotchracer
~/bankable  out now on Amazon · Kindle and paperback

Bankable

The cover of Bankable by Darren Solanki
Out now on Amazon

The whole playbook, in one book.

  • Five stages and ten rungs, from no credit at all to buying property
  • The same plan Darren used to go from 5% down on a first apartment to buying a home outright in cash
  • Plain English, US rules, sources cited. 174 pages.
Kindle · $6.99 Paperback · $14.99

As an Amazon Associate, Darren earns from qualifying purchases.

Build credit. Use leverage. Climb any ladder.

A plain-English US guide. Build credit from zero, use cards and the bank's money wisely, and climb, whether your next rung is a first property, a business or a bigger life. Darren used the same playbook to go from 5% down on a first apartment to buying a home outright in cash.

Get the book Book a Bankable Session
from rung 3, play the reporting date

Reporting-date planner

Your card reports your balance once a month. That number sets your utilization. Keep it under 30%, ideally under 10%.

$
$
Reported utilization40%
Hurting

Pay $1,550 before the statement date to show under 10%.

  1. Set upMonth 0
  2. Get on the boardMonths 1 to 6
  3. Widen the baseMonths 6 to 12
  4. Get mortgage-readyMonths 12 to 24
  5. ClimbYear 2+
  1. Get on the board
  2. Feed the scorePayment history 35%, amounts owed 30%, length of history 15%, credit mix 10%, new credit 10% (Experian/FICO).
  3. Play the reporting dateUtilization under 30%, ideally under 10%. Try the planner above.
  4. Two credit filesPersonal and business. A PAYDEX of 80 means on time, 100 means early.
  5. Use the bank's money, keep yours
  6. Make the mortgage workBi-weekly payments make 13 a year. Experian: on a $400k 30-year loan at 6.5%, that saves about 6 years and about $119k.
  7. A small key, a big doorThe leverage of 5% down.
  8. Make your salary work twice
  9. Let the equity climb
  10. Be the customer banks want
~/founder

The founder.

Twenty years guarding the systems that move money. Now he builds his own: apps, signals and a plain-English book on credit.

Darren SolankiTechnology executive

Darren Solanki, drawn as a network of connected nodes over a green-tinted portrait

Darren Solanki

Darren SolankiFounder, Herd Apps

A digital banknote laid out like a US dollar bill, with Darren Solanki's portrait in an oval reading "In Bitcoin we trust".

Darren Solanki is a Miami-based technology executive, Bitcoin evangelist and multi-venture builder. Born and raised in London, he spent more than 20 years leading IT and cyber security for brokerages, insurers, lenders and a credit union, including seven C-level roles.

In crypto since 2016, he founded Herd Apps, built the NXSIG trading-signal engine and wrote Bankable, a plain-English guide to building credit, out now on Amazon. He is also CEO of Exotic Car Society and runs Scotch Racer.

~/notes

The note, through the years.

Every version of the founder note so far, from vintage sepia to the digital reserve above. Each one is art from the same story. Tap a note to visit Bankable.

A vintage sepia banknote with Darren Solanki's engraved portrait
The vintage noteSepia engraving on aged paper
A pastel teal and gold banknote with Darren drawn as a network of nodes
The digital reserve, first issuePastel note, network portrait
A green parody banknote, the United Bank of Bankable, denomination 850
The United Bank of Bankable850, a perfect score. Not legal tender.
A vintage poster: I want you to build credit and climb any ladder
I want you to build creditThe Bankable recruitment poster
~/story

From the server room to the front of the room.

Twenty-seven years, five chapters. Each one handed him the tools for the next. Drag the year to travel through it.

2026

Every role, to scale.

Full record on LinkedIn
  1. BSc Information SystemsUniversity of Bedfordshire, 1999
  2. Information TechnologyKensington Mortgage Company, UK, 2000 to 2002
  3. Network AdministratorMaple Leaf Foods, Toronto, 2003 to 2005
  4. Storage Analyst, then Business AnalystDundee Securities, Toronto, 2005 to 2008
  5. Manager, Information Security, Privacy and ComplianceManulife Financial, Toronto, 2008 to 2011Business unit security officer across 20 business units.
  6. CIO and VP, Information TechnologyNCP Northland Capital Partners, Toronto, 2011 to 2012Technology vision, a $2M+ budget, SOX and IIROC/FINRA audits.
  7. Chief Information OfficerHybrid Financial, Toronto and New York, 2013 to 2015
  8. Chief Information OfficerTerrawatu, nonprofit, Tanzania, 2013 to 2015Technology for developing countries.
  9. Chief Information OfficerDover Federal Credit Union, 2015 to 2016Ran IT and led cyber security compliance.
  10. Chief Digital OfficerRational Point, Miami, 2016 to 2018Digital projects and cyber security risk for government clients across the Americas.
  11. Chief Information OfficerSherlockTalent, Miami, 2017 to 2018
  12. Interim Chief Information OfficerConfidential company in stealth mode, contract, 2018 to nowExecutive IT adviser: cost reduction, platform conversion, board-level technology.
  13. Property investmentStarted in Canada, 2003 to now
  14. CEO, Exotic Car SocietyTook it over and formed the LLC in 2016, to now
  15. Founder, Scotch RacerMiami, 2019 to nowUltra-rare Macallan and Yamazaki, bought and sold.
  16. Founder, Herd AppsHolding company for apps and games, 2026 to nowHome of NXSIG, DYOR, ApedIn and Solarcade.
  17. Author, BankableThe plain-English guide to building credit, 2026 to now
~/ai

Embracing AI. Ready for SI.

Darren spent two decades guarding the systems that run money. Now he treats AI as a tool to build faster, and keeps an eye on what comes after it: superintelligence. The right tools let a lean team do what used to take a department.

daily

Build.

Founder of Herd Apps. NXSIG, AI trading signals. DYOR and ApedIn in development.

daily

Trade.

A mean-reversion signal engine, backtested across stocks and crypto, with machine-learning filters in validation.

daily

Run.

Several ventures running at once. No 9-5, no single point of failure.

~/streams

Streams that compound.

Each stream runs on its own. If one slows, the others keep flowing. That is the whole point. Try it: switch one off.

No single point of failure

Tap a switch to cut a stream.

Darren6 of 6 streams flowing
AI trading signals for stocks and crypto

NXSIG

AI-powered trading signals for stocks and crypto. A validated mean-reversion signal engine, backtested across both markets. Machine-learning filters are in validation.

mean Diagram of the idea. Not live data, not performance.
CloudflareSupabaseDiscordStripe
nxsig.io
Founder · building for the future

Herd Apps

Darren founded Herd Apps, a privately held holding company for a herd of consumer apps and games built for where tech is heading: AI, crypto and play-to-earn.

  • SOL Invaders: a Space Invaders-style game where players earn SOL.
  • A play-to-earn arcade, solarcade.app, in development.
herdapps.com
Social trading · in development

DYOR & ApedIn

Twin social trading platforms for crypto's next generation. Follow traders, see what people are buying, and trade the moment, together. DYOR is named for the oldest rule in crypto: do your own research. ApedIn is for the ones who already went all in.

joindyor.comgetdyor.appapedin.app
Illustration of the idea. Not real users or trades.
CEO since 2016

Exotic Car Society

Exotic car content and community. He took it over as CEO and formed it as an LLC in 2016. Lunch in 2018 with legendary Lamborghini test driver Valentino Balboni.

exoticcarsociety.com
Real estate investor

Property

A property ladder from a first apartment bought with 5% down to buying a home outright in cash.

How he did it: Bankable
~/crypto

In crypto since 2016.

A Bitcoin and crypto evangelist for a decade. He doesn't just hold it. He builds for it: signals, games and social trading. Tap a block.

Not financial advice. Crypto is volatile; do your own research.

~/scarcity

Scarcity drives value.

The same idea runs through his whisky, his Bitcoin and his property. A short file from the Scotch Racer years, told only with what he has shared in public.

1of 600

The Macallan 72 in a Lalique decanter. One of 600 made. He offered one in 2019. Move across the field to find it.

$10K

The call, 2021. He said the Macallan 30 was heading to $10,000 on scarcity, at a time the Macallan 40 was over $20,000.

The whisky log

  1. A day with George Grant of Glenfarclas.
  2. Sold a bottle Christie's couldn't sell.
  3. Offered the Macallan 72 in a Lalique decanter, one of 600 made.
  4. Posted the Macallan Red Collection 78 and 40.
  5. Wrote that Macallan and crypto are both great stores of value.
  6. Ardbeg Fermutation.
  7. Collaborated with artist Brian Polidixon on one-of-one Macallan Editions artwork.
  8. A Sir Peter Blake display stand.
  9. Macallan 60.

Also in the collection, shown in public: Lalique decanters and Macallan Folio 6. Follow along at @scotchracer.

ruleScarcity drives value.

ruleBuy what's unloved.

ruleA network beats a famous name.

ruleEarn on both ends of a deal.

~/work

Work with Darren.

One-to-one help with credit, mortgages and deals, built on the Bankable playbook. Executive technology advisory for companies.

For individuals

Bankable Session$250 to $400

A 60-minute call. Your reports reviewed together. A written 12-month plan.

Mortgage-Ready Sprint$1,000 to $1,500

Four sessions over three months.

Business Credit Setup$750 to $1,500

EIN, D-U-N-S, net-30 vendors and your first business card.

Deal Review$500 per deal

A second set of eyes on a deal before you commit.

For companies

Technology and CIO advisoryEnquire

Interim CIO, security and compliance, platform and cost transformation. Day rate or retainer.

Get in touch

Compose a request here, copy it, then send it to Darren as a direct message. Nothing is sent from this page.

Message on LinkedInDM @scotchracer

From the same desk

Bankable out now Kindle $6.99 Paperback $14.99