BEYOND THE CHAIR
From Survival to Success: Turnqey Labs’ Remarkable Turnaround
At The Founder’s Chair, we believe in the power of resilience–the ability to transform adversity into opportunity. In the latest “Beyond the Chair” feature, we sat down with Tyrone Ross, CEO and Founder of Turnqey Labs, a crypto data company for wealth management that’s bridging the gap between traditional finance and digital assets.
Building the Bridge Between Two Worlds
For over a decade, financial advisors have faced an impossible challenge: their clients hold crypto assets, but advisors have no reliable way to view, track, or advise on those holdings. It’s a blind spot that undermines comprehensive wealth management and leaves trillions in assets disconnected from professional guidance.
Turnqey Labs is solving this problem. As “the platform for crypto,” Turnqey provides the connective tissue between the crypto ecosystem and traditional assets, giving financial advisors access to their clients’ held-away crypto accounts with the same ease and reliability they expect from custodians like Fidelity or Schwab. The platform doesn’t just aggregate data; it validates it, ensuring advisors can confidently incorporate crypto into holistic financial plans.
A Foundation Forged in Fire
When Tyrone reflects on 2025, he’s candid about just how many struggles Turnqey went through. The beginning of the year brought a perfect storm: funding challenges, litigation with an employee, and uncertainty about whether revenue from a major customer would materialize. Operating with just three full-time employees on a skeleton crew, the company was running on fumes.
When asked about his first introduction to The Founder’s Chair, Tyrone was up forthright. “I wasn’t looking to talk to anyone,” Tyrone admits. “I was just focused on keeping the company alive.”
It was through a fellow founder that Tyrone connected with James Wong. What started as an introduction became something more–a relationship built on thoughtful questions and genuine belief in the vision. “James asked hard questions that challenged me to think deeper,” Tyrone shares. “I value investors who believe in the vision and don’t just write a check and ghost you.”
That belief translated into action. Through The Founder’s Chair event in Detroit, Tyrone found not just capital, but community.
The TFC Effect
Before TFC, Turnqey had raised $800,000 since launching in May 2022. After presenting in Detroit, the company raised approximately $1.2 million, bringing its total to nearly $2 million. But the impact went beyond the numbers.
“The TFC experience was therapeutic,” Tyrone reflects. “It gave me a sense of community with people I’d never met before–founders who understand the unique challenges of entrepreneurship. You can be your authentic self instead of being forced into a cookie-cutter mold.”
The funding gave Turnqey breathing room to make critical hires, pay for essential subscriptions, and develop its platform with confidence. More than that, it validated that the hard times weren’t permanent, and that survival could turn into success.
Milestones That Matter
The turnaround has been remarkable. On December 1st, Turnqey received its first payment from Morningstar, officially becoming post-revenue. The company is now under NDA with one of the largest wealth tech providers in the industry–a platform managing $3.7 trillion in assets with 800,000 monthly active users across 4,000 firms–to serve as their sole crypto data provider.
Tyrone has built out his team strategically, hiring a CTO who is a medical doctor and data scientist that he previously mentored, and bringing back trusted talent from his previous ventures. The company’s database has been strengthened, its newsletter is gaining traction, and the energy on the team is palpable.
“We removed old people, places, and things, and now everyone’s experiencing positive milestones. We’re not just building a company–we’re building lives.”
Riding the Wave of Industry Validation
Timing, as they say, is everything. Just as Turnqey solidified its foundation, the industry shifted in its favor. Vanguard announced it’ll make crypto ETFs available on its platform. Bank of America removed its crypto ban with a 4% allocation cap. Charles Schwab revealed plans to offer Bitcoin and Ethereum trading in 2026. Coinbase is piloting crypto integrations with select banks.
The infrastructure Turnqey is building (the “roads, sidewalks, and highways” for crypto adoption in wealth management) is no longer speculative. It’s essential.
“Everything we’ve been working toward is being validated by the biggest players in the industry,” Tyrone says. “We’re positioned exactly where we need to be.”
What’s Next
Looking ahead, Turnqey is focused on securing a lead investor for its first institutional round of capital. The company plans to launch trading capabilities on their platform and, in the long term, aims to develop the first voice-operated wealth tech platform–making crypto management as intuitive as asking a question.
But for now, Tyrone is focused on something simpler and more profound: “We’re going to end the year alive. That wasn’t certain at the beginning of 2025.”
The Founder’s Chair is honored to have supported Tyrone and Turnqey Labs through one of the most challenging chapters of their journey. His transparency, resilience, and unwavering belief in his mission embody what we celebrate in this community.