A couple of years ago, I was approached by a serial founder. She was ready for success & had found the right opportunity: partnering with an existing startup that had great tech, but needed a capable biz lead.
I was excited and said I would lead the round.
Then, the…
I met with a small group of business owners yesterday to talk about my favourite subject: personal finance.
This is what we discussed …
Most business owners look at the graph (above) and see the difference between Sales and Expenses as Profit.
{if you are an employee, it’s Salary rather…
Facebook has made us immune to so-called clickbait headlines, but there’s no field more ripe for clickbait than personal finance.
Where’s there’s money, there’s greed. Where’s greed, there’s clickbait.
But, just because the headline is suss, it doesn’t mean it’s not true …
… you see, there is a ‘secret’…
I used to love magic, but America’s Got (No) Talent ruined that for me *
[* too many magicians, too little time]
But, as a kid, I always loved those tricks where the magician brings some n00b up on stage and says “do everything I do” …
… and, proceeds…
Let me tell you the real story about debt …
How to use this chart:
Debt is only GOOD or BAD *before* you acquire new debt.
=> this helps you decide what debt to acquire [columns]
All debt you already have is *only* CHEAP or EXPENSIVE.
=> this helps you…
This is one of my go-to slides when I’m asked to speak to startup founders
[I still haven’t worked out why they never ask me back]
… it shows the difference between a startup and a business:
Growth!
The problem with personal finance - be it blogs, books, or bullshitters - is that there is always a prescription …
“save 10% of your salary”
“automate your finances”
“pay off all your debt”
… do this one thing, follow this one strategy, and, everything will be juusssttt fine.
Of…
Angel investors are like Uranium.
Having one (better yet, some) on board can help your startup go #BOOM
… or 💣
Ignore half of the advice even your best investor gives you
This is because an investor’s experience, like Uranium - whilst potentially incredibly powerful - has a half-life:
It…
Let’s talk about debt …
I have an ambivalent relationship with debt: personally, I never had much and now have none. On the other hand, my remaining legacy business — a finance origination company — couldn’t exist without it.
Along the way, I’ve learned that debt is not intrinsically evil…
Many people (OK, some people) know me as an investor. I mainly invest in real-estate.
I am also known as an ‘angel investor’ because I sometimes invest in high-growth businesses … usually, early-stage ‘tech startups’.
I write about that part of my life here and here.
But, my first love is personal finance & this is my journey …
