Adii Pienaar - First Generation Wealth Creator & Living Life Profitably [The Business of Family]

Feb 8, 2021

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Adii Pienaar is the founder of three technology companies, two of which he’s exited so far to create first generation wealth for his family. A prolific reader, writer and maker, Adii brings a refreshing perspective to the way he views family, business and wealth.

I was fortunate enough to preview his new book which was released last month, titled Life Profitability. In Life Profitability, Adii provides you with a new perspective for becoming self-aware, recognising your values, and understanding your impact. An enriched life and successful business are not mutually exclusive. In fact, this book will provide you with the first steps in building a business that is more sustainable with increased options for you, your employees, and your family.

Standout Quotes:

"The biggest burden I felt was that transition from wealth generation to wealth maintenance" - [Adii]
"I think in any kind of business partner relationships, as long as everyone is aligned towards the same goal, then everything is hunky-dory, and as soon as someone is not aligned with your process then everything is not hunky-dory" - [Adii]
"Whatever I do, it should be that truest expression of self" - [Adii]
"There are multiple things that pull us into different directions on a daily basis but having an awareness of when that happens... that's Mindfulness" - [Adii]
"I truly believe in transparency for the kids" - [Adii]
"The family office should serve as a leg up for the trustees and that's the kids, right? it's not a handout" - [Adii]
"Neither the family office or any of our individual lives should be so rigid like we're constantly trying to fit into a single recipe" - [Adii]
"The cost of anything we do in life is just Life" - [Adii]
"I don't care if they miss 99% of it, even if they become 1% of the context of this conversation" - [Adii]
"The way I think about legacy is, if I were to die tomorrow, the goal would be to have left my kids or anyone who cares enough breadcrumbs about who I really was" - [Adii]

Key Takeaways:

A major transition point for Adii was moving from wealth generation to wealth maintenance.
With little information on how to run a family office, he was able to get started by asking questions and got propelled into motion when the law firm got the right people around him to explain the process.
Adii describes his value system: How can I wake up every single morning and spend my time manifesting the truest expression and version of myself in anything that I do?
An ideal day for Adii is "being present".
Adii explains that the main reason he went back into entrepreneurship was he wanted to create again, he was enthusiastic about building a team, and those are his higher values for now.
While admitting that his kids have a great life especially from the financial perspective, he is concerned not to bring up spoilt kids who can't be individuals with their purpose.
Adii describes the strategies he uses to help build his kids to become individuals with a backbone: Transparency, which involves letting the kids be fully aware and involved with the ongoings in the family office, as well as the concept of Gratitude.
The family office should always prioritize business ideas from the trustees.
Expounding on the concept of 'Paying a Life Dividend': A business that's not just financially profitable but profits your whole life. Adi discusses the relevance of having assets that mean more than their financial value to the family, which is selected by stress testing, effective communication, and evolution.
It is important to sequence things, rather than doing two things at once and have none getting your full attention.
Every single minute of our day, we only have finite attention, time, and energy to do anything, so the decision to anything is costing us life.
Unfortunately, mainstream media has created a narrow definition of success that serves barely 0.1% of the world, but there is a much wider and diverse definition of success for the rest of us, and it is our responsibility to define it.
To Adii's Children: Do the work, continue learning towards discovering who you are, and figure out how to manifest that in most of the things you do in life.

Episode Timeline:

[00:49] About today's guest, Adii Pienaar, describing his origin story and path to First-generation wealth.
[08:26] What does a family office mean to you, and how did you know what to do when you set out to do this for the first time?
[11:19] How have you and your understanding of value systems evolved?
[13:59] Adii describes his picture of an ideal day.
[16:13] His motivation for diving into entrepreneurship for the 3rd time.
[19:20] How have you explored this concept of multi-generational wealth or the family office?
[29:50] 'Paying a Life Dividend'
[37:34] Adii recounts a significant failure with the lessons learned.
[40:15] About Adii's book: "Life Profitability"
[49:12] What was the motivation for writing and publishing a book?
[53:00] How else do you document your history within your family for the next generation to discover?
[54:40] Adii's letter to his children.

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Special Guest: Adii Pienaar.