638: Alternative Investment Ideas, His Book Deal Included 10% Royalty, $100k Advance from Entrepreneur Patrick McGinnis

Patrick McGinnis. He's the author of The 10% Entrepreneur which focuses on living your startup dream without leaving your day job, which was just published by Penguin Portfolio. He's also credited for coining up with the term "fear of missing out". He's a graduate of Harvard business school and is living in New York City.

Famous Five:

• Favorite Book? – The Lean Startup
• What CEO do you follow? – Sheryl Sandberg
• Favorite online tool? — Quip
• Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— 6-12
• If you could let your 20-year old self, know one thing, what would it be? – Patrick wished he had more confidence in his abilities and more open to trying new things

Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 01:30 – Nathan introduces Patrick to the show
• 02:10 – Patrick is a Wall Street refugee
• 02:21 – Patrick has his own advisory firm
• • 02:29 – Patrick built up his portfolio of over 20 investments
• 03:04 – Patrick worked with his friend in Real Influence for free
• • 03:14 – They sold $300K-$400K
  • 03:19 – The business didn't push through and Patrick sold his shares
  • 03:35 – Patrick was 33
• 03:46 – After a year, Patrick's friend asked him if he was interested in investing in a startup
• • 03:51 – Ipsy has raised $100M
  • 04:08 – Patrick is one of the first investors of Ipsy
  • 04:32 – Ipsy's co-founder is Michelle Phan
  • 04:49 – Patrick's friend who is the CEO of Ipsy met Michelle through Funny or Die
  • 05:46 – Michelle's huge fan base made Ipsy spend zero on CAC
• 06:00 – How Patrick decided to invest in Ipsy
• • 06:03 – Patrick's friend was already raising a round
  • 06:33 – Patrick's friend already had a lead
• 06:38 – Patrick started his venture capitalist path in 2000
• • 06:48 – Most of the deals Patrick looks at are simple deals
  • 06:53 – Patrick invested in Ipsy in 2012
• 07:50 – Ipsy is one of Patrick's most successful investments
• • 08:00 – Another one of his investments was Bluesmart
  • 08:24 – He also invested in Affinity which is a big data company
• 09:04 – How many deals do you have to make to ensure there's a big exit in the portfolio?
• • 09:12 – When Patrick started investing, he thought of the possible mistakes he could make as an investor
  • 10:03 – As an investor, you have to invest in your area of expertise
  • 10:08 – Second, think of the deal as a commercial deal, even with friends
  • 10:21 – Third, don't follow other people
  • 10:39 – Stay away from "will-to-be" syndrome
• 11:09 – Patrick was working with AIG's private equity fund
• 11:41 – Patrick shares why he wrote a book
• • 11:48 – Patrick always talks to people about what he does as an investor
  • 12:12 – As Patrick met with more and more people, he realized that he could actually help people believe in what he does
  • 12:25 – "It's been a blast actually and I love writing, anyway"
• 12:56 – Patrick shares why he decided to have a publisher rather than self-publish his book
• • 13:02 – Patrick wasn't a well-known media figure and a publisher would help his credibility
  • 13:12 – Patrick got a great editor
  • 13:24 – Patrick wanted to go global
• 13:34 – Patrick has sold an average of 50K copies
• • 13:40 – A book update is given every 6 months
  • 14:00 – Patrick gets around 10% royalties on sales
  • 14:26 – Patrick's book is a bestseller in South Korea
• 14:48 – Patrick had an advance of around $100K prior to his book launch
• • 14:58 – Patrick has an agent who is with UTA
  • 15:38 – Patrick met his agent through his friend
• 16:02 – If you are generous to the world, it comes back to you in so many different ways
• 16:25 – "If you want to publish a book, you should know how hard it is"
• • 16:40 – Publishing a book is like running a startup
  • 16:54 – Patrick shared on a couple of podcasts which boosted his sales
  • 17:03 – Patrick's book is in physical bookstores, too
  • 17:20 – Patrick was also live in CNN Espanol in South America
  • 17:37 – Amazon's ranking is always updated
  • 17:44 – Patrick also has a group who does social media for him
  • 18:22 – Launching a book is a process
• 18:56 – Patrick has a day job that covers the bills
• 19:12 – "Freelancing is great in terms of flexibility, but you build zero wealth"
• 19:48 – Patrick also invests in commercial real estate
• • 20:04 – Patrick shares how he and his friend get dividends from real estate
• 23:25 – The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

• Investing in your friend's business is a commercial deal, so invest wisely.
• Be prepared—publishing a book is not a walk in the park and involves several processes.
• Freelancing is great in terms of flexibility, but you build zero wealth.

Resources Mentioned:

• The Top Inbox – The site Nathan uses to schedule emails to be sent later, set reminders in inbox, track opens, and follow-up with email sequences
• Organifi – The juice was Nathan's life saver during his trip in Southeast Asia
• Klipfolio – Track your business performance across all departments for FREE
• Acuity Scheduling – Nathan uses Acuity to schedule his podcast interviews and appointments
• Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for the cheapest price possible
• Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5-hour drive) to listen to audio books
• Freshbooks – Nathan doesn't waste time so he uses Freshbooks to send out invoices and collect his money. Get your free month NOW
• Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives