Riches in the Niches Investor Podcast

Cheryl Bachelder is a legend in the Restaurant Franchising Space. She is currently on the Board of Chick-fil-a and US Foods. She has held senior positions at Domino’s Pizza and KFC. Most notably, Cheryl was the CEO of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen where she launched a franchise driven turnaround that drove the stock from $11 to its ultimate sale of $79 in 2017. Learn Cheryl’s background, how she fixed franchisee relations and so much more.   To learn more about Cheryl please visit www.cherylbachelder.com. To learn more about Richard or to request a transcript of the podcast please visit www.thinkaen.com. Amazon Book Link: Dare to Serve Show Notes: (01:50) Cheryl’s Background (02:51) First Job at Procter and Gamble (03:31) How Cheryl got her start in the Restaurant Industry (04:45) Domino’s Pizza and Tom Monaghan (06:55) Investor Franchisee Due Diligence; Channel Checks (09:07) Yum Brands and Kentucky Fried Chicken, KFC and David Novak (11:21) Joining Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen; Frank Belatti, John Cranor and John Hoffner (15:13) First steps as Popeyes CEO - Building Alignment and Trust + P&L’s (17:15) Franchisee Mistakes and taking operating profits from 17% to 24% (22:21) Comparing Dominos, KFC and Popeyes (24:19) Class Action Lawsuits from Franchisees (29:01) Drilling down on Popeyes Franchisees / Taking Franchisee Notes (33:28) Biggest Franchisee Relationship Challenges (35:41) Being a Public Company CEO and Huge Stock Market Win; Near 10 bagger (38:55) Stock Investor Annual Meetings and Quarterly Conference Calls (40:43) Favorite Foods and Answering the Toughest Question (43:12) Cheryl’s Book: "Dare to Serve: How to Drive Superior Results by Helping Others" + Turnaround at Popeyes; Link to Book can be found here.

Jamie Vrijhof-Droese is a Managing Partner at WHVP LTd. Based in Zurich, Switzerland, WHVP is a full-service Financial Advisor that specializes in helping US clients internationally diversify their money and add a layer of asset protection to their wealth. Jamie and Richard talk about Currency Alternatives to the US dollar, busting myths around Offshore Investing, and Switzerland as an Offshore Financial Jurisdiction. They also talk about the Next Generation of Wealth and discuss some differences in how Men and Women value Financial Advisors.   To learn more about WHVP check out whvp.ch/. You can reach Jamie at JV@whvp.ch. To learn more about Richard please visit www.thinkaen.com.   Show Notes: (01:11) - Jamie Intro (03:38) - Busting Offshore Investing Myths (07:46) - How WHVP attracts clients (09:49) - Millennials and other Generations (11:05) - How women view Financial Advisors versus Men; Male and Female Investing Patterns (15:59) - WHVP Investing Philosophy (18:30) - Crypto Currency and Crypto-Valley (24:30) - Taking over the Family Business (30:12) - Jamie's first investment

Denise Shull is a World-Renowned Performance Coach at The ReThink Group, a consulting firm that revitalizes professional investors, invigorates professional athletes and inspires CEOs. Through her signature framework The Shull Method™, Denise leverages the latest brain research on how humans perceive constantly, but subconsciously, predicting future feelings. Denise's Book: Here. Follow Denise on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DeniseKShull. To learn more about The Rethink Group please visit here. To learn more about Richard please visit www.thinkaen.com.   Show Notes: (01:00) How the human unconscious impacts behavior (02:50) Neuropsychology background (05:00) Human “significant other” relationships (09:00) Dmitry Balyasny story (11:40) Male versus Female Investors (18:00) Psychology of Investors (21:00) Useful versus Irrelevant Emotions (25:20) Denise dissects Richard’s investment mistakes (29:45) Sports Psychology (35:00) The Fear of Failure (38:00) Billions Lawsuit

For this milestone 25th podcast episode, The Frugal Banker is the ideal guest. Listen in as he talks to Richard about growing up in the South, a promising Radio Talk Show Career as well as an innovative "bucket" framework for philanthropy. He also talks to Richard about Atlanta FinTwit, his love of Breakfast Cereal and his $1,000 Donation Hurdle. To learn more about The Frugal Banker please follow him on Twitter @TheFrugalBanker. To learn more about Richard please visit www.thinkaen.com. Show Notes: (01:12) Introduction to The Frugal Banker (02:13) College and Life as a Radio Disc Jockey and Morning Show Host (07:34) Fun skits from the talk show; most interesting story (11:49) Passion for Philanthropy, United Way Campaign, Developing a Framework for Giving, the $25 rule (19:09) Sitting in front of investment committees; Jeremy Heer, Christie Hamilton (20:53) Charity Organizational Due Diligence (28:06) The ideal dollar amount to give to charity (32:34) Growing up as a Preacher's son and how that made an impact (36:16) Atlanta FinTwit, @Fedspeak, Ramp Capital, Golf Game, thoughts on Cereal (40:09) Road trips and the new RV (41:44) Atlanta Sports, the Falcons and Tom Brady (44:02) Final thoughts on Philanthropy 

Saira Rahman is the VP of Finance at HMBradley, a Fintech Company looking to shakeup the Financial Services industry by helping customers turn into better savers through powerful tools and incentives that encourage them to save more of what they earn. Saira also hosts the popular Podcast: Girls Just Wanna Have Funds, a show about Financial Literacy and told through the power of friendship. To learn more about Saira please follow her on Twitter @sairarahman or on her podcast at Girls Just Wanna Have Funds. To learn more about Richard please visit www.thinkaen.com.   Show Notes: (01:11) Saira and her story (02:14) Saira and FinTech, working at Regional and Community banks (03:30) PPP Government Money and Community Banks (06:57) HMBradley and how it helps its differentiate customer deposits (08:34) Leveraging customer data (09:18) Neobanks (10:40) Podcast life, Girls just wanna have Funds (13:43) Podcast topics (14:44) Friendship and deep relationships (17:46) Saira reveals that she is, in fact, a vampire (20:12) Couples finance and how Saira and Megan discuss the topic on the show (23:34) Going through a divorce (25:18) Who will clear the browser history? (27:55) Reading 10Ks (28:57) Using margin for investments (29:49) Cryptocurrencies (33:46) StockTwits and 80% female podcast engagement (36:11) Season 2 and closing remarks  

Jason Greenwald is a real estate investor focused on Maryland Housing Foreclosures. A lifelong Washington DC Sports Fan, Jason finished college right as the 2008 housing collapse dominated headlines. With perseverance, some bar mitzvah money and a basic understanding of real estate, Jason was able to take advantage of the bargain basement home prices and build a successful business. To learn more about Jason please follow him on Twitter @JGreenwald86. To learn more about Richard please visit www.thinkaen.com. Show Notes: (01:15) About Jason, growing up near Washington DC and starting off with $5,000 (03:21) Grandparents and Moses Kagan (04:25) Investing in housing post 2008 and 2009 bust, starting with nothing (08:01) Temple Hills, Maryland and first big deal (10:44) Buying right in Real Estate, Jason's Process, Covid-19 (16:11) Staying local in property purchases (20:14) Are people moving, Current state of housing (21:40) Thoughts on some Housing stocks (22:36) Dealing with Mortgage Foreclosures (26:24) Foreclosure Auctions (31:36) Jason and the Use of Leverage (35:35) Reinvesting the Rental Profit Float, Stocks (43:21) Washington Football Team, Washington Sports, Dan Snyder (48:50) Closing remarks and contact information

Mike Cagney is the CEO of Figure Technologies, a powerhouse FinTech company looking to transform the Payments, Stock Exchange and Lending Industries. Through its Provenance Blockchain, Figure is able to build products that offer unprecedented speed and ease to its customers. Listen in as Mike talks to Richard about the Genesis of Figure, the formation of its Provenance Blockchain and its plan on helping Americans Figure out their finances through the Power of Blockchain. To learn more about Mike please visit www.figure.com or its Provenance site at http://provenance.io/. To learn more about Richard or to request a transcript of the podcast please visit www.thinkaen.com. Show Notes: (01:14) Mike's Background, Wells Fargo, SoFi Technologies, Figure (04:18) Selling first company to Broadridge, SoFi and Student Loan Refinancing, Starting the next $100B Company, Not always a linear path, Visa and Mastercard (07:41) Provenance Blockchain, Ethereum, Decentralized, Cosmos Tendermint (10:16) Figure's Big Three - Payments, Exchanges, Lending; Being cheaper, faster and more capital efficient; GameStop (GME) and AMC Theaters (AMC) (16:18) HELOC's and the 5 minute mortgage (18:53) Mortgage Process, Digital Wallet; Buy loans and Securitize (19:57) If you build it, they will come; IPO or DeSPAC of different business lines (21:58) Provenance Blockchain (24:23) HASH Token, Biggest Challenges and Solutions (27:05) The false Dichotomy, Stable Coins (31:38) Custodian Banks and Matching Transactions, NYSE and NASDAQ (34:38) T+0 Settlement versus T+2 Settlement, T - Instant (39:04) Stock trading on Blockchain, Potential Listings (40:18) SPACs, Ellington, Mike Vranos (43:39) Board of Directors at Figure, how Mike communicates with them (44:46) Learning more about Crypto and Blockchain (47:03) Closing remarks

Benn Eifert is the managing member and CIO of QVR Advisors, a quantitatively-driven, options-and volatility-focused investment manager. QVR helps institutional investors navigate the highly complex derivatives market. Listen in as Benn talks to Richard about the Genesis of QVR, the evolution of the Derivatives Markets as well as how his firm adds value to clients. Benn also delves into his background, the GameStop Gamma Squeeze, Retail Activity in the Options Market and much more. To learn more about Benn please visit www.qvradvisors.com or follow him on Twitter @bennpeifert.  To learn more about Richard please visit www.thinkaen.com. Show Notes: (01:14) About Benn and QVR (03:42) Time spent at Wells Fargo, Prop Desk (04:32) The Derivatives  and the time of the Wild West, Benn explaining Derivatives versus other instruments (09:51) The shift from Over the Counter (OTC) Derivatives to Listed Derivatives (12:09) Equity Options and Retail Trading (13:03) Regulators and other Watch Dogs (15:32) Delving into QVR, Process Driven Advisor, U.S Allocation, Different Asset Classes (18:29) Recurring Thematic Dislocations (22:31) AMC and GameStop, Roaring Kitty (27:35) Gamma Squeeze (28:32) Implied Volatility and how it impacts the markets (30:35) Melvin Capital and what exactly happened (33:32) AQR and its hunt for dislocations (34:35) What led Benn to start a fund, setting up his Team (37:12) Talking about his Popular "Junior Analyst" Interview Questions (39:05) It all comes down to Supply and Demand (42:57) Learning from mistakes, unwinding trades (43:24) Cycling in San Francisco and the Cycling Jersey (44:00) Peleton, Family Life and Closing Remarks

Rudi van Niekerk is the Founder and CIO of Desert Lion Capital, a specialist stock fund investing in the unfrequented market of South Africa. Rudi is a fundamental, value-oriented investor that has been able to generate stellar returns with a contrarian, opportunistic and concentrated approach. The frontier of the South African equity market is still a lonely and inhospitable space, which gives investors like Rudi a significant edge. Learn about Rudi’s humble childhood growing up in a farm as well the ‘catalyst ‘ for focusing on intrinsic value.  To learn more about Rudi please visit www.desertlioncapital.com. To learn more about Richard please visit www.thinkaen.com. Show Notes: (01:15) Rudy's Background, Growing up in South Africa, Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist - Roger Lowenstein (03:31) CapeTown and South Africa, Roughly 325 Companies in the Stock Market (05:33) The hunt for companies trading below intrinsic value (07:28) Generalist versus Specialist Investing (10:29) Margin of Safety Investing, Occasionally looking at resource stocks, macroeconomic factors (14:40) Process of idea generation, Organic, Bottoms Up Research (15:47) How companies can create value (17:43) Going over the portfolio, concentration, cash and holdings (20:28) Attending shareholder meetings, speaking with management, overcoming behavioral biases (23:32) Delving into portfolio holdings, Cartrack Holdings - Smart Mobility SaaS company, fanatical management teams, taking market share (32:30) Selling criteria, change in growth outlook or fundamentals (34:51) Common sense approach to investing, Quality versus Cigar Butts, generating high returns (40:55) Navigating inefficient markets and managing volatility (43:22) South African stock correlations versus the rest of the world (45:32) Rudy's current thoughts on South Africa as a whole (48:28) Closing remarks and contact information  

Peter Hans is the Head of Business Development at Arca Funds, a full-service investment management firm focused on Digital Assets. Peter is also the Host of Between2Chains, a podcast formed in partnership with Real Vision. Richard and Peter discuss the future of Digital Assets, Bitcoin, Ethereum and more. They also delve into Prominent Blockchain Applications as well as select Digital Tokens. To learn more about Peter please visit www.ar.ca. To learn more about Richard please visit www.thinkaen.com. “Every company that has a product or service will have a digital asset or token on its capital structure.” – Peter Hans Show Notes: (01:14) Peter introduction, FBR, Fixed Income, Distressed Debt and joining Arca (04:29) Working at a startup, being CEO, Harvest, Ethereum Mining, working with Jeff Dorman, Bitcoin, Tokens (15:55) Real world "potential examples of tokens, Disney and Netflix, 100% secure, efficient (18:26) Why we haven't seen more digital tokens amongst larger companies, benefits that align incentives (21:19) Tokens being custodied, removing counter party risk (25:13) Dogecoin and Litecoin versus Tokens with practical use cases (25:43) Ethereum Blockchain versus Bitcoin Blockchain (28:09) Valuing digital tokens, how to go about doing it (31:14) Tokens that Peter finds attractive at current prices, NFTs and more, Home Purchase or Refinance (35:39) Etereum based Smart Contracts (40:48) Transparency (41:15) More on NFT's, Non Fungible Tokens, Sports Contracts, JPEGs (46:15) Cryptocurrency and Token Regulation, Between Two Chains Podcast, Raoul Pal, Real Vision, Closing Remarks Peter's Podcast Link www.between2chains.com