My Worst Investment Ever Podcast

BIO: Kamal Karanth is the co-founder of Xpheno, a specialist staffing company he has been building since 2017. He also co-founded the Indian Staffing Federation, a prominent voice for labor reforms in India.STORY: Kamal was thriving as a sales rep, but he wanted more, so he put himself up for promotion. He got promoted to area manager. All he did was work, but his performance didn’t match up. Eventually, everyone noticed, including Kamal’s boss. After a year and a half, he had to quit.LEARNING: Nurture your relationships. Always anticipate the risks of a new venture. “Pay attention to your relationships, not materialistic gains. In the end, when we die, what we’ll leave are our relationships.”Kamal Karanth Guest profileKamal Karanth is the co-founder of Xpheno, a specialist staffing company he has been building since 2017. He also co-founded the Indian Staffing Federation, a prominent voice for labor reforms in India. Kamal has been named as one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices in 2020. He is a columnist, a blogger, a vlogger and hosts weekly live sessions on workplace dynamics. A fitness enthusiast and movie buff, Kamal claims relationships define careers and believes all of us can do much better on the relationship front at work.Worst investment everKamal was working as a sales rep, and about 18 months into his job, he showed interest in being a manager. He attended managerial interviews and went on to become a manager. Kamal was doing great in his position, and the company invested heavily in him.After a while, Kamal asked to be promoted to area manager. Again, he did interviews, got promoted, and went to a new territory. Moving to a new city was also not so easy for Kamal. He had a hard time adapting to a new language, new food, new culture, and constant travel. Suddenly, he realized that he had to work even harder now that he had a bigger team to manage. Kamal’s leadership style was lead by example; people will follow you. So he worked hard doing almost 15 hours a day, no weekends, no movies, no cricket, only work. Kamal was burned out at the end of one year, yet his results were minimal. His boss was unhappy with him. His team members kept moving to other teams because they were not happy with him. In about a year and a half as the area manager, Kamal quit because he could no longer handle it.Lessons learnedNurture your relationships.Pay attention to those subtle external changes that are not in your control.Nurture your relationships.Andrew’s takeawaysNever underestimate changes that happen in your life. They can have a significant impact.When considering an opportunity, keep in mind that there are risks involved. Some things could go wrong.Actionable adviceWhen getting into a new venture, keep reminding yourself it will be challenging, have an exit plan for when it becomes more challenging than you think you can handle.No. 1 goal for the next 12 monthsKamal’s goal for the next 12 months is to bring back his fitness levels. He also wants to reconnect with all his contacts and nurture those relationships.Parting words “Relationships matter. Stay on.”Kamal Karanth [spp-transcript] Connect with Kamal KaranthLinkedInTwitterBlogWebsiteAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever PodcastFurther reading mentionedJohn Miller (October 2016), Outstanding!: 47 Ways to Make Your Organization Exceptional.Henry (Cloud January 2011), Necessary Endings: The Employees, Businesses, and Relationships That All of Us Have to Give Up in Order to Move Forward.

BIO: Nesli Girgin is a content creator and expert in marketing campaigns, product introduction, and visibility.STORY: Nesli got an offer to move from Istanbul to New York to work for a multinational company. The United States immigration office needed one year of residence payments for her to move. The company only paid three months of residence and disappeared on her. Nesli had made some payments in anticipation of the move. She lost this money.LEARNING: Be patient and kind to yourself even when things don’t turn out as you hoped they would. Bad things happen for a reason, and they may change the direction of your life. “Let’s take care of our health and happiness. This is the best thing we have.”Nesli Girgin Guest profileNesli Girgin is a content creator and expert in marketing campaigns, product introduction, and visibility. With 20 years of banking, textiles, design, logistics, and business association experience, she has vast knowledge in general management. She is an expert in various industries, including foreign trade, payment solutions, business planning, and project management.Worst investment everNesli had to quit her job to take care of her sick mom. She started some work-from-home business projects. She would receive job offers from recruiters, and one offered her a job at a multinational company in New York. The company invited Nesli to live in New York. She was excited about this opportunity because she’d always dreamed of living in New York. They discussed everything, and Nesli signed agreements.Nesli started the immigration procedures, and the United States immigration office requested her for one year of residence payments. The company only paid three months of residence. Nesli tried her best to reach the HR teams, she wrote many letters to them, but unfortunately, they didn’t complete the rest of the payments. Eventually, she decided to stop trying to go to New York. Nesli had already made some payments in anticipation of her move. She ended up losing this money.Lessons learnedDon’t lose hope if something doesn’t happen as you dreamed it would. It will happen when it’s meant to happen.Andrew’s takeawaysEverything happens for a reason. Just let things happen.Bad things happen for a reason, and they may change the direction of your life.Actionable adviceBe patient and kind to yourself even when things don’t turn out as you hoped they would.No. 1 goal for the next 12 monthsNesli’s goal for the next 12 months is to complete some projects she’s working on with her wonderful team in Turkey. [spp-transcript] Connect with Nesli GirginLinkedInAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

BIO: Pankaj Jathar is the CEO of Prione, a company established in 2014 which enables small and medium businesses to grow in e-commerce.STORY: About 12 years ago, Pankaj invested in a company he saw journalists recommending on TV. He didn’t do any research and believed the reporters 100%. The stock price tanked a month later. Pankaj sold his stock a year later after taking a 75% capital loss.LEARNING: Be skeptical about the advice you receive, especially from the media. Learn and understand some of the basics of personal finance and investing. Be your own financial adviser. “Educate yourself and be skeptical about what you read or see. Do your research, which will come once you learn.”Pankaj Jathar Guest profilePankaj Jathar is the CEO of Prione, a company established in 2014 which enables small and medium businesses to grow in e-commerce. He has 10+ years of e-commerce experience, starting with Amazon in 2011. Being part of the India launch team and working in multiple roles, he has a deep understanding of the e-commerce value chain. He might be a white-collar worker on weekdays, but he enjoys writing his blogs on weekends, and that blog is Stacking Beans which he has been writing for more than a year.Worst investment everAbout 12 years ago, Pankaj would watch CNBC for the stock tickers and conversations, which got him a little interested. But he had not yet started learning about either personal finance or investing. So Pankaj kind of believed the experts and the pundits on TV, thinking they knew what they were talking about, and their advice was to be taken 100%.They did a company profile they recommended as an investment option for the short to medium-term. As the naive newbie that Pankaj was, he put a fair amount of money into that stock. A month later, it tanked and stayed there for a long time. He sold the stock at nearly a 75% capital loss.Lessons learnedBe skeptical about the advice you receive, especially from the media. Don’t listen to experts on TV. They are probably experts in their field but necessarily financial experts.Not all journalists do their homework or do the deep dive level you would expect. Journalists are paid to generate interest, talking points, news, etc.Listen to everyone, but do your research before you put your hard-earned money on the line.Understand what equity investing is about before you start. If you don’t have either the skill or the time to do an in-depth analysis on a particular company or stock to understand the nuances, then just don’t invest in it.Question all advisors. Try to understand their motives. Is that person on your side, or is it just about their benefit?Don’t confuse your circles of influence. For example, don’t ask your mom for stock-picking advice. Don’t ask your financial advisor for cooking tips. Those two circles are different.Andrew’s takeawaysThe media is not on your side; they are trying to generate income from you.You have to be your own financial adviser.You have a right and an obligation to investigate and ask questions. If you’re not satisfied with the answer you get, you have a right to ask again and again until you’re happy.If you’re going to own individual stocks, start with about 10. Holding less than 10 stocks exposes you to individual stock risks. More than 10 will just be similar to owning an ETF.Unrealized losses are real.If you’re in a position that you don’t think you should be in for the next year or so, then there’s nothing wrong with selling it and moving that money into something better.Actionable adviceEducate yourself. There are just no two ways about it. You have to educate yourself. Even if you’re going to pay someone else to manage your money, you still need to learn and understand some basics around personal finance, investing, and equity investments. Just know enough to ask the right questions and understand the answers you get. Don’t take any advice and explanations at face value.No. 1 goal for the next 12 monthsPankaj’s goal for the next 12 months is to get to his Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) equity number which basically puts his portfolio and finance on autopilot.Parting words “Learn and be skeptical.”Pankaj Jathar [spp-transcript] Connect with Pankaj JatharLinkedInTwitterFacebookInstagramBlogWebsiteAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever PodcastFurther reading mentionedMorgan Housel (September 2020), The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness.J L Collins (June 2016), The Simple Path to Wealth: Your road map to financial independence and a rich, free life.James Montier (January 2010), The Little Book of Behavioral Investing: How not to be your own worst enemy.George S. Clason (2019), The Richest Man in Babylon.Nassim Nicholas Taleb (August 2005), Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets.Nassim Nicholas Taleb (May 2010), The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable.

BIO: Kamal Krishna is the founder and CEO of MOBILISE, Bangalore’s fastest-growing advertising & B2B marketing agency.STORY: Kamal was looking to diversify his business. He partnered with a former colleague who had the talent he was looking for. Unfortunately, he had a negative attitude towards entrepreneurship and never delivered the end of his bargain. Kamal had to cut him out and count his losses.LEARNING: It takes so much more than just talent to succeed. Choose your partners wisely. “Choose your partners well. Spend time and put in effort when choosing partners, and I assure you, it’s all worth it.”Kamal Krishna Guest profileKamal Krishna is the founder and CEO of MOBILISE, Bangalore’s fastest-growing advertising & B2B marketing agency. He has worked with significant advertising conglomerates for nearly 15 years before jumping into and starting his own company. Even though he did not invest anything initially, he kicked off MOBILISE with hard work, creativity, and client advances which made it profitable from day one.Worst investment everAbout six years ago, Kamal had just started his advertising business. While the business and prospects appeared good, there remained a fair bit of early apprehension around continuity, scale, capital, etc., you know, things that all entrepreneurs deal with in their initial years.As an advertising agency, Kamal found himself looking at an opportunity to diversify into creative and design services by bringing in a partner along with a then very substantial investment. An old colleague had visited Kamal’s office, and he was pretty excited about the venture. The colleague was keen to come in as an equity partner and bring in data and analytics capability to pair up with Kamal’s creative and design ability. On the face of it, he sounded great. So Kamal signed him up, took his money, but luckily decided to park it and committed to only touch it after a few months.Once they started working together, Kamal figured out quickly that his new partner wasn’t keen on getting his hands dirty, something any new venture requires. He was expecting entrepreneurship to be something of a comfort zone once the money had been brought to the table, not realizing that he was supposed to combine his ability with Kamal’s as a data and analytics subject matter expert. Most importantly, the partner should have worked hard to convince and deliver to new customers. Kamal found himself in a situation where he’d be making promises he didn’t think he could keep. His partner trusted his talent, all right, but consistently blamed failures on either the customers’ lack of understanding or their lack of appreciation of a startup.Kamal found himself faced with a choice; he could either use the capital from his partner and find a way to work with him or trust himself and his original plan to stay solo and cut any losses early on. Kamal decided to go solo and return his partner’s money. While bringing on this partner was the worst investment of his life, cutting his losses was probably one of the best decisions that turned his company into a profitable, growing business.Lessons learnedWhen hiring employees or choosing partners, remember that talent or individual ability alone isn’t and never should be a dealmaker. It takes so much more than just talent to succeed.A person can be supremely talented yet carry a very negative attitude towards work.Andrew’s takeawaysWhen someone comes into a company, make it clear what they will do and what they will bring.Actionable adviceFind partners who align with your vision and not just expect to receive without giving. A committed partner is so much more critical than any capital you can imagine.No. 1 goal for the next 12 monthsKamal’s goal for the next 12 months is to diversify further into brand new marketing communication specializations with new clients and renewed confidence.Parting words “If you’re looking to succeed, partners are your best investment. They’re way more valuable than any capital you raise.”Kamal Krishna [spp-transcript] Connect with Kamal KrishnaLinkedInTwitterInstagramWebsiteAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

BIO: Amit Kumar is the CEO of OLX Autos India. He is an entrepreneur, a business leader, and a speaker.STORY: Amit took an employee under his wing and mentored him for a couple of years. The employee later found another opportunity and had to leave the company. Amit decided to offer the employee some feedback during his sendoff party. The employee didn’t receive his feedback so well. The employee shut him out, changing the course of their relationship.LEARNING: Feedback is gradual. Offer feedback in the right environment. “Feedback is not just about the annual appraisal; it’s more about being open to talking about it in your weekly one on ones.”Amit Kumar Guest profileAmit Kumar is the CEO of OLX Autos India. He is an entrepreneur, a business leader, and a speaker. After his humble beginnings, Amit graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, and built multiple internet eCommerce ventures in Asia, Africa, and Europe. He is a regular contributor to Leadership, Entrepreneurship & Economics. He is passionate about human evolution and is a psychology geek.Worst investment everAmit’s company was scaling fast and needed skilled people to do this. They hired a brilliant young man who impressed Amit from the word go. He started investing his time mentoring the young man because he saw great potential. Amit believed that if the employee grew, the business would grow too.After about a year and a half of mentoring and working with that particular employee, the business grew almost ten times in that period. The employee eventually found another opportunity and had to leave the company.Amit decided to share some feedback with the employee at his sendoff party. The two were in the smoking room. Amit shared a few not-so-easy to hear things about the employee. They parted ways happily, and Amit thought everything was ok, but later realized that the employee had utterly shut him out. He figured it was the hustle of moving companies but, Amit realized that their relationship had changed after a few months. When he looked back, he realized that the feedback session was what had changed their relationship. Amit should have handled it better.Lessons learnedDon’t offer feedback suddenly and all at once. It has to be gradual.Enable two-way feedback.Andrew’s takeawaysOffer feedback in the right environment to be received well and be impactful.Put your principles before your personality whenever you’re getting frustrated with someone.Actionable adviceDon’t wait until the annual appraisal to offer feedback. Do it as often as weekly during your one-on-ones. Put your verbal feedback in writing as well.No. 1 goal for the next 12 monthsAmit’s goal for the next 12 months is to continue to become a better, healthier, and happier human being. [spp-transcript] Connect with Amit KumarLinkedInTwitterFacebookWebsiteAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

BIO: Stu Heinecke is a bestselling author, one of the Wall Street Journal’s cartoonists, and a twice-nominated hall of fame marketer.STORY: When Stu started his first business, he stuck to one-to-one leverage, making it impossible to scale his business even though he had some of the most elite clients.LEARNING: You cannot scale your business without the right team. Never cling to one-to-one leverage. “If you want to scale something, you have to have a team.”Stu Heinecke Guest profileStu Heinecke is a bestselling author, one of the Wall Street Journal’s cartoonists, and a twice-nominated hall of fame marketer. His How to Get a Meeting with Anyone was named one of the top 64 sales books of all time, while his next book explores a new growth strategy model based on weeds. His latest book, How to Grow Your Business Like a Weed, will be released in June 2022.Worst investment everStu found himself stuck to the ideology of going to school, getting good grades, getting into a good college, getting good grades there, and then getting a good job. The problem with this ideology is that you can’t scale jobs. You can’t have 1,000 jobs at the same time.Stu found himself following this ideology even when he went into business. He got huge clients, but all he was doing was still one-to-one leverage. His company was still not scalable, but he didn’t realize it because he was stuck to one-to-one leverage. Clinging to one-to-one leverage was his worst investment ever.Lessons learnedYou cannot scale your business without the right team.Andrew’s takeawaysYou can’t scale your operation, your business, or your life alone. Find the right people to help you do it.Actionable adviceTo grow your business fast, go out, find referral partners and work with them right away.No. 1 goal for the next 12 monthsStu’s goal for the next 12 months is to make his latest book, How to Grow Your Business Like a Weed, the number one best-selling growth strategy book in the world. [spp-transcript] Connect with Stu HeineckeLinkedInYouTubeFacebookWebsiteAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

BIO: Atul Sethi is the founder and managing partner of Farnam Tree, an investment advisor based in Bangkok, which is currently under pre-licensing.STORY: Atul bought stock in a retail business, but the share price plummeted due to poor corporate governance. He kept holding onto the stock in the hopes that the price would go back to what he’d bought it. Instead, it kept going down, and he lost a sizeable amount from his investment.LEARNING: Pay great attention to the people at the helm of the company you want to invest in. Don’t anchor to the purchase price. “Don’t stay anchored to a stock’s purchase price.”Atul Sethi Guest profileAtul Sethi is the founder and managing partner of Farnam Tree, an investment advisor based in Bangkok, which is currently under pre-licensing. After graduating from the University of Chicago, he spent 12 years at Credit Suisse in the Chicago, Singapore, and Bangkok offices. Atul started as a junior investment banker and later worked as a bank analyst in their Thailand Equity Research team. He left Credit Suisse this year and is now focused on Farnam Tree. Atul interned with Andrew in 2006.Worst investment everAtul wanted to invest in the stock market, and his approach was to invest in a company with a substantial competitive advantage. He found a business in the retail industry that seemed like a good fit.All the hard work crushing numbers, looking at the financial statements, and understanding the business model was made by Atul. But, his due diligence ignored some red flags on corporate governance. There was an insider trading issue involving one of the senior management members at the company. This issue, and other questionable decisions, are something that should have caught his eye, but he ignored them and went ahead and bought the stock.Due to these issues, the stock price started going down. Atul made the mistake of holding onto the stock while waiting for the price to return to what he bought it. Unfortunately, the price kept going down, and he’d lost quite a sizeable amount by the time he decided to sell.Lessons learnedPay great attention to the people leading the company you want to buy into.Don’t anchor to the purchase price. If you sense a continuous downturn in the stock, sell it as soon as possible and put that money in another business or investment.Andrew’s takeawaysMake sure you’re fully aware of any corporate governance issues and understand which ones you can overlook and which ones you can’t.Actionable adviceBe objective when evaluating a stock. Write down all the reasons you like and don’t like the stock. Doing this will help you make a more accurate decision.No. 1 goal for the next 12 monthsAtul’s goal for the next 12 months is to get the company’s licensing and structure set up and hopefully present a solution for investing and managing portfolios in Thailand while addressing some of the problems he faced for most of the last decade in Thailand.Parting words “I hope more and more people get access to your podcast and learn from it.”Atul Sethi [spp-transcript] Connect with Atul SethiLinkedInTwitterWebsiteAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever PodcastFurther reading mentionedJames Montier (January 2010), The Little Book of Behavioral Investing: How not to be your own worst enemy.

BIO: Paul Smith is an independent corporate director and private investor with significant experience in the Financial Services and Investment Funds industries. He served as President and global CEO of CFA Institute from 2015 to 2019.STORY: Paul and his friends put in money to start a hedge fund seeding business in Hong Kong. The financial crisis hit just when they had received about 40% funding and had to pay back the investors who chose to get out. The partners had to close down the business and lost quite a substantial investment.LEARNING: Have a unique business model that investors will want to back. Don’t have a highly concentrated shareholder base. Get your business to at least $3 million as fast as possible to survive. “Don’t allow the excitement of a startup to cloud your judgment.”Paul Smith Guest profilePaul Smith is an independent corporate director and private investor with significant experience in the Financial Services and Investment Funds industries. He served as President and global CEO of CFA Institute from 2015 to 2019.He currently serves as a member of the Oversight, Policy, and Governance Committee of the Financial Reporting Council of Hong Kong. He is a Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission’s Products Advisory Committee member. He is a founder of the Sustain Finance initiative and a trustee of the China Insight Foundation.Worst investment everPaul made a substantial amount of money from the sale of a business he owned, and he decided to quit his job and go out on his own. He set up a hedge fund seeding business in Hong Kong that he and a couple of other individuals funded with their money. Paul invested seven figures into the business.The plan was to set up the infrastructure behind a regulated asset management company, then go out and raise private equity-type investments to fund an investment vehicle. The investment vehicle would then, in turn, go out and seed investment managers. The partners raised money from a couple of institutions and some family and friends.The fund got regulated, and they began to seed managers, mainly in Asia but scattered worldwide. The company was about 40% invested when the 2008 financial crisis hit. Their institutional partners pulled the rug from underneath them. They paid the institutional partners back and unwound the business. As partners, they took quite a hit when the company ended.Lessons learnedWhen looking for investors, make sure you have a unique business model worth backing.Your shareholder base shouldn’t be too concentrated.Raise enough money for your business for it to survive.Resilience is vital when running a business.Andrew’s takeawaysIf you can’t find any uniqueness in what you’re doing, then be good in execution, or work with someone unique.You’ve got to get your business to between $3 to $5 million in revenue as fast as possible because that is how you’ll afford everything that makes you a professional company that can survive.Sometimes the success of your business depends on your timing into the market.Actionable adviceDon’t allow the excitement of a startup to blind you from implementing the lessons you’ve learned. Check your excitement and keep learning.No. 1 goal for the next 12 monthsPaul’s goal for the next 12 months is to try and get Sustain Finance more firmly established and get some corporate sponsors to help with that. He also wants to hire more researchers and significantly impact China’s asset management community.Parting words “Remain curious. Keep asking yourself why other people are different from you in a non-judgmental fashion.”Paul Smith [spp-transcript] Connect with Paul SmithLinkedInTwitterWebsiteAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever PodcastFurther reading mentionedEvan Carmichael (December 2016), Your One Word: The Powerful Secret to Creating a Business and Life That MatterMichael E. Gerber (April 1995), The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It

BIO: James Foo has been seasoned by nearly three decades of hard knocks and life-worthy experiences. He offers a unique view of life in entrepreneurship, with valuable insights and advice from a panoramic view of things that can save you time and help your company grow.STORY: James badly wanted to be rich, and so when he saw his friend’s dad selling this incredible new machinery, he wanted to join him. James didn’t make a lot of background history on the machines and just started selling them to friends and family. After about nine months, the machines started working poorly and needed to be serviced. James had to return money to his customers when reaching his friend’s dad became futile.LEARNING: Learn the difference between growing and scaling a business. Be aware of what’s happening around you to avoid getting into trouble unaware. Admit once you’ve done something wrong, then apologize and make amends. “He or she who has a better perspective wins. It’s not just about your insight, your influence, and intelligence. Perspective changes the way you see things.”Dato’ James S. W. Foo Guest profileJames Foo has been seasoned by nearly three decades of hard knocks and life-worthy experiences. He offers a unique view of life in entrepreneurship, with valuable insights and advice from a panoramic view of things that can save you time and help your company grow. Many give him the nickname “Business MacGyver.”James brings the know-how of a CEO-entrepreneur who has “been there, done that, still doing it to” help growth-oriented entrepreneurs meet real-world and marketplace challenges to take their company to the next level. James is also an invaluable connector which matches people with opportunities and connections to make things happen! James has founded 80 plus companies in three countries across 15 industries.Worst investment everJames’s good friend’s father was a very powerful individual who brought a lot of new-age machinery equipment into Malaysia. James saw it on TV and wanted to work with him and make lots of money selling one of these pieces of equipment, a water-air generator. So he asked his friend to introduce him to his dad.James was super excited at the idea of being rich and was probably impulsive, so much so that he just did a little background check on this business idea that he was chasing. He met his friend’s dad, who allowed him to work with him. James went door to door, literally knocking and selling this fantastic machine to family and friends. And they bought it just to support his entrepreneurial journey.After nine months of selling, James started getting calls from his customers asking him to service the machine. He had no idea how to service the machines, so he’d dismiss them by telling them that this was high-tech and didn’t need servicing. One phone call became two, then four became, and soon it was a trend. It got so bad that the customers even started calling James’s dad.James tried to meet with his friend’s dad to explain to him about servicing the machines, but he never managed to see him no matter what he tried. After a week or so of trying, James decided to return the money to his customers suffering a great loss.Lessons learnedIf you can’t differentiate between growing and scaling a company, you’re probably doing the wrong thing.Focus on the one thing that will have a domino effect on your business.Andrew’s takeawaysBe aware of what’s happening around you to avoid getting into trouble unaware.Admit once you’ve done something wrong, then apologize and make amends.Actionable adviceCheck who you surround yourself with.No. 1 goal for the next 12 monthsJames’s goal for the next 12 months is to travel abroad with his wife and daughters for a minimum of five months in a year, and when he comes back, his business is not just surviving, but it’s thriving.Parting words “Buy Andrew’s books.”Dato’ James S. W. Foo [spp-transcript] Connect with Dato’ James S. W. FooLinkedInInstagramWebsiteAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

BIO: Padmini Janaki is the CEO and Co-founder of Mind&Mom, an AI app that predicts pregnancy abnormalities and cures.STORY: Padmini chased success with everything she had because she believed that’s what she was born and raised to do. It wasn’t until she forgot to feed her daughter that she realized she’d been chasing the wrong thing.LEARNING: Nothing or nobody is as important as you are. So invest a lot in yourself. If we don’t have health, we have nothing. “Invest in yourself because nobody is as important as you.”Padmini Janaki Guest profilePadmini Janaki is the CEO and Co-founder of Mind&Mom, an AI app that predicts pregnancy abnormalities and cures. She is also the author of Myths & Millennials, with 35,000 readers worldwide. Her mission is to save women’s health globally and stop maternal deaths.Worst investment everPadmini believed that people are born and raised to be prosperous and financially stable. So she was in that manual mode while growing up. Padmini studied hard, and when she came out of university and started working, she emersed herself in work. All Padmini thought about was working hard to go up the corporate ladder and earn more. Padmini’s focus was only on how to be successful. Her version of success was making money, being the best employee, and getting promotions every year.Padmini worked non-stop. She even cut short her maternity leave to get back to her career journey. She felt this was what it took to get to the right level of success. One day she forgot to feed her daughter. She had late-night calls with clients and was so engrossed in the meetings that her daughter fell asleep without eating. It wasn’t until the following day, when Padmini’s daughter told her that she’d forgotten to feed her, that she realized she had been investing all her energy and focus into her career while missing out on the most important things in her life.Lessons learnedNothing or nobody is as important as you are. So invest a lot in yourself.Doing something that you’re passionate about instead of working hard to impress your boss or the people around you is the only way to succeed in life. You can be on your own, make the same money, bring the same value, be happy about it, and have a much more balanced life.Andrew’s takeawaysIf we don’t have health, we have nothing. You have to take responsibility for your health.You don’t have to destroy yourself and your health in a business; you can set your limits.Actionable adviceLearn at least one thing every single day. Set aside an hour every day to focus on learning something new by reading a book or watching a YouTube video that talks about something new.No. 1 goal for the next 12 monthsPadmini’s goal for the next 12 months is to go into infertility and hopefully serve 500,000 women so they can have better health.Parting words “Whatever you’re doing, no matter how small, love it and do it with your full heart. I’m sure it’s going to turn out to be something even lovelier.”Padmini Janaki [spp-transcript] Connect with Padmini JanakiLinkedInInstagramWebsiteBookAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast