My Worst Investment Ever Podcast

Tony Fish thrives in complex, ground-breaking, and uncertain environments, bringing proven judgment and decision-making skills with cross-sectorial experience. He has a track record of sense-making and foresight, with enthusiasm and drive that is contagious. Tony is a maverick and (un)intentional rule breaker. His focus is on how the future of corporate governance, decision making, and judgment will be affected by complex data at the corporate board level. This focus leads him to speak about what board meetings will look like in 2025, and the implications and unintended consequences. Tony has founded, co-founded, sold, and listed many businesses and remains deeply passionate about new ways of creating value, inspiring, and supporting the next generation of thinkers and doers.   “You learn the most from the worst and the toughest times. There is no doubt that you go into your worst investment to learn more.” Tony Fish   Worst investment ever Tony made his worst investment ever as a board chairman. His company had a simple idea to deliver a product to three million captive customers in the UK market. Those customers had already fairly much adopted the product, but they were particularly sensitive to price. For this reason, all of the existing players, because of their large infrastructures, could not offer the price that would see the customers carry on being incredibly loyal. Getting it right from the start With this advantage, Tony’s company started from scratch with a different philosophy and different economics and got price efficiency from day one. The company wanted to create something which was highly efficient, effective, and built from the ground up. They identified a power player, which was a company that had access to their market and utter control over the digital channels to this market. They did a cross-shareholding with this supplier to get a deal, which gave them access to that market in terms they could not get in any other way. The supplier offered a superior product with a subscription model, which they could now offer to this captive audience. Capturing the customer The company raised Series A, which was just short of 10 million pounds in about four months. So basically, they were swapping existing customers from one platform to another platform with a much better cost advantage. In less than six months, they had a significant customer base, and each subscriber was paying about 20 pounds per month. After just less than six months, they were making five million pounds a month in income. Scaling the business The company needed to raise more capital for cash flow, and before they could do it, they had to go back to the supplier and get better terms because the terms they had would not go to a large scale. At the point, they had committed about 20 million pounds in debt and equity. Tony believed that the supplier would buy the business themselves because the company had built a substantial new customer base. With the supplier’s new platform, they would be able to offer something they hadn’t done before. So it was a pretty obvious strategic exit. Tony set up a meeting with them. He went as chair of the board and took one of the other major shareholders and the CEO. They went into the meeting with high expectations of getting a better deal or, better still, opening up the conversation of the supplier, becoming either a strategic funder or taking the business out when it passes a specific number. Here comes the shocker So after the pleasantries and Tony presenting their proposal, the supplier asked them how many verified customers they had. Tony was feeling quite proud of the company’s success, given the high numbers that the CEO had been giving the board. So he goes through the numbers, ready to provide them with an impressive figure. But shock on him, there was an enormous gap between the data the board had and the data the supplier had. Tony and the shareholders could not believe it. Over the next three days, the board found out that the CEO had been lying to them. Not only had he been lying but had been utterly fabricating the numbers. On top of that, there was a massive fraud issue, and all of it was hidden. The systems that the board believed were in place and working turned out to be a user interface that was completely fabricated. The friend turned foe The CEO was Tony’s mate, and they had worked together before on other projects. Tony came to find out that his mate had a hidden past and was not even qualified for a CEO’s role. He had been stealing from the company all along and misleading the board. The CEO was also about to jump ship and had found another job. Tony had made the worst investment ever when he hired the CEO. Needless to say, there was no deal made with the supplier. The board also was liable for all the mess that the CEO created. Lessons learned Directors carry all the liability The company and its shareholders have limited liability. Directors, however, are 100% liable. There’s no escaping. Be aware that sitting on the board of a company is not a nice little end of life career; it’s a serious role with profound implications. Being a board of directors requires emotional maturity To be a successful board of directors, you have to have emotional maturity with the highest emotional sense. Don’t be judgmental or controlling, but seek diversity, especially of reporting. Andrew’s takeaways Being an advisor is the better option If you want to be involved in a company, be an advisor, not a board member. Because as a board member, you are liable for any fraud going inside the company, and you can’t prove that you made an effort to try to detect it. There is a lot more risk for a board member than an advisor. Actionable advice Find additional ways to know if what you’re being told is true. Yes, this is tremendously difficult because we’re now remote, but it’s a field day for liars and manipulators, so you’ve got to be extra careful. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Tony’s number one goal is to finish on a piece he’s working on to do board meetings in 2025. Parting words   “Just keep listening to the rest of the podcast backlog episodes—just genius. I love them. Thank you, Andrew.” Tony Fish   [spp-transcript]   Connect with Tony Fish LinkedIn Twitter Website Blog Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market Finance Made Ridiculously Simple Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast  

Graduating from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, where he studied law, finance, and technology, Edmund Lowell is a serial entrepreneur living in Asia since 2011, innovating at the crossroads of finance, technology, and legal fields. Edmund has built several Fintech and RegTech products during this time, including FlagTheory.com, KYC-Chain.com, and SelfKey.org. The SelfKey Foundation raised US$21 million, selling out in just 11 minutes for the crypto utility token, called KEY, now listed on Binance.   “Focus on the most important things that have the biggest impact.” Edmund Lowell   Worst investment ever Edmund got his first job as a real estate agent selling property in the United States. Though this was a job that he loved, his timing was just wrong. In 2008, the global financial markets had a massive crisis led by the US housing market. The crisis rendered Edmund jobless. Finding something more marketable to do Edmund took a look at his skill set as a college-trained individual and realized that he didn’t have much to offer the real job world yet. But, he knew how to file paperwork. And so he started setting up LLCs and corporations in the United States. His first start in business What started as a means to stay afloat amid a crisis went on to become a successful business. After graduating from undergrad, he deferred going to law school and moved to Thailand full time and continued running this business. Becoming an angel investor After a few years, as most entrepreneurs do, Edmund had a little extra capital and was interested in making some angel investments. At the time, he had a good friend who was starting up a business, and he made an angel investment into his company. Giving more than money The business was not doing so well, but Edmund believed that he could make a difference as an investor. At first, he gave money to the company and, after a while, started spending a significant amount of time working on it. Eight months later, the business had not picked up, and the opportunity costs of going into it were weighing on Edmund. So he decided to stop working for this angel investment and move on to new businesses and cut his losses. Lessons learned Don’t do it unless your heart is in it If there’s going to be a business you’re working on seven days a week, it’s got to be something that you enjoy. If it’s a business that you care deeply about, on an intrinsic level, it’s going to be easier to stay motivated through the ups and the downs. You learn so much more from the failures It’s just unbelievable the number of insights that you get from failure as compared to success. Most times, success only feeds your ego, and you think that you’re impervious, making you more likely to make a bigger mistake in the future. So it’s crucial to study where things went wrong, where others went wrong, as opposed to glorifying your successes. Andrew’s takeaways Don’t be afraid to get out of a falling market It is harder to succeed in a market that is falling or has slow growth. Top angel investors know that it’s not worth making it hard on themselves. So when it makes sense to get out of an industry that will be a grind for a long time to come, they are not afraid to do it. The zero-based thinking concept Zero-based thinking involves asking yourself if an opportunity came along, would you take it up right away. If the answer is yes, then double down. But if the answer is no, walk away. Learn to walk away If you want to get success and happiness, you’ve got to walk away from things you know aren’t working. There’s no guarantee that you’re going to end up at something better or something amazing, but you at least know that you’re getting away from what’s not working. Actionable advice If you make an angel investment in a business and it’s going to be your business, then your heart has to be in it. You have to be willing to run that business for a long time. Connect with Edmund Lowell LinkedIn Twitter YouTube Website Blog Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market Finance Made Ridiculously Simple Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast  

Gillian Perkins is the founder of Startup Society and the host of the Earn More, Work Less podcast. She also hosts a popular entrepreneurship-focused YouTube channel that has received over 20 million views to date. Gillian teaches people how to start and build profitable online businesses that allow them to earn passive income and live a flexible lifestyle. She runs her company with a primarily remote team, enabling her to travel the world with her family and homeschool her four young children.   “Focus on the most important things that have the biggest impact.” Gillian Perkins   Worst investment ever Gillian’s worst investment happened a few years back when she started an online business. At the time, she was running a local business and wanted more flexibility and freedom. So she thought an online business was the way to go. She started tinkering around, created a website for her business, and got heavy into that online marketing world. Getting help from the gurus In a bid to grow her online business, Gillian watched a webinar about growing an email list. The coach promised that by growing an email list, one would have a machine that can produce cash at any point in time. You can just tell your email list about whatever you’re selling, and they will buy it with no questions asked. Gillian thought that this sounded pretty good and precisely because she already knew that she wanted to sell online courses. Gillian is a teacher at heart. So she felt this was a good fit for her and was pretty much sold on that idea. The course cost $2,000, and at the time, Gillian was living paycheck to paycheck. But, she spent $2,000 that she didn’t have because this sounded like a good and helpful thing to have in her business. Getting ahead of herself Now the course wasn’t bad at all. In fact, in the grand scheme of things, it was a good course. The problem was simple; Gillian didn’t understand what she was buying. She did not know anything about building an online following or marketing her business, two things that were paramount for the course to work. The course was mainly about optimizing her email list, yet she didn’t have an email list to begin with. She had bought a tool for her tool belt when she didn’t know how to build things yet. Needless to say, Gillian didn’t get much of a return on investment, and her $2,000 went down the drain. Lessons learned Don’t commit too fast Try to fully understand what you are getting yourself into before you sign up or commit to anything. Don’t let the scarcity mindset make you think that you must have it right now. There is going to be another opportunity so take your time to think things through. So be patient, take it slow, take it easy, and keep doing some research. Growing your business require you to take action Moving forward and taking action is a crucial part of growing your business. You don’t have to have all your ducks in a row; just move forward. Andrew’s takeaways Listen with care Be careful when listening to people’s advice. Before you act, step back, and don’t let your emotions go out of control. Evaluate everything before you allow people to influence your decision. Look at the big picture Any business is a series of processes, from marketing to sales to operations to finance. Sometimes we get excited about one part of that process and neglect the rest. When you decide to start an online business or any other business, you have to realize that you have to do all of those parts. It can’t just be one part of it. Actionable advice Be patient and do your research. Always know that there’s going to be another opportunity out there. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Gillian’s number one goal is to grow her membership program, Startup Society, that teaches people how to start online businesses, to 1,000 members. She’s passionate about sharing this opportunity with as many people as possible. Parting words   “Be patient; there’s going to be another opportunity.” Gillian Perkins   Connect with Gillian Perkins LinkedIn Facebook Instagram YouTube Website Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market Finance Made Ridiculously Simple Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast  

Charoenjit Chantarasiri has been an investment consultant at Kasikorn Securities in Thailand for the past 10 years. He holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in finance from Thammasat Business School. As an investment consultant, Charoenjit advises retail investors in various equities, fixed-income, derivatives, and mutual funds products. He also runs Charoenjit’s Podcast, which he started in 2019 to help retail investors in Thailand. He podcasts in Thai and covers everything there is to know about Thai listed companies. His podcast is climbing the charts because of the value he adds.   “Be a confident investor. Don’t let today’s price scare you from buying an asset.” Charoenjit Chantarasiri   Worst investment ever Charoenjit started his career as an investment consultant in 2010, two years after the global financial crisis. He would advise his clients to forget about equity and try to make the most profit. The gold trend At that time, gold was one of the assets whose price was on an uptrend. Many of Charoenjit’s clients were interested in investing in gold, and so he had to monitor the gold market as well. Failing to take his advice Charoenjit saved his money in a savings account and equity. He watched as the gold price continued to go up as his clients kept investing in it. Charoenjit remained hesitant to invest in gold. In no time, the price of gold was at a record high of 26,000 baht from 17,000 baht. For a short period, the price went down to 23,000 baht. Charoenjit still didn’t bulge. Jumping onto the bandwagon, albeit too late When the price of gold moved up to 25,000 baht, Charoenjit now felt afraid of missing the train and decided to buy it at nearly the peak price. Soon after he purchased gold, the price ran a little bit more to around 26,000 baht. But after a while, the price dropped sharply. The price remained between 18,000 baht and 22,000 baht for about four years. Throwing in the towel In early 2018 Charoenjit decided to sell his gold and look for another investment choice. He sold it for only 19,000 baht. In 2019, just a year later, gold prices went back to an upward trend rocketing to a record high of 30,000 baht in 2020. If only Charoenjit had been patient and confident in his decision to invest in gold, he would not have missed the opportunity to make huge returns. Lessons learned Use the asset allocation concept When getting into an investment, look at it as a part of your portfolio and not as a separate entity. Don’t invest in something just for the sake of it or just because it is the new trend. Ask yourself if the new investment will improve or ruin your portfolio. Consider investing in gold Consider having a small portion of gold in your portfolio. This could be between 5% to 30%. Holding gold could help your portfolio be well-diversified and protect its value. Be a confident investor If you are a confident investor, you are more likely not to miss out on good investment opportunities. Andrew’s takeaways There are no rules in finance There are no laws or rules in finance, so you can never be sure. Today, you may confidently say gold is not a good long term investment. But then tomorrow things change. The truth is that it is tough for all of us to detect when that change is happening. Unrealized losses are real A lot of times, we say that unrealized losses are not real. But the fact is that the best way to look at a portfolio is to use zero-based thinking that lets you ask the question, “If I didn’t own anything, what would I allocate to this today?” It’s a tool that will help you let go of the past. Don’t let emotions get in the way It’s easy for us to get emotionally attached to an investment. Always try to let go of the feelings you have about your winners and losers. Actionable advice Diversify your portfolio using the asset allocation concept. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Charoenjit’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to create more quality content through his podcast and hopefully have over 10,000 followers from every channel. He wants to be more beneficial to investment companies. Parting words   “Be confident.” Charoenjit Chantarasiri   Connect with Charoenjit Chantarasiri LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Website Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market Finance Made Ridiculously Simple Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast  

Justin Christianson is a self-proclaimed number junky and a digital marketing veteran. Father, husband, and #1 Bestselling author of Conversion Fanatic: How to double your customers, sales, and profits with A/B testing. He is also the co-founder and President of Conversion Fanatics, a full-service conversion rate optimization company, helping companies like Burt’s Bees, Dr. Axe, and many others improve their results.   “When it comes to conversion optimization funnels, start small. Test the biggest leverage points, and don’t overcomplicate it.” Justin Christianson   Worst investment ever Helping a client out At the end of last year, Justin got a call from an e-commerce business owner who was freaking out because his business was falling apart. Justin and his partner had a meeting with him, and they soon realized that they could help him out. I want a piece of the pie The business was something that Justin could relate to, and so he got quite excited about it. He wanted a piece of it, and he proposed to the owner to help him grow his business, and in return, Justin would buy a 30% stake in the company. They shook on it. Justin and his partner invested a bit of money into this business. What mess did I get myself into? As Justin was doing a background check on the company, he found out that the books were a mess and even had receivable loans. Though this was a red flag, he dismissed it. He figured his accountant would sort it out. What attracted Justin to this partnership was the fact that there was a huge fanbase, and he knew the business had the potential to make huge profits. It’s a deal The trio signed the deal, created a new LLC, and pulled over the assets making the partnership official. They set up new bank accounts and tried to do everything the right way. Justin went all in and started humming along and focused on sales. He spent a bunch of money on advertising and dialing things in. He increased the average order value by about 40% in a short amount of time. Deal goes sour After some time, the partner went back to his old ways and started spending company money on personal stuff. At first, $2,000 went missing from the business account, then $2,500, and then $4,000. To make matters worse, all of a sudden, two more receivables loans popped up. So now the company was triple-dipping before they even got to make any profits. Every sale they made had to be channeled to repay the loans. Soon enough, Justin realized that this partnership would not be beneficial to him. His partner’s spending and the loans would cripple the business. Justin tried to have a conversation with him about his spending, but he just scoffed at him. Calling it quits One day while at his son’s football game, Justin got a notification on his phone that he had a change in his access to the bank account. He tried logging in but had no access to anything, the bank account, the PayPal account, the website, nothing. He has been locked out of everything. Justin sent a group text to the business partner, and he made up some big story about how he didn’t want to burden him with his debt, and because he started the company, he wanted to take care of it alone. Justin decided not to fight him or even take him to court as it would not be worth it, and he might just end up losing more money than he had already invested. He decided to write the investment off as a bad debt. Lessons learned Do not get emotions involved when entering a partnership When you see something exciting that you can relate to, and you want in, be careful not to let your feelings guide your decisions. Do your due diligence Do your due diligence before entering into a partnership, look out for red flags such as commingling of funds, lack of books, lack of true expenses, and P&L balance sheet. Do not rush Do not be in a rush to enter into a business partnership. The timing will come when the right time comes. Andrew’s takeaways Think the red flags through When you see a red flag, stop and step back. Think things through and see how to deal with the red flags first. Also, you do not have to stop the deal, but you must slow down your emotions. Understand the difference between emotion and intuition Intuition is an instantaneous feeling that will go away quickly, and then your emotions and your mind will override it. In many cases, it will be the right thing. Make sure you’re open and aware to the intuition message that is coming to you, and so you can receive it. Know who can bind your company to any agreement Before buying into a company or getting into a partnership, know who has the power to sign the checks and the power to bind the company. Understand how far that power goes before you commit to any agreement. Avoid confrontations You do not have to have a confrontation over everything that happens in life. Sometimes avoiding confrontations is the best way to deal with conflicts. Actionable advice Just be patient. Take it all in and trust your intuition. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Justin’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to double his current business. Parting words   “Just go out there and try to be a little bit better than you were yesterday and learn from your mistakes.” Justin Christianson   Connect with Justin Christianson LinkedIn Facebook Twitter YouTube Website Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market Finance Made Ridiculously Simple Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast Further reading mentioned Justin Christianson (2015), Conversion Fanatic: How to double your customers, sales, and profits with A/B testing Daniel Kahneman (2013), Thinking, Fast and Slow  

Andrew Pierce is an independent asset protection consultant and the creator of WyomingLLCAttorney.com. He helps business owners from nearly every industry and with almost any size company to effectively protect their assets through forming LLCs.   “The best neighbors are the ones with good boundaries, where you delineate the responsibilities and the rights from the beginning.” Andrew Pierce   Worst investment ever Andrew had an equipment leasing company in South Florida. He would lease out tractors and trailers to moving and storage companies; he started the company in college to make some extra money. The business, interestingly, turned out pretty well. Getting sucked in by overconfidence Seeing that his first business had gone so well, Andrew felt that he was now an astute businessman. He sold the business and moved to the Caribbean, at a large undeveloped Bay in St. Maarten on the Dutch side–it was about 150 acres. Falling in love and business Andrew loved the island and had a good time there. He reasoned that the island would be a great place to do business. He considered starting a jet ski and water sports rental company. He had a good friend who grew up on the island, and they decided to get into a partnership. The friend would secure the contracts and local licensing because he understood the island. Andrew would provide the capital. So, Andrew bought a few jet skis, but it turns out they couldn’t get the permit to run the jet skis because it’s an unprotected Bay. Trying his luck at something else Andrew didn’t lose hope. He came up with another business idea; landscaping. There were 160 acres at the island that needed to be landscaped. He sold the jet skis for liquidation value and added in more money to ship a bunch of plants. The business failed before it started. He tried to salvage the situation by putting up a community center, park, and restaurant on an oceanfront piece of land his friend had. Death of friend and partnership Andrew’s friend passed away unexpectedly. The business couldn’t take off because Andrew and his friend’s dad couldn’t come to a fair agreement on ownership. Andrew and his friend had never signed a single agreement throughout their partnership. They would shake on it. This made it difficult for Andrew to prove how much he had invested in the restaurant business. After three years of unsuccessfully trying to get a business take off in the Caribbean, Andrew was left with over $100,000 in credit card debt. Lessons learned Stay within your circle of competence If you’re doing moving and storage, don’t try to go start doing plastics, manufacturing, or something different. Stay inside your circle of competence. Perform your due diligence Do your due diligence before you commit to starting a business, especially if it is in a field or a location that you are not familiar with. Have contracts with people Whether it’s your best friend or someone you don’t know, the best neighbors are the ones with good boundaries, where you delineate the responsibilities and the rights from the beginning. So do your due diligence and have contracts with your business partners. This reduces the chances of having misunderstandings. Have exit points If you’re are going into a capital intensive industry, look at the liquidation values of the assets. Play out those worst-case scenarios, so you know where your exit point is. If you are already in business or trading in the markets, remember the reason you got into an investment, then list the reasons that make you’ll get out. That way, when you hit those reasons, you will know it is time to wrap it up. Andrew’s takeaways Don’t be fooled by overconfidence bias Many times when people are in business, and they are doing well in that particular area, they start to think that that could carry over into another space and expect the same success. So instead of getting yourself into a new area, double down on your current business, figure it out, improve it, make it better, and grow it. Have an agreement in place The best time to sign an agreement is before you start your business. But, if you didn’t get one back then, you can get it done today even if you’re one year, five years, or 10 years into it. There is nothing wrong with going back and trying to get it in writing. So if you’ve put it off, try to make it happen immediately. Actionable advice Make sure that if you have partners, you have agreements in place. It saves everybody from a heartache. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Andrew’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to continue focusing on his company. Andrew and his wife will soon be parents, so he wants to keep his head down and continue working hard. Parting words   “Go listen to more episodes of these podcasts and try to avoid making bad investments. But don’t let fear keep you from trying to make some investments. Always keep trying.” Andrew Pierce   Connect with Andrew Pierce LinkedIn Website Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market Finance Made Ridiculously Simple Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast  

Morgan Housel is a partner at The Collaborative Fund and a former columnist at The Motley Fool and The Wall Street Journal. He is a two-time winner of the Best in Business Award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, winner of the New York Times Sidney Award, and a two-time finalist for the Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism. His book The Psychology of Money, was just released and is available here.   “Investing is not like physics where the laws of gravity were the same in Newton’s days, and they are in our days. Investing strategies evolve overtime to get to the point where they don’t work anymore.” Morgan Housel   Worst investment ever One of the first investment books that Morgan read was the Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham, written over 50 years ago. The book talks about all these practical strategies that value investors can use to pick stocks. One of them that Graham goes into great detail about is buying stocks for less than the book value. Unpacking Graham’s strategy Graham’s strategy was to calculate what a business is worth. That is its assets minus its liabilities. That gives you the book value of the company. So your goal is to buy stocks that are less than the book value. For instance, if a company is worth a million dollars, and you buy its stock at the point where the company is worth, let’s say $800,000, according to Graham, you are making a good investment because you’re buying the stock for less than the company’s worth. Borrowing from the greats So after reading that strategy from Graham, Morgan started doing that. He looked for companies that were trading for less than their book value. This was around 2006-2007. He found a furniture company, a mortgage company, and several banks that were selling for less than their book value. Old is not always gold Morgan invested in these cheap stocks, confident that he would make a killing. Unfortunately, almost all of them went out of business. Morgan wondered what he had done wrong. Did he get unlucky? Did he not follow Benjamin Graham’s advice correctly? What happened here? Morgan soon realized that the reason why this happened is that the investment world had changed since the 1970s. It was true that in the 1970s, in the 1960s, the 1950s, and 1940s, stocks trading for less than their book value were probably good investments. That was true back then. However, things changed over time, and that strategy does not work anymore. Lessons learned There’s a reason why a stock is cheap If a stock is cheap, you need to know why it’s cheap. Almost always, say 99% of the time, the reason a stock is cheap is that the business is not performing well. It is probably burning money or has enormous liabilities. Andrew’s takeaways A cheap stock is the market’s way of warning you As a value investor, when you see a company that’s trading at a price that’s lower than the book value, know that the market is telling you that there is no future value in that stock. Separate your investment strategy and risk strategy Make sure that you have an investment strategy as well as a risk management strategy to keep you covered should your investment strategy fail. Actionable advice Try to become more attuned with your behaviors, your ability to be swayed by new ideas and new opinions. Become more attuned with your risk tolerances, comfort zones, and ability to sleep well at night. Move away from the finance textbooks that are written to apply to everyone and think about your own goals, personality, philosophies about money. You will then start making better decisions because it’s less about your intelligence and the formulas that you know, and more about becoming attuned with yourself and your own goals. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Morgan’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to keep his expectations low while hoping for the best with his new book. Parting words   “We are going to look back at 2020 as one of the worst years in modern history, but we are also going to look at it as a turning point of innovation, technology, and problems that are being solved faster than we have done in years or maybe decades.” Morgan Housel   Connect with Morgan Housel LinkedIn Twitter Website Blog Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market Finance Made Ridiculously Simple Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast Further reading mentioned Benjamin Graham (2006) The Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing Morgan Housel (2020) The Psychology of Money  

Paul M. Neuberger (New Berber) is also known as The Cold Call Coach, and he believes in making the impossible possible. A masterful speaker and trainer, he challenges people to dig deep and discover talents they never knew they had. Whether it’s working hands-on with small teams or presenting in front of hundreds of people, Paul is adept at genuinely connecting with his audience and getting to the heart of important issues. He has worked with leading organizations around the world to help improve effectiveness, performance, and cultivate a stronger sense of passion in the workplace. He has taught thousands of students in more than a hundred countries through his Cold Call University program, helping sales professionals in a range of industries close more business in less time than ever before.   “I believe in life; nothing happens to you. Everything happens for you.” Paul M. Neuberger   Worst investment ever Switching careers on a whim Paul was a 30-year-old vice president of a major university in the state of Wisconsin when his father-in-law died suddenly. His mother-in-law’s financial life became complicated after her husband’s death. Paul wished he’d been able to save his mother-in-law from her financial problems. He was so devastated to be helpless that he decided to become a financial advisor. Going in big Paul became successful quite fast, and so he got over his head that starting a business in the finance industry was going to be easy. He’d always been a good salesperson, and his passion was over the roof, so being a financial advisor came easy for him. When Paul saw how quickly he was growing, he decided to take it up a notch. He wanted to look a little bit more prestigious, to look more successful. He believed that this would land him big clients. Paul signed a 30-year lease for a huge office space and hired four people. He invested heavily in technology and marketing and was hemorrhaging cash faster than he was making it. The high costs nightmare Soon enough, the bills started piling up. Paul had to pay rent and make payroll. Within no time, he was missing payroll and having to ask for rent extensions. After a couple of missed payrolls and rent extensions, Paul realized he was in over his head, so he decided this wasn’t the path for him. Lessons learned Be aware of who you are It’s good to have self-confidence. But you also need an awareness of self. Don’t let your self-confidence cloud your self-awareness. Surround yourself with smart people Surround yourself with people whose advice you can rely on, people who can be your sounding board when you need help in making business decisions. Have a strategic plan You can’t just sell your way out of a problem. You need to be strategic. You need to figure out what’s the end game. Think about where you want to be in the next couple of months, what you need to do to get there, and what success looks like. Also, think about the risks of what you’re trying to do. Have healthy outlets As an entrepreneur and business owner, there’s only so much you can do. You need healthy outlets. You need that one person that you can talk to, vent with, and seek both personal and professional advice from. Andrew’s takeaways Costs are the only thing we can truly control When starting a business, or if your business is in trouble, the one thing you can do quickly is cut costs. Don’t burden yourself with unnecessary expenses. Take pride in the fact that you’ve got your costs down to a minimum. A business with low startup costs will be profitable from day one. Don’t be a one-hit-wonder Don’t just think about that next shot, think about the next three to five shots, and therefore you won’t be a one-hit-wonder. Actionable advice Identify what your passions are. A lot of us know what we like, what we’re good at, our strengths and skillsets, but never take time to think about how to make good use of these things. Identify your strong points, then think about how you can build careers from these things, how you can monetize them, or how you can add them to what you’re already doing, or make them a central pillar and focal point of your success. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Paul’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to be on Amazon’s top 1,000 books list. Paul published his first-ever book The Secrets to Cold Call Success in June. This book is the Bible of all sales teams. He wants this book to be in every organization in the next 12 months. Parting words   “Fear is always going to be there, but you have a choice when it comes to fear. You can use fear as a barrier or fuel to your success. The choice is yours.” Paul M. Neuberger   Connect with Paul M. Neuberger LinkedIn Twitter Facebook YouTube Website Blog Email: info@paulmneuberger.com Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market Finance Made Ridiculously Simple Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast  

In 2020, Success Magazine named Patrice Washington, one of 12 Inspiring Black Voices in Personal Development. As an award-winning author, transformational speaker, hope-restoring coach, and media personality, Patrice is committed to redefining the term “wealth” using its original meaning, “well-being.” Patrice started as your favorite personal finance expert, “America’s Money Maven,” but has since expanded her brand and mission to encourage women to chase purpose, not money. She uses her Certification in Financial Psychology to help the masses get beyond budgets and credit reports and dive into the heart of why we behave the way we do with money. She encourages women to have “wealth” in all aspects of their lives by pursuing their purpose, being fulfilled, and earning more without ever chasing money. Through her teachings, Patrice empowers women to look at life through the lens of abundance and opportunity, instead of lack and scarcity. As host of The Redefining Wealth Podcast, Patrice has built a thriving international community of high-achieving women committed to creating a powerful life vision--in their careers, home, health, and personal finances. Featured on Forbes.com as one of “15 Inspiring Podcasts for Professionals of Every Stripe” and highlighted by Entrepreneur.com. The Redefining Wealth Podcast boasts over 2 million downloads and counting!   “Don’t get caught up in the pretty, in what looks good and what looks like money. Focus on the nitty-gritty of the numbers and what you can sustain even in your worst month.” Patrice Washington   Worst investment ever Early real estate mogul Patrice was 19 years old when she got licensed as a real estate agent in California and quickly fell in love with the industry. During her senior year in college at the University of Southern California, Patrice got her broker’s license and became a real estate and mortgage broker. Her real estate business quickly took off and became a seven-figure business by the time Patrice was 25 years old. Riding on cloud nine Patrice was on top of the world. She and her now-husband and then-boyfriend were driving matching Range Rovers and owned almost 13 pieces of property collectively. They had 16 loan officers and real estate agents on their roster. They had all these things going for them, and they thought they ran the world, and it was a beautiful time. The one mistake that undid it all Around 2006 Patrice’s staff insisted on having an office to work from and fancy technology that would help them land more clients. She listened to them, and so they moved from the coworking space they were using to a larger office, almost 2,000 square feet, which they fully furnished. All these new changes took their overhead from about $2,000 to $14,000 a month. In 2007 the recession started to rear its ugly face. People were talking about the real estate bubble bursting. Other mortgage brokers in Patrice’s building were talking about giving up their office space and work from home. Patrice felt sorry for them, still oblivious of the looming crisis. The bubble bust In 2008 banks started closing down, and things got terrible at Patrice’s real estate business. At the time, Patrice was in hospital admitted because of a complicated pregnancy. She was so helpless and could only watch from her hospital bed as things went from bad to worse. There was no money coming in, and Patrice had to use their life savings to keep the company going. They exhausted their savings within a year. Within about 15 months, Patrice and her husband lost everything. They went from a 6,000 square foot home in Southern California to live in a 600 square foot tiny apartment. Lessons learned Prepare for the worst As an entrepreneur, you have to be prepared for the worst. Don’t plan your personal and professional life based on your top months, but your worst months. Your business and personal budget should be based on your worst performing months. Andrew’s takeaways There’s more to a business than sales Sales is just a function within the business, just like finance, accounting, and marketing. So when you decide to run your business, and you’re great at sales, remember that that’s one function within a company, you’ve got to take care of all the other parts. Make sure you have good people around you that are doing those other functions. Know where you are Most people, when starting a business, don’t necessarily know where they are in the economic cycle. You can’t know how to get to where you want to go if you don’t know where you are at. Spend enough time trying to understand where you are in the economic and profitability cycle so that you’re able to prepare for what will come in the future. Your employees are not always right It’s imperative to stay in touch with your employees and customers, but you have to remember that they may not necessarily be giving you the best advice about what you should be doing. Listening to your customers and employees is one input in your decision-making process. Actionable advice Don’t listen to the chatter; make decisions rooted in the numbers and the data. Always look at the bigger picture and think about life beyond today. You never know what’s coming around the corner. You want to be ready. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Patrice’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to rest in the spirit of contentment and be present to everything that’s going on and make decisions rooted in faith, not fear. Parting words   “Keep chasing purpose, not money, and redefine wealth for yourself.” Patrice Washington   Connect with Patrice Washington LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Instagram YouTube Website Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market Finance Made Ridiculously Simple Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast  

Avi Liran is on a mission to delight the world; one person, one workplace, one community at a time. He was made in Tel Aviv in 1962 and came to Singapore in 1992 as the trade and tourism commissioner of Israel. He holds an MBA in Marketing and Entrepreneurship. He is a CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) who consults and trains leadership teams of top fortune 500 companies on how to cultivate delightful leadership that empowers a culture that delivers delight to the employees and customers. He was the Chief Marketing Officer of two software companies. As a diplomat and economist, he had initiated two funds between Israel and Singapore that now manage more than a billion dollars. As a VC strategist, he facilitated nine investments in startup companies in Israel for Singapore Telecom, which bought two companies in Israel for half a billion dollars. In the past decade, he has been researching values, welling, and appreciation. He is writing the Delivering Delight book that will be published next year after the book “First Time Leadership.” He is co-writing and researching now with Daniel Lee.   “There’s no half full or half empty. There is a glass issue to be grateful for, and there is an effort to go and fill the glass.” Avi Liran   Worst investment ever Putting his money where his mouth is Avi was working for Singapore telecom investing in Israel when he came across a startup company doing IP PBX over the internet. The company had the best technology at the time and was worth billions of dollars. Avi realized that the company was a goldmine and so he invested in it. Ego too big to say yes The company received an offer to sell for about $30 million; the CEO refused the offer. They got a second offer from Cisco. The proposal was much more than what the first company had offered. The CEO said no to Cisco, insisting that the company was going to be a billion-dollar company. Pride comes before a fall After the two offers, people in the company became arrogant. The CTO went to Boston simply because he decided he wants to go to Boston. Everyone was thinking about their own needs, and just because the company had the potential to make billions, people thought they had made it. The CEO kept refusing to sell while still operating with an air of arrogance. Then the dotcom crisis came, and the company evaporated. Unfortunately, Avi lost everything he had invested in that startup. Lessons learned People are the secret sauce to successful startups When investing in startups, remember that it’s all about the people and their ability to work together, put their ego at bay, and not be arrogant or cocky but be very prudent. Arrogance and lousy working relationships can kill any investment, especially startups. Company values are everything in a startup The most valuable companies have company values in place. If you don’t work on the company’s core values, people will stray from the company’s vision and goals. Focus on your strengths, not your weaknesses A common mistake that people make is to focus on correcting their weaknesses. You waste so much time trying to work on your flaws when you should be optimizing your strengths. Andrew’s takeaways Lead by example When it comes down to company values, it is the values that the company owners and the managers convey to their workforce that ultimately become the company values. So be what you want your workforce to be. Partner with the right people Think about what you need to be successful. Then find the people with what you need and be friends with them. You don’t have to become them, use the energy, and share your strengths with them. Actionable advice Lead with your values even when you have to make difficult decisions. Values are what you do when nobody is watching. A company with values has the greatest potential to be successful. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Avi’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to finish his book Procrastinating by Definition. He also wants to be a better mate, a better listener, and be more empathetic. Parting words   “Let’s continue empowering women so that they can start earlier and be successful in their careers.” Avi Liran   Connect with Avi Liran LinkedIn Twitter Facebook YouTube Website Blog Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market Finance Made Ridiculously Simple Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast Further reading mentioned Don Clifton (2017), Strengthsfinder 2.0 from Gallup and Tom Rath: Discover Your CliftonStrengths