My Worst Investment Ever Podcast

Sampath Mallidi is the Founder and CEO of Intandemly, a successful startup that helps organizations execute Account-based Sales through their software. Bootstrapped and formed in 2017, Intandemly has been profitable since year 1. Today, more than 200 organizations from 10+ countries use Intandemly to generate sales in the five figures! Sampath is an MBA from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with an obsession for entrepreneurship, sales, and salsa.   “Cash is not the king. Cash flow is the king, so always have paying customers.” Sampath Mallidi   Worst investment ever The aha moment Before starting, Intandemly, Sampath worked two jobs, both in sales. But it was in the second job that he got his aha moment. Having been in B2B sales for all this time, he felt there was a need for an affordable account-based sales software for Small and Medium-sized Businesses. And if he could help them execute high quality targeted outreach to customers, he would be making an impact. So together with his then-boss, they formed Intandemly. They felt great about the new startup company, but they had no money. Knocking hard on doors Sampath went out knocking on doors, speaking to lots of potential prospects pitching his new platform and showing them how his platform would give them a higher ROI. He met about 20 companies and three of these loved his idea. Wearing his heart on his sleeve Sampath went out on a limb and told the three companies interested in his software that he had no money to develop the software for them. He asked them to pay him upfront. He used the money as his starting capital and put together a team of developers that started working on his idea. Soon enough, he delivered the software to the three customers who had put their faith in him. From there on, he continued meeting as many customers as possible. That’s how he was able to fund the company and in exactly a year and a half after starting the startup, they were at a pretty comfortable stage with roughly 50 to 70 customers. The startup becomes a household name The startup was now performing well, and he had investors interested in investing in startups approaching him. He got the company valued and got a $9 million valuation. From not having any funds to come into a $9 million valuation that was huge for Sampath. One gentleman that comes from a pretty big background took notice of the company and wanted to take a little stake in the company. And he was ready to invest immediately. So the deal was that he would be pumping in money two months after giving him the go-ahead. Thinking big With the anticipation of getting good funding from the gentleman, the company changed its entire strategy and started thinking very big. They had all these huge strategies that they were going to implement with the money. They spent all the money they had in the bank because they knew a lot of funds were coming. They even had a grand party with all the employees. The deal that never was One day as Sampath was coming back from the temple, he got a message from the gentleman saying that he was ill and would not invest in the company. Sampath went numb. He was in total shock and didn’t know how to react for a day. It took him a day before he could try connecting back with the gentleman. However, after a lot of thought, he decided that he would not try to convince the investor to give him money. Instead, he decided to go out and look for customers just as he had done in the past, something that had brought him huge success. So he wore his shoes, got into his car, and started meeting as many people as possible. This was Sampath’s worst phase and the worst investment in terms of time. For the three months, he was in talks with the ‘investor’ he had stopped looking out for customers. Instead, he was more focused on restructuring the organization and lost his original focus. Now he had to start all over again. Lessons learned The deal is never done until the money hits the bank Whether it's winning the customer or getting an investment, the deal is never done until the money hits the bank. Bounce back fast The more you take time to let the suffering and the depression sink in you, the more you're letting yourself suffer. The faster you bounce back, the better it gets for you. Stop playing victim Start figuring out how to move on because shit happens. Cash flow is always king Cash from someone dries very fast, but cash flow from your sales are recurring. You need sales not investments The majority of startup crises can easily be solved with sales, not with investment. Andrew’s takeaways It’s lonely at the top As a founder and a visionary, you need to keep a positive mindset and keep motivating the whole team to go in the right direction, no matter what ups and downs come your way. And that’s just hard to do. There's a small number of people that you can talk to, and it's probably not the people that are in your company. Have enough cash to fund your runway Have enough cash to take off but also cultivate confidence in your employees because if they lose confidence, it's over no matter how much money you have in the bank. Sales solve everything Sales, unlike cash in the bank, give you recurring revenue. Actionable advice Whether you're building a product or a services company, make sure that you always have paying customers. Don't quickly buy into the valuation game projections. All those are great. But the reality is, how many paying customers do you have? The more you have, the more you grow in confidence and eventually, you also grow in valuation. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Sampath’s goal for the next 12 months is to enhance his product to a world-class level. Parting words   “When you’re building your business, first, you need to love what you do. Second, find a way to blend creativity and the commercial aspect of your business.” Sampath Mallidi   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 Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Sampath Mallidi LinkedIn Twitter Website Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast  

Adam Dollner is a skillful international tech & travel/tourism specialist, speaker, and possibility creator with an entrepreneurial mindset. He has visited more than 70 countries and contributed his tech skills to more than 850 small or medium-sized businesses worldwide. His passion is to create opportunities, moving people and improving lives around the world by leveraging the latest technology. He is also the CEO/Founder of HubLearn. He is passionate about using innovation and the technology of tomorrow to make people’s lives easier. Before leaving his corporate job and starting HubLearn, Adam had a lead role in building streaming services such as HBO Nordic, Blockbuster, and others in Denmark’s biggest telco company the TDC Group. Adam has spent the last two years in Thailand & East Africa, sharing knowledge on the use of technology in various industries. Now he is based in Bangkok.   “Don’t listen to too many people. You're the one who lives with the consequences of your actions. So believe in yourself.” Adam Dollner   Worst investment ever Giving up the corporate world to be an entrepreneur After many years of working in the corporate world, Adam decided to quit and start his current company LearnHub. HubLearn was an idea that came up to him while in Africa. His goal was to create a hub that would guide people towards learning possibilities such as online education and help them step into the future of social learning. So he started doing some research and went further to contact some developers. He got in touch with a couple of them, and there was this one consultancy that caught his eye. It was a team of 16 developers with a point of contact who said all the magical words. Adam was blown away and decided to work with them. Getting the idea off the ground Adam was careful to make sure that the new team of developers clearly understood his idea, so they had back and forth discussions about the project. They discussed the idea of having a platform that allowed online, offline, and in-person development. A platform that could also allow someone to sponsor a learner while being able to track their funding. Where they can see the person, they’re sponsoring and be fully aware of what they would do with the funding received. So together, they developed all that on the paper. After about half a year of finetuning the project requirements, the point man told him that the team was ready to get started. However, they needed some money upfront. Because he had confidence in his idea and the team, he transferred US$10,000 to the consultancy. Adam couldn’t help but envision all the people whose lives he was going to change. His BS radar wasn’t so strong after all Adam’s earlier position in the corporate job was that of the Bulldog that usually challenges salespeople and calls them out on their BS. So he could easily filter out rogue salespeople, or so he believed. Somehow this one consultancy passed right through his filter. As soon as the money hit their bank account, they went quiet. Eventually, they got back to him with the shoddiest work he’d ever seen. All they presented him was a one-page website. Their excuse; they didn't understand the project as he envisioned it and, therefore, couldn't do it in that way. They claimed that he’d said something different at certain times. Adam was confused because all the drawings were there and they’d spoken about it for a year. He decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and waited for them to give them another go. They asked for more money which he sent. One and a half years later, he still had nothing. Eventually, he cut them off and nearly had to close HubLearn and go bankrupt. And so his worst investment was not to cut them off straight away as well as transferring money before seeing a product which saw him over US$10,000. He had options all along After he let the developers go and in a desperate need to save his idea, he did more research, and to his surprise, he had other cheaper options. He found out there was a lot of learning management systems (LMS) off the shelf. He learned that he could build his whole LMS system with all the plugins and features he wanted for less than US$500. He used YouTube online courses and did more research and within one week, he’d built the whole platform by himself. Lessons learned Product first money second Do not transfer money before you have seen a little bit of the product that the outsourced team develops. If something is not working, cancel it Cancel a project if it’s not working out. If the people you hire to do something don’t deliver, get rid of them, cut your losses and move on. First look for off-the-shelf solutions before hiring someone to do it There are so many bright heads out there and intelligent people who are developing an app or a feature or something which you can pick off the shelf and work with it instead of paying someone to develop it. Build as you go When you hire someone to build a product for you, do it the agile way and build as you go. You can have an end goal like here’s where I want us to go, but let's start from the start and do the milestones and evaluate how it works. So it's not all just on the paper. Andrew’s takeaways Always have written proof It can be hard to be clear when working with developers. Make your idea clear by writing it down. Continue to discuss it with them and make sure that any changes get flagged as changes. You’ve got to stay on top of your project because if you don’t, you can end up at a different place than what both parties probably thought you were going to be. Start with a minimum viable product Start with a product that you can market and then play with it. Let people test it and try to see if it works, rather than trying to build the whole product. Actionable advice Take action, then believe in yourself. Don't doubt yourself. Believe that the universe somehow will guide you if you do what is right and believe in yourself. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Adam’s goal for the next 12 months is to get one of HubLearn’s main project, ShopbyLocals, up and running. It's about selling skills, physical products, and services. Like if you have a bike you want to rent in a local city or a room you want to share, you can do it on Airbnb, but also on ShopbyLocals. 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 Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Adam Dollner LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Instagram YouTube Website Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast

Ed Latimore is a former professional boxer and a veteran of the United States Army National Guard. He holds a B.A. in Physics from Duquesne University and has written two Amazon Best Selling books. Millions of people have learned from Ed's insights and experiences through his writing. He teaches the lessons he has learned via his unique path through life at his blog, "The Mind and Fist" at http://www.edlatimore.com. He also delivers daily wisdom and observations on Twitter @EdLatimore.   “If you just work and gradually improve and you're not afraid to take criticism and suffer, you're eventually going to get better.” Ed Latimore   Worst investment ever Blinded by heartbreak At 22 years of age, Ed found himself out of the longest relationship in his life. He was a mess, and without much thought, he found himself in the arms of another woman. Blinded by the emotional loss, he felt from the broken relationship, Ed jumped right into another relationship without getting to know the woman first. It didn’t matter to him that she was dating someone else when they met. It didn’t matter to him that her attitude seemed off. All he cared about was that he found her attractive. He just wanted to be with someone who wanted him. Her true colors start to show A few weeks into the relationship, Ed realized that his girlfriend was emotionally manipulative and did her best to isolate him from his friends. They would get into constant arguments but he kept going back to her because he found her attractive. Here comes the bombshell Not too long after they started dating, Ed’s girlfriend dropped the bomb on him; she was pregnant. Ed was distraught! Not only did he doubt the child was his because he came to learn that she had other partners, but also, he was not in a position to raise a child. He was just 22, broke, and living with his mum. Living in misery Ed being the good guy he is, didn’t abandon his girlfriend. She moved in with him at his mum’s house. Things, however, got worse. She was cheating on him, was always criticizing him and continued to manipulate him emotionally. Ed was so miserable and emotionally drained but he stayed and hoped things would get better but they only got worse. Having the guts to leave Ed wanted to leave the situation, but he felt trapped. His poor financial status made him feel useless and worthless. He didn’t have much to offer, financially, so he stayed so that he could continue living with his mom. It was a miserable situation. One day he woke up and realized that he was either going to lose his mind or do something that he’d live to regret for the rest of his life. After the worst fight with his girlfriend, he mastered the courage to leave the toxic relationship eventually. He vowed that with his next relationship, he would take his time to choose right and not let heartbreak lead him to another bad relationship. Lessons learned Vet the people you get into a relationship with Get your relationships right from the very beginning. You’ve got to make sure you pick people the right way. Ensure that you have a vetting process. Don’t date people just because the opportunity presents itself. Be observant You can learn quite a lot about a person by simply observing the little things once you know how to connect them and what they mean. Don’t be afraid to have high standards It's better to have high standards and lose a few potentially good people but block out all the bad ones than to lower your standards and have way too many bad ones. Be discerning Don’t ever be willing to stay in a situation any longer than you have to. Never get attached to something you can’t walk away from. Andrew’s takeaways Breakups are ugly for everybody Make a list of what you want in a partner and follow your list When the writing is on the wall, read it Actionable advice Get a monetizable skill set. You may go hard at the gym, look as good as you want, be the coolest guy in the block, but there's nothing quite as freeing as knowing that you have your own money and you’re independent. Nothing gives you more standards, as being able to bring something to the table. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Ed’s goal for the next 12 months is to earn a quarter-million dollars this year. That would be a big stretch in his life. He sat down and figured out that what's important to him was writing and teaching. Now he wants to continue to double down on that as he keeps sharpening his skills and take on different clients. Parting words   “Well begun is half done. If you just remember that you can save yourself a lot of trouble.” Ed Latimore   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 Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Ed Latimore Twitter Facebook Instagram Website Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast

Ryan Roghaar (Ro gar) is a serial entrepreneur, award-winning creative director, podcaster, author, and a business owner committed to building authentic end-to-end relationships for his clients—top management to the top consumer. His unique philosophy puts specific importance on human relationships and their inherent value in both business and in life. He believes that as a society, we are reaching a kind of technological saturation point which is leaving consumers anxious and yearning for tactile human experiences, and it is that core ethic that fuels his purpose—to bring people together. ‍From his office in Salt Lake City, Utah, or occasionally from his office-away-from-home in Barcelona, Spain, Ryan will offer enlightening insights on a huge range of topics in his humorous and engaging style. Relationships, business, design, art, creativity, marketing, podcasting, remote work, coworking, the music business, travel and the life of a digital nomad—Ryan has lived and studied them all—and he is happy to share his insights and experiences to help others explore fresh perspectives on business, lifestyle and new ways of working.   “As a contractor, not having the safety of contracts, agreements, a client onboarding process, you are wide open for abuse, and there's very little you can do about it.” Ryan Roghaar   Worst investment ever Delving into a new space Ryan’s marketing and advertising company deals with different clients in different industries. Finding new work is the norm for the company. So when a friend referred a client to them in need of their services, it was nothing new. The client, however, was in Cannabidiol (CBD) and medical marijuana, a market the company had never dealt with. Nevertheless, they were quite excited to try this market. Going against his intuition and better judgment Ryan did a couple of sales interviews with stakeholders in the company, and it was all going well until, eventually, he met the CEO. He immediately had a bad gut feeling about the guy's character. His intuition made him doubt the CEO but he looked the other way. Ryan went against what nature was telling him and pursued the relationship anyway. Blinded by desperation At the time, Ryan’s company was in great need of a win so they were a little bit blinded by some desperation. They had bills to pay, people to pay, and other business operating costs that had to be taken care of. So, this one time Ryan decided to overlook his intuition because the company needed the money. Unlike with other clients, they jumped right into work without dealing with the legal nitty-gritty first. They didn't follow their client onboarding process and had no agreements or contracts in place. So even though they had rules when signing up a new client, they didn't follow them, they just quickly jumped on their projects and went right to work. But, everything seemed to be working out fine. The client didn’t complain about their rates and was paying on time. Changing the project midway At some point, they decided to make a big packaging change. They were up against a deadline, as the client was going to pitch some large pharmacies and other pharmaceutical companies to try and get their new CBD products out on the market. They had just a few days until this pitch and had to get everything done. At this point, they had a great relationship with the client. So they threw everything at it. They hired copywriters, designers, web developers, and marketers to try and build up this whole campaign and be prepared for this multi-million dollar sale. They used all the resources they had to run this project, running up the bill while at it. A job well done After significant investment and throwing many hands at it, they got the job done on time. The client went ahead to do the pitch as planned, and it went well, they won the business. Here come the crickets After getting the work done, which was significantly more than they had done for the client before, they sent the invoice. Then the client went quiet. The bill was more than what the client expected and therefore, they ghosted Ryan and never paid. Ryan’s firm was left with a loss of about $25,000 to $35,000, which was a pretty significant loss in manpower and resources. Lessons learned Contracts and agreements will save your business Have some service agreement in place. Make signing it a process included in your client onboarding process. Everything such as deposits, needs to be figured out in advance. Having contracts and agreements in place dictate the rules and explain what happens with the projects. Risk management is a must when dealing with clients Mitigate risks by way of deposits, or other modalities, such as IP ownership. Defining how such things will be handled could act as your security should a client bail on you. Trust your intuition Trust your gut and listen to your conscience. Based on your risk tolerance, you may be able to make a judgment call whether to disregard or how much credence you're going to give to your internal monologue. It would be a real error just outright to ignore your intuition or your gut. Andrew’s takeaways Have an onboarding process Don't skip the process Pay extra attention to desperation, rush jobs, or dangerous jobs. Actionable advice Trust your intuition and avoid the blindness that might come from making a stupid choice for short term gain. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Ryan recently started to pivot into remote work advocacy and is helping people develop relationships and maintain healthy lifestyles as remote workers. His goal for the next year is to help as many people as possible to hopefully find their way out of rough living situations around the world. 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 Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Ryan Roghaar Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Blog Website Connect with Andrew Stotz astotz.com  LinkedIn  Facebook  Instagram  Twitter  YouTube  My Worst Investment Ever Podcast 

For the first time in this podcast's history, we’re having a guest come on the show a second time! For the long-time listener, you may remember today’s guest’s story of loss in episode 41 Diversification: The Best Insurance Against any Investment Burst. Joachim Klement experienced his worst investment in the early 2000s during the Dotcom bubble after investing in a tech fund. Sharing his story on our podcast inspired him to write the book 7 Mistakes Every Investor Makes (And How to Avoid Them): A Manifesto for Smarter Investing. It’s a huge pleasure to have him back on the show. In this episode, he will walk through the 7 mistakes he talks about in his book. Guest profile Joachim Klement is a research analyst and former Chief Investment Officer with 20 years’ experience in financial markets. He spent most of his career working with wealthy individuals and family offices, advising them on investments and helping them manage their portfolios. Joachim studied mathematics and physics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland, and graduated with a master’s degree in mathematics. During his time at ETH, Joachim experienced the technology bubble of the late 1990s firsthand. Through this work, he became interested in finance and investments and studied business administration at the Universities of Zurich and Hagen, Germany, graduating with a master’s degree in economics and finance and switching into the financial services industry in time for the run-up to the financial crisis. 7 Mistakes Every Investor Makes (And How to Avoid Them): A Manifesto for Smarter Investing Seven Mistakes Every Investor Makes (And How to Avoid Them) calls upon years of experience and scientific research to deliver expert insight into the most common mistakes plaguing investors. From there, Klement outlines his personal tools and techniques, developed, refined, and successfully implemented over many years in the finance industry, to help avoid and mitigate such mistakes. His ultimate aim: to help you help yourself. The mistakes covered include forecasting, short- and long-term orientation, repeating past errors, confirmation bias, not delegating to experts, and blind trust of traditional assumptions. Seven Mistakes Every Investor Makes (And How to Avoid Them) is a must-have guide for every investor. Packed with scientific research and personal wisdom, this book draws together the most common investing mistakes to practically revealing how to overcome and eliminate them. Don’t make another avoidable mistake by missing out on this book.   “I think artificial intelligence and other new tools built on big data analysis will help us get better, but they're not gonna make us redundant. And they're not going to end finance.” Joachim Klement   Mistake No. 1: Forecasting Forecasting is an exercise in futility. One technique to improve your forecasting is just to assume that the dollar will be in one year where it is today. There is lots of empirical evidence out there that this “forecast” is better than the consensus forecast and better than about 95% of all analysts in this world. The same thing is true of interest rates and stock markets. Joachim presents a few techniques on how to get better when it comes to your investment forecasts, which eventually you have to make because investing is not about the past but the future. Mistake No. 2: Short-termism People are too short-term oriented in their investment decisions. They chase performance. They go in and out of stocks constantly. This results in a lot of transaction costs, even in the world of discount brokerages. The transaction costs accumulate and the performance gets worse. Just the very fact that you go from A to B and back to A and then to C and then to D and then to another stock cost you a lot of money and diminishes your performance. Mistake No. 3: Being too long-term It is a mistake just to let strategies run uncontrolled; you need to have some risk management and control mechanisms in place. There comes the point when you have to take that risk off the table. Not because it's a bad strategy, but because you want to survive. Mistake No. 4: Repeating past errors Recollect the past, analyze, and learn from it. Too many retail and professional investors, even fund managers, CIOs of big institutions, keep making the same mistakes over and over again. Use a very simple technique of an investment diary where you write down your past decisions, why you made them and then check the outcome regularly and then start reflecting. I didn't make that mistake. If it wasn't a mistake. Why was I right? Was I right for the right reasons? Or was I just lucky meaning right for the wrong reasons? Learn from your mistakes. Mistake No. 5: Ignoring the other side When it comes to long-term thematic investing, many people focus on demand but forget about the supply side. Unfortunately, prices are as a result of the balance between supply and demand. Demand rises slowly but supply can adapt and adjust to it very quickly. So by the time demand change comes around, supply has already adjusted and you make no money. Mistake No. 6: Not being active enough None of us is an expert in everything. It’s important sometimes to delegate your money and investment decisions to fund managers. You do this with the hope that these specialists will be able to give you good value for money. The mistake a lot of people make is to hand their investments to fund managers who aren’t active enough to have a decent chance of outperforming after their fees. Mistake No. 7: Blind trust in traditional assumptions We all think the financial market or any market is heading towards an equilibrium of supply and demand. The only way prices change is when some new piece of information comes along and shifts either demand or supply or both, and then you get a new equilibrium. Similarly, if you look at valuations of stock markets, we think that if market valuations are too high, they are supposed to come down to some long-term average. This couldn’t be further from the truth. That equilibrium does not exist because financial markets are constantly changing. Parting words   “Don't despair. We all make mistakes, even the best of us do. Learn from them and improve your investment every day, every year. Over time, you will get better, and things will get better. You will make new mistakes.” Joachim Klement   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 Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Joachim Klement Twitter LinkedIn Blog Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com Linkedin Facebook Instagram Twitter Youtube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast Further reading mentioned Joachim Klement (2020) 7 Mistakes Every Investor Makes (And How to Avoid Them)

Jim Maffuccio (Ma fuchi oh) has enjoyed a long and successful career in real estate and has some battle scars to prove it. Today, as Founder and Principal of Aspen Funds, he’s drawing on his over 30 years of real estate experience in a way that many haven't discovered. Jim has become an expert on mortgage notes and is helping investors earn high yields every month without the built-in volatility of traditional investment options.   “If you launch off on a cockeyed idea that you haven't gotten counsel from others, haven't done your homework and the timing is bad, you can persist all you want but I'm sorry, it's not going to work.” Jim Maffuccio   Worst investment ever Thrice a fool Jim was sitting at his kitchen table in Ventura, still working for a big oil company that gave him job security and a huge salary. He had just got his real estate license and started putting together deals for a couple of friends. He did some real quick math and said, “Man, I'm gonna make more money on these two real estate deals when they close than I'm making in a quarter of a year working.” Too fast too soon Without any more research or experience, Jim pulled the ripcord and bailed out the corporation. Within a week, both of those deals went south. He made nothing, and now he was jobless. Not one to give up easily Jim found another way to get a few more deals in his pipeline. He started doing transactional real estate helping buyers and sellers find and sell their homes. He hooked up with a friend who had some experience in real estate. They decided to delve into land development. The timing was just right They started subdividing some land, did their first home project, and hit the 1988/89 cycle right. The prices were going up and they ended up doing well with that first project. Full of vigor, they went out and acquired a bunch of other lands and started their next projects. Forgot to keep up with the current affairs Jim and his partner were so excited about their success that they forgot to keep up with current affairs. The S&L crisis hit them unawares. They had bought all this land, and just as the market had gone up pretty rapidly, now it was turning a corner pretty fast. Time wasn’t on their side anymore The problem with a development project is that it takes a long time to get your approvals, and you don't have any control over that timeline. Jim and his partner were raising money pulling the land together, putting all the pieces together, designing the project, hiring architects and land planners, and working hard to present their product to a market that they didn’t even know if it would exist by the time they were finished. Rethinking the plan They had to redesign the project to an affordable housing situation. They broke ground in their project in 1994 just after the recession. It was terrible timing for them. They had this beautiful, wonderful little development of homes but couldn’t help but watch the ship go down. The other production builders that had much deeper pockets came in and slashed their prices by $40,000 a house. Jim and his partner couldn't make money at that rate, so they ended up closing up shop. He lost everything including investors’ money, time and some friendships. Oh boy, he never learns Jim and his partner decided to jump back in the ring and try to fight the battle again. This time around, they aimed at affordable housing. They leveraged up again and got tons of land and had projects going in Southern California. Then the subprime crisis hit in 2008, but they kept going. This time the crisis sunk them twice as deep and it went down as Jim’s worst investment ever. He lost everything and found himself bankrupt in 2009. He had just moved to the Midwest, had five teenagers living at home and was in his mid-50s. Time to retool, finally! He finally decided to play it smart, which resulted in Aspen Funds, which now has a seven-year successful track record. The company is very well risk-averse. Lessons learned Consider the economics of real estate Jim’s company is now focused on buying residential real estate. Instead of selling, Jim prefers renting because it provides a more stable income. For the most part, rents are going to keep up with inflation, at least. Build a scalable operation with time Jim loves plotting steadily and then build a scalable operation rather than trying to swing for the fences and do a deal. He doesn’t just do deals anymore. Now, with a company, he has an ongoing business model that he’s scaling and building. Buy in diversified markets When buying real estate, buy into diversified markets. In markets where you know, there are jobs in a multi-faceted economy, not just jobs in one sector. A market where there is a high quality of living, where the politics are good, and it's business-friendly. So you have families and companies wanting to move there. A diversified market then becomes your collateral, and that's what protects your investment. Andrew’s takeaways Timing versus location, location, location Timing is very crucial when investing in real estate, and it’s almost impossible to overcome bad timing. You need three things to overcome bad timing; capital, time and iron willpower to make it through it. See the bigger picture Most times, people get too excited about an idea that they think will make them quick money, or maybe they're not experienced, and they forget to look at the bigger picture. Actionable advice Take action and persist in a decent direction for as long as possible. You're going to break through at some point, and you're going to begin to see the fruit of your labor. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Jim’s goal for the next 12 months is to scale his business. The company is revising its systems and processes as well as making a few staff changes to reorienting and fine-tune the machinery so that it can grow. Jim wants the company to triple in size over the next 12 months. This year, he also wants to be less involved in the wheelhouse and more involved in the management and helping the team become the best that they can be. Parting words   “Just keep going. Find the thing you want to do that makes you resonate on the inside. Get some good counsel around you and then just apply the energy to it, and you'll find your breakthrough, hopefully before you hit 60 years old.” Jim Maffuccio   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 Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Jim Maffuccio Facebook LinkedIn Website Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com Linkedin Facebook Instagram Twitter Youtube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast

Whitney Hansen teaches millennials how to pay off debt and gain financial independence. She gives them the tools to have more fun with money while sprinkling in a little silliness. She’s got a Master’s in Business, a Bachelor’s in Accounting, experienced paying off debt ($30,000 in 10 months), and a true “started from the bottom” story. When she is not writing about money and creating financial plans for others, she can be found taking spontaneous road trips, reading in coffee shops, or mentoring other entrepreneurs. She is also a podcast host for The Money Nerds Podcast, where she gets to interview cool people and hear their secrets to financial success.   “Never, ever make any decisions in your financial life until you do your own research and try to get a basic understanding. I think that is rule number one for any financial decision.” Whitney Hansen   Worst investment ever Blindly trusting others did not serve her well At an early age of 18, Whitney opened up her investing account and hired a big broker firm. As she was looking at her statement one year, she noticed that she was in the hole. Not because her stocks had gone down. They were higher, but because the fees were getting so high, and she didn't even realize that she was paying a 7% fee! She admitted that when she first started investing, she had no idea about these fees and how it affected her investment. Ignorance did not serve her well either Whitney also shared that during her early years, she had financed a family car. Without any knowledge about cars, she, of course, trusted the car dealer and bought one. She did the best she could to make the monthly payments. After a couple of months, the engine blew and the car could not be used anymore. That’s when she realized that people would sometimes lie to make a sale and her ignorance did not serve her well. The common denominator to her failures Whitney realized that all those lessons combined taught her to not blindly trust professionals. Now, before making big financial decisions, she always does her homework diligently and to lean into her intuition. Lessons learned Do your own research and try to get a basic understanding Never, ever make any decisions in your financial life until you do your own research and try to get a basic understanding. I think that is rule number one for any financial decision. Andrew’s takeaways Compound interest is all about getting your money in and keeping it in We’ve all seen that chart that shows the exponential rise caused by compound interest. Always remember that the exponential rise doesn't start occurring until around year 20. So, one of the highest priorities when it comes to investing is getting your money in and keeping it in. One of the six key ways that people make mistakes or lose money is a misplaced trust When you trust the wrong people, your investment will likely fail. Don’t try to close the knowledge gap As an investor, you don’t need to close that gap but to understand that the knowledge gap exists and look for an ethical person that's not going to take advantage of it. It is the investor’s right to ask and get an answer that you can understand You have a right to understand the fees that you're being charged. And if you do not understand that, you have a right to ask for an explanation that you can understand. Actionable advice Do your own research and make sure you understand what you're getting into. But do not over research because even if there are mistakes that you’ll make, being in the financial game, investing, and taking those risks, that's where you're going to find success. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Whitney excitedly shared that she’s dying to build a cabin in the mountains of Idaho and rent it on Airbnb when it's officially ready. Parting words   “Just take action and stay on your budget when you're with your big financial goals.” Whitney Hansen   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 Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Whitney Hansen LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Instagram YouTube Website Connect with Andrew Stotz astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast

Justin Tamsett is Australia’s most awarded fitness business speaker and is recognized internationally as a thought leader who delivers in a unique style and with quality content. He will have you challenge how you do things as he believes we should #thinkanddodifferent to grow the fitness industry. After 30 years in the amazing fitness industry, he shares practical ideas from inside and outside the industry with a focus on ideas that can be implemented immediately. He has trained in over 400 fitness facilities since 2015 as a casual visitor to get the true consumer experience. Justin has delivered over 353 presentations since 1999 across 21 countries and to over 210,300 fitness business owners, managers, team members, and entrepreneurs. He is the only speaker to speak 20 consecutive years at Filex in Australia and for 15 consecutive years at IHRSA in the USA. The people who attend his sessions help him achieve his why: To have more people move and move more often to reduce the health care costs across the globe.   “You can still be an entrepreneur, be successful. But that success will be a whole lot more enjoyable when you’re alive and healthy.” Justin Tamsett   Worst investment ever Doing what he loves and loving what he does As an entrepreneur, Justin always wanted to own a business, specifically a gym. He started as a personal trainer but had a goal to have his gym before he was 25. His determination and focus also saw him open his first gym when he was 25. One thing about Justin that stood out is that he loved what he did. He loved working in a gym and owning a gym. He loved it so much that he would get there at the crack of dawn and leave after the sun had gone down. Some days he was the first person in the gym and the last one out. He never considered it work. He went on to open a second gym. The gym owner who never worked out The irony of it all was that even though he owned two gyms, he never worked out. He never took time for himself; he was always working. Because he loved working so much, he never realized that he was pushing himself too much. His body didn’t love his job as much At some point, he started getting some really bad abdominal pain, but he didn’t worry about it or thought it was anything serious. The abdominal pain also came with some fairly unpleasant toilet visits. Again, he didn't think it was anything serious. And being a man, he decided to keep it secret thinking this was just something that would pass shortly. The toil took him down Despite the pain, he kept working hard every day doing what he loved most. However, he couldn’t keep it together for long. One day when he was on holiday with his wife, he had a strong urge to use the toilet. He just had to go. Fortunately, there was a toilet nearby. His whole insides almost exploded in the toilet bowl. His wife insisted that he had to get checked as soon as they got back home from the holidays. He finally went to the doctors and was diagnosed with a chronic illness called ulcerative colitis. Ulcerative colitis is similar to an ulcer or abrasion you would get in your mouth but on your colon. So every time you go to the toilet, it takes a layer of your colon, and so you pass blood. In the 1940s and 50s, ulcerative colitis was one of the biggest killers in Australia. Not because there was no cure but because people would bleed to death. They were too embarrassed to talk about it or see a doctor about it. The healing and learning process Lucky for Justin, he was able to get medical assistance before the disease could get any worse. However, he had to stay away from a business that he thought was everything to regain his health. It was during the healing process that he learned that while he had invested everything in running a successful business, his worst investment that could have cost him everything he’d worked so hard for, was taking his health for granted. Lessons learned Focus on the power of positive thinking No matter what is going on in your life, believe in the power of positive thinking. Living life on a positive note will help you overcome whatever hurdle you’re facing. Don’t take your health for granted The most important thing we have is our health. Too many times, we take that for granted. Make exercise a routine Add exercise into your daily routine, but most importantly, know that it's not about the intensity of how hard you exercise. It's about moving your body. A simple exercise of walking 20 minutes daily will make a huge difference in your life. Andrew’s takeaways Don’t ignore that ache When you feel any pain, get it checked by a doctor. You may want to ignore it and say you're busy. Sometimes it can be embarrassing to go, but just go, because an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Health first, everything else later We want to do business, and we want to be successful. We want to have all these different material things. But ultimately, if you don't have your health, you're not going to be able to keep any of those things. Be more grateful Have an attitude of gratitude even when things get tough, when things are hard or when things aren't working. Always be grateful for what is working. Spend time adding up those things that you should be grateful for and then try to keep yourself healthy. Actionable advice Move more and move often. Put in your diary an appointment once a week or twice a week or three times a week or if you are game four or five times a week. Make this appointment the time when you're going to work out or exercise. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Justin’s goal for the next 12 months is to have more people around the world move more and move often. Parting words   “If you don’t find time to exercise, then you will have to find time to be sick.” Justin Tamsett   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 Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Justin Tamsett Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Instagram YouTube Website Connect with Andrew Stotz astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast Further reading mentioned James Clear (2018) Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones Charles Duhigg (2012) The Power of Habit 

“Ordinary to Extraordinary” is something Erik Seversen lives by, and he’s been pretty successful at it. Born into an average, lower-middle-class family, Erik received no support from school counselors and others, but he didn’t let them crush his desire to accomplish amazing things. Erik also took life experiences, like rejection from his dream school, UCLA, and turned them into challenges to overcome. He eventually did get into UCLA. Erik studied Anthropology and used it in business to help the company he works grow from a value of $7 million to over $100 million in 10 years. He also taught English as a Second Language for 10 years in Japan, France, Thailand, and universities within the US. He has traveled to over 80 countries around the world and 49 states in the US. He has ridden a motorcycle on six continents and crossed the US on one twice. Erik also climbs mountains, having summited the highest peak of eight countries and five states. He even once had a machine gun stuck in his mouth in Nigeria.   “You can have the best of the best working together, but to create that right thing and that recipe that really creates the right taste and the right success, there has to be synergy.” Erik Seversen   Worst investment ever The perfect ingredients for a perfect business Erik knew a friend who was putting an idea of a vegan restaurant in Los Angeles into action. Since this friend had been working with a lot of restaurant projects before, Erik was very excited about the concept. When his friend was looking for a head chef, Erik referred someone he knew who has published a best-selling book on cooking vegan. With the perfect duo working on the restaurant, things started happening. They raised enough money to take the project off the ground and started running it. The investors were really happy to see the business moving forward. The clash of the flavors Suddenly, the business was not making the numbers they’d projected. The perfect team which Erik helped create didn’t mix. And the supposed wonders that were expected from the dream team didn’t happen as planned. What happened was that their financial guy who was supposed to be in charge of the money and finances started making creative decisions that were supposed to be the job of the head chef. The head chef, on the other hand, wanted to make financial decisions. So, all of these things that each of them knew how to do, when they couldn't stick to what they know and just let things happen, things went south. The second wave of failure There was a second round of funding that Erik and his team used to keep the restaurant alive for a little longer. They invested the money into a new location in a prime location. They went for it because they thought that there was going to be 1,600 units of prime customers living in the same building as their restaurant. In the end, over half of the units were bought as a secondary home. So rather than having 1,600 units, half stood empty. In the end, Erik left and was shocked that with all of the ingredients - some of the smartest people and the best chefs he knew, they couldn't make a go of this restaurant. Lessons learned Having a bigger role in the business can prevent conflicts By having a bigger role in the business, rather than being a spectator, you will probably notice immediately the personality conflicts and prevent any impending clash that will take a toll on the business. Do your homework diligently Doing your due diligence is a basic tenet in investment. Failing to do it diligently will always get you into trouble. Synergy is a key to success You can have the best of the best working together, but to be successful, there has to be synergy. Andrew’s takeaways Bring your team together to achieve a common goal You can have the best of the best on a team, but you will never win unless they are given the direction and the support to work together to achieve a common goal. Find the right location for your business Finding the right location can be hard, but it is one of the keys to the success of your business. Actionable advice First, do your homework and figure out if it was a good idea to do business. Second, always look for the next opportunity and look for the positive in it. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Erik’s work goal is to have more public speaking engagements. His family goal is to make his wife’s year as good as his last year. Lastly, his self-goal this year is to climb another high mountain. Parting words   “The best way to connect with me on all fronts is my website, erikseversen.com.” Erik Seversen   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 Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Erik Seversen LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Instagram YouTube Website Connect with Andrew Stotz astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast

With 28 years of experience in real estate investing, there is not a strategy that Mathew Frederick has not executed, which includes residential, commercial, new development, raising capital, offshore, and coaching. Mathew started in residential income property then expanded to buy-fix-sell, lease option, commercial buildings, and new development projects. Mathew has had the lead on renovating 50 plus properties, has experience with building 240 houses, and 3 low-rise condo buildings. He now focuses on teaching people how to manage commercial portfolios, including plazas and multi-family buildings, plus coaching investors in real estate and business acquisition. Mathew’s mindset is one of always learning. This has resulted in him being able to develop alternative and creative approaches while mentoring investors.   “Sometimes, you have to learn to say no. I knew that it was not the right deal. I knew I couldn't oversee it. It was not the right time. I knew he was not the right person. But I did it to try to rescue him.” Mathew Frederick   Worst investment ever An investment to save a friend Mathew bought five properties as his friend who needed capital promised him that he would do the necessary renovations to resell these properties for a larger amount in the market. The friend ensured Mathew that he had the resources to make these renovations and that they would make good money from it. Unfortunately, once things started, Mathew immediately realized that his friend lied about the resources he had, and things got a little out of hand. In the end, when there was no money in it for his friend, he walked away. A mistake made by an expert Mathew’s intuition was telling him that there was something off with this investment, but abandoning the basics of investment, he still went through with it. True enough, when the US markets fell, and the economy collapsed, Mathew’s properties were greatly affected. This included the five properties he invested in with his friend. Fortunately, he was able to sell three properties out of the five. The two remaining were being rented out because he couldn’t sell them at that time. All the greatest renovations for resale ended up being tarnished because he didn't harden them for rental. So, by the time he did sell the properties, all that extra value was not there anymore. Lessons learned Surround yourself with people who are responsible If you are a responsible person and you circle yourself with people who are not, they will pull you down. Always monitor if your people are doing their jobs If you know already that there are jobs not done right or not done on time, do not waste time and correct it immediately. Do not compensate for people’s shortfalls just because you have lots of experience Even though you are an expert in that field or industry, do not forget to go back to the basics. Andrew’s takeaways Remember all the elements in investing with other people The first element is that if you don’t trust the person, walk away. The second element is that the idea must be something that excites you. The third element is that the person you trusted must be able to execute such an idea. Lastly, always avoid being the only money provider. Experts diversify One of the biggest mistakes amateur investors commit is that they put all their money into one basket. If you’re experienced enough in the business, you know the importance of diversification. Always keep your cool When you are in a mess, try to keep a peaceful mind before making a decision. Actionable advice Sometimes you have to learn to say no. If your intuition is telling you that it’s not the right deal and it’s not the right person to oversee such a project, you can always politely decline. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Mathew wants to spend time educating people. His number one goal is to help people to forgive themselves for their failures, learn to appreciate their successes without feeling guilty, and guide them to move to the next level. Parting words   “Learning is great. If you’re planning to read 10 books, read the first four books and apply what you have learned before moving to the next four.” Mathew Frederick   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 Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Mathew Frederick LinkedIn Twitter Facebook YouTube Website   Connect with Andrew Stotz astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast