Silent Restaurant Partner Finds His Voice Too Late After Too Much Golf
A few years back, a Japanese colleague of mine, Kobayashi Takeru (not his real name), decided to invest in opening a ramen restaurant in Bangkok. Japanese restaurants had yet to reach the popularity in the Bangkok dining market that they have achieved today and so there appeared to be a lot of space for further…
Read Full PostAlways View Yesterday’s Successes Through Today’s Glasses
When I was younger and not so financially “sophisticated”, I used to work for one of the largest international general contractors in the world. In theory, it should have been a good idea to invest in the company I worked for As part of my 401(k) plan, I was given the choice of different…
Read Full Post‘Try Before You Buy’, If at All Possible
The worst investment I have ever made in Thailand was buying land. I had the idea of building a house for my parents on a block in Cha-am, Phetchaburi province, at the southern end of the Kingdom’s central region. Don’t buy a home unless you really want to live there After I acquired the land, my parents lived in the area for a few months on my suggestion because I thought it would…
Read Full PostHard Lesson About Compounding – Could Have Been Better with Coke
Prelude As an excited 17-year-old who had saved up a little more than US$2,000, I wanted to buy some stock. I held small amounts of two other stocks at the time, so I purchased Coca-Cola shares with the money I had saved. Ignorance is not bliss when missing big future interest I don’t know what I was thinking when I sold the Coke shares around six months later, ignorant…
Read Full PostHow Poor Execution Turns a Great Idea into the Worst Investment
Prelude In early 2017, I was shown an opportunity to invest in a US$6.5m simple agreement for a future equity (SAFE) note issued by BuildDirect.com Technologies Inc., a $1bn Canadian e–commerce company. All of business’ facets looked solid My client had made previous investments in the company and had a strong conviction in the team, the company, the market and this “new marketplace” opportunity. The company sells heavy construction supplies, such as tiles and…
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