My Blog Posts – My Worst Investment Ever

8 Benefits of Increasing the Profits of Your Business

Andrew Stotz — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 04:35:55 +0000

Isn’t Capitalism Great!? Here are eight key benefits of increasing the profits of your business. And I challenge you to set the goal for 2024 to increase the profits of your business.

Why is increasing profit so important? Because without profit any business will eventually die. Your obligation as a founder, owner, leader, or director is to ensure that profit remains strong.

Reinvestment and Growth: Higher profits enable reinvestment in research and development, operations expansion, infrastructure improvements, and inventory, ensuring growth and long-term sustainability.
Attracting Investment: Profitable businesses demonstrate a viable business model and robust financial health, making them more attractive to investors and lenders, thus increasing financing options.
Competitive Advantage: Businesses can use increased profits to lower prices, enhance product quality, or boost marketing efforts, which helps them gain a competitive advantage.
Market Expansion: With higher profits, businesses can invest in new markets or acquire competitors, expanding their market share and solidifying their industry position.
Employee Satisfaction: Profitability allows businesses to offer employees better salaries, benefits, and growth opportunities, improving morale and job satisfaction. This helps attract and retain top talent.
Risk Reduction: Higher profits allow you to set aside reserves, which can help you better survive unexpected downturns, maintain stability, and even thrive when competitors struggle.
Social Impact: A profitable business can contribute to communities through charitable efforts, community service, or sustainable practices, positively impacting society beyond its operations.
Personal Rewards: Increased profits mean higher dividends for owners and shareholders, leading to improved lifestyles, enhanced retirement security, and greater personal investment opportunities.

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Swedroe & Stotz Discuss 15 Common Investment Mistakes

Andrew Stotz — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 05:27:41 +0000

Even the most experienced investors screw up. The most important thing is that you learn from your mistakes and ensure they’re not fatal. Managing money is about managing your behavior.

Larry Swedroe and Andrew Stotz have recorded a number of episodes discussing Investment Mistakes Even Smart Investors Make and How to Avoid Them from the book with the same title that Larry co-authored with RC Balaban.

This blog post and the podcast episodes cover 15 out of the 77 investment mistakes even smart investors make mentioned in the book. These 15 common investment mistakes show how understanding and controlling human behavior is an important determinant of investment performance.

Mistake 1: Are You Overconfident of Your Skills?

In investing, confidence can be a valuable asset, but when it turns into overconfidence, it can lead to costly mistakes. Mistake 1 in our series, explores the dangerous trap of being overly confident in our skills and abilities as investors.

Overconfidence can manifest in various areas of life, and investing is no exception. Many believe they are above average in their abilities, particularly in beating the market. Despite evidence to the contrary, they expect their portfolios to outperform consistently. However, the reality is that the average investor should expect to earn market rates of return.

Research studies have shown that overconfidence can cloud decision-making in the investment world. Investors seek information confirming their beliefs while disregarding contradictory evidence, resulting in biased and suboptimal choices. Consequently, individual investors often underperform appropriate benchmarks, especially when they engage in frequent trading.

Even individuals with high intelligence are not immune to the pitfalls of overconfidence. Surprisingly, they, too, can significantly underperform the market when driven by an unfounded sense of superiority.

Recognizing our propensity for overconfidence is vital in developing a winning investment strategy. One helpful approach is to keep a diary of predictions and investment decisions. This diary can serve as a reality check, helping investors realize the limitations of their insights and the potential risks of excessive trading driven by overconfidence.

In conclusion, we must remain vigilant against the allure of overconfidence. Acknowledging this tendency and implementing measures to counteract it can lead to more disciplined and successful investment practices. Stay tuned for the next installment in our series on avoiding common investment mistakes.

ISMS 8: Larry Swedroe – Are You Overconfident in Your Skills?

Mistake 2: Do You Project Recent Trends Indefinitely into the Future?

In our fast-paced world, it’s easy to fall into the trap of “recency,” where we give excessive importance to recent events and dismiss the lessons of history. This human tendency can have significant repercussions, especially in investing.

Investors often find themselves projecting recent trends into the future, succumbing to the allure of short-term gains and overconfidence. For instance, during periods of impressive performance by the S&P 500 Index, investors may overlook the potential of international stocks while they rush toward commodities and emerging markets when these assets show spectacular returns.

Numerous studies have revealed that the most popular fund categories often underperform the least popular ones. This behavior is driven by investors buying high after a period of impressive returns and selling low after experiencing poor performance. The result is often a significant discrepancy between dollar-weighted returns (DWR), which consider the timing of additions and withdrawals, and time-weighted returns (TWR) reported by mutual funds.

Interestingly, even index fund investors are not immune to the recency trap. The actual returns earned by investors in index funds frequently fall short of the reported returns of those funds due to the same behavioral biases.

It’s essential to ignore media hype, financial press, and short-term trends to avoid falling into the recency trap and making better investment decisions. Instead, investors should focus on analyzing long-term historical evidence and drawing logical conclusions. By taking a more measured and rational approach, investors can avoid overconfidence and improve their chances of achieving favorable returns in the long run.

In conclusion, recency bias can be a significant hindrance to successful investing. Acknowledging and addressing this tendency can lead to more informed and prudent decision-making, ultimately contributing to more robust investment strategies and improved financial outcomes.

ISMS 17: Larry Swedroe – Do You Project Recent Trends Indefinitely Into the Future?

Mistake 3: Do You Believe Events Are More Predictable After the Fact Than Before?

One ordinary human failing that often plagues investors is the phenomenon known as hindsight bias. It’s a cognitive quirk where individuals tend to overestimate their ability to predict the likelihood of an event happening after the event has already occurred. This after-the-fact analysis can create an illusion of predictability, leading to overconfidence in our decision-making abilities, particularly in investments.

We’ve all experienced moments when we look back on past events and think, “I knew it was going to happen all along!” This sense of foresight can be misleading and dangerous when making investment decisions. Relying on hindsight bias can distort our perceptions of market outcomes, making us believe that we can foresee future events better than we actually do.

Investors who fall prey to this bias may selectively remember their successes while conveniently forgetting their failures. This selective memory can create a distorted view of their investment prowess, reinforcing the belief that they have a unique ability to predict market movements and make consistently profitable choices.

However, it’s crucial to recognize that stock market returns are inherently unpredictable and subject to various influencing factors. Believing in the illusion of predictability can lead to poor investment decisions, as investors might be tempted to take on excessive risk based on perceived patterns that may not hold in the future.

The best approach to counter the unpredictability of the market is to build a globally diversified portfolio of index or passive asset class funds that align with individual risk tolerance and financial goals. Diversification helps mitigate risk and ensures that your investments are spread across different sectors and regions, reducing the impact of any single market event on your overall portfolio.

To avoid the mistake of hindsight bias, it’s crucial to acknowledge the inherent unpredictability of the market. Avoid placing too much confidence in after-the-fact analysis or relying solely on predictions from financial analysts, as the same hindsight bias can influence these. By adopting a humble and realistic outlook on market predictability; investors can make more informed and prudent decisions, positioning themselves for long-term success in their financial journey.

Mistake 4: Do You Extrapolate From Small Samples and Trust Your Intuition?

In the complex world of decision-making, people often fall victim to the allure of intuition and the pitfalls of concluding limited information. This cognitive bias can have significant consequences, particularly regarding investment decisions based on small data samples.

The work of psychologist Amos Tversky shed light on this phenomenon, revealing that individuals tend to make incorrect guesses and judgments when presented with small samples of information, even when statistical theory suggests otherwise. Unfortunately, investors are not immune to this bias, which can lead to costly mistakes and biased decision-making in the financial realm.

Many investors have been known to rely on short-term performance trends to guide their investment choices. However, this approach can be misleading and lead to erroneous conclusions. For example, from 1996 to 1998, growth stocks outperformed value and large-cap stocks, outshining small-cap stocks. Relying solely on this limited period’s data might tempt investors to make decisions based on these short-term trends, ignoring the broader context and historical evidence.

Investors should resist relying on small data samples and short-term trends to avoid falling into this trap. Instead, they should focus on long-term historical evidence, which provides a more reliable basis for making investment decisions. By considering a broader scope of data, investors can gain a more comprehensive understanding of market dynamics and avoid being swayed by short-lived patterns.

Trusting one’s intuition can be valuable in certain situations, but when it comes to financial matters, it’s essential to balance intuition with data-driven analysis. Combining intuition with rigorous research and a long-term perspective can lead to more informed and sound investment decisions.

In conclusion, be cautious of the temptation to extrapolate from small information samples and the allure of relying solely on intuition. Embrace a data-driven approach that considers long-term historical evidence and avoids getting swayed by short-term trends. By adopting a balanced and rational decision-making process, investors can increase their chances of achieving their financial goals and building a robust investment portfolio.

ISMS 20: Larry Swedroe – Do You Extrapolate From Small Samples and Trust Your Intuition?

Mistake 5: Do You Let Your Ego Dominate the Decision-Making Process?

In the fascinating world of investing, behavioral finance has unearthed a crucial truth: our egos often wield significant influence over our decisions, leading to irrational behavior with potentially costly consequences. This bias can be particularly pronounced regarding active investing and believing in beating the market.

Despite the evidence showing that many actively managed funds consistently underperform their benchmarks, investors often succumb to the allure of past performance, allowing their egos to lead the way. The illusion that we can predict future winners based on historical returns is a powerful ego-driven belief, even though research demonstrates that past performance has no bearing on future outcomes.

Fueling this ego-driven approach to investing is the perpetuation of myths by Wall Street, which promotes the idea that investors can consistently outperform the market. The financial industry benefits from encouraging active investing, despite evidence showing that most professional fund managers consistently fail to beat their benchmarks.

One of the primary reasons investors gravitate towards actively managed funds or individual stocks is the need to protect their egos. If their investment choices fall short of expectations, they can easily shift blame to the fund manager or external factors rather than accepting responsibility for their decisions.

To avoid these potentially costly investment mistakes, investors must recognize their egos’ role in decision-making and take a more rational approach. Instead of letting ego-driven beliefs guide their choices, investors should focus on passive, tax-managed funds that aim to earn market returns consistently. By adopting a more humble and evidence-based approach, investors can set themselves up for long-term success and avoid the pitfalls of ego-driven investing.

In conclusion, the impact of ego on investment decisions can be substantial, often leading to irrational choices and poor outcomes. To improve their chances of financial success, investors should be mindful of their egos’ influence and opt for a disciplined and passive investment strategy that aligns with their long-term goals. Letting go of the need to beat the market can be liberating, freeing investors to make more rational and informed decisions on their journey to financial prosperity.

Mistake 6: Do You Allow Yourself to Be Influenced by a Herd Mentality?

The allure of the herd mentality, also known as the “madness of crowds,” can be a powerful force in shaping human behavior. It’s a psychological phenomenon where individuals desire to mimic others and follow the crowd in their actions and decisions. When investing, the herd mentality can have a profound impact, often driven by emotions like greed and envy.

In recent times, investing has taken on a more social dimension, with investors engaging in discussions and gossip about their investments. This heightened social aspect can lead to the amplification of trends and the propagation of herd behavior. Investors may be swayed by the fear of missing out on apparent opportunities highlighted by others. As a result, they may make speculative and risky decisions, discarding long-held beliefs and ignoring fundamental principles like risk management and diversification.

Periodically, the market experiences bubbles characterized by irrational exuberance and unjustifiable valuations. Mass psychology and self-fulfilling prophecies often fuel these bubbles, as the herd mentality takes over and drives prices to unsustainable levels. Historical instances of bubbles and market crashes, such as those in 1929 and 2000, stand as stark reminders of the devastating impact of herd behavior on financial markets.

Resisting the herd mentality requires rationality and awareness. Investors can achieve this by thoroughly understanding how markets work and the behavioral biases that influence decision-making. A well-designed investment plan tailored to individual financial goals and risk tolerance can provide a solid foundation for resisting the temptation to follow the crowd.

Staying disciplined and committed to one’s investment strategy is vital for avoiding the pitfalls of herd behavior. While it’s natural to be influenced by prevailing sentiments, being mindful of these tendencies and sticking to a clear investment strategy can lead to better outcomes. By focusing on long-term objectives and avoiding impulsive actions driven by herd mentality, investors can increase their chances of achieving their financial goals and navigating the unpredictable waters of the financial market.

ISMS 23: Larry Swedroe – Do You Allow Yourself to Be Influenced by Your Ego and Herd Mentality?

Mistake 7: Do You Confuse Skill and Luck?

In investing, the line between skill and luck can often become blurred, leading to misconceptions and potentially costly errors. To illustrate this point, consider a coin-tossing scenario where 10,000 individuals participate in a contest to guess heads or tails for ten consecutive tosses.

Statistically, a few participants will guess all ten tosses correctly, not because of any particular skill but merely due to chance. Similarly, numerous active fund managers strive to beat the market in the investment world. Some will inevitably achieve success, not necessarily because of their skills, but merely by luck.

It’s essential to recognize that beating the market is, in essence, a zero-sum game. For one investor to outperform, another must underperform. The odds of any specific fund manager consistently outperforming the market are, at best, 50/50, akin to a coin toss.

Yet, investors often fall into the trap of attributing short-term outperformance to superior skill, anointing such managers as “gurus” or experts. However, such success may result from luck rather than any demonstrated expertise. On the flip side, if a manager experiences a period of underperformance, investors may hastily blame lousy luck instead of considering that their “guru” might not have the skills they initially believed.

A real-world example reinforces this phenomenon. After a short period of outperformance, a group of investors was hailed as market gurus. However, they later encountered significant losses, proving that their initial success was more likely due to luck rather than actual skill.

Investors must take a more objective and analytical approach to avoid falling into the trap of confusing skill with luck. Analyzing outcomes for statistical significance and critically examining the factors behind success or failure can help distinguish genuine talent from random chance. Investors can make more informed and prudent decisions by looking for logical explanations rather than rushing to conclusions, steering clear of the pitfalls of mistaken attributions, and enhancing their potential for long-term success in the financial markets.

In conclusion, understanding the difference between skill and luck is vital in investing. A clear and rational assessment of investment outcomes can help investors avoid overestimating the impact of skill or dismissing the role of luck. By approaching the market with a discerning eye and seeking logical explanations, investors can enhance their ability to make wise and informed investment choices.

Mistake 8: Do You Avoid Passive Investing Because You Sense a Loss of Control?

In investing, there’s an age-old debate between active and passive strategies, each offering distinct advantages. However, one common mistake some investors make is opting for active management because they believe it provides control over their investments. In reality, this perception can be misleading.

Actively managed funds may appeal to some investors because they believe having a fund manager at the helm gives them greater control over their portfolio. However, the truth is that active fund managers often make frequent market-timing and stock-selection decisions, leading to a loss of control over the determinants of return. This “style drift” can result in investors losing control over their intended asset allocation and their portfolio’s risk and reward profile.

On the other hand, passive investing, through index funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), offers a different approach. With passive funds, investors can retain complete control over their portfolio’s risks and rewards, as these funds aim to replicate the performance of a specific market index. Style drift is not an issue with passive funds, allowing investors to maintain a more disciplined and consistent investment approach.

Another alternative that some investors consider to retain control is purchasing individual stocks. While this may provide a sense of direct ownership, it also comes with challenges. Investing solely in individual stocks can lead to a lack of diversification, increasing the risk associated with the portfolio. Moreover, research has consistently shown that investors who attempt to pick individual stocks tend to underperform appropriate benchmarks over the long term.

Investors need to understand the benefits of passive investing to avoid the mistake of seeking false control over investments. Passive funds provide a disciplined and cost-effective way to achieve long-term financial goals while allowing investors to control their portfolio’s risks and rewards. By adopting a more passive approach, investors can focus on their broader investment strategy, avoid unnecessary style drift, and increase their chances of achieving favorable outcomes over time.

In conclusion, the desire for control can lead investors to make choices that may not be in their best interest. Active management may seem like a path to exert greater control, but it often results in unintended consequences. Embracing passive investing can provide a more reliable and controlled way to achieve financial goals while minimizing unnecessary risks and complexities. By understanding the advantages of passive strategies and maintaining a disciplined approach, investors can enjoy the benefits of proper control over their investments and increase their potential for long-term success.

ISMS 24: Larry Swedroe – Confusing Skill and Luck Can Stop You From Investing Wisely

Mistake 9: Do You Avoid Admitting Your Investment Mistakes?

Humans are naturally risk-averse and often find it challenging to admit mistakes, primarily when investing. The behavioral trait known as “regret avoidance” plays a significant role in this phenomenon, leading investors to avoid acknowledging and rectifying their investment errors.

One common manifestation of regret avoidance is holding on to securities with losses and refusing to sell them because of the discomfort of admitting the initial mistake. The emotional pain associated with realizing losses causes investors to be reluctant to part with losing assets, hoping they will eventually recover in value.

However, holding on to losing assets and hoping for a turnaround can be costly. Instead, investors should objectively assess whether they would buy the same security at its current price if they did not own it. If the answer is no, it may be time to cut their losses and reallocate capital more wisely.

Addressing investment mistakes early is far easier and less damaging than letting them fester and grow over time. By promptly admitting errors and making necessary adjustments, investors can protect their portfolios from further harm and increase the likelihood of achieving positive outcomes in the long run.

Another aspect of regret avoidance is the missed opportunity to harvest losses for tax purposes. Harvesting losses involves selling losing assets to offset other gains in the portfolio, effectively reducing the investor’s overall tax bill.

To overcome the paralysis caused by regret avoidance, investors should recognize the importance of tax management in their portfolios. Realizing losses for tax benefits is essential to a winning investment strategy, allowing investors to optimize their tax liabilities while maintaining a well-structured portfolio.

Regularly reviewing the portfolio and assessing whether each asset still aligns with the overall investment plan can help investors make more informed decisions about when to sell assets. By being proactive and objectively evaluating their investments, investors can avoid falling victim to regret avoidance and set themselves up for more successful and financially rewarding investment journeys.

In conclusion, admitting investment mistakes is crucial to becoming a more successful investor. Overcoming regret avoidance and addressing errors early can help protect and optimize the portfolio’s performance. By embracing a disciplined approach and tax-managing their investments, investors can confidently enhance their ability to achieve their financial goals and navigate the complexities of the market.

Mistake 10: Do You Pay Attention to the ‘Experts’?

In the investing world, expert advice holds significant allure for many investors seeking guidance in navigating the complexities of financial markets. Market gurus and financial experts often predict the stock market, interest rates, and the economy, tempting investors to act on their recommendations. However, it is essential to approach such advice cautiously, as relying too heavily on expert predictions can be detrimental to one’s investment portfolio.

The validity of expert recommendations is not always guaranteed, as experts themselves may be influenced by biases or career prospects, leading to potentially harmful advice. Evidence has shown that no matter what technique is employed to pick stocks, it is unlikely to outperform the market consistently. Despite this, people are drawn to certainty and often favor experts who provide definitive answers, even though certainty is rare in investing.

Studies on expert political judgment have revealed that professional economic forecasters do not consistently make accurate forecasts. In differentiating between “foxes” (those who draw on a wide range of experiences) and “hedgehogs” (those who view the world through a single defining idea), we can better understand the nature of expert predictions.

Furthermore, expertise does not necessarily translate into forecasting accuracy, and overconfidence and the hindsight effect can contribute to inaccuracies in expert forecasts. Many investment forecasters fall into the categories of not knowing where the market is going, knowing they don’t know, or pretending to know for financial gain.

While some expert advice holds value and should be considered, investors must exercise caution when relying solely on market and economic forecasts. Supported by substantial evidence, passive investing is an example of consensus expert advice that investors should seriously consider. Despite the evidence against the accuracy of expert forecasts, many investors still pay attention to them, often altering their investment plans based on such predictions.

In conclusion, investors must be discerning regarding expert advice in the financial realm. While some experts may provide valuable insights, it is essential to recognize the limitations and uncertainties inherent in predicting market movements and economic trends. By adopting a balanced approach incorporating evidence-based strategies like passive investing, investors can navigate the markets more confidently and enhance their chances of long-term success in achieving their financial goals.

ISMS 25: Larry Swedroe – Admit Your Mistakes and Don’t Listen to Fake Experts

Mistake 11: Do You Let the Price Paid Affect Your Decision to Continue to Hold an Asset?

The endowment effect is a powerful cognitive bias that can lead individuals to make poor investment decisions. It occurs when investors become emotionally attached to an asset they own, causing them to hold onto it even if they wouldn’t purchase it at its current market price. This emotional attachment can be particularly pronounced with inherited or sentimental assets, leading investors to hold onto them despite potential drawbacks.

However, financial assets should be viewed objectively, much like bottles of wine. It is crucial to evaluate them based on their current market value and how they fit into an individual’s overall investment plan. Stocks and mutual funds are not people with emotions, and investors should not hesitate to sell them if they no longer align with their investment strategy or are considered overpriced.

To avoid falling victim to the endowment effect, investors should ask themselves a critical question: “Would I buy this asset today as part of my overall investment plan?” If the answer is no or less than what they currently hold, it may be time to develop a disposition plan for that asset.

Investors should consider potential capital gains taxes when disposing of an “endowment asset,” such as inherited stock. To avoid paying these taxes, they may donate the asset to a charity, aligning their desire to contribute to a good cause with their financial objectives.

A pragmatic and objective approach to investment decisions can help investors overcome the endowment effect. By acknowledging the emotional biases and making decisions based on current market value and their overall investment plan, investors can optimize their portfolios and increase their chances of achieving their financial goals.

In conclusion, recognizing and addressing the endowment effect is crucial for making sound investment decisions. Emotional attachment to assets can lead investors astray and hinder the achievement of long-term financial objectives. By evaluating assets objectively, developing a disposition plan, and considering potential tax implications, investors can navigate the complexities of investment management more effectively and build a more robust and diversified portfolio.

Mistake 12: Are You Subject to the Fallacy of the “Hot Streak”?

Humans are prone to overestimating the significance of streaks and underappreciating the frequency of random occurrences. We tend to assign meaning to events likely to be mere chance, such as consecutive heads or tails in a coin toss. This cognitive bias, known as the “hot streak” fallacy, often finds its way into the investment world, leading investors to chase after actively managed funds that have experienced a few years of exceptional performance.

However, the reality is that such success is often the result of random events rather than the exceptional skill of the fund manager. Numerous studies have shown that trying to pick “hot” funds based on past performance is ineffective in consistently outperforming the market. Top-performing funds from one year are unlikely to maintain the same level of performance in the following years.

The “hot hand” strategy can be ineffective and costly, potentially leading to significant losses. A telling example is that of the 44 Wall Street Fund, which experienced a meteoric rise to become the best-performing fund, only to plummet and become the worst-performing fund in the subsequent decade.

To avoid falling prey to the “hot hand” fallacy, investors should exercise caution and skepticism when evaluating past performance as a predictor of future success. Instead, they should take a more objective and long-term approach to investment decisions. Analyzing comprehensive data and focusing on the fundamentals of the investments can provide more reliable insights and help make informed decisions.

In conclusion, the allure of the “hot streak” can be a pitfall for investors seeking success in the financial markets. Acknowledging the fallacy of assigning undue significance to short-term streaks is crucial for making prudent and sustainable investment choices. By resisting the temptation to chase after fleeting successes and instead focusing on a more disciplined and data-driven investment strategy, investors can increase their chances of achieving their financial goals and building a robust portfolio over the long term.

ISMS 26: Larry Swedroe – Are You Subject to the Endowment Effect or the Hot Streak Fallacy?

Mistake 13: Do You Confuse the Familiar With the Safe?

In investing, a common mistake many individuals make is confusing familiarity with safety when making investment decisions. It’s easy to assume that familiarity with a company or product makes it a safer investment choice. Moreover, investors often are biased towards investing in local or domestic companies, believing they are safer and better investments than their international counterparts.

However, this overconfidence in familiar investments can lead to an overweighting of domestic equities in a portfolio, neglecting the crucial benefits of diversification. Research has shown that investors tend to perceive international investments as riskier than they are, resulting in a tendency to avoid adding global assets to their portfolios.

Academic experts strongly recommend the inclusion of international assets in portfolios as they can significantly reduce risk through diversification. Global equities don’t always move in tandem with domestic equities, providing an essential hedge against market-specific risks.

A study comparing the performance of the S&P 500 Index (representing domestic equities) and the MSCI EAFE Index (representing international equities) in a portfolio found that combining the two indices outperformed either individually. This finding highlights the clear benefits of diversification, even though global assets may underperform in specific periods.

The belief that one market is safer should logically correspond to its expected return; assuming a call is safer while expecting higher returns is illogical. Including international assets in a portfolio acts as a hedge against currency risks and economic fluctuations, reducing the reliance on the performance of a single market.

Diversification, including international diversification, is akin to insurance that helps protect against poor performance in specific markets or currencies. By embracing diversification and avoiding confusing the familiar with the safe, investors can build more resilient portfolios and enhance their potential for achieving their long-term financial goals.

In conclusion, the familiarity bias can lead investors astray by causing them to overlook the potential benefits of international diversification. Overconfidence in familiar investments may lead to an unbalanced and less diversified portfolio, exposing investors to unnecessary risks. By recognizing the importance of diversification and understanding the value of international assets in reducing risk and enhancing returns, investors can create more robust and well-protected investment strategies.

Mistake 14: Do You Believe You Are Playing with the House’s Money?

In behavioral finance, “mental accounting” sheds light on how people categorize money differently based on its source or origin, often leading to irrational financial decisions. A captivating illustration of this phenomenon is the “Legend of the Man in the Green Bathrobe,” where a gambler, upon winning a significant sum, viewed it as the “house’s money” rather than his own, leading to reckless gambling and substantial losses.

Interestingly, investors also fall victim to the same mental accounting mistake. For instance, someone holding a stock with a high unrealized gain might consider it as the “house’s money,” leading to a reluctance to sell even if it makes logical sense to do so.

This mental accounting can have detrimental effects on an investor’s portfolio performance. By holding onto risky positions or failing to realize gains when appropriate, investors may jeopardize their financial goals and undermine the overall performance of their investment strategy.

To avoid falling into the trap of believing they are playing with the “house’s money,” investors should adopt a more structured and disciplined approach to decision-making. Developing and adhering to an Investment Policy Statement (IPS) can provide a clear framework for financial objectives and risk tolerance. Additionally, creating a rebalancing table will help investors stay on track and make rational decisions based on their predetermined financial plan, reducing the influence of mental accounting biases.

In conclusion, mental accounting can subtly influence investors and lead to suboptimal financial choices. By recognizing this cognitive bias and implementing tools like an Investment Policy Statement and rebalancing table, investors can foster more rational decision-making and ensure their investment strategy aligns with their long-term financial objectives. Breaking free from the illusion of playing with the “house’s money” empowers investors to take control of their financial future and build a more secure and prosperous path to success.

Mistake 15: Do You Let Friendships Influence Your Choice of Investment Advisors?

The line between friendship and business can be a tricky one to navigate, especially when it comes to selecting an investment advisor. This common mistake can lead to costly financial decisions and hinder one’s path to achieving their financial goals.

Consider the story of Rick and Phil, who both had a long-standing friendship with their mutual stockbroker, Marvin. Despite poor investment performance, Phil was hesitant to change advisors due to their shared history. On the other hand, Rick decided to evaluate his investments, and upon recognizing the subpar results, he chose to seek another advisor based on recommendations from co-workers and friends.

Rick’s decision to change advisors proved to be beneficial. He found a financial advisory firm that provided him with a tailored financial plan and adopted a passive investment strategy, which better aligned with his financial goals. Meanwhile, Phil remained reluctant to fire Marvin, struggling to separate the friendship from the business aspect, even though he knew deep down that Rick’s decision made logical sense.

However, over time, with the influence of Rick and his wife, Phil began to reconsider his stance. Eventually, he bravely met with Rick’s advisor, realizing the importance of prioritizing what was best for his financial well-being over their friendship.

The story’s moral emphasizes the significance of evaluating the cost of maintaining relationships with investment advisors who may not deliver satisfactory results. True friends should prioritize the individual’s financial well-being above their self-interest, recognizing the importance of sound financial planning and making rational choices.

In conclusion, separating friendships from business decisions can be challenging, but objectivity is critical when choosing an investment advisor. Evaluating the performance and alignment of an advisor’s strategies with your financial goals is essential for achieving success. While it may be difficult, putting the financial future first and seeking advice from professionals who can provide tailored solutions is crucial in building a secure and prosperous path to financial freedom.

ISMS 27: Larry Swedroe – Familiar Doesn’t Make It Safe and You’re Not Playing With the House’s Money

Connect with Larry Swedroe

Michael Howell Shares Why We Should Master the Liquidity Cycle to Predict Markets

Andrew Stotz — Thu, 08 Jun 2023 04:15:06 +0000

Episode 689 of the My Worst Investment Ever podcast brought an extraordinary conversation with Michael Howell of CrossBorder Capital, one of the world’s leading experts on global liquidity. Few people understand the plumbing of the financial system as Howell does, and his insights reveal something most investors overlook:

Liquidity—not interest rates—is what truly drives markets.

Below is Andrew’s value-rich recap of Howell’s key teachings on global markets.

Why the liquidity cycle is more important than interest rates

Most investors instinctively watch interest rate decisions from central banks. But Howell argues this traditional focus blinds people to the real forces shaping financial stability. In today’s highly leveraged world, where global debt far exceeds GDP, the financial system depends not only on the cost of money but on the availability of money.

Liquidity is the lifeblood that allows institutions to refinance, roll over debt, generate credit, lend, borrow, and stabilize markets during stress. Because debt refinancing now outweighs new capital raising by about seven to one, even small contractions in liquidity can spark systemic problems. When liquidity dries up, refinancing falters—and crises emerge quickly.

This is why understanding where liquidity is headed, and how it behaves across borders, is one of the most powerful forecasting tools investors can master.

The current cycle: a tightening that quietly triggered a recession

According to Howell, the global liquidity cycle recently reached its tightest point in more than a decade. Central banks spent roughly 15 months aggressively tightening monetary conditions, and although economic data lagged, financial markets felt the pressure immediately.

Markets, being forward-looking, priced in the impact long before consumers noticed any slowdown. Howell believes the recession effectively began before most people realized it, because liquidity stress appeared first in the financial system rather than in the real economy.

The critical inflection point came in October 2022 during the British gilt crisis, when extreme leverage in UK pension funds nearly triggered a global contagion. Immediate intervention by US authorities—particularly liquidity injections—prevented a 2008-style collapse. Those actions marked the moment when the liquidity cycle quietly began its turn upward again.

Since then, both the Federal Reserve and the People’s Bank of China have been adding liquidity back into the system, easing strains in money markets. Howell believes this will continue for some time, helping to stabilize bond volatility and gradually improve overall financial conditions.

Why the MOVE Index now matters more than the VIX

Investors have been trained to monitor the VIX Index as a measure of risk and volatility. However, Howell stresses that the VIX—focused solely on equities—is no longer sufficient for understanding modern financial instability.

True financial crises rarely begin with falling stock prices. Instead, they originate in the bond market, where trillions of dollars must be refinanced regularly. For this reason, Howell points to the MOVE Index, which measures volatility in US Treasury markets, as the superior indicator.

When Treasury volatility rises, it signals stress in the deepest, most important pool of global collateral. Since government bonds anchor the world’s collateralized lending and repo markets, disruptions there spread quickly into credit creation, liquidity flows, and eventually equities. Watching the MOVE Index, therefore, provides a clearer early-warning signal than the VIX, which reacts later in the crisis cycle.

Understanding this shift—from equity-led to bond-led volatility—is essential for anyone trying to stay ahead of market turning points.

Collateral pools: the new foundation of global credit

One of Howell’s most important insights is the changing role of collateral in modern finance. Traditionally, the Eurodollar system dominated global liquidity and credit creation. But over the past decade, its influence has faded dramatically.

Instead, the financial world is increasingly governed by collateral pools—bundles of high-quality assets such as US Treasuries, corporate bonds, and mortgage-backed securities used to secure loans and carry out financial transactions. These pools dictate who can borrow, how much leverage is possible, and how liquid markets remain during stress.

This shift has profound implications. Credit availability now hinges more on collateral quality and liquidity than on lending capacity in Eurodollar markets. As the value of collateral changes, so do credit conditions.

Another major transition is taking place: the move from LIBOR to SOFR. LIBOR, based on bank estimates, became vulnerable to manipulation, while SOFR uses actual overnight transactions backed by Treasury collateral—making it more trustworthy. This reinforces the broader shift toward a financial system defined by real collateral, real transactions, and more transparent mechanisms for determining the cost of money.

Why the dollar will continue to dominate despite rising global competition

While discussions about “de-dollarization” continue to circulate, Howell believes these concerns are overstated. Several forces reinforce the dollar’s long-term dominance.

First, the United States remains the world’s true global banker. Its financial markets are unmatched in depth, transparency, liquidity, and the availability of high-quality collateral. China may be expanding economically, but lacks the institutional trust, regulatory transparency, and financial depth needed to replace the United States as the center of global finance.

Second, Howell highlights the pivotal role of Saudi Arabia. As a surplus nation, Saudi Arabia must invest its wealth somewhere safe. It is extraordinarily unlikely that it would shift its reserves entirely into Chinese financial assets, which lack the security and liquidity of US Treasuries. Without Saudi participation, China cannot build the scale necessary to back a global reserve currency.

Third, the historical foundation of the dollar—laid by the Bretton Woods agreement—remains deeply entrenched. The dollar is not merely a dominant currency; it is the backbone of global settlement, global debt, global reserves, and global trade finance. Replacing the dollar would mean replacing an entire global infrastructure.

While the dollar may face short-term fluctuations—including the possibility of a moderate correction—its strategic dominance is unlikely to be challenged meaningfully for decades.

Final thoughts: liquidity is the market’s master signal

Michael Howell’s message is powerful and consistent:
Liquidity drives markets, credit cycles, asset prices, and financial stability.

Understanding the liquidity cycle—where it is tightening, where it is expanding, how collateral is behaving, and how central banks are responding—is one of the most forward-looking, predictive frameworks an investor can use.

Instead of fixating on headlines or interest rates, investors should examine:

Global liquidity injections
The health of collateral pools
Balance sheet capacity
Bond-market volatility
Cross-border money flows

Mastering liquidity is mastering the rhythm of the financial system itself.

Connect with Michael Howell

The post Michael Howell Shares Why We Should Master the Liquidity Cycle to Predict Markets appeared first on My Worst Investment Ever.

My Worst Investment Ever Guests’ Famous Books

Andrew Stotz — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 04:32:36 +0000

The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness

In The Psychology of Money, award-winning author Morgan Housel shares 19 short stories exploring the strange ways people think about money and teaches you how to make better sense of one of life’s most important topics.

Check the book here.

Why Gold? Why Now?: The War Against Your Wealth and How to Win It

Investment industry veteran E.B. Tucker shows readers the gold market from the inside. Tucker guides investors in simple terms through the ways to own gold, from physical bars, to coins, and even mining stocks. From a financial novice to an investment professional looking to get up to speed on the gold market, Why Gold? Why Now? is the essential guide to the world of gold.

Check the book here.

Richer, Wiser, Happier: How the World’s Greatest Investors Win in Markets and Life

In Richer, Wiser, Happier, William Green draws on interviews that he’s conducted over twenty-five years with many of the world’s greatest investors. Green ushers us into the lives of more than forty super-investors, visiting them in their offices, homes, and even their places of worship—all to share what they have to teach.

Check the book here.

Fed Up: An Insider’s Take on Why the Federal Reserve is Bad for America

Danielle DiMartino Booth pulls no punches in this exposé of the officials who run the Fed and the toxic culture they created. She blends her firsthand experiences with what she’s learned from dozens of high-powered market players, reams of financial data, and Fed documents such as transcripts of FOMC meetings.

Check the book here.

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

Since it was first published almost fifteen years ago, David Allen’s Getting Things Done has become one of the most influential business books of its era, and the ultimate book on personal organization. “GTD” is now shorthand for an entire way of approaching professional and personal tasks, and has spawned an entire culture of websites, organizational tools, seminars, and offshoots.

Check the book here.

The 1-Page Marketing Plan: Get New Customers, Make More Money, And Stand Out From The Crowd

In The 1-Page Marketing Plan, serial entrepreneur and rebellious marketer Allan Dib reveals a marketing implementation breakthrough that makes creating a marketing plan simple and fast. It’s literally a single page, divided up into nine squares. With it you’ll be able to map out your own sophisticated marketing plan and go from zero to marketing hero.

Check the book here.

Discovering exciting investments around the world, Collected thoughts on investment strategy, and Trendspotting to predict the next ten years

Swen Lorenz is a passionate public equity investor and the face of Undervalued-Shares.com. With over 30 years of experience in investing, Swen has a knack for finding exciting investment opportunities in very unexpected places, which he discovers while traveling the globe.

Check the book here.

The Birth of Plenty, A Splendid Exchange, Masters of the Word, and The Delusions of Crowds

William Bernstein is a neurologist, a co-founder of Efficient Frontier Advisors – an investment management firm, and has written several titles on finance and economic history.

Check the book here.

Power Failure: The Rise and Fall of an American Idol

William D. Cohan, a former senior Wall Street M&A investment banker for 17 years at Lazard Frères & Co., Merrill Lynch, and JPMorgan Chase, is the New York Times bestselling author of seven non-fiction narratives, including his most recent book called Power Failure: The Rise and Fall of an American Idol.

Check the book here.

Adaptive Asset Allocation: Dynamic Global Portfolios to Profit in Good Times – and Bad

Mike Philbrick is the CEO of ReSolve Asset Management. He has over 30 years of experience in investment management, serving in senior investment industry positions with several major financial services firms, and is responsible for investment decisions, coaching, and strategic leadership.

Check the book here.

The White Coat Investor: A Doctor’s Guide to Personal Finance and Investing (The White Coat Investor Series)

James M. Dahle, MD, is a practicing emergency physician who took an interest in personal finance and investing in residency after getting ripped off by every financial professional he came into contact with. He founded The White Coat Investor in 2011 to help fellow docs get a fair shake on Wall Street.

Check the book here.

Asset Revesting – How To Exclusively Hold Assets Rising In Value, Profit During Bear Markets, And Continue Building Wealth In Retirement

Chris Vermeulen shares a different way of investing that doesn’t use diversification or the buy-and-hold method. In his new book, “Asset Revesting – How To Exclusively Hold Assets Rising In Value, Profit During Bear Markets, And Continue Building Wealth In Retirement,” he explains why this approach is the way forward.

Check the book here.

The Capitalist Manifesto

Johan Norberg is an author, lecturer, and historian of ideas from Stockholm, Sweden. His books on economics, politics, and history have been translated into more than 30 languages.

Check the book here.

Franchise Freedom: A New Manifesto For Your Financial And Time Freedom

Giuseppe Grammatico is a franchising advisor who has owned several Master Franchise licenses and has enjoyed a successful franchising career, guiding over 200 individuals through business ownership, many for the first time.

Check the book here.

Shareology: How sharing powers the human economy

There is no B2B or B2C: It’s human to human #H2H

Bryan Kramer is a renowned business strategist, global keynote speaker, executive trainer and coach, investor, two-time bestselling author, and Forbes contributor.

Check the book here.

Do Bigger Things: A practical guide to powerful innovation in a changing world

Dan McClure is an innovation choreographer. That’s someone whose job is to run into burning buildings, looking for opportunities to reinvent how the world works.

Check the book here.

Tomorrow’s Gold – Asia’s age of discovery

Dr. Marc Faber, renowned for his unconventional expertise in investment strategies, is a fund manager and author. He serves as the editor of the “Gloom Boom & Doom Report” and the “Monthly Market Commentary,” earning international recognition as the pessimistic stock market expert “Dr. Doom.”

Check the book here.

Own Your Freedom: How Anyone Can Leverage Real Estate To Create Financial Freedom

Sam Primm founded FasterFreedom to teach people like him to quit their jobs, become successful real estate investors, and achieve that same freedom and financial independence.

Check the book here.

Decision Making In Uncertain Times: How can we become more aware of the consequences of our actions on tomorrow?

Tony Fish is a neuro-minority and a leading expert on decision-making, governance, and entrepreneurship in uncertain environments. His 30-year sense-making and foresight track record means he has been ahead on several technical revolutions.

Check the book here.

The post My Worst Investment Ever Guests’ Famous Books appeared first on My Worst Investment Ever.

My Worst Investment Ever Guests’ YouTube Channels

Andrew Stotz — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 04:10:35 +0000

James Jani

James’s channel explores his discoveries and perspectives on various topics through entertaining documentary-style videos.

Watch him here.

Mark Moss

If you want to learn about making money, investing, and having success in life, and on your own terms, without taking the long slow traditional route, then you should check out Mark Moss. Each week, he brings 2 new videos to help you make more money, navigate the business world and financial markets.

Watch him here.

Chef Ranveer Brar

Masterchef India judge, Food Sufi, Television celebrity, author, restaurateur, food film producer and benefactor, Chef Ranveer Brar is one of the most celebrated chefs in the country. “Getting the basics right” and “Revering the kitchen as an artist would his/her studio”, are mantras he lives by and propagates to others as well.

Watch him here.

Marvin Germo

The heart of this channel is to help more Filipinos invest in the stock market the right way and with the right set of strategies.

Watch him here.

Redacted

Redacted is an independent platform, unencumbered by external factors or restrictive policies on which Clayton and Natali Morris bring you quality information, balanced reporting, constructive debate, and thoughtful narratives.

Watch them here.

Let’s Talk Money! with Joseph Hogue, CFA

Welcome to your chance to create the financial future you deserve. You’ll find something for everyone on the channel from stock market for beginners to how to buy stocks. From passive income and side hustle ideas to the best investments in dividend stocks, with Joseph Hogue loves talking all things money.

Watch him here.

Puli Trading

Reuben Mattinson graduated with a degree in physiotherapy in 2012. He followed this up in 2013 with a degree in Science teaching. During this time, Reuben began building his first company, RJM Tax Exemption.

Watch him here.

Mill Street Research

Watch him here.

ReSolve Asset Management

Watch him here.

The White Coat Investor

Watch him here.

FranShares

Kenny Rose is the Chicago-based founder and CEO of FranShares, a platform that democratizes franchise investing.

Watch him here.

TheTechnicalTraders

Chris Vermeulen shares a different way of investing that doesn’t use diversification or the buy-and-hold method. In his new book, “Asset Revesting – How To Exclusively Hold Assets Rising In Value, Profit During Bear Markets, And Continue Building Wealth In Retirement,” he explains why this approach is the way forward.

Watch him here.

Jason Brown – The Brown Report

Jason Brown is the founder of Power Trades University and the Brown Report. He has over a decade of stock & options trading experience, is a podcast host, and is a YouTuber. Jason believes anyone can profit from the stock market, even if they’ve lost money before.

Watch him here.

Luke Gromen – FFTT, LLC

Luke Gromen has 25 years of experience in equity research, equity research sales, and as a macro/thematic analyst.

Watch him here.

Anatoliy Labinskiy | E-com business encyclopedia

Anatoliy Labinskiy is an entrepreneur, eCommerce expert, and a holder of 4-time Two Comma Club awards. He is the founder of GSM Growth, an agency that helps e-commerce entrepreneurs achieve a new level of growth in their businesses.

Watch him here.

The McFuture with Steve Faktor

Steve Faktor is a former Fortune-100 executive—turned entrepreneur, futurist author of Econovation, and podcaster. As Managing Director of IdeaFaktory Innovation, he helps tech, financial services, and consumer goods clients see and build the future.

Watch him here.

Bryan Kramer

Bryan Kramer is a renowned business strategist, global keynote speaker, executive trainer and coach, investor, two-time bestselling author, and Forbes contributor.

Watch him here.

Solomon Thimothy – Clickx

Solomon Thimothy is an entrepreneur with over 17 years of experience in marketing and sales. As the co-founder and CEO of OneIMS, a leading inbound marketing and sales agency, and Clickx, he has helped businesses double their revenue using the 10X Framework.

Watch him here.

3T Warrior Academy

Coach JV believes that what you believe in your heart and what you think in your mind will eventually become your words and reality.

Watch him here.

The FasterFreedom Show

Sam Primm founded FasterFreedom to teach people like him to quit their jobs, become successful real estate investors, and achieve that same freedom and financial independence.

Watch him here.

Lark Davis

Lark Davis is the Founder of the weekly crypto newsletter Wealth Mastery, which combines insider insights and in-depth market analysis to offer cryptocurrency investors the best opportunities to grow their wealth, stay ahead of the curve, and avoid costly mistakes.

Watch him here.

OriginClear

Riggs Eckelberry is a nationally renowned entrepreneur who deploys his personal Break To Build™ process to help rebuild the water industry, which has reached a critical breaking point in recent years despite being essential to the planet’s survival.

Watch him here.

The post My Worst Investment Ever Guests’ YouTube Channels appeared first on My Worst Investment Ever.

My Worst Investment Ever Guests’ Podcasts

Andrew Stotz — Fri, 26 Aug 2022 03:51:12 +0000

Entrepreneurs on Fire

With over 100 million listens of his 3000+ episodes, John Lee Dumas has turned Entrepreneurs On Fire into a media empire that generates over a million listens every month and 7-figures of NET annual revenue 8-years in a row.

Listen to Entrepreneurs On Fire

Real Vision Daily Briefing: Finance & Investing

Understand the complex world of finance, business and the global economy with real in-depth analysis from real experts. This podcast unlocks access to the leading financial minds in the world to provide unbiased, in-depth analysis from real experts.

Listen to Real Vision Daily Briefing: Finance & Investing

Animal Spirits Podcast

Animal spirits is a show about markets, life, and investing. Join Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson as they talk about what they’re reading, writing, listening to and watching.

Listen to Animal Spirits Podcast

Investing In Real Estate

Investing in Real Estate is a show hosted by Clayton Morris with a laser focus on buy and hold rental properties in order to create passive income. Clayton shares tried and true methods for acquiring rental real estate, building net worth, and accelerating your financial freedom.

Listen to Investing In Real Estate

The Note Closers Show Podcast

The Note Closers Show Podcast covers everything you don’t know about real estate investing today. Scott Carson, CEO of We Close Notes, interviews experts in the note investing field, including vendors he works with, and students he has trained.

Listen to The Note Closers Show Podcast

Money For The Rest of Us

Hosted by J. David Stein, Money For The Rest of Us is a personal finance and investing podcast on money, how it works, how to invest it and how to live without worrying about it.

Listen to Money For The Rest of Us

Capital Allocators

Allocator and asset management expert, Ted Seides, conducts in-depth interviews with leaders in the institutional investing industry. His mission is to learn, share, and help implement the process of premier investors.

Listen to Capital Allocators

The Financial Mentor Podcast

Todd Tresidder from the FinancialMentor.com blog reveals unconventional wealth building advice and advanced investment strategy tips. Discover the next step in retirement planning and personal finance from a former professional hedge fund manager turned financial coach and author.

Listen to The Financial Mentor Podcast

Master Passive Income Real Estate Investing

Discover how you can create your own real estate investing business from scratch so you can live the dream life and do what you love. Dustin Heiner teaches his business as well as will interview successful passive income investors like himself.

Listen to Master Passive Income Real Estate Investing

Scale Up With Nick Bradley

In this podcast, Nick Bradley will show you how to scale up your business and your life! So you can achieve greater freedom, wealth and impact, and live life on your terms.

Listen to Scale Up With Nick Bradley

The Fitness Business Podcast

Since 2015, the fitness business podcast has produced a weekly show to help fitness business owners, managers, career individuals and entrepreneurs lead, manage and run their businesses. Each week the show invites leading business experts, coaches, authors, and owners from around the world to share their expert advice.

Listen to The Fitness Business Podcast

All Business with Jeffrey Hayzlett

From Main Street to Wall Street, global business celebrity and former Fortune 100 C-Suite executive, Jeffrey Hayzlett, brings you insights from today’s biggest headline makers. Listen in as Hayzlett, goes inside the good, bad and ugly of recent business results.

Listen to All Business with Jeffrey Hayzlett

The Acquirers Podcast

This is a podcast about finding undervalued stocks, deep value investing, hedge funds, shareholder activism, buyouts, and special situations. Tobias Carlisle uncovers the tactics and strategies for finding good investments, managing risk, dealing with bad luck, and maximizing success.

Listen to The Acquirers Podcast

Young and Profiting with Hala Taha

Hala Taha interviews some of the brightest minds in the world―turning their wisdom into actionable advice you can use in your life no matter your age, profession, or industry. The podcast episodes range from enhancing productivity, how to gain influence, the art of side hustles and more.

Listen to Young and Profiting with Hala Taha

Infinite Loops

Hosts, Jim O’Shaughnessy and Jamie Catherwood, hope to offer you a fresh perspective on a variety of issues and look at them through a multi-faceted lens. Including history, philosophy, art, science, linguistics, and quantitative analysis. And help you become a better investor and also a more nuanced thinker.

Listen to Infinite Loops

Work Less, Earn More

Gillian Perkins brings more than a decade of experience as an entrepreneur and educator to help you design a business that’s not only flexible and fulfilling, but highly profitable. She shares strategies that are working in her own business to save time and maximize profits. She also features interviews with successful business owners on how they’re achieving big things in their businesses with crazy-little time investment.

Listen to Work Less, Earn More

Flirting with Models

Flirting with Models with Corey Hoffstein is the show that aims to pull back the curtain and meet the investors who research, design, develop, and manage quantitative investment strategies.

Listen to Flirting with Models

Redefining Wealth with Patrice Washington

Each week, award-winning personal finance author, international speaker, media personality and your BFF in your head, Patrice Washington, shares solo insights or enlightening guest interviews that influence the masses to live their life’s purpose, find fulfillment and earn more without chasing money.

Listen to Redefining Wealth with Patrice Washington

Linkedin Ads Show

LinkedIn Ads Show with AJ Wilcox is about LinkedIn advertising. Every week he’ll dive deep into some aspect of LinkedIn Ads, and share his high-performance strategies, tips, platform news, and anything else that he thinks a LinkedIn Ads pro would want.

Listen to LinkedIn Ads Show

Marketing School – Digital Marketing and Online Marketing Tips

Neil Patel and Eric Siu bring you daily ACTIONABLE digital marketing lessons that they’ve learned through years of being in the trenches. Whether you have a new website or an established business, learn the latest SEO, content marketing, social media, email marketing, conversion optimization and general online marketing tactics that work today.

Listen to Marketing School – Digital Marketing and Online Marketing Tips

The Meb Faber Show

Featuring some of the top investment professionals in the world as his guests, Meb Faber will help you interpret global equity, bond, and commodity markets just like the pros. Whether it’s smart beta, trend following, value investing, or any other timely market topic, each week you’ll hear real market wisdom from the smartest minds in investing today. Better investing starts here.

Listen to The Meb Faber Show

Fitness Business Asia Podcast

If you’re an ambitious gym owner, fitness manager, investor in the wellness industry or a coach that wants to get into the business side of fitness, Fitness Business Asia Podcast with Jack Thomas will help you raise your game.

Listen to Fitness Business Asia Podcast

The Bad Crypto Podcast

Technologists and crypto-enthusiasts Joel Comm and Travis Wright attempt to demystify the world of bitcoin, blockchain, litecoin, ethereum, alt-coins, token generation events, and ICOs in this podcast for cryptocurrency newbies.

Listen to The Bad Crypto Podcast

The Talking Trends Podcast

Jerry Parker started his trading career in 1983 in the Richard Dennis Turtle Program. He started Chesapeake Capital in 1988. Chesapeake manages about $200M in private funds, mutual funds, ETFs, and managed accounts.

Listen to The Talking Trends Podcast

Nomad Solopreneurs show

Gabe Marusca, known as The Nomad Solopreneur, is a location-independent marketing strategist who established Digital Finest as a solo founder.

Listen to Nomad Solopreneurs show

Kyle Mowery

Kyle Mowery, founder and portfolio manager at GrizzlyRock Capital, has an 18-year career beginning at PAAMCO, where he honed his analytical skills. He later delved into high-yield corporate securities at T.H. Lee Senior Credit Strategies and expanded his expertise at BMO Capital Markets.

Listen to Kyle Mowery

Full Time CEO: The Sh!t They Don’t Tell You

Will Roundtree offers the world a unique lens into wealth-building strategies and examines opportunities for his communities to expound on their knowledge and have effective practices to apply it.

Listen to Full Time CEO: The Sh!t They Don’t Tell You

Midcon Markup Podcast

A born and bred Oklahoman, Nathaniel Harding is an innovator and market maker who has founded, scaled, and sold companies. He is a successful investor in energy, biotech, and ag tech.

Listen to Midcon Markup Podcast

Humanly Possible Podcast

Bryan Kramer is a renowned business strategist, global keynote speaker, executive trainer and coach, investor, two-time bestselling author, and Forbes contributor.

Listen to Humanly Possible Podcast

Oil Ground Up

Anthony Greer began a career in equity sales in varying capacities, including running sales and trading at Bank Hapoalim for three years and a team of sales traders at Dahlman Rose for five years. In November 2016, Tony launched the Morning Navigator, a macro trading newsletter distributed to over 800 professionals worldwide.

Listen to Oil Ground Up

Solomon’s Secrets: Scale Your Digital Marketing Agency by Solomon Thimothy, CEO of Clickx

Listen to Solomon’s Secrets: Scale Your Digital Marketing Agency by Solomon Thimothy, CEO of Clickx

The FasterFreedom Show: Change the Way You Think About Freedom

Sam Primm founded FasterFreedom to teach people like him to quit their jobs, become successful real estate investors, and achieve that same freedom and financial independence.

Listen to The FasterFreedom Show: Change the Way You Think About Freedom.

The Anti-Failure Podcasts

Chris Kendall is the CEO of the Australian outsourced accounting group Aretex. Aretex helps businesses grow and scale with best-practice accounting, bookkeeping, and real-time access to accurate financial information.

Listen to The Anti-Failure Podcasts.

The post My Worst Investment Ever Guests’ Podcasts appeared first on My Worst Investment Ever.

The Most Impressive People to Follow on LinkedIn in the US

Andrew Stotz — Mon, 08 Aug 2022 04:54:53 +0000

Bill Gates – Co-founder of the revolution of personal computer systems

Bill Gates is the co-founder of Microsoft, the world’s largest computer software company. Before going on philanthropic endeavors through his Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, he also founded many companies, including a holding business, energy business, and entertainment business. His latest book is, How to Prevent the Next Pandemic.

Arianna Huffington – Best-selling author, founder, and CEO at Thrive Global

Arianna Huffington is the founder and CEO of Thrive Global, a wellness technology company. She is also the founder of The Huffington Post and is an international best-selling author of health & lifestyle books, Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder. Originally from Greece, Arianna moved to England when she was 16 and graduated from Cambridge University with an M.A. in economics. She has been named to Time Magazine’s list of the World’s 100 Most Influential People and the Forbes Most Powerful Women list.

Satya Nadella – CEO of Microsoft

Satya Nadella has been the CEO of Microsoft since 2014 and tripled its stock price in 4 years. Having developed cloud-based services for Microsoft, increasing the company’s revenues by over $4 billion in 2 years, he was named Barron’s World 30 Best CEOs and person of the year 2019 by Financial Times. When he first arrived in the US from India, Satya studied at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and then got his MBA at the University of Chicago. He started his business career at Sun Microsystems before joining Microsoft in 1992 (the year I moved to Thailand)

Tony Robbins – From school janitor to most well-known speaker

Tony Robbins is one of the world’s most famous inspirational speakers, international best-selling authors, and entrepreneurs. As a life coach, Robbins specializes in self-awareness, improvement, and overcoming fear. Holding over 50 private companies, Robbins reported a net worth of $600 million. His first books came out in the 80s and 90s and provided tons of motivation for me and others like me. Some of his earliest books were: Unlimited Power, Notes from a Friend, Awaken the Giant Within, Giant Steps, and Unleash the Power Within.

Simon Sinek – Public speaker on leadership and best-selling author

Simon Sinek is a motivational speaker and the author of Start With Why, an international best-selling book. Sinek has specialized in coaching entrepreneurs to improve leadership and transform their organizations. His WHY concepts in TED talks have had over 37 million views. He is also the author of Leaders Eat Last, Together Is Better, Find Your Why, and The Infinite Game.

Gary Vaynerchuk – Entrepreneur, author, speaker, and social media influencer

Gary Vaynerchuk is a co-founder of the restaurant reservation software company Resy and Empathy. He is now more famed for his digital marketing and social media work as the chairman of VaynerX, a communications company based in New York. He is also the CEO of VaynerX’s subsidiary VaynerMedia. He is also a 5-Time NYT Bestselling Author. Some of his books are Twelve and a Half: Leveraging the Emotional Ingredients Necessary for Business Success, Crushing It!: How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Business and Influence—and How You Can, Too, Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World, and Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion.

Liz Ryan – American business growth leader, author, and inspirational speaker

Liz Ryan is the CEO and co-founder of Human Workplace, a publishing, coaching, and consulting firm. Ryan writes for more than 30 million readers. However, she is mainly known for her work in Human Resources management and innovation with her team teaching courses from Team Mojo™ and Put a Human Voice in your Business™ as well as Interviewing with a Human Voice™. She is the host of The Truth about Work Podcast with Liz Ryan! Her

books include: REINVENTION ROADMAP: Break the Rules to Get the Job You Want and Career You Deserve (2016), RIGHTEOUS RECRUITING: Essays on Reinventing Talent Acquisition for People (2020), and RED-BLOODED HR: Essays on Human Resources as a Force for Good (2020).

Gretchen Rubin – American author, blogger, and speaker

Gretchen Rubin is a writer on habits, happiness, and human nature. She is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Better Than Before, Happier at Home, and The Happiness Project. On her daily blog GretchenRubin.com, she reports on her adventures in pursuit of habits and happiness. Her podcast Happier with Gretchen Rubin won the 2016 Academy of Podcasters Award for best health and fitness podcast. She developed the “Four Tendencies” personality framework which divides people into Upholders, Questioners, Obligers, and Rebels.

Sallie Krawcheck – American business leader, financial advisor, and Wall Street icon

Sallie L. Krawcheck, the most powerful woman on Wall Street, is the former head of Bank of America’s Global Wealth and Investment Management Division. She is now the CEO and co-founder of Ellevest, a digital financial advisory firm for women launched in 2016. She started her career as an equity analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, eventually becoming Director of Research and then chairman and CEO of sell-side research firm Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. She later moved to be CEO of Citigroup’s Smith Barney. After that, she was appointed Chief Financial Officer for Citigroup Inc. (I remember her as CFO during my stint as Head of Research at Citigroup in Thailand) and eventually became CEO of Citi’s wealth management business.

Jessica Alba – American actress and businesswoman

Jessica Alba is an actress turned entrepreneur who cofounded the Nontoxic-Household-Goods startup The Honest Company in 2011. She rose to fame in 2000, starring in the sci-fi television series Dark Angel and received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance.

Tim Ferris – America’s master learner

Tim Ferriss has been listed as one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Business People.” He is an angel investor/advisor and author of five #1 NYT/WSJ bestsellers. I bought The 4-Hour Workweek, when it first came out but wasn’t inspired. About six months later I picked it up and started implementing what he taught. Since then, I have spent more than half a million dollars on outsourcing from the site that he talked about in that book. His The Tim Ferriss Show podcast was the first business-interview podcast to pass 100M downloads. Tim started his business life by co-founding BrainQUICKEN LLC, a neurological and sports nutrition development firm that he sold to a private equity firm. His other books are The 4-Hour Body, The 4-Hour Chef, Tools of Titans, and Tribe of Mentors. And he is a relentless blogger at Tim dot blog.

Marshall Goldsmith – American executive leadership coach and author

Dr. Marshall Goldsmith is the only two-time winner of the Thinkers 50 Award for #1 Leadership Thinker in the World. He is the author or editor of 36 books, including three New York Times bestsellers, that have sold over 2.5 million copies and been listed bestsellers in 12 countries. Three noted books are The Earned Life, Triggers, and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There. He is also ranked as one of the five most-respected executive coaches by Forbes, one of the top ten executive educators by The Wall Street Journal, and one of the 15 Greatest Business Thinkers in the World by The Times.

Indra Nooyi – Indian-American business executive and former CEO of PepsiCo

Indra Nooyi was instrumental in the lucrative restructuring and diversification of soft-drink manufacturer PepsiCo, Inc.’s brands. She was a former chair and chief executive officer of PepsiCo. She got an MBA from Yale before becoming one of corporate America’s few female CEOs in 2006. She is the author of the book, Indra’s Memoir, which is a New York Times bestseller offering insight from one of the world’s most-admired business leaders.

Katya Andresen – Chief Digital & Analytics Officer at Cigna

Katya Andresen was the Senior Vice President of Card Customer Experience at Capital One, a Fortune 500 company serving more than 65 million customer accounts worldwide. Katya has trained thousands of organizations in effective marketing and online engagement, having won national and international awards. She is the author of Robin Hood Marketing: Stealing Corporate Savvy to Sell Just Causes.

James Altucher – Hedge-fund manager, author, entrepreneur and angel investor

James Altucher is an entrepreneur and angel investor who has founded or co-founded over 20 companies. He has achieved the rank of a chess master and is the author of the Wall Street Journal bestselling book “Choose Yourself.” He is a frequent contributor to publications including The Financial Times, TheStreet.com, TechCrunch, Seeking Alpha, Thought Catalog, and The Huffington Post.

Oprah Winfrey – Talk show host, TV producer, actress, author, and philanthropist

Oprah Winfrey is the host of the daily talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, one of the most popular in the genre, making her one of the wealthiest and most influential women in the United States. In addition, she engaged in various philanthropic activities and created Oprah’s Angel Network, which sponsors charitable initiatives worldwide. She also campaigns against child abuse and has achieved many honors and awards.

John Maxwell – American author, speaker, and leadership expert

John Maxwell was a pastor of a small church in Ohio before turning into a leadership expert and a No.1 New York Times bestselling author, with over 24 million copies sold in over 50 languages. In 2014, he was identified as the #1 leader in Business by The American Management Association and the most influential leadership expert globally by Business Insider and Inc. magazine. He has trained over 6 million leaders through programs such as The John Maxwell Company, The John Maxwell Team, EQUIP, and the John Maxwell Leadership Foundation.

David Sable – Author, entrepreneur, social activist, storyteller and coach

David Sable is one of the most recognized names in the creative industry. He is the former global CEO of Young & Rubicam, one of the world’s leading global marketing communications companies. He is the thought leader at WPP and specializes in content expansion. David was named one of the Top 10 Most Generous Marketing Geniuses by Fast Company and is a board member of Special Olympics, UNICEF, and American Eagle Outfitters.

Hunter Walk – Partner at Homebrew, venture capitalist, angel investor and advisor

Hunter Walk is a partner at Homebrew VC, a seed-stage investment fund based in San Francisco, and the founding member of Second Life, an online multimedia platform. Hunter has led the consumer product management at YouTube and worked at Google.

Beth Comstock – Advisor, author and board director

Beth Comstock is a former vice-chair of General Electric. She oversaw GE’s business innovations to accelerate new growth, develop digital and clean-energy futures, seed new businesses, and enhance the brand value. In addition, she was involved with the early development of hulu.com as President of Integrated Media at NBC Universal. Here book, Imagine It Forward, is about summoning courage and creativity in the face of change.

Ilya Pozin – Entrepreneur, writer and investor

Ilya Pozin is the founder of Pluto TV, Open Me and Coplex. In 2012, he was named a ‘30 Under 30 Entrepreneur’ by Inc. Magazine and in 2013, he was named one of 100 Top Influencers by LinkedIn. He founded his first company, Coplex, at the age of 17, which is a multi-million-dollar interactive agency. Ilya founded Open Me, a consumer-focused social greeting and gifting company, after stepping down as CEO of Coplex. In 2013, he cofounded Pluto TV, an OTT television platform.

Jill Schlesinger – CBS News business analyst and, host of “Jill on Money/Eye on Money”

Jill Schlesinger is the Emmy and Gracie Award-Winning Business Analyst for CBS News. She simply explains complicated economic news for everyday viewers and listeners. She appears on CBS radio and television stations covering economics, markets, investing and many more. She is the author of the book ‘The Dumb Things Smart People Do With Their Money: Thirteen Ways To Right Your Financial Wrongs’, published in 2019.

Dave Kerpen – Serial entrepreneur and global keynote speaker

Dave Kerpen is the co-founder and co-CEO of Apprentice, a platform that connects entrepreneurs with the brightest college students. He is also the co-founder and CEO of Remembering.Live / Celebrating. Live, which provides memorial services and corporate celebrations. He is the NY Times best-selling author with four books so far, two being, The Art of People and Likeable Social Media. He was named one of Entrepreneur Magazine’s top 10 up-and-coming leaders.

Dave Kerpen’s MWIE Episode

Jeff Selingo – Best-selling author, college admissions, and early career expert

Jeff Selingo is a New York Times bestselling author of three books. He has written about higher education for more than two decades. He is a special advisor for innovation and a professor at Arizona State University. He is the author of Who Gets In and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions. He worked at The Chronicle in a variety of reporting and editing roles.

Clara Shih – CEO and Co-founder of Hearsay Social

Clara Shih is the CEO and founder of Hearsay Social, which is a social media marketing management platform whose predictive analytics technology helps salespeople reach out to clients at the right time with the right message. She was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. She was also named as “40 Under 40” by Fortune and Advertising Age.

Rita King – Co-Director and EVP at Science House

Rita J. King is the Executive Vice President for Business Development at Science House and co-founder of Model Meetings. She is an author, and her work has been published in Fast Company Inc. and Entrepreneur. Rita served as a futurist at the Science and Entertainment Exchange of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Institute for Aerospace. In addition, she has worked and advised Fortune 100 and 500 companies.

Henry Blodget – CEO and Editor of Business Insider

Henry Blodget is an American businessman, investor, journalist, and CEO of Business Insider. He is notable for his former career as an equity research analyst. He was a senior Internet analyst for CIBC Oppenheimer and the head of the global Internet research team at Merrill Lynch during the Dot-Com Era. Due to his violations of securities laws and subsequent civil trial conviction, Blodget was permanently banned from involvement in the securities industry.

Jeff Immelt – Venture Partner, New Enterprise Associates

Jeffrey Robert Immelt previously served as the CEO of General Electric and GE’s Medical Systems division. He is currently working as a venture partner at New Enterprise Associates. Being a huge football fan, Jeffrey announced a GE investment of $40 million to develop diagnostic equipment for head trauma injuries and GE’s participation in a separate $20 million effort to create safer helmets and other equipment. He was also a top candidate to become CEO of Uber.

Lisa Gates – Leadership + Career story sleuth

Lisa Gates is a consultant and professional coach who works with high-potential women to design and negotiate robust livelihoods. She also designs training that helps businesses and organizations empower women through negotiation, conflict resolution, and coaching techniques to manage and develop people in the workplace. She has been a frequent contributor to Forbes Woman, and her work with She Negotiates has been featured on NPR and CNN, New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and online magazines such as Huffington Post and Daily Worth.

Lisa Gates’ MWIE Episode

Grant Cardone – CEO Cardone Capital, known for his 10x Growth conference

Grant Cardone is an American entrepreneur, motivational speaker, author, real estate investor, and sales coach. He is known for launching the 10X Growth Conference, the world’s largest business and entrepreneur conference. He is the author of many books, including The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure, Sell to Survive, and The Millionaire Booklet: How to Get Super Rich. He was named the number one sales trainer in the world by Forbes.

Cory Warfield – ‘Professional Metaverse’ co-founder

Cory Warfield is an American entrepreneur, influencer, speaker, and LinkedIn Kingmaker. He has advised businesses growing into metaverse with Coryconnects, entrepreneur in residence of Founder Institution, and served as global general manager at Inf4mation. Additionally, he uses his knowledge of data, gaining over 400,000 followers on LinkedIn with over 100 million views.

Nancy Lublin – Start-up brand and organization innovator

Nancy Lublin is the founder, co-founder, and CEO of many non-profit global organizations: Crisis Text Line, Dress for Success, and Do Something. Lublin was ranked as one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders by Fortune and 20 Women Changing the World by Marie Claire in 2014. Under her management, Do Something became one of the largest youth organizations globally, with more than 6 million members.

Brian Solis – One of the 21st-century business world’s leading thinkers

Brian Solis is an innovation evangelist, digital analyst, best-selling author, and international keynote speaker. His latest best-selling books include Lifescale: How to Live a More Creative, Productive and Happy Life. With over 20 years of studying disruptive technologies and innovation, Solis was ranked as one of the Top 10 people to know in Silicon Valley by Huffington Post, 25 Keynote speakers you need to know by Inc, and blogger of the year by PRNews.

Hannah Morgan – A Top Voice in Job Search and Career on LinkedIn

Hannah Morgan is the founder of Career sherpa, a job search website, an author, speaker, and job search strategist. She was ranked in Linkedin Top Voices in Job search and career, helping people with the strategies and tools to market themselves by sharing them on social media. Morgan is also the speaker and trainer for career search strategies.

Jennifer Hyman – Women Power, co-founder, and CEO of Rent the Runway

Jennifer Hyman is the co-founder and CEO of Rent the Runway, a clothing-rental company. Time Magazine recognized her as one of the 100 most influential people globally, the 12th most disruptive name in the business by Forbes, and many more. Since 2009, her company has gained over $525 million in capital and IPO’ed on Nasdaq in 2021, with over 11 million members.

Chip Bergh – Levi Strauss, classic clothing brand’s CEO

Chip Bergh is the president and CEO of Levi Strauss & Co and an ex-management leader of various global corporations. He was brand manager for Procter and Gamble, has served as a lead independent director of HP Inc, and led Gillette Fusion to over 80 markets outside the country. Chip was named one of the World’s Greatest Leaders by Fortune Magazine in 2019.

Daniel Pink – Author of 5 New York Times Bestselling Books

Daniel Pink is the author of 5x New York Times bestselling books in business, productivity, creativity, and behavior. His books have been translated into 42 languages and have sold millions of copies worldwide. Some of his books include The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, and To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others.

Marcelo Claure – President, CEO, and shareholder in Claure Capital

Marcelo Claure is the chairman and CEO of Claure Capital, a billion-dollar investment firm. Claure was the CEO and COO of SoftBank Group, where he led the best financial results in its history. He specializes in turning around companies and mergers and acquisitions.

Ben Horowitz – Co-founder, general partner of Andreesen Horowitz

Ben Horowitz is the co-founder and general partner of venture capital firm Andreesen Horowitz. He co-founded Opsware, which was sold to HP for $1.6 billion. Horowitz is also the author of two New York Times bestselling books: “The Hard Thing About Hard Things” and “What You Do Is Who You Are”.

Alison Doyle – Job search, career expert, and founder of CareerToolBelt

Alison Doyle is a career search and recruitment expert in human resources for The Balance Careers. She is the founder of CareerToolBelt.com, a platform for job search and career advice. Doyle is the author of “Alison Doyle’s Job Search Guidebook” and a columnist for the New York Times, Forbes, BBC, CNN, and many more. CareerToolBelt.com was ranked a top 100 website for your career by Forbes.

Lewis Howes – Former sports professional to lifestyle entrepreneur and coach

Lewis Howes was ranked as one of the top 100 entrepreneurs in American Under 30 by The White House. He is an entrepreneur, business consultant, bestselling author, and keynote speaker. As a former professional football player, Howes began to give inspiration to others as a life coach. He has hosted the top 100 iTunes podcast, The School of Greatness, with over 1,000 episodes and 300 million downloads.

Jim Clifton – Author, CEO, and head of global companies Gallup

Jim Clifton is the chairman and CEO of Gallup, global public opinion research and advanced analytics. Clifton created the Gallup Path, an economic model used in performance management systems in over 500 international companies. Under his management, Clifton led Gallup to operate in over 20 countries. He is also the author and co-author of bestselling books, It’s the Manager, The Coming Jobs War, and Born to Build.

Brian Tracy – The Genius Author

Brian Tracy is a keynote speaker and seminar leader who has helped many billion-dollar companies with strategic planning and organizational development. He has consulted more than 5 million people from more than 75 countries and has produced hundreds of audio and video courses for professionals with successful careers in sales and marketing, investments, real estate development, etc. He is also the author of 80 books that have been translated into languages all over the globe.

Philippe Borries – Entrepreneur of the Year who led Refinery29 to become a global media brand

Philippe Borries is an entrepreneur and co-founder of Refinery29, leading the company to become a global media brand. Philippe was awarded Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young. Philippe led Refinery29 to be acquired by Vice Media Group in 2019. He is now an Entrepreneur-in-Residence leading Lonely Planet at Red Ventures.

Ramon Laguarta – CEO of PepsiCo

As a Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PepsiCo, a global beverage company, Ramon Laguarta leads 23 brands under PepsiCo. Since 2018, Ramon has positioned the company to be Faster, Stronger, and Better to achieve his new corporate mission to Create More Smiles with Every Sip and Every Bite. Before being a leading part of PepsiCo, he worked in international roles in Chupa Chups, another leading global brand initially from Spain.

Scott Belsky – CPO of Adobe and executive vice president of Creative Cloud

Scott Belsky currently serves as Adobe’s Chief Product Officer and Executive Vice President of Creative Cloud. Scott is a co-founder of Behance, acquired by Adobe later in 2012 and was an advisor and investor in Pinterest, Uber, Sweetgreen, Carta, Cheddar, Flexport, Airtable, OpenSea, Ramp, Ro, and Periscope (part of Twitter), etc. He is also the author of the international bestselling books Making Ideas Happen and The Messy Middle.

Ndubuisi Ekekwe – Engineering professor and tech and innovation entrepreneur

Ndubuisi Ekekwe is an engineering professor, entrepreneur, and blogger. He is the founder of Atlantic Semiconductors & Microelectronics company. He was named one of 60 Nigerians in 60 years, making Nigerian lives matter by The Guardian, Technology connoisseur of the year from Nation Builders Achievers Award, and many more. Ekekwe is also a regular blogger at Harvard Business Review, specializing in technology management and competitiveness. His work on Nanotechnology and Microelectronics received the Book of the Year Award by IGI Global.

Matt Higgins – NYC’s youngest press secretary of all time

Matt Higgins is the CEO and co-founder of RSE Ventures, a company focused on lifestyle, entertainment, sports, marketing, media, and technology. Rags to riches, Higgins dropped out of high school to fully support himself throughout college. After getting his law degree, Higgins’ career snowballed after he helped in managing the global press response to 9/11, being New York City’s youngest press secretary of all time. His career highlight was when he was a guest shark on the popular TV show Shark Tank. Today, Higgins is an executive fellow at Harvard, where he continues to expand and develop his knowledge as an executive.

Kenneth Blanchard – One of the top 25 Bestselling Authors on Amazon

Kenneth Blanchard is an author known for one of his bestselling book One Minute Manager, which teaches effective management techniques. He is the Chief Spiritual Officer and founder of The Ken Blanchard Companies, an international training and consulting firm. One of Blanchard’s career highlights was his induction into Amazon’s Hall of Fame as one of the top 25 bestselling authors of all time.

Blake Mycoskie – Entrepreneur, author, and the founder of TOMS

Blake Mycoskie is the founder, CEO of TOMS shoes, and co-founder of Madefor. As a philanthropist, Blake created a one-for-one business model where every shoe sold; one shoe will be donated. He was awarded Next Generation Award from Harvard’s School of Public Health and the Lion Heart Award by Cannes Lion. He is also the author of Start Something That Matters, No. 1 New York Times best-selling in the advice category.

Ryan Holiday – Founder of Brass Check, bestselling author, and PR strategist

Ryan Holiday is the writer, media strategist, and host of The Daily Stoic podcast. He has authored 10 books, including The Obstacle Is the Way, Ego is the Enemy, and Conspiracy, which have sold more than 3 million copies in 30 languages worldwide. Ryan is also the founder and partner of Brass Check, a creative advisory firm that advises Google, TEASER, and Complex.

Stephanie Ruhle – NBC and MSNBC news host and business analyst

Stephanie Ruhle is the senior business analyst at NBC and anchors many NBC News and MSNBC platforms, including The 11th Hour and MSNBC Live with Ruhle. Ruhle has interviewed many famous names in politics, business, entertainment, and sports, including Donald Trump, Kanye West, and Michael Bloomberg. Along with her co-worker, Stephanie was the first reporter to break the story of the London Whale in 2012. She also founded Corporate Investment Bank Women’s Network and co-chaired Women on Wall Street.

Andrew Ross Sorkin – NYT Journalist, bestseller book author, and film producer

Andrew Ross Sorkin is a financial columnist for the New York Times and the founder of DealBook, an online daily financial report. He is also the co-anchor of CNBC’s Squawk Box, a television news program. Sorkin has written the best business book, Too Big to Fail, awarded by Gerald Loeb. He also co-produced Billions, a TV series by Showtime.

Jason Fried – The inventor of Twitch and Airbnb’s platform

Jason Fried is a columnist at Inc. magazine, co-founder, and CEO of Basecamp, a web software development company. His company invented Ruby on Rails, an app platform for many big names such as Twitch, Airbnb, Kickstarter, etc., with millions of users. Fried is also the co-author of 2x New York Times bestseller, Rework and Remote.

Dara Treseder – Chief marketing officer at Peloton, speaker, and lecturer

Dara Treseder is the global head of marketing and communication at Peloton, the world’s largest interactive fitness platform. She is also a keynote speaker, lecturer, and advisor on marketing, innovation, and growth in several conferences hosted by Cannes Lions, Harvard, Stanford, and London School of Economics. Dara was recognized as one of the most influential chief marketing officers globally by Forbes, Silicon Valley’s top 40 leaders under 40, Top 25 most innovative chief marketing officers by Business Insider, and many more.

Hubert Joly – Ex-CEO of Best Buy and bestselling author

Hubert Joly is a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and BestBuy’s former chairman and CEO. Joly is also a member of the board of directors of Johnson & Johnson and Ralph Lauren. He has been recognized as one of the top 100 CEOs globally by Harvard Business Review, top 30 CEOs by Barron’s, and top 10 CEOs in the US by Glassdoor. Joly is the author of the bestselling book named The Heart of Business

Parth Detroja – Product manager at Facebook, keynote speaker, and bestselling author

Parth Detroja is a product manager at Facebook, speaker, and technology influencer. He is the 2x bestselling author of Amazon’s bestseller books Swipe to Unlock and Bubble or Revolution showing his interests in technology and blockchain. Also, he has held several conferences and been a speaker on leading technology, product management and blockchain, and business strategies.

Houston Golden – Co-founder of Badass Marketers & Founder

Houston Golden is the co-founder of BAMF Media, a growth marketing agency. He is known for marketing on Linkedin and is a mastermind for Linkedin influencers. He has been working with some of Linkedin’s top influencers and entrepreneurs, such as Russell Brunson, Prince Ea, Mark Manson, etc. He was recognized as one of the top 12 Innovators by Forbes. Golden is also the author of The Linkedin Bible.

Justin Wu – Founder of DCENTRAL Miami, one of the largest future of finance & NFTS

Justin Wu is the founder of DCENTRAL Conference, the largest iteration of the World Wide Web-based on blockchain technology, also called Web3. Based on his experience since 2015 in the Web3 industry, he has built communities & growth marketers, events, and marketing alongside Polygon, Immutable, Airswap, and many more.

Alejandro Cremades – Founder & CEO of Rock the Post, author on entrepreneurship

Alejandro Cremades is the founder of Rock the Post, a business crowdfunding platform, co-founder of Panthera Advisors, an investment bank, and the author of The Art of Startup Fundraising,’ entrepreneurs’ best books in 2016 and was ranked no.1 on Vanity Fair’s 30 under 30. He is also a Forbes column writer and active speaker for podcasts and university guests.

Dr. Ganapathi Pulipaka – CEO of SAP, tech lead for DeepSingularity, bestselling author

Dr. Ganapathi Pulipaka is the CEO, Chief data scientist, SAP technical lead at DeepSingularity, a data consulting company, and author of the No.1 Amazon bestseller book, Big Data Appliances. Pulipaka is an expert in computer science and data analytics who has worked with over 27 corporations over the past 21 years and 100+ SAP projects.

John Spence – Top 50 small business experts in America

John Spence is a CEO, business strategist, author, and speaker. He was ranked in the top 100 small business influencers, top 50 small business experts in America, top 100 global list thought leaders, Richard Branson, and among America’s top leaders and Jeff Bezos.

John Spence’s MWIE Episode

Kent Gustavson – CEO, founder, business advisor, award-winning author, musician

Kent Gustavson is a business advisor, writer, entrepreneur, and musician. He is the founder of Blooming Twig, an independent book publisher, and an author of award-winning books. Through his experiences as a business strategist, music composition, and speaker, he gained over 100 million views and 100,000 followers on his social media platforms.

Danielle Bernstein – CEO, founder, and fashion designer of WeWoreWhat

Danielle Bernstein is the founder of WeWoreWhat, an American clothing brand and blog. Growing her fashion blogs as a sophomore in school, she has over 2.8 million followers on Instagram and a net worth of over $2.5 million as an entrepreneur and collaboration with many global brands.

Scott Galloway – Author, N.Y.U professor, and business guru

Scott Galloway is the author of The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google. After his first book in 2017, he successfully published two more books in 2019 and 2020. He is the founder of L2; a research firm focused on brand management and digital marketing. He is also a Clinical Professor at the NYU Stern School of Business, where he teaches brand strategy and digital marketing.

Brandon Bornancin – Internet’s favorite salesperson

Brandon Bornancin is a sales genius, serial entrepreneur, author, and the CEO and founder of Seamless.ai, one of the fastest-growing SaaS companies in the US. He helps 100,000 (and counting) companies flood their calendars and generate millions in sales using artificial intelligence to find anyone’s emails and phone numbers.

Brandon Bornancin’s MWIE Episode

Donald Cohen – LinkedIn Expert Marketer, trainer, speaker, and podcaster

Donald Cohen is the founder of doncohenconsulting.com. He is collaboratively empowering LinkedIn proficiency, performance, and success. He was a two-time Internet Retailer Of The Year, a two-time Top 50 Website Of The Year, and a three-time INC 500 CEO. He was also the top Amazon and Walmart Marketplace partner, generating $200,000,000 in sales, beginning with $4 on e-Bay.

Donald Cohen’s MWIE Episode

David Alto – Resume, interview, and LinkedIn guru

David Alto is the owner and founder of AltoAdvance, an individual coaching, and business consultancy company. His company provides resumes, LinkedIn, and interview coaching. He specializes in empowering and promoting the talents and experiences of those looking to accomplish their career goals and excel in their profession. In 2021, he published his book, “The Fear of Confidence.”

Judi Fox – LinkedIn expert and leading networking coach

Judi Fox started her career as a chemical engineer in 1999. But when the 2008 economic crisis hit, she realized the importance of networking on LinkedIn which led her to successfully launch her own Environmental Consulting business and her LinkedIn Job Search Coaching and Resume business. In 2018, 4 years after she decided to go back into a full-time corporate position when a family crisis hit, she launched the “LinkedIn Business Accelerator” strategy which helps you network effectively on LinkedIn.

Michael Bungay Stanier – Author of “The Coaching Habit” and “How to Begin”

Michael Bungay Stanier is the author of seven books which between them have sold over a million copies. He’s best known for The Coaching Habit, the best-selling coaching book of the century and already recognized as a classic. His new book, How to Begin, helps people be more ambitious for themselves and for the world. Michael was a Rhodes Scholar and plays the ukulele badly. He’s Australian, and lives in Toronto, Canada.

Michael Bungay Stanier’s MWIE Episode

Ram Charan – The most influential consultant

Ram Charan is a world-renowned business advisor, author, and speaker who has spent the past 40 years working with many top companies, CEOs, and boards of our time. Fortune magazine has called him “the most influential consultant alive.” He shares his business insights through writing and teaching. He has written over 30 books that have sold more than 4 million copies in more than a dozen languages.

Dorie Clark – Self-reinvention expert

Dorie Clark is a strategy consultant, executive coach, and keynote speaker (with deep experience in virtual presentations) who has worked with clients including Google, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Fidelity, Yale University, the IMF, and the World Bank. She’s the author of several books, including the WSJ bestseller “The Long Game” (Harvard Business Review Press, 2021), as well as “Entrepreneurial You,” which was named “one of the most important business books of the year” by Inc. magazine and one of the Top 5 Books of the Year by Forbes. She also wrote “Reinventing You” and “Stand Out,” which Inc. magazine declared the #1 Leadership Book of the Year and Forbes named one of the Top 10 Business Books of the Year.

Jim Clifton – The original and futuristic thinker

Jim Clifton is the Chairman of Gallup, a global analytics and advisory firm. He is the creator of The Gallup Path, a metric-based economic model that establishes the linkages between human nature in the workplace, customer engagement, and business outcomes. Another of his innovations, the Gallup World Poll, gives the world’s 7 billion citizens a voice on virtually all key global issues. Jim authored several books, including Wellbeing at Work, It’s the Manager, Born to Build, and The Coming Jobs War.

Gautam Baid – Stellar fund manager and author

Gautam Baid is the Fund Manager and Managing Partner at Stellar Wealth Partners India Fund, a Delaware-based investment partnership modeled after the original Buffett Partnership fee structure. He is the Founder of Stellar Wealth Partners Private Limited, a SEBI-registered Research Analyst firm that offers stock ideas on the small case platform for investors in the Indian stock market. He is also the author of The Joys of Compounding: The Passionate Pursuit of Lifelong Learning.

Jeb Blount – Author, speaker, and sales acceleration specialist

Jeb Blount is an internationally renowned speaker who helps companies improve their sales- fast. He trains tens of thousands through his global company, Sales Gravy, and is the host of the world’s #1 downloaded Sales podcast. He is also a bestselling author of 13 books and among the world’s most respected thought leaders on sales, leadership, and customer experience.

Anthony Iannarino – Master in elite sales

Anthony Iannarino is a highly respected international speaker, bestselling author, entrepreneur, and sales leader specializing in complex business-to-business (B2B) sales. He is also a founder and managing partner of two closely held, family-owned businesses in the staffing industry, leading both entities in strategic planning while growing sales. Anthony is best known for his work at The Sales Blog, which has helped him gain recognition as a top thought leader in sales strategy. He is also the designer of Level 4 Value Creation™ and Building Consensus, methodologies that help sales organizations achieve transformational, breakthrough results.

Mark Hunter – The Sales Hunter

Mark Hunter helps individuals and companies identify better prospects and build more profitable customer relationships. He is an award-winning sales blogger and in-demand speaker, and his clients include Samsung, Coca-Cola, American Express, and Sony. He is the author of High-Profit Selling.

Donald C. Kelly – The Chief Sales Evangelist

Donald C. Kelly is the founder of The Sales Evangelist. He oversees business development strategies for small to mid-size organizations. He also conducts workshops and keynote presentations, designs sales processes, offers sales team training, and coaches sales individuals and executives. In addition, he is the host of The Sales Evangelist podcast, which can be heard in over 155 countries.

Annie Duke – Speaker, author, and a student of decision science

Annie Duke is an author, speaker, and consultant in decision-making and Special Partner focused on Decision Science at First Round Capital Partners, a seed-stage venture fund. Her latest book, Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away, is set to be released this October 4, 2022. Her previous book, Thinking in Bets, is a national bestseller.

Annie Duke’s MWIE Episode

Ray Dalio – A global macro investor, author and active philanthropist

A global macro investor for more than 50 years, Ray Dalio founded Bridgewater Associates out of his two-bedroom apartment in NYC and ran it for most of its 47 years, building it into the largest hedge fund in the world. Ray remains an investor and mentor at Bridgewater and serves on its board. He is also the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Principles: Life and Work, Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order, and Principles for Navigating Big Debt Crises.

Marcelo Claure – Bolivian tech entrepreneur, investor and football enthusiast

Marcelo Claure is an entrepreneur and investor who has founded and led some of the world’s most iconic businesses. He is currently the Founder & CEO of Claure Capital, a newly founded multi-billion-dollar global investment firm focused on public and private companies in technology, media, telecommunications, crypto, sports, real estate, and other high growth sectors.

Joel Peterson – Stanford professor, author and businessman

Joel Peterson is the chairman of JetBlue Airways and the founding partner of Peterson Partners, a Salt Lake City-based investment management firm. He currently teaches Entrepreneurial Management at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. Joel is the author of The 10 Laws of Trust: Building the Bonds that Make a Business Great.

Max Levchin – PayPal co-founder and Affirm CEO

Max Levchin founded or co-founded the companies Slide.com, HVF, and Affirm. In 1998, he co-founded the company that eventually became PayPal. He was also an early investor in Yelp and was the Chairman for 11 years.

J.T. O’Donnell – Job creator and career mentor

J.T. O’Donnell is the founder and CEO of Work It Daily, an online platform dedicated to helping people solve their biggest career problems. She has more than 15 years of experience in HR, recruiting and career coaching.

Diana Olick – CNBC Senior Climate and Real Estate Correspondent

Diana Olick is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, currently serving as CNBC’s senior climate and real estate correspondent. She also contributes her climate and real estate expertise to NBC News NOW, MSNBC, NBC’s “Today,” and “NBC Nightly News.” She is a regular guest speaker and does guest segments on NPR and C-SPAN. Her work on CNBC.com won the Gracie Award for “Outstanding Blog” in 2015.

Michael Fertik – Father of online reputation management

Michael Fertik is the managing director and founder of Heroic Ventures and the executive chairman and founder of Reputation.com. He has also been the founder and CEO of b4.ai, WaveShift, and Sightglass Vision, among others. A futurist with more than ten patents, Michael is credited with pioneering the field of online reputation management (ORM) and is lauded as the world’s leading cyberthinker in digital privacy and reputation.

Whitney Johnson – Top management thinker and Top Voice on LinkedIn

Whitney Johnson is the CEO of the tech-enabled talent development company Disruption Advisors, an Inc. 5000 2020 honoree and one of the fastest-growing private companies in America. Thinkers50 ranked her as one of the top ten management thinkers in the world in 2021, and in 2020 she was a Top Voice on LinkedIn, with 1.8 million followers.

Ankur Warikoo – Author of Do Epic Shit

Ankur Warikoo is a serial entrepreneur, a bestselling author, an online educator, a content creator, and the founder of Nearbuy. In 2021, he published his first book – Do Epic Shit, and hit #1 in India on the Nielsen bestsellers list.

Steve Anderson – International best-selling author of The Bezos Letters

Steve Anderson is an expert in strategic risk and business growth. Drawing on decades of experience in the insurance industry, he wrote The Bezos Letters: 14 Principles to Grow Your Business Like Amazon, which has become a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and international bestseller. With hundreds of thousands of followers, Steve has been handpicked by LinkedIn as one of the world’s most influential thought leaders.

Steve Anderson’s MWIE Episode

Jeff DeGraff – Dean of Innovation, author, and thought leader

Jeff DeGraff is an advisor to Fortune 500 companies, a top innovation speaker, a business professor at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, and a bestselling author. He earned his nickname, the “Dean of Innovation,” while working as an executive for Domino’s Pizza in his youth. He accelerated Domino’s growth from a regional success story to an international franchise phenomenon. He wrote several books on how teams innovate, the most recent being The Innovation Code: The Creative Power of Constructive Conflict.

Isabelle Kocher de Leyritz – Strategic thinker, financial engineer, and business structuring expert

Isabelle Kocher de Leyritz is the former CEO of ENGIE and is currently the president of the Talks of Excellence. She is also a Member of Corps des Mines and Manager for Sequaris SNC and on the board of 7 other companies. In the past, Isabelle occupied the position of Chief Executive Officer & Director at ENGIE SA and Vice Chairman of Electrabel SA (a subsidiary of ENGIE SA), Chairman & Chief Executive Officer for Eau et Force SA, and Chief Executive Officer at Lyonnaise des Eaux SA.

Frida Polli – Neuroscientist, turned startup founder

Frida Polli is the co-founder and CEO of pymetrics (now Harver), a company using neuroscience and AI to improve the efficiency and diversity of hiring. With global clients, including Unilever and Accenture, pymetrics has matched hundreds of thousands of people with their ideal jobs while removing bias from the hiring process. Previously, Frida was a neuroscientist at Harvard and MIT, where her work on cognitive and emotional brain function won numerous awards from the NIH, Harvard, MIT, and private philanthropies.

Phil Libin – Former CEO of Evernote, now co-founder and CEO at mmhmm

Phil Libin served as CEO of the Silicon Valley-based software company Evernote from 2007 to 2015, then became Executive Chairman of Evernote’s board. In September 2015, Libin joined General Catalyst Partners as its fourth general partner in Silicon Valley. In September 2016, Libin stepped down as Executive Chairman of Evernote’s board of directors to focus on his role at General Catalyst Partners. Currently, Libin runs the Startup “mmhmm” and the startup studio All Turtles.

Larry Swedroe – The author of The Only Guide to a Winning Investment Strategy You’ll Ever Need

Larry Swedroe is the head of financial and economic research at Buckingham Wealth Partners. He was among the first authors to publish a book that explained the science of investing in layman’s terms, “The Only Guide to a Winning Investment Strategy You’ll Ever Need.” He has authored or co-authored 18 books.

Larry Swedroe’s MWIE Episode

Jason Hsu – The forefront and a recognized thought leader of the smart beta revolution

Jason Hsu is the founder, chairman, and CIO of Rayliant Global Advisors (RGA), a global investment management group with over US$15+ billion in assets managed using its strategies as of June 30, 2022. He is also co-founded Research Affiliates, a smart beta and asset allocation leader with over US$143 billion in assets managed using its strategies.

Jason Hsu’s MWIE Episode

Howard Lindzon – Author and a believer of investing for profit and joy

In 2008 Howard Lindzon co-founded StockTwits, and now Chairman after 5 years as CEO. StockTwits was recently named “one of the top 10 most innovative companies in web” by Fast Company and one of the “50 best websites” by Time. He’s also an author of four books.

Divya Narendra – Classmates with Zuckerberg and co-founder with the Winklevoss Twins

Divya Narendra is the CEO and co-founder of SumZero. Before founding SumZero, he was an Associate at Sowood Capital Management, a $3.5B multi-strat hedge fund located in Boston, MA. At Sowood, Divya analyzed investment opportunities across the capital structure. Prior to this, he was an analyst in the M&A Group at Credit Suisse in NYC.

Anthony Zhang – Expert in wine investment

Anthony Zhang founder and CEO of Vinovest, a platform for investing in a managed portfolio of fine wines. He built his first company at 18, eventually growing operations to 22 markets and employing over 1,500. He loves to build and grow teams and foster a rapid-testing, data-centric culture of execution.

Vikram Mansharamani – One of the greatest independent thinkers of our time

Vikram Mansharamani is a global trend-watcher who shows people how to anticipate the future, manage risk, and spot opportunities. He has been honored by LinkedIn as their one of their Top Voices and Worth magazine as one of the 100 Most Powerful People in Global Finance. He is the author of “THINK FOR YOURSELF: Restoring Common Sense in an Age of Experts and Artificial Intelligence” as well as “BOOMBUSTOLOGY: Spotting Financial Bubbles Before They Burst.” Vikram is currently a lecturer at Harvard University, where he teaches students to use multiple perspectives in making tough decisions.

Rex Salisbury – A fintech super-connector

Rex Salisbury is the founder and general partner at Cambrian Ventures, a pre-seed & seed focused fintech fund. He previously was a Partner at A16Z, where he helped launch the fintech vertical. He has over a decade of experience working in finance & fintech primarily as a software engineer before becoming a venture capitalist.

Rex Salisbury’s MWIE Episode

Bob Elliott – CEO and CIO of Unlimited

Bob Elliott is the co-founder and CEO of Unlimited, which uses machine learning to create diversified index replication ETFs of 2&20 strategies like hedge funds, VC and PE. Prior to founding Unlimited, he served on the Investment Committee at Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund.

Jesse Felder – Publisher of The Felder Report and podcast host

After starting his career at Bear Stearns and then co-founding a multi-billion-dollar hedge fund firm, Jesse Felder left Wall Street to focus his energies on research and writing. Today he publishes The Felder Report and hosts the Superinvestors podcast.

Jesse Felder’s MWIE Episode

Vincent Deluard – Global macro strategist with a strong international background

Vincent Deluard is the global macro strategist for StoneX Group Inc., where he authors weekly commentary on global macro topics and advises pension funds on asset allocation. He served as Europe strategist for Ned Davis Research and was executive vice president for TrimTabs Investment. Vincent is frequently quoted in the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Barron’s and is regularly on Bloomberg TV and CNBC.

Vincent Deluard’s MWIE Episode

Michael Howell – Father of quantitative liquidity research methodology

Michael Howell is CEO of CrossBorder Capital, a London-based FCA registered, independent research and investment company that he founded in 1996. He brings 40 years finance experience and is a regular international conference speaker, a media and social media commentator and author.

Michael Howell’s MWIE Episode

Nick Maggiulli – Experienced data scientist and author

Nick Maggiulli is the Chief Operating Officer and Data Scientist at Ritholtz Wealth Management, where he oversees operations across the firm and provides insights on business intelligence. He is also the author of OfDollarsAndData.com, a blog focused on the intersection of data and personal finance. His work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and The Los Angeles Times.

Nick Maggiulli’s MWIE Episode

Jim O’Shaughnessy – Investor and accelerator of creative endeavors

Jim O’Shaughnessy is the Chairman and Co-Chief Investment Officer of O’Shaughnessy Asset Management (OSAM). He is the author of four books on investing, and his book What Works on Wall Street is a BusinessWeek and New York Times Business bestseller.

Jim O’Shaughnessy’s MWIE episode

Michelle Finneran Dennedy – The “Privacy Jedi”

Michelle Finneran Dennedy is the co-founder of Privacy Code and co-author of The Privacy Engineer’s Manifesto, joins Dennis Fisher to talk about her new startup, her path from studying psychology to becoming the first chief privacy officer at Sun and Cisco, and what everyone gets wrong about privacy.

Neville Medhora – Digital strategist and SEO expert

Neville Medhora has been starting businesses and side projects since high school and has learned a bunch about what works and what doesn’t work. Advisor to numerous software companies and teach of copywriting at CopywritingCourse.com and “Neville Medhora” across all socials.

Neville Medhora’s MWIE episode

Dave Nadig – ETF and mutual fund industry veteran

Dave Nadig is CEO of ETF.com. Previously, he was director of ETFs at FactSet Research Systems. Before that, as managing director at BGI, he helped design some of the first ETFs. As co-founder of Cerulli Associates, Nadig conducted some of the earliest research on fee-only financial advisors and the rise of indexing.

Axel Merk – Expert on macro trends, sought-after speaker and author

Axel Merk the President and Chief Investment Officer of Merk Investments, manager of the Merk Funds. Founder of the firm bearing his name, Merk is an expert on macro trends.

Jason Calacanis – Visionary leader, angel investor and author

Jason Calacanis is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, podcaster, and writer. He is the founder and CEO of Inside.com and Launch. He previously worked at Weblogs as a co-founder and CEO.

Phil Nadel – Serial entrepreneur and co-host of “The Pitch”

Phil Nadel is a serial entrepreneur, a published author, frequent conference speaker, and one of the co-hosts of “The Pitch” podcast. He is now the Managing Director of Forefront Venture Partners, which manages a dedicated fund and one of the largest and most active AngelList syndicates.

Edward Yardeni – The “Wall Street Seer”

Edward Yardeni is the President of Yardeni Research, Inc., providing global investment strategy and asset allocation analyses and recommendations to many of the world’s top institutional investors. He is also the author of “Predicting the Markets: A Professional Autobiography.”

Matthew Hougan – The ETF expert

Matthew Hougan is the Global Head of Research and Development at Bitwise Asset Management Inc., creator of the world’s first cryptocurrency index fund. He was previously CEO of Inside ETFs, the world’s leading ETF education company, and before that, CEO of ETF.com which was the world’s first institutionally oriented, ETF-specific ratings and analytics service.

Fabrice Grinda – Leading internet entrepreneur and super angel

Fabrice Grinda is the Founding Partner of FJ Labs, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on online marketplaces and network effects startups. As an internet entrepreneur and investor, he has successfully transposed, adapted and invested in business ideas between the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Aswath Damodaran – Professor of Finance at the Stern School of Business at NYU

Aswath Damodaran holds the Kerschner Family Chair in Finance Education and is Professor of Finance at New York University Stern School of Business. He is also an author of several highly regarded and widely-used academic texts on Valuation, Corporate Finance, and Investment Management.

Sanchal Ranjan – India’s home rental utilization and experience master

Sanchal Ranjan is co-founder and CEO of ZiffyHomes, one of the leading real time online platforms for rental accommodation in India. He is also the co-Founder and Product Specialist of Analog. He previously worked at Deloitte as a Consultant.

Kevin Chemidlin – Podcast growth and monetization guru

Kevin Chemidlin was a podcaster who hit the wall in 2019 – audience growth stopped, he was burnt out, and he couldn’t figure out how to monetize. So, he did something crazy: he shut his show down completely and spent 3 months studying the best podcasts in the game. He came back, implemented what he learned, and then took his podcast past 100,000 listeners and $100,000 monetized.

Ham Serunjogi – CEO of Chipper Cash

Ham Serunjogi is co-founder and CEO of Chipper Cash, a fintech startup that enables free and instant cross border peer-to-peer money transfers as well as solutions for businesses and merchant payment processing.

Carl Chang – Tennis coach turned pizzeria founder

Carl Chang is founder and CEO of Kairos Investment Management. He is also the co-founder of the pizza chain Pieology, and is active in real estate investment businesses. He is the older brother and former coach of tennis star Michael Chang.

Wesley Gray – The ETF Architect

Wesley Gray is the founder and CEO of Alpha Architect, a quantitative asset management firm. Dr. Gray’s interest in bridging the research gap between academia and industry led him to found Alpha Architect, an asset management firm dedicated to an impact mission of empowering investors through education. He is a contributor to multiple industry publications and regularly speaks to professional investor groups across the country. Wes has published multiple academic papers and four books.

Scott Lynn – Master of artwork investing

Scott Lynn is the founder and CEO of Masterworks, the first company to allow investors to buy shares representing ownership of great masterpieces by artists like Warhol, Monet, and more.

Michael Gayed – Publisher of The Lead-Lag Report

Michael Gayed is a Portfolio Manager at Toroso Investments, an investment management company specializing in ETF focused research, investment strategies and services designed for financial advisors, RIAs, family offices and investment managers. He is the co-author of four award-winning research papers on market anomalies and investing.

Aaron Fu – Africa’s champion entrepreneur

Aaron Fu is a partner at emerging market inclusive tech focused Catalyst Fund, is a founding partner in Africa focused founder backed pre-seed fund Sherpa Ventures. He also co-founded Venture for Africa, a fellowship for talent on the continent and beyond to gain experience and build careers with early-stage African startups.

Dan Morehead – Crypto firm founder and leader of digital currencies

Dan Morehead is founder and CEO of Pantera Capital, an investment firm focused exclusively on Bitcoin, other digital currencies, and companies utilizing blockchain technology. The firm was founded in 2003 with a focus on global macro hedge fund investments. He has more than 25 years of experience in managing global macro funds, macro trading, and investment advisory services.

Frank Holmes – Renowned global investor and mining fund manager

Frank Holmes is the CEO of U.S. Global Investors, an investment manager with both ETFs and mutual funds, and HIVE Blockchain, the world’s very first publicly traded company involved in the mining of cryptocurrencies. He is a much-sought-after keynote speaker at national and international investment conferences. He is also a regular commentator on the financial television networks CNBC, Bloomberg and Fox Business, and has been profiled by Fortune, Barron’s, The Financial Times and other publications.

Sheel Mohnot – Exceptional investor, mentor and company builder

Sheel Mohnot is the co-founder of Better Tomorrow Ventures, a $75m fund that leads pre-seed and seed rounds in fintech companies globally. Sheel is also on the investment committee for the Catalyst Fund, an initiative to support entrepreneurs building financial solutions for the underserved in India, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, and South Africa.

Zach Coelius – The Unicorn Whisperer

Zach Coelius is the Managing Partner at Coelius Capital. He is a four-time entrepreneur, but now that he has sold his last company, he shifted from full-time angel investing to become a VC investor.

Mike Dudas – Stellar growth executive turned crypto VC

Mike Dudas is the founder and General Partner of 6th Man Ventures, a VC firm focused on investing in Web3 and the metaverse. He recently helped launch LinksDAO, which raised over $10 million in less than 48 hours and is creating the modern golf & leisure club. Previously, he worked at Disney, Google, and Venmo with growth and business development.

Peter Zeihan – Leading geopolitical strategist

Peter Zeihan is an expert in geopolitics, the study of how place impacts financial, economic, cultural, political and military developments. His newest book is The End of the World Is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization.

Eric Balchunas – ETF analyst, funds product specialist and author

Eric Balchunas is a Senior ETF Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, where he leads the ETF and passive fund research and contributes to Bloomberg Opinion. He is a frequent speaker at industry events and conferences, as well as the co-creator of the Bloomberg podcast Trillions and Bloomberg TV’s ETF IQ. Eric is author of The Institutional ETF Toolbox and The Bogle Effect.

Cormac Kinney – Inventor of the only regulator-approved diamond commodity

Cormac Kinney is the founder and CEO of Diamond Standard, a regulator-approved fungible diamond commodity. He is a software developer and entrepreneur, with innovations cited by others in nearly 4,000 patents. He is also a founder of 6 startups, with 4 acquired by public companies or investment funds.

Lance Roberts – Strategist, economist and lead editor of the Real Investment Report

Lance Roberts is the Chief Investment Strategist and Economist of RIA Advisors. He is also the Chief Editor of the Real Investment Report, a weekly subscriber-based newsletter that is distributed globally. Having been in the investing world for more than 25 years, from private banking and investment management to private and venture capital, Lance has pretty much “been there and done that” at one point or another. His commonsense approach, clear explanations and “real world” experience has appealed to audiences for almost two decades.

James Bianco – Macro, fixed-income and economic analyst

James Bianco is President of Bianco Research, L.L.C., an Arbor Research & Trading, LLC affiliate. Since November 1990, he has been producing fixed income commentaries, which enjoy a circulation of portfolio managers and traders numbering into the several hundred. Prior to joining Arbor and Bianco Research, Jim spent five years in New York City with several prominent investment banking firms. He was a Market Strategist in equity and fixed income research at UBS Securities, and an Equity Technical Analyst at First Boston and Shearson Lehman Brothers. He is a Chartered Market Technician (CMT) and a member of the Chartered Market Technicians Association (CMT Association), where he previously served as a national Vice President, chairing the CMT Association’s 1996 annual seminar.

Cory Klippsten – Bitcoiner, innovative consultant and renowned entrepreneur

Cory Klippsten is the CEO of Bitcoin financial services firm Swan.com. He is a partner in Bitcoiner Ventures and El Zonte Capital, serves as an advisor to The Bitcoin Venture Fund, and as an angel has funded more than 50 early-stage tech companies. Before startups, Klippsten worked for Google, McKinsey, Microsoft and Morgan Stanley, and earned an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Ken McElroy – Author, champion and advocate for estate investors

Ken McElroy is the author of the best-selling books The ABC’s of Real Estate Investing, The Advanced Guide to Real Estate Investing, The ABC’s of Property Management, and most recently his book on entrepreneurship: The Sleeping Giant, where he shares his real-life examples and ideology of how to be successful in business and in life. As the Real Estate Advisor to Robert Kiyosaki of The Rich Dad Company, Ken is also a chapter contributor in the newly released Rich Dad book, More Important Than Money: An Entrepreneur’s Team. For over two decades, Ken McElroy has experienced massive success in the real estate world-from investment analysis and property management to acquisitions and property development. With over $3 Billion investment dollars in real estate, Ken offers a unique perspective on how to get the biggest return on investments.

Viktor Shvets – Author, global strategist and experienced investment banker

Viktor Shvets is the author of The Great Rupture: Three Empires, Four Turning Points, and the Future of Humanity. He is the managing director and the head of the Asia-Pacific and global strategy at Macquarie Group. Over nearly 40 years as an investment banker, he has been a highly rated analyst across various disciplines, head of research and is now recognized as one of the more innovative global market strategists, working on the intersection between finance, technology, politics, and history. He is a prolific writer on key global trends and is a frequent commentator on CNBC, Bloomberg, and other media outlets.

Lawrence McDonald – Author, CNBC contributor, and political risk expert

In 2010 Lawrence McDonald founded an investment research firm which publishes The Bear Traps Report, a weekly independent investment research publication focusing on global political and systemic risk with actionable trade ideas. He is the author of “A Colossal Failure of Common Sense”, which is ranked by the CFA Institute in the “Top 20” Books All-Time in Finance. He makes weekly appearances on CNBC as a contributor focused on political and economic risk and opportunities.

Stephanie Kelton – Author, professor and one of the top women in finance

Stephanie Kelton is a professor of economics and public policy at Stony Brook University and a Senior Fellow at the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis at the New School for Social Research. She is a leading expert on Modern Monetary Theory and a former Chief Economist on the U.S. Senate Budget Committee (Democratic staff). She was named by POLITICO (2016) as one of the 50 people most influencing the policy debate in America, as one of the 50 people who defined 2019 by Bloomberg Businessweek, as one of Barron’s top 100 Women in Finance (2020 & 2021), and by Prospect Magazine (2020) as one of the World’s Top 50 Thinkers. She is a regular commentator on national radio and broadcast television. Her book, The Deficit Myth, became an instant New York Times bestseller.

Grant Williams – Author, visionary and the podcast host of The Grant Williams Podcast

Grant Williams is widely respected as a visionary in the financial industry with a career spanning 35 years as an investor, advisor, writer, and interviewer. In 2020, he stoked the fire of his passion for interviewing brilliant people by launching The Grant Williams Podcast in various forms, including The End Game, The Super Terrific Happy Hour, and The Narrative Game. Grant has been guiding people around the fringes of ﬁnance with his regular newsletter, Things That Make You Go Hmmm…, a publication which, from humble beginnings as a daily note to a few friends and colleagues, has grown into one of the most widely read ﬁnancial publications in the world.

Ben Hunt – Author of Epsilon Theory

Ben Hunt is the creator of Epsilon Theory and inspiration behind Second Foundation Partners, which he co-founded with Rusty Guinn in June 2018. As Chief Investment Officer, Ben bears primary responsibility for determining the Company’s investment views and positioning of model portfolios. He is also the primary author of materials distributed through Epsilon Theory.

Peter McCullough – Leader in the medical response to COVID-19 in the US

Peter McCullough is an internist, cardiologist, and epidemiologist managing the cardiovascular complications of both the viral infection and the injuries developing after the COVID-19 vaccine in Dallas. Since the outset of the pandemic, Dr. McCullough has been a leader in the medical response to the COVID-19 disaster and has published “Pathophysiological Basis and Rationale for Early Outpatient Treatment of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Infection,” the first synthesis of sequenced multidrug treatment of ambulatory patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 in the American Journal of Medicine and subsequently updated in Reviews in Cardiovascular Medicine.

William D. Cohan – Author of The Last Tycoons: The Secret History of Lazard Freres & Co.

William D. Cohan is a former senior Wall Street M&A investment banker for 17 years at Lazard Frères & Co., Merrill Lynch and JPMorganChase. He is the New York Times bestselling author of three non-fiction narratives about Wall Street: Money and Power: How Goldman Sachs Came to Rule the World, House of Cards: A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street and, The Last Tycoons: The Secret History of Lazard Frères & Co., the winner of the 2007 FT/Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award.

Amy Wu – Dynamic investor and leading crypto gaming expert

Amy Wu has enjoyed being on both sides of the table as investor and operator, joining Lightspeed in 2019 as an early member of the growth team to lead the reinvestment platform and invest in growth-stage consumer and enterprise businesses. Prior to Lightspeed, Amy was an executive for several years, most recently at Discovery Inc., a global media company with 17 TV networks in 220 countries, and at NewsCred, a growth-stage marketing software company based in NYC, after starting her career at Insight Venture Partners.

Jurrien Timmer – Asset allocation expert and global macro strategist

Jurrien Timmer is the director of Global Macro at Fidelity Investments. Fidelity Investments is a leading provider of investment management, retirement planning, portfolio guidance, brokerage, benefits outsourcing and other financial products and services to more than 20 million individuals, institutions, and financial intermediaries. Jurrien has been at Fidelity for 22 years and has more than 30 years of experience in the industry.

Fred Thiel – Deep technology industry and transformational value creation expert

Fred Thiel is the CEO of Marathon Digital Holdings, a digital asset technology company that mines cryptocurrencies with a focus on the blockchain ecosystem and the generation of digital assets. He is a respected expert and frequent speaker on FinTech, digital assets, Blockchain, bitcoin, crypto mining, Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, venture capital, private equity and the digital transformations of companies and industries, providing deep technology industry expertise and strategic advice on transformational value creation – the process of generating growth and shareholder value.

John List – Economist, author and distinguished professor

Professor John A. List is the Kenneth C. Griffin Distinguished Service Professor in Economics at the University of Chicago. His research focuses on combining field experiments with economic theory to deepen our understanding of the economic science. In the early 1990s, John pioneered field experiments as a methodology for testing behavioral theories and learning about behavioral principles that are shared across different domains. He co-authored the international best seller, The Why Axis, in 2013.

Raghuram Rajan – Indian economist, finance professor and author

Raghuram Rajan is the Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at Chicago Booth. He was the 23rd Governor of the Reserve Bank of India between September 2013 and September 2016. Between 2003 and 2006, Dr. Rajan was the Chief Economist and Director of Research at the International Monetary Fund. The books he has written include The Third Pillar: How Markets and the State Leave the Community Behind, I Do What I Do: On Reform, Rhetoric, and Resolve, and Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy, for which he was awarded the Financial Times-Goldman Sachs prize for best business book in 2010.

Daniel Goleman – Author of Emotional Intellgience

Daniel Goleman is the author of the best-selling Emotional Intelligence, as well as many other works in emotional and social intelligence, leadership, and education. He is also a psychologist, former science journalist for the New York Times, and co-director of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations. He lectures frequently to professional audiences.

Ian Cassel – Full-time microcap investor and founder of MicroCapClub

Ian Cassel is a full-time microcap investor and CIO of Intelligent Fanatics Capital Management. He is the founder of MicroCapClub.com and co-founder of the IntelligentFanatics.com. Ian started investing as a teenager and learned from losing his money over and over again. Ian’s belief is the key to outsized returns is finding great companies early because all great companies started as small companies.

Alex Lieberman – America’s business barista and podcast host

Alex Lieberman is the cofounder of Morning Brew, a daily email with news regarding business, world economics, current events, and more. He is also a host of the daily journal-style podcast, Founder’s Journal. In 2019, Lieberman was on the 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 list at 25 years old with Morning Brew co-founder, Austin Rief.

Brian Lee – Revolutionary CEO and sports collector

Brian Lee is the co-founder and Managing Director of BAM Ventures and has served in this capacity since 2015. He currently serves as Founder and CEO of Arena Club, focused on sports collectibles. He also serves as a board member at the Lowell Milken Institute of Business Law and Policy at the University of California, Los Angeles and serves on the board of Brentwood School.

Bill George – Best-selling author and executive fellow at at Harvard Business School

Bill George is an executive fellow at Harvard Business School, where he was a Professor of Management Practice and Senior Fellow teaching leadership from 2004-2022. He is the author of True North: Emerging Leader Edition, True North Fieldbook: Emerging Leader Edition, Discover Your True North, The Discover Your True North Fieldbook, Authentic Leadership, True North and Finding Your True North, 7 Lessons for Leading in Crisis and True North Groups.

Ben Kovler – Philanthropist and industry thought leader

Ben Kovler is the Founder, CEO, and Chairman at Green Thumb Industries (GTI). He founded GTI in 2014 and has successfully grown it into a national cannabis consumer packaged goods company and retailer that manufactures and distributes a portfolio of branded cannabis products. He is also co-founder and CEO of Invest For Kids (IFK), an annual forum bringing together portfolio managers, family offices, and analysts to share investment ideas to benefit children in Illinois. Ben is also on the Providence St. Mel School board and the Academy for Global Citizenship.

Kirsten Green – One of the leading American venture capitalists

Combining a unique and unconventional blend of professional history and acquired investment experience, Kirsten Green launched San Francisco-based Forerunner Ventures in 2010, serving as Founder and Managing Partner. In an unpredictable consumer landscape, Kirsten’s 20+ years of evaluation and investment success stems from a combination of product savvy, consumer insight, and a thesis-driven approach that has been the basis of all her investments — from pre-revenue startups to multi-billion-dollar enterprises.

David Senra – Creator of Founders podcast

David Senra is the host of the Founders podcast, where he studies history’s greatest entrepreneurs.

Robert F. Smith – Investor, philanthropist, and believer in human potential

Robert F. Smith is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Vista Equity Partners. He directs the firm’s investment strategy, governance, and investor relations. Before Vista, he worked at Goldman Sachs in technology investment banking, facilitating mergers and acquisitions for large technology companies, including Apple and Microsoft.

Jess Lee – Former Polyvore CEO, now Sequoia Capital partner

Jess Lee is a partner at Sequoia Capital. She is also a founding member of All Raise, a non-profit dedicated to improving diversity in the tech industry. Before joining Sequoia, Jess was the CEO and co-founder of Polyvore (acquired by Yahoo in 2015). Prior to Polyvore, Jess was a product manager at Google, where she worked on Google Maps.

Alexandr Wang – One of the world’s youngest self-made billionaires

Alex Wang is the CEO and Founder of Scale AI. He was inspired to solve ML infrastructure problems and accelerate the development of AI through his work at Quora, where he worked as a technical lead. Alex worked as an algorithm developer at Hudson River Trading and a software engineer at Addepar. He attended and dropped out from MIT, studying Artificial Intelligence.

Garry Tan – YC founder, terrific hacker, and brilliant software designer

Garry Tan is the President & CEO of Y Combinator. YC has funded 90 companies worth a billion dollars or more, each at the earliest possible stage (usually a few people even before launch), and about 10 to 20 companies per year that go through the program will go on to product market fit and become a Unicorn. Over $600B in market value has been created and counting. Before becoming CEO, he was a partner at YC from 2011-2015 and built major software, including Bookface and Demo Day real-time video.

Frank Slootman – The CEO who turns ideas into jackpots

Frank Slootman currently serves as Chairman and CEO at Snowflake. Frank has over 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur and executive in the enterprise software industry. He served as CEO and President of ServiceNow from 2011 to 2017, taking the organization from around $100M in revenue, through an IPO, to $1.4B. Prior to that, Frank served as President of the Backup Recovery Systems Division at EMC following the acquisition of Data Domain Corporation/Data Domain, Inc., where he served as the Chief Executive Officer and President, leading the company through an IPO to its acquisition by EMC for $2.4B.

Orlando Bravo – The first Puerto Rican-born billionaire

Orlando Bravo is a Founder and Managing Partner of Thoma Bravo. He led Thoma Bravo’s early entry into software buyouts and built the firm into one of the top private equity firms in the world. Today, Orlando directs the firm’s strategy and investment decisions in accordance with its principles of partnership, innovation, and performance. He is also the Founder and Chairman of the Bravo Family Foundation, whose mission is to provide access and opportunities to young adults in Puerto Rico.

Roelof Botha – South African actuary, venture capitalist, and company director.

Roelof Botha is a partner at Sequoia Capital and, as of 2022, sits on the boards of MongoDB, Evernote, Bird, Ethos, Natera, Square, Unity, and Xoom. On Forbes’ Midas List, an annual ranking of venture capital professionals, he ranked 22nd in 2008, 9th in 2021, and 36th in 2022.

Sarah Friar – One of America’s self-made women in 2021

Sarah Friar is the chief executive officer of Nextdoor, the neighborhood network that connects neighborhood stakeholders, including neighbors, businesses, and public services, online and in real life to build stronger, more vibrant, and resilient neighborhoods. Prior to Nextdoor, Sarah served as chief financial officer at Square (now known as Block, Inc.). Before her tenure at Square, Sarah served as senior vice president of finance & strategy at Salesforce. Sarah also held executive roles at Goldman Sachs and leadership positions at McKinsey in both London and South Africa.

Jack Butcher – Creative director turned successful advertising agency owner

Visualize Value founder Jack Butcher worked as a creative director in advertising for years, building a name for some of the largest brands in the world. After realizing leading an agency wasn’t for him, he took a different approach, creating a startup called Visualize Value. In 18 months, Jack has grown Visualize Value into a successful business with an online audience of thousands using his courses to better themselves.

Francis X. Suarez – Mayor of Miami and President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors

Francis X. Suarez is the 33rd Mayor of the City of Miami. As the first Miami-born mayor, he is committed to working diligently to serve the residents of the community where he was born and raised. Before being elected with 86 percent support from Miami residents, Mayor Suarez served as Miami Commissioner for District 4 for eight years.

Dan Runcie – Hip-hop business executive

Dan Runcie is the founder of Trapital, a research group focused on music, media, and entertainment. Trapital assesses the deals, companies, and artists that shape culture. Trapital’s audience includes thousands of music execs, media moguls, artists, venture capitalists, and creators.

Joshua Brown – CEO and exceptional financial advisor

Josh Brown is the CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management, a New York City-based investment advisory firm managing over $2 billion for high-net-worth investors, corporate retirement plans, and foundations. He has spent his career helping people invest and manage their portfolios.

Logan Mohtashami – The chart guy and a social media star

Logan Mohtashami is a housing data analyst, financial writer, and blogger covering the U.S. economy specializing in the housing market. Logan is also a Lead Analyst for HousingWire. He has been an invited speaker to many conferences and is a frequent guest on CNBC. His astute analysis of economic data and years of direct lending experience allows him to present a unique, informed, and unbiased perspective on the financial markets.

Nick Timiraos – Wall Street Journal correspondent and best-selling author

Nick Timiraos is the chief economics correspondent for The Wall Street Journal and is based in Washington. He is responsible for covering the Federal Reserve and other major developments in U.S. economic policy. Previously, Nick covered the Treasury Department and U.S. housing and mortgage markets, including the government’s response to the foreclosure crisis and its control of finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He contributed to the Journal’s presidential election coverage in 2008 and joined the Journal in 2006. Nick is the author of “Trillion Dollar Triage,” which chronicles the U.S. economic-policy response to the Covid pandemic.

Daniel Yergin – Author, speaker, energy expert, and economic historian

Daniel Yergin is a highly respected authority on energy, international politics, and economics. He is Vice Chairman of S&P Global and chairman of CERAWeek, which CNBC has described as “the Super Bowl of world energy.” Dr. Yergin is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author.

Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran – Global energy and climate innovation editor of The Economist

Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran is the award-winning global correspondent for The Economist. He is an expert advisor to the World Economic Forum/Davos and a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He also teaches at New York University’s Stern Business School. Vijay has addressed groups from the U.S. National Governors’ Association and the U.N. General Assembly to the TED and the American Association for the Advancement of Science conferences. He is the co-author most recently of ZOOM: The Global Race to Fuel the Car of the Future, which was named a Book of the Year by the Financial Times.

Jules Polonetsky – Lawyer and internet privacy expert

Jules Polonetsky is CEO of the Future of Privacy Forum, a catalyst for privacy leadership and scholarship, advancing principled data practices. Jules previous roles have included serving as Chief Privacy Officer at AOL and before that at DoubleClick, as Consumer Affairs Commissioner for New York City, as an elected New York State Legislator and as a congressional staffer, and as an attorney. He has served on the boards of a number of privacy and consumer protection organizations. From 2011-2012, Jules served on the Department of Homeland Security Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee.

Beena Ammanath – Global thought leader in AI ethics

Beena Ammanath is an award-winning senior technology executive with extensive experience in AI and digital transformation. Her career has spanned leadership roles in e-commerce, finance, marketing, telecom, retail, software products, service, and industrial domains. She is also the author of the groundbreaking book Trustworthy AI.

Greg Lavender – Chief Technology Officer of Intel

Greg Lavender is Senior Vice President, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), and General Manager of the Software and Advanced Technology Group (SATG) at Intel Corporation. Lavender joined Intel in June 2021 from VMware, where he served as senior vice president and CTO. He has over 35 years of experience in software and hardware product engineering and advanced research and development.

Gajen Kandiah – CEO of Hitachi Vantara

Gajen Kandiah is the Chief Executive Officer of Hitachi Vantara, the digital infrastructure, data management and analytics, and digital solutions subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd. Concurrent to his position as CEO, he is the President of Hitachi Digital LLC, a new company dedicated to formulating and driving aligned strategies across Hitachi’s global bases in the IT, energy, transportation, and industrial fields to accelerate Digital Transformation (DX) business growth. Additionally, Gajen serves as the chief digital transformation officer of Hitachi’s Digital Systems & Services Business.

Caroline Wong – Chief cybersecurity leader

Caroline Wong is the Chief Strategy Officer at Cobalt. As CSO, Caroline leads the Security, Community, and People teams at Cobalt. She brings a proven communications and cybersecurity background and experience delivering global programs to the role. Caroline’s close and practical information security knowledge stems from her broad experience as a Digital consultant, a Symantec product manager, and day-to-day leadership roles at eBay and Zynga. Caroline also hosts the Humans of InfoSec podcast, teaches cybersecurity courses on LinkedIn Learning, and has authored the popular textbook Security Metrics, A Beginner’s Guide.

Shaan Puri – A multi-hyphenate entrepreneur, investor, and creator

Shaan Puri has two current jobs as Senior Director of Product, Mobile Gaming & Emerging Markets at Twitch and Senior Director of Product, Esports at Twitch. Shaan Puri has had three past jobs, including CEO at Monkey Inferno.

Paul English – Active angel investor focused on seed-stage consumer software

Paul English is a tech entrepreneur and activist who cofounded Kayak, Lola, Boston Venture Studio, and several other companies and nonprofits. He is also known for founding King Boston, a social justice program dedicated to the work of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King and their time in Boston.

Sahil Bloom – Inspirational writer and captivating content creator

Sahil Bloom is a successful entrepreneur and owner of SRB Holdings, a personal holding company currently comprised of ten cash-flowing businesses, and the Managing Partner of SRB Ventures, a $10 million venture investment firm committed to investing in and accelerating the most compelling startups in the world. Prior to launching SRB Ventures in January 2022, Sahil was an early-stage investor in 40+ startups across the technology landscape, including multiple unicorns.

Kevin Rose – Serial entrepreneur and technology investor

Kevin Rose served as the CEO of Proof and a partner at True Ventures. Previously, as an entrepreneur, he founded the social news site Digg, the intermittent fasting app Zero, and the meditation app Oak. Kevin also served as the CEO of Hodinkee and a general partner at Google Ventures. He has been featured on the cover of Inc. Magazine, BusinessWeek, and RedHerring. Kevin was named a “Top 25 Angel Investors” by Bloomberg, “Top 25 Web Celebrities” by Forbes, “Top 35 Innovators” by MIT, and “Top 25 Most Influential People on the Web” by Time and BusinessWeek magazines.

Carolyn Childers – Phenomenal CEO, an experienced leader, and operator

Carolyn Childers is the co-founder and CEO of Chief, the world’s most powerful network of executive women. Prior to founding Chief, Carolyn was SVP of Operations at Handy, then led the launch of Soap.com and acted as GM through its acquisition by Amazon. Previously, Childers held strategy and business development roles at Victoria’s Secret and Avon Products. She began her career in finance, working in investment banking at Deutsche Bank. Carolyn was named to Inc.’s Female Founders 100 List.

Neil Patel – Top influencer on the web and an online marketing expert

Neil Patel is a New York Times Bestselling author. The Wall Street Journal calls him a top influencer on the web, Forbes says he is one of the top 10 marketers, and Entrepreneur Magazine says he created one of the 100 most brilliant companies. He was recognized as a top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 30 by President Obama and a top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 35 by the United Nations.

Neil Patel’s MWIE Episode

Ryan Breslow – The brazen founder and former CEO of Bolt

Ryan Breslow is the founder and Chairman of the Board of Bolt, the technology company democratizing commerce by bringing lightning-fast, one-click checkout to the world. Together with Bolt, he launched the Conscious Culture movement in 2021 to open source all of Bolt’s cultural guidelines with the rest of the internet, inspiring other companies to bridge humanity with execution in the workplace.

Alex Hormozi – First-generation Iranian American entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist

Alex Hormozi is an American entrepreneur. He started as a management consultant in the public sector, then left to pursue a fitness career, starting his first gym at age 23. He scaled his small gym chain in three years from 0 to 6 locations. Over the next two years, he and his wife started flying around the country, turning gyms around.

Val Katayev – Serial entrepreneur with $100M+ in profits and exits

Val Katayev founded and led four successful startups to hyper-growth centered around digital media in the display, mobile, music, search, and data. Two of these tech companies, ToneMedia (now Bandsintown Amplified) and ToneFuse, were acquired by the Lagardère Group. In addition to success in tech, Val is a pioneer in the Marketplace Lending space as he later partnered with Prime Meridian Capital Management to help the firm grow its AUM from $5M to $500M in 3 years. These days Val is focusing on Jocalio, a startup that aims to re-imagine how the $180B jewelry industry operates.

Noah Kagan – Taco-loving Chief Sumo at AppSumo

After graduating from UC Berkeley, Noah Kagan became employee #30 at Facebook, where he invented status updates, developed the Facebook ads platform, and worked on the first version of Facebook’s mobile app. Since 2010, Noah has been Chief Sumo of Sumo Group, a $70 million company offering e-commerce and marketing tools that help millions of small businesses grow their audiences and reach more customers. It’s a tool for entrepreneurs to overcome the self-created obstacles that hinder their success.

Sam Parr – Serial entrepreneur and business media pioneer

In 2016, Sam Parr founded The Hustle, a business news media company that started in his kitchen with just $12 and grew to eight figures in revenue. After four successful years, he sold The Hustle to HubSpot, a publicly traded company. Now operating as HubSpot Media, The Hustle reaches 3 million readers daily, employs a team of nearly 100, and has been the launchpad for dozens of its staff to find their own media companies and newsletters. Sam hosts the popular business podcast, My First Million and continues to start and sell companies. He also co-founded Hampton, a highly vetted community for entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs, and teaches people to write better through his platform, Copy That.

Rob Dyrdek – Prolific athlete, entertainer, and serial entrepreneur

Rob Dyrdek is a serial entrepreneur, media magnate, and founder and CEO of Dyrdek Machine. Rob became a professional skateboarder at the age of 16, started his first company at 18, and over the course of a 25-year career, became one of the sport’s most prominent ambassadors: Face of a $500 million apparel and footwear brand, 37 signature shoes and 200 signature boards, and 24 Guinness World Records to his name. During that time, he also founded thirteen brands of his own—including Street League Skateboarding, the world’s first true professional skateboarding league—and even immortalized his childhood skate gang with Wild Grinders, a Nickelodeon cartoon, and accompanying toy line.

Peter H. Diamandis – An international pioneer in innovation, incentive competitions, and commercial space

In the field of Innovation, Dr. Peter H. Diamandis is the Chairman and CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation, best known for its $10 million Ansari X PRIZE for private spaceflight. He is also the Co-Founder and Vice-Chairman of Human Longevity Inc. (HLI), a genomics and cell therapy-based diagnostic and therapeutic company focused on extending the healthy human lifespan. Peter is also the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Singularity University. This graduate-level Silicon Valley institution studies exponentially growing technologies and their ability to transform industries and solve humanity’s grand challenges. In commercial space, Peter is Co-Founder/Co-Chairman of Planetary Resources, a company designing spacecraft to enable the detection and mining of asteroids for precious materials. He is the New York Times Bestselling author of Abundance – The Future Is Better Than You Think. Abundance was #1 on Amazon and #2 on New York Times.

Brianne Kimmel – Venture capitalist, published author, and expert on the future of work

Brianne Kimmel is one of the angel investors and operators who started their funds during 2020’s rise of solo general partners. She is Worklife’s founder and managing director, a future-of-work-focused venture capital firm. In its first two years in business, Worklife has backed nine unicorns, including Webflow, Tonal, Hopin, Clubhouse, Public, Deel, and Pipe.

Andrew Gazdecki – Your expert start-up guy

Andrew Gazdecki is a four-time startup founder with three-time exits, former CRO, and founder of MicroAcquire. Andrew has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, Inc. Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine, and prominent industry blogs such as Mashable, TechCrunch, and VentureBeat.

Dharmesh Shah – Founder and CTO of HubSpot

Dharmesh Shah is the co-founder and CTO of HubSpot. Before founding HubSpot in 2006, Dharmesh was the founder and CEO of Pyramid Digital Solutions, which was acquired by SunGard Data Systems in 2005. In addition to co-authoring “Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs,” Dharmesh founded and writes for OnStartups.com – a top-ranking startup blog and community with over 700,000 members.

Scott Belsky – Product and design obsessive, founder, author, and investor

Scott Belsky is an entrepreneur, author, and investor and is Adobe’s Chief Product Officer and Executive Vice President of Creative Cloud. Scott oversees all of the product and engineering for Creative Cloud, as well as design for Adobe. In 2006, Scott founded Behance, the leading online platform for the creative industry to showcase and discover the creative world, and served as CEO until Adobe acquired Behance in 2012. After the acquisition, Scott helped reboot Adobe’s mobile products and services for Creative Cloud while leading Behance. Behance now has over 30M members.

Dan Held – Marketing leader, advisor, and leading Bitcoin educator

Dan Held is a 9-year Marketing leader, a Bitcoin educator, and a Marketing advisor at Trust Machines. He was formerly the Director of Growth Marketing at Kraken, one of the world’s biggest crypto exchanges. In between his time in crypto, he was on the Growth Product and Marketing teams at Uber. In his free time, he has become one of the most well-known educators of Bitcoin, with over 750,000 followers on social media. He was part of the original 2013 crypto meetup group in SF, comprised of the founders of Coinbase, Ripple, Kraken, and others.

Morgan Housel – Author of The Psychology of Money

Morgan Housel is a partner at The Collaborative Fund. His book The Psychology of Money has sold over three million copies and has been translated into 53 languages. He is a two-time winner of the Best in Business Award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers and winner of the New York Times Sidney Award. In 2022, MarketWatch named him one of the 50 most influential market people. He serves on the board of directors at Markel.

Morgan Housel’s MWIE Episode

Michael Kitces – The financial planning nerd

Michael E. Kitces, the Head of Planning Strategy for Buckingham Wealth Partners, a private wealth management firm located in St Louis, Missouri, oversees approximately $50 billion of client assets. In addition, he is the co-founder of the XY Planning Network, AdvicePay, fpPathfinder, and New Planner Recruiting, former practitioner editor of the Journal of Financial Planning, and the publisher of the e-newsletter The Kitces Report and the popular financial planning industry blog Nerd’s Eye View through his website www.Kitces.com, dedicated to advancing knowledge in financial planning.

Brian Feroldi – Financial educator, YouTuber, and author

Brian Feroldi is a financial educator, YouTuber, and author. His career mission statement is “to demystify finance.” He loves to help other people do better with their money, especially their investments. He has written over 3,000 articles on stocks, investing, and personal finance for the Motley Fool. Brian’s best-selling book “Why Does The Stock Market Go Up?” was published in 2022.

Brian Feroldi’s MWIE Episode

Jean Chatzky – Journalist, author, finance ambassador, and CEO

Jean Chatzky is an award-winning personal finance journalist, AARP ambassador, and best-selling author. She is the CEO of HerMoney Media, a multimedia company she co-founded in 2018. Her most recent book, “Women With Money,” was published in 2019. She also wrote Operation Money, a free financial guidebook for Military Families at www.jeanchatzky.com.

Ted Seides – Podcaster and industry expert

Ted Seides founded Capital Allocators, an ecosystem that includes podcasts, gatherings, and advisory. Ted launched the Capital Allocators podcast in 2017. The show reached 13.5 million downloads in December 2022 and has been recognized as the top institutional investing podcast. Alongside the podcast, Ted created Capital Allocators Summits with friend and industry veteran Rahul Moodgal to bring together industry leaders to connect and learn. In March 2021, Ted published his second book, Capital Allocators: How the World’s elite money managers lead and Invest, which distills vital lessons from the first 150 episodes of the podcast. In October 2022, he was honored as Citizen of the Year at With Intelligence’s inaugural Allocator Prizes.

Ted Seides’ MWIE Episode

Sallie Krawcheck – Leading digital financial advisor for women

Sallie Krawcheck is the CEO and co-founder of Ellevest, a digital investment platform for women. She is the chair of Ellevate Network, a many-thousand-strong global professional woman’s network. She is also the chair of the Pax Ellevate Global Women’s Index Fund, which invests in top-rated companies for advancing women. Sallie is the author of Own It: The Power of Women at Work, released in January 2017.

Kathleen McCarthy Baldwin – The real estate girl boss

Kathleen McCarthy Baldwin is the Global Co-Head of Blackstone Real Estate. Blackstone Real Estate is an industry leader in opportunistic, core plus, and debt investing across North America, Europe, and Asia. Kathleen focuses on driving performance and growth for Blackstone’s Real Estate business. Before joining Blackstone in 2010, Kathleen worked at Goldman Sachs, focusing on investments for the Real Estate Principal Investment Area.

Luis Berruga – Expert and leading global provider of ETFs

Luis Berruga is the Chief Executive Officer of Global X ETFs, a New York-based global provider of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) with over one million investors across more than 90 countries. Luis joined Global X in 2014 as Chief Operating Officer & Chief Financial Officer, and in 2018, he was named Chief Executive Officer. Under his leadership, Global X ETFs’ assets under management grew from $8bn to approximately $40bn, becoming a global leader in the ETF industry and opening offices in Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Australia.

Arnold Schwarzenegger – Bodybuilder, Conan, Terminator, and former Governor of California

Arnold Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-born American bodybuilder, film actor, and politician who rose to fame through roles in blockbuster action movies and later served as governor of California from 2003 to 2011. Schwarzenegger was nicknamed the “Austrian Oak” in his bodybuilding days, “Arnie” or “Schwarzy” during his acting career, and “the Governator” (a portmanteau of “Governor” and “Terminator”) during his political career.

Bill Gross – Founder of technology incubator Idealab and 100 companies in the last 30 years

Bill Gross founded Idealab in March 1996. Bill is a lifelong entrepreneur, starting his first solar business in high school. After graduating from the California Institute of Technology, Bill started GNP Development, Inc., which made a natural language product for Lotus 1-2-3 called HAL. In 1985, Lotus Development Corporation acquired GNP. In 1991, Bill started Knowledge Adventure, an educational software publisher that was eventually sold to Havas/Vivendi. Bill serves on the boards of directors of numerous companies and is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Caltech and the Art Center College of Design.

Sukhinder Singh Cassidy – CEO, digital executive, and entrepreneur with decades-long experience

Sukhinder Singh Cassidy is a leading digital executive and entrepreneur with over twenty-five years of leadership experience scaling and founding companies, including Google, Amazon, Yodlee, Joyus, and Polyvore. She is the founder and Chairman of the Boardlist, a premium talent marketplace for diverse executives. She most recently served as the President of StubHub, the leading global consumer ticketing marketplace for live entertainment.

Soraya Darabi – Founder, investor, and believer in ideas that innovate

Soraya Darabi is a General Partner and founder of TMV, an early-stage venture firm investing in purposeful startups reimagining the future. TMV backs start-up companies focused on ideas that will reshape industries or inspire new ones. Soraya was a two-time host of “Business Schooled – a Podcast by Synchrony,” a “Top 20 Business Podcast” on Apple – for which she traveled the United States interviewing persevering founders who have made it past their startup days.

Jack Schwager – Recognized industry expert on futures and hedge funds

Jack D. Schwager is a partner and co-founder of FundSeeder.com. He is the author of the iconic Market Wizards series in which he interviewed about 70 trading legends of our time. His most recent work in the series is Unknown Market Wizards, published in November 2020. Previous books in the series include Market Wizards (1989), The New Market Wizards (1992), Stock Market Wizards (2001), Hedge Fund Market Wizards (2012), and The Little Book of Market Wizards (2014). His other books include the revised edition of A Complete Guide to the Futures Markets (2017). Market Sense and Nonsense (2013), Getting Started in Technical Analysis (1999), and the three-volume Schwager on Futures series (1995-96).

Jack Schwager’s MWIE Episode

Campbell Harvey – Professor, researcher, and mentor that nurtures the young minds

Campbell R. Harvey is a Professor of Finance at Duke University and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He served as Editor of The Journal of Finance from 2006 to 2012 and as the 2016 President of the American Finance Association. He holds a Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Chicago. Professor Harvey has served as Partner and Senior Advisor to Research Affiliates, LLC, and Investment Strategy Advisor to Man Group, contributing to research and product design.

Mat Ishbia – CEO and driver of passion in United Wholesale Mortgage

Mat Ishbia is the chief executive of United Wholesale Mortgage, a wholesale lender in the US mortgage market. The Pontiac, Michigan-based firm, underwrites loans, provides closing documentation services, and became publicly traded in 2020. He is also the lead owner of the NBA team, the Phoenix Suns.

Ron “Omani” Carson – Founder and philanthropist, helping people achieve financial success

Ron Carson is the founder and CEO of Carson Group, which serves financial advisors and investors through its businesses, including Carson Wealth, Carson Coaching, and Carson Partners. Ron is a nationally acclaimed New York Times bestselling author and has shared his proven principles through several books, including 2005’s Tested in the Trenches, 2007’s Avalanche, 2012’s second edition of Tested in the Trenches, 2016’s The Sustainable Edge, and most recently Proven in the Trenches: 11 Principles to Maximize Advisor Value and Transform Your Firm’s Future, a follow-up to his 2012 book in which advisors receive an actionable game plan touching on the core dimensions of a highly functioning financial services firm.

Cristiano R. Amon – CEO and leader, pushing the limits of technologies

Cristiano Amon is President and Chief Executive Officer of Qualcomm Incorporated and serves on the company’s board of directors. Amon assumed the role of CEO on June 30, 2021. Before Qualcomm, Amon served as chief technical officer for Vésper, a wireless operator in Brazil, and held leadership positions at NEC, Ericsson, and Velocom.

Hadi Partovi – Investor, adviser, and CEO empowering education for the world

Hadi Partovi is a tech entrepreneur, investor, and CEO of the education nonprofit Code.org. In 2013 Hadi and his twin brother Ali launched the education nonprofit Code.org, which Hadi continues to lead full-time as CEO. Hadi has been an early advisor or investor at many tech startups, including Facebook, Dropbox, Airbnb, and Uber. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Axon and MNTN.

Jim Cramer – The Mad Money man and investment pro

Jim Cramer is an American television personality known for his investment advice show Mad Money. He serves as the viewer’s personal guide through the confusing jungle of Wall Street investing. Jim also writes market commentary for TheStreet’s Real Money premium service and participates in video segments on TheStreet TV. He also runs Action Alerts PLUS, a charitable trust portfolio.

Jonas Prising – CEO and global leader of innovation in the world of workforce

Jonas Prising was named ManpowerGroup Chairman in December 2015 and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in May 2014. He leads all aspects of ManpowerGroup’s $21 billion business in 80 countries and territories worldwide. A recognized expert on the labor market and world of work trends, Jonas regularly speaks at conferences and summits globally and provides commentary on jobs and employment trends for media. He is actively engaged in the World Economic Forum, including as a Steward of the Future of the Education, Gender, and Work Global System, Co-Chair of the Regional Business Council on Europe, and CEO Champion of the Digital Transformation Initiative.

David Edelman – Expert in marketing and building consultancy businesses in digital and marketing transformation

David Edelman spent over 30 years as a chief marketing officer at Aetna and CVS. He built consultancy businesses in digital and marketing transformation with McKinsey & Company, Digitas, and the Boston Consulting Group. He now teaches marketing at Harvard Business School and is an advisor to top executives in startups, private equity, and larger enterprises. Having driven large-scale change from both the client and client-service side, he is well-suited to help CXOs shape their strategic direction, build their teams’ capabilities, and become more digitally agile.

Aaron Hurst – Cross-sector CEO, founder, and advocate of the work fulfillment and purpose mindset

Aaron Hurst is a social systems entrepreneur and a leading expert on the science of purpose and fulfillment at work. He is the founding CEO of Imperative, a venture-backed start-up that developed the first employee purpose profiling technology, enabling hundreds of thousands of people to discover and own their purpose at work. In 2020, he re-launched the company, creating the first enterprise peer coaching platform, which has become a critical way to connect and develop employees in the hybrid workplace. By accelerating trust through meaningful conversation, the platform is emerging as one of the most promising solutions for building belonging and breaking down barriers inside companies and society.

Randi Zuckerberg – CEO, founder, and author, bridging the gap between arts and technology

Randi Zuckerberg is passionate about helping families navigate our digital world. Through her company, Zuckerberg Media, she has created award-winning content and experiences that educate families and bring issues around digital literacy and safety to light. She is the best-selling author of four books, producer of multiple television shows and theater productions, and hosts a weekly radio show on SiriusXM. Randi has been recognized with an Emmy nomination, two Tony awards, a Drama Desk Award, and a Kidscreen Award. Before founding her own company, Randi was an early employee at Facebook, where she is best known for creating Facebook Live, now used by more than two billion people around the globe.

Dan Khabie – World-class strategist and digital industry leader bringing waves across the globe

Dan Khabie is the global and North American CEO of Mirum, a global digital agency. As CEO, he drives Mirum’s overall growth strategy, including P&L responsibility, managing key client relationships, and aligning resources to connect teams and serve clients globally in 27 countries, with over 50 offices and 2,500 professionals. Dan was co-founder and CEO of Digitaria, one of 11 agencies that formed to become Mirum in 2015.

Ann Handley – Wall Street Journal bestselling author and renowned speaker, pioneer of digital marketing

Cited in Forbes as the most influential woman in Social Media and recognized by ForbesWoman as one of the top 20 women bloggers, Ann Handley is the Chief Content Officer of MarketingProfs. This training company empowers marketers internationally with the skills they need to drive success at their companies. Ann is a speaker, author, and member of the LinkedIn Influencer program. She is the author of the Wall Street Journal best-seller on business writing, “Everybody Writes,” and the co-author of the best-selling book on content marketing, “Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business.” A pioneer in digital marketing, Ann is the co-founder of ClickZ.com, which was one of the first sources of digital marketing news and commentary.

Mickey McManus – Pioneer in pervasive computing, collaborative human/machine innovation, human-centered design, and education

Mickey McManus is a senior advisor and leadership coach at BCG and research fellow emeritus at Autodesk’s Office of the CTO. He holds 12 patents in connected products, vehicles, and services. Mickey co-authored Trillions: Thriving in the Emerging Information Ecology (Wiley 2012). Trillions were awarded the Axiom Gold Award for best business book about technology and the Carnegie Science Award in the Science Communicator category.

Reid Hoffman – An exemplar of Silicon Valley at its best and former executive chairman and co-founder of LinkedIn

Reid Hoffman is the host of Masters of Scale. A Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor, he’s known for his spot-on insights on how to scale a startup. He was an accomplished entrepreneur and executive who built many of today’s leading consumer technology businesses, including LinkedIn and PayPal. As an investor, he has been instrumental in the success of iconic companies such as Facebook and Airbnb and has helped fast-growing startups like Aurora and Convoy get to scale. He’s a partner at Greylock, co-founder of LinkedIn, and co-author of the best-selling Blitzscaling and The Startup of You.

Bob Sutton – Organizational psychologist, Stanford professor, New York Times bestselling author, and speaker

Robert Sutton is a Professor of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford, where he co-founded the Stanford Technology Ventures Program and Institute of Design (“the d school”). He studies leadership, organizational change, innovation, scaling, and workplace dynamics. His next book (with Huggy Rao) will be “The Friction Project: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder,” published in early 2024. Sutton has published over 200 articles in academic and popular outlets, along with seven books.

Sara Blakely – Self-made billionaire and leader of Spanx revolution

Sara Blakely is the founder of Spanx, a brand of slimming undergarments launched in 2000. Sara invented Spanx in the late 1990s despite having no fashion, retail, or business leadership experience. Today, she advises small businesses as a shark on Shark Tank. In addition to her entrepreneurship, Sara engages in philanthropy through the Spanx by Sara Blakely Foundation, which she established in 2006. Sara also donated to the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls and, in 2013, became the first woman to join Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett’s “The Giving Pledge.”

Colin Shaw – Best-selling author and global influencer, forerunner of customer satisfaction

Colin Shaw is a trailblazer in customer experience and marketing, with a vast following of over 295,000 followers on LinkedIn and numerous accolades to his name. He is an official influencer, one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices, and is recognized by LinkedIn as one of the World’s Top 150 Business Influencers. With over 80,000 subscribers to his LinkedIn newsletter and seven best-selling books, Colin is a respected authority on customers, marketing, and business strategy. Colin co-hosts the highly successful ‘The Intuitive Customer’ podcast, which is in the top 2% of all podcasts with over half a million downloads.

Tiffany R. Warren – Emmy nominee and champion of diversity and inclusion

As Executive VP, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer for Sony Music Group, Tiffany R. Warren expanded equity and inclusion activities and policies across all Sony Music Group’s (SMG) global recorded music, publishing, and corporate divisions. Recognized as a leader in diversity, Tiffany is a talent strategist with 24+ years of championing diverse professionals in the creative industries. In 2005, she founded ADCOLOR, which launched the ADCOLOR Conference, Awards, FUTURES program, and ADCOLOR in Music. As President of ADCOLOR, she has been widely recognized for the progress and direction the creative industries have taken around diversity, equity & inclusion.

Clara Shih – Investor and CEO leading the world into AI future

Clara Shih is the CEO of Salesforce AI. In this role, she oversees artificial intelligence efforts across the company, including product, go-to-market, growth, adoption, and ecosystem for Einstein GPT, the world’s #1 AI for CRM. A digital pioneer, Clara has been named one of Fortune’s “40 under 40” and “Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs,” Fast Company’s “Most Influential People in Technology,” and a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum. Clara is a member of the Starbucks board of directors and serves as Executive Chair of Hearsay Systems, a privately held digital software firm she founded in 2009.

Hunter Walk – Venture capitalist championing growth of the bottoms-up economy

Hunter Walk is a Co-founder and Partner at Homebrew, a seed-stage venture fund investing in mission-driven founders seeking to enable the bottoms-up economy – helping businesses, developers, and individuals drive economic growth and innovation through more straightforward, cheaper, and more direct access to technology, information, and customers. Before venture, Hunter was a Director of Products at Google, where he led consumer product management at YouTube, starting when Google acquired it.

Steve Faktor – Author and CEO innovating the digital commerce world

Steve Faktor is an innovator, futurist, and digital commerce expert. He is the Managing Director of IdeaFaktory, which helps companies accelerate growth by partnering with top startups, developing innovations, and restructuring for growth. As a senior executive at American Express, Citi, and MasterCard, Steve has created several $100M+ businesses and deployed multiple enterprise innovation programs. He is the author of Econovation, which critics describe as “a fascinating, erudite, bitingly funny, well researched, and…important book“ about capitalizing on the end of consumerism and rise of ‘producerism.’

Erica Ariel Fox – Best-selling author and leadership advisor, campaigner of winning from within

Erica Ariel Fox is the New York Times Bestselling author of Winning From Within: A Breakthrough Method for Leading, Living, and Lasting Change. She teaches negotiation at Harvard Law School, where she began teaching in 1996. A highly sought-after advisor, Erica works with senior leaders around the world with her partners at Mobius Executive Leadership, and she’s also a Senior Advisor to McKinsey Leadership Development. Mixing nearly two decades of experience with business leaders and a personal touch, Erica brings a unique voice to the conversation about leading wisely and living well.

Jennifer Morgan – Executive of an asset management company and supporter of gender equality

Jennifer Morgan is the former Co-Chief Executive Officer at SAP SE. She went from head of regulated businesses at SAP to overseeing the Americas, Japan, and Asia Pacific in just five years. With her emphasis on developing a diverse workforce, SAP North America has been recognized as a leader in gender equality by the World Economic Forum. The first American woman to sit on SAP’s executive board, Morgan is credited with closing SAP North America’s gender pay gap.

Matthew Bishop – Sought-after expert in philanthropy, advisor, and journalist

Matthew Bishop is a nonresident senior fellow in the Center for Sustainable Development, housed within the Global Economy and Development program at the Brookings Institution. He is also a founder and board member of the Social Progress Imperative, which publishes the Social Progress Index. He was previously managing director of the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center, following a 25-year career as a writer, editor, and conference curator at The Economist, including as the magazine’s Global Business Editor, New York Bureau Chief, Wall Street Editor, and Economics Correspondent.

Justin Welsh – The diversified solopreneur helping out one-person businesses thrive

Justin Welsh is a former tech executive turned entrepreneur. He coaches SaaS founders and sales leaders to accelerate recurring revenue toward $50M+ and has worked extensively with no-code tools to build businesses. Justin spent the last decade building two $50M+ ARR companies, teams of 150+ people, and raising over $300M in venture capital. Then, in 2019, he walked away from my executive job at a high-growth startup to build his portfolio of one-person businesses.

Nick Huber – Young entrepreneur scaling the concept of self-storage facilities

Nick Huber is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and content creator focused on real estate and small business. Nick has co-founded six companies in the last nine months, including RE Cost Set, RecruitJet, Titan Risk, Blue Key Capital, Tax Credit Hunter, and WebRun Labs. His primary business, Bolt Storage, owns 1.8M sqft of self-storage facilities across 62 locations in 11 states. Nick has published over 400 podcast episodes, 200+ articles, and thousands of tweets. Through content, he openly shares his philosophy on life and business while building a diverse portfolio of sweaty startups in real time.

Gary Swart – Tech investor and former executive breaking boundaries in the digital workforce

Gary Swart is a partner investing in technology and healthcare companies out of our San Francisco office. Previously, Gary was the CEO of oDesk (now UpWork, NASDAQ; UPWK), the world’s largest online workplace. His commentary has appeared in various publications, including Forbes, TechCrunch, and The Washington Post. He’s appeared on TV and radio outlets, including CNBC, BBC, Bloomberg TV, National Public Radio (NPR), and the Fox Business Network. In addition, Gary is a mentor and coach at several accelerators, including Alchemist and StartX.

Micky Onvural – Visionary executive helping people achieve financial freedom

Micky Onvural is Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, responsible for leading a global marketing and communications team charged with expanding awareness of TIAA and its dedication to providing lifetime income and improving clients’ experience through digital-first solutions. Before joining TIAA, Micky served as CEO of e-commerce menswear company Bonobos. With over 20 years of experience as a marketing, product development, and business strategy leader, she has held senior leadership roles at eBay, Trulia, and Kellogg’s. Micky has earned numerous industry awards for innovative marketing and branding campaigns merging physical and digital to create immersive experiences.

Jeff Weiner – Executive chairman of LinkedIn and at the forefront of connecting the global workforce

Jeff Weiner is the executive chairman of LinkedIn, where he continues to help LinkedIn realize its vision of creating economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce through mentorship, coaching, and advising current leadership. In addition to his ongoing work at LinkedIn, Jeff is the founding partner of Next Play Ventures, where he’s focused on investing in and coaching early-stage start-ups and growth-stage companies. He is also a founding LP and serves on the Investment Committee of Concrete Rose Capital, an early-stage venture fund focused on investing in diverse founders and start-ups serving underserved communities and building various teams. Jeff is also the co-founder of The Compassion Project, whose mission is to ensure compassion is taught in every elementary school in the U.S.

Tom Monahan – President of the innovative educational institution remaining true to its mission

Thomas L. Monahan III is president and chief executive officer of DeVry University. He is responsible for articulating the University’s vision, mission, and values with internal and external stakeholders and supporting and enhancing the institution’s academic mission and overall operations. Before joining DeVry, Monahan spent over two decades as a leader, CEO, and Chairman of CEB, a best practice insights and technology company. Before joining CEB, Monahan worked with Deloitte, the Committee for Economic Development, and Andersen Consulting.

Sarah Murray – Advocate and writer championing sustainability and philanthropy

Sarah Murray is a specialist writer on sustainable development, healthcare, and philanthropy, and a non-fiction author. A long-time Financial Times contributor and former FT staff journalist, she also writes features, research reports, and white papers for the Economist Group and universities, companies, and foundations. She is a LinkedIn Influencer. In 2014, Sarah was awarded a Boehm Media Fellowship. In 2009, she was awarded a fellowship at Yaddo, the leading American artists’ residency. In 2008, Sarah’s book Moveable Feasts was selected by JPMorgan Private Bank as one of its ten summer “must read” books.

Tom Gonser – Founder of DocuSign and frontrunner of innovation in the digital times

Tom Gonser is a General Partner and an entrepreneurial executive with a strong track record in technology leadership and innovation with more than 15 years of experience participating on boards of directors of fast-growing companies. Before joining SPV in 2017, Tom was DocuSign’s founder and chief strategy officer, The Global Standard for eSignature. He began his career at Apple Computer, Wildfire Communications, McCaw Cellular, and AT&T Wireless, then launched and ran several companies focused on SaaS, Financial Services, and GPS Technology and experienced in corporate development, raising venture capital, strategic business planning, M&A, international business expansion, and business model development.

Angela Duckworth – Co-founder and philanthropist creating impact in the lives of children

Angela Duckworth is co-founder, chief scientist, and a board member of Character Lab, a nonprofit whose mission is to advance scientific insights that help children thrive. She is also the Rosa Lee and Egbert Chang Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, faculty co-director of the Penn-Wharton Behavior Change For Good Initiative, and Wharton People Analytics faculty co-director. A 2013 MacArthur Fellow, Angela has advised the White House, the World Bank, NBA and NFL teams, and Fortune 500 CEOs.

John Chen – Tech CEO pioneering and reinventing how the world connects

John Chen is Executive Chairman of BlackBerry’s Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer. He is a distinguished and proven leader in the technology industry. Before joining BlackBerry, he served as Chairman and CEO of Sybase Inc. from 1997 for 15 years. He also previously held executive positions at Siemens Nixdorf, Pyramid Technology Corp., Unisys, and Burroughs Corp, where he started his engineering career. John served on the board of directors for The Walt Disney Company and Wells Fargo. He is active in the not-for-profit community and is a Caltech trustee, a CFR member, a national trustee of The First Tee, and Governor of the San Francisco Symphony.

Ray Chambers – Humanitarian and ambassador making the world a better place

Ray Chambers is the chairman of The MCJ Amelior Foundation. He is the founding Chairman of the Points of Light Foundation and co-founder, with Colin Powell, of America’s Promise – The Alliance for Youth. He also co-founded the National Mentoring Partnership, is the Founding Chairman of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, the former Chairman of Wesray Capital Corporation, which he co-founded with William E. Simon, and is currently Chair of Wesray Social Investments. Ray is the co-founder of Malaria No More. He also Chairs the Global Health Alliance, is a Board Member and Chair of the Executive Committee of the Clinton Health Access Initiative, and is a member of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Communication Advisory Board and Board of Harvard University’s Defeating Malaria: From the Genes to the Globe Initiative. He also serves on the Board of JUST Capital.

Christina Farr – Health-tech investor supporting tech disruptors around the globe

Christina Farr is a San Francisco-based health-tech investor. She’s a principal at OMERS Ventures based in the Bay Area. Previously, she was a health-tech reporter and on-air contributor for CNBC, Fast Company, and Reuters News. She was raised in London, UK, and received graduate degrees from University College London and Stanford University.

Manny Chirico – Chairman that empowers people through fashion and lifestyle

Manny Chirico is Chairman of PVH Corp., owner of an iconic family of brands, including Calvin Klein TOMMY HILFIGER, Van Heusen, ARROW, Warner’s, and IZOD. Manny has been with PVH for over 26 years, serving as CEO from 2006 to January 2021 and Chairman since 2007. Under his leadership, PVH has become one of the world’s largest and most admired fashion and lifestyle companies, reaching $9.9 billion in annual revenues in 2019 and 40,000 associates operating in over 40 countries.

Daniel Solove – Law professor and trusted authority in privacy law

One of the world’s leading experts in privacy law, Daniel Solove, is the author of more than ten books and 100+ articles. He has published books with Oxford University Press, Harvard University Press, and Yale University Press. He is the #1 most cited law professor born after 1970, the #1 most cited law professor in the law and technology field, and the #2 most downloaded legal academic on SSRN. Daniel founded two companies, one that provides privacy training to organizations and another that involves education, events, and certification to privacy lawyers and professionals. He founded the Privacy Law Scholars Conference, the largest and leading academic conference in privacy law. He was a co-reporter for the ALI’s Principles of Law, Data Privacy.

Jason Hirschhorn – CEO curating ideas for the curious minds

Jason Hirschhorn is the Founder and serves as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Curator at Redef. He also is the Founder and served as Chief Digital Officer at Mischief New Media. He served as Chief Digital Officer at MTV Networks. He served on the Board of Directors at Pandora Radio. He joined Sling Media in December 2006 to preside over the newly created Sling Media Entertainment Group. He has served as an Advisor at Greycroft Partners. Before joining Sling Media, he was a Founding Partner at TripleH Media Advisors, a digital media consultancy. Before TripleH, Jason was Chief Digital Officer at MTV Networks. In April 2009, he joined MySpace as its Chief Product Officer and, in February 2010, was promoted to co-President.

Jon Oringer – Serial entrepreneur bridging media forms for creative professionals

Jon Oringer is an American programmer, photographer, and billionaire businessman, best known as the founder and CEO of Shutterstock, a stock media company headquartered in New York City. He started Shutterstock with $10,000 in 2003 to create a more affordable way to supply stock photos. He took the photo service public in 2012 and served as its CEO until April 2020, when he became executive chairman.

David L. Katz – Leader and expert on advancing public health initiatives

David L. Katz, MD, MPH, FACPM, FACP, FACLM is a specialist in Internal Medicine, Preventive Medicine/Public Health, and Lifestyle Medicine, with particular expertise in nutrition. He is the founder and former director of Yale University’s Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center (1998-2019); Past President of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine; Founder of the non-profit True Health Initiative; and Founder and CEO of Diet ID, Inc. He is a Fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine; the American College of Physicians; the American College of Lifestyle Medicine; and Morse College, Yale University.

Aaref Hilaly – Venture capitalist helping creating business opportunities for start-ups

Aaref Hilaly is a Founder and Partner at Bain Capital Ventures. He previously worked at CenterRun as a Founder and CEO. Before joining Sequoia Capital in 2012, he was the CEO of Clearwell, a leading provider of analytics software for electronic discovery. Prior to that, Aaref was the Founder and CEO of CenterRun, a pioneer in data center automation, which Sun Microsystems acquired.

Chris Capossela – Executive and world-renowned marketer of businesses around the globe

As executive vice president and chief marketing officer, Chris Capossela runs worldwide marketing across consumer and commercial businesses, including product marketing, business planning, brand, advertising, events, media buying, communications and market research for Microsoft products and services. Capossela also runs digital direct sales and retail partner sales for all Microsoft products. Capossela joined Microsoft in 1991 as a marketing manager for the Windows Seminar Team. Before taking on his role as CMO and EVP, he served as the worldwide leader of the Consumer Channels Group, responsible for sales and marketing activities with OEM, operator, and retail partners.

Lo Toney – Founder and Partner of investment firm reinventing the business scope

Lo Toney is the Founding Managing Partner of Plexo Capital, which he incubated and spun out from GV (Google Ventures) based on a strategy to increase access to early-stage deal flow. Plexo Capital invests in emerging seed-stage VCs and invests directly into companies sourced from the portfolios of VCs where Plexo Capital has an investment. Investors in Plexo Capital include Alphabet (holding company of Google), Intel Capital, Cisco Investment, the Royal Bank of Canada, Kapor Capital, the Hampton University Endowment (Cambridge Associates client), the Ford Foundation, family offices, and technology executives.

Steve Blank – Co-creator of lean startup movement and professor shaping minds

Steve Blank co-created the Lean Startup movement. He has been part of or co-founded eight Silicon Valley startups. These have run the gamut from semiconductors, video games, personal computers, and supercomputers. He served as a governor’s appointee to the California Coastal Commission. Steve currently teaches entrepreneurship and national security innovation at Stanford. The National Science Foundation adopted his Lean Launchpad class as the U.S. standard for commercializing basic and applied research via the Innovation Corps.

Kevin O’Leary – Ecopreneur and founder of mutual fund company leading the value investing philosophy

From his basement, Kevin O’Leary launched SoftKey Software Products. As sales took off, he moved to headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and went on an industry-consolidating acquisition binge. From 1995 to 1999 he bought out almost every one of his software competitors, including Mindscape, Broderbund and the Learning Company in the industry’s first vicious public hostile battle. In 1999 Kevin sold his company to the Mattel Toy Company for $4.2 billion, one of the largest deals ever done in the consumer software industry. To keep his money working hard, he took control of his wealth from his lackluster money managers and founded his own mutual fund company, O’Leary Funds. He is on the investment committee of Boston’s prestigious 200-year-old Hamilton Trust. He also launched O’Shares ETFs, a group of exchange-traded funds.

Stephen Balkam – Visionary and serial social entrepreneur pivoting the digital safety movement

Stephen Balkam is the Founder and CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute, an international non-profit dedicated to making the online world safer and more civil for kids and their families. Before this, he set up the Internet Content Rating Association – the world’s leading content rating system on the web. He runs organizations as diverse as the National Stepfamily Association (UK), Islington Voluntary Action Council (London), and Camden Community Transport. He writes regularly for LinkedIn, Huffington Post and appears on television and radio regularly.

Capt. Sully Sullenberger – International lecturer, author, and safety expert on aviation

Capt. Sully Sullenberger is the #1 New York Times best-selling author of Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters and also wrote Making a Difference: Stories of Vision and Courage from America’s Leaders. Clint Eastwood directed the major motion picture about his life, titled SULLY, based on Highest Duty. He has been an international lecturer and keynote speaker at educational institutions, corporations, and non-profit organizations about the importance of aviation and patient safety, high-performance systems improvement, leadership, crisis management, lifelong preparation, and living a life of integrity. From 2009 to 2013, he served as co-chairman of EAA Young Eagles—a program that inspires and educates youth about aviation.

Jonah Berger – Professor and international best-selling author empowering people to foster change

Jonah Berger is a Marketing Professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, an internationally bestselling author, and a world-renowned expert on change, influence, word of mouth, natural language processing, consumer behavior, and how products, ideas, and behaviors catch on. He has published over 50 articles in top‐tier academic journals, teaches Wharton’s highest-rated online course, and popular accounts of his work often appear in places like The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Harvard Business Review. Over a million copies of his books, Contagious, Invisible Influence, and The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone’s Mind are in print in over 35 countries worldwide. Berger often keynotes major conferences and events like SXSW and Cannes Lions, advises various early stage companies, and consults for organizations like Apple, Google, Nike, Amazon, GE, 3M, and The Gates Foundation.

Tom Gardner – CEO and co-founder, envisioning a better and happier world

Fed up with Wall Street’s notion that everyday people couldn’t comprehend the stock market, Tom Gardner co-founded The Motley Fool in 1993 with a simple obsession: “To help the world invest better.” With no formal training in finance, Tom and his brother conceptualized a unique forum where a community of individuals could discuss and improve their financial decisions free of cost. Realizing that the Internet was a perfect forum for their product, they launched the Motley Fool site on AOL in August 1994 (they later added a Web site). The brothers named their service Motley Fool. They wrote essays, provided market insights, recommended how much, when, and where subscribers should invest, and suggested the kind of return subscribers could expect on their money.

Sue Siegel – Innovator and leader shaping industry-disrupting companies for the future

Sue Siegel is the Chairman of the Board of The Engine, built by MIT, where she is on the Sloan School of Management faculty. Her public service includes serving on President Obama’s Working Group that launched the Precision Medicine Initiative, which led to the creation of All of US, as a founding board member of the National Center for Advancing Translational Science, and as a selection judge for White House Fellows across administrations. Sue has been recognized as one of Fortune’s “34 Leaders Who Are Changing Health Care,” as one of “The 100 Most Influential Women in Silicon Valley,” and was awarded the “Lifetime Achievement Award” by Global Corporate Venture in 2020. She was selected as an Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellow and is a featured “Multiplier” in the bestselling book: “Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter.”

Eva Moskowitz – Charter school champion empowering children to reach their highest academic potential

Eva Moskowitz is the founder and CEO of Success Academy Charter Schools, the highest-performing charter school network in New York City. In 2006, Eva launched her first school in Harlem, and in just nine years, her network has grown to 34 schools serving more than 11,000 children in the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn. Success Academy schools serve a high-poverty population, yet they consistently outperform New York’s most affluent school districts. The flagship Harlem school was chosen as a National Blue Ribbon School in 2012 (one of 219 across the country) by the U.S. Department of Education.

Baron Davis – Entrepreneur and Two-Time NBA All-Star Player Making his Moves in the Court and Business World

Over a thirteen-year career, Baron Davis played for the Charlotte Hornets, the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the New York Knicks. As a businessman, Baron was one of the original investors for Vitamin Water and helped launch Thrive Market. Baron is also the founder of several companies, including Sports and Lifestyle in Culture (SLIC), The Black Santa Company, BIG, and No Label. Baron also served as producer of several acclaimed documentaries, including Crips and Bloods: Made In America, 30 for 30: Sole Man, and The Drew: No Excuse, Just Produce. He is a mentor and coach for young, upcoming basketball players and a longtime supporter of the Boys and Girls Club of Venice. His nonprofit, Rising Stars of America, established in 1999, helps to raise funds for basketball camps and sponsors AAU teams across Los Angeles.

Charley Moore – CEO and Founder Changing the Legal Industry Landscape

Charley Moore is the founder and CEO of the San Francisco, California-based RocketLawyer, an online legal service platform that uses both AI and access to legal professionals to provide individuals, families, and business owners with affordable and accessible legal services.

Daymond John – Self-made millionaire and expert on groundbreaking entrepreneurial ventures

Daymond John has come a long way from turning a $40 budget into FUBU, a $6 billion fashion game-changer. Throughout his career, Daymond has continued to be an entrepreneur in every sense of the word. He is not only a pioneer in the fashion industry but a Shark on the 4-time Emmy Award-winning Shark Tank, a New York Times best-selling author, a branding guru, and a highly sought-after motivational speaker. With years of experience as a successful entrepreneur and mentor, Daymond landed a co-starring role on ABC’s Shark Tank business show. As “The Peoples Shark,” Daymond has impacted the hopeful entrepreneurs vying for an investment in the Tank and the millions of weekly viewers sitting at home through his relatable story and journey to success that continues to motivate and inspire.

Jonathan Becher – Senior executive and highly collaborative advisor for start-ups

Jonathan Becher is president of Sharks Sports & Entertainment, the parent organization for the NHL’s San Jose Sharks, the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda, three Sharks Ice facilities, and the non-profit Sharks Foundation. A long-time Sharks fan and season ticket holder, Becher is responsible for the organization’s overall strategy, focusing on the end-to-end customer experience. A three-time technology company CEO, Becher is on the Board of Directors of multiple organizations, including the Churchill Club, Trintech, Khoros, and Pixlee. He is a frequent event speaker and a published author on various topics – including his popular blog, Manage By Walking Around.

Gary Burnison – CEO of organizational consulting firm to motivate the workforce

Gary Burnison is the CEO of Korn Ferry. Under his leadership, Korn Ferry has been transformed into a global organizational consulting firm with more than 10,000 colleagues under his leadership. Today, Korn Ferry works with clients to design their organizational structures, roles, and responsibilities. The firm helps organizations hire the right people and advises them on rewarding, developing, and motivating their workforce. The firm also allows professionals to navigate and advance their careers. Gary is the author of nine leadership and career development books, including a New York Times bestseller. He writes regular content focused on the intersection of strategy, talent, and leadership, including his widely-read weekly “Special Editions” for global leaders. He is also a regular contributor to CNBC and other major media outlets.

Craig Newmark – Web pioneer and philanthropist advocating journalism trust

In 2017, Craig Newmark became a founding founder and executive committee member of the News Integrity Initiative, administered by the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, which seeks to advance news literacy and increase trust in journalism. In 2016, he created Craig Newmark Philanthropies to promote investment in organizations that effectively serve their communities and drive broad civic engagement at the grassroots level. Craig serves on the board of directors of a range of nonprofits, including Blue Star Families, Center for Public Integrity, Consumers Union/Consumer Reports, Girls Who Code, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Poynter Foundation, Sunlight Foundation, VetsInTech, and Women in Public Service Project. He also serves on the Board of Overseers of the Columbia Journalism Review. In 1995, Craig started curating a list of San Francisco events he emailed to friends and colleagues. When Craig turned it into a company, he monetized minimally, opting for a business model that prioritized “doing well by doing good.” Today, more than 5 billion ads have been posted on the site, the vast majority for free.

Albert Bourla – Leader of Pfizer staying true to its purpose of changing and improving patients’ lives

When Albert Bourla became CEO in 2019, he accelerated Pfizer’s transformation into a more science-driven, innovative company and fostered a culture where people and science could thrive. In 2022, he was named the Genesis Prize Laureate in recognition of his leadership during the pandemic. In 2021, he was named CEO of the Year by CNN Business, included in Insider Magazine’s Most Transformative CEOs list, and inducted into the Crain’s New York Business Hall of Fame. Albert is on the executive committee of The Partnership for New York City, a vice president of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations, a director on multiple boards, and a Trustee of the United States Council for International Business. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Business Roundtable, the Business Council, and the New York City Mayor’s Corporate Council.

Kristin A. Sherry – Career innovator awardee and expert inspiring people to change their lives

Kristin A. Sherry is a globally recognized career expert, winner of the 2020 Career Innovator Award by Career Directors International, and creator of the YouMap® career profile, which uncovers the Four Pillars of Career Fit™ in teens and adults, and TalentStory™, a process of self-discovery for elementary-aged children. Kristin is also an international speaker and award-winning nine-time author. Her most popular books are Amazon’s #1 international bestseller, YouMap, and Your Team Loves Mondays…Right?, selected as a 2020 Top Business Book Read by Training Magazine and a 2020 PenCraft literary excellence award winner. Kristin is the managing partner of YouMap LLC, which certifies coaches, career services, and HR professionals as YouMap® coaches and workshop facilitators. She has certified professionals in the Middle East, United Kingdom, Canada, Belgium, El Salvador, and the U.S.

Bob Dorf – Bestseller and speaker driving force in the start-up industry

Bob Dorf has been a startup coach/consultant/trainer for nearly a decade after spending earlier decades founding seven startups and investing in 30 more. Bob co-authored the “Startup Owner’s Manual,” a global bestseller now in 21 languages. He travels the world energizing startup ecosystems and providing hands-on, hyperactive training programs for startup groups and corporations driving disruptive innovation. The process Bob teaches has guided thousands of startups and corporate intrapreneurs, reducing the toxic failure rate of innovation.

Solita Marcelli – Finance executive and global wealth management expert

Solita Marcelli is the Chief Investment Officer of Americas for UBS Global Wealth Management. Solita is responsible for bringing together market and investment insights to optimize impact for UBS Americas clients with over USD 1.3 trillion in total invested assets. She is a member of the global CIO and WM USA management committees. She serves on the Global Investment Committee, responsible for formulating the UBS Global Wealth Management Investment House View. Before UBS, Solita was the Global Head of Fixed Income, Currencies, and Commodities (FICC) for Wealth Management at J.P. Morgan. Previously, she was a member of the equity research team at DLJ/Credit Suisse First Boston and later held a similar role at Thomas Weisel Partners.

Jim Clifton – Global CEO pioneering global analytics and improving management systems

Jim Clifton is the Chairman of Gallup, a global analytics and advisory firm. Jim served as the organization’s CEO from 1988 until 2022. Under his leadership as CEO, Gallup expanded from a predominantly U.S.-based company to a worldwide organization with 30 offices in 20 countries and regions. He is the creator of The Gallup Path and the author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller Wellbeing at Work, released in 2021, a book that explores how to build resilient and thriving teams in organizations. He is also the author of the No. 1 Wall Street Journal bestseller It’s the Manager, the bestseller Born to Build, The Coming Jobs War, and many articles on global leadership.

Mary Barra – Exceptional CEO bringing vision for a new future

Mary Barra is the General Motors Chair and CEO, leading an outstanding team. Currently driving a GMC HUMMER #EV and Chevy Bolt EUV. She is focused on delivering an all-electric future.

Dennis K. Berman – Awardee and investment banker with a diverse portfolio

Dennis Berman is an investment banker with an unconventional background. He spent 17 years at the Wall Street Journal, running both Financial and Business coverage. Dennis spent nearly a decade on the M&A beat at the globe’s premier business publication.

Rebecca Jarvis – Award-winning journalist and correspondent pushing beyond the limits

Rebecca Jarvis is an Emmy Award-winning journalist and ABC News Chief Business, Technology, and Economics Correspondent; the Host and Managing Editor of the podcast “No Limits with Rebecca Jarvis”; and the Host and Managing Editor of “Real Biz with Rebecca Jarvis.” Rebecca reports for all ABC News programs and platforms, including “Good Morning America,” “World News Tonight with David Muir,” “Nightline,” “20/20,” and “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.”

Lou Adler – Founder of consulting firm reshaping the workforce industry

Lou Adler is the CEO and founder of Performance-based Hiring Learning Systems – a consulting and training firm helping recruiters and hiring managers worldwide source, interview, and engage the most robust and diverse talent. Lou is the author of the Amazon top-10 best-seller Hire With Your Head (John Wiley & Sons, 3rd Edition, 2007), The Essential Guide for Hiring & Getting Hired (Workbench Media, 2013), and the Lynda.com Performance-based Hiring video training program (2016). His current “Diversity Hiring without Compromise” initiative is focused on developing a color-blind hiring process that ensures the best people get hired regardless of race, religion, age, sexual preference, and physical challenges. Lou is one of the top bloggers on LinkedIn’s Influencer program, writing about the latest hiring, employment, and recruiting trends. His articles, quotes, and research can now be found in Inc. Magazine, Business Insider, Bloomberg, SHRM, and The Wall Street Journal. The company’s new mobile-ready learning platform—TheHiring Machine—provides instant access to all the tools needed to find and hire outstanding talent.

Lou Adler’s MWIE Episode

Jeffrey Katzenberg – Tech innovator and investor continuing to tell stories to touch lives

Jeffrey Katzenberg is an entertainment industry executive and entrepreneur who has repeatedly reshaped the media landscape throughout his career. He led WndrCo’s investments in Airtable, Frame.io, Placer.ai, Deel, and ID.me. Before WndrCo, Jeffrey co-founded DreamWorks SKG, serving as CEO of DreamWorks Animation, which he grew into the world’s largest animation studio, known for such iconic franchises as Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar and How to Train Your Dragon. In 2016, DreamWorks Animation was sold to Comcast for $3.8 billion.

Brian Wong – Reputable venture capitalist and creator of moments marketing business mindset

Brian Wong is the Founding Partner at BW Growth Ventures. He was formerly co-founder at Kiip (pronounced “keep”), a mobile consumer engagement platform that advertises in “moments” in 10,000 apps. Kiip has been recognized by Forbes as one of the “4 Hot Online Ad Companies to Put on Your Watch List,” named on the Dow Jones “FasTech50” and is listed on Fast Company’s “50 Most Innovative Companies in the World.” Once the youngest person to ever receive venture capital funding, Brian received his Bachelor of Commerce from the University of British Columbia at age 18, after skipping four K-12 grades.

Sanyin Siang – Globally recognized thought leader and most influential coach and mentor

Sanyin Siang is an investor and advisor to tech founders, VCs, boards, sports industry execs, and Fortune 500 CEOs – bringing expertise in culture, leadership growth, team cohesion, and a diverse network of influencers. Recognized by Thinkers50 (the Premier Global Ranking of Management Thinkers) as the world’s Most Influential Coach & Mentor, Sanyin is the founding Executive Director of Duke University’s Coach K Leadership & Ethics Center at its Fuqua School of Business. As a speaker, she has addressed audiences from The White House to military officers, Fortune 500 companies, and CHROs. She is host of the Global Sports Owners & CEO Summit’s Series – Conversations with Legends.
Sanyin is a leadership advisor for GV (formerly Google Ventures), Ripcord, The Sports Innovation Lab, and DukeCE.

Tim O’Reilly – Technical book publisher with an ingenious idea

Tim O’Reilly is the founder and CEO of O’Reilly Media (formerly O’Reilly & Associates.) He is a technical book publisher who learned that the right way to market his books was to sell the technologies behind them. Tim was crucial in evangelizing the World Wide Web, the Perl programming language, Linux, open source, XML, and web services. He expanded into online publishing, conferences, magazines, and early-stage venture investing.

Dr. Dambisa Moyo – Top-tier adviser with a unique perspective on strategic investment

Dr. Dambisa Moyo is a pre-eminent thinker who influences critical strategic investment and public policy decision-makers. She is respected for her unique perspectives, balance of contrarian thinking with measured judgment, and ability to turn economic insight into investible ideas. Dambisa has earned a strong reputation as a top-tier opinion former and trusted advisor on Macroeconomics, Geopolitics, Technology, and Millennial themes. She is a board member of Chevron, Conde Nast, and the Oxford University Endowment investment committee. She holds a PhD in Economics from Oxford, a Masters from Harvard, and is recognized for fresh and innovative ideas as the Author of four (4) New York Times Bestselling Books. Dambisa was named to the list of Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the World; she writes for the Financial Times, WSJ, Barron’s, and Harvard Business Review and has traveled to 80 countries. She runs marathons and practices yoga in her spare time.

Patrice Louvet – Luxury brand CEO with a mission to transform and innovate

Patrice Louvet is President and Chief Executive Officer of Ralph Lauren Corporation and also serves on the Ralph Lauren Board of Directors. Patrice leads the Company and its 24,000 employees worldwide in their purpose-inspired Next Great Chapter: Accelerate strategy to deliver sustainable growth and value creation. Since joining Ralph Lauren Corporation in 2017, Mr. Louvet has championed a culture that embraces Mr. Ralph Lauren’s enduring vision, the brand’s rich heritage, and a spirit of innovation that will underpin the Company’s next growth phase. He initiated the Company’s digital transformation and brand elevation strategy worldwide, step-changed its international and direct-to-consumer retail expansion, while further embedding citizenship and sustainability into the iconic brand’s business. Before Ralph Lauren, Patrice spent nearly three decades in leadership roles across three continents at Procter & Gamble. He led and grew multi-billion-dollar global consumer brands –from Gillette to Pantene and SK-II – across diverse distribution channels and geographies.

Eric Ries – Best-selling author and creator of innovative lean startup methodology

Eric Ries is an entrepreneur and the author of the New York Times bestseller The Lean Startup, which has sold over one million copies and has been translated into more than thirty languages. He created the Lean Startup methodology, which has become a global movement in business practiced by individuals and companies worldwide. This methodology inspired his founding of the LTSE and his books The Leader’s Guide and The Startup Way. He has founded several startups, including IMVU, where he served as CTO and advised on business and product strategy for startups, venture capital firms, and large companies, including GE, with whom he partnered to create the FastWorks program. Eric has served as an entrepreneur-in-residence at Harvard Business School, IDEO, and Pivotal, and he is the founder and CEO of the Long-Term Stock Exchange.

Joel Makower – Award-winning author and well-respected strategist on business sustainability

Joel Makower is a co-founder of GreenBiz Group, creator of GreenBiz.com, research reports and events on corporate sustainability and cleantech strategy and trends. He hosts the company’s annual GreenBiz, Circularity, and VERGE conferences and is the lead author of the award-winning annual State of Green Business report. Joel is the author and co-author of over a dozen books, including THE NEW GRAND STRATEGY: Restoring America’s Prosperity, Security and Sustainability in the 21st Century (St. Martin’s Press, 2016). In 2012, he was awarded the Hutchens Medal by the American Society for Quality, which cited “his ability to tell compelling stories that both inform and inspire business leaders toward profitable action.” In 2014, he was inducted into the International Institute of Sustainability Professionals Hall of Fame.

Francesca Gino – Top-rated professor and an influential management thinker

Francesca Gino is recognized as one of Harvard Business School’s top-rated professors, one of the world’s 50 most influential management thinkers by Thinkers 50 and Poets & Quants’ 40-under-40 Professors. She is a bestselling author and, most recently, of “Rebel Talent: Why it Pays to Break the Rules in Work and Life.” REBEL TALENT explores how rule-breaking can be a constructive rather than destructive force. Rebels challenge the status quo in ways that drive positive change. Undaunted by novel situations and ideas, they adapt to change as a matter of course.

Gary Shapiro – Inspiring author and president of the trade association for companies that lead innovation

Gary Shapiro is the President and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)™, the trade association for over 1000 of the most innovative American companies. In 2021, French President Emmanuel Macron awarded him the Légion d’Honneur (Legion of Honor). He was recently named a tech titan and the most influential person in tech and policy by the Washingtonian. He was named a top lobbyist by The Hill, received top exhibition industry awards, and was named Executive of the Year by Association TRENDS. He has written three books, The Comeback: How Innovation Will Restore the American Dream (Beaufort, 2011) and Ninja Innovation: The Ten Killer Strategies of the World’s Most Successful Businesses (Harper Collins, 2013), being New York Times Bestsellers. He wrote Ninja Future: Secrets to Success in the New World of Innovation (William Morrow, 2018), a USA Today Bestseller. He also served at CTA for over 35 years.

Reshma Saujani – Enduring activist and founder with a vision to empower moms

Reshma Saujani is the Founder of Girls Who Code and the Founder/CEO of Marshall Plan for Moms, a movement to center mothers in our economic recovery and value our labor by advocating for policies that support moms. A lifelong activist, Saujani was the first Indian American woman to run for U.S. Congress. Her fourth book, Pay Up: The Future of Women and Work (and Why It’s Different Than You Think), was released last March 15, 2022. Reshma has spent more than a decade building movements to fight for women’s and girls’ economic empowerment, working to close the gender gap in the tech sector, and, most recently, advocating for policies to support moms impacted by the pandemic.

Saira Malik – Leader of a global asset management firm and key strategist planner

Saira Malik is the Chief Investment Officer of Nuveen, a global asset management firm with over $1 trillion under management, and leader of the firm’s Global Investment Committee. She also chairs Nuveen’s Equities Investment Council and is a portfolio manager for several key strategies. She writes the Nuveen weekly market commentary. Saira regularly appears on financial news networks such as CNBC, Bloomberg TV and Fox Business and has been honored to be included in Barron’s top 100 most influential women in U.S. finance. She has 25+ years of investment management experience in portfolio management, global research, and analyst roles.

Judith Sherven – Experienced psychotherapist and executive coach for only the best

Judith Sherven works closely with her husband Jim Sniechowski, PhD and is a clinical psychologist with over 40 years of experience as a psychotherapist, transformational executive coach, and business consultant. Now coaching with Jim, they provide executive coaching and leadership training for a variety of companies, including Unity Technologies, World Courier, Blackbird Interactive, Atoms, and several others, as well as individuals. Judith writes for LinkedIn as an Influencer inspiring managers to engage their team members across wide-ranging topics from self-branding and professional authority to “Being Fabulous In Business” – a new program Judith and Jim trademarked, called “the missing link in professional development.” Along with Jim, Judith is a Los Angeles Times bestselling author of eight books, including 25 Power Speaking Tips and What Really Killed Whitney Houston, both of which address their core area of expertise, what they call—The Fear of Being Fabulous.

Dan Ariely – Renowned researcher and economist helping businesses around the globe

Dan Ariely is the James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University, a founding member of the Center for Advanced Hindsight, co-creator of the film documentary (Dis)Honesty: The Truth About Lies, and a bestselling author. He founded the Center for Advanced Hindsight and is the co-founder of Irrational Capital. He is also the co-founder of BEWorks, which was created to help companies incorporate principles from behavioral economics into their product and processes, and the co-founder of Shapa, which was created to help people better manage their health using human-friendly interventions and a non-threatening approach to healthcare.

Satya Nadella – Chairman and CEO of Microsoft with the vision to change lives everyday

Satya Nadella is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft. Joining Microsoft in 1992, he quickly became known as a leader who could span a breadth of technologies and businesses to transform some of Microsoft’s biggest product offerings. He was executive vice president of Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise group most recently. Previously, Satya led R&D for the Online Services Division and was vice president of the Microsoft Business Division. Before joining Microsoft, he was a member of the technology staff at Sun Microsystems. He also serves on the board of trustees to his alma mater, the University of Chicago, as well as the Starbucks board of directors.

Kat Cole – Seasoned leader and advisor with extensive experience in building brands

Kat Cole is an exceptional executive and leader with deep expertise in building global brands, consumer businesses, and high-performing teams. She is a Board member, investor, and advisor with broad experience in leading consumer brands, food, retail, and scaling franchise organizations through various stages of growth. Kat is also a seasoned President and COO with experience in strategy, operations, culture & communications, crisis management, development, M&A/reorganization, change management, integrating digital and physical brand expressions and communities, multi-channel brand extensions, consumer brands, marketing, PR & media, licensing, strategic alliances & partnerships, domestic and international franchising, operating model pivots.

Grace Gong – Founder and podcast host helping listeners in growing their career

Grace Gong is the founder and host of Smart Venture Podcast, where she interviews top tech companies’ founders, C-level/VP-level leaders, and investors about career development. She worked in VC and PE firms focusing on consumer tech and real estate investment. She is passionate about entrepreneurship and eager to learn from the world’s top talents. Grace shared how American entrepreneurs created their companies in her first book, The Last Key To Success, with 21 founders featured on Forbes 30 under 30 in 2016. In 2017, she interviewed 22 investors featured on the Forbes Midas List for her second book, How To Be A VC (Amazon No.1 New Release in Venture Capital Category), on how they invested in companies like Facebook, Apple, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. She is passionate about learning and sharing the knowledge she learned from top founders and investors in Silicon Valley. Grace is also a LinkedIn Top Voice in the Finance Category.

Dr. Jason Wingard – Experienced Executive and Leader Reinventing the Future of Work and Learning

Dr. Jason Wingard is a globally renowned executive with deep experience in both the corporate and non-profit sectors, specializing in the future of learning and work. He serves as a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Harvard University and Executive Chairman of the Education Board, Inc. He recently served as the 12th President of Temple University and Professor of Management and Professor of Policy, Organizational, and Leadership Studies. As a thought leader, Dr. Wingard has published widely on the topic of strategy, learning, and leadership, including his most recent books: The College Devaluation Crisis: Market Disruption, Diminishing ROI, and an Alternative Future of Learning (2022); The Great Skills Gap: Optimizing Talent for the Future of Work (2021); Learning for Life: How Continuous Education Will Keep Us Competitive in the Global Knowledge Economy (2016); and Learning to Succeed: Reinventing Corporate Education in a World of Unrelenting Change (2015). He is a Senior Contributor for Forbes, where he writes about Leadership Strategy, and is also represented by BigSpeak and Chartwell speaker’s bureaus.

Francis deSouza – Executive breaking barriers in science and technology for the future

Francis A. deSouza was formerly the President and Chief Executive Officer of Illumina, Inc., a biotechnology company, and served as President of Illumina from 2013 to 2016. Prior to joining Illumina, Francis was President of Products and Services of Symantec Corporation from 2011 to 2013, and served as Symantec’s Senior Vice President of Enterprise Security Group from 2009 to 2011. Before that time, he founded or worked in various other technology businesses. He has been a Director of Illumina since 2014 and was a director of Citrix Systems, Inc. from 2014 to 2016. He was elected a Director of the Company in December 2017, effective February 1, 2018.

Silvina Moschini – Expert on wealth management and authority on digital assets economy

Silvina Moschini is the Founder and President of Unicoin, a next-gen, asset-backed cryptocurrency, and Unicorn Hunters, an iconic business TV show that combines entertainment with wealth-growth potential for individual investors and founders. She also founded an ecosystem of companies harnessing the cloud to connect businesses and on-demand talent, including Transparent Business, a remote workforce management platform that is driving transparency in public and private procurement to eliminate fraud and the loss of taxpayer money, as well as SheWorks!, an innovative platform that leverages technology to close the gender gap. Silvina serves as a mentor to young female entrepreneurs around the world through Vital Voices, 500 Startups, Google Launchpad, and the Google AI Impact Challenge. She is also part of the Advisory Council at Miami’s New World Symphony and Dalia Empower.

Shaun Robinson – Author and world-renowned journalist empowering women to conquer the world

Shaun Robinson is an Emmy-award-winning television journalist named a LinkedIn influencer and one of the Top Voices of 2020. Shaun has covered the red carpet for the Oscars, Emmy’s, Golden Globes, and Grammy’s as the host of the entertainment show, Access Hollywood. She hosts the 90 Day Fiance Tell All Reunion shows – the TLC television series that airs in 168 countries and territories. Shaun has formed her own production company, RobinHood Productions, creating television and digital content. She is the author of Exactly As I Am: Celebrated Women Share Candid Advice with Today’s Girls on What it Takes to Believe in Yourself – a book for teen girls on building self-esteem. She recently launched her passion project – the S.H.A.U.N. Foundation for Girls- a nationwide non-profit supporting girls’ initiatives. As an actress, she has appeared in roles in Bruce Almighty, America’s Sweetheart, Dr. Doolittle 2, Law & Order, Real Husbands of Hollywood, Last Man Standing, Monk and can currently be seen in the BET drama series, “Games People Play”. Shaun sits on the Advisory Board of the United Nations Foundation’s Girl Up adolescent girls campaign and serves on the national Girls, Inc board.

Sander van ‘t Noordende – CEO of a specialized talent company and digital transformation champion

Sander van ‘t Noordende is a financially astute business leader and digital transformation champion with a wealth of sector expertise and an entrepreneurial mindset. He has built and led executive leadership teams globally with strong market share, growth, and profitability results. Lastly, he has a strong track record in Diversity and Inclusion with a passion for the global LGBTQ agenda.

Scott Belsky – Active investor and well-rounded executive in the creative industry platforms

Terri Ludwig – Leading financial leader with an innovative drive to grow emerging markets

Terri Ludwig is a global business and financial leader in domestic and emerging markets, an innovative CEO, and a thought leader. She has 30 years of experience in financial services, real estate, the social sector, and entrepreneurial leadership. She is an expert in shaping vision and mission, driving strategy, and delivering results that positively impact a company’s bottom line, social value, and brand.

Kevin Roose – Renowned technology columnist and bestselling author on the AI and digital world

Kevin Roose is an award-winning technology columnist for The New York Times. His column, “The Shift,” examines the intersection of tech, business, and culture. He is a New York Times bestselling author whose latest book, “Futureproof,” is a guide to human survival in the age of AI and automation. He is a regular guest on “The Daily” and appears regularly on leading TV and radio shows. He writes and speaks regularly on many topics, including AI and automation, social media, disinformation and cybersecurity, and digital wellness.

Krishna Memani – Financially astute business executive with a wide array of experience

Krishna Memani served as Vice Chairman of Investments at Invesco. Krishna joined Invesco when the firm combined with OppenheimerFunds in 2019, where he was the Chief Investment Officer. Before he joined OppenheimerFunds in 2009, he was a managing director at Deutsche Bank, heading US and European credit analysis. Earlier, he headed global credit research at Credit Suisse, was in charge of high-grade and high-yield portfolios at Putnam Investments, and was the fixed-income strategist and manager of Mortgage Research at Morgan Stanley. He also worked as a Research Analyst at Morgan Stanley and Price Waterhouse.

Stephanie Ruhle – Host and producer with a dynamic voice on the world of WallStreet

Stephanie Ruhle hosts MSNBC’s “The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle” on weeknights at 11 p.m. ET. Stephanie also appears across all NBC News and MSNBC platforms. As a Wall Street veteran, she is known for bringing her business acumen and hard-hitting style to high-profile interviews, original reporting, and humanity into her news coverage and daily “Good News Ruhles” segment. Ruhle served as the consulting producer of “Diamond Hands: The Legend of WallStreetBets,” an MSNBC and NBC News Studio film coined by traders within the social media community of Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets, where users post stock and option trading, and is also the host of the podcast, “Modern Ruhles: Compelling Conversations During Culturally Complicated Times.”

Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz – Well-established executive with extensive experience gearing towards transformation in the corporate world

Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz is a transformational business executive bringing nearly four decades of corporate experience building purpose-driven teams, creating solutions to complex problems, and serving as an innovative leader and change agent. Carrie currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Charles Schwab Corporation after a distinguished career at Schwab. She established herself at the intersection of consumer finance, high-growth regulated businesses, and innovative marketing. As a dynamic voice, she inspires Americans to engage in their finances. A foremost expert on financial literacy and corporate social responsibility, Carrie is a recognized leader for simultaneously addressing business objectives and critical social issues, advocating for new investors while expanding market reach, and making the industry more inclusive and accessible.

Bozoma Saint John – Entrepreneur and hall of fame marketing executive making waves in brand management

Bozoma Saint John is a Hall of Fame inducted Marketing Executive, author, entrepreneur, and general badass. Bozoma started her marketing career at Spike Lee’s ad agency, SpikeDDB. Most recently, she served as the Global Chief Marketing Officer at the entertainment behemoth Netflix. Bozoma has expanded her service outside of the US and has been named as an Ambassador for the African Diaspora and Special Envoy to the President of Ghana. She is also a philanthropic Ambassador to Pencils of Promise in Ghana. She serves on Girls Who Code, Vital Voices, the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Soho House, and the CFDA boards. She’s also on the Board of Trustees at her alma mater, Wesleyan University.

Lynne Doughtie – Business leader heading one of the world’s fastest-growing professional service firms

Lynne Doughtie is the former U.S. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of KPMG — one of the world’s leading professional services firms. She also was a member of KPMG’s Global Board and Executive Committee. Lynne previously served as Vice Chair of KPMG’s Advisory business (2011-2015), establishing it as its fastest-growing business. In addition, she oversaw the expansion of KPMG’s capabilities in innovative services and solutions, including information security, strategy, digital/mobile, and transformation. She began her career in 1985 in KPMG’s Audit practice. She served in several national, regional, and global leadership roles, including as lead partner for several of the firm’s major clients. She serves as a board member for NAF and LUNGevity.

Loic Le Meur – Serial entrepreneur and tech founder for innovative conference for diverse businessmen

Loïc Le Meur is a serial entrepreneur and founder of the PAWA. PAWA is a community and event for conscious entrepreneurs. He founded LeWeb, which was for 12 years the largest technology conference in Europe, with 3,000+ participants from 80 countries. He also founded many other startups such as B2L, a web agency, RapidSite, a web hosting company, Seesmic, a video social network, and Leade.rs, a speakers marketplace. Loïc was named one of “Europe’s Tech25” by the Wall Street Journal as well as one of the “25 most influential people” on the web by Business Week. He is featured in The Economist as one of “Europe’s Blooming Entrepreneurs” and is a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum.

Brian Solis – Executive global head and a world-leading thinker

Brian Solis is the head of Global Innovation and an 8x best-selling author, international keynote speaker, and digital anthropologist. For over 20 years, Brian has studied Digital Darwinism to understand the impact of disruption on businesses, markets, and society. In his work, he humanizes technologies and trends to help leaders gain new perspectives and insights and inspire new ideas to thrive in the future. His research explores digital transformation, CX, experience design, innovation, the cognitive enterprise, and “the future of” industries, trends, and human behavior.

Larry Fink – Founder of the leading investment and technology solutions in the world

Laurence D. Fink is BlackRock’s founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer. He and seven partners founded BlackRock in 1988, and under his leadership, the firm has grown into a global leader in investment and technology solutions. Larry has been named one of the “World’s Greatest Leaders” by Fortune, and Barron’s has named him one of the “World’s Best CEOs” for 15 consecutive years. Before founding BlackRock in 1988, Larry was a member of the Management Committee and a Managing Director of The First Boston Corporation.

Mark Tercek – Trusted senior advisor in the environmental scale and author of best-selling book

Mark Tercek is a Senior Advisor at Centerview Partners. Drawing on his decades-long tenure leading two of the largest organizations in the world — first as Managing Director and Partner at Goldman Sachs (1984-2008) and then as CEO of The Nature Conservancy (2008-2019) — he helps conceptualize, structure, and strengthen initiatives that accelerate and scale environmental progress. His focus areas include nature-based climate solutions, green infrastructure, decarbonization, sustainability funding strategies for lower- and middle-income countries, and financial innovation for non-profits. He publishes a bi-weekly newsletter — The Instigator — on Substack. He is also the author of the best-selling book Nature’s Fortune: How Business and Society Thrive by Investing in Nature.

Dennis R. Mortensen – CEO and founder of tech initiatives

Dennis Mortensen is an expert in leveraging data to deliver business insights. A serial entrepreneur, Dennis built and successfully exited several companies before founding x.ai in 2014, a company that is solving a painful problem—scheduling meetings—through a sophisticated AI platform that saves people time and effort. Dennis is a recognized leader, author, and university instructor in digital data and analytics.

Dennis Mortensen’s MWIE Episode

Liz Claman – Respected financial journalist and top anchor who is one of a kind

With nearly 25 years of experience, Liz Claman—described by Vanity Fair as “…one of television’s top business reporters and anchor”—shares insights on leadership and the global economy gleaned from her access to the world’s most influential and powerful business leaders. An Emmy Award-winning journalist, author, and one of the top anchors at FOX Business News, where she anchors Countdown to the Closing Bell and After the Bell, Liz has traversed the globe—from Detroit to Davos—to get an in-depth understanding of today’s biggest stories in business and the economy.

Betty Liu – Skilled business leader and award-winning journalist

Betty Liu is an accomplished entrepreneur, business leader, and journalist with extensive access to C-suite executives across a variety of industries, particularly in Asia. She most recently served as the Executive Vice Chairman of the New York Stock Exchange and Chief Experience Officer for NYSE’s parent company. While at the exchange, Betty was actively involved in the biggest global initial public offerings and co-founded the NYSE Board Advisory Council, which brought together CEOs to advance diversity in the boardroom. She also has extensive experience raising public and private capital. Before her business career, she was an award-winning journalist for over 25 years. She is best known for serving as a leading anchor and editor-at-large at Bloomberg Television and Bloomberg Radio.

Walt Bettinger – Accomplished entrepreneur and leader of one of the largest financial services firms in the world

Walter W. Bettinger II has been the Chief Executive Officer of The Charles Schwab Corporation since late 2008. He also serves as Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors. Walter has been recognized throughout his career as a leader in financial service. In addition to his professional duties, he is active in numerous charitable and philanthropic efforts. He and his wife, Teri, are founders of the Walt & Teri Bettinger Foundation and the parents of five children.

Shane Snow – Multi-awarded author, speaker and producer with a vision to inject change into the world

Shane Snow spent years writing about how to think differently as a correspondent for some of the top magazines in the world, a researcher overseeing original psychology and neuroscience studies, and a bestselling author. He is a four-time startup founder, two-time CEO, and advisor to high-growth organizations. He is also a producer of films, TV series, and Broadway musicals.

James Altucher – Top influencer and proficient businessman with vast talents

James Altucher is a Top 10 LinkedIn influencer, prolific writer, successful entrepreneur, chess master, and venture capitalist. He has started and sold several companies and is actively invested in or advises over 30 companies in areas ranging from tech to energy, healthcare, and biotech. James is the author of the Wall Street Journal Best Selling books: ‘Choose Yourself’, and The Power of No (co-author), as well as “The Choose Yourself Guide to Wealth” (most recent book), “The Choose Yourself Stories”, SuperCash, Trade Like Warren Buffett, Trade Like A Hedge Fund, The Forever Portfolio, 40 Alternatives To College, and I Was Blind But Now I See.

Devdutt Pattanaik – Mythology writer and passionate storyteller

Devdutt Pattanaik writes on the relevance of mythology in modern times, especially in management, governance, and leadership. Trained in medicine, he worked for 15 years in the healthcare and pharma industries before focusing on his passion full-time. He is an author with many bestsellers, a speaker in TedIndia, and with many TV Shows. He consults organizations on culture, diversity, and leadership and also consults various television channels and filmmakers on storytelling.

Philippe von Borries – Compassionate founder with passion to create and build brands

Philippe von Borries co-founded Refinery29, leading its creation and expansion into a global media brand. Philippe was President at Red Ventures, where Philippe led Lonely Planet, working alongside a great team to reimagine the iconic brand and how it can be a gateway for people to travel better.

Sarah Wood – Digital investor and author lobbying for more diverse business leaders

Sarah Wood is a horticulture student, community gardener, digital entrepreneur, tech investor and independent director who enjoys working with awesome people and helping mission-driven teams succeed. She is currently a student at Capel Manor College and a trustee at leading children’s mental health charity Anna Freud. Sarah is formerly the co-founder of Unruly, the global video advertising marketplace acquired by News Corp in 2015. She is an honorary fellow at Bayes Business School and the author of “Stepping Up: How to Accelerate Your Leadership Potential,” the best-selling business book that calls for more diverse, digital, and empathetic business leaders. She is also named Veuve Clicquot Businesswoman of the Year, City AM Entrepreneur of the Year, Tech Crunch CEO of the Year (Europe), and awarded an OBE for services to technology and innovation.

Dan Sanker – Tech entrepreneur and at the forefront on the future of emerging technology

Dan Sanker is a technology entrepreneur and executive who has started and sold several companies to public companies with a combined market cap of over $10B. After roles at larger firms including KPMG, Procter & Gamble, Nabisco/Mondelēz and Deloitte, he focused on building and leading private-equity backed companies that improve supply chain collaboration to benefit shoppers, retailers and suppliers. Dan is an author and has testified before the US Congress on the impact of emerging tech. He is a speaker and guest lecturer and has served on several boards, including The House of Songs and Community Venture Foundation. He is an IBM Influencer – Futurist and LinkedIn Influencer with approximately 400,000 followers.

Charlene Li – Resource person and authority in the disruptive transformation strategy

Charlene Li catalyzes transformation as an expert on disruptive transformation strategy and leadership. She is an entrepreneur and NY Times bestselling author who has seen business, society, and the world undergo seismic changes. Her work includes writing books, speaking, advising, and coaching companies and their leaders. I’ve worked with 14 of the Dow Jones 30 companies.

Joseph Mayans – Strategist and dependable consultant in the economic landscape

As the Chief Economist for Experian North America, Joseph Mayans breaks down the latest economic and consumer credit trends into actionable insight for the financial services industry. By connecting the dots between the broader economic landscape and Experian’s best-in-class data and analytics platforms, Joseph helps companies find opportunities and navigate the risks of the business cycle. Before joining Experian, he was the founder and principal economist of Advantage Economics. Joseph also led the economic research at a large regional bank and served as banking policy staff with the United States Senate.

Susan Cain – New York Times bestselling author and Ted Talks’ favorite speaker

Susan Cain is the author of the #1 New York Times bestsellers QUIET: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking and BITTERSWEET: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole, which was also an Oprah Book Club selection. Susan has spent the last twenty years exploring a particular realm of human nature: the quiet, the sensitive, the thoughtful, the bittersweet. Susan’s books have been translated into 40+ languages, and her record-smashing TED Talks have been viewed over 50 million times on TED and YouTube combined. Susan hosts the bestselling Audible series, A QUIET LIFE IN SEVEN STEPS, and the QUIET LIFE online community. Her Kindred Letters newsletter is read by people in all 193 countries and all 50 American states.

Mark Mobius – Experienced leader with an extensive portfolio in the emerging markets

Dr. Mark Mobius is synonymous with emerging and frontier markets investing with a reputation as one of the most successful and influential money managers over the past 30 years. In May 2018, he founded Mobius Capital Partners with two former colleagues. Before this, Mark spent more than three decades at Franklin Templeton Investments, most recently as Executive Chairman of the Templeton Emerging Markets Group. He has also contributed to developing international policies for emerging markets. He served on the World Bank’s Global Corporate Governance Forum as a Private Sector Advisory Group member and co-chairman of its Investor Responsibility Task Force.

Kai-Fu Lee – Expert and go-to venture capitalist in China

Sinovation Ventures is a leading venture capital firm in China, started in 2009 by a team led by Dr. Kai-Fu Lee. It has a presence in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Nanjing. The firm currently manages over US$2B AUM between four USD funds and three RMB funds and over 350 portfolio companies across the technology spectrum in China. Kai-Fu strives to help young entrepreneurs build world-class companies.

Phil LeBeau – Award-winning correspondent and ultimate storyteller meant to inspire

Phil LeBeau is an Emmy Award-winning correspondent for CNBC. Based in the Chicago Bureau, Phil has covered the auto and airline industries since 1999. He was also the host of three highly acclaimed CNBC documentaries: “Saving GM,” “Ford: Rebuilding An American Icon,” and “Dreamliner: Inside the World’s Most Anticipated Airplane.

Brad Feld – Accomplished investor and author with mastery in venture capital investing

Brad Feld has been an early-stage investor and entrepreneur since 1987. Before co-founding Foundry Group, Brad co-founded Mobius Venture Capital and Intensity Ventures. He is also a co-founder of Techstars. Brad is a writer and speaker on venture capital investing and entrepreneurship. He’s written several books as part of the Startup Revolution series and writes the blogs Feld Thoughts and Venture Deals.

Deanna Mulligan – CEO and author with extensive experience

Deanna Mulligan is the CEO of Purposeful, an advisory practice that builds upon the experience Deanna has gained as former CEO and Chairman of Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, Board Director of Vanguard and DuPont, and former Board Director of ARCH Capital. Deanna is an Advisor to Guild Education and several other private equity-funded start-ups. Active in the community, she serves as a Board Member of New York Presbyterian Hospital and The Partnership for New York City and participates in the Business Council and G100. Deanna’s book, Hire Purpose – How Smart Companies Close the Skills Gap, was a Wall Street Journal best-seller.

Suzy Welch – Senior advisor and professor with expertise in developing management skills

Suzy Welch is a Professor of Management Practice at NYU Stern School of Business, teaching the class she created called “Becoming You: Crafting the Authentic Life You Want and Need.” Suzy also teaches “Developing Managerial Skills,” which is about the mindset and competencies required to be an effective leader of people and teams. Along with teaching, she is a Senior Advisor at the Brunswick Group, a critical issues consulting firm. She is also a regular contributor on CNBC and other network shows, a frequent keynoter at corporate events, and a writer for publications, including the Wall Street Journal.

David Aaker – Leader of the global consultancy firm and known as the “Father of Modern Branding”

David Aaker, hailed the “Father of Modern Branding,” serves as Vice Chairman at Prophet, a global growth consultancy. David is a recognized authority on branding, has developed several recognizable concepts, including the Aaker brand vision model, and has received numerous awards for his contributions to the science of marketing. In 2015, David Aaker was inducted into the American Marketing Association Hall of Fame for his lifetime achievements in marketing. David has authored and published hundreds of articles and 17 books. David is an active branding consultant, Professor Emeritus at the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley, and a revered speaker and thought leader.

David Aaker’s MWIE Episode

Akira Morikawa – The CEO who creates innovation in the tech world

Akira Morikawa is the CEO of Channel Corporation as a solution for the unique challenges facing SaaS channel distributors. Its mission is to provide the support and resources needed to succeed in the competitive software distribution world.

Vivek Wadhwa – Established author, academic, and entrepreneur with well-rounded experience

Vivek Wadhwa is an academic, entrepreneur, and author of five best-selling books: From Incremental to Exponential; Your Happiness Was Hacked; The Driver in the Driverless Car; Innovating Women; and The Immigrant Exodus. Vivek has been a globally syndicated columnist for The Washington Post and has held appointments as Distinguished Fellow at Harvard Law School’s Labor and Worklife Program, Carnegie Mellon University, and Emory University; adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon and Duke University; fellow at Stanford Law School and UC Berkeley; and head of faculty at Singularity University. He speaks and writes about advancing technologies that are transforming our world.

Peter Greenberg – Well-respected editor and journalist presenting the world through his eyes

Peter Greenberg is America’s most recognized, honored, and respected front-line travel news journalist. Peter is a Travel Editor for CBS News, appearing on The Early Show and across many CBS broadcast platforms.

Dr. Chris Stout – Best-selling author and start-up whisperer

Chris Stout is a licensed clinical psychologist and international humanitarian with a diverse background in various domains. He is the Founding Director of the top-ranked nonprofit Center for Global Initiatives, a Top Rated Healthcare Nonprofit. He has traveled the world, published 38 books, and won many accolades, including four additional doctorates (honoris causa) and invitations to TEDs, Davos, SXSW, and Renaissance Weekend. Chris was named one of the World’s Top 30 Startup Experts in 2024. He has been awarded 4 Humanitarian Awards and is in 3 Halls of Fame. Chris is a longtime LinkedIn Top Voice.

Chris Stout’s MWIE Episode

John Henry – Entrepreneur and brain behind AI-powered insurance company

John Henry is a Dominican-American entrepreneur and investor. He has been named to the Inc 30 Under 30, Adweek Creative 100, Forbes 30 Under 30, The Root 100, and Ebony Power 100 lists. He co-founded the first incubator in Harlem—Cofound Harlem— and later cofounded Harlem Capital, an early-stage, diversity-focused Venture Capital firm investing in women and minority founders. Today, John is the co-founder and co-CEO of LOOP, an AI-powered insurance company, and B-Corp, creating more equitable insurance for underserved communities.

The post The Most Impressive People to Follow on LinkedIn in the US appeared first on My Worst Investment Ever.

The Most Impressive People to Follow on LinkedIn in Indonesia

Andrew Stotz — Mon, 18 Oct 2021 07:55:15 +0000

Achmad Zaky – An exemplary tech figure in Indonesia

Achmad is the founder of Init 6, a venture capital that invests in early-stage startups to build a new way of life after Covid-19. He was also the founder and former CEO of Bukalapak, one of the largest e-commerce platforms in Indonesia. In 2016, Achmad received the Satyalancana Wira Karya badge of honor for his exemplary contribution to the country.

Patrick Cao – Leader of Indonesia’s new tech giant

Patrick is the group president of GoTo Group, the largest technology group in Indonesia, formed by merging Gojek, an Indonesian on-demand multi-service platform, and Tokopedia, one of Indonesia’s largest marketplace platforms. Before GoTo, he was the President and CFO of Tokopedia, leading the company’s financial technology businesses and global partnerships.

Rudolf Tjandra – Revolutionary market leader

Rudolf is the CEO and President of PT Sasa Inti, a leading and fastest-growing food and seasoning FMCG company in Indonesia. With decades of experience, he is known to bring success and transform companies into market leaders.

Eka Surbakti – Fearless logistics and transportation leader

Eka is the CEO of Lorena Group, one of Indonesia’s leading logistics and public transportation companies. Recently, the group’s transportation subsidiary is the first inter-city/inter-state bus service provider in Indonesia to go public.

Johnny Widodo – The automotive startup master

Johnny is the CEO in an automotive startup space with over 16 years of experience across multiple industries and geographies. He is active as a global speaker, advisory board member, and mentor in various organizations. He is also a co-author of 2 books and has published his biography. In his free time, he is passionate about weightlifting and hosts the J-Talk Podcast.

[Link to the episode]

Anindya Novyan Bakrie – Indonesian business magnate

Anindya is an Indonesian business figure, Telco-Media-Technology (TMT) investor, and philanthropist. He is the CEO and president director of PT Bakrie & Brothers Tbk (BNBR), the successor to the Bakrie Group, one of the oldest conglomerates in Indonesia. He is also the founder of VIVA Group, a leading publicly listed Indonesian media, entertainment, sports, and technology company in Southeast Asia.

Sigit Arifianto – The tireless and passionate entrepreneur

Sigit is the founder & CEO of Lister, a leading online platform to teach Indonesians foreign languages. He is an expert digital marketer, and he’s bringing into the team a proven track record of successful digital marketing campaigns, social media branding, and his experience in developing apps and webs for businesses.

Irfan Setiaputra – Indonesia’s national airline’s new boss

Irfan is the President and CEO of Garuda Indonesia, the national airline of Indonesia. Before his appointment, he served as INTI President Director, was also the CEO of PT Titan Mining Indonesia, COO of PT ABM Investama Tbk, President Director of PT Cipta Kridatama, President Director of PT Reswara Minergi Hartama, and CEO of Sigfox Indonesia.

Handry Satriago – GE’s Indonesian leader

Handry is the President of General Electric Indonesia (GE) Indonesia. He joined GE in 1997 as Business Development Manager in GE International, after several years working on local companies. Over the past 15 years of working at GE, he had several roles in the business and was responsible for the company’s development and growth in Indonesia.

Harneet Singh – Indonesia’s pizza boss

Harneet has been the CEO of Domino’s Pizza Indonesia since 2017. He turned around the struggling Domino’s Pizza business in Indonesia, from one of the worst-performing markets for Domino’s globally to one of the top-performing markets and a profitable business. Under his leadership, Domino’s Pizza Indonesia won gold Franny awards, given by Domino’s Pizza International to the best-performing markets across the globe.

Martyn Terpilowski – Location and business intelligence software expert

Martyn is the founder and member of the board at Bhumi Varta Technology, the leading location, and business intelligence software provider in Indonesia. After setting up his own boutique Venture Capital business in Singapore in late 2016, Martyn moved to Indonesia in 2018 to focus on his primary investment Bhumi Varta Technology.

Edward Tirtanata – Coffee and tea master

Edward is the co-founder and CEO of Kopi Kenangan, a non-franchise tech-enabled grab-and-go coffee chain with more than 500 stores across 32 cities in Indonesia. He is also the Founder of Lewis & Carroll Tea, one of the market leaders for premium tea houses.

Ongki Kurniawan – Revenue and growth expert

Ongki is the country head of Stripe Indonesia, a global tech company that builds economic infrastructure for the internet. Before joining Stripe, he was also the executive director of Grab Indonesia, and before that, he was the managing director of LINE Indonesia.

Arief Prasetyo Adi – Indonesia’s agro-industry visionary

Arief is the President Director of PT. Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia (RNI). The company helps the government’s food sector to achieve national food security. Prior to his appointment, he was the president director of PT. Food Station Tjipinang Jaya. In 2020 he was awarded as the “Top Leader on CSR Commitment,” “The Best CEO BUMD,” and “CMO of the Year.”

William Tanuwijaya – Leader of Indonesia’s e-commerce giant

William is the co-founder and CEO of Tokopedia, a leading Indonesian tech company with the largest e-Commerce platform. With the newly merged GoTo Group, he is now one of Indonesia’s most valuable tech company leaders. In 2019, he received a Medal of Honor from the President of the Republic of Indonesia for his contribution to Indonesia’s technology and economic growth.

Rama Raditya – Indonesia’s hope to better public service

Rama is the founder and CEO of Qlue Smart City, a comprehensive smart city provider company in Indonesia. Through Qlue’s app, people can relay their public complaints and comments about daily problems or inconveniences in the city. This helps the government to be more effective and efficient in its operations.

Hadi Kuncoro – Ecommerce omnichannel enabler and supply chain expert

Hadi is the group CEO of PowerCommerce.Asia, an e-commerce omnichannel enabler and supply chain tech solution-services company. He has more than 20 years of experience in startup and scale-up companies, both local and multinational companies. Before PowerCommerce.Asia, he was the Senior Advisor Staff of Economic Sector of Road Map E-commerce in the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs.

Irzan Raditya – Successful AI startup CEO

Irzan is the co-founder and CEO of Kata.ai, the first and leading artificial intelligence startup in Indonesia. The company offers an artificial intelligence-powered conversational platform to connect brands and businesses with millions of their audiences through the commonly-used messaging apps.

Nathanael Faibis – Indonesia’s healthcare portal leader

Nathanael is the CEO of Alodokter, the leading healthcare super app in Indonesia. Before founding Alodokter, he previously worked as the country head and global head of data management at Sanisphere and worked at Lazada Southeast Asia as the regional head of production and user experience.

The post The Most Impressive People to Follow on LinkedIn in Indonesia appeared first on My Worst Investment Ever.

The Most Impressive People to Follow on LinkedIn in India

Andrew Stotz — Sun, 10 Oct 2021 17:24:01 +0000

Haresh K Sippy – The pioneer of rolling Titanium tubes technology

Haresh is the Chief Founder of Tema India Ltd. An engineering graduate with close to 40 years of experience in Shell & Tube Heat Exchangers, he pioneered the technology of rolling Titanium tubes at the invitation of BAPCO, a large size refinery in Bahrain.

Vikram Deo – Experienced writer and expert marketer

Vikram is the Founder and CEO of Mirage Vialista. He has 11 years of experience as a Web Content Writer, Digital Marketer, Technical Writer, Copywriter, and Blogger.

Hemraj Parmar – Healthcare leader and author

Hemraj is a highly driven, focused and committed top C-suite healthcare professional with more than three decades of frontline global healthcare industry leadership experience with substantial P&L accountabilities.

Vivek Sagar – Lead HealthTech authority and innovator

Vivek is presently the founder of HopeQure, a HealthTech platform for Corporate Employee Wellness Program, helping the advancement in Mental Wellness by deploying advancement in Psychology along with AI & Deep Learning Models. He founded EMVANTAGE Payments in 2012 that Amazon acquired in 2016, and helped create Amazon Pay, a customer-centric payments process transforming the digital payment experience by launching a trusted and convenient way to pay.

Smriti Tomar – Personal finance guru for millennials

Smriti is the founder and CEO of Stack Finance, an advisory firm to help make financial planning accessible and affordable in India. In five years, she has gained vast experiences from working as a financial advisor, data analyst, and business development associate. Her strength revolves around Investment consultant, marketing, product management, public speaking, and content creation.

Arpita Gupta – The insightful data scientist

Arpita is the founder of Let the Data Confess, which aims to bridge the gap between research and industry domains in India’s AI field. She has three years of experience as a research scientist, data mining, data modeling, product development, and AI deep learning. With her vast understanding of technology, her goal is to make AI education simple and interesting that anyone can apply not only in their career but to ameliorate society.

Dr. Sudhir Gavhane – The acclaimed vice-chancellor

Dr. Sudhir is the founding vice-chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi Mission University, an establishment built to foster dynamic, proactive, and passionate leaders who strive to make a difference in India. He published over 1,000 media articles and books throughout 40 years of working.

Tanya K. Mehra – Pioneer of India’s digital advancement

Tanya is the director of India Blockchain Alliance. A marketing graduate with close to 10 years of experience, she oversees all liaison, marketing, advertising, positioning, and promotional activities to revolutionize India’s digital transformation through STEM Education and Blockchain.

Jitendra Gupta – The ingenious banking leader

Jitendra is the founder of Jupiter and Citrus Payment Solution. Prior to Citrus, he worked with ICICI bank for 7 years, wherein he was part of the founding team of the Retail cross-sell and Investment banking division in the bank. In 4 years, he had grown Citrus into a 300 member+ strong team and raised over USD 25 million.

CP Gurnani – An Influential driving force

Gurnani is the chief executive officer and managing director of Tech Mahindra. He led Tech Mahindra’s transformation journey and one of the biggest turnarounds of Indian Corporate History – the acquisition and merger of Satyam. He has been awarded the ‘Best CEO of the year’ three years in a row by Business Today.

Abhay K. Jain – Educator and innovative CEO

Abhay is the chairman and managing director of Virtual Voyage – an institution that serves as a platform for students to enhance the overall educational experience of young minds through a range of extracurricular programs, facilities, services and activities. Through his institution, he yearns to modernize the educational system to allow for new thoughts that would contribute to society.

RL Narayanan – India’s leading tech educator

Narayanan is the vice chairman of the Centre for Innovation in Education and Empowerment. He is a performance hacker for problems across the spectrum, from individual leaders to corporations. His mission is to bring economic prosperity through collaboration and innovation in education and technology that transforms.

Chris K. Franzen – Prominent hotel specialist

Chris is the area vice president for Hyatt Hotels and general manager for the Grand Hyatt Mumbai Hotel & Residences. He is passionate about delivering above-and-beyond moments for the guests and colleagues in a luxury environment. He believes in service excellence and in being passionate about everything he does as the key to success.

Bharani K. Depuru – The experience AI director

Bharani is the director of Innodatatics and has more than 15 years of experience working in various capacities with companies including HSBC, ITC Infotech, Infosys, Deloitte.

Harshil Mathur – The pioneer of digitalized payment

Harshil is the CEO and co-founder of Razorpay and the company’s mission to simplify payments. They started in early 2014 and are now one of the fastest-growing neobanking companies.

Rajiv Dingra – India’s tech disruptor

Rajiv is the CEO and founder of RD&X Network. An influential guru that offers companies holistic deep tech products and solutions for creative, media, data, and business transformation to help achieve exponential growth.

Ashish Kashyap – India’s digital payment platform inventor

Ashish is the founder of INDmoney and Super Money Application. He is also the founder and X-CEO of ibibo (Goibibo & redBus) – India’s leading online travel group. He founded ibibo-Pay/ PayU – leading FinTech payments player. He was featured in the 2015 Economic Times and was in the top 100 powerful digital Mavens of India in 2012 and 2013.

Kunal Shah – The CEO with a passion for innovative technology

Kunal is the Founder and CEO of Cred. An MBA dropout from Mumbai’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Kunal had later launched several successful ventures such as PaisaBack.

Shilpa D. Puri – Digital transformational leader

Shilpa is the marketing director for Samsung Electronics. She has 21 years of digital marketing and strategy experience spanning multiple industries. Recognized by many, she has been invited to speak at various technology and digital forums across the country.

Anuj Midha – Business-scaling leader

Anuj is the CEO at RentSher India. He is an experienced corporate head with over 20+ working experience in big MNCs as well as startups. He is professionally skilled in business management, business process, service delivery, performance tuning, requirements analysis, business development, fundraising, and business process design.

Apurva Chamaria – India’s chief of global businesses

Apurva is a director at Tech Mahindra. In 2016, he was awarded the “Marketer of the Year” by World Leadership Forum, “Digital Marketer of the Year” by IAMAI, and “B2B Marketer of the Year” by Paul Writer. He was recently featured in Pluralsight Digi100 List Powered by Paul Writer, recognizing the top 100 Digital Marketers in India.

Amitabh Ray – A global leader and author

Amitabh is a managing director at Ericsson and an author. He has over 10 years of experience in managing operations in the areas of R&D, product development, pre-sales & sales support, services delivery, and several global shared support functions.

Manu K. Jain – India’s smartphone man

Manu is the vice president at Xiaomi Technology. He played a major role in bringing Xiaomi to India, considering the spike in traffic on India’s e-commerce platform. Currently, Xiaomi is the No. 1 smartphone brand in India in terms of the total number of smartphone sales.

Saurabh Sinha – India’s digital news platform creator

Saurabh is the founder and CEO of IndianBureaucracy. Within 5 years, the website has transformed into a one-stop service for all bureaucrats and civil services of India for their daily news.

Arijit Bhattacharyya – A serial entrepreneur and visionary

Arjit is the founder of World Leader Summit, an organization devoted to entrepreneurs in all industries, at all stages, from incubation, throughout the entrepreneurial lifecycle. He has over two decades of experience in finance and technology. He is also an international public speaker, keynote speaker, panelist, and jury member at multiple global events.

Hansi Mehrotra – India’s top private wealth educator

Hansi is the founder and editor of Money Management India. With over 20 years as an investment consultant, she is a leading expert that provides financial content such as investments, personal finance, and private wealth management through her digital platforms.

Avelo Roy – A born tech leader

Avelo is a tech entrepreneur, investor, 4 times TEDx speaker & TV Host who started his first company at the age of 19 around his patent-pending technology while still studying at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He built it to a million-dollar valuation by the age of 22.

Shashank Randev – India’s B2B technology startup expert

Shashank is the Founder of Venture Capital at 100X.VC, which was India’s first venture fund to invest in early-stage startups using iSAFE Notes. He brings entrepreneurial and investment understanding with more than 15 years of cross-functional expertise.

Kunal Chandiramani – Internet entrepreneur, inventor, and author

Kunal is a well-known entrepreneur, inventor, and international best-selling author. He is the founder of Kstar and dToks. He is also a prominent figure in India, appearing more than three times as a TEDx Speaker.

Anil Sardana – The tycoon of global franchises

Anil is the managing director and CEO of Adani Transmission Ltd. He has more than 40 years of experience as a managing director of several globally known companies.

Shradha Sharma – India’s queen of startups

Shradha is the founder and CEO of YourStory, a digital-media platform for startups and entrepreneurs. She founded YourStory in 2008 to champion the untold stories of entrepreneurship in India. Her company was declared as “India’s biggest and definitive platform for startups and entrepreneurs-related stories, resources, news, and research reports.”

Vani Kola – India’s leading venture capitalist

Vani is the founder and managing director of Kalaari Capital, an Indian early-stage venture capital firm. She is a renowned investor and a visionary known for identifying emerging markets. Vani has become an influential voice in the country’s vibrant startup ecosystem and has been listed as one of Fortune India’s “Most Powerful Women in Business.”

Abhijit Bhaduri – Best-selling author on technology and leadership

Abhijit is an Indian author, columnist, and one of India’s leading management consultants. He was the former chief learning officer of Wipro and has led HR teams at Microsoft, PepsiCo, Colgate, and Tata Steel. He has been described as one of India’s “Most Interesting Globalists” by Forbes magazine.

Pooja Sareen – The voice of the Indian startup ecosystem

Pooja is the co-founder at Inc42 Media, a leading Indian media and information platform are known for its end-to-end coverage of the Indian startup ecosystem. She has been recognized as one of the “Top 25 Voices of LinkedIn India for 2018”. She has also been a recipient of the “Indian Women Excellence and Leadership Award” in the Media category at the National Women Leadership Summit 2019.

Adhil Shetty – India’s money management expert

Adhil is the CEO and co-founder of India’s one of the biggest startups, BankBazaar.com, a leading online financial services website offering instant rate quotes on loans, credit cards, savings, and insurance products. He has been named the CEO of the Year for 2016 by CMO Asia.

Prabir Jha – One of India’s most iconic HR leaders

Prabir is the founder and CEO of Prabir Jha People Advisory, an Indian people advisory firm. Prabir is leading the company with decades of expertise in strategic HR, leadership, and organizational transformation.

Alok Kejriwal – Leading India’s vibrant startup economy

Alok is the co-founder and CEO of Games2win, one of the world’s largest casual mobile gaming companies and Alok’s fourth company. He is a serial entrepreneur who specializes in launching digital startups and making them profitable. His previous successful startup company, Mobile2win, was later acquired by The Walt Disney Company and Norwest Venture Partners.

Amit Somani – A top-notch leader of India’s internet space

Amit is the managing partner of Prime Venture Partners (PVP), a Bangalore-based early-stage venture fund. Before PVP, he held leadership roles for over 20 years at Makemytrip, Google, IBM Silicon Valley Labs, and IBM Almaden Research Centre. One of his products (the search-based keyword tool) won the Google founder’s award.

Ronnie Screwvala – A serial entrepreneur and champion for the poor

Ronnie is the co-founder and chairperson of upGrad, India’s largest online educational platform. He is a serial entrepreneur, producer, author, and key figure in India. Ronnie and his wife founded Swades Foundation, a champion for the poor, which focuses on empowering rural communities.

Kamal Karanth – Leading talent and staffing specialist

Kamal is the co-founder of Xpheno, a specialist staffing company in India. Kamal was the managing director of Kelly Services India and Malaysia and, previously, APAC head of Randstad based out of Kuala Lumpur. He is leading his company with over two decades of experience in the recruitment and staffing industry.

Divya Gokulnath – Passionate teacher and India’s leading ed-tech expert

Divya is the co-founder of Byju’s, India’s largest educational technology company. She is an educator passionate about creating and transforming new approaches to learning. She has been recognized as one of LinkedIn’s Top 25 Voices for 2019 and 2020.

Santosh Desai – India’s leading ad professional

Santosh is the managing director and CEO of Future Brands Ltd, India’s leading brand consulting and management firm. He has a popular weekly column, “City City Bang Bang,” and is a best-selling author of “Mother Pious Lady: Making Sense of Everyday India.”

Sid Pai – Deep science and deep tech venture capitalist

Sid is the co-founder of Siana Capital; an Indian venture capital firm focused on deep science and deep tech. He is a leading technology consultant who has personally led over $20 billion in complex, first-of-a-kind outsourcing transactions. He also writes a regular column for the Mint.

Aviral Bhatnagar – A Junior VC

Aviral is an investor and A Junior VC at Venture Highway. He leads SaaS, EdTech, Social, and High Tech. He previously helped set up the India fund for Guild Capital, an early-stage fund headquartered in the US. He also runs A Junior VC as a passion project, a highly rated platform that enables deep conversations about India’s startup and venture ecosystem and SEA.

Radhika Gupta – A successful CEO and a woman achiever

Radhika is the managing director and CEO of Edelweiss Asset Management Limited, one of India’s fastest-growing asset management companies across traditional mutual funds and public market alternatives. She is known as “the girl with the broken neck” who built a $4 billion asset manager.

Rekha Menon – NASSCOM’s First Female Chairperson

Rekha is the chairperson and senior managing director of Accenture in India and the chairperson of NASSCOM. She has also previously co-founded two tech companies and two not-for-profits. Her appointment as the chairperson of NASSCOM made history as she became the first woman ever to become the chairperson of NASSCOM.

Harjeet Khanduja – One of India’s top HR influencers

Harjeet is an Indian business executive, speaker, author, poet, HR leader, inventor, and influencer. He is currently working as the Vice President of HR at Reliance Jio. He is a TEDx speaker, and with his experience and expertise in human resource technology, his topics evolve around HR, leadership, technology, economics, and entrepreneurship.

Aditi Chaurasia – Leading tech maker

Aditi is the co-founder of EngineerBabu and co-founder and COO of Supersourcing. Apart from being an entrepreneur, she is also a mentor and a social media expert. With the success of her company, she has earned many awards in her journey. She has been invited to events as a speaker, including Google events.

Vineet Nayar – Visionary, thinker, and hero of philanthropy

Vineet is the former CEO of HCL Technologies and now a founder and chairman of Sampark Foundation. He is an acknowledged management visionary, a radical thinker, and a philanthropist. He is the author of the critically acclaimed management book “Employees First, Customers Second: Turning Conventional Management Upside Down” (Harvard Business Press, June 2010).

Ajinkya Kulkarni – A tech and finance influencer

Ajinkya is the co-founder and CEO of WintWealth (previously GrowFix). His company offers high net-worth individuals and retail investors asset-backed fixed income products that provide higher returns than fixed deposits.

The post The Most Impressive People to Follow on LinkedIn in India appeared first on My Worst Investment Ever.

The Most Impressive People to Follow on LinkedIn in Singapore

Andrew Stotz — Wed, 06 Oct 2021 06:41:08 +0000

Chris DiSanto – Market growth strategy leader

Chris is the Director at DXC Technology. Chris has been working in the technology sector for 20+ years, the past 15 years at the executive level. He enjoys working with growth companies and serving as a trusted executive to CEOs, MDs and founders focused on growth, revitalizing great companies.

Natalie Turner – Inventor of the 6 ’I’s® of Innovation

Natalie is an author, writer, and speaker in innovation and leadership development and the inventor of the 6 ’I’s® of Innovation. She is the Founder and CEO of The Entheo Network and has consulted with some of the world’s leading organizations, including LEO Pharma Asia, Kellogg’s, Singapore Airlines, and CISCO Systems.

Wern-Yuen Tan – The CEO with a strong passion for operations and action

Wern-Yuen is currently the CEO of Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, and China (APAC) and leads the PepsiCo business across both foods and beverages in one of the world’s fastest-growing and most dynamic regions.

Mohan Belani – The purpose-driven tech CEO

Mohan is the Co-Founder and CEO of e27, which was founded in 2007. It’s a community by a group of passionate individuals wanting to build the startup ecosystem in Singapore. In the present, e27 has turned into a leading regional tech ecosystem platform.

Christie Fernandez – CEO, mobility futurist, and clean tech evangelist

Christie is the founder of Sooorya EV Pte Ltd. He is on a mission to create a positive impact in clean transportation & energy. He launched Sooorya EV – an electric vehicle startup focused on providing affordable, comfortable, and eco-friendly ridesharing in the emerging markets.

Sopnendu Mohanty – The monetary authority of Singapore

Sopnendu is responsible for creating development strategies, public infrastructure, and regulatory policies around technology innovation. Mohanty has spent over 20 years in various leadership roles globally in technology, finance, and innovation. He has co-authored several patented works in the retail distribution of the financial sector.

Eli Lee – Bank of Singapore’s Investment Expert

Eli plays a central role in developing asset allocation and thematic strategies across global asset classes for the Bank of Singapore. He is a key member of the Bank of Singapore’s investment committee, which determines the Group’s overall investment strategy and direction.

Michele Ferrario – Automated wealth builder

Michele is the co-founder at StashAway. He has ten years of experience building consumer internet companies in both the startup and the scale-up phase. His strength is helping people to manage their savings in a simple, transparent, and cost-efficient way.

Nicholas Fang – Well-rounded sports director

Nicholas is the director at Singapore Sports Hub. His expertise lies in covering business and sports and writing columns on lifestyle and features on social trends.

Chris J. Reed – The CEO with a mohawk

Chris is the founder of Black Marketing. He is recognized for launching “Black Marketing – The Dark Art of Social Media Marketing,” which has won countless industry awards, such as being the number one international bestselling book on LinkedIn.

Terilee Harrison – Superwoman of virtual networking

Terilee is the founder of Terilee Harrison International. In the past 15 years, she has helped thousands of business owners in the most lucrative way through her high-impact networker 6-Week Online Boot Camp.

Geoff Howie – Singapore’s leading market strategist

Geoff is the market strategist at Singapore Exchange. He has accumulated over 10 years of experience in communicating and continuing to evolve the relevance of stocks and products listed for trading on SGX.

Chris Feng – Shopee and SeaMoney’s CEO

Chris is the Chief Executive Officer at Shoppe. For six years, he served as the head of the mobile business and was responsible for operating the mobile game business for the company.

Juliana Chan – A scientist and a high-performing CEO

Juliana is the Chief Executive Officer at Wildtype Media Group. As a leader of the World Economic Forum and using that platform, she strongly stands for public scientific literacy, inclusion and diversity in STEM, and the science communication industry in Asia.

Dione Song – Advocate for modern Asian women

Dione is the Chief Executive Officer at Love, Bonito. Her vision is to build a female brand of the future that is truly thoughtful and the epitome of new retail, to achieve perfection around the community, product, and experience.

Will Buck – Singapore’s real estate leader

Will is the managing director at Macdonald & Company, the leading recruitment consultancy. His specialty is within the property/real estate industry, working for developers, consultancy companies, investors, and banks.

Marcus Loh – Strategic communication expert

Marcus is the regional director and head of technology at WE Communications. His strength includes reputation management, integrated communications, and institutional relations across multiple sectors such as technology and public service.

Justin McGuire – Exceptional talent consultant

Justin is the co-founder at DMCG Global. With over 10 years of work experience, his vision remains centered on connecting businesses with the brightest talent in the marketing, communications, and digital space, to enable progress for companies and individuals alike.

Adrian Choo – Ultimate career strategist

Adian is the founder of Career Agility International. In three years, he helped more than thousands of clients successfully achieve clarity in their careers, using a proprietary framework and a deep understanding of career dynamics.

Magnus Grimeland – Global venture capitalist

Magnus is the founder of Antler. In three years, he has led a global team across five continents with the mission to improve the world by supporting founders who are building the defining companies. His expertise lies in building a portfolio for companies worldwide and connecting businesses with an unparalleled global network of entrepreneurial leaders and advisors.

Caspar Schlickum – Multiskilled business leader

Caspar is managing director at Accenture Interactive. He is an experienced business and team leader who has successfully led the growth and development of startups and established businesses. He is also an author, blogger, and keynote speaker.

Puja Bhandari – Accomplished leadership coach

Puja has over a decade of experience in human resources in varied sectors globally. Her clients have recognized her for her out of box thinking and result-based approach. Her coaches view her as a change agent who helps them to be the best version of themselves that they are, can be, and should be.

Syn Yew Y. – Fintech enthusiast

Syn is the head of Credit Training at DBS Bank. His main role is running advanced credit curriculum for bankers, applying analytical tools to help clients. At the same time, he coaches selected aspiring junior bankers to accelerate their experiences with live cases.

Anna Vanessa Haotanto – Singapore’s dynamic fintech leader

Anna is the CMO and managing director at Gourmet Food Holdings. Her focus is on technology initiatives, data analytics, ad tech, media, creative & public relations.

Lutfey Siddiqi – Global investment banker

Lutfey is a member of the Executive Leadership team at CFA Institute. He is the Chief Account Officer for the organization’s engagement, liaison, and partnership with members and stakeholders, including industry and academia.

Rena Ling – A martecheter and futurist

Rena is the regional head of marketing and communications for Randstad. She is an exceptional marketing talent who is future-ready and possesses the courage to embrace changes, the acumen to identify the trends of tomorrow, and the relentless commitment to delivering an exceptional level of customer service.

Anna Gong – Global leader in lifestyle marketing

Anna is the CEO and founder of Perx Technologies. During her 20-year+ career, she built five startups and three global companies in the software industry. Her expertise lies in consumer engagement, loyalty solutions, and meeting customers’ rising digital expectations.

Karen Foo – Singapore’s top forex trader

Karen is a motivational speaker, financial trainer, and author. She was ranked #1 in a Singapore nationwide Forex trading competition. She’s a proven forex trader whose expertise lies in risk management and formulating investment plans.

Andrew Bryant – World-class self-leadership speaker and coach

Andrew, an individual globally known for his expertise in self-leadership. He is a C-suite advisor, an award-winning coach, and a best-selling author. He is on a mission to “wake people up” to their best possible selves, which he does through his conference keynotes, leadership team facilitation, and coaching.

Darryl Tom – Top private wealth manager

Darryl is a private wealth manager at REYL Group who delivers personalized, comprehensive wealth management strategies and solutions to high-net-worth individuals. He has over seven years of experience in providing investment portfolio construction and business training and development for large multinational firms.

Eduardo Saverin – Co-founder of Facebook

Eduardo is a co-founder and the first investor of Facebook Inc. After playing a part in Facebook’s remarkable transition; he is now the co-founder and partner of B Capital Group – a venture capital firm transforming large traditional industries across borders and geographies. He is based in Singapore and loves to play chess in his spare time.

Anthony Tan – Co-founder of Grab

Anthony is the co-founder and currently the group CEO of Grab – Southeast Asia’s leading mobile super app, which offers transportation, food delivery, and digital payments services. Tan, at the age of 39, is one of Singapore’s 50 Richest in 2021.

Chatri Sityodtong – The sports boss of Asia

Chatri is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Group ONE Holdings (ONE) – Asia’s largest global sports media platform in history. He is the star of the latest 2021 edition of The Apprentice, the award-winning global reality TV show. Not only was he a self-made entrepreneur, but he was also named Asia’s King of Martial Arts by the Financial Times.

Philippa “Pip” Penfold – Human resource and digital crossover expert

Philippa is the CEO of People Collider; a company focused on improving HR’s ability to create a more human future through technology. Her broad experience in Human Resources across different cultures in Asia and her curiosity about technology make her one of the best in the field.

Valentin Preobrazhenskiy – The authority in blockchain technology

Valentin is the founder of the multi-asset trading and tokenization platform LATOKEN. He is well-experienced in trading and blockchain technology.

Nicholas Goh – Passionate global consultant

Nicholas is the founder and group CEO of Verztec Consulting, the leading global content consulting services company in Asia. He has vast experience in digital media, global marketing, globalization consulting & localization project management, software engineering, and new customer acquisition & retention.

Naveen Kumar – The visionary for change and transformation

Naveen is the founder and CEO of Nityo Infotech, one of the best IT services companies around the globe. He started the company in 2006, and since then, the company has expanded to 30 offices worldwide to cater to its clients in 20 countries.

Grant Shuai Lai – The pillar of automobile and equipment manufacturing

Grant is the co-founder of Weichai Singapore Pte Ltd, one of the world’s largest automobile and equipment manufacturers. He has brought more than 10 years of experience in product and service management, marketing, and training to the company.

Ravi Machiraju – Skilled corporate matchmaker

Ravi is the President & CEO of Maxima Global Executive Search, a Singapore headquartered global consulting company. With Ravi leading the company, it has grown and has partnered with companies from all over Asia, US, Europe, and Melbourne.

Varun Mittal – Talented digital business builder

Varun is a global emerging markets fintech leader, author, and investor. Currently, he’s a partner at Ernst & Young, bringing in his vast experience at the cross-section of digital business building and financial services in Southeast Asia and global emerging markets.

Magnus Ekbom – Lazada’s co-founder and strategy specialist

Magnus is Lazada group’s co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer. With his 10 years of experience initially handling the company’s operations in Indonesia, he has become one of the driving forces behind Lazada’s success.

Jochen Wirtz – The undisputed expert of service marketing

Jochen is the Vice Dean for MBA Programmes, a Professor of Marketing at the NUS Business School and National University of Singapore (NUS), and an author of over 20 books. Dr. Wirtz is a leading authority on services marketing and management. His research has been published in academic journal articles and has received recognition for his excellence in research and teaching.

Douglas Abrams – An experienced venture investor and educator

Douglas heads Expara Ventures as the managing director. He brings to the company his 14 years as a corporate entrepreneur at JP Morgan in New York. He is also an experienced venture investor and educator in Singapore and Bangkok.

Damien Duhamel – Leader in management consulting business

Damien is the founder and managing partner of YCP Solidiance, a corporate strategy consulting firm in Asia. Once founded as Solidiance Asia Pacific in 2006 and later acquired by YCP Group in 2018, Damien has been responsible for YCP Solidiance’s success in innovation and competitive strategies.

Prithvi Shergill – A founder, investor, and ideapreneur

Prithvi is an experienced corporate business officer with a background working in the information technology and services industry. He was the former Chief Human Resources Officer at HCL Technologies and left the company in 2017. He co-founded and is currently the Head of Talent Enablement and Workplace Design at Smarten Spaces.

Rachel Lim – One of the three pillars of Love, Bonito

Rachel is the co-founder of Love, Bonito is the leading and largest vertically integrated, omnichannel women’s fashion brand in Singapore. With her own experience having started her own fashion business online at 19 years old, she continues to impact the company’s growth and success, being at the forefront of the regional fashion industry.

Keith Tan – The Wonder man

Keith is the founder of Wonder, a global human resource and technology services provider in Asia. With his experience in the digital and technology business, he leads in helping companies build and manage software development teams.

Poon Da Qian – CEO of BUTLER and always at your service

Poon is the founder and CEO of BUTLER, Singapore’s finest asset, property, and lifestyle management group. At a young age, Poon was already an entrepreneur and helped his mother manage their F&B business and started his own business at the age of 18. Cut short when he enlisted in the army, he used this time to visit over 200 luxury hotels in Asia and gain insightful knowledge on hospitality management.

Andre Hsu – Expert business structure engineer

Andre is a director at NYS (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. He works with CEOs, board of directors, business owners as their strategic thinker and holistic advisor. He introduces effective business strategies to attain sustainable corporate growth with organizational balance and harmony.

Justin Sun – Most noteworthy new entrepreneur

Justin is the CEO of BitTorrent, founder of TRON Foundation, and Peiwo app. He was named Forbes’ 30 under 30 Asia in 2017 and Forbes’ 30 under 30 China from 2015 to 2017. With his lead, TRON has become one of the most popular blockchains globally, and Peiwo is now one of the largest voices live streaming apps in China.

Sudhir Agarwal – Selfless mentor and visionary leader

Sudhir is the CEO of Everise, a Singapore-based technology-enabled outsourcing firm with expertise in transforming healthcare and technology experiences. He leads the company to its success with his two decades of corporate leadership and management experience.

Ankiti Bose – Super-achiever boss of Zilingo

Ankiti is the co-founder and CEO of Zilingo, a Singapore-based B2B technology and commerce platform in the fashion industry. Zilingo started as a mobile-first e-commerce marketplace and has expanded into a B2B tech platform, with services spanning different offerings for players across the fashion supply chain.

Rahul Garg – CEO of a unicorn company

Rahul is the founder of Moglix, a B2B e-commerce platform for industrial products. Now a unicorn company, Rahul has built a powerhouse that can redefine the B2B e-commerce business.

Roshni Mahtani Cheung – Empowered woman, leader, and entrepreneur

Roshni is the Group CEO and founder of theAsianparent.com. She leads the company with her 15 years of media and marketing experience across the US and Asia Pacific. The company has become Southeast Asia’s largest and number one parenting platform.

Steve Lee – Singapore’s national health-tech leader

Steve is the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Integrated Health Information Systems (IHiS), Singapore’s national health tech agency. Steve is responsible for implementing service strategy and overseeing service delivery to stakeholders in the Public Healthcare sector.

Abhishek Gupta, Rameez Ansar, and Adeel Najam – The trio of disruptors

Abhishek, Rameez, and Adeel are the founders of Circles. Life, a digital mobile service company. The trio aimed to be a disrupting force which they have been since their launch in 2013. Now, that company has owned and partner operations throughout Asia.

Dr. CJ Meadows – A thought leader on tomorrow’s innovation

Dr. CJ is a coach, consultant, entrepreneur, eBusiness builder, educator, author, and speaker. She’s been awarded as one of Asia’s Top 10 Women in IT. She leads a Design Thinking & Innovation Center at a Forbes Top-20 International Business School, co-founded an Advanced Technology Think Tank & Tinker Lab, and is the Chairman & Co-Founder of The Tiger Center.

Stephen John Dale – Toy designer and film director, turned CEO

Stephen is the co-founder of Dechen House Pte. Ltd. With 22 years of experience, from his career in international education to toy designing for Hasbro; to producing international television and events, he is on a mission to build and develop a group of companies with local and international entrepreneurs.

Laurianne Brochard Roche – The recruitment expert in Singapore

Laurianne is the executive director of Morgan Philips Executive Search for the SEA Region. Her expertise is focused on executive search & talent consultancy. She’s based in Singapore, but she travels and exposes herself to diverse cultures to help develop her skills and knowledge in her field, making her initiatives more effective and her decision-making more efficient.

Shiva Venkatraman – Digital evangelist and award-winning mentor

Shiva is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Varidus – a leading venture builder firm in Singapore. He has 20 years of executive and board-level experience across the commercial sector with experience in the telecommunications, finance, IT, technology, and software development industries. He is also an award-winning educator.

David Wee – Author, speaker and one of LinkedIn Top Voices in 2022

David is a member of the Council of Advisors at Avvanz, a technology-based employee lifecycle management company. He has spent 3 decades of his career in diverse organizations that include government agencies (National Productivity Board and Bank Negara’s ICLIF), MNCs (GE and J&J) and conglomerates (SinarMas Group). He was co-author of Lights, Camera and Action. He has spoken at numerous conferences and delivered workshops across the world.

The post The Most Impressive People to Follow on LinkedIn in Singapore appeared first on My Worst Investment Ever.

Overreliance on or Ignoring the Experts Can Both Do Damage

Andrew Stotz — Wed, 08 May 2019 06:00:55 +0000

My worst investment, in terms of stupidity, but not the biggest loss, was when I started acting on information I heard on a radio program about investing in stocks.

Past performance is no guarantee of future success

I had listened to this show and had been very lucky with my first investment; a Danish company making windmills since 1945, Vestas Wind Systems A/S (VWS:DC, VWS.DE), which no one seemed to have much faith in anymore. I had bought the stock at a share price of around 25 euro. The radio expert believed it was a goner, but I bought it as my first stock ever and sold it 1.5 years later for a share price of 300 euro! Not a bad gain at all.

One win can make an investor brim with confidence

So there I was, standing on a mountain of pride, believing that I could do much better than all the experts on Earth; the king of money, top of the heap. So the next time that the expert on the radio said don’t buy, I knew I should buy. So I went back to the radio show, heard about a stock that was very low and bought a large amount of these shares. This would teach me that I was not the king of money, not even close to top of the heap, and that I couldn’t beat the experts. Basically, I ended up losing my second investment ever. The stock was worth nothing, just like the expert had said.

Andrew’s takeaways – Avoid these errors to become a better investor

Only listen to experts when they’re right

The reality is that experts are hardly any better at investing than the rest of us. There are a handful that may be skilled, but these are hard to find, and you can lose a lot trying to find them. There’s nothing wrong with getting ideas from experts, but then you’ve got to do your research to support your investment thesis. But even doing that research does not assure success, which is why it’s important to write down your risk plan. What will you do if the stock goes down? At what price will you act?

Being contrarian only works sometimes

It’s quite a feeling of satisfaction when you bet against the crowd, and you’re right. Or when you bet against an individual and you are right. But don’t let the overconfidence of such an experience take you over, as no one is consistently right or consistently wrong. Okay, well maybe your ex-girlfriend or wife.

Mistakes in this story

1. Failed to do their own research

Relied on the assumptions of others
Inadequately researched type of investment
Ignored a professional’s advice

2. Failed to properly assess and manage risk

Assumed past performance would continue

The post Overreliance on or Ignoring the Experts Can Both Do Damage appeared first on My Worst Investment Ever.

One of Thousands Who Followed the Herd to Big Losses in the Dot Com Era

Andrew Stotz — Tue, 07 May 2019 06:00:57 +0000

The worst investment experience in my life was during the Dot Com period of the late 1990s, when almost everyone was a fanatic about the “Internet magic”. I was no exception. Many friends around me were talking about the idea of start-ups and later selling the “company” to some big guys on The Street, such as Yahoo or whoever, and making billions from this Internet dream.

Dream of joining the Net champagne set ends in defeat

I lost every penny that I invested. Although it was not the end of the world, a great deal of money had gone to my Dot Com dreams. The good part was that I still had my day job to survive, but the bad part was that I had to set aside my visions of caviar, yachts, and champagne. I had to return to basics and work my butt off for a living.

If you’re not among the smartest, don’t invest in a craze

Before you make an investment in a start-up, you must ask yourself some serious questions. Are you smarter and luckier than Joseph Tsai (Jack Ma’s legendary partner)? If not, you should not follow a fad. If you are not an expert in the target industry or business type, you will most likely be the last investor to get on any particular bandwagon.

You know about the target company and its industry?

Just say no to unfamiliar investments or business plans. Do not invest in a business you do not know or about which you have little knowledge. Often, your “good” friends will put some “good” investment opportunities in front of you and you will be too kind to refuse. Be tough on each investment, treating each outlay as a completely separate venture, looking at all conditions, every time, because this is your money!

Don’t walk into a casino if you’re not willing to lose it all

Question the suitability of the investment to your risk appetite. Ask yourself: “Can the entire investment evaporate without putting a dent in my life? Most of all, don’t act as an angel investor in a company’s early stages unless you have more than US$100 million free cash to throw away and you love to help young people to be successful.

Be ready to endure the long haul without reward

Look at the long-time horizon and ask yourself if you can survive without any returns for a long time. Otherwise, don’t act like a private equity investor, because it can take more than five to 10 years to have sufficient returns to exit, and that’s if you’re lucky.

Andrew’s takeaways – Avoid these errors to become a better investor

Dreams can be very expensive investments

Throughout our lives we will be approached by people with exciting dreams of business success. My blanket advice is: DON’T INVEST. Investing in start-ups is such a high-risk endeavor; the odds are you will never see your money again. It is an extremely rare case that you get your money back.

Diversification is key, but you probably can’t afford it

The best way to handle this type of high-risk investment in a start-up is to diversify. If you have $10 million, put $1 million in 10 different start-ups. If you have $100 million put $1 million in 100 different start-ups. This is a suitable level of diversification when it comes to start-ups. The problem is most people don’t have this kind of money to invest. So, they shouldn’t be doing it.

Most people just wish they were angels

A common angel investment story is that someone makes good money in an investment and feels overconfident and decides to become an “angel” investor (Definition: A person who sprinkles money on a start-up like an angel from heaven). The angel picks out a company that they like, and they put a bit of money into it. Within months, that start-up is gasping for money and the investor will have little choice but to add more. Most people won’t walk away from the money they have already put in (and lost) and, as a result, they put more money in and eventually lose it all. You will hear a loud thump as this angel falls to earth. However, I cannot deny that there are lucky ones; if you are one of those, please disregard this paragraph.

Mistakes in this story

1. Failed to do their own research

Inadequately researched type of investment

2. Failed to properly assess and manage risk

Failed to match investments with risk appetite

3. Driven by emotion or flawed thinking trust

Let emotions drive their investment decisions
Was driven by FOMO

6. Invested in a start-up company

Invested in a start-up that lacked a clear business plan

The post One of Thousands Who Followed the Herd to Big Losses in the Dot Com Era appeared first on My Worst Investment Ever.

Missed Opportunity Stems from Hasty Decision on a Stock

Andrew Stotz — Mon, 06 May 2019 06:00:33 +0000

A few years ago, I bought a stock at 40,000 Vietnamese Dong (VND) per share (US1.71) after considering that the stock was undervalued. Then, the stock rallied to VND50,000 and dropped back to VND41,000/share. I sold all my stock at this price to protect the VND1,000/share gain! After my apparently overzealous reaction, the share price doubled over the ensuing six months.

Lessons learned from a basic overreaction

I let fear and short-term price movement drive my investment management decision. A rigorous review of the company’s fundamentals (financial modeling as just one tool to use in such a review) would have been a more reliable ground on which to base my actions. Furthermore, thorough analysis could have helped me to anticipate the near-term catalysts for the stock.

Andrew’s takeaways – Avoid these errors to become a better investor

The investment that wasn’t

Many stories of people’s worst investments are investments that the person didn’t make; often investments that they talked themselves out of. They saw Amazon or Walmart or Apple early but they didn’t buy. The particular mistake in the story above has to do with short-term thinking. I’m often amazed at how people are willing to take significant risks in a day or week or month, yet they rarely think about the long term.

Your time horizon is much longer than you think

The average 30-year-old person hopes to retire at 60, which means they have a 30-year investment horizon. But it doesn’t stop there; they also have another 20- or 30-year retirement horizon, a time during which they will need that money to grow. Create a long-term, diversified strategy; implement it. Let your investments grow, and you will be far ahead of most people.

Mistakes in this story

1. Failed to do their own research

Relied on the assumptions of others

3. Driven by emotion or flawed thinking

Let emotions drive their investment decisions

The post Missed Opportunity Stems from Hasty Decision on a Stock appeared first on My Worst Investment Ever.

Classic Bike Collecting Dust Is Better Than a Dog of an Underdog

Andrew Stotz — Fri, 03 May 2019 06:00:57 +0000

When initially considering what my worst investment was, I thought about the 50-year-old Royal Enfield motorcycle that I bought in my early 40s (guess why?), which is so delicate that it never works and just stands in my mother-in-law’s garage in Switzerland. But on further reflection, it still makes me happy that I own this bike, which means: “I’m such a cool dude.”

Ignoring expert means false bottom also ignored

My worst investment has to be when I convinced my wife (who is also my asset manager) to buy UBS Group AG (Swiss multinational investment bank [UBSG:SW, UBSG.S, ]) shares in 2009 or so after the bank had almost gone bankrupt and its shares had tumbled from 68 Swiss francs (CHF) to 20 CHF.

Disliked bank takes on flawed new luster

Actually, I had never liked UBS as a company, but I had thought that its share price had hit its bottom, that such a solid bank would never go under and that it would recover quickly. My wife thought it was a stupid idea but she allowed herself to be talked into the play.

Investor shuns inner voice, cheers for wrong underdog

The share price has never really recovered (remains at 13.64 CHF at the time of writing). Which is only half the reason why this was my worst investment. The main reason is that despite not liking UBS, I was suddenly forced to wish them well, even having to follow the news about these idiots.

What was learned

I gained two valuable insights: a) leave financial matters to my wife (a financial professional), b) only invest in companies that I actually like (their business model, passion, image, culture and the like).

Andrew’s takeaways – Avoid these errors to become a better investor

Just because it’s cheap

When I was young, my mother often said: “Just because it’s cheap, doesn’t mean you have to buy it.” Many people jump into an investment because they think it’s at a once-in-a-lifetime price. When the price is “cheap”, they ignore so many factors, such as the future outlook. Think about when you’ve gone shopping and found a deeply discounted item. It was neither exactly the right color nor exactly the right size, but the price was so low it was irresistible. This type of buying is usually a waste of money.

Write a plan and follow it

One of the most important steps in the process of investing is to write a plan and follow it. The benefit of writing a plan is that it requires you to think ahead about what it is you want to invest in. The plan also serves as a guide that you can compare your actions to see if you are investing the way you want. So, make a plan and follow it.

Mistakes in this story

1. Failed to do their own research

Failed to test the investment thesis
Ignored a professional’s advice

3. Driven by emotion or flawed thinking

Let emotions drive their investment decision

The post Classic Bike Collecting Dust Is Better Than a Dog of an Underdog appeared first on My Worst Investment Ever.

Classic Case of Caveat Emptor (Let the Buyer Beware)

Andrew Stotz — Thu, 02 May 2019 06:00:17 +0000

My biggest mistake was the purchase of a presale condominium unit in the Philippines as an investment without doing sufficient due diligence on the developer and the process itself.

Investor puts singular belief in property salesperson

I just believed what the real estate broker told me and now I’m at risk of defaulting and losing all the down payments that I have made over the course of more than two years, which amounts to 350,000 Philippine pesos (US$6,551).

Apparent ploy has building finished ahead of schedule

The broker had originally told me I would have four years to pay off the down payment at zero interest, but the condo project was completed in just two years. Now the developer is demanding full payment for all the outstanding balance, which amounts to 3 million pesos.

Failed to look at hidden fees, developer’s reputation

I also did not know that there would be miscellaneous and bank-processing fees that would pile up to hundreds of thousands of pesos. I have been talking to the banks but I do not qualify for a loan. I also found out recently that the developer has a bad record for customer service.

Lack of checks can wreak havoc on a portfolio

I was unprepared for all of these issues to arise and I have been stressed for more than two months already. If I could go back in time, I would double check all of the broker’s promises, clarify the vague statements in the contract, and ask previous homebuyers about their experience with the developer.

Andrew’s takeaways – Avoid these errors to become a better investor

**Check the references not given**

A critical step when you invest with anybody is to check references. Your first step in this process is to ask the individual or company if they have some references to recommend. But of course, expect these references to give good recommendations. True due diligence means to try to seek out people who have dealt with this company or individual before. Ask everybody you know if they have had any experience with this company or individual. Work hard to seek out the people who have worked with them and get references from them. This is where you find the really valuable things that can better help you make a truly informed decision.

What matters is that you have the cash at the time of transfer

When buying a condo that is about to be constructed, it’s critical to try to understand when it will be completed. It is at that time that full payment will be due. Right from the beginning, work with the banks to make sure you have financing lined up on that day. And from this story, we have learned to make sure you ask: “What if the condo is finished early and I don’t have bank financing lined up at that time?”

Mistakes in this story

1. Failed to do their own research

Relied on the assumptions of others
Neglected to read contract completely

2. Failed to properly assess and manage risk

Bought an illiquid investment

4. Misplaced trust

Failed to review a person’s history and references

The post Classic Case of Caveat Emptor (Let the Buyer Beware) appeared first on My Worst Investment Ever.

Silent Restaurant Partner Finds His Voice Too Late After Too Much Golf

Andrew Stotz — Wed, 01 May 2019 06:00:48 +0000

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 growth.

Thai company set up under 49/51 foreign/Thai split

He set up a company to administer the restaurant with paid-up capital of 20 million Thai baht (611,000 US dollars), which seemed more than enough for an initial investment and working capital. Because of the Thai regulations on foreign business ownership, he paid 49% under his own name and positioned his wife, Yingluck, as a 51% Thai nominee. All correct legal processes were apparently followed.

Thai wife manages chain as hubby hits the links

The day-to-day business of the outlet was managed by Yingluck while Kobayashi played golf on most days. The restaurant became very popular and expanded into several branches, all funded by the re-investment of profits.

Business, marital divorce leave proud investor with zero

Kobayashi was now very proud of his investment and celebrated by playing even more golf. This displeased Yingluck as he was not pulling his weight with any work on behalf of the restaurants. Disappointed with Kobayashi’s laziness, Yingluck sought a divorce, aided by her lawyer, Somchai. Somchai insisted that, in line with the registered shareholdings, 51% of the business should go to Yingluck, and 49% to Kobayashi. Of course, he was unhappy as Thai law supported Yingluck.

No one helps once-happy restauranteur get any return

Now he is left wondering when and how he can sell his 49% shareholding to someone willing to buy. Since the divorce, no one has come forward to buy his shares. No dividends have been paid to him. Rather large bonuses have been paid to directors, but he is now not a director. Meanwhile, the restaurant chain has gone from strength to strength in profitability and size. It turns out Kobayashi’s investment risk, inaction, the legal framework in which he was operating, and the lack of a path to sell his shares will leave him waiting for his return on the investment forever. To rub soy sauce in his wounds, his heirs might even be levied an inheritance tax on his holdings.

Andrew’s takeaways – Avoid these errors to become a better investor

Don’t start a business that’s illegal from the start

Many countries, including Thailand where this story occurred, have limits on the foreign ownership of companies. You may find it very common for foreign investors to set up structures suggested by lawyers to overcome these laws. But no matter how safe they may feel; the reality is that most of these structures go against the intent of the law. Of course, many people operate these kinds of businesses for decades with no problem. But if things go wrong, such structures can fall apart. In this situation, the structure was legally snatched away from this golf-hungry Japanese investor.

Nobody’s going to make money for you forever

You may find yourself in a situation where you are investing with someone who is doing a great job with your money. When faced with such a situation most people stop monitoring that investment. And eventually, things go wrong. In the above story, the investor felt comfortable and confident that his business partner (his wife) would be looking out for his interests, but eventually, things turned sour.

Be careful about doing business in a country you don’t know

It may seem exciting, and the opportunity may seem great, but doing business in a foreign country can be disastrous. Without deep knowledge of the language and the culture, things could be happening around you that you don’t even understand. It doesn’t mean it’s impossible to be successful, I have had my share of success in Thailand, but it means the trust between business partners is even more critical. Trust is probably the most important thing needed to be successful in a foreign country. Make sure to surround yourself with people you trust.

It rarely makes sense to go into business with your wife

It’s not impossible, and I’ve heard of success stories, but success in business with your spouse brings a whole new level of pressures and stresses on your relationship. The emotional roller coaster of business can be amplified by the personal emotions experienced by both of you. My advice? Enjoy your time in business and enjoy separate time with your spouse.

Our CoffeeWORKS story

How we made a partnership of friends work

Against all odds my best friend Dale and myself together built CoffeeWORKS. We are proof that doing business with friends can sometimes work. Three things helped us stay together: that we were in a foreign country so we really had to rely on each other, that from the beginning we said we would put our friendship above money, and finally that we agreed to place “principles before personalities”. This last point meant that if we were in a discussion about the strategy for the company that we agreed it was not all about one of our opinions winning. We both accepted the fact that we would be better off in the long run if we were able to compromise rather than try to “win” in a discussion. Over the years, our staff has witnessed our heated debates, but they always heard us say that we place “principles before personalities”, and therefore they saw us stop and come to a final agreement each time.

Mistakes in this story

1. Failed to initially research

Inadequately researched type of investment
Lacked knowledge of regulations

2. Failed to properly assess and manage risk

Failed to diversify
Bought an illiquid investment
Lacked influence over management

5. Failed to monitor their investment

Abdicated responsibility for their financial future

6. Invested in a start-up company

Invested in a start-up that lacked a clear leader
Invested in a start-up that lacked various sources of funds
Invested in a start-up that lacked a clear business plan
Invested in a start-up that lacked adequate financial controls

The post Silent Restaurant Partner Finds His Voice Too Late After Too Much Golf appeared first on My Worst Investment Ever.

Always View Yesterday’s Successes Through Today’s Glasses

Andrew Stotz — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 06:00:04 +0000

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 funds in which to invest my retirement contributions, along with the choice of investing some of my retirement in shares of the company at which I worked.

Note: In the United States, a 401(k) plan is the tax-qualified, defined-contribution pension account. Under the plan, retirement savings contributions are provided, and sometimes matched, by an employer, and deducted from the employee’s paycheck before taxation.

Giant company operated across generations ends up in bankruptcy court

Tragically, even though my company had been around for generations, it eventually went bankrupt and my shares in the company became almost worthless. And by almost worthless, I mean, I eventually received a check stemming from the court proceedings about six years later for about US$2.75.

Don’t put all of your investments in one basket

Investing your retirement money into the same company where you work is a terrible idea so a dividend reinvestment program offered by your own company may sound nice on paper, but you are only making others rich and are not properly diversifying your personal risk.

Andrew’s takeaways – Avoid these errors to become a better investor

Invest in the company you work for with caution

Many companies offer employees stock-ownership opportunities. If you can buy the company’s shares at a discount to the market price or if the company matches your investment, it could be very valuable. If that’s the case, it could be in your best interest to put as much money as possible into it. Just don’t stay invested in that stock forever.

Try to avoid concentration risk

Many stock-ownership plans require you to own the shares over a long period. In such cases, you are locked in. So, if you put your maximum amount into the program and you’re locked in for a long time, you will be very exposed to this one company. Of course, we all like to think we know that this company will survive and thrive, but in reality, nobody knows. Your best solution is to maximize the contribution that makes you the most money but to try to exit portions of that position as soon as you reach the time that you are allowed to sell. In this way you capture part of the benefit that the company is giving you, but you don’t get yourself overexposed to that one stock.

Mistakes in this story

1. Failed to do their own research

Relied on the assumptions of others

2. Failed to properly assess and manage risk

Assumed past performance would continue
Failed to diversify
Invested in the company they worked for

5. Failed to monitor their investment

Failed to review investment strategy regularly

The post Always View Yesterday’s Successes Through Today’s Glasses appeared first on My Worst Investment Ever.

‘Try Before You Buy’, If at All Possible

Andrew Stotz — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 09:52:56 +0000

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 be best for them that they get a feel for the area before building the house; it ended up being a good decision because they didn’t like the area at all.

Basic questions to ask yourself before a cent is spent

In an ideal world, I would have let my parents experience the area before buying the land in the first place, but it was a good lesson. Nowadays, before making an important decision I ask myself two simple questions: “Is there any way to test it first before committing?” and “What would I recommend my best friend to do, if he was making the investment?” Other great questions I like to ask are: What don’t I know? What don’t I see? And what assumptions am I making that may or might not be true?

What don’t I know? What don’t I see?

To emphasize the importance of these questions, a friend of mine started a business that sells nitro coffee* from small mobile vans around Bangkok. He made the assumption that he would have few competitors due to the time and expense of getting started. Almost immediately after setting up his company, Starbucks started selling nitro coffee!

——————

*Nitro coffee – Cold-brew coffee infused with nitrogen gas is released through a pressurized valve with tiny holes. As high pressure forces the brew past a disc, it creates a creamy, stout-like effect.

Andrew’s takeaways – Avoid these errors to become a better investor

Try before you buy

Land is usually a very illiquid investment because when you want to sell it, it can be very hard to find a buyer, especially at the price you want. Therefore, it makes sense to do a considerable amount of research, but that research should be done before you buy the land, not after.

Mistakes in this story

1. Failed to initially research

Inadequately researched type of investment
Failed to test the investment thesis

The post ‘Try Before You Buy’, If at All Possible appeared first on My Worst Investment Ever.

Single Stock Not Best Choice for Long Position on Macro Trend

Andrew Stotz — Wed, 17 Apr 2019 06:00:32 +0000

Prelude

I invested in a company operating in a dominant position of its segment within China’s processed–food chain. I liked the investment idea based on the theme that processed food consumption typically rises alongside a country’s rise in income and urbanization. We see this play out when branded products on the shelves of the modern food retail networks replace wet markets, butchers and greengrocers (produce markets).

Business model in one country may not work in another

This investment theme had worked very well in Europe around 20 years earlier. Back then it was more about industry consolidation and increased raw-material-pricing power. China appeared to have a massive, organic market for the taking.

Long list of good reasons for investing can make investors blind to the bad

The main points on which I was basing my investment were:

The company was already operating in its home market with scale advantages and market share in the early stages of the industry’s development.
Its position relative to customers was on the comfortable side of one-to-many. There were even benefits of customers consolidating their own industry in a massive conversion of traditional localized players to a modern branded and national platform. This rapid modernization accelerated the drive to reach every urban wallet in tier one and tier two Chinese cities.
The company was hitching a ride to a more expansive distribution channel. Its move could hardly be better. It could let the consumer brand owners deal with growth, brand goodwill, and marketing expenses. All it seemed to need to do was budget for expansion to match its customers’ volumes and keep the product quality good enough not to be rejected.
Its position relative to suppliers was also favorable. It was the main buyer from several producers of what was largely a by-product or discarded waste product.
There were no competitors using its technology in the domestic market, certainly none at the same scale, so the company had major market advantages.
Already operating in China, it was running at the lowest point of the international cost curve. Foreign competitors entering the market would have to be prepared to subsidize their China ventures for years to gain serious market share. What did it matter?
This company was trading in the stock market at a very low price-to-earnings ratio (PE) multiple. If the international players drew attention to their activities in China, this company would only be undervalued.
The company clearly had growth, but its margins were super impressive: EBITDA was more than 40%, especially when compared to the low-capital-intensive production and the low volatility of demand from consumer growth. Consumption per capita was tiny compared to every other country at higher levels of per capita income.

The positives outweighed the doubts

This stock was one to buy and lock away, for sure! Well, that’s not how it turned out. With so much in the future looking so favorable, it was easy to overlook the high proportion of variable costs, especially fuel. Sales were up, margins were high, so why be concerned with operating leverage?

After about two years on from listing, management appeared to be delivering consistently. Enough in fact to overlook murmurs of the controlling shareholder and chairman dabbling in property ventures and the loans to directors that were rising over time. Other investors by this time had been reacting favorably to the story. There was a nice re–rating of the PE multiple. Earnings and price had favorable momentum and the brokers who covered this mid-market company loved the stock.

But then, the momentum broke.

Penny drops as management’s dark deeds and subsidiary failures hit main company

The main shareholder had been more than dabbling in other business activities and more than just borrowing funds from the company. Furthermore, other company ventures were rapidly becoming liabilities and infecting the core business. Worse still, material parts of the company’s business simply did not exist. The auditors, it turned out, had been complicit and, for whatever reason, chose not to speak truth to power, or in this case, patron, and went along with the deception.

Amid tainted-food scandals, clean firms flourish but buyers walk from this one

Meanwhile, the branded food processors were derailed by Chinese food-tainting scandals. The trends in consumer income, urbanization and modern distribution networks all continued to grow in quantum leaps, but this company’s products and share price were no longer rising in line with those complementary conditions. The trend could continue happily without this company or its suppliers. Consumers always have the ability to change their tastes and preferences.

The stock went from a home run to only one cent on the dollar. It can happen so easily when you’re busy doing other things.

Emotional about stock, investor ignored ‘lover’s’ flaws

When we fall in love, we are willfully blind to the defects in the object of our affection. Picking stocks or owning companies can never be a love affair. There can be passion but only if it is a metaphor for our determination to be thorough in our research and mindful of the shortcomings of our own assumptions. But even then, a single company is rougher territory than the maps we draw in our minds of macro trends.

Andrew’s takeaways – Avoid these errors to become a better investor

Corporate governance damage can come out of nowhere

Corporate governance events, where managers or owners act against the interest of minority shareholders, can happen with any company. There are two main types of corporate governance situations. The first is where the market is already aware that the company has poor corporate governance. This knowledge would come from observing the actions of the owners and management. The second case is when corporate governance events surprise and come from out of nowhere.

Much less is lost when bad corporate governance is already ‘in the price’

If a company is already known for its poor corporate governance, then we can say that this is “in the price”, meaning, bad corporate governance in the past has depressed the price of the stock. Many investors would avoid this stock, but some would be willing to trade on the belief that the price cannot go any lower. They believe that investors have overly punished the company’s stock price and there is a chance to make money with the stock going up.

The corporate governance event that matters is the one you won’t know

But the corporate governance event that will hurt the most is the one that happens at a company where nobody expected it. This pain is because it will have the most damaging impact on share price when that event hits the market. This type of situation is almost impossible to detect before it happens. And you cannot always rely on financial professionals to warn you. There are various reasons why they may not raise a red flag, even if they start to get suspicious.

A stop loss is one option to protect against corporate governance events

Though most long-only fund managers are not interested in stop loss as a risk management tool, it does have some value in the case of corporate governance. One idea is to set a stop loss that’s deep enough that it would only be triggered by a serious bad corporate governance event. In my case, since I view stocks more quantitatively these days, I am okay with putting on a stop loss on each stock when I buy it. When the stock price hits the stop-loss price I sell; it doesn’t matter to me whether it is a corporate governance event or some other negative factor.

Mistakes in this story

2. Failed to properly assess and manage risk

Failed to consider cultural issues (in Asia, saving face, fear of giving bad news)
Lacked influence over management

3. Driven by emotion or flawed thinking

Let emotions drive their investment decisions
Got too emotionally attached to an investment

4. Misplaced trust

Failed to review a person’s history and references

5. Failed to monitor their investment

Failed to review investment strategy regularly

6. Invested in a start-up company

Expected idea from other country or region to work

The post Single Stock Not Best Choice for Long Position on Macro Trend appeared first on My Worst Investment Ever.

Hard Lesson About Compounding – Could Have Been Better with Coke

Andrew Stotz — Wed, 17 Apr 2019 06:00:28 +0000

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 of the importance of “buy and hold” investing and the magic of compounding interest. I lacked any education about the market and would have to learn as an adult about compound interest and “buy and hold” or “passive” investing.

Could have made 4,000%+ with investing know-how

It was a major error to sell the shares. Using a compounding calculator, that US$2,100 would be worth US$99,880 today. As another illustration, in 2012 Coca-Cola reported that just one of its $40 shares purchased in 1919 (with dividends reinvested, meaning compound interest comes into play) would be worth US$9.8 million today.

Ignoring compounding means broader portfolio loss

At the time, if I had known about the power of dividends and compounding them back to reap interest, I would have amassed a decent-sized portfolio a lot sooner, which means more time over my lifetime for compound interest to work its magic.

I recommend that all “newbies” read the top books on investing, as well as more simple sources, such as Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, and Money magazines, to educate themselves.

Andrew’s takeaways – Avoid these errors to become a better investor

Not investing can be as big a mistake as investing

Probably the most valuable lesson in investing is to stay invested over a long period. Give the compounding effect time to work in your favor. Most people get this wrong. They fail to realize that the benefits of compounding start to accrue only after 20 years. Very few people see their time horizon in decades; most see it in days.

The importance of education

Most young people are not taught the principles of compound interest and therefore never take advantage of it. Our society would be much better off if we just invested $10,000 into a passive fund at the birth of every child. At 8% per year, this would grow to be $1,000,000 by the time they are 60 years old. Kids around the world would be millionaires upon retirement. Unfortunately, very few people have that foresight. If you don’t read this, you could end up living “in a van down by the river”.

Mistakes in this story

1. Failed to do their own research

Inadequately researched type of investment

2. Failed to properly assess and manage risk

Had no exit strategy for when things went wrong
Failed to set a stop-loss and follow it

3. Driven by emotion or flawed thinking

Failed to invest in a familiar, good idea

The post Hard Lesson About Compounding – Could Have Been Better with Coke appeared first on My Worst Investment Ever.

How Poor Execution Turns a Great Idea into the Worst Investment

Andrew Stotz — Wed, 17 Apr 2019 06:00:25 +0000

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 granite, to contractors and home-improvement enthusiasts.

Confidence builds when following ‘the smart money’

BuildDirect claimed to have developed an intelligent system to pre–position products in hubs around the country to cut the costs and time of delivery. We were also confident because we were supposedly following “the smart money” – a major Canadian pension fund and other Silicon Valley venture capital firms were also investing.

Many factors point to a ‘sound’ investment

We were excited about the model; its artificial intelligence (AI) platform and the business opportunity and history of the company, which was 16 years old and had been grossing more than C$150m (US$120m) a year in revenues. We also had clients that used the company’s services. We made the investment, which was around US$650,000. Within a few months we were notified that, as expected, our debt had been converted to equity.

Ten months later, we learned that the CEO had been fired/asked to resign. He was the architect of the whole “marketplace” idea. Weeks later, we learned that the company had entered into receivership. It appears now to be a total loss.

Even good ideas can lead to a premature fall

Established companies can fail swiftly and dramatically. This company developed a very clever online marketplace, however they were utterly unable to execute it and ended up angering and losing their existing and long-standing vendors.

Andrew’s takeaways – Avoid these errors to become a better investor

Don’t blindly follow the smart money

Just because big fund managers are buying into a company does not mean that those fund managers are right. They could just as much be wrong. Don’t take any comfort that you are investing with the “smart money”, meaning the professional investors. They are often under career pressures and other pressures that can lead them to bad decisions. If you want to invest, take the time to build your style and plan, and then follow it. An individual has considerable advantages compared to the pros.

Have an exit plan

No matter how good the investment is, no matter how experienced the others who you are investing in are, and no matter how much research you have done, always have an exit plan. Investing involves too much uncertainty; having an exit plan allows you to pre-plan what you will do when things go wrong.

Mistakes in this story

1. Failed to do their own research

2. Failed to properly assess and manage risk

Assumed past performance would continue
Bought an illiquid investment
Lacked influence over management

3. Driven by emotion or flawed thinking

Let emotions drive their investment decisions
Were driven by FOMO

5. Failed to monitor their investment

Failed to review investment strategy regularly

6. Invested in a start-up company

Invested in a start–up that lacked various sources of funds

The post How Poor Execution Turns a Great Idea into the Worst Investment appeared first on My Worst Investment Ever.

Futures Investor Takes Eyes Off the Ball and Pays the Price

Andrew Stotz — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 06:00:20 +0000

Prelude

Around 2013-2014, I had a short-term market speculative position on the Thailand Futures Exchange (TFEX) using a SET50 Futures contract. One day, the market slid around 10% because of political unrest, and I was on the losing side of the equation.

Too busy to watch an investment

It was a busy day at work, and I would generally not think too much about my position unless I received a call from my broker.

I received a call. My broker told me that my position had to be forced closed. At the time, I was distracted and didn’t think carefully because of the existing demands of my day job. I told him to go ahead and close the position, but at the end of the day, the market had rebounded by around 7% to very near the previous day’s level.

Price of distraction when playing with margins

I didn’t think carefully that the slump was just a short-term effect and failed to ask my broker to wait for me to top up the money to the maintenance margin (the minimum amount of cash that must be maintained in a margin account) level.

The size of loss was equivalent to that of my monthly salary at the time.

Andrew’s takeaways – Avoid these errors to become a better investor

Write down your plan before you start

The first lesson from this story is that when we invest, we should set a plan. Most people go into an investment without a clear plan, particularly a plan about what to do when things go wrong.

Make sure you have time to invest before you start

It’s amazing the number of financial professionals I have met who don’t have enough time to take care of their own investments. I have seen many cases like the above story where the investor gets excited about the idea but doesn’t realize that they just don’t have time to follow it up. It is a reason why I often ask people to ask themselves, “do I have time to set aside for investing?” If the answer is “no”, then be very careful about investing in individual stocks or complex derivatives.

Mistakes in this story

1. Failed to do their own research

Inadequately considered the market conventions concerning financial derivatives

2. Failed to properly assess and manage risk

Failed to match investments with risk appetite

5. Failed to monitor their investment

Failed to review investment strategy regularly

The post Futures Investor Takes Eyes Off the Ball and Pays the Price appeared first on My Worst Investment Ever.

False Hope, Poor Due Diligence Blinds Oil Industry Investor

Andrew Stotz — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 01:11:20 +0000

I invested in an oil and gas industry offshore support vessel (OSV, boats that carry out operations for floating drill rigs, and onshore or fixed production platforms) company “Victory Limited” (Victory), in the first quarter of 2014, driven mainly by the desire to cash in on the presumed success of its parent company, oil and gas industry engineering, procurement, and construction firm, “Swath Limited” (Swath).

In early 2013, I had invested in another Swath OSV subsidiary, “Cruise Limited” (Cruise). At the time, Victory was a dormant subsidiary of Swath.

Between early 2013 and October 2013, the share price of Cruise appreciated substantially, the company continued to win new contracts, financial performance improved quarter-on-quarter and the financial position was sound, though the company was taking on increasing levels of debt.

In October 2013, Swath signed a deal to sell its majority ownership in Cruise to a private equity firm. The acquisition immediately required the private equity firm to buy all remaining shares. The private equity firm offered a 15% premium to the 15-day volume weighted average price prior to the offer date. The sale was completed in December 2013.

Success arising in parent company fuels overconfidence in subsidiary

Overall, the investment in Cruise resulted in a return for me of around 125% for a 10-month investment (or absolute profit of about 250,000 Singapore dollars [187,000 US dollars]), and I was brimming with confidence of course at the prospect of such returns continuing.

In November 2013, having finalized the sale of its stake in Cruise, Swath’s management decided it would invest the profits from the sale into Victory. Following the announcement of that investment in Victory, to turn it from a dormant subsidiary into a going concern, Victory’s share price immediately appreciated, further egging on my desire for similar gains.

Failed to act decisively to take an opportunity when its time had come

In early December 2013, Victory entered into a JV with a major Middle-Eastern OSV company. Following this announcement, Victory’s share price appreciated further. In hindsight, if I had invested in Victory in early November 2013 instead of early March 2014, I would have made a very handsome profit in a very short time (about 300%). However, I hesitated, I guess out of fear of the risk to what I had put in. Nonetheless, after reading about the future expansion plans for Victory in March 2014, I decided to invest.

Then came a long list of warning signs amid lack of due diligence

At the time, I did not do sufficient due diligence to review the financial position and performance of Victory, Swath, the history of the JV partner, nor the current projection/forecast surrounding the oil and gas sector.

In essence, I decided to invest due to (a) confidence that the parent entity had sufficient prior success in developing a subsidiary in the OSV sector to repeat such success, and (b) overconfidence that the oil boom would continue. Up to that point, the oil and gas sector had been through a significant boom for nearly five years, with oil prices booming past US$100, major projects being announced, and large contracts being awarded. However, in early 2014 there were numerous red flags that the good times were coming to an end.

Six months of flat or negative growth raises no alarms

In early March 2014, I invested in Victory with an amount equal to about 40% of my original capital investment in Cruise. From March 2014 to August 2014, the share price of Victory generally stagnated (rising 10% or declining 10% but across the period, generally flat).

Sector also signals ‘danger ahead’

In August 2014, the oil sector edged toward the cliff. Regardless, I held on to the notion that “it’s only a correction, and it will come back”. However, the warning signs of a major collapse were flashing. In the same month, after a correction in Victory’s share price following a slide in oil prices, I invested another amount, around 10% of the original investment I had invested into Cruise.

Stands and watches oil prices burn but again fails to act on losses

In late September 2014, oil prices went over the cliff to below US$100, then US$80 and so forth. As the price declined, I simply viewed it as a great chance to average down and grab a bargain in Victory. I had totally ignored the sector’s problems, the flow-on impact to upstream-related sectors and financial performance and position of Victory.

Refusal to set or obey stop loss stems from denial over false bottom

Rather than put in a stop-loss position and decide to accept the many losses and move on, I persisted with averaging down concluding falsely that the bottom had been reached every time a rebound occurred at a resistance level.

Between September 2014 and January 2015, however, the share price kept falling and I kept averaging down to the point that I had reinvested all my original Cruise capital.

Unable to let go of investment despite all evidence

At this point, I stopped averaging down or investing new capital. Even so, the share price continued to fall. In hindsight, I should have sold out my entire position regardless of the losses. However, I continued to hold, refusing to accept the losses, and due to the incorrect presumption that “everything will get better and I’ll get money back”.

False hopes and hurt pride prove a dangerously unprofitable mix

My overconfidence, unwillingness to own up to the loss through hurt pride, and false hope that the sinking ship would at least stay at the surface, all combined to blind me I suppose, and my fingernails remained dug into these investments.

Between January 2015 and September 2015, the share price of Victory stabilized, though it was down more than 60% from initial investment levels. In October 2015, the parent entity of Victory, Swatch, filed for bankruptcy. Accordingly, the share price of Victory fell 50% the day after, and continued to fall until November 2015.

Since, November 2015 oil prices have been on more of an upward trend, but the OSV sector has remained significantly depressed. Accordingly, while oil prices have increased, Victory’s share price has continued to decline and is now 80% down on the level it was at during my initial investment. Despite all of this, I have refused to sell, unwilling to accept I made a mistake, and still feeling a recovery is due.

The investor who hung on like a legendary bulldog

Relative to other OSV companies, Victory has achieved stronger final performance than competitors, undertaken a successful refinancing exercise and boosted its order book. However, given the extent of its prolonged losses, the amount I invested, the length of time I invested in a company with a very poor share price, and my stubbornness to abandon the position, I conclude that it the worst investment I ever made.

Andrew’s takeaways – Avoid these mistakes to become a better investor

The toughest question to answer: ‘When should I give up?’

In the world of traditional, fundamental investing, it is hard to take a loss. This is very different from traders who set up stop-loss points for each of their trades. The difficulty for fundamental investors is that they have devoted their life to trying to find good companies with good stories. They work hard to research these ideas and then they invest. When the share price goes down, the traditional fund manager will think that they see something that the market does not. But truthfully, who knows?

One way to solve this dilemma is for the traditional investor to say to himself: “My idea may have been right but maybe it was the wrong time”. A next question to ask would be: “Knowing what I know now, if I didn’t own this company today, would I buy it today?” If the answer is “No” then it is a good sign that you should exit the position.

Consider using a stop-loss as a money management tool

Assume a trader buys a stock at 100 and puts a stop-loss at 80, if the stock falls to that point the broker is supposed to sell the stock. By planning your future action, you take your emotion out of the investment. A typical fundamental investor abhors such behaviour because it would imply that he is not confident about his research conclusions.

Avoiding loss is critical

When considering long-term returns, some of our research has shown that avoiding large loss is more important that getting high returns. This is like saying that to be a successful batter in baseball it is more important to not strike out, rather than to hit homeruns. Preserve your capital by accepting that the share price can move against your position for a long time.

Mistakes in this story

2. Failed to properly assess and manage risk

Bought more as the price went down
Failed to set a stop-loss and follow it

3. Were driven by emotion or flawed thinking

Failed to invest in a good, familiar idea

5. Failed to monitor their investment

Failed to review investment strategy regularly

Learn about the six ways you will lose your money and how to avoid them here.

The post False Hope, Poor Due Diligence Blinds Oil Industry Investor appeared first on My Worst Investment Ever.

Start-Up Entrepreneur Runs out of Investment ‘Juice’

Andrew Stotz — Thu, 24 Jan 2019 01:59:49 +0000

Around three years ago, my partner and I founded a business producing and delivering raw juices for detoxification. We had felt that this product would be a winner because, early on, a lot of people were signing up quickly once we had explained the many health benefits of raw-juice programs. The growing movement toward greater concern about health appeared to make many people willing to spend big on preventing illness and the convenience of not having to do their own juicing.

Too many carrots in one basket

Fortunately, we had a big break when we signed a deal with Fitness First centers to provide 10 of its prime branches with our raw juices. We were contracted to deliver 1,200 bottles a month, which meant monthly revenue of 120,000 Thai baht (THB 100 per 250 milliliters). Sadly, not many Thai customers understood the considerable benefits of drinking raw juice. It also seemed almost impossible to succeed from leaving the product to sell itself without a salesperson present.

Stock longevity and margin problems effect operations

Moreover, the juices’ shelf life was only five days, and that was in a refrigerator that maintained the bottles of juice within a strict temperature range. We spent nearly all of our money producing the juices and the sales were low. Nevertheless, we decided to continue with Fitness First because we believed having one of the top-five global brand fitness centers on our client list would boost our reputation.

Cash flow problems squeeze life out of funds to keep business running

However, around about that time, we ran out of money for further investment to scale up to the point enabling us to sustain operations or make a profit. In the end, we had lost more than 50% of our original investment. We tried to survive by setting up a kiosk-type channel on-site (Fitness First), selling juice by the glass, but that strategy failed to save us and we ended up selling to an English investor, who noted however that our branding was quite good.

Business scale, marketing, branding and customer awareness are vital

We learned that only the right business size will lead to a beneficial investment, that marketing and branding are vitally important, and that product development is one thing that cannot be ignored. Finally and crucially, understanding customer needs and behaviour are at the heart of a consumer goods enterprise.

Andrew’s takeaways – Avoid these mistakes to become a better investor

Logistics and inventory matters more than you think

It is often the case that new start-up companies place little focus on both inventory and logistics. When my best friend Dale and I set up our CoffeeWORKS factory in Thailand we spent the bulk of our money on the factory and the roasting machine, and did not think much about the inventory. But, when we contacted the green coffee-bean supplier, we found that he required a very large minimum order and since we did not have any history with him, cash on delivery. Those two things nearly killed our business.

In the above story, the perishability of the product was a major issue; this caused the product to need to be refrigerated and delivered often. Compare this to protein or energy bars that might be sold at a gym. This idea was not impossible but the cost of implementing it would probably cause it to fail.

Ignore working capital at your peril

Our recent research shows that about 60% of assets of companies around the world are long term, with the remaining being short-term, current assets. It is natural for traditional start-up companies to forecast their cash needs for long-term assets such as machinery and the like.

From my experience, most start-up management teams miss the current asset items. There are three main current asset items that a company must plan for or risk running short of cash: accounts receivable was on average has accounted for 13% of total assets, cash 10%, and inventory is 9%.

Mistakes in this story

6. Invested in a start-up company

Invested in a start-up that lacked a clear business plan
Invested in a start-up that lacked a competitive advantage
Invested in a start-up that lacked adequate financial controls
Invested in a start-up that lacked various sources of funds

Learn about the six ways you will lose your money and how to avoid them here.

The post Start-Up Entrepreneur Runs out of Investment ‘Juice’ appeared first on My Worst Investment Ever.

Being the Money Man for Friends

Andrew Stotz — Tue, 22 Jan 2019 01:55:13 +0000

My worst investment decision was an investment in a start-up company. I did not invest because I thought the company had a good idea but because I liked the people who were working there, and I didn’t feel I could say “no” to them.

Throwing good money after bad was an exercise in sunk cost and saving face

And the reason it was a bad investment was that after I started investing, I got into a cycle of giving them more money when they were desperate. And, it ended up being an exercise in sunk cost and the social difficulty of saying “no”, an exercise that ended up being quite expensive.

Andrew’s takeaways – Avoid these mistakes to become a better investor

Fundamental questions to ask about a start-up before investing in it

To avoid the above story when you look at investing in a start-up, I suggest you put it through the following test. But, don’t do it alone! Because you will be overly optimistic, I suggest that you test it with your most skeptical friend, oh, and write it down. If you get a “No” answer as you move through these questions just drop the whole idea (I learned this from my own losing start-up investments!) Question 1: Do you trust the person/people running the start-up? 2. Is the idea good? 3. Can this team execute the idea?

Ensure there is more than one funding resource behind a start-up

It is too easy for a start-up to rely on the original person who brought money to the deal. Sometimes the money source thinks that they can hold a larger share of the business if they don’t bring in other investors. But this thinking can lead to the trap of being the sole supplier of capital. Before you put money in a start-up, work with the founders to identify the next sources of funds. Then require the management team to pitch to these sources, go with them, see how it goes, then use that information to determine if you will invest.

Mistakes in this story

1. Failed to do their own research

Failed to do their own research

6. Invested in a start-up company

Invested in a start-up that lacked various sources of funds

Learn about the six ways you will lose your money and how to avoid them here.

The post Being the Money Man for Friends appeared first on My Worst Investment Ever.

Lack of Commitment Can Deal a Death Blow to an Investment

Andrew Stotz — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 01:46:27 +0000

I have invested in a couple of businesses that were unsuccessful, but my worst investment ever was in my own start-up business. My team had won a start-up competition a few years back. Our company was a web-based enterprise, but it failed for several reasons.

Weak expertise, poor sense of duty, and gender imbalance were key faults

Firstly, all the team members were working full-time and joined in with this business as a part-time job.

Secondly, none of us co-founders were coders or programmers, as we were all from marketing and sales backgrounds and did not have huge sums to invest in hiring a full-time coder.

Lastly, the nature of the business was centered on women, and three out of the four partners were men, who were not interested in the type of products we were offering.

Believing in a business and acting with dedication are crucial for success

What I learned from this was to never invest in a business in which the team members are not fully committed; that there always needs to be at least one team member who is really into the industry or has accumulated experience in it. And finally, apart from commitment, passion from the management team is essential.

Andrew’s takeaways – Avoid these mistakes to become a better investor

Investing in a start-up – just don’t do it!

Investing success is hard enough, start-up investing success is nearly impossible. All odds are against a start-up. Why would you trust your hard-earned money to such a high-risk investment? Oh, I know, “It just feels right”, or “it’s a hobby, I don’t mind if it fails” or “Nobody has come up with this idea”, etc. The reality is that survivorship bias is acting so strongly in this area that it will empty your wallet. All those successful start-ups you see, they are the very few survivors. What you don’t see is the graveyard of dead start-ups, trust me, it is an ugly place. So, about start-ups, remember my advice, don’t do it!

But if you must, the key to a sustainable start-up is a visionary leader

Key-man risk is a major risk in investing. If the key man exits, for most businesses the company collapses and all money quickly evaporates as the remaining staff fumble and fiddle to try to recover from the loss. But in this story, the opposite is the case – there was simply no true leader, no visionary. Without that person, most businesses will eventually fail. So, if you have the choice, invest with someone like Steve Jobs, the key man.

And what puts this company’s goods or services ahead of its competitors?

When it comes to start-ups, the founders and managers will be pulled in all directions and resources will quickly disappear. So, if you do invest, at least make sure that the company has one little niche where it has a competitive advantage. Finally, it is critical to stay on top of your investment, keep information flowing about what is happening, if not you could wake up one day to a big loss.

Mistakes in this story

5. Failed to monitor their investment

Failed to review investment strategy regularly

6. Invested in a start-up company

Invested in a start-up that lacked a clear leader
Invested in a start-up that lacked a competitive advantage

Learn about the six ways you will lose your money and how to avoid them here.

The post Lack of Commitment Can Deal a Death Blow to an Investment appeared first on My Worst Investment Ever.

Confessions of a Crypto Lemming

Andrew Stotz — Tue, 15 Jan 2019 01:42:35 +0000

My worst investment was when I jumped on the crypto-currency bandwagon. Even though I made some money out of it, I would personally consider it to be the worst investment I have made so far because when I saw the crypto market crash in the early part of first quarter 2018 I realized I got REALLY LUCKY!

Serious case of following the bitcoin herd

This trade was 100% driven by fear of missing out as the price of Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Ripple (XRP) kept surging higher. I started to feel dumb as I watched the price of BTC go from a few hundred to many thousands and then to 16,000 dollars, and I had yet to take any action.

So, I waded in. I remember the intensity; by the end of that day I had learned how to set up an account on a crypto exchange, how to deposit money in that account, and how to create and use the “wallet”. By that evening, I had sizable investments in BTC, ETH, and XRP.

Inadequate research about type of investment

Only then did I start researching about crypto-currency’s utility and encountered many articles and charts about the similarity between the crypto craze and “tulip mania” (when speculators during the 17th Century’s Dutch Golden Age traded tulip bulbs for extraordinary sums of money until, without warning in February 1637, the market for them spectacularly collapsed).

Fear over holdings leads to loss of sleep

I think you can see how lucky I was. That BTC price level I mentioned was near its record high. A couple of weeks later, that price started to tank. I began checking the prices almost every hour and had trouble sleeping. So, at the end of week four from the first day of my investment in the currency, I sold everything.

I took a loss of about 20% in BTC, but the huge gains in ETH and XRP saved me. I may be wrong many years from now, but now I can sleep again! Today, I still have some positions in these coins, but they’re so small that I think of them as lottery tickets rather than a proper investment.

Too fast, too furious and caught up in FOMO fever

To recap what I learned was not to be swept away by the fear of missing out, realize that fast decisions are often wrong decisions. I realized how lucky I was and learned from this only when a good friend of mine lost a couple of million on his XRP investment a couple of weeks after I exited. Finally, always do thorough research!

Andrew’s takeaways – Avoid these mistakes to become a better investor

Take the time to use your evolved and informed brain, rather than your base feelings

To be successful in investing means to accumulate wealth over a long period. When you are driven by fear or greed, you overlook things and don’t have time for thoughtful analysis. Slow down and invest right, take the time.

Investing without research is like jumping off a ship without knowing how to swim

Of course, if you follow what everyone else is doing, without question, you won’t even know where you’re going. You don’t have to act against the herd, but you should do your own research to understand where the herd is going and why. Through this research, you also want to understand what factors would drive you to break away from the herd.

Investing is hard. I can’t tell you the number of people who have sought my advice about investing. When I asked them how many books they had read on investing; the answer was zero. When I asked them how many academic papers they had read, the answer was zero. Or, how many courses they had taken, zero. Investing without doing research is just playing with fire; with gasoline and fire!

Plans are needed as much for exiting an investment as entering

The most important part of planning is planning for when things go wrong. When things go wrong with an investment, it usually means the price is falling. Set your plan about what you will do when that happens. It will be hard to stick to that plan, but if you have no plan, you will just be driven by emotion.

Mistakes in this story

1. Failed to do their own research

Inadequately researched type of investment

2. Failed to properly assess and manage risk

Failed to set a stop-loss and follow it
Had no exit strategy for when things went wrong

3. Were driven by emotion or flawed thinking

Let emotions drive their investment decisions
Were driven by FOMO

Learn about the six ways you will lose your money and how to avoid them here.

The post Confessions of a Crypto Lemming appeared first on My Worst Investment Ever.

Investor Paid the High Cost of Inertia

Andrew Stotz — Fri, 11 Jan 2019 12:31:45 +0000

I would have to say that my biggest investing mistakes were not what I did, but what I didn’t do.

Sometimes great investment ideas are close to home and daily life

If something is great, and you use it and love it, and everyone loves it, maybe you should invest in it. I started using Amazon.com early on, say around 1998. I liked it so much I became an Amazon Prime (paid) member in June of 2006 and have been ever since.

But sadly, we miss these chances of returns that are staring us in the face

If I liked it so much and so did everyone else, why did I not buy a few shares of the stock? Now it is up 4,000% since 2006. I’ve never owned a share in the company, but I pay for the service. I then think of the old fortune-cookie wisdom – “Many a false step was made by standing still.”

Andrew’s takeaways – Avoid these mistakes to become a better investor

Sometimes the best investment opportunities are right in front of you

Learn to be aware of investment opportunities around you but keep things simple. If you’re using a product or service, and you like it, always ask the question: “How can I invest in this?” But, remember too that having a good product or good service or being a good company does not mean that it’s a good investment. That is because the share price already reflects this good news. The risk then is that you would end up buying it at a price that is too high. There are some cases in which you know of a good opportunity that you’re thinking about how to invest in it. You may even have money available to invest, but because of fear you don’t make a move. Failing to do so can be a big mistake, and of course, acting in the wrong way can be also.

Keep it simple and ‘don’t get emotional about a stock’

Emotions and long-term investing mix like drinking and driving. This is one reason why it is good to make an investment plan and stick with it because it removes some of the emotion from investing. One of the big emotions is fear of missing out (FOMO). Take a lesson from Warren Buffett, who explains that being an investor is like being a baseball batter, except that with investing you’re not penalized for not swinging. So, wait until the investment is right and you’ve done your work on it and then swing.

Mistakes in this story

1. Failed to do their own research

Let things get too complicated

3. Were driven by emotion or flawed thinking

Failed to invest in a familiar, good idea
Let emotions drive their investment decisions
Were driven by FOMO

Learn about the six ways you will lose your money and how to avoid them here.

The post Investor Paid the High Cost of Inertia appeared first on My Worst Investment Ever.

How a ‘Good Company’ Can Still Mean a Bad Investment

Andrew Stotz — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 02:18:50 +0000

During my very early days as an equity investor, I invested in a high-quality coal miner that was the market’s darling at the time. It had survived the 2008 financial crisis unscathed and delivered stellar returns in a falling market. I felt this stock was obviously a winner and I had realized big profits.

Ignoring major corrections in the industry

A year later, I revisited the stock after it had fallen from its highs. “This is a good company,” I thought. “It will continue to be a great investment.” I was heavily biased and ignored the research coming out about the revolutionary shale industry.

Pitfall revealed in misguided over-reliance on analyst coverage

Moreover, I was relying heavily on third-party-analyst coverage that was screaming “BUY!”, even as the stock was falling daily. The obvious thing to do? Average down of course! In my mind, this stock was a winner and the share price would surely rebound.

‘Past performance is no guarantee of future results’

However, that was sadly not to be the case. After enduring a 30% loss on a very averaged down position, I had to accept the reality that it would be a tough road ahead for this company, so I took the loss and sold my whole position in the stock. The fact is, the stock did not owe me anything. Just because it did well for me in the past, did not mean the industry or fundamentals could not deteriorate.

Sometimes you must kill the darling of your investments

So, the upsetting lesson for me was that a stock does not know that you own it or what it cost you to buy it. Avoid falling in love with any of the securities you own – they are only tools to help you achieve your investment goals. Try to approach your investments with as much objectivity as you can and recognize the limitations of analysts’ reports and price targets.

Andrew’s takeaways – Avoid these mistakes to become a better investor

Industry conditions can and do change, and specialists will respond faster than you

One major risk of investing in any individual stock is the risk that something major changes in the industry in which the company is operating. These changes can start small at first and can seem to have little impact, but they can gather steam. Also, professionals who follow an industry for a living, as well as company insiders, will almost always move faster than you.

Financial advisers don’t always put investors’ best interests first

One of the big lessons of my career is that financial professionals are driven by many different factors outside the one that you wish they cared about most – the performance of your investments. I prove this in my Ph.D. research about the lack of accuracy of sell-side financial analysts. You can never eliminate conflicts of interest in the world, and particularly in the financial world, which is why you want to choose financial advice from people who disclose their conflicts of interest. Also, it is often the case that brokers are cheerleaders for stocks rather than thoughtful analysts.

Overconfidence can make an investment’s decline even worse

One of the toughest risks you will face is what to do when a stock price is falling. When you buy a stock at 100 and it goes to 110 you feel great, but when it goes to 90, according to Daniel Kahneman’s and Amos Tversky’s Prospect Theory, you feel about two times worse than you felt great when it went up 10. This will cause you to make mistakes when prices are falling. Often, we are overconfident in our investment decisions, and therefore when the share price starts falling, we think if we liked it at 100 we should like it even more at 90.

However, a clearer way to think of this is that maybe your analysis was correct but that you just bought the stock at the wrong time. Some of my research shows that, over a year, if a stock falls by 20% to 25%, in most markets, you would be better off selling it and holding cash. But, no matter how you might handle this situation, make sure you have thought ahead and written down what you will do when the share price falls.

Even top stocks can take a hit so if fortune’s winds change, take action and let them go

Sometimes we like companies and their management so much, we know them so well, that we think they will always be successful and be a good investment. But things change for companies; industries get tougher, senior management changes. Remember that the success of the past will not guarantee success in the future.

Mistakes in this story

1. Failed to do their own research

Relied on the assumptions of others

2. Failed to properly assess and manage risk

Assumed past performance would continue
Bought more as the price went down

3. Were driven by emotion or flawed thinking

Got too emotionally attached to an investment

5. Failed to monitor their investment

Failed to review investment strategy regularly

Learn about the six ways you will lose your money and how to avoid them here.

The post How a ‘Good Company’ Can Still Mean a Bad Investment appeared first on My Worst Investment Ever.

Medical house-call project investment had everything but the basics

Andrew Stotz — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 04:48:42 +0000

Two years ago, I invested a large sum of money into a private equity deal to take over a family-run home doctor service. The deal was with a group of respected players, and the new money was designed to expand the business model across the country.

CEO and board dysfunction prove damaging

The investment appeared to promise a potential 500% return over three years. Two years later, it was looking as though we would be lucky to recoup any of our capital. The company had a dysfunctional board that lacked diversity and was very confrontational. There was also a bad decision made over the choice of chief executive. This CEO had invested in the business but worked part-time and blamed everyone else for his failings.

Poor marketing, resourcing, and grasp of legal landscape

Moreover, there was no clear marketing strategy or resourcing, which had an impact on sales. The final straw was the company’s failure to anticipate regulatory changes driven by an attack on the company’s after-hours business model by the day clinic/general practitioner political lobby group.

It was all very sad but with it came a big lesson. To avoid failure in the early stages of starting a business, make sure to put the basics in place.

Andrew’s takeaways – Avoid these mistakes to become a better investor

Putting money in is not the problem, it’s getting it out that can be trouble

Investing in unlisted private companies poses a unique challenge because it is very difficult to exit when you are no longer satisfied with management.

A minority stake in a company means when it comes to the crunch, you have no voice

Another risk in owning a minority stake in any company is that, as a minority, you do not influence the way the business is run. When you are an employee, there are times when management will offer for you to earn shares in the company instead of pay. My advice is generally to avoid such an offer. This is because you will have no control over the management of the company, you will have deferred your compensation, and, if things go wrong, there may not be a buyer for your shares.

In this story, the investor suffered because they had no control over the board or the management. An exception to my advice on not owning shares is if an established company offers additional compensation through shares as an incentive program; particularly when the company sells those shares to employees at a discount. But in such a case, be careful of building up too much of your wealth in one investment; if things go wrong with your company you could lose your job and your wealth, a double whammy!

Ability to depend on the expertise of a company’s leaders is crucial

Another risk to consider is that of the changeover of management. This was risk arose in this case when new management took over a family-run business. In such cases, investors expose themselves to the risk that the new management is unable to make the business successful. The lesson is to stick to proven management if possible.

Avoid investing in people you just don’t know

Another danger in this story is the risk of investing in people you don’t know, the new management. Be very careful in situations in which you are investing in people you don’t know. If you insist on doing it, make sure to do your research on the peoples’ past decisions and relationships.

Mistakes in this story

1. Failed to do their own research

Lacked knowledge of regulations
Let things get too complicated

2. Failed to properly assess and manage risk

Bought an illiquid investment
Lacked influence over management

4. Misplaced trust

Failed to review a person’s history and references
Were overconfident in an unproven management team

Learn about the six ways you will lose your money and how to avoid them here.

The post Medical house-call project investment had everything but the basics appeared first on My Worst Investment Ever.

Six ways you will lose your money

Andrew Stotz — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 01:07:28 +0000

Besides my podcast interviews, I have also received about 500 written stories on the topic of My Worst Investment Ever. I’ve done a lot of work to analyze and categorize all these interviews and stories to determine the ways investors lose money. We know that to win in investing you must take risk, but to win BIG, you must reduce it! I’ve found that there are six ways you will lose your money:

Failed to do their own research
Failed to properly assess and manage risk
Were driven by emotion or flawed thinking
Misplaced trust
Failed to monitor their investment
Invested in a start-up company

1. Failed to do their own research

This mistake is all about failing to do the work. Investing, like any other profession is hard. People make this mistake when they rely on the research of others, rather than their own. This mistake also occurs when people are not open to the advice of professionals. Investors also forget that “past performance is no guarantee of future results.” Finally, remember that life is simple. Don’t let your investments get complicated, untangle them before this mistake creates “Gordian Knot.”

2. Failed to properly assess and manage risk

It is common for people to obsess on future returns and hardly consider the risks. This leads to them to take on too much risk. The most common risk reduction mistake is failing to diversify. Investors tend to go “all in” to an investment rather than starting with a small position and growing it. The next mistake is that they fail to set an exit strategy-what to do when things go wrong (or right). Without an exit strategy, they freeze when things go wrong. Long-term investors often deplore a stop-loss exit strategy, while stock market traders depend on it every day. You should consider a stop-loss. Finally, investors buy illiquid investments that they cannot sell without impacting the price.

3. Were driven by emotion or flawed thinking

Investment losses and gains trigger dopamine releases in your brain. Behavioral finance has identified a myriad of emotion and thinking based errors. The pull of greed and the push of fear can cause you to make the wrong investment or to invest at the wrong time. Overconfidence is a common mistake from “Worst Investment Ever” stories of loss. Another is when people grow attached to an investment, based on prior gains or losses from it. It is common for people to look back in despair. They get disappointed at that investment they should have made or the one they sold too early.

4. Misplaced trust

Trust is the most important thing in life, without it you have nothing. Many people get tempted into investing with people they know nothing about. Beware of people who spend their lives learning to manipulate others out of their money. Also, investing with friends rarely goes well and the trust you thought you had may evaporate. Lastly, people make the mistake of investing in an investment structure that is untrustworthy.

5. Failed to monitor their investment

You cannot expect anyone to take a greater interest in your investments than you. People make a mistake when they don’t insist that the people they are investing with keep them up to date. It must also be clear that this monitoring should be heightened when things are not going well.

6. Invested in a start-up company

There are many stories of loss from investing in a start-up company. Why? Well because most new businesses fail. Pick a number, how about 50% fail within five years? And the rate is higher if we exclude survivors that never grow big enough to provide for more than the owner. A common mistake made when in investing in start-ups when you are the sole source of funds. So, when things go bad (as they often will), there is no one else to turn to. This forces you to add more funds or else. Another problem with start-ups is that they lack financial controls. Start-ups also fail because they lack a clear business plan. They often have no real competitive advantage. Another common problem is that they lack a clear leader. Finally, they often fail when founders expect that an idea that worked in another country or region will work in theirs.

The post Six ways you will lose your money appeared first on My Worst Investment Ever.

My Blog Posts – My Worst Investment Ever

8 Benefits of Increasing the Profits of Your Business

Andrew’s books

Andrew’s online programs

Connect with Andrew Stotz:

Swedroe & Stotz Discuss 15 Common Investment Mistakes

Mistake 1: Are You Overconfident of Your Skills?

Mistake 2: Do You Project Recent Trends Indefinitely into the Future?

Mistake 3: Do You Believe Events Are More Predictable After the Fact Than Before?

Mistake 4: Do You Extrapolate From Small Samples and Trust Your Intuition?

Mistake 5: Do You Let Your Ego Dominate the Decision-Making Process?

Mistake 6: Do You Allow Yourself to Be Influenced by a Herd Mentality?

Mistake 7: Do You Confuse Skill and Luck?

Mistake 8: Do You Avoid Passive Investing Because You Sense a Loss of Control?

Mistake 9: Do You Avoid Admitting Your Investment Mistakes?

Mistake 10: Do You Pay Attention to the ‘Experts’?

Mistake 11: Do You Let the Price Paid Affect Your Decision to Continue to Hold an Asset?

Mistake 12: Are You Subject to the Fallacy of the “Hot Streak”?

Mistake 13: Do You Confuse the Familiar With the Safe?

Mistake 14: Do You Believe You Are Playing with the House’s Money?

Mistake 15: Do You Let Friendships Influence Your Choice of Investment Advisors?

Connect with Larry Swedroe

Further reading mentioned

Michael Howell Shares Why We Should Master the Liquidity Cycle to Predict Markets

Why the liquidity cycle is more important than interest rates

The current cycle: a tightening that quietly triggered a recession

Why the MOVE Index now matters more than the VIX

Collateral pools: the new foundation of global credit

Why the dollar will continue to dominate despite rising global competition

Final thoughts: liquidity is the market’s master signal

Connect with Michael Howell

My Worst Investment Ever Guests’ Famous Books

The Birth of Plenty, A Splendid Exchange, Masters of the Word, and The Delusions of Crowds

My Worst Investment Ever Guests’ YouTube Channels

My Worst Investment Ever Guests’ Podcasts

The Most Impressive People to Follow on LinkedIn in the US