Ep338: Nina Sharil Khan – Sometimes Trusting Yourself Is Better Than Trusting Others

Andrew Stotz 00:02
Hello fellow risk takers and welcome to my worst investment ever, stories of loss to keep you winning. In our community. We know that to win in investing, you must take risks but to win big, you've got to reduce it. And I bet you're exposed to investment risk right now. To reduce it, go to my worst investment ever.com and download the risk reduction checklist I've made specifically for you my podcast listeners, based on the lessons learned from all of my guests. Fellow risk takers, this is your worst podcast hosts Andrew Stotz, from a Stotz Academy, and I'm here with featured guest, Nina showreel. Con Nina, are you ready to rock?

Nina Sharil Khan 00:48
Oh, yes, totally. I mean, I hope so.

Andrew Stotz 00:51
I know you are because you and I have just spent some good quality time getting to know each other. And I'm really excited to bring you to the audience. So let me introduce you to the audience.

01:02
Thank you.

Andrew Stotz 01:02
And yes, so Nina showreel. Khan is the founder and CEO of pop con, international speaker and host of the just longer pop cast live show. Nina is also marketing in Asia a number of top 100 inspirational LinkedIn icons for both 2019 and 2020. Her journey in entertainment began as an actor, TV host, and film and TV producer, realizing that disruption was happening in social media. The rebel in her founded popcaan in 2018. As a creator of community and platform to create to connect creative talent and businesses. Within just a year of its operations. popcaan launched the world's first ever business influencer conference. Today popcaan has evolved into a full fledged marketing agency and Academy, working directly with tik tok, Twitter and LinkedIn, and dedicated to developing and nurturing Southeast Asia's business influencers. My goodness, would you take a moment and filling for the tidbits about your life?

Nina Sharil Khan 02:21
Oh, wow. Okay. Um, I would say that my life has been a series of accidents that led to where it is today. I've always kind of gone with the flow. And I felt like oh, okay, it seems fun. Let's, let's do that kind of thing. So I guess I am what you call a reckless person, which is probably how I'm ending up in your show, you know, worse investment. So it depends on whatever my goal was in life at that point in time. And I would go and pursue it. Because I'm one of those people who, you know, on your deathbed, you don't want to go like, Oh, my God, I can't die yet. Because I, I, I haven't done this. I've done that. You know what I mean? So that was my philosophy. But yeah, it's made me a reckless person. But by all standards, according to families and friends. Yeah.

Andrew Stotz 03:11
Yeah. Well, you're in good company, because Mark Zuckerberg said, Do things fast and break things or something like that?

Nina Sharil Khan 03:19
Yeah. See, that's the thing I wished I was born during, I mean, later in life, or something like that. And and because this whole startup thing was definitely me. But now I'm at this different stage in life where I believe in the company of one where you know, you can be a digital nomad and live wherever you want to be, and in half of your stuff, and still contribute to the world, wherever you are. Yeah, so

Andrew Stotz 03:41
for my friends, you know, I think we got a chance to teach a little bit of some vocabulary from different languages. In, in America, we say, Nike says, Just do it. I believe that you can teach us about what is the name of you know, what you're doing and the show that you're doing? And why is it named like that?

Nina Sharil Khan 04:04
Right. Okay. So it's called just longer. It's one of our commandments as an influencer, oh, as a content creator. And just longer means just kind of crash it or just bump it, you just bump into it, or just do it and then you'll learn along the way you're bound to make mistakes, but it's okay, because you're learning along the way. And that's the only way for you to get better. So yeah, so that's what it means in melee. But when you say just lunga it means you're either you crashed a car, you crashed and burned, or you hit someone or you're like, I'm just gonna do it. You know, whatever happens happens. Yeah. So when the pandemic hit, we didn't know how to go online without show with the funniest thing is we're teaching people to be business influencers used to be influences, but we were having face to face events. So when we look back, and we're like, wow, what are we doing? So when the pandemic hits, we're like, Okay, we got to do a live job, but how I don't know Well just log on it, you know, like, wait a minute, isn't that a good name for a show? So that's how it happened just longer. And it's it people are like, blown away by it, that we've got people in South Africa and in India going like, yeah, just loved our it just laundry. So it's become like a phrase. So so we're so grateful. Really? Yeah,

Andrew Stotz 05:19
that's exciting. And it makes me think about, you know, the saying in the startup world, I can't remember who was the person that originally said it is that if you're, if you're not embarrassed by your first product offering, you waited too long. And there's this whole new mentality, you know, in business that is like, you've got to get out there, you've got to push yourself out there. And I think one of the things that I'm thinking about, you know, the value that you bring to influencers is that it's almost like you're that person up there when the influencers got to jump off a bungee thing, and you're like, you just got to do it. You just got to do it.

Nina Sharil Khan 05:56
Yeah. You're so right. So they call me. I mean, sometimes I'm, I mean, my title of CEO that is what we call the Hello, one. But I'm also the chief pimping officer, what I do I helped sell you to become famous. So in Asia, you know, and my, my my co founders Nina, you do not go and tell the government people this that you're a chief giving officer, but so I have my Hello cards in my not so hello cards, you know, and when I finish it, I give the hut, the chief beeping officer and the government people love it. The biggest hilarious thing?

06:31
Yeah, yes. Chief

Andrew Stotz 06:32
promotion of

Nina Sharil Khan 06:34
Yeah, that's right.

Andrew Stotz 06:37
I'm picturing you in this, like, pimped out outfit, you know? Yeah. Fantastic. Well, and last thing, before we get into the question is, if people want to connect with you and learn more, let's just say I've got a lot of listeners that are in Southeast Asia, that are thinking about, you know, how do I become more of an influencer? How do I make a bigger impact, you know, what's the best way to, for them to contact you?

Nina Sharil Khan 07:02
Okay, the best way to contact me is definitely LinkedIn, because I'm pretty much on there. Like, every day kind of thing. I check it very often. The other thing is, we also have a free Facebook group that you can join, and me and my team, we go live there every Monday at 830, Malaysia time, and we actually train people there. So we've done two lives there where we're actually going to feature one of our students next week. That's coming Monday. And she's going to share about what, how she's been using the platform, and stuff like that, and some of the biggest wins and how she did it. So great. Definitely join us. Yeah,

Andrew Stotz 07:37
why don't we include the link to your LinkedIn as well as the link to that Facebook group in the shownotes. So for anybody listening, go to the episode, show notes and click the links and get involved just a just longer? Yeah, I just wonder. All right, well, now it's time to share your worst investment ever. And no one ever goes into their worst investment thinking it will be. Tell us a bit about the circumstances leading up to it, and then tell us your story.

Nina Sharil Khan 08:06
Okay, so you know, how you read my profile. And it sounded really freaking awesome. And all that. This happened before all that because this was like, I would say, this was a dark period of my life that I try not to tell people about it, because I'm still embarrassed, I'm still ashamed about it. So I was a scholar with one of the biggest oil companies in Malaysia. And after and I did this course, which taught me you can do anything you want in the world. So I was high on that, right? And I decided to quit my job and do like financial and sell these financial solutions, which are unit trusts, because these people while making money during that time, so I thought, okay, they can do it, I can do anything. I was high right from that course. So I joined and my friends joined, you know, so I joined kind of thing. And as you know, when you're selling all these financial products, people who have financial solutions, other products will come in look for you. Right, so I met this guy who is like a fund manager. And he basically enrolled me into his fund and stuff like that. And I was sold basically. So the reason why I'm ashamed about it is because I sold this product to people. And it worked. It was great. It gave a monthly return. But at the end it turned out he was I don't even know if he didn't invest it properly. Could have been so it was I don't know what's the term you call it? But in Malaysia there's the term where it's like a pyramid scheme or whatever you

Andrew Stotz 09:53
call it a Ponzi scheme. Oh, yes, a pyramid scheme.

Nina Sharil Khan 09:57
Yeah, so it was a Ponzi scheme like disguised as like a hedge fund and stuff like that kind of thing. And and you know, as you get older you kind of because of that traumatizing experience for me, I then hear from other people, these others, and then you're like, Oh my god, it sounds suspiciously like a Ponzi scheme. And you just wait, there seems to be like a turnaround time within three years or go bust. Right. Right.

10:21
Exactly.

Nina Sharil Khan 10:22
And, and with technology, it gets updated. So it comes, and then you get blinded by it. But the same thing, you know, you can kind of tell the vibe of it. But it gets updated. It's an online thing, you invest in it, you get monthly thing, and then it goes bust, you know, that sort of thing. But that time, I was making a lot of money because you get like, commission, like a monthly thing. And so were the people. And this for me, it was sad, because for me, it was embarrassing. I'm, I'm ashamed of it. Because all these people invested, they will my friends. And all these people who invested because they trusted me. It wasn't even that guy. But because I trusted that guy. I went out and sold this. And although my friends don't blame me, but I blame myself. So I carry that guilt. So I think that is the part of the worst investment kind of thing. Yeah, yeah. And it went on for about two years. I mean, I had good money, but yeah, yeah.

Andrew Stotz 11:24
And when can you remember when you kind of realized, you got to get out of this?

Nina Sharil Khan 11:30
Um, see, that's my problem. I'm one of those trusting people who, you know, when things are thrown at you right at you, you still trust you don't want to believe it. So the only we didn't know anything, except when he came and told us actually, there's no more money left. And I still dressed him? Hmm, yeah. So yeah, then again, that was probably my fault, because I could have learned better and he didn't have to drag other people. But he didn't reveal he was only so we had sought that out with the because he the funnel was being reported. So it was kind of frozen. So we were still okay, what's going on? And that added it up? And then after that, he actually said that, actually, there is no money. We can't do this. And I was like, What? What do you mean, that is no money. So when that happened, he was actually in the lawyer's office. And I remember we were screaming at him. Because all those years of trust. I mean, I remember like shaking my hands I shaking because my friends invested millions, you know, hundreds and 1000s and 1000s. And they were getting results. So they pumped in more money. And I was like, I think you should be diversified. But they were like, No, no, no, we're gonna put in more, you know, and these are retirement savings, you know, so that's why I feel ashamed and stuff. Like that wasn't until recently that I was telling a friend and he was laughing at me. And I'm like, do Don't make me feel bad. Okay, I'm still ashamed about this. And he's like, but why are you not so affected by it? I carry this with guilt around, you know, and he was like, it's not really your fault. You trusted someone and you shared it. And it wasn't like, I even met him. So they trusted me with him. So you were a victim? He said, and I'm like, Yeah, I guess I am a victim, you know, kind of thing. Yeah. And, and, and the worst thing is, it wasn't just that fun. There were others that came crashing all at the same time. And I was like, What the heck is happening? So we were, there was another one where you invest in property and you buy a new cell, you buy a new cell, and that was making really good money. And then it crashed, same time, because it was frozen, you know, kind of thing. And then there was another one we invested in gold, where you invest in it and you get monthly, and then you know, you would release it after six months or a year. And that was also good regions. Again, It went in? Yeah. Because of the regulations or whatever they said, you know, and I was like, What the heck is the universe trying to tell me and then I am not getting you know, but it was all happening at the same time. kind of thing. So, Mike for investors, so because of that, I basically left the financial investment scene, because, you know, I was so traumatized by it. Yeah. I, this is clear that people calm listening and kind of understanding

Andrew Stotz 14:29
everything. So how would you summarize the lessons that you learned from this?

Nina Sharil Khan 14:33
I would say that, check the investments, it may sound good, other people are making money. But even though the investments are good, but if the country's regulation can come in and kind of stop it, then it's not going to serve you because your money's gonna get stuck. Hmm, yeah. And also you want to diversify your risk. You don't want to put everything in one basket you want to, I would call this high risk, even though it's stable or what I would put this under the high risk basket, and maybe put aside 10% or 20%. So it's like play money, and you do not want to be pumping in 50% of say, your savings there, you know, so you got to be mindful, even though it sounds great and stuff like that, put in money that you're okay with, if it goes off, you know what I mean?

Andrew Stotz 15:23
Yep. So maybe I'll summarize a few things I take away from this. In 1992, I came to Thailand and I became a financial analyst in 1993. It was the time that the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand was set up at that time. And then when they started licensing analysts and salespeople, I was one of the first people to get licensed. And I've maintained that license to today. And in that license, there's a lot of training they're trying to do about ethics, and what is due diligence and all that. But you know, there's a lot of people coming into the industry, and it's just, it's hard. In addition, I became a CFA charter holder, and also was president of CFA society. And the unique thing about the CFA charter for me is that we have to study a lot of ethics. And I've taught ethics for many years in, in finance, and in CFA. And so all of those things are like safeguards in the industry. So there's a few things that I would highlight here, in this particular case, the first thing is that the in Malaysia, it's the Securities Commission, sec, in Thailand, and the SEC, or whatever country you're in, the first thing is that generally, people are licensed. So the thing that's you can do with any person is you can type the name into the website of the regulator. And they're fun. And it's one little step up due diligence to make sure that that person is licensed. And that also there's no complaints against that person. Also, the other thing for anybody listening that finds out that you are suspects that you're being defrauded in some way, then you can contact the local regulator, and report a complaint. And then they will investigate that and try to help, you know, that's what they're there to do is to protect the small investor. And so, you know, there's a lot of things that the other thing that's so important about this type of situation is that they always these situations always come at you, as in an appealing way. Yes, it's earning money, it's low risk, look, you're already getting payments, you know, so you think, well, if I'm already getting payments, then you know, it's working. But a Ponzi scheme is that they're paying you the payments that they're making the old investors are coming from the money that they're raising from new investors. Yeah. And that's the definition of a Ponzi scheme. And that's why they eventually just run out of money when they can't get any more money in. And you're not my only guest from Malaysia, that has had a Ponzi scheme happen. So, you know, I think the last last thing that I would say is that, you know, managing monies is something that you really need to always do due diligence on and the damage that can happen from Ponzi schemes and these types of things, you know, I oftentimes think of my mother, who came to Thailand to live with me when she was 78. And now she's 82, almost 83 when my father passed away, you know, she has the retirement money. But if it wasn't for me around, or other people, you know, how easily could she be defrauded? You know, of that money? And what is the financial consequences of that? It's enormous, you know, if you are I are defrauded at, you know, at our young age, which again,

18:40
is fine.

Andrew Stotz 18:42
We can make it back. But you know, and that's why we, you know, the regulators are trying to protect, and particularly the most vulnerable people. So, a lot of different things that I take away from it, anything that you add to what I just said,

Nina Sharil Khan 18:55
Oh, yeah, I mean, the thing is, well, for me, if there are people who are involved in selling it, and didn't even realize it, I think one of the hardest things for me, which didn't even occur to me until I had a chat with a friend, I was a victim, and I'm such an overachiever. And I take all the responsibility for all this, you know, and they're my friends. These are relationships that I hold dearly and close. Until today. I feel like I can't face them because I feel guilty. You know what I mean? So I think it's important to realize that you're, you're a victim, and don't be so hard on yourself. And as an investor, when you do something like this, and you invest, and you get screwed. It's also to not feel kind of stupid, and ashamed that you did this because it could have happened to anybody. Yeah, so I mean, that's what I would, I would say, and, and again, I would really, really urge even if the guy is good, and he can really invest, but if it's seen as not a proper thing, but you know, the rest regulations can come in and freeze everything, you know. So you're at the end of day, you're still stuck. And you don't want to be that. And and you don't want to get into a legal because that's what happened. We kind of sued him. But you know, it's been years No, nothing's happened, you know. So the best thing is avoid or invest with money that you think you don't mind if anything happens to it? Or if it's really early, get in and get out.

20:25
That's what I would say.

Nina Sharil Khan 20:27
I don't even trust myself with this. Yeah, I think it comes. But you're right. It comes in many forms. It's very misleading, but be very suspicious of it and just just hear anything.

Andrew Stotz 20:38
Yeah. And for the young people listening out there, and people that are building a career in this area where they are giving recommendations on things, you know, I think the first most important thing is awareness, you've got to be aware of what people are doing, and you know, what things are. The second thing is the concept of due diligence, the idea that you do need to do some work to make sure that there is you know, that this is legitimate. But then there is the idea that you know, there's only so much you can do, you're expecting that this person is acting in good faith. And so in a case like yours, the ultimate really the ultimate question is, did you defraud, right now, some people know that something's wrong, and then they keep doing it, okay, now, you're complicit. But once you knew that something was wrong, and you saw him, and then you make it clear to the people that you are responsible to, then you know, you've done your best. And that's ultimately I think, for everybody. Nobody wants to be tangled up in a situation like this. But if you've been innocent in the way that you got into it, and you know, you could say, well, I could have done more due diligence, but I did the best that I could. And you immediately as soon as soon as you saw something, you said something, then you know, everybody's in pain about it. But in the end, you know, I think you've, you've done the best that you could. So yeah. And that's the value of this show, because we go through our worst investments. And we think about what we did wrong, what we could have done better, you know, we give advice to other people, but we also let it go. So based upon what you learn from this story, and what you continue to learn, what action would you recommend our listeners take to avoid suffering the same fate?

Nina Sharil Khan 22:23
For me, ironically, it was about trust, the lesson that I learned is about trusting myself and not putting it on to somebody else and not outsourcing that trust, let's put it that way. So, you know, when you trust other people to be doing the right things, and whatnot, they don't have the same values as you do. That sort of thing. And people buy because of me, and I because of my relationship, because of the promise I make to them. So I think, and I'm a very trustworthy brand. I hold that very dearly. And, and I think what was missing in me at that time, was me trusting me that I could take people and stuff like that, you know, I could lead people somewhere. And that's a lesson that I that kept happening in my life, which I think maybe that's why it happened to him all at the same time. So yeah, so that for me is I think, trusting myself and, and really believing that was important. Yeah,

Andrew Stotz 23:25
it's a, it's a great lesson, the idea of the value of trust. Because if if somebody knows that you're sincere, somebody knows you've done your homework, somebody knows that you're just not telling them something, because someone's paying you to tell them, but that you actually, you know, what you're talking about is coming from your heart, then you're building trust that other people can begin to rely, I know, when people you know, one of the things I always say about my interns is my interns get jobs pretty easily, because the people who know me in the financial world trust that I am kicking their butts, and that I am super tough. So they know if that intern can make it through an internship with me, then it's worth looking at that person. And so ultimately, you know, ultimately, we as a brand, as, just as a person, you know, our reliability and trustworthiness is our main value. So,

Nina Sharil Khan 24:27
yeah, so really, I learned that you know what, I'm not going to sell somebody else, anything that I'm going to sell it to me, and that meant that I needed to step into my power and embrace me. You know what I mean? Yes. And that was what I was avoiding for the longest. And I think because I was young, I didn't think that I could do it. Why would anybody trust me, but then they did, you know, so it was about me trusting myself. And here's another thing about me because I do lead to healing so so I have a coach who I work with, and it's only years later that I realized that I had this belief where it goes back to the just longer concept that I would get into these situations where I obligate this unscrupulous people to come into my life to help me on my true purpose. And if it wasn't because of that, I would not have left that industry, and focus on film and stuff like that. And in my entire career, there was always some unscrupulous person who would force me to like, I'll be like, I'm leaving this and then I go here, to where I am today. So I think this is where I'm supposed to be. You know, I don't know if that makes sense.

Andrew Stotz 25:37
No, it's great. I mean, I think that the lesson for all of us, for who people who are listening to the story is the idea of, you know, build in the process of building brand you, you've got to build that trust. And I think one other last thing I would say about the world of finance, but it's also the world in general is that there's a lot of conflicts of interests that are going on in every business, you know, where you may be getting paid to recommend a product, or you may be getting a commission, if you're recommending a fund. It's just part of business. But one of the things that we teach in CFA ethics is that our objective is to disclose our conflicts of interest upfront. And before the person makes a decision, and that is a very high bar. Because most people don't do it. You don't know the commission that the salesman at the TV shop is making. But the idea in the financial world is to disclose your conflicts up front. And what I think that's sometimes scary. But the point is, is that man, the respect that you get from people, when you tell them, I'm being paid for this, or Yes, I'm going to earn a commission if this deal goes through. I think when I learned about, like, say corruption and stuff like that that happens in Asia, from my experience here, what I learned is that the objective is not to get rid of conflicts of interest, because it's impossible. The objective is to expose them. And if you can expose conflicts of interest, and people can make their own decisions. So I think that's another really important lesson to take away.

Nina Sharil Khan 27:14
That is another one because a couple of years later, I ended up investing in something and similar. And I knew my hunch was telling me that it was a Ponzi thing, but because it was a friend of mine, I went along. And I, in looking back, I felt like I was obligated. I was emotionally blackmailed into it, because he was somebody that I looked up to. So another thing too, you know, at the end of the day, if you don't want to invest it is you're right. Nobody can make you even though they're your friends. So do not get into it, especially if your gut feeling is saying no, and stuff like that. So nobody has a right to push you to do whatever you don't want to do. Yeah.

Andrew Stotz 27:54
And CFA has 10 investor rights, that are exactly what you say. And another one is that you have a right to understand the fees that you're being charged. And what's also interesting about that, is you have a right to demand that they explain it in a way that you can understand it. And that's another, you know, big challenge. And so anyways, Alright, last question. What's your number one goal for the next 12 months?

Nina Sharil Khan 28:23
number one goal would be to basically grow our course and community to reach out to more people in 2021. And hopefully have like, I don't know, 5000. Members? Yeah, in our free group, at least. Exactly.

Andrew Stotz 28:39
Awesome.

Nina Sharil Khan 28:40
That's fair. So we're really excited about that. Oh, and I'm going to be launching, I hope to launch my own show. And this one will be focusing on healing and people learning from each other and inspiring stories kind of thing. Yeah. Because that's more than the influence of Fridays to help people with their business and stuff like that.

Andrew Stotz 28:59
Well, that's part of what this podcast is about. Because when we go through our worst investments ever, we start the healing process and the learning process. So listeners, there you have it, another story of loss to keep you winning. Remember to reduce risk in your life by going to my worst investment ever.com. Right now, to download my risk reduction checklist and see how you measure up. So as we conclude, Nina, I want to thank you again for coming on the show. And on behalf of a Stotz Academy, I hereby award you alumni status for turning your worst investment ever into your best teaching moment. Do you have any parting words for the audience? Yes, I

Nina Sharil Khan 29:42
do. I would say trust yourself. Yeah. And when something really bad happens, it's usually like an angel. I mean in disguise, there's something for you to learn and you will come out stronger and bigger than ever. I did not understand that for years. 10 years. Yeah. And then look at you now.

Andrew Stotz 30:03
All right, that's a wrap on another great story to help us create, grow and protect our well fellow risk takers. This is your worst podcast host Andrew Stotz saying. I'll see you on the upside.

30:14
You