Everyone's an investor

It’s pretty surreal to see the investing activity happening right now. Modern technology has made everyone an investor.

Apps like Robinhood made it so easy that teenagers can become public market investors and get access to complicated financial instruments in a matter of hours.

Platforms like AngelList has created a medium for accredited investors to become angel investors. Taking it one step further, there are crowdfunding platforms that allow you to circumvent accreditation and still get equity in a company.

There’s more money than ever before in the United States and people are heavily investing it. That’s the great side of this. Financial education is important and something that is not taught in our school system. The fact that people are investing their money instead of spending it is a step in the right direction.

Of course, there’s two sides of the coin and we’re seeing a lot of dangerous and reckless behavior. While I believe accredited investor rules are antiquated, they are there to protect the public.

I’m very interested to see how investing rules evolve over the next couple of years now that anyone can become an “investor”.

My take is that there needs to be access to all but with proper education and stops in place. How this education gets distributed will be the interesting part of this investor evolution. I hate barriers to entry as much as anyone, but perhaps a small barrier is required here to protect the public.

Right now, I’m not sure what the best method is. There could be mandatory classes or certifications required to gain access to certain instruments. Maybe there needs to be some innovation involved in this space.

What I do know is that we don’t need is arbitrary income thresholds and more antiquated rules.

Recruiting, recruiting, recruiting

I am wrapping up my team’s 18 month plan and without divulging too many details, the major focus of the next few months will be recruiting.

The past few months have shown that we need to do some major recruiting to properly scale. The team has been overworked the last few months and the numbers show this. Help is on the way as we have another all-star starting on Monday, but our goals and ambitions are going to require a lot more work to be done on the recruiting front.

I’ve heard that many startup founders and execs often do not carve out enough time to focus on recruiting. Unfortunately, I have fallen in this trap in the past few months as I was focused solely on driving revenue.

In order to get the revenue growth that we’re hoping for, I will need to spend much more time recruiting. I’m hoping to spend at least 25% of my time in the next few weeks recruiting.

It’s going to be a big challenge, but I’m excited for it.

SPACs

I wrote on Tuesday about the IPO craze and how companies are looking to hit the public market earlier. As I wrote about on Tuesday, this trend is sparked by the rise of SPACs.

Private companies are looking to SPACs as an alternative to venture capital funding in the private markets. SPACs offer one of the biggest advantages that companies seek out in the private markets — they get to partner with a reputable firm that can help them achieve goals.

Of course this partnership also includes the best aspects of the public market including easier access to capital and liquidity for employees.

In a sense, SPACs offer a happy medium to go public. They do not have to go at it on their own like a direct listing. They do not have to partner with a bank that largely controls the process. SPACs are an in between option that allows companies to largely dictate terms and choose their partners.

Of course, SPACs aren’t perfect and every company needs to weigh the pros and cons of direct listing, SPACs and the traditional IPO process.

SPACs have a long way to go before they become a mainstream way to go public. We are only touching the surface of the SPAC craze and the next year will be fun to watch whether this a trend to stay or whether it will be another 2020 fad.

The IPO Craze

Strike when the iron is hot. That’s what every mature (or somewhat mature) private company is doing right now and going public. It’s quite amazing what’s going on right now. Seemingly every day there’s an announcement of a company going public whether that’s through the traditional method, a SPAC, or a direct listing.

This is undoubtedly a product of the hot market. Of course, when the market is hot, it’s much easier to go public. Capital is easy to come by as everyone wants a piece of the action.

The deeper trend that’s interesting to follow is the bucking of the trend of the 2010s which is that private companies were staying private longer.

Companies that were born in the recession post 2008 such as Airbnb, Lyft, and Uber stayed private much longer than anticipated with Airbnb just making its debut next week and Uber/Lyft last year.

I suspect that this has to do a lot with the rise of modern venture capital firms that funded the rapid growth of these companies while staying out of the public market scrutiny. Things were well… nice and cozy if you were a well funded VC backed startup in the 2010s.

Companies that were born in the mid to late 2010s were born in a bull market and we’re starting to see these companies hit the public markets.

The 2020s started off on a much different foot. A global pandemic that put the markets in panic turned out to be a temporary phenomenon matched by rising stock prices and new all time highs.

Younger startups are now riding the wave of SPACs to go public much earlier hoping for greener pastures. It’s a fascinating trend that’s going to be interesting to watch in the coming years.

Mondays

Mondays have been getting harder and harder for me as I get older.

Part of this is my fault as I don’t get as much rest as one should over the weekends. As my weekend nights get earlier and earlier, I do think I’ll buck this trend soon enough. I know I need to do a better job at getting the rest I need.

I also do think a lot of this is signs of a possible burnout. I know I’ve been working a lot lately and it hasn’t gotten much easier. I know burnout is real and dangerous. I’ve seen it happen first hand quite often and it’s something I am looking to avoid.

I know the fix to all this is simple… but difficult. I need to get more rest and work less. That’s obviously easier said than done. These next few weeks will be unavoidable in terms of work load, but I’m hoping to take a lot of time off at the end of the year and ease into 2021.

Back to it

I’m disappointed to see that I didn’t write anything in my blog for a week. It was a real busy week leading up to Thanksgiving, but I also realize that I need to make time for things that are important to me. Work has slowly started to take over my life and it’s not a good trend.

It was a weird Thanksgiving with the pandemic in full force. Sophia and I went to my parent’s house for a quick dinner and then went to John and Mimi’s for a second dinner.

I golfed on Thanksgiving, the Friday after and again today for a total of 4 tee times in a week. It was a bit much and I am a bit golfed out right now. I played particularly poorly on the last 2 rounds which probably means it’s time to take a bit of a golf break.

The one thing about golf is that it’s a 4-5 hour time period where I can truly disconnect and not check my phone. It’s a magical time period where I’m with my close friends just enjoying being outdoors. I’m glad I picked up the hobby during quarantine.

I’ve got a mountain of work to catch up on this week as we wrap up November and aim to close out the year strong. Overall, I feel much more rested and stress free than at the beginning of the week. The long weekend came at the right time.

It’s going to be a 3-4 week sprint to close out the year. I’ll be working my tail off, but need to make sure to keep good work habits and make time for myself.

Big win today on the golf course

I played Harding for the first time in my life today. It did not disappoint and it’s now my favorite golf course that I’ve ever played on.

I played well except for a couple holes right before the turn where my hunger kicked in and consumed my brain power. I’m finally getting to the point where I am somewhat consistently striking the ball well and my misses aren’t completely god awful.

My chipping and 100-in is still atrocious but that’s going to be my next focus when I get to the range.

The biggest win of the day? I left my phone in my bag and didn’t check it once during the entire round. It felt amazing to completely unplug and not think about work.

It’s going to be a long 3 days to Thanksgiving, but I’m excited for the holiday break. We have a tee time on Thursday, Friday and Sunday. I can’t imagine a better way to unplug and relax before things hit the fan as we close out the year.

The unsexy stuff

I’m listening to Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History podcast and I’m hooked. I’m currently on Supernova in the East: Episode 5 which has been a fantastic series that which covers pre-WW2 and WW2 Japan.

I am a huge history and specifically war nerd. When it comes to World War 2, many historians will discuss the turning points in the war and how the Allies were able to shift the tide of the war in their favor.

While the battles and bravery of the soldiers are rightfully celebrated, perhaps the biggest driver in the outcome of the war was very simply the unsexy stuff. Logistics, supply lines, manufacturing capabilities, etc. that the Allies were far superior in compared to the Axis.

Dan Carlin discusses the unsexy stuff at great length throughout the series. He discusses the American repair men who were able to repair carriers after a battle much quicker than their Japanese counterparts. He mentions the engineers who are able to build airfields expeditiously to create air superiority. This is the stuff that ultimately wins the battles and eventually the war.

He quotes an American military commander saying:

Amateurs talk tactics. Professionals talk logistics.

It’s a quote that really stuck with me. Everyone wants and talks about the sexy stuff in work…. like the strategy. But when it comes down to it, the execution is truly what matters.

I have grown to love the unsexy things in life when it comes to investing and work.

When it comes to investments, I love the unsexy companies that seem to be chugging along. They may not carry the hype for various reasons. It could because of the industry, market cap or simply that they are flying under the radar. Regardless of the reason, they are great businesses that provide even greater returns.

I bring the same mentality to work. I understand the importance of setting a strategy and having a plan to execute on, but I know that plans can go out the window very quickly. See COVID-19. What matters most is being able to execute on that plan and that starts with the unsexy things in the work place.

It’s the things like training, the cultural building, project management and prioritization that ultimately make the big difference in the long-run.

We need to continue to invest in the unsexy things because that is how we win the war.

Buckling down

It’s going to be a wild 6 weeks to close out the year. I’ve come to terms that this holiday season is going to be extraordinarily difficult for lots individuals.

The country is in COVID hell right now and the “second wave” has arrived in full force. States are all going back to lockdown just in time for the holidays.

It’s crazy to look back and see just how 3 weeks ago feels when San Francisco was opening up offices to non-essential workers, gyms, and indoor dining for everyone.

Sophia has already decided to not fly home and see her parents. I am debating whether even driving across the city to my parent’s home is a good idea for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It probably isn’t… even with a negative test.

I wish COVID was the only source of stress in my life right now. Unfortunately work has also been a killer lately. In many ways, it’s great that we’re busy as a small startup, but the constant grind takes a toll on people and I am no exception.

The toll of long hours wears on you. The thought of a crazy sprint to close out the year is also front and center in my mind. With no end in sight and not much to look forward to with COVID, I’ve been admittedly a little down today and yesterday.

I didn’t feel better until after I was able to sneak off and get a workout in the late afternoon. In a little bit of an odd nostalgic feeling, I felt like I was back in my early to mid 20s again grinding in NYC at PwC.

Back then, a late afternoon/early evening workout was something that I frequently did to break up my long 14+ hour days. I would work nearly a full day, go to the gym, shower, pick up dinner, and start my second work day.

It was a stark reminder of what those days were like and my attitude back then versus now. I was stressed at times, but I almost never really complained. I just knew I had to buckle up, get shit done and get home so I can do it again the next day.

These next couple months are going to be very difficult both from a work and personal level, but we all need to find a way to get through it. Having a negative attitude isn’t going to help me or anybody around me get through this. The one thing we can control is our attitude and approach to this, and I plan on having a much more positive attitude going forward. It’s time to buckle down and get shit done.

Aging

Today was a bit of a struggle for me. My body feels like it’s been hit by a dump truck and I can’t wait to get bad to bed in a couple hours.

This was all of course my fault. My best friend was proposing to his long time girlfriend on Saturday and I was involved in the all day festivities. It was a magical day overall and I had a blast celebrating with close friends.

The day made me realize just how much we’ve grown and that we’re all entering the next phases of our lives which is likely marriage and possibly children in the next few years.

The next day (and today) was a reminder that aging also has some downsides. Mainly that my body and brain can’t keep up with long days of celebration. This is an adjustment that I'll need to constantly remind myself of. I am no longer in my 20s.

Why we do this

It’s a cold and rainy day in San Francisco. I can’t really remember the last time it rained in the city. Much needed change of pace .

I really loved this Tweet and thread.

https://twitter.com/nonmayorpete/status/1320862421792124928?s=20

Do not complain Startups are hard and everyone knows it. Complaining will just make the experience worse. Instead of looking at your feet, look to the horizon. Find the opportunities within the gaps. Find the solutions for the problems.

Not everything in startup land is fun. Most if it is really freakin’ hard. The beauty behind startups is that there’s always something keeping you energized and coming back for more.

I had the chance to work on some awesome projects this week. That helped keep my mental state and energy levels high despite long hours and some tough breaks. I’m exhausted at this point, but I’m ready to get back at it on Monday.

A return to normalcy?

On Monday, I wrote about how I was going to start shaking the bad COVID-19 habits that I’ve developed over the last few months. I’m happy to report back and say that it’s been a great week so far and I’m feeling awesome.

I’ve started going to bed earlier, waking up at the same time every day and going through a normal morning routine. My workout schedule is back to pre COVID days. I’m starting to feel well… somewhat normal again.

Of course in reality this is far from the truth. We keep hitting new all time highs on the COVID meter. Even San Francisco that has largely kept everything under control has spiked in the number of new infections. This prompted Mayor Breed to close down indoor dining for the time being.

Sophia and I were fortunately able to enjoy a few nice safe indoor dinners over the last couple of weeks. It was nice and reminded me of the good ole pre-pandemic days.

Unfortunately, all signs point to a long winter pandemic. Signs of a vaccine on a way are great, but we have no idea when it will be available for the masses.

I’m enjoying the feeling of going back to normal, but I’m also not getting my hopes up and preparing for the worst.

Short-term memory

Unfortunately in the world of business and especially startups, you’re going to get punched in the face a lot.

It happened quite a bit at my last job. It happened with every side business/hustle that I’ve started to date. And it’s happening more than ever at Secfi right now.

Truth is that it really sucks when it happens whatever the situation. It could be a deal you thought was closed gone wrong. Perhaps a vendor that guaranteed something fell through. Maybe an employee that you trusted decided to go elsewhere or you didn’t get that promotion that you were promised.

Whatever the circumstance or who’s fault, I’ve learned that life has a funny way of finding new ways to punch you in the face.

Unfortunately I’ve realized that in life there’s not that much you can do about this. Outside factors will always apply no matter how much you wish or pray that it didn’t. The only thing that you can control is how you react to getting punched.

It’s easy to get caught up in these situations and let it dwell. This only leads to a bad situation getting worse as it affects other areas of your life.

This is why short-term memory and a great mental model is possibly one of the most important aspects of success. You can’t control what happens but you can control your reaction. Whenever something shitty happens to me at work, I try to remind myself to have short-term memory.

It’s okay to be upset for a short time period. We’re all human. But when time comes to move on, it’s best to put that last situation in the rear view and focus on the new task at hand.

Routines and disconnecting

My life is a beautiful mess right now. I don’t mean to sound dramatic. I am healthy and generally happy right now, but I feel like I am all over the place. I am drowning in work and personal life commitments are catching up quickly. A beautiful mess is how’d I best describe the situation.

Work is getting busier than ever which is a good thing for someone at a startup. I am also grateful to be a fortunate personal situation with lots of activities and commitments. Nonetheless, there are so many hours in the day and I feel like I am all over the place… all the time.

It’s easy to blame COVID-19 for derailing my routine, but the reality is that this was always going to happen with my workload increasing and I have no one else to blame but myself for this.

Going forward, I am looking to address this problem with two achievable goals:

1) I am going to get back into a defined work routine rather than the COVID work routine. Getting up at the same time everyday. Working out on a defined schedule. Planning to separate work/personal better at home. These are all things that I once did but was derailed due to the COVID excuse. We’re still in a pandemic, but it’s time I get back to my normal routine which makes me more efficient and happier.

2) I am going to disconnect more by leaving my phone and/or laptops away when it’s time to focus on personal and leisurely activities. Work has gotten more demanding and I have responded by being plugged in more than I ever have. I need to be more present when it comes to life so I can enjoy the moments with my friends and loved ones. I have started leaving my phone when I go outside to take a break or go into nature. It’s paid huge dividends so far and I feel recharged when I get back.

These are two difficult but achievable goals. I look forward to living a healthier and happier life once I accomplish them.

What to make of this mess?

As I write this, Joe Biden is in the driver’s seat to take the White House. He’s the favorite in Arizona, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. Georgia is a close race and a toss-up. There are votes to be counted still but they all seem to be favoring Biden as the lead gets narrower as more absentee ballots are counted which lean heavily in Biden’s favor.

Am I happy that Donald Trump is out of office? Of course. He’s a divisive and racist President that has no business representing the free world. Like most Americans, the election results will likely be an underwhelming result.

The White House will be won in a close call. The Senate seems to be headed towards staying Republican. Yes, there are more votes to be counted still and once the dust settles, it may not be as close as we all thought. But there’s no doubting that the blue wave didn’t happen as we had hoped.

Most of my friends and colleagues are saying the same thing. They can’t believe how many people out there are still voting for Trump.

It’s pretty obvious that we are in an unprecedented time in this country’s history. We are a deeply divided country trending towards more divisiveness. Both sides are treating each other like we’re rival nations and it’s getting nastier and uglier.

The next four years are going to be a pivotal moment in our country’s history.

Can Joe Biden and Kamala Harris unite this country? I remain hopeful, but we’ll have to wait and see. The message right now from the Democratic camp is unity and it seems that is priority for the Democratic agenda.

Going forward, we’re going to need to take a step back as a country. Both the Republican and Democratic parties need to do some soul searching. Although both the left and the right like to blame the other side, everyone needs to shoulder some of the blame for this mess of a state we are in right now.

The caricatures of the left and right by the opposing side is far from the truth. There’s good people on both sides despite what we may believe or what we see on social media.

We are at a crossroads right now as a country. We have work to do, but the forever optimist in me believes in the future of this country.

My week of thoughts

I took a week off from writing as I took my Series 24 last Tuesday and then played catch-up on work and life. also I took today off and will be taking most of tomorrow off for the election. I look forward to getting back to a more steady routine and also writing again. My post today will be a brain dump of my thoughts over the last week with no major structure.

I passed my Series 24. It was an absolutely brutal test. Many people warned me, but I had to take it and fail the first time to actually believe it. I’m proud of myself for bouncing back and getting it done. Failing the first time wasn’t easy and it took a big toll on me for a few days, but it was a great learning experience that nothing in life is easy.

With me passing the Series 24, I have much more liability on my shoulders as I take on the CEO role of our broker-dealer. I am very much a GSD (get shit done) type of person that likes to move fast, but the regulatory stuff is not something you want to move fast on. I need to be patient and take my time as I work through broker-dealer related work.

Election day is tomorrow and anxiety levels seem to be at all time highs. The market isn’t responding well and the last week was the worst week since March. To be honest, I don’t think the market will respond well if either candidate wins, but will likely stabilize once things settle down in a couple weeks… hopefully.

I golfed my best round and shot a 94 at Presidio on Saturday. It was an absolutely awesome ball-striking day marred with an insane amount of 3 putts. Today, I played Peacock Gap which is a fantastic course and much easier than Presidio. I proceeded to drive the ball better than I have ever driven it and got my putting under control. Of course, my irons were horrid. Golf is a tough game where one thing always seems to be off — it’s so exceedingly rare where you are playing well in all aspects. I couldn’t help but think how similar this is to real life. It’s rare for everything in your life to be perfect at a given moment and you need to know where things stand and adjust accordingly.

My golf addiction is real. I have spent more money on golf than any other hobby in my life and well… it feels good. It feels great to be excited about something other than work. It’s helped make me work more efficiently and gives me something to think about when I am not working. Everyone should have hobbies and things they can turn to besides work. I’ve been on the other side with only work in my life and it is not healthy.

My week of gratitude

Today I am grateful for well.. gratitude. I have been much happier this past week despite the stresses of working while study for a test due to my gratitude practice. Writing about it in my blog helped me level set my mind every day. I am happy I did it.

It’s easy to get caught up in what you don’t have in life and that want can ruin your mindset and even day.

Something silly that I realized over the weekend while playing golf:

It’s easy to be envious of a scratch golfer’s swing. If you focus too much on trying to achieve that swing and score like that person, you’re going to forget that you’re playing golf which in itself is great.

Realizing this made me enjoy the day much better despite not playing as well as I hoped.

I’m headed in lockdown mode as I make a final push to study for the next 5-6 hours for my test. I take it tomorrow and I am confident but cautiously optimistic. The test got me once and I need to be sure I don’t leave anything on the table.

Confidence

Today I am grateful for my great group of friends who I trust and know will always stand by me. I am insanely fortunate to be surrounded by lots of great people in my life and I wouldn’t be where I am without them.

I was taking a quick client call the other day while walking with a friend and she asked how I am always so confident on the phone. I explained to her that this is nothing more than just lots of practice and learning.

I told her that you don’t “sound confident” on the phone. You are simply just confident because you know the material you are talking about in and out and can speak to it without breaking a sweat. It’s really not that different from any other craft.

I am writing this right now about to leave for my Sunday morning tee time with friends. I am excited to play and have a level of confidence I’ve never had before going into a round. This is all following my worst round of golf ever on Tuesday.

So why am I confident? I spent 2 hours Friday and another 2 hours on Saturday practicing my swing and making tweaks to fix my mistakes on Tuesday. Of course this is still golf and things can go awry very quickly but my practice over the last couple days have me at least in a great mindset going into the round.

Hopefully things go well today. If not, there’s always more time to practice.

Bar raising

Today I am grateful for the good food in my life. Food is one of my passions and my life revolves around my next meal.

I am stuck studying today for my Series 24 exam which is on Tuesday. It’s not easy being stuck inside studying on a Saturday, but I grabbed some dim sum from Good Mongkok on my way in to my study spot so some fire har gow always helps put me in a better mood.

The test is a monster and I am not taking it lightly the second time around. Failing the test the first time around was quite honestly maybe the first time I have ever failed an exam in my life. It was a huge learning experience for me and made me realize that as my life and career goes on, the bar is always going to be raised.

It’s up to me to level up as well. I’ve got to constantly grow and refine my craft in everything I do.

"Oh Shit" moments

Today I am grateful for the sun. My mood is always just a little bit more cheerful on a nice sunny day. There’s nothing like going on a walk when the sun is beaming down on you. I’m staring at a cloudless San Francisco sky right now on a Friday afternoon and I am grateful to be here.

I had a call with an executive that we partner with yesterday and we discussed our business model quite a bit. I mentioned that it is a challenge convincing people to act on their stock options despite us genuinely feeling like this is the best option for the individual. People get busy and stock options fall on the back burner unfortunately.

The executive said that he feels that we need to be creating an emotional response in order for people to realize the true value. In other words, we need to be creating “Oh Shit” moments. These emotional responses force people to act in a fight or flight response and that’s exactly what we need to get someone to the table to act on their stock options.

We’ve been trying to do this quite a bit over the last year and we’ve been successful in many ways, but there’s much more for us to do here. We’ll definitely be focusing on this in the next few months as we ramp up our marketing efforts.