Brad's Brief - The Fall of Dan Bilzerian, Self Storage, Bitcoin Billionaires, Side Hustles, and Shoot Your Shot
Hey everyone,
Happy hump day from icy Nashville! I was supposed to be back on the road this week, but mother nature had other plans. I had to reschedule a trip to Charlotte, but I am (weather permitting) still headed to Bozeman, MT on Friday for a weekend of snowboarding at Big Sky. š¤
With the weather trapping me indoors this week, I wanted to dig in to a new book. I found "Invent and Wonder: The Collective Writings of Jeff Bezos" on Kindle Unlimited. It is an amazing collection of Bezosā shareholder letters and other speeches and writings from the course of his career. I am really enjoying it and will have a full summary coming your way soon.
The theme of this weekās Brief is āfall from grace.ā I dive into two stories this week about the spectacular blowups from two extremely wealthy and powerful guys ā Dan Bilzerian and Arthur Hayes. To balance out the depression, there is also an inspiring article on side hustles and a podcast on how to make money in real estate. Check it out below.
Brad
PS - Bitcoin is over $50k š¤Æ
What I'm reading
The Four Kinds of Side Hustles by Justin Mares
I've seen firsthand how freeing it is to make even $1-2k a month on your own. Itās a complete game changer, waking up with more money than you had when you went to sleep.
I have had a lot of side hustles over the last several years, but it was nothing compared to what Justin Mares has done. He's done everything from teaching Udemy courses to creating a basketball dribbling affiliate site. If there is anyone who knows what a good side hustle looks like, it's Justin. He lays out four ways to build a successful side hustle in this article:
Buy an existing asset
Launch a product on a marketplace with existing demand
Launch a unique, one of a kind product in a new space where you can buy demand (Adwords, Facebook, etc.)
Arbitrage (Craigslist, Airbnb, trading, Uber)
They also need to have the following characteristics:
Solve a problem someone is already aware of
NOT require a lot of maintenance or hand-holding
Have a no-brainer path to profitability
This newsletter is my current side-hustle. What are you working on?
The Rise and Fall of Bitcoin Billionaire Arthur Hayes by Adam Ciralsky in Vanity Fair
This is a tale of new money versus old, financial whiz kids upstaging bankingās old guard, and American authorities attempting to apply 20th-century laws to 21st-century innovation.
This is the epic story of the BitMEX cofounder, Arthur Hayes. He created a cryptocurrency exchange that has traded trillions. Now heās wanted by U.S. authorities, and insiders wonder whether he and his partners are villainsāor victims of a two-tiered justice system that favors big banks over brash outsiders.
Back in 2017, I saw him roll up to the Hilton in New York City in his Lambo. Fitting that he's now a fugitive on the run. Prosecutors allege that Hayes and his business partners violated the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to implement and maintain an adequate anti-money-laundering programāto weed out bad actors and dirty money. This is a long read, but very entertaining.
What I'm listening to
Nick Huber on The FORT with Chris Powers
I found Nick on Twitter where his account has exploded to over 100k followers in the last few months. He sold his business in 2020 and is now solely focused on Real Estate. Specifically, he is a Self Storage expert. This is an interesting podcast that covers a lot of ground, including:
Self-storage real estate at Bolt Storage
Sourcing and financing deals
Selling his first business in 2020
The value of @Twitter
Fending off haters
His new CRE course coming March 1
Luke Gromen on The Rebel Capitalist Show with George Gammon
Luke Gromen is an incredibly sharp macroeconomic thinker. He runs a macro/thematic research firm called Forest for the Trees. When he is on a podcast he is always full of insightful information, and this episode is no exception. It is an hour of pure value. They discuss the dollar, the FED, China, and the potential for the stock market to explode up.
ā ļø Warning: This is not a podcast for 2x speed!
Bonus: Shoot Your Shot on Clubhouse
This is completely unproductive, but the most entertaining thing I've seen on Clubhouse to date. Itās basically The Bachelor on Clubhouse. NYU alumni call someone up, have them introduce themselves, and then let them pick someone from the crowd to "shoot their shot." It's full of celebrities and VC's. And if you try to pitch your company, they will roast you.
PS - Send me an email if you need a Clubhouse invite. I have 5 available.
What I'm watching
The Dishonest Fall of Dan Bilzerian
āI made millions playing pokerā is a great cover up for āI am a trust fund baby.ā
Until I watched this, I didn't know the full backstory of Dan Bilzerian or what happened to him. I only knew the life he portrayed on Instagram and what he talked about on the Joe Rogan podcast. Of course, the life you see curated on Instagram is too good to be true.
Tweet of the Week
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