Aaron Schwartz’s Post

From the very start, they told us it couldn’t be done. They said we couldn’t raise VC as a Canadian team without “elite” credentials. Reality: we raised $14M and counting. They said no one would share their strategies, our community idea would fail. Reality: users have shared tends of thousands of strategies. They said people wouldn’t invest their assets with us. Reality: we have 125M AUM and counting. And more than anything, they said we don’t belong. We don’t belong in the elite world of high finance. Or we don’t belong in elite circles in Silicon Valley. Well guess what folks, we belong. And we aren’t going anywhere. We’re growing our AUM 20%+ every month with no sign of slowing down. That means at our current rate of compounding, you will have no choice but to get to know us. And we will have earned our seat at the table. The inevitability of our success hinges on something simple: if something was going to knock us off course, it would have happened by now. The lack of elite credentials is our greatest competitive advantage: we have unlimited resilience, unlimited capacity to rise above adversity. As the venerable Game once said: "Hate It or Love It, the underdog's on top And I'm gon' shine, homie, until my heart stop"

Probably one of the most real, down-to-earth investors I've met. Meeting Rajesh Tever was pretty enlightening for me. His career story itself is inspiring: - Worked 18 hour-days to help out his struggling family - Slogged for years to save money and ended up joining a tech startup - Exited well and started a chain of brick-and-mortar companies (gyms etc.) - Spends most of his time today investing in founders + growing the ecosystem All that and you'll find he's just one of the most lovely people you'll ever meet. --He doesn't buy into the hype of material or chasing lifestyle upgrades. --His passion in angel investing and business is infectious. --He believes truly in helping others and using influence/money for good. Apart from that, he shared plenty of good lessons about family, work and life in general from his journey so far. One of the ones that stuck with me : "People will remember the impact you've left on them, not what car or watch you drive." The only thing I have a gripe with is that he's not more well-known as he's pretty low-profile. I've spent some time trying to convince him to post more here on LinkedIn to help more people. It's these meetings that really renew my faith in our ecosystem. I've learned plenty from him and I'm sure you will too. Thanks John T. Jeremy Tan for connecting us. [ If you haven't - drop him a follow/connection request (you won't regret it!) ]

The biggest blocker for Black and underrepresented founders to get funded isn’t a lack of connections or an unfair system… It’s not knowing 𝒉𝒐𝒘 to get funding. That’s why I’m excited to launch a new project: The 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 newsletter 💰! Yes, relying on warm intros doesn’t bode well for Black founders. Yes, requiring personal capital for loans excludes plenty of folks from applying. But, like everything else in life, there are ways around those barriers. There are ways to finesse! It took me 7 months and 87 no’s - including 13 who ghosted me - from investors to close our pre-seed round. If I know what I know now, I could’ve done it in half the time. Fundraising is about figuring out the best type of funding for you and your company and going explicitly after that. Whether that’s loans, grants, personal money, or venture capital. Too often, diverse founders (myself included) run to one source of funding thinking it’s the only route. Finessing Funding will shed light on all types of funding options for your startup idea while highlighting stories and sharing inside info on how to secure every type of bag. I believe entreprenuership is the solution to so many of the issues ailing communities, and I’m excited to help folks get the funding they need to bring their ideas to life. Subscribe to Finessing Funding for FREE here 👉🏾 https://lnkd.in/emMgQ48q And check out the first post - 𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝟓-𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐕𝐂 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 - in the link in the comments!

There are most profitable Skool communities I found. Top 20 communities managed to cross the $1,000,000 annual revenue mark. What I love most about it is that it's truly an equal opportunity for everyone. A profitable community can be run by a woman over 50, a stay at home mom, a Black person, a White person, an Asian, or even young people from Generation Z. All you need is a good topic, the ability to build relationships with people, and a heart for networking. Join my virtual club Acquire Community (https://lnkd.in/enh5nfrh) for philanthropists, investors, founders of VC/PE firms, and Series A startup founders, where we focus on valuation, profitability, and especially acquiring established communities with business potential. #acquirecommunity #communityinvestment

We all know the saying, "This meeting could have been an email." The AGM (Annual General Meeting) from a VC often fits that mold, but it doesn’t have to. The AGM is a unique opportunity to meet great entrepreneurs and portfolio companies, learn about new trends, and connect with fellow LPs to understand the current funding environment and strategies. Unfortunately, many AGMs are filled with endless, forgettable presentations. That’s why I was pleasantly surprised by Robin Capital‘s recent AGM. Instead of focusing on numbers and slides, the event centered on the people who make and shape the fund. We engaged in deep conversations, participated in joint activities, and built meaningful connections. It was about fostering a community where everyone listened, learned, and supported each other. The founders benefited immensely from the wisdom, experience, and connections of the LPs, and the LPs gained insights into new technologies, approaches, and the latest entrepreneurial trends. Thanks for this great experience, Robin Haak! Picture credit: Claudia Weaver

Want to do something great in life? Stop trying to do it alone. I used to think that asking for help was a weakness. That being successful meant doing everything on my own. Whether it was running my first business, To figuring this whole "passive income” thing out. I couldn’t have been more wrong. For years, I chased the idea of passive income. And I failed. I bought a lot of real estate, but now I had a 2nd job managing it all. Then I realized that the problem wasn’t that I was doing it wrong, It was that I was doing it ALONE. When I joined the GoBundance Tribe, I was blown away by the caliber of people in the group. Everywhere I looked, there were successful investors who had retired through investment funds. Every month, we'd get together to: → Discuss investments → Share deals → Analyze risks And it wasn’t until I had that community, that I started earning my first truly passive income through investments, (not just my actively managed real estate) THAT is the power of community. Of support. Of a team. If you're thinking about entering this world, learn from my mistakes: Surround yourself with people who have already walked the path you want to follow. This is what led me to start Grow Your Cashflow - A community of like-minded investors who want to build consistent passive income streams. The idea behind this community is to pass on EVERYTHING I have learnt from: → Investing in 30+ private real estate funds & syndications → Managing a $700k/yr active real estate portfolio with 100+ tenants → Deploying $150M over 3 years as early stage fund manager at Techstars → Paying $100k+ in investing oriented coaching & mastermind groups → And generating over $250k/yr to support my family Over to you. So that you can secure your future. And your family’s. Interested in joining 500+ investors on the journey to financial freedom? Join our community here: (link in comments)

Warren Buffett gave me comfort and inspiration in this dark moment: In 2001, Buffett gave a lecture at the The University of Georgia (its on Youtube, link at bottom). In it, he describes how Sam Walton’s Walmart came to eclipse Sears. 👨🏫 I repeated it to myself like a mantra through that period - I watched one short of it easily over 100 times: 📜 “Everybody wanted to work with Sears; nobody had ever heard of Sam. … But over time, he kills ‘em - just - plain - kills ‘em. 📜 Disadvantaged in buying, disadvantaged in borrowing, disadvantaged in real estate - Advantage? Sam Walton.” If I did not believe completely in Origin Hope, I wouldn't have fought my way through. But I did - in OH, in myself, the people around me. I know from these experiences the measure of the people and companies that we are up against - and that alone makes me pretty happy! If you are a bootstrap entrepreneur, every single big and small thing in the world is rigged against you. All of it, then, is training for the big time. If you’re in the position I was in, take heart. (And listen to talks by Buffett and Charlie Munger etc) We are raising. Want our pitch? Comment DECK PLEASE 👇 More stories incoming - Tell me yours! 😀 #startupjourney #entrepreneur #seriesA #raising #buffett #walton P.S. Berkshire Hathaway and Walmart are awesome companies, and you should listen to the stuff they and their leaders say about how to make a good company. It led my approach. From University of Georgia - Terry College of Business, via Investor Archive: https://lnkd.in/dhPeMKHQ

Tired of the same old fundraising advice, we decided to do something about it. With fewer people getting funded despite more noise on platforms than ever, success in raising capital remains difficult for many. That’s why Jamal K, ACA, Tony Verner, Peter Tighe, myself have brought together an outstanding team to build a comprehensive solution. End-to-end support to get more people access to more money. If you know someone in real estate who’s stuck, leaving deals and money on the table and they need capital to move forward but can’t get there alone, Please help them out and share this post. On the way are real solutions across a number of sectors! #Fundraising #CapitalRaising #RealEstateFunding #Entrepreneurship #BusinessGrowth #StartupSupport #RealEstateInvestment #AccessToCapital #FinancialSolutions #InvestmentOpportunities Hilary Carruthers Kamali Stevens (FRSA) Thomas Baade-Mathiesen George J Regan Piragash Sivanesan Joe Eden Sean Branton Samira Henawy Reece Parkinson Karen Melonie Gould Tamara Burnside David Hugo H. Mark Fernihough Ritchie Mazivanhanga Graeme Godfrey

It is interesting to see the basics are so important to a company's success. You just can't skip the fundamentals of a good company, offering something customers want.

LinkedIn, I’d like to get serious for a second. This poor CEO suffers from an all-too-common tragedy with a familiar name: “forgot-to-file-their-taxes-itis”. Every year, thousands of startups just like hers fall victim to this terrible affliction, and have to go through stress and late fees. Now, thanks to Fondo, there’s hope. For just $1, Fondo can file her startup’s tax extension, saving her from grief and stress. To learn more (and save a founder’s weekend) go to http://buff.ly/3RValx5.