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Bad Bunny was right— I should’ve taken more photos of everything, not just the people, companies, architecture, culture, lifestyle, food, music, landscapes, and rich history. Things are changing quickly, whether we want them to or not.
On the topic of change, I wanted to update you all. As some may know, I officially left Upfront Capital in October 2024 to pursue initiatives like Why Yall Working? ??? that align more closely with my passion and purpose.?
I’m not sure what happened to the website or my email, which I can no longer access. From what I understand, Anthony is still in Ghana. However, I have not heard from him in quite some time, and I hope he is okay. If you’d like to contact me regarding the music business/IP or just to catch up, feel free to email me at [email protected].
In the meantime, though, I’ve been in survival mode since Christmas. Looking for jobs during the holidays has been less than ideal, with about half of the applications I’ve submitted getting canceled due to changes in the federal government. You should know that acquiring a traditional job with a non-traditional background in corporate America is especially difficult. But hey, I still have to eat and live. ?
For those of you who are looking for opportunities to help, I’m particularly interested in and suited for roles in Royalty Administration, Product Marketing (Alternative Assets), Product Management, Investment Analysis (VC), Underwriting (Real Estate and Small Business Acquisitions), and Market Research (Entertainment IP, including Music, Gaming, Film, and Sports). I’m more than willing to start at the bottom and work my way up—all I need is the opportunity to show someone what I can do. Intros and referrals are welcome.?
Generally speaking, 2025 is shaping up to be a very interesting year. I wonder if innovative startups and/or banks (i.e., Wells Fargo) with products like the?Bilt?credit card considered the liability of having many customers who can “float” their mortgage or rent payments on credit during periods of job loss, especially considering the state of our economy and unemployment levels. With the SEC in shambles, the next potential Alt-Coin run is on the horizon. The Affordable housing crisis has Costco considering creating affordable housing, potentially threatening all the bad landlords. Even rumors of Netflix getting into the music streaming business give me chills, considering the pressure they put on Crunchyroll over the past year with new anime releases.
Since January started, I’ve been reviewing and underwriting small business and real estate acquisitions to pass the time. To date, I’ve reviewed and underwritten about 20 opportunities. Until I get a job, I’ll underwrite 10-20+ each week while connecting with brokers, bankers, agents, and business owners to grow my connections in the space and eventually execute deals. I think I’ll begin to share some of them just in case someone here has the capital to invest in a Joint Venture (JV). ?
At the beginning of the month, I attended an ASPIRE Real Estate Conference in Virginia with like-minded investors focused on wealth building. One important lesson I learned was that a market crash presents a golden opportunity to make substantial wealth.?
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Nevertheless, the main obstacle for individuals is obtaining enough capital to effectively capitalize on these opportunities. In pursuing the prospects in Multifamily Real Estate and small business acquisitions, I recognized that the key challenges are net worth and access to funds.
Borrowing someone’s net worth is possible, so a joint venture (JV) might be my path forward. Regardless, it’ll take some time before I have the capital to pursue a business acquisition independently. In the meantime, I’m searching for help to make it happen.?
There are some good things to note from last year regarding the investments I made by investing young and playing the market. I really should be in the wealth/asset management space. What can I say? I know great opportunities when I see them. I wonder what your investment advisors charge to get similar returns; My guess is that they charge clients a lot of money for stock picks and barely beat the S&P 500 if they can.
The best advice I can give about the stock market is to ignore the media. “The worst stock market crash in history” will repeat itself as the years go by because more people are in the market and on Earth.
Remember never to forget your roots, even when those in power try to erase what makes you who you are. There’s a certain strength in resilience and the ability to persevere in the face of adversity, as so many change-makers before us have done.?If you do not learn from history, you will be forced to repeat it.
Catch you in the next edition. Stay safe and let's grow all 2025.
- Lairé