You win sum you dim sum

With all the current global affairs going on, I figured it would be a good time to talk about investing. Let's not get caught up in the waan van de dag, but think deeply about possible futures and then bet on them. That's basically what investing is.

Whether it's your time or money... do it into something you believe in. Also, I'm not a finance bro so don't expect any advice on what to do. I am in the privileged position to make a lot of financial fuckups. I might be a Rich Dad, but I've had a Poor Dad outlook for more than half of my life. I've learned the hard way that

It's incredibly important to develop a healthy relationship to money.

Learn by doing is an expensive strategy when investing. It's okay when you're young and investing your time and effort. It's not when you see rock bottom of your savings account. Luckily there's tons of information out there. One of the books that I highly recommend reading is The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel. It's been translated in many languages too, so that's extra helpful.

I'm not gonna talk about flipping real estate, meme coins or the public markets. All of those are viable investment opportunities, but it's just not my thing entirely. Ultimately I'm a nerd, love software and grew up on the internet.

Hence I invest in startups or VC funds that serve as a proxy to invest in technology companies. I don't have a master thesis which allows me to decide who to invest in, it's mostly entirely off founder vibes. The sum of all my knowledge and experience comes down to: You win sum, you dim sum.

It’s good fun because, with angel investing you kind of get paid for being right first, and to be first, you can’t wait for consensus. It’s a bet on people. These bets are great because they have nonlinear outcomes, but on the downside, you can only lose 1x. On the upside, you can make 10,000x. Depending on what region you're in.

Every now and then luck swings my way, like with Revue (sold to Twitter), Makerpad (sold to Zapier), Formitable (sold to Zenchef) or Polarsteps. But most of the time things go awry and I simply pay contribution to founder lifestyles or even worse... VCs who don't even build things hahaha. VCs are funny cuz they simply spend other people's money to show up at the right time, at the right place.

Above all, the best investment eventually is to bet on yourself. In order to do so, it's important to get to know yourself really well, which will help how you interact with the world around you. Reading philosophy helps. This book is probably the smallest investment you can make, with the best return on investment.

What else?

The founder of Kickstarter has a new idea for a company structure that benefits creative people. Forget hustle culture. Behold the Artist Corporation!
Angel investors are usually early believers who will help fund your ideas at the earliest stage. You can find them here, here or here.
Before you do start approaching investors. Please understand what game you're playing. Obligatory reads are the docs at Y combinator or this field guide.
For all Dutchies, Ernst Jan Pfauth shared helpful ways to structure your habits with money to gain more independence.
Budgeting should be empowering, not intimidating. Hence apps like Ranger are super helpful. Same for Flow to automate where you money goes.
Rich dad, Poor dad is a classic. A bit of cliché. Yet a must read when you are as financially illiterate as I was.
Moneywise is a podcast show for rich people. It's cringe, American, and has so many elements to hate on, yet every conversation offers great insights.
It's a rare sight when VCs start creating quality content. However, INDIE has always been a black swan in this ecosystem, doing things differently.
Investing doesn't have to be about money becoming more money. Just make something wonderful and put it out there.

You got this!

N.
nalden.net

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