Whether you’re talking about investing in the stock market...
Investing in start-ups...
Or even founding your own start-up…
A simple rule can help you identify opportunities with the most profit potential...
In The Beginning...
A few years ago, right when Matt and I decided to launch Crowdability, we spent some time visiting our closest business associates.
We wanted to tell them about our new project and get some feedback.
Matt and I had run successful start-ups before. In fact, our two most recent ventures had been acquired in multi-million dollar transactions.
So we’d made a simple assumption:
Everyone would be thrilled about our new venture.
But that’s not what happened. Not even close. For the most part, people tried to convince us not to start the company.
They said we were crazy. They told us the JOBS Act would never get passed by Congress. They said ordinary folks wouldn’t be interested in investing in start-ups.
But we started the business anyway—and here’s why...
Going Against the Grain
If you study the most successful people (including the most successful investors) you’ll find they share a common attribute:
They’re comfortable going against the grain.
Basically, they’re able to ignore everyone else and take an unconventional path.
They understand something simple:
If you do what everyone else does, it’s nearly impossible to be successful.
Because, by definition, if you do what everyone else does, you’re limiting yourself to being “average.”
An Average Investor
As an investor, if you’re satisfied with “average” returns, you should consider investing in index funds. Over time, you’re likely to earn about 6% per year.
Who knows? Maybe that’ll provide you with enough to retire in 40 years.
But if you want to make real money—not the 5% or 6% returns you get in the stock market, but actual wealth...
Then you need to look for opportunities in places where other people aren’t.
You need to be unconventional... contrarian.
For example, when everyone is bullish, you should be looking for bearish opportunities...
When everyone's jumping into stocks, maybe it’s time to look at Real Estate...
And when everyone’s hot on Real Estate, it’s probably time to get out.
Like Warren Buffett says: “You have to be fearful when everyone else is greedy, and greedy when everyone else is fearful.”
Unconventional Wealth
Many of the most successful investors follow this principle religiously.
Take John Paulson, for example...
Back in 2005, we were in one of the greatest bull markets in real estate that our country has ever seen.
But while the rest of the financial sector was minting money repackaging and reselling home loans, hedge fund manager John Paulson took a different tack:
He made a big bet against the housing market.
At the time, people thought he was insane. He was passing up investment opportunities that seemed like guaranteed profits.
But as you might know, Paulson turned out to be one of the few sane people on Wall Street.
His ability to go against the grain—essentially, by betting aggressively against the housing market—soon helped him make billions.
In fact, because of his foresight and courage, John Paulson earned $15 billion for his hedge fund in a single year.
We’ve seen this formula play out again and again:
From John Paulson making $15 billion in housing, to George Soros making $1 billion shorting the British pound, to Warren Buffett buying stocks like Coke and McDonald’s while everyone else was loading up on dot-com companies...
These investors understand that in order to make big profits, you need to look for opportunities in places where others aren’t.
That’s Why We Ignored Our Friends
These examples help explain why Matt and I felt so confident moving forward with Crowdability.
If everyone had thought Crowdability sounded like a good idea, we would have been worried. After all, that would have indicated that we’d be in for some fierce competition right away.
Well, it’s a few years later now, and the world has caught onto the valuable benefits of the JOBS Act and early-stage investing…
But our willingness to go against the grain gave us a great head start:
Very quickly, 100,000 subscribers like you had joined us—
So not only was Crowdability the first research company focused on helping individual investors profit from the private markets…
But now it’s also the world’s largest.
So when you think about how to build your wealth, keep what you read today in mind:
Don’t be afraid to go against the grain...
Don’t be afraid to ignore what the “experts” are saying...
Trust your ability to find opportunities where others aren’t looking
Happy investing.
Best Regards,
Founder
Crowdability.com
