The Vampire Squid

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! I just got back from a wonderful trip to Japan and Taiwan, extremely jetlagged, as it’s 5am currently in New York. Alas, as this podcast episode name sounds, I am putting the podcast on an indefinite pause due to a combination of work, learning, and side projects (crypto & blockchain) that I am working. Looking back on this incredible journey, I can’t believe the amount of episodes and reach that my podcast has had. That feeling of impact, of creating something from scratch is something that I have felt in love with, something that I want to replicate in my career, which has opened up my eyes to entrepreneurship. This is definitely not the end, but the closing of a chapter and I hope that you all stay tuned with what I am working on next! Please continue to e-mail me and keep me updated on your success and journey! alan@thevampiresquid.com With love, Alan

Welcome to Episode 56 of The Vampire Squid! Today we have on Bethy Hardeman, Chief Consumer Advocate, at Credit Karma! I wish I had taken a personal finance course in high school / college so I would have a better understanding of why a credit score is important, and the levers that I could pull to increase my score. Today’s episode is packed with advice on your credit score as well as debunking some myths about your credit score. Hope you all enjoy! * How did you get involved with Credit Karma and become the Chief Consumer Advocate? * What are some of the inputs for a Credit Score, and what is it used for? * Why your credit score isn’t just for credit cards * What are the levers to pull to increase your credit score and to do it faster? *   Can having too high of a credit limit be bad for your credit score? * What are some of the other myths about your credit score that aren’t necessarily true? * How are users of Credit Karma affected by the Equifax, if it all? * Can opening too many credit cards be bad for your credit score? * When should one close a credit card? * What piece of advice would you leave my listeners with, especially ones in college or one or two jobs straight out of college? As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. Email me directly at alan@the vampiresquid.com or on the contact form. Also, please subscribe to my facebook page for live updates facebook.com/thevampiresquid. Also follow me on Quora at https://www.quora.com/profile/Alan-Li-1. To support us check us out at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/thevampiresquid

Today, we are going to talk about one of my favorite hobbies, Poker!, and how that relates to investing and finance. I’ve recently been watching a lot of poker online as well as reading Phil Hellmuth’s autobiography, Poker Brat, which gives a great insight into how Phil got so good at poker, and some of the risks he had to take to where got today. Today’s episode I will briefly go over one of the most famous types of poker games, Texas Hold’em, and then talk about what I think are transferable skills between playing poker and investing! I hope that you all enjoy! * How to play Texas Hold’em * Why Poker is not just about probability and statistics, and how it’s just as much about strategy and psychology * Why it’s fascinating to play poker with your friends and to see how they react under pressure * Skills that are transferable from Poker to Investing * Managing your bank roll * Making good decisions with incomplete information * Managing your emotions (going on “Tilt” in poker) * Why you and your friends should play games of poker! As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. Email me directly at alan@the vampiresquid.com or on the contact form. Also, please subscribe to my facebook page for live updates facebook.com/thevampiresquid. Also follow me on Quora at https://www.quora.com/profile/Alan-Li-1. To support us check us out at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/thevampiresquid

Today’s episode is with Eric Friedman, who is the head of Expa Labs, as six-month incubator for early-stage startups. This interview is one of the most informative and immediately applicable if you are interested in technology and / or pursuing entrepreneurship coming from a finance background. We dive into some great topics like the 1%, 9%, and 90% rule, how putting your own content out there is so critical, and why startups should not be over-glamorized like they have been in the media. I found this episode extremely rewarding, and the first 16 minutes dive into Eric’s background, and afterwards we dive into the meat of the episode. I hope that you all enjoy listening as much as I did recording! * How did you first get started in entrepreneurship and interested in technology? * How did you first get your job at union square ventures and what led you to work at Four Square? * What does a  Business Development even mean at a company like Four Square? * What were some of the key takeaways that you had after working at Four Square for 6 years? * Why startups are not for everyone (16:30) *  What are your thoughts on non-technical candidates pursuing entrepreneurship / startups and an emphasis on finance candidates specifically? * Why it’s important to ask “what happens here on Tuesday at 2pm?” *   Instead of emailing a cover letter and resume to a startup CEO, maybe send them 3 things they could do * Why applying to a startup is effectively the opposite of applying to an investment bank / consultancy. * In what areas do you see finance candidate skill sets best applied in a startup environment? * Are there tests or ways to see if a finance candidate would succeed in a startup? * The 1% rule, 9% rule, and 90% rule – the challenge to publish * When you mention the name of the people at the company, since everyone has google alerts, they will read it! * How people can get over imposter syndrome when publishing content * Thoughts on transitioning straight into technology / entrepreneurship versus pursuing an MBA first *  Three reasons to go to business school: Network, Direction, Education * Why there is so much turnover for millennials and in early-stage startups? * What is your last piece of advice for my listeners? As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. Email me directly at alan@the vampiresquid.com or on the contact form. Also, please subscribe to my facebook page for live updates facebook.com/thevampiresquid. Also follow me on Quora at https://www.quora.com/profile/Alan-Li-1. To support us check us out at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/thevampiresquid

Happy labor day weekend, and I’ve missed you guys! Welcome back, and I’m super excited for this season of TVS and share with you things that I have learned as well as interviews that I have had. I hope everyone had an awesome summer break and is refreshed to get back into the swing of things! Today’s episode is with Brian Wong, who is the founder of Kiip, and graduated college at the age of 18! He’s also written a book called, The Cheat Code, and is one of the most eccentric and funny people that I have interviewed thus far. This episode is jam packed with awesome advice from Brian on how he has become a successful entrepreneur, his experience with finance and consideration of investment banking, and how being Asian can help conceal your age! Brian’s contact info below: Twitter Email: brian@kiip.me * Which grades did you skip, and what was the experience like attending college at age 14? * How did you use your lowered age to your advantage in college? * Did you ever consider going into investment banking or consulting? * How did you know that you wanted to pursue entrepreneurship in college? * What are some of the characteristics of the “Entrepreneurial Mindset” that you mentioned? * Why is following your passion a terrible piece of advice? * How do you find your own superpower and harness that energy? * How did you develop your superpower of getting people excited about things? * How did you network your way into parties with Kevin Rose (Founder of Digg and ex-partner at Google Ventures?) * Where do you think the future of advertising is going? What are your thoughts on viral videos like those from Chubbies? * What was the motivation for writing your book, “The Cheat Codes?” * What piece of advice would you like to leave my listeners? As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. Email me directly at alan@thevampiresquid.com or on the contact form. Also, please subscribe to my facebook page for live updates facebook.com/thevampiresquid. Also follow me on Quora at https://www.quora.com/profile/Alan-Li-1. To support us check us out at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/thevampiresquid

Congrats to everyone who has graduated or is currently graduating this year! I hope everyone gets to take some time off before you start your next venture whether that be starting a new job, going to get a masters, starting a business, or more! I will actually be taking a couple of months off as well due to some work commitments and travel commitment plans, but will be back in August where we will hit the ground running

Happy episode number 52! Today I will be giving a quick introduction to Term Sheets, which is one of the first important steps for a material business agreement like debt financing or equity financing. Today we will focus on equity financing, specifically venture capital investments in start-ups! This episode was actually inspired after I watched an episode of Silicon Valley, where Erlich Bachman said, “If you utter the words virtual reality, venture capital firms will throw a term sheet at you.” In this episode, I will go over what is a term sheet, what it is used for, and what are some of the most common items on a term sheet. I hope this episode is informational and you learn a thing or two! Please also see a sample term sheet that I found online which will be helpful in giving you some guidance in terms of what a term sheet actually looks like! Sample Term Sheet Download As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. Email me directly at alan@the vampiresquid.com or on the contact form. Also, please subscribe to my facebook page for live updates facebook.com/thevampiresquid. Also follow me on Quora at https://www.quora.com/profile/Alan-Li-1. To support us check us out at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/thevampiresquid  

Welcome back to episode 51 of The Vampire Squid! In today’s episode, we are going to be talking about “The Truth About Investing”, which is a presentation that Howard Marks (OakTree) created, which I found extremely insightful and a bit contrarian to how normal, everyday investors, like me, think. In this episode, I will go over some of my favorite quotes in the presentation and overlay my thoughts and experiences with some of the concepts that Howard Marks talks about. I hope that you learn a thing or two and enjoy the presentation (Attached Here)! The Truth About Investing As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. Email me directly at alan@the vampiresquid.com or on the contact form. Also, please subscribe to my facebook page for live updates facebook.com/thevampiresquid. Also follow me on Quora at https://www.quora.com/profile/Alan-Li-1. To support us check us out at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/thevampiresquid

Episode 50!! Please see Part II of the interview that I did with Anthony Zhang where we dive deeper into his advice for first-time entrepreneurs and general advice for people that are facing setbacks in life, like not getting that job promotion, or not getting that grade that you wanted, how do you overcome and persevere through those challenges? I hope that you guys enjoy, and learn as much as I did from interviewing Anthony! * When did you have to start thinking about your startup after your accident? * What kept you motivated to try to get your company acquired while you were going through 5-6 hours of physical therapy everyday? * Did you use banks to help with the sale process or how did you get in touch with other companies to sell to? * How has the acquisition and transition process been? Do you feel that the strategy of JoyRun is in line with EnvoyNow? * What was the transition process of being the CEO and then becoming an employee of a company? * What is in your view the most important things when starting a company? * What are some of the ideas that you are planning to start in the future? * Since you’ve been through a traumatic accident, what advice do you give people that may not get that job promotion, or didn’t get the grade they wanted and feel like it’s the end of the world? * For people interested in entrepreneurship but don’t necessarily have an idea they want to pursue, what advice do you have for those people? * What advice would you like to leave my listeners with? As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. Email me directly at alan@the vampiresquid.com or on the contact form. Also, please subscribe to my facebook page for live updates facebook.com/thevampiresquid. Also follow me on Quora at https://www.quora.com/profile/Alan-Li-1. To support us check us out at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/thevampiresquid

I’m so excited to present this episode with, Anthony Zhang, who was the founder of EnvoyNow, a USC food delivery application. I first read about Anthony’s story in Fortune, where Anthony was a Thiel Fellow, Shark Tank Alum, in 500 Startups but went through a traumatic accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down… Anthony has been doing a lot better since, and managed to sell his start-up while going through hours of physical therapy a day. His grit and passion is to say the least inspiring, and I hope that you enjoy the episode. * Could you please give a brief background of yourself? * What made you decide to start EnvoyNow instead of pursuing investment banking or consulting? * What was it like to pitch Mark Cuban at USC for Shark Tank? * When did you know that you were going to win the Thiel fellowship? * How does the Thiel Fellowship work? * Transitioning to your accident, could you touch upon what happened, your thoughts, and what helped you persevere and get through the difficult times? * What gave you motivation to recover, any support systems you relied on, I’m curious what people strive towards or rely on during times of great difficulty? * How long did it take you to get better? As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. Email me directly at alan@the vampiresquid.com or on the contact form. Also, please subscribe to my facebook page for live updates facebook.com/thevampiresquid. Also follow me on Quora at https://www.quora.com/profile/Alan-Li-1. To support us check us out at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/thevampiresquid

Women in Finance! One of the topics that I have been wanting to cover for a long time on TVS, and finally had the opportunity to do so with Valerie Wong. Today’s episode focuses a lot on the cultural biases that dominate the workspace, things that are useful for both males and females to be aware of. Valerie shares many solutions and tips on how to navigate these processes being a woman working in a still mostly male-centric industry and how we can go about improving the experience for women. I found many of the insights Valerie shared to be very helpful and hope you do too. Please enjoy! * Could you share some of your experiences or challenges that you have faced being a woman in finance? * Cultural biases that dominate the workforce * Being a Latina in finance * How can people become more ware of these biases that may be conscious or unconscious? * Would you mind sharing any specific work place examples of times of how you overcame these cultural biases? * Traits that were commonly associated with being feminine are now important in the workplace * Empathy, reciprocity, vulnerability, humility, inclusiveness, generosity, patience * What are the three pieces of advice that you would leave my listeners with? * Network, Advocates, and Sponsors * There is no one perfect path to success * Happiness comes from within As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. Email me directly at alan@the vampiresquid.com or on the contact form. Also, please subscribe to my facebook page for live updates facebook.com/thevampiresquid. Also follow me on Quora at https://www.quora.com/profile/Alan-Li-1. To support us check us out at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/thevampiresquid

I’m very excited for this week’s episode with Valerie Wong, who is the president of Latinos in Finance and an employee of MSCI. We talk about two very important topics including being international and breaking into the United States for a finance role, as well as being a woman in finance. Valerie is originally from Panama and of Asian ethnic descent so very qualified to talk about both subjects very well! This week’s episode focuses more on the international portion (starting around 9 minutes in) and next week’s episode will focus on Valerie’s experience as a woman in finance! * Please give us a quick background on where you’re from and how you got to where you are today. * What was the initial interest for studying accounting in college? * What do you do at MSCI * What are the major competitors of MSCI like the Dow Jones and S&P * What were the key drivers that allowed you to break into the US and what were the initial motivations to come to the United States to work in finance? (9:07 minutes) * Do you have any advice for international students that want to come to the US, and what are some of the most common ways that people do come to the US? * Do you see that there are many jobs opportunities in the US for international students interested in finance? * What was the adjustment from Panama to the United States like? Were there any customs that were challenging at first? * Tell me more about how you got involved in Latinos in Finance and became the president? As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. Email me directly at alan@the vampiresquid.com or on the contact form. Also, please subscribe to my facebook page for live updates facebook.com/thevampiresquid. Also follow me on Quora at https://www.quora.com/profile/Alan-Li-1. To support us check us out at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/thevampiresquid

Today’s episode is on trading precious metals, specifically gold and silver! I’ve always been interested in learning about what drives the prices of gold and silver and how to add it to my portfolio. This episode was extremely informative for me and hope it is for you as well. I had the pleasure of interviewing Peter Hug from Kitco, who has been trading since the 70’s! * What is your background, and how long have you been trading precious metals? * Is it correct to think of gold and silver as hedges to the equities market, when stocks go up, gold goes down and vice versa? * How does one begin to learn or gain experience in trading precious metals? * What are the main drivers and levers of precious metals like gold and silver? * Precious metals are primarily driven by US factors * How should a 25 year old think about investing in gold, what percent of the portfolio should it make up of the total? * Is gold a good long-term investment or is it better suited for hedging? * Are you able to short gold? * What do you forecast will happen to gold for the next 3-5 years? * How will the Trump administration impact gold? * Tell me more about Kitco and what you do there? * What’s one piece of advice that you would leave my listeners with? As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. Email me directly at alan@the vampiresquid.com or on the contact form. Also, please subscribe to my facebook page for live updates facebook.com/thevampiresquid. Also follow me on Quora at https://www.quora.com/profile/Alan-Li-1. To support us check us out at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/thevampiresquid

Today is Part II of the episode with Scott Tindle, co-founder of Finimize! This episode dives a bit deeper into how Finimize is performing in addition to learning more about what people have the most difficulty understanding in terms of concepts in finance. I definitely learned a lot doing this episode, and hope that you all enjoy! * How many users do you currently have and what’s the open rate of the emails? * What are the most difficult concepts for people not in finance to understand? * Concepts to understand * How big is your team at Finimize? * Do you plan on expanding into different languages? * What was the most difficult part of starting Finimize? * How do other firms fake user growth by using click farms? * What is one piece of advice that you would like to leave our listeners with? As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. Email me directly at alan@the vampiresquid.com or on the contact form. Also, please subscribe to my facebook page for live updates facebook.com/thevampiresquid. Also follow me on Quora at https://www.quora.com/profile/Alan-Li-1. To support us check us out at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/thevampiresquid

*If you have experience with mobile graphic design, please reach out to me alan@thevampiresquid.com* Please welcome a special guest for this week, Scott Tindle, who is the co-founder of Finimize, an easy to understand newsletter of financial news that I have been using for the last year! We discuss Scott’s background and inspiration to quit his job in selling mortgage backed securities and ultimately start Finimize. I hope you guys enjoy! * Give me a brief background and what inspired you to make the decisions you have. * Was the housing crisis and mortgage backed security bubble different in Europe compared to the US? * Why made you quit your job at Barclays after 7  years to do something entrepreneurial? * Do you use Tinder in London? *  Why did you start Finimize, and what is the ultimate goal of the company? * How do you source your content, I’ve been curious how media companies do this? *  Do people have different Finimize for the their respective country? * How do you guys make money? * Finimize my life (FML) – Digital personal, financial guidance * How does FML work, is it similar to a robo-advisor? As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. Email me directly at alan@the vampiresquid.com or on the contact form. Also, please subscribe to my facebook page for live updates facebook.com/thevampiresquid. Also follow me on Quora at https://www.quora.com/profile/Alan-Li-1. To support us check us out at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/thevampiresquid