My Worst Investment Ever Podcast
Business:Investing
BIO: Paul Krake is a global strategist focusing on mega themes of climate, China, digitization, and demographics.
STORY: Paul quit a prestigious job where he had seasoned mentors to start a hedge fund. After a few years, he realized he wasn’t mature enough or emotionally prepared to run a business on his own.
LEARNING: Surround yourself with people who are more experienced than you are. Think about all the scenarios where an investment can go wrong.
“For every good idea out there, there are a million ways (that you can’t think about) for it to go wrong.”Paul Krake
Guest profile
Paul Krake is a global strategist focusing on mega themes of climate, China, digitization, and demographics. View from the Peak, Paul’s consultancy was formed in 2011 after an 18-year career in investment banking and as a macro hedge fund manager, where he covers global institutions on these mega themes. His latest venture is Climate Transformed, a global community of climate investors, entrepreneurs, and corporate leaders who are practically implementing the $100 trillion investment required for us to achieve decarbonization and sustainability.
Worst investment everPaul’s dad passed away in November 2004, and a couple of days after his funeral, Paul was sitting in his mom’s backyard at four in the morning. At that moment, he thought of the idea of starting a fund.
Paul went ahead with his idea and started a hedge fund even though the timing was wrong, and it was for all the wrong reasons to follow through with this idea. There was such a high degree of emotion involved in making this decision that he didn’t really think through it and consider all that he was giving up.
At the time, Paul had a prestigious job at Caxton Associates. He had the support of great mentors and trainers. He gave up all this to start his business.
After about three years of running the hedge fund, Paul realized he wasn’t emotionally prepared or mature enough to do what he was doing.
Lessons learnedBefore you make any investment:
Recommended resources: The secret to not getting stressed over not finding ways to de-stress is to use fewer resources.
No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsPaul’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to successfully roll out 30 in-person events in nine countries.
Parting words“I love this. I think it’s a great way to get people to seriously think about the benefits of failing.”Paul Krake
[spp-transcript]
Connect with Paul Krake
William Bernstein – Never Invest Based on the Headlines
ISMS 32: 5 Signs of Impending Recession
ISMS 31: Global CPI saw 2nd MoM uptick in August
Swen Lorenz – Carefully Consider Liquidity in Your Portfolio
Paul Merriman – What You Do When You Are Young, Is Golden
Vikram Mansharamani – Liquidity Will Not Always Be There
Gino Barbaro – Buy Right, Finance Right and Manage Right
Robin Wigglesworth – You Can’t Outsmart the Markets
Sheryl Garratt – Shove Your Ideas Out There and See What Happens
Kim Ades – Slow It Down
Nick Hutchison – Have a Proof of Concept Before You Dive Into the Big Idea
ISMS 30: Larry Swedroe – Do You Believe Your Fortune Is in the Stars or Rely on Misleading Information?
Laurie Barkman – Quit Often Quit Fast
Mark Venables – Do Your Best to Secure Your Crypto
Tania Reif – You Can Be Right and Lose Money
Mark Neuman – Constrained Capital and ESG Orphans
Ryan Dusick – Invest Yourself in Something That’s Meaningful
Thomas Chua – Have a Proper Sell Thesis When Investing
Kat Merchant – Do It Today
Laurent Lequeu – Sizing Is Crucial When Trading
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The emPOWERed Half Hour
U.S Property Podcast
Aligned Money Show
Dubai Property Podcast
The Ramsey Show
The Clark Howard Podcast