College -> Fastlane, Forget the Rat-Race

[_davis_smith]

Hi all!

My name is Davis and I'm a 23 year old in pursuit of something bigger.

I grew up under two Slowlaners as parents, each of whom now realizing the faults in their methods.

My mother gave me Rich Dad, Poor Dad to read when I was a freshman at university. Since then, I picked up The Millionaire Fastlane along with many other reads that are essential to a young entrepreneurial mind.

I received highest honors with a degree in Computer Science and a minor in Business Administration. I explored quite a bit throughout my studies, as I'm interested in just about every subject. Therefore, I find myself quite well-rounded and capable of many different paths in my life.

To help pay my way through college, I developed websites for local businesses and provided advice on business strategy. While this proved to be a positive experience and helped me gain important skills, I realize it is not a very scalable business long-term.

Now, I could take the skills I learned in software and become a well-paid engineer - and that's what most people in my life likely expect from me. Thankfully, I have two parents that are in support of me taking the risk to build a life out of entrepreneurial ventures instead.

Currently, I'm building an interactive educational website with a few of my friends that we hope can impact millions with free and highly valuable information.

While doing this, I'll continue working with local businesses to cover my expenses. Always a lot of work to be done, but I thoroughly enjoy what I'm doing - and to me that is whole reason I want to be an entrepreneur. I want the freedom to spend my time on projects I care about, without the pressure of monetary struggle. And although I may work twice as much as my peers now, at age 23, I know the pursuit will pay dividends down the road, granting me MUCH more freedom with my time.

In the future, I plan to run a wide variety of businesses. I have interest in developing internet companies, lifestyle companies, real estate, and eventually spreading my endeavors to my many interests via venture capitalism.

I have a lot to learn, and a long road ahead, but I'm beyond excited to see what I'm capable of.

Looking forward to sharing with you all here, as I hope it is a community that I can gain valuable insight and direction from.

Thanks!

 

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[NaorAtt]

Hi all!

My name is Davis and I'm a 23 year old in pursuit of something bigger.

I grew up under two Slowlaners as parents, each of whom now realizing the faults in their methods.

My mother gave me Rich Dad, Poor Dad to read when I was a freshman at university. Since then, I picked up The Millionaire Fastlane along with many other reads that are essential to a young entrepreneurial mind.

I received highest honors with a degree in Computer Science and a minor in Business Administration. I explored quite a bit throughout my studies, as I'm interested in just about every subject. Therefore, I find myself quite well-rounded and capable of many different paths in my life.

To help pay my way through college, I developed websites for local businesses and provided advice on business strategy. While this proved to be a positive experience and helped me gain important skills, I realize it is not a very scalable business long-term.

Now, I could take the skills I learned in software and become a well-paid engineer - and that's what most people in my life likely expect from me. Thankfully, I have two parents that are in support of me taking the risk to build a life out of entrepreneurial ventures instead.

Currently, I'm building an interactive educational website with a few of my friends that we hope can impact millions with free and highly valuable information.

While doing this, I'll continue working with local businesses to cover my expenses. Always a lot of work to be done, but I thoroughly enjoy what I'm doing - and to me that is whole reason I want to be an entrepreneur. I want the freedom to spend my time on projects I care about, without the pressure of monetary struggle. And although I may work twice as much as my peers now, at age 23, I know the pursuit will pay dividends down the road, granting me MUCH more freedom with my time.

In the future, I plan to run a wide variety of businesses. I have interest in developing internet companies, lifestyle companies, real estate, and eventually spreading my endeavors to my many interests via venture capitalism.

I have a lot to learn, and a long road ahead, but I'm beyond excited to see what I'm capable of.

Looking forward to sharing with you all here, as I hope it is a community that I can gain valuable insight and direction from.

Thanks!

Hey Davis Welcome to the forum! I'm also 23 and I can really relate to what you said about your peers...

Your road so far sounds awesome and with that mindset I'm sure you'll achieve all your goals!

Do you have any book that you recommend that really inspired you? (except DJ's books obviously )

 

[Mattie]

I don't want to spoil the free, but I think this is part of the issue is society, and the victim mentality. Everyone wants free everything. And they expect free, so they feel they are entitled to free all the way down to non-profit organizations and expecting to live a free life style in poverty. That is just my observation online and offline. That way people don't have to do anything to help themselves, because everything is free. And free is not a good survival of the fittest technique or method. While it's nice to give out everything free, I just see how people are not learning any value in free products on a regular basis.

 

[_davis_smith]

Sure!

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk
Rise and Grind by Daymond John
The 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson

To name a few...

 

[_davis_smith]

I don't want to spoil the free, but I think this is part of the issue is society, and the victim mentality. Everyone wants free everything. And they expect free, so they feel they are entitled to free all the way down to non-profit organizations and expecting to live a free life style in poverty. That is just my observation online and offline. That way people don't have to do anything to help themselves, because everything is free. And free is not a good survival of the fittest technique or method. While it's nice to give out everything free, I just see how people are not learning any value in free products on a regular basis.

While I do agree with your statement about the victim mentality and that people shouldn't mind paying for something in order to better their life, this case is slightly abnormal.

We plan to educate people on a technology that we believe will become used by nearly everyone in the world, and therefore see it as a right for everyone to understand. Actually, the more people we can reach with the information, the better we'll be prepared for big change. So, we find it necessary to start out by spreading the message for free in order to provide the best outcome for the world.

Also, it is unlikely to achieve viral growth unless it is free, and once a large user base has been accumulated then you have many more options for monetization.

 

[Vigilante]

Hi all!

My name is Davis and I'm a 23 year old in pursuit of something bigger.

I grew up under two Slowlaners as parents, each of whom now realizing the faults in their methods.

My mother gave me Rich Dad, Poor Dad to read when I was a freshman at university. Since then, I picked up The Millionaire Fastlane along with many other reads that are essential to a young entrepreneurial mind.

I received highest honors with a degree in Computer Science and a minor in Business Administration. I explored quite a bit throughout my studies, as I'm interested in just about every subject. Therefore, I find myself quite well-rounded and capable of many different paths in my life.

To help pay my way through college, I developed websites for local businesses and provided advice on business strategy. While this proved to be a positive experience and helped me gain important skills, I realize it is not a very scalable business long-term.

Now, I could take the skills I learned in software and become a well-paid engineer - and that's what most people in my life likely expect from me. Thankfully, I have two parents that are in support of me taking the risk to build a life out of entrepreneurial ventures instead.

Currently, I'm building an interactive educational website with a few of my friends that we hope can impact millions with free and highly valuable information.

While doing this, I'll continue working with local businesses to cover my expenses. Always a lot of work to be done, but I thoroughly enjoy what I'm doing - and to me that is whole reason I want to be an entrepreneur. I want the freedom to spend my time on projects I care about, without the pressure of monetary struggle. And although I may work twice as much as my peers now, at age 23, I know the pursuit will pay dividends down the road, granting me MUCH more freedom with my time.

In the future, I plan to run a wide variety of businesses. I have interest in developing internet companies, lifestyle companies, real estate, and eventually spreading my endeavors to my many interests via venture capitalism.

I have a lot to learn, and a long road ahead, but I'm beyond excited to see what I'm capable of.

Looking forward to sharing with you all here, as I hope it is a community that I can gain valuable insight and direction from.

Thanks!

When you are talking about your marketing message, the content is "free" for users.

However, when you are talking outside of the demographic, it's either got to be advertising funded, philanthropist funded, or government funded.

How are you planning to fund it for the long term? And, will it be a for-profit organization or a not-for-profit organization?

Sometimes it takes ideas and people on the sidelines saying it can't be done - to change the world.

 

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[_davis_smith]

When you are talking about your marketing message, the content is "free" for users.

However, when you are talking outside of the demographic, it's either got to be advertising funded, philanthropist funded, or government funded.

How are you planning to fund it for the long term? And, will it be a for-profit organization or a not-for-profit organization?

Sometimes it takes ideas and people on the sidelines saying it can't be done - to change the world.

In this particular niche, we will be funded by VC's that want to grow the space - via massive education. Kind of a different approach, but the more people that enter the space, the more these investors will have to gain.

Down the road, funding will consist of partnerships and paid courses for advanced topics. Also, we will develop other products that we will use to expand our horizons and value.

We're in an interesting time now where we can use the uneducated nature of the masses to "onboard" them onto our future products, through familiarity and trust as an authority in the field.

So yes, we are for-profit, but only looking to gain attention and trust at the beginning.

 

[LifestyleGem]

In this particular niche, we will be funded by VC's that want to grow the space - via massive education. Kind of a different approach, but the more people that enter the space, the more these investors will have to gain.

Down the road, funding will consist of partnerships and paid courses for advanced topics. Also, we will develop other products that we will use to expand our horizons and value.

We're in an interesting time now where we can use the uneducated nature of the masses to "onboard" them onto our future products, through familiarity and trust as an authority in the field.

So yes, we are for-profit, but only looking to gain attention and trust at the beginning.

This sounds very slowlane, you're making a few assumptions

1) That you'll get VC funding for a free platform with no revenue yet.
2) That you'll go viral/gain paid users from the free content... Usually freebie seekers are always freebie seekers.
3) That you'll eventually make money with it sometime in the future

This also sounds like you are mixing charity work with business, which doesn't work. You either make money or you don't. Ever watch shark tank? They'd tear this idea apart, they'd ask "Where are the sales? Revenue? Is there a paid product? Upsell? Anything? Have you had 1 person pay you yet?"

No VC in their right mind will invest in a project with no revenue or easily foreseeable revenue potential.

I'd change the business model personally.

P.S Does this have something to do with crypto?

 

[_davis_smith]

This sounds very slowlane, you're making a few assumptions

1) That you'll get VC funding for a free platform with no revenue yet.
2) That you'll go viral/gain paid users from the free content... Usually freebie seekers are always freebie seekers.
3) That you'll eventually make money with it sometime in the future

This also sounds like you are mixing charity work with business, which doesn't work. You either make money or you don't. Ever watch shark tank? They'd tear this idea apart, they'd ask "Where are the sales? Revenue? Is there a paid product? Upsell? Anything? Have you had 1 person pay you yet?"

No VC in their right mind will invest in a project with no revenue or easily foreseeable revenue potential.

I'd change the business model personally.

P.S Does this have something to do with crypto?

It's not a traditional approach to building a business, and I recognize that. While I can't give too many details on the business strategy, I will say it surrounds blockchain technology, yes.

We already have VC interest, but not based on any revenue model from the very start. They seek to make monetary gain via user adoption, and therefore education is one of the best ways to *indirectly* earn investors money.

It's a little bit outside of the box - and a huge risk, for sure. But it won't work otherwise, IMO.

Also, I'd like to clarify that we aren't trying to change the world. But, we do aim to help many people have a better understanding of something that could lead down many paths. We're passionate about this technology and want to see it be used in the best way possible.

Thanks!

 

[Mattie]

How are you planning to fund it for the long term? And, will it be a for-profit organization or a not-for-profit organization?

Think this is the point I was getting at since most non-profits have rules, regulations, red-tape to help people, because human nature is greedy, hoards, and if they didn't monitor things, have a board, budget etc, they wouldn't exist if they just have it all free, because the first 5 people would take it all and there are plenty of people who need assistance.

I had a thick book back home of all the Non-profits, and none of them just gave free away without doing assessment of the situation, proving they were in need, and showing they were making an effort. For example: I was mentoring people on financial budgeting although it's not where we would be learning in the forum, but just basic life skills, and they had to show up on time every week for a meeting with me to go over stuff and teach them how to budget. If they completed the program after so many weeks, showed they got a job, could budget, pay for their license plate, insurance, and could afford and maintain it, they gave the person a free used car to get to work and the grocery store. People donated vehicles, they would recycle, and fix the car.

We also had a data base with people, what services were provided, by who, when where, how, and the number of times. The purpose to weed out those who were abusing the system. And the majority of time, people don't like following the process and quit before we help them, because they're not willing to do the work.

Frankly, I know how the system works from the bottom up, and it's two different worlds. But I see the bigger picture. I know the philanthropists give them the opportunity to improve their lives. Whether they take that opportunity wisely, is another story. A personal choice.

I just see online as well there's entitlement to get everything free. So if everyone has this "Free Mentality" it becomes "Group Think", and spreads I don't have to do anything. I see how people manipulate the systems online even when they pay for services. They end up giving a lot of charge backs. They'll pay and than say they didn't buy the service to pay pal. quite amazing what's going on behind the scenes. This didn't happen to me, but frankly if you're not setting boundaries of some sort it's just human nature taking advantage of others.

 

[LifestyleGem]

It's not a traditional approach to building a business, and I recognize that. While I can't give too many details on the business strategy, I will say it surrounds blockchain technology, yes.

We already have VC interest, but not based on any revenue model from the very start. They seek to make monetary gain via user adoption, and therefore education is one of the best ways to *indirectly* earn investors money.

It's a little bit outside of the box - and a huge risk, for sure. But it won't work otherwise, IMO.

Also, I'd like to clarify that we aren't trying to change the world. But, we do aim to help many people have a better understanding of something that could lead down many paths. We're passionate about this technology and want to see it be used in the best way possible.

Thanks!

In that case, if you have VC interest, then snag it ASAP. Before crypto funding hype mania drys up and normalizes. If you ever are offered money in exchange for equity for a business with no immediate revenue opportunities, then GET THE MONEY 😀

 

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[LifestyleGem]

Think this is the point I was getting at since most non-profits have rules, regulations, red-tape to help people, because human nature is greedy, hoards, and if they didn't monitor things, have a board, budget etc, they wouldn't exist if they just have it all free, because the first 5 people would take it all and there are plenty of people who need assistance.

I had a thick book back home of all the Non-profits, and none of them just gave free away without doing assessment of the situation, proving they were in need, and showing they were making an effort. For example: I was mentoring people on financial budgeting although it's not where we would be learning in the forum, but just basic life skills, and they had to show up on time every week for a meeting with me to go over stuff and teach them how to budget. If they completed the program after so many weeks, showed they got a job, could budget, pay for their license plate, insurance, and could afford and maintain it, they gave the person a free used car to get to work and the grocery store. People donated vehicles, they would recycle, and fix the car.

We also had a data base with people, what services were provided, by who, when where, how, and the number of times. The purpose to weed out those who were abusing the system. And the majority of time, people don't like following the process and quit before we help them, because they're not willing to do the work.

Frankly, I know how the system works from the bottom up, and it's two different worlds. But I see the bigger picture. I know the philanthropists give them the opportunity to improve their lives. Whether they take that opportunity wisely, is another story. A personal choice.

I just see online as well there's entitlement to get everything free. So if everyone has this "Free Mentality" it becomes "Group Think", and spreads I don't have to do anything. I see how people manipulate the systems online even when they pay for services. They end up giving a lot of charge backs. They'll pay and than say they didn't buy the service to pay pal. quite amazing what's going on behind the scenes. This didn't happen to me, but frankly if you're not setting boundaries of some sort it's just human nature taking advantage of others.

Mattie, great points. But I think he wants to build a crypto educational platform and then sell the users/database/email list to 3rd parties. And upsell everything possible for crypto. Basically a user oriented business where you monetize the userbase.

Crypto is still a very.... ehhhh market right now. You can't really sell normal people on it right now, since it lost half a trillion dollars in a few weeks.

If you have VC funding though, he should go for it IMO. Just please, don't launch another stupid ICO.

 

[_davis_smith]

In that case, if you have VC interest, then snag it ASAP. Before crypto funding hype mania drys up and normalizes. If you ever are offered money in exchange for equity for a business with no immediate revenue opportunities, then GET THE MONEY 😀

Just need to execute to prove our capability and initiative. After that, we hope to GET THE MONEY. Ha!

 

[Mattie]

Crypto is still a very.... ehhhh market right now. You can't really sell normal people on it right now, since it lost half a trillion dollars in a few weeks.

Hmm...I'd say that is not a very good situation. I'll just keep listening to you guys about it. lol