I had stupidly over indexed on equity, made terrible mistakes with money (see thread the end of this thread) and had no other income stream.
How I invest my money
A thread...
I had stupidly over indexed on equity, made terrible mistakes with money (see thread the end of this thread) and had no other income stream.
So while I had "wealth" I did not have any income.
The last year I have been working on changing that.
A decade back I bought a term insurance plan for 25 years, for 10Cr.
Which means if I die in the next 25 years (by the time I am 55), my family will get 10Cr (over and above my ongoing loans).
If I don't die, I get nothing.
Until then I rely on an insurance plan.
This amount I believe takes care of all current and future needs of my family.
This gives me mental peace, should something happen to me ever!
The first 40% goes into buying stocks of individual companies; split into 25% and 15%.
Shopify
Square
Zoom
Tesla
Indians can invest upto $250,000 every year in international stocks (public + private), which is way more than I will ever have :)
Highly recommended.
My current picks are
ITC
HDFC
Reliance
Spicejet
Indian Hotels
Shree Cement
I am not a big fan of Mutual funds because of the opacity with which they operate.
So I started to use @smallcaseHQ
Think of it like a mix of stocks as per a strategy, where an expert is telling you what to buy/sell
The ones I picked were
Capitalmind Momentum
https://t.co/yvxGWXFvnH
and
Weekend Investing Momentum
https://t.co/vzijXXCDoE
It is where I have lost my most money and made my most money as well.
I would not call myself an angel investor, since I do not have the capital depth to invest in all the good ideas I come across.
I mostly invest in startups through @AngelList
You can follow syndicates on AL, through which you get a deal flow. And most allow you to invest starting $1,000
25% in US tech market leaders - with a 15 year horizon, through @INDmoneyApp
15% in Indian traditional market leaders - with a 15 year horizon, through @zerodhaonline
40% in momentum Indian stocks, through @smallcaseHQ
20% in startups, through @AngelList
I do not have any Fixed Deposits (hate them!)
I haven't invested in any debt funds (frankly, they arent that bad, but I am willing to take on risk)
My only liability is a (BIG) home loan
But that is just me.
This should ideally be the investment strategy for someone in their 20s
30% US Stocks + 40% Indian stocks + 30% Indian Debt (no startups please)
https://t.co/yyvpkvNOv6
It has been converted into an eBook (thank you @shreyashah23)
https://t.co/mRdLJEtn5Y
Mistakes I made with my money.
— Ankur Warikoo (@warikoo) September 25, 2020
A thread...
Take inspiration from others - but eventually build your own.
Oh - almost forgot - the longest word in english language
mutualfundsaresubjecttomarketriskpleasereadtheofferdocumentscarefullybeforeinvesting
More from Ankur Warikoo
10 ways I am running my current startup differently from the ones before
A thread...
Difference #1
Bootstrapped as against raising money
https://t.co/RKWB3KfMZt was a venture funded company. We raised $43Mn from top investors, but I couldn’t give them a return that I would be proud of. In the process, learning how raising money works but also doesn’t work
My current startup is bootstrapped.
I do not intend to raise money for it.
It has been profitable from Day 1 and that is the way I hope it remains.
I have raised money from customers.
Difference #2
Slow and small
For the past decade, I was in the mode of fast and big.
Being fast was the only thing that mattered.
And you either go big or go home.
Today, I am taking it slow.
Slow to add costs, slow to take decisions that are irreversible.
I am patient because all good things in life take time!
A thread...
Difference #1
Bootstrapped as against raising money
https://t.co/RKWB3KfMZt was a venture funded company. We raised $43Mn from top investors, but I couldn’t give them a return that I would be proud of. In the process, learning how raising money works but also doesn’t work
My current startup is bootstrapped.
I do not intend to raise money for it.
It has been profitable from Day 1 and that is the way I hope it remains.
I have raised money from customers.
Difference #2
Slow and small
For the past decade, I was in the mode of fast and big.
Being fast was the only thing that mattered.
And you either go big or go home.
Today, I am taking it slow.
Slow to add costs, slow to take decisions that are irreversible.
I am patient because all good things in life take time!
How I created content in 2020
A thread...
Back in Aug 2016, I started creating content to share my experiences as an entrepreneur.
Over 3 years I had put out 1,200+ hours of content - posting every week without
Little did I know that something I started almost 4 years back would give my life an entirely new direction.
At the end of 2019, my biggest platform was LinkedIn with ~700K followers.
In Jan 2020, I decided to build a team that would help me with the content.
I ran a month long recruitment drive to hire a team of interns.
It comprised 4 detailed rounds - starting with my loved 20 questions, then an assignment, then a WhatsApp video round and finally F2F.
Through 1,200+ applications, I finally selected 6 profiles, starting March.
I am a firm believer in @peterthiel's one task, one person philosophy
So the team was structured such that everyone was responsible for ONLY one task
1. Content ideas
2. Videography
3. Video editing
4. LinkedIn (+TikTok) distribution
5. FB+IG distribution
6. YouTube distribution
A thread...
Back in Aug 2016, I started creating content to share my experiences as an entrepreneur.
Over 3 years I had put out 1,200+ hours of content - posting every week without
August 2016.
— Ankur Warikoo (@warikoo) October 2, 2020
It has been 3 months since LinkedIn had launched its video feature.
And I had been waiting for it to be activated on my profile.
A thread...
Little did I know that something I started almost 4 years back would give my life an entirely new direction.
At the end of 2019, my biggest platform was LinkedIn with ~700K followers.
In Jan 2020, I decided to build a team that would help me with the content.
I ran a month long recruitment drive to hire a team of interns.
It comprised 4 detailed rounds - starting with my loved 20 questions, then an assignment, then a WhatsApp video round and finally F2F.
Through 1,200+ applications, I finally selected 6 profiles, starting March.
I am a firm believer in @peterthiel's one task, one person philosophy
So the team was structured such that everyone was responsible for ONLY one task
1. Content ideas
2. Videography
3. Video editing
4. LinkedIn (+TikTok) distribution
5. FB+IG distribution
6. YouTube distribution
You May Also Like
And here they are...
THE WINNERS OF THE 24 HOUR STARTUP CHALLENGE
Remember, this money is just fun. If you launched a product (or even attempted a launch) - you did something worth MUCH more than $1,000.
#24hrstartup
The winners 👇
#10
Lattes For Change - Skip a latte and save a life.
https://t.co/M75RAirZzs
@frantzfries built a platform where you can see how skipping your morning latte could do for the world.
A great product for a great cause.
Congrats Chris on winning $250!
#9
Instaland - Create amazing landing pages for your followers.
https://t.co/5KkveJTAsy
A team project! @bpmct and @BaileyPumfleet built a tool for social media influencers to create simple "swipe up" landing pages for followers.
Really impressive for 24 hours. Congrats!
#8
SayHenlo - Chat without distractions
https://t.co/og0B7gmkW6
Built by @DaltonEdwards, it's a platform for combatting conversation overload. This product was also coded exclusively from an iPad 😲
Dalton is a beast. I'm so excited he placed in the top 10.
#7
CoderStory - Learn to code from developers across the globe!
https://t.co/86Ay6nF4AY
Built by @jesswallaceuk, the project is focused on highlighting the experience of developers and people learning to code.
I wish this existed when I learned to code! Congrats on $250!!
THE WINNERS OF THE 24 HOUR STARTUP CHALLENGE
Remember, this money is just fun. If you launched a product (or even attempted a launch) - you did something worth MUCH more than $1,000.
#24hrstartup
The winners 👇
#10
Lattes For Change - Skip a latte and save a life.
https://t.co/M75RAirZzs
@frantzfries built a platform where you can see how skipping your morning latte could do for the world.
A great product for a great cause.
Congrats Chris on winning $250!
#9
Instaland - Create amazing landing pages for your followers.
https://t.co/5KkveJTAsy
A team project! @bpmct and @BaileyPumfleet built a tool for social media influencers to create simple "swipe up" landing pages for followers.
Really impressive for 24 hours. Congrats!
#8
SayHenlo - Chat without distractions
https://t.co/og0B7gmkW6
Built by @DaltonEdwards, it's a platform for combatting conversation overload. This product was also coded exclusively from an iPad 😲
Dalton is a beast. I'm so excited he placed in the top 10.
#7
CoderStory - Learn to code from developers across the globe!
https://t.co/86Ay6nF4AY
Built by @jesswallaceuk, the project is focused on highlighting the experience of developers and people learning to code.
I wish this existed when I learned to code! Congrats on $250!!