AMA JON FISHER - ASK ME ANYTHING
- Thread starter Jon
- Start date
Was there any big figures in your life that helped you get to where you are now (business influences)? If so is there any you would like to mention?
Awesome AMA BTW, I'm learning a lot.
Awesome AMA BTW, I'm learning a lot.
There are a lot of regrets and things I wish I could go back in time and do differently or better even, or just avoid altogether. This is kind of a broad and loaded question.
One thing I wish I could have done differently was getting out of the adult industry sooner, or just avoiding it altogether. It didn't fuck me up or anything, but it did take a way a lot of things from my personal life, like not being shocked by anything crazy or sexual anymore. I've never been able to go to a strip club and get turned on. I wish I could, but its just never going to happen. Although that industry taught me so much, and treated me very well too, I probably should have stuck to the gaming industry more, would have made far more money, and it likely would have forced me to hone in on my math skills more, or build it up more.
I do sometimes regret not finishing college. Only sometimes though. I've been offered a sponsored ride at HBS by some well connected alumns, but I don't have the BA/BS degree, and nowadays too I don't have the time to take off a few years and get that. I'm not a fan of college at all, and I do miss not having that full social college life experience, but I was pulling in profits that exceeded the tuition costs the parents of my peers were shelling out per year, in a day, from my dorm and then city apt. It was ridiculous, so there was no way I would ever have said "wellllll lemme think here.. $100k+ per day, orrrrrr partying with some college girls and have seksual adventures in drunk getting laid land...hmmm.. yeah, I'll take the fuckin money and buy their love another time." and that's how that went.
I regret things with WickedFire too. Sometimes I regret even starting it at all. But more often I regret not treating it like a biz from the start and instead getting too emotionally attached to it and having it be my other half of sorts. Most people don't nor will they ever understand the ups and downs I get to go through nearly every day from this fuckin place. But it has done lots of good for me and everyone so its not that bad.
I'm done with your couch.
The last 30 yrs or so there have been dozens of companies created that took advantage of new technologies offline and online and completely dominated their industries.
- Cabot Oil & Gas driller in the U.S.
- Microsoft
- Cisco
- Qualcomm (wireless semiconductor)
- Google
- Amazon
- Apple (saw the digital music shift)
- Netflix (early lead in streaming video)
What new or current companies do you see today on the verge of doing something disruptive or dominating their industry in the near future. Doesn't have to be a pure tech company -- could be health care, financial, oil & gas, biotech, real estate, etc.
- Cabot Oil & Gas driller in the U.S.
- Microsoft
- Cisco
- Qualcomm (wireless semiconductor)
- Amazon
- Apple (saw the digital music shift)
- Netflix (early lead in streaming video)
What new or current companies do you see today on the verge of doing something disruptive or dominating their industry in the near future. Doesn't have to be a pure tech company -- could be health care, financial, oil & gas, biotech, real estate, etc.
With $250k you've got some pretty good options to look at.
Before laying it out for ya... AVOID THE STOCK MARKET. Please, do yourself a favor and don't waste it on stocks like the other idiots. The stock market is a game that you are not equipped to play and win on. You may win one or two plays here and there, but overall, longterm, you could take that same cash and control its destiny to the top if you're up for it. With the market, you're just putting it in, and pressing play. Its foolish. -- However, if you are a well connected pro trader, then that's a different story. If you're a congressman or senator, then you should def play, as I'm sure you have more info than all of us anyway. If you are Goldman Sachs or HSBC then you are the market and the monies, so you're just trolling me.
1- I'd invest all of it, immediately, into one of my arbitrage funds. It would be locked up for two years, but your ROI would be disgusting and after your cap gains, you'd be doubled up, or nearly so, depending on which arb fund you chose.
2- Diamonds. Best hard asset to acquire. Most people think precious metals, but they would need to physically own it, and while that's always an option, the $250k won't get you much, and what it does get you, is crazy heavy to lug around. Plus you'd have to go by whatever the market price is or isn't, with diamonds, or any gem quality stones, so long as you find a buyer, you can charge whatever you want. Plus, the overall perception of gems being rare and valuable plus fifty googles, never ever ends. Everyone takes them, everyone trades with them, everyone will cash or loan to you for it. Its awesome. But you do have to have some level of sophistication under your belt if you're going to invest in them, lots of them. Or just hire a pro, that happens to be Jewish (look that up why, won't explain here.).
3- Put it to work. Cash that sits idle is a waste of cash. Look at the banks. Their sole purpose in life is to make money from other people's money. They do not just let it sit. They would rather lose all of it, than let it sit. So, if you are a clueless dumbfuck that somehow came into this monies, first see option 1, and if not that, then just copy what banks do. They lend it and charge interest. Some countries/states/religions won't allow you to charge interest, but trust me, there are loopholes to all of this to keep it kosher if that's what you care about. If you don't want to play by the rules, then loansharking is what you can do, although if you run into any local mafia folk, you had better be ready to pay their "I'm doing something illegal here, so I need to pay an illegal biz in this area street tax of $XXXX per week/month to Fat Tony" -- and make sure you do, because dying or losing control of your penis over $250k is not worth it. But this will give you a great and quick return on your cash, plus it will open up new doors for you in other interesting and possibly more lucrative investment areas, but be careful.
4- Finance a business, or buy one, or flip one, or just do something with it. With $250k, you CAN absolutely start a small lil PE firm if you really want to do that kind of brutal work. You can absolutely, without a shred of doubt, take that initial $250k and turn it into tens of millions, over about a 5-7 yr period at the least. Contrary to popular believe, you can bypass the whole Angel investor and VC route and go straight to the top of the food chain at the PE (private equity) level. Of course, your peers will have billions under management, but even with $250k you can still end up playing on their level someday (20+ yrs realistically, if you get REALLY good at it, maybe less).
I have a bajillion ideas for this. $250k is not an incredible amount, but its def better than $100k. But even with $10k, people can still get into realms they never thought possible, and continue to double and triple their original seed monies. Most people are just too fucking afraid of losing it (which means they shouldn't be investing it in the first place..) and balk at some of the best stuff, but they go in and fall for these craaaaazy investment scams that are so fucking captain goddamn obvious that its a ponzi scheme, and then they walk away feeling cheated. Its absurd.
See, there is a very interesting and strange thing that goes on when you prove to everyone around you that you can make the big monies that most people cannot... Just when you prob don't need their money, that is when you get offered it from all sides in large amounts. Its unreal. I still have trouble accepting it. But not that much trouble.
I don't have a realistic exit strategy or goal with my career.
I'd like to be happy... and anything after that should be cool.
...Of course if KING OF THE FUCKING WORLD AND EVERYONE IS MY LOYAL SUBJECT AND PEASANTS NEED TO FEED THE KIND... is up for grabs, I'll certainly take that too.
More than once.
Came very close a few years ago, but the final offer price and terms were shitty, so I balked.
You noted a vague estimate of your net worth as well as the fact that you are single. How do you deal with women and figuring out their true intentions when you are banking at that level?
Highest point was the first week. Going from hiding mostly, never being TOO outwardly vocal, and launching a forum, in which I had zero experience or knowledge on how to go about handling or managing, forget growing. And then of course, as history has shown, that first week I go from thinking its going to be a few guys and me circle jerking, to over 10,000 REAL signups from all over the industry and world. It was just one of the best weeks without a focus of making monies. The focus was starting a revolution, and succeeding in changing the way affiliates everywhere were treated, paid, etc, and showing the networks who was really in control.
I definitely succeeded on those fronts, but at a major cost. But I don't know if it was really worth it, cost wise, to myself on a psychological, emotional, self level. But it was certainly worth it for everyone else. That's for fuckin sure! Can't have your cookies and eat it too.
Worst moment.... Definitely getting thrown under the bus with the whole Chris Lingle revolt. A bunch of original members rallied around this guy who lied and claimed to have cancer, and not only did he not, but everything he was pretending to be, he stole from me and just played it off like he was the real deal, etc... So, a lot of members bought into it, and thought I was a tyrant and made their own forum and stole shit from here, broke my fuckin heart kinda because these were all "friends" that I personally helped make hundreds of thousands without EVER asking for a dime in return... anyway... I had to take a week off because I didn't want to die, and during that week off, the idiot got drunk and ended up outting himself as a fraud... Everyone came running back and apologized and shit, but it was never truly the same after that. I definitely changed a lot... Although I wish I had changed more, because then I made the same stupid mistake again, and put myself up for a bunch of affs that weren't getting paid, and a bunch of networks that hated Clickbooth, and got sued by them for basically standing up to them and not backing down. So, essentially got thrown under that big bus twice, by "friends"... So yeah, that was just wonderful, and since I finally learned my lesson to not put too much trust into anyone, and rely more on myself, SHIIIIIEEET... things magically got a whole lot simpler!
To this day, those two incidents taught me that this industry is jam packed filled with scammers, cheaters, liars and thieves.
I've been in the game for what... Shit, almost 20 years now.. That's a long time.. And the one thing I have absolutely realized, is that 100% of the people in this industry are full of shit in some way shape or form. We are all full of shit and guilty of doing some harm to others for personal and financial gain. FOR SURE. Even the most trustworthy and honest ones, it may not be as big of a deal, but this isn't really a size matters contest.
And that's why, no one should ever try to revolutionize this industry again. Its not worth it.
The "services" or "here I am, trust in me, and I will save you" types of this industry are the absolute most full of shit ones of us all. FOR SURE.
Once anyone can accept that everyone and everything is full of shit in some way, shape or form, doing business and succeeding becomes MUCHHHHH easier.
Eli, you're a super nice guy, but you're also full of shit.
That would probably scare the shit out of 10 yrs younger Jon. I'd probably tell myself to bet on every damn stock and sporting event outcome like in Back to The Future Part II. Even though 10 yrs younger Jon would have been "retired" in EU at that point, I would have made his ass get back to the states, to build up the cash stack, invest it into nothing but diamonds, all of the inside future infos, rinse and repeat, but also I'd tell him what to avoid to a degree.. I'm a firm believer, that even bad shit we go thru, as rough as it may be on us and hurt us, if we avoid them, it can alter who we are and who we are destined to become. Unless it was something like losing a limb or saving your mom from the fire, then I can understand, but making major mistakes and learning to deal with the consequences is important and necessary too.
So yeah. I'd just be infinitely wealthier and prob mainstream famous, which I would like to avoid, the latter that is.
Jon, it sounds like you provide client services.
What are some lessons learned about scaling those services once you find a good rhythm?
What are some lessons learned about scaling those services once you find a good rhythm?