October last year, I was having dinner with an aspiring GP who, for whatever reason, thought I should do more advisory work. A comment made after I shared that I do very little advisory work. So she asked why.
And I said something to the effect of: My goal in life is to spend time with the most curious, the most ambitious, and the highest performing individuals. In the early days, when advisory is opportunistic and assuming you don’t need the capital, you can choose to work with some incredible people. Over time, as you build a sustainable business, and as this becomes your primary source of income, to pay the bills, you may end up working with folks that you may not have chosen to work if you had the choice. You end of building a fantasy portfolio of, in my case, GPs, that you’ve allocated your time to. The one resource you can never get back. And because I’m someone who likes optimizing different parts of my life, I may very well fall victim to my own optimization of being an advisor. I would rather not see myself inevitably choosing those circumstances. What scares me is not the work but the person I will end up becoming.
Just earlier this week, I had another conversation around the same topic with a GP I deeply respect and have chosen to work with. So I thought it seems to be time I share this publicly.
Many of my contemporaries have built robust businesses for themselves being advisors to GPs and LPs. And I think it’s a beautiful thing. The world needs more great advisors. We always seemed to be starved of them. The world needs more people who are willing to pay it forward. To share their lived experiences with those who have yet to live. But I don’t think I could ever do what they do.
To me, this blog and my podcast are what I need as outlets to help the world. Two things that will always stay free. Although for my podcast, many a time I have resisted the temptation to create a paid product to keep the podcast’s lights on. I hope good and useful knowledge continues to stay that way. Free. Through that, the frameworks and lessons I’ve come across and/or use.
But the reason I don’t think I could ever do what some of my advisor friends do is because I think a lot about optimization. And in the theme of optimization, I will take more opportunities than I would like. But I’m also really bad at breaking up. And so to not put myself in that situation, it is better to not begin.
Have I advised folks? Yes. Will I continue to? Probably. Opportunistically. Will I still say no to most advisory opportunities even if there is money to be made? Yes.
Does that mean I build an advisory practice? No.
If you’ve been a long-time reader of this blog, you’ll know I’m a deeply flawed individual. I don’t claim to be perfect. And I’m definitely not a profit maximalist. Although I do wonder what kind of person my alter ego would be. But there are a specific set of choices that I believe I can make so that I live my most fulfilling life. And one of those choices is choosing the people I get to spend time with. So if I were to do any advisory, it’d only be with people I deeply respect AND can learn something from them as much as they from me.
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The views expressed on this blogpost are for informational purposes only. None of the views expressed herein constitute legal, investment, business, or tax advice. Any allusions or references to funds or companies are for illustrative purposes only, and should not be relied upon as investment recommendations. Consult a professional investment advisor prior to making any investment decisions.