#017 - Nick Findler: An Introduction to Small-Cap Investing and Lessons in Entrepreneurship

Welcome to a new decade of the Grow Give Expand Podcast. In this episode I am speaking with a long-time connection, fellow entrepreneur and investor, Nick Findler. For the past 5 years, Nick has been situated at the intersection of building businesses, angel investing, raising capital, and helping small cap companies tell their story. He has since started a couple of his own ventures, including candle apparel which is working on bringing heated clothing to the market, beginning with their heated gloves, and Edge Investments, an investment/education company focused on the world of small, high growth, publicly traded stocks – also known as small-cap investing, whose aim is to provide quality information and knowledge for investors seeking to learn more about the world of small-cap investing. After introductions, our conversation effectively covers two areas. For the first half we dive in to Nick’s background in the business world and how he got started in business, entrepreneurship, and specifically, the venture capital and small-cap investing space. Nick shares his knowledge on small-cap investing, who it is suitable for, and why people should be looking at these kinds of investments, while providing some education on how people can get started. For the second half of our conversation we discuss both business and life, everything from tips for becoming great at networking, advice for new entrepreneurs or business owners looking to raise money to fund their businesses, key things to consider and set up before taking the leap to entrepreneurship, and a number of strategies for improving self-awareness and mindfulness. Let’s grow, give, and expand, with this episode’s guest: Nick Findler Show Notes: 00:32 – Intro: Who is Nick Findler? 06:33 – How Nick got started in business, entrepreneurship, and investing, highlighting the impact of having a few key mentors to learn from in the beginning and for continued growth 08:59 – Discussion of Edge Investments – a small-cap investing education company – helping bridge the gap for millennials to get into small-cap investing 11:40 – What is small-cap investing, who is it suitable for, and why should people be looking at these kinds of investments? 13:58 – Nick’s suggested distribution for investors wanting to get started in small-cap investing 15:24 – Suggestions for how to identify opportunity and establish trends for potential future success of a small-cap investment 16:40 – Some small-cap industries currently warranting a deeper look 18:50 – A quick primer on contrarian investing 20:50 – Strategies and insights for when, and how, to exit (sell) an investment 24:58 – What a typical day looks like for people in the venture capital world 28:30 – What Nick’s typical day looks like: reviewing the day’s activities the night before, studying successful people, and structuring time to develop his businesses 31:00 – Two key themes for being a great networker & building relationship 32:58 – Advice for new entrepreneurs or business owners looking to raise money to fund their business 38:15 – What betting on himself did for Nick’s mentality, self-awareness, business habits, and lifestyle 41:25 – The key things that allowed Nick to take the leap from having a job to going after his entrepreneurial ventures 46:00 – Strategies for reframing your perspective around business losses and failures 46:45 – Systematizing time for mind resets and self-awareness / mindfulness practices 50:30 – Discussion around practices for improving self-awareness and using trusted sources to help identify personal blind spots 54:52 – The Grow Give Expand Final 3 Questions 59:23 – The “one-degree shift” approach to goal setting for moving in the general direction of where you want to go Links to resources and topics touched on during the show: - Eric Termuende – One Degree Shift (Podcast) - How 1% Improvement Led to Olympic Golds for the British Cycling Program