BIO: Brian Golod was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His parents asked him what he wanted to do for a living when he was 13 years old, and somehow he knew, at least for the following 21 years.
STORY: Brian invested $25,000 in a new company belonging to a man he’d known for just a few days.
LEARNING: Don’t trust blindly; ask questions. Be careful of the appeal to authority fallacy.
“Pace yourself. There’s nothing like an overnight success.”
Brian Golod
Guest profile
Brian Golod was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His parents asked him what he wanted to do for a living when he was 13 years old, and somehow he knew... at least for the following 21 years.
He studied Computer Science at the number one middle and high school in Argentina and got an early start. Before turning 20 years old, his family immigrated to Canada. After working for the Government of Canada twice, tech multinationals, startups, and everything in between, he realized he was able to help professionals get back on their feet and advance in their careers. He started doing this on the side for free, just trying to give back to society, and eventually realized he couldn’t live the rest of his life without pursuing his purpose, what he was born for. He says it’s impossible to describe how he feels every time someone gets the job they want with his help.
Worst investment ever
Brian was working as a production support developer for a multinational in Toronto when he was introduced to a family. He was invited to their place for dinner and got to know the family. There was immediate trust, especially because of the person who introduced him to the family. Brian learned that the man of the family wanted to branch out of where he was working as CFO and start something very similar to what he was doing.
The man mentioned this to Brian, and because of his title, his responsibility at the organization where he was working, and the size of that organization, Brian believed the man must know what he was doing. Brian told him that he’d be the first one to support him right off the bat. He invested $25,000 in the man’s business. Additionally, Brian was convinced to quit his job and join the new company full time.
The mistake the man made was buying a lot of inventory and having no clients. So all the money that he had raised, not just from Brian but from many others, about $300,000, went to inventory, yet there was no cash flow. The product just sat in a container in one of those storage rooms.
The duo couldn’t sell for different reasons, so the company tanked.
Lessons learned
- Don’t trust blindly. If you’re going to put money towards something, ask a billion questions.
- Just because someone has the title and has been doing this somewhere else doesn’t mean that they actually know how to do it all from scratch.
- Don’t be greedy or invest more than you can afford to lose.
- Communication is very important. Communicate with the people that you work with and with your suppliers.
- Make sure that everything is written, especially when working with suppliers.
- Pace yourself. There’s nothing like an overnight success.
Andrew’s takeaways
- Trust takes time
- Be careful of the appeal to authority fallacy.
- The first job of a business is to try to get the cash flowing.
- Preserve relationships.
Actionable advice
Pause and listen to someone else’s perspective. If you have a significant other or someone you trust who has your best interests at heart, and can potentially be affected by your decision, seek their full support.
No.1 goal for the next 12 months
Brian’s goal for the next 12 months is to scale his service to serve as many people as possible, build partnerships and reach every professional who needs this solution.
Parting words
“If you’re not feeling excited, you’re not jumping out of bed to do what you do. Please don’t settle for less. We’re given this one life. Just make the most out of it.”
Brian Golod
[spp-transcript]
Connect with Brian Golod
Andrew’s books
Andrew’s online programs
Connect with Andrew Stotz:
