BIO: Daniel Chan is a pre-IPO PayPal financial operations employee who became a magician, and now he’s pivoted to Zoom. He has performed over 390 virtual shows since last year.
STORY: As one of the first employees of PayPal, Daniel was granted about 10,000 stock options. When he left the company, he dumped his stocks for a more diversified portfolio. Daniel would have been worth close to $5 million if he had kept everything, but he bought many other things that didn’t earn him that much.
LEARNING: Invest in things that you buy and use regularly. Diversifying doesn’t mean selling what you have; it means putting additional money into something else.
“Learn how to read the income statement, understand profit and loss, debt-to-equity ratios, and P/E ratios.”
Daniel Chan
Guest profile
Daniel Chan is a pre-IPO PayPal financial operations employee who became a magician, and now he’s pivoted to Zoom. He has performed over 390 virtual shows since last year. What’s cool is that he has invested in most of the companies that have hired him.
Daniel’s clients are literally a who’s who from “A” to “Z.” He has performed for Apple and Airbnb all the way to Zillo. And Google has hired him over 40 times.
Worst investment ever
When Daniel was working at PayPal, he was granted about 10,000 stock options with a four-year vest and had to stay at least a year. He stayed for over a year. However, when he left, he pretty much dumped his stocks for a more diversified portfolio.
From Daniel’s calculation, he would have been worth close to $5 million if he had kept everything, but he bought many other things that didn’t earn him that much.
Lessons learned
- Diversify, and when you’re sure about particular stocks, put in a little more into those.
- Invest in things that you buy and use regularly.
- Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
Andrew’s takeaways
- Diversifying doesn’t mean selling what you have; it means putting additional money into something else.
- Just because you use a product and believe in the company’s stock doesn’t mean you should put all your money into it. Make sure you diversify.
Actionable advice
When looking for stocks to invest in, look at things around you that you’re familiar with. Then when you find a few companies that interest you look at the bottom line. Learn how to read the income statement, understand profit and loss, debt-to-equity ratios, and P/E ratios.
No. 1 goal for the next 12 months
Daniel’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to find investors for a magic dinner show and a club in Silicon Valley.
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