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Yahoo
10-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Multimillionaire Rashaun Williams landed a seat next to Mark Cuban on ‘Shark Tank' by sneaking into events he wasn't invited to and saying ‘hear me out'
Venture capitalist Rashaun Williams admits he wasn't able to become a multimillionaire and guest Shark Tank star without an element of manifesting success. Gen Z's 'delulu' trend reflects this: he rooted optimism into career action by being a step ahead in his behavior. 'Sneaking into the party—that's what I'm known for,' he exclusively tells Fortune. 'I don't mind cold calling people. I don't mind pulling up at conferences.' If you have dreams of one day sitting on the set of Shark Tank next to the biggest names in investing like Mark Cuban and Kevin O'Leary, well so did Rashaun Williams—and he made it happen. The multimillionaire venture capitalist is set to return as a guest shark on the television series this fall. But landing the gig has taken an entire career of hard work, including a tactic he calls 'sneaking into the party.' Growing up on the southside of Chicago, opportunities often seemed slim for Williams. But instead of letting fear of rejection get in his way, Williams did more than just manifest his own success—he went after it headfirst, and it often started with three words: 'hear me out.' For Williams, the phrase wasn't just a casual introduction; it was his way of opening doors that otherwise wouldn't exist, using the phrase to start conversations, pitch himself for opportunities, and get his foot in the door when others might hesitate. 'Sneaking into the party—that's what I'm known for,' he tells Fortune. 'I don't mind cold calling people. I don't mind pulling up at conferences. I don't mind acting as if.' And while some Gen Zers have already started embodying this in their own form of career manifestation, as being 'delulu,' Williams says it's a lesson young people can all learn from: know what you want and go after it by being steps ahead of your career in your behavior. 'I had to become a private equity person before I got that job. I had to become an investment banker before they hired me. I had to become an entrepreneur before I started a business. I had to become a good husband and father before I get married and have kids,' he says The power of networking as a key to success Once you're able to 'sneak into the party' or even just simply connect with someone on LinkedIn, there can be a domino effect of networking—and you never know which person will have the perfect job opening now or later in your career. But Gen Z also needs to not undervalue the power of warm leads and apprenticeships, Williams says. 'I don't know why people don't do it anymore, but when I would get warm leads, I would get introduced to someone and they get introduced to someone else, and then to someone else,' he says. This strategy of building out a wide, genuine network is what in part helped Williams land his first investment banking gig in Goldman Sachs at 21 years old. It also ensured his broader career goals of getting into private equity. 'Guess what I was doing on the evenings and the weekends? I was an apprentice under guys 10 to 20 years older than me, who were working in private equity, who were buying businesses, and I'm doing little LBO (leveraged buyout) models and analysis for them,' he says. 'I was doing that in the evenings when other kids were playing video games and going to the clubs and partying.' The Sharks agree: don't let fear shut you down Williams' Shark Tank costars agree with him that fighting back against rejections and naysayers is part of the journey to success. In fact, Kevin O'Leary, known as Mr. Wonderful, recently told Fortune that he actually enjoys the motivation fueled by his haters. 'I just love it when people tell me, 'Oh, you can't do this, you can't do that,'' O'Leary said. 'When someone tells me I can't do it, I turn around, two years later, kick their ass. That's a great motivation. It's not about the money anymore—I just like kicking their ass.' Daniel Lubetzky, the billionaire KIND bar founder who is the newest permanent investor on Shark Tank said that being a little naive can be a good thing in the long term. 'Most ventures that changed the world are started by young people, not guys like me,' Lubetzky told graduates of UC Berkeley earlier this year. 'When you don't know any better, you dare to try the impossible. And in doing so, sometimes you prove that the impossible is actually possible,' he added. This story was originally featured on
Yahoo
09-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Multimillionaire Rashaun Williams landed a seat next to Mark Cuban on ‘Shark Tank' by sneaking into events he wasn't invited to and saying ‘here me out'
Venture capitalist Rashaun Williams admits he wasn't able to become a multimillionaire and guest Shark Tank star without an element of manifesting success. Gen Z's 'delulu' trend reflects this: he rooted optimism into career action by being a step ahead in his behavior. 'Sneaking into the party—that's what I'm known for,' he exclusively tells Fortune. 'I don't mind cold calling people. I don't mind pulling up at conferences.' If you have dreams of one day sitting on the set of Shark Tank next to the biggest names in investing like Mark Cuban and Kevin O'Leary, well so did Rashaun Williams—and he made it happen. The multimillionaire venture capitalist is set to return as a guest shark on the television series this fall. But landing the gig has taken an entire career of hard work, including a tactic he calls 'sneaking into the party.' Growing up on the southside of Chicago, opportunities often seemed slim for Williams. But instead of letting fear of rejection get in his way, Williams did more than just manifest his own success—he went after it headfirst, and it often started with three words: 'hear me out.' For Williams, the phrase wasn't just a casual introduction; it was his way of opening doors that otherwise wouldn't exist, using the phrase to start conversations, pitch himself for opportunities, and get his foot in the door when others might hesitate. 'Sneaking into the party—that's what I'm known for,' he tells Fortune. 'I don't mind cold calling people. I don't mind pulling up at conferences. I don't mind acting as if.' And while some Gen Zers have already started embodying this in their own form of career manifestation, as being 'delulu,' Williams says it's a lesson young people can all learn from: know what you want and go after it by being steps ahead of your career in your behavior. 'I had to become a private equity person before I got that job. I had to become an investment banker before they hired me. I had to become an entrepreneur before I started a business. I had to become a good husband and father before I get married and have kids,' he says The power of networking as a key to success Once you're able to 'sneak into the party' or even just simply connect with someone on LinkedIn, there can be a domino effect of networking—and you never know which person will have the perfect job opening now or later in your career. But Gen Z also needs to not undervalue the power of warm leads and apprenticeships, Williams says. 'I don't know why people don't do it anymore, but when I would get warm leads, I would get introduced to someone and they get introduced to someone else, and then to someone else,' he says. This strategy of building out a wide, genuine network is what in part helped Williams land his first investment banking gig in Goldman Sachs at 21 years old. It also ensured his broader career goals of getting into private equity. 'Guess what I was doing on the evenings and the weekends? I was an apprentice under guys 10 to 20 years older than me, who were working in private equity, who were buying businesses, and I'm doing little LBO (leveraged buyout) models and analysis for them,' he says. 'I was doing that in the evenings when other kids were playing video games and going to the clubs and partying.' The Sharks agree: don't let fear shut you down Williams' Shark Tank costars agree with him that fighting back against rejections and naysayers is part of the journey to success. In fact, Kevin O'Leary, known as Mr. Wonderful, recently told Fortune that he actually enjoys the motivation fueled by his haters. 'I just love it when people tell me, 'Oh, you can't do this, you can't do that,'' O'Leary said. 'When someone tells me I can't do it, I turn around, two years later, kick their ass. That's a great motivation. It's not about the money anymore—I just like kicking their ass.' Daniel Lubetzky, the billionaire KIND bar founder who is the newest permanent investor on Shark Tank said that being a little naive can be a good thing in the long term. 'Most ventures that changed the world are started by young people, not guys like me,' Lubetzky told graduates of UC Berkeley earlier this year. 'When you don't know any better, you dare to try the impossible. And in doing so, sometimes you prove that the impossible is actually possible,' he added. This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Globe and Mail
28-07-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Market Factors: Some very bad advice from a venture capitalist
In this edition of Market Factors we'll show some great guidance for markets and life from venture capitalist Morgan Housel. Then I move on to how one ethically challenged industry is becoming even more cutthroat. The diversion covers a disturbing new trend of AI-assisted madness and as always we'll look ahead to important data releases for the coming week. There are few finance writers with better perspective than Collaborative Fund's Morgan Housel and he proved it again with the recent post called Very Bad Advice. Mr. Housel's goal is to underscore the complexity of success versus the simplicity of self-destruction. The bulk of the piece is a very long list of beliefs that can undermine success in both investing and life. One example is 'Assume learning is complete upon your last day of school,' an obvious tongue-in-cheek warning to keep learning throughout life. There are a few points of bad advice that struck me as extremely important for investors. The first is 'Forecast with precision, certainty, and confidence.' This is a reminder that any market-related predictions are just loose hypotheses and will almost certainly be wrong. All forecasts are to be held lightly and completely unrelated to an investor's ego. George Soros protégé Stan Druckenmiller once noted that Mr. Soros is the best trader alive because he knows when to abandon an investment thesis. I am guilty of 'Believe that the past was golden, the present is crazy, and the future is destined for decline' to the point I'm considering buying defence stocks, which I describe as put options on human psychology. Things are crazier than usual where politics are concerned but investors should not fall victim to fatalism. I also found 'View patience as laziness' as an important reminder for investors. Finance research shows conclusively that portfolio returns decline as the number of transactions increases. There are many times that the best thing to do in a portfolio is nothing. 'Adjust your willingness to believe something by how much you want and need it to be true' is another good one. I take this in a specific way that guards against a mistake I've made in the past, when I convinced myself an investment idea was great just because it was time to buy something. Readers can judge for themselves but I find Mr. Housel one of the few finance writers who is truly wise and his bad advice in this column is helpful during market hours and beyond. In what could be interpreted as a case of evil companies becoming even more evil, U.S. health insurers are implementing AI to streamline hospital operations and eventually cut jobs. BofA Securities analyst Alec Stranahan reports that the U.S. health-care system is a jumble of administration for patients, insurers and hospitals that often requires manual input of data. The opportunity for efficiencies is widespread and some insurers and large hospital systems are already implementing AI applications to tackle them. The stocks mentioned are new names for me. Doximity Inc. (DOCS-N), with AI applications to draft medical letters and appeals and communicate with patients, is one. Waystar Holding Inc (WAY-Q), with software to help simplify payment processing and claims denials, is another. Nashville-based hospital network HCA Holdings Inc. (HCA-N) is a leader in AI implementation in its own operations. News that an unstable teen had been dragged into madness by an AI companion would be lamentable but not surprising. Futurism's description of venture capitalist Geoff Lewis' apparent AI-assisted descent into mental illness, however, is eyebrow raising. Mr. Lewis was an investor in machine learning and AI expansion for a multi-billion dollar investment firm until a series of social media posts led to concerns about his health. The posts suggested that Mr. Lewis had used ChatGPT to uncover a shadowy organization that was negatively affecting 7,000 people and had killed more than ten people. The story is the continuation of a trend of AI encouraging users' delusional thinking to extremes that are being blamed for involuntary stays at psychiatric facilities, homelessness and even suicide. Mr. Lewis did not respond to requests for information for the story so we'll have to be careful in assuming AI's role in his difficulties. If it turns out that AI did play a significant role, it is alarming as Mr. Lewis has a clear idea of AI's inner workings. Looking for our updates on market movers, analyst actions, stock technicals, insider trades and other daily, weekly and monthly insight? Click here to visit our Inside the Market page. Norman Rothery hunts for the best measures of quality for both large and small Canadian stocks Ian McGugan looks at the staggering amounts companies are spending on AI and what it may mean for investors. Meanwhile, Jamie McGeever asks, Is the U.S. stock rally near a 'Mag 7' turning point? Tim Shufelt looks at how Canadians are learning the hard way that real estate is not a slam dunk when it comes to investment gains The Bank of Canada decision on interest rates on Wednesday is the key economic event for the coming week despite economists expecting no change in the policy rate. Month-over-month GDP for May is out Thursday when economists expect a 0.1 per cent decline. On August 1st the S&P Global Canada manufacturing PMI for July is released. There are lots of earnings so let's get right to it. On Tuesday we'll see George Weston Ltd. (C$3.352 per share expected) and Kinross Gold Corp. (US$0.318). On Wednesday there's CGI Inc. (C$2.083), Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (US$1.715), Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. (C$1.13) and Toumaline Oil Corp. (C$1.031). On Thursday TC Energy Corp. (C$0.791), Cenovus Energy Inc. (C$0.157) and Cameco (C$0.469) report. Scheduled Friday are Fortis Inc. (C$0.702), Enbridge Inc. (C$0.579), Telus Corp. (C$0.232) and Suncor Energy (C$0.710). In American economic news there's annualized GDP for the second quarter out on Wednesday (2.5 per cent expected) along with personal consumption. The Federal reserve decision on rates is the same day, no change is expected. On Thursday there's personal spending for June (a 0.4 per cent month-over-month rise is forecast), and the monthly change in the PCE price index (a rise of 0.3 per cent is expected). The change in nonfarm payrolls is released Friday and 101,000 new jobs is expected. ISM manufacturing PMI is out the same day and economists predict a slightly contractionary 49.5 reading. Widely followed corporate results start Tuesday with Procter & Gamble Co. ($1.422 per share expected), Corning Inc. ($0.572), Johnson Controls International ($1.021), Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. ($4.068), American Tower Corp. ($2.428) and Visa Inc. ($2.847). On Wednesday there's Ford Motor Co. ($0.328), Equinix Inc. ($6.742), Meta Platforms Inc. ($5.878) and Qualcomm ($2.711). Thursday's profit reports include Mastercard ($4.022), Stryker Corp. ($3.071), Apple Inc. ($1.43) and ($1.323). On August fourth we gat Berkshire Hathaway Inc. ($7514.74) and Palantir Technologies Inc ($0.139). See our full earnings and economic calendar here
Bloomberg
03-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
A Historic Estate on the Banks of the Hudson River Is on Sale for $8.25 Million
In the late 17th century, the Livingston family acquired a roughly 160,000 acre tract straddling the Hudson River, where it ruled in semifeudal splendor for generations. Over the centuries, the inevitable accumulation of deaths, debts and taxes put a dent in their reign, and eventually the grand Livingston estates lining the Hudson were whittled down and parceled out. A few descendants still occupy their ancestral homes; other properties were sold off, exposed to the vicissitudes of the 20th century real estate market. One such property, an 1860s white clapboard Victorian perched on the edge of the Hudson River in Kingston, New York, is a prime example. Soldby the Livingston family somewhere around 1970, it gradually fell into disrepair. It was rehabbed in 2020 for a quick flip, after which its current owner, a venture capitalist named John Hendren, purchased the house. 'They brought it from 'about to fall over' to 'standing back up,'' Hendren explains, 'but they didn't do a high-end renovation.'
