Official Richart Ruddie Blog - Internet Entrepreneur

Ryan Blank "Storage King" Helping me Find Storage Opportunities

My good pal and self storage guru Ryan Blank deserves accolades for all of the great storage unit deals he's lined up for me over the last few years. Including one in an opportunity zone in Hyattsville, Maryland in Prince Georges County MD. not too far from Owings Mills and Pikesville where we grew up in Baltimore county. The project's pre-construction process was started last year when we closed on the development of the project and financed the balance using Peoples Bank.

 

The mall at Princes George's has a Macys, Target, Old Navy, DSW, H&M, TJ Maxx, Express, Ulta, Ross, Marshalls, and soon a self storage facility for our fellow PG County residents.

 

Ryan Blank has spent the last few years in business development and investor relations for the Poverni Sheikh Group based out of Baltimore. In a fairly short period of time, he has had a very specific focus on self-storage facilities and has helped build up a nice portfolio including this project I invested in located outside of Washington, D.C.

Fortunately from the very beginning, he has found a ton of great opportunities and so far they have all been big successes, as he is building an impressive portfolio up and down the mid-atlantic region from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.

 

The journey to getting where he is today took knowledge, work ethic, and dedication to becoming an expert in self-storage facilities and reminds me of the book Relentless where those who strive to be a king of their industry have to put in the grit and hard work to be successful. As he continues to grow, Blank and the Poverni Sheikh Group have continued to grow and expand.

 

Taking the Next Step with the Poverni Sheikh Group

Getting to the Poverni Sheikh Group took a little bit of time for Ryan Blank. He worked in finance, real estate investing, and other sectors of the business world before getting into business development and investor relations with the Baltimore based firm. When the opportunity opened up, he felt like it was a perfect opportunity to make the most out of a situation utilizing his skills to help others prosper and join in as LP's to build storage units.

 

If there is one aspect Blank fell in love with early on, it was fundraising. Getting the opportunity to work directly with investors can seem intimidating to some, but Blank relied heavily on his confidence that any project he presented could take off (and so far that has been the case). Proper funding is necessary to make dreams into reality, and Blank’s mastered that at this point and investors like myself have been very happy with the results.

 

Growing with Each Project

 

To keep investors interested and to please the Poverni Sheikh Group as a whole, Ryan Blank is learning to grow with each project. A relatively new completed one in Woodbridge, New Jersey ended up being a perfect example of being patient and finding the right investment opportunity for the company.

Billion Success Interview with Richart Ruddie

Billion Success is a website that focuses on interviews with entrepreneurs who like to share their wisdom and stories with others to help guide them along their journey. Below is the interview conducted with the news site and myself.

Born to be an entrepreneur Richart Ruddie is a digital marketing expert who owns over a dozen businesses in his portfolio and is up to take on any fun challenge every business day.

A true entrepreneur and innovator in the ORM space Richart Ruddie discusses a little bit of everything with BillionSuccess.com:

• Please tell us a little bit about your business – what is (your company here) all about?  Brandefenders is one of those company names that you have a pretty good idea exactly what the company does just from the name. At a domain conference that was one of the biggest pieces of advice on a domain that can tell your visitors exactly what it is you do. We help defend brands and replace fake news attacks with good positive content for our clientele.

• Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company? Like most other businesses things are not planned and they accidently fall into place. I learned my digital marketing skills initially while waiting to get on a trading desk at a boutique hedge fund in Boca Raton, Florida. While paying my dues entailed working on a startup for free I was willing to do it and it ended up paying enormous dividends by investing in learning a new skill that I was able to take and develop different services in the digital space. I never planned to get into reputation management or data privacy removal work but things tend to fall into place if you give yourself opportunities and are willing to take risks. Without risk you lose the biggest potential intrinsically and extrinsically.

• What would you say are the top 3 skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur, and why?
  1. Perseverance. As I blogged about one of my idols Jim Simmons who is the most successful mathematician of all time. He was unsuccessful at first and could have called it quits but luckily didn’t. Those who are willing to work hard and not give up are the stories you hear about that make you smile and I cringe when I hear thte would’ve could’ve should’ve excuses.
  2. Patience. Being an entrepreneur is the gift that keeps on giving but you have to be patient.
  3. Be willing to adopt and change to new environments but never go too far with one trend. Great things are always evolving and you need to be willing to change if needed but you can never risk the entire mission on a change that may not happen. For example Kodak should’ve been aggressively investing in digital but they shouldn’t have put 100% of their focus into it until their legacy business was fully diluted. Whatever happened to Fuji Film by the way? I used to see them advertising all over Yankee stadium.

• What are your plans for the future, how do you plan to grow this company? Slow and steady continues to win the race. As more and more referrals come through the door and we have a strong presence of leads that opt into our network of reputation management sites daily we strive to keep a focus on delivering quality solutions paired with excellent customer service. Unfortunately that’s not super scalable like other SaaS companies but we can proudly continue to grow double digits each year thanks to help from additional services we’ve added and direct removals where we or one of our vendors negotiates directly with a webmaster to remove false content online as nobody should have to live with content they don’t approve of on the internet especially if it’s not true or is posted with the sole intention of cyber bullying.

• How have the pandemic and Lockdown affected you or your new business? (Here you can share some stories or lessons learned operating during pandemic lockdown) Lockdowns as we’ve seen were not the best thing to do but like many things in life you don’t always have perfect information to tell you whats ahead. Luckily our team was setup to already work decentrally if needed and we continued to push on with all of our work and only saw a small bit of attrition the first 45 days but then things picked right back up as more people were searching for things online they realized they better clean up whats being said about them or for many of the other niches that we service they got the memo that they need to promote their good press and let the naysayers be pushed down to the wayside.

• How do you separate yourself from your competitors? Like Jeff Bezos when building up Amazon our focus has always been to obsessively ensure that our clients goals and expectations are met and they are happy with what we can do for them. Other companies treat their customers just as another number where as with us we give them a white glove service and let them bother us any time day or night. While it’s been counterproductive to family time it’s been good for referrals and showing our true character that were an honest hard working people just like they are and can empathize with them over their issues. When you have a friend you can confide in it’s easier to say I want to work with you versus xyz reputation company.

• What were the top three mistakes you made starting your business, and what did you learn from them? (Most Important to readers) 1. Early on one of our first clients was a big silicon valley venture capitalist. Knowing what I know now I should’ve put more of an emphasis on building out a complimentary SaaS platform back then and leveraging our relationship to get funded and grow into a multi-billion dollar platform. The more money I can make the more money I can give away to great causes and save lives. So lesson number 1 is take advantage of the relationships with the people you’ve helped and earned their trust.

2. Not hiring more staff in the early days. I’ve traveled the world and worked remotely from China to California. We’ve had numerous freelancers and a small team but we could’ve scaled a bit more and taken the business to a higher magnitude had we brought in full stack developers and built out a SaaS platform early on.
   
   
3. I’ve leveraged the cash flow here to start other great projects but would have re-invested more capital in product development. We have great offerings but being heavy on technology that would be hard to replicate would really have increased our overall valuation.

• Tell us a little bit about your marketing process, what has been the most successful form of marketing for you? (Second Most Important to readers). The most successful is the word of mouth clients. Every week we have new leads who say I’ve seen what you did for this person or my friend, lawyer, PR company, SEO agency, you name it complimented your work and now I have this problem and I’m looking for an expert like you to solve it. The second is creative search content. Whether it’s creating content about a recent news story and giving our take on the subject matter or ranking for obscure websites that we can delete content from with our direct relationships it’s all about being creative and thinking about how a user queries a search term and how to craft content that may appear for that.

• What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them? In 2016 I was being extorted by an ambulance chasing attorney who made false claims but it was important to protect my clients first and foremost and ensure that the company I started continued on as a viable entity and showed that we stand by our clients through thick and thin. While it was annoying to have to pay off the ambulance chaser attorney to make him go away our business grew exponentially because they saw that Richart Ruddie has character and ethics above and beyond what any other company owner in my space would have done for them. When you show your clients that you are vested in their success they appreciate that and not only do they stick by you but they also refer you their friends and that’s exactly what happened. Those who don’t kill you truly do make you stronger.

1. What was your first business idea and what did you do with it?  I’ve prided myself in always being creative and innovative. My mother brought me to an InventHelp location outside of Owings Mills, Maryland when I was a kid to discuss the idea of a wireless charging device. Decades later we have charging pads but it was intruiging to see how the early stage development of ideas come together. I’ve done everything from create sports betting brands to looking into play to win arcade games. There was a video game called Stacker that was growing in popularity and I wanted to purchase the arcade game and place it in different malls. Problem is I didn’t have the capital at the time so went on to run a parking company in Florida which ultimately led me to where I am today. My children when they have ideas and need some startup capital I’ll be ecstatic to take on those journeys with them.

• What are you learning now? Why is that important? Data privacy is the new gold. While the early 2010’s we saw the growth in big data now were seeing the huge growth in how we process that data and what we do with it.  As more states and governments enact privacy protections it’s important to know how data is being handled. An exit from the online public relations business and into the ever growing world of privacy while still pursuing other entrepreneurial passions would be ideal.

• If you started your business again, what things would you do differently? (if you wouldn’t do anything different, why not) Hindsight is 20/20 and if you play the butterfly effect too much you’ll drive yourself insane with would’ve, could’ve. Should’ve’s. The only thing is I would’ve bought all ETH when it came out and all BTC in 2009 and sold it all in Q1 2022 and then started a foundation to donate to change the world for the better in orders of magnitude.

• What are the top 3 online tools and resources you’re currently using to grow your company? (other than your own. Please insert links – Do explain why you’re recommending them) I’m a big fan of Serpwoo.com which a friend of mine developed and I helped consult with feedback at the earliest of stages. It’s a search engine ranking placement tracker to see where your target keywords for clients are rising or falling. Spreedly is a charging and CRM tool that’s become very helpful and I’ve had the pleasure of meeting the team at their headquarters in Raleigh North Carolina right next to where Google is located, and I’m a big fan of Google’s suite of products from spreadsheets, to docs, to presentations.

• What’s a productivity tip you swear by? There’s method to the madness and everybody has their own way of getting things done. You don’t need strict conformity as long as you produce. If somebody doesn’t come around in the early stages however it’s best to cut bait as bad habits are hard to change and it’s hard to unteach laziness.

1. Can you recommend one book, one podcast, and one online course for entrepreneurs? (other than your own. Please insert links – Do explain why you’re recommending them) I’ve become a big fan of the All In Podcast with Jason Calcanis, David Sachs, Friedberg, and Chamath which gives a great perspective on what’s happened in the world that week with advice from seasoned Venture Capitalists, tech experts, and they conversate in a manner that makes you feel like you can chime in.

1. If you only had $1000 dollars to start a new business, knowing everything you know now, how would you spend it? (Third Most Important to readers – Assume you have a laptop and unlimited wifi) A re-seller of tech services doing white label services and software would be the way to start. There’s a lot of great stacks out there that don’t have great marketing teams and sales people. I’d get permission to be a re-seller, create a website, setup a small targeted ad campaign, and pick up the phone and start calling prospects to start generating revenue. From there you can build and build. When I started out in the structured settlement industry we essentially had affiliate partners and were excellent marketers that outgrew our partners. I would aim to do the same if I was down to my last $1,000. 

• What helps you stay driven and motivated to keep going in your business? When you do what you love it’s not work. It’s true for entrepreneurs and as long as you continue to face challenges, problems, and can find unique ways to resolve them it keeps things fun and exciting.

What is your favorite quote?  Almost every day there’s great quotes that I’m spreading on twitter. Today that quote is from Abraham Lincoln: “Focus on Common Humanity, Not Small Group Identities”

1. What valuable advice would you give new entrepreneurs starting out? (Your chance to convince the reader to take action now) Don’t ever be afraid to take chances and think that the time isn’t now. There is never the best time it’s you who makes the time right and you who says the time is not now. Choosing later delays the inevitable.

1. Who should we interview next and why? Jason Calcanis from This week in Startups.

• What is your definition of success? Happiness & Freedom. I was staying at the Four Seasons in Washington, D.C. last year and the Cleveland Cavaliers had their entire basketball team staying there. As they got off the bus the manager was directing the players on where to walk in a single file line, they all had to be masked up, and they all had to dress in an appropriate and approved manner. As I strolled around not being required to wear a mask, wearing whatever I want, and walking my dog in whichever direction he chose to walk, I realized that as an entrepreneur you have more freedom than some of the highest paid athletes in sport leagues who are wildly successful but still have a large set of rules they need to follow if they want to get paid. That to me is just one of many ways I can measure my success.

• How do you personally overcome fear? I try not to stress because it’s not healthy and I strive to live a very health-conscious lifestyle. Things are never as bad as it seem when you take a step back and work through problems calm, cool, and collected. 

• How can readers get in touch with you? (No Bullet points URLs, please answer like you were talking to someone. only share info you want people to use. no phone numbers) If you’re intrigued by my thought patterns and would like to connect then show me a creative way to connect and drop a line. I’m always looking at new ventures and have invested in numerous businesses over the last decade.

Top New York Times Stories from 2022

Here are some really great stories handpicked from the New York Times editors looking back on 2022. This is copied and pasted from the morning newsletter.

 

Good reads

Whales rarely sing more loudly than war.

In the fight for finite reader attention, big stories win: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Queen Elizabeth II’s death and rare protests in China. But this news, while important, can overshadow good stories — about whales passing their songs to each other across oceans, lyric poetry at M.M.A. fights or the fading art of embalming.

So like we have in years past, the Morning team asked editors around the Times newsroom for the articles, podcasts and videos that didn’t get the attention they deserved this year. These are their selections.

Enjoy these 25 stories:

The world’s longest-running tattoo business draws saints in Jerusalem. Try the “joy workout.” Raccoons are like high school students: The shy ones come out ahead in the long run. Motorcycles race at impossible angles on a carnival’s Wall of Death. (We loved these photos.) A case for falling back in love with the Walkman. “I believe in Jesus, guns and babies”: More than 100 Republican midterm ads used firearms to galvanize voters. A poetry festival celebrating a fading language drew stadium-size crowds in India. New York City officials released a video on how to survive a nuclear attack. It was poorly received. YouTubers are highlighting the vanishing role of Black people in horse racing. These charts show how far the Supreme Court has shifted to the right. Rock climbing is drawing tourists to Malawi. A professor spreads the hashtag #yes2meat, pushing back against climate science. The meat industry is funding his work. A police chief is pushing to take over a public library in a central California farming town.

Car redesign has changed Formula 1. The owners of the celebrity-packed Carbone in New York are trying to replicate their restaurant’s success on (almost) every continent. He set aside just 30 minutes for his first meeting with a woman who, unknown to him, was an Ethiopian princess. This year, they married.

A stainless steel fence is a status symbol for some Asian homeowners in New York. The Daily Wire is trying to turn Nashville into a Hollywood for conservatives. Hundreds of school counselors describe how the pandemic has gripped children with anxiety. Is Hollywood regressing after its #MeToo reckoning? A Black community thrived for decades despite segregation and economic hardship. Could residents rebuild after a wildfire? Listen to conversations with Afghan girls about life under Taliban rule.

Barbara Kingsolver wrote an Appalachian elegy — hillbillies not included. This is what it’s like to navigate the internet with limited vision. Soft launch your relationship on social media.

Find your clients pain point

Go into a sales meeting and find that client's pain point as quickly as possible. Once you've found that prospect's deepest need it is important to show how you would be able to fulfill and fix those pain points. This is what top sales people and hustlers work towards.

The second part is ensuring that you are able to execute on the delivery part of the process and satisfy the clients needs. Merely convincing people you can help them isn't going to cut it long term. Of course you could one or two times or a bit more but its not a sustainable model. If it's a physical product you are selling you certainly do not want the headache of constant complaints, returns, canceled sales, and all of the other headaches that come with selling a sub-par or not as advertised product. Now with the increased chance of a recession those things will just grow. It's bad enough without financial meltdowns and it will only grow if you don't fix your product or service during a recession. Purchase and provide the best possible solutions. 

Sam Bankman-Fried's Indictment Full Document Download

The great fall from grace FTX and Alameda Founder Sam Bankman-Fried was indicted today by the Southern District of New York (SDNY). Below is the document that can be a bit hard to find online as most news outlets and places have coverage of the arrest in the Bahamas but do not share the full "sealed" 14 page document for the United States of America vs. Sam Bankman Fried aka SBF

 

You can download the full copy here:

Download U.s._v._bankman-fried_indictment_0

 

An HTML version of the text is below:

F theUN工TED STATES D工STRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

 

UNITED STATES OF AMER工CA

- V.   -

SAMUEL BANKMAN-FRIED,

a/k/a  "SBF,11

Defendan七．

 

SEALED 工ND工CTMENT

22 Cr.

汇｝缰1胄 6 7 3

X

COUNT ONE

 

(Conspiracy七o Commi七 Wire Fraud on Cus七omers)

The.Grand Jury Charges:

1. From a七 leas七 in or abou七 2019, up 七o and including土n or abou七 November 2022, in 七he Sou七hern Dis七rict of New York, 、and elsewhere, SAMUEL BANKMAN-FRIED, a/k/a "SBF," 七he defendan七， and远hers known  and· unknown,  willfully  and  knowingly  did.  combine,

 

conspire, confedera七e, and_agree 七oge七her a·n-·气，d w一让一

 

h each o七her 七o

 

．  一

commi七 wire fraud, in violation of Ti七le 18, Uni七ed S七a七es Code, Sec七ion 1343.

2. 工七 was a part and objec七 of 七he conspiracy 七ha七 SAMUEL BANKMAN-FRIED, a/k/a "SBF," 七he defendan七， and o七hers known and unknown, knowingly having devised and in七ending 七o devise a scheme and ar七ifice 七o defraud, and for ob七aining money and proper七y by means of false and fraudulen七 pre七enses, representa七ions, and promises, wou-ld and did 七ransmi七 and cause 七o be 七ransmi七七ed by means of wire, radio, and 七elevision communica七ion in in七ers七a七e

 

and些reign    commerce,_ wri七ings,    signs_, si_gnals,      pictures,     and s9unds for七he_ purl?ose of                       execu七ing such scheme and artifice,            in violation of Ti七le 18,                    Uni七ed S七a七es Code, Sec七ion 1343,七o wi七， BANK阳证FRIED agreed with o七hers七o defraud cus七orners of                                FTX.com by        misappropria七ing七hose                       cus七orners'deposi七s      and using丘ose

deposi七S 七o· pay expenses and deb七s of   Alameda     esearch, BAN阳屯怼 FRIED'-s proprietary cryp七o hedge fund, and七o make inves七men七s.

(Title 18, Uni七ed S七a七es Code, Section 1349.)

COUNT TWO

(Wire Fraud on Cus七omers) The Grand Jury further                              charges:

3. From a七leas七in or abou七2019, up to and including in

or abou七November  2022, in the Sou七hern Dis七ric七of          New York and elsewhere,             SAMUEL     BANKMAN-FR工ED,      a/k/a    "SBF,"七he                        defendan七， knowingly        having                  devised         and in七ending七o     devise     a    scheme  and ar七ifice-七o defraud, and for ob七aining money- and proper七y by means of                false  an_dfraudulen七pre七enses, represe 七a七ions  and promises, 七ransmi七七ed and caused 七o be                七ransmi七七ed by means of   wire, radio, and七elevision communica已on in in七ers七ate and    foreign commerce, writings, signs,            signals, pic七ures, and sounds for七he purpose of execu七ing such scheme and ar七ifice,七o wi七，BANKMAN-FR工ED, along

w让：h  o七hers,       engaged in  a scheme to defraud  cus七omers of     FTX.com

by   misappropria七ing     those    cus七omers'deposi七s,      and  using七hose

 

depos斗七旦七o pay expen 竺� and deb七s of_ Alameda Research, BANKMAN­ FRIED's proprie七ary  cryp七o  hedge  fund,  and七o  make inves七rnen七s.

(Ti七le 18,  Uni七ed  S七a七es  Code,  Sec七ions  1343 and 2.)

COUNT THREE

(Conspiracy七o Cammi七Wire Fraud on Lenders) The Grand Jury fur七her charges:

4. From a七leas七in or abou七June 2022, up七o and including in or abqut November 2022, in the Sou七hern Dis七ric七of New York, and elsewhere, SAMUEL BANKMAN-FRIED, a/k/a "SBF,"七he defendant,

and o七hers known and unknown, willfully andknowingly did combine, conspire,                        confed甲ra七e,    and   agree七ogether     and w江h each o七her七o

commi七wire fraud, in viola七ion of           Ti七le 18,    Uni七ed S七a七es Code, Sec七ions 1343.

5. 工七 was a par七 and objec七of   七he conspiracy 七ha七 SAMUEL BANKMAN-FR工ED,     a/k/a "SBF,"    the defendan七，and o七hers known and unknown, knowingly having devised and in七ending七o devise a scheme and ar七ifice七o defraud,                                  and.for      ob七aining money and proper七y by means       of                      false                       and fraudulen七．pre七enses, represen七a七ions, and promises,.would and did七ransmi七and                cause七o be transmitted by means of      wire, radio,               and七elevision communica七ion in in七ers七a七e and       foreign      commerce,                            wri七ings,                       signs,  signals, pic七ures,  and sounds for七he purpose of                   execu七ing such scheme and ar七ifice, in viola七ion of Ti七le 18,           Uni七ed S七a七es Code, Section 1343,七o wi七， BAN叩-FR工ED agreed wi七h      o七hers七o          defraud lenders七o        Alameda

 

Research,_ BANKMAN:-FRIED's proprie七ary cryp七o hedge fund, by providing false and misleading informa七ion七o七hose lenders regarding Alameda Research's  financial  condi七ion.

(Title 18, Uni七eds七a七es Code, Section 1349.)

COUNT FOUR

(Wire Fraud on Lenders) The Grand Jury fur七her                                       charges:

6. From a七leas七in or abou七2019, up七o and including in or abou七November 2022, in七he Sou七hern Dis七ric七of New York and elsewhere,                          SAMUEL BANKMAN-FRIED,  a/k/a             "SBF,,,七he           defendan七， knowingly       having          d vised   and in七ending七o de;ise a scheme      and artifice七o defraud, and for                   ob七aining money and proper七y by means of       false and fraudulen七pre七enses, represen七ations and promises, 七ransmi七七ed and    caused 七o be                    七ransmi七七ed by means of         wire, radio, and七elevision communica七ion in in七ersta七e and foreign commerce, wri七ings, signs, signals, pie七ures, and sounds for七he purpose of execu七ing such scheme and ar七ifice,                 to wi七，BANKMAN-FRIED,        along wi七h o七hers,    engaged in            a scheme七o              defraud lenders七o Alameda Research,   BANKMAN-FRIED's     proprietary       cryp七o  hedge  fund,  by providing  false  and misleading  informa七ion七o七hose  lenders

regarding Alameda Research's financial      condition.

(Ti七le 18,  Uni七ed  S七a七es  Code,  Sec七ions  1343 and 2.)

 

COUNT FIVE

-(Conspiracy 七o Co玉血ic Commodities  Fraua)

The Grana Jury fur七her charges:

7. From a七leas七in or abou七2019, up七o and including in or about November 2022, in the Sou七hern Dis七ric七of New York, and elsewhere, SAMUEL BANKMAN-FRIED, a/k/a "SBF," the defendan七，and

心ers  known  and  unknown,  willfully  and knowingly  did  combine,

conspire, confedera七e, and agree toge七her and wi七h each o七her七o commi七an  offense  agains七the  Uni七ed  S七a七es,七o wit,  commodi七ies

fraud, in viola七ion of T 七le 7, Uni七eds七a七es Code, Sec七ions 9(1) and 13(a) (5), and T江le 17, Code of F鱼deral Regula已ons, Sec巨on 180.1.

8. 工七was a  par七and an objec七of  七he  conspiracy七ha七SAMUEL

BANKMAN-FRIED,    a/k/a    "SBF,"七he   defendan七，and  o七hers  known and unknown,                             willfully     an knowingly,          would  and       did,     directly     and indirec七 us mploy,            and_ a七七emp七七o use  and      emplo    - connec旦on         w让h             a                               swap,       a    contract                of  sale of          a commodi七yin in七ersta七e commerce, and for fu七ure delivery on and subjec七七o七he rules of       a registered en七让y, a manipula七ive and decep七ive device and con七rivance,                  in                      con七raven七ion  of         Ti七le 17,  Code of Federal Regulations,  Sec七ion  18 o.1,   by:  (a)  using  and  employing,  and a七七emp七ing 七o use  and  employ, a manipula七ive device, scheme, and ar豆fice 七o defraud; (b) making, and a七七emp七ing to make, an un七rue and misleading s七a七emen七of a material fac七and omi七七ing 七0  S七a七e

 

a ma七erial    fac七necessary in order to make七hes七atemen七s made no七 untrue and misleading; and (c)  engaging, and at七emp七ing七o engage in     an act, prac七ice,      and course of business,             which              opera七ed    and would opera七e as a frau                             and decei七upon a person,  in viola豆on of Ti七le 7,                Uni七ed S七a七es Code, Sec巨ons  9 (1)                         and 13 (a) (5),七o wi七， BANKMAN平R工ED agreed wi七h o七hers七o defraud cus七omers of   FTX.com七rading        or -in七ending                to                  trade       swaps by misappr':p豆a七ing七hose

customers'depos江sand using七hose deposi七S七o pay expenses and deb七s of Alameda Research_, BANKMAN-FR工ED's proprietary cry产o hedge fund, and七o make inves七men七s.

9. In furtherance  of  the  conspiracy  and七o  effec七七he

illegal objec七七hereof,七he following over七ac七，among others, was

commi七七e_d in 七he Southern Dis七ric七of    New York  and elsewhere:  in

or     abou七June      2022,      SAMUEL BANKMAN-FRIED,    a/k/a      "SBF,"七he

｀

defendan七·，a-nd -0七-her-s m-lsa-pp王-2p-ria七-ed FTX. com cus七omer  depos1ts in                  o;der七o,                         a;ong     o七her七hings,      sa芦百fy  loan obligati;ns   owed by

Alameda Research.

(Ti七le  18,     Uni七ed S七a七es Code, Sec七ion 3 71.)

COUNT SIX

(Conspiracy七o Commi七Securi七ies Fraud) The Grand Jury fur七her                                        charges:

10. From a七leas七in or abou七May 2022, up to and including

in or abou七November    2022, in七he Sou七hern Dis七rict    of   New York, and elsewhere,                                    SAMUEL BANKMAN-FR工ED,    a/k/a  "SBF,"七he  defendan巳

 

and others  known and  unknown,  willfully andknowingly did combine,

-                                 -      -

conspire, confedera七e, and agree七oge七her and w迂h each other七o comrni七an offense agains七七he Uni七ed S七a七es,七o wi七，securi七ies fraud in viola七ion of Ti七le 15, Uni七ed S七a七es Code, Sec七ions 78j (b) and  78ff,  and· Ti七le  17,. Code  of  Federal  Regula豆ons,  Sec七ion

240.lOb-5.

11. 工七was a par七and an objec七of 七he conspiracy七hat SAMUEL BANKMAN- FRIED, a/k/a "SBF, "七he defendan七，and o七hers known and unknown, willfully and knowingly would and did, direc七ly and indirec七ly, by use of a means and instrumen七ai让y of inters七a七e commerce and of七he  mails,  and of  a  facili七y  of  a  na七ional securi七ies exchange, use and employ, in connection wi七h the purchase andsale of a securi七yregis七ered on a na已onal securities exchange and any securi七y not so regis七ered, a manipula七ive and decep七ive device and con七rivance, in vio1a七ion of Ti七 e 17,  Code of Federal Regula巨OJ?-S, Sec七ion 240.lOb-5, by: (a) employing a device,  scheme,·  and  artifice七o  defraud;  (b) making  an  un七rue

S七a七emen七of    ma七erial    fac七and  omi七七ing   七0      S七a七e   a    ma七erial    fac七 necessary   in   order七o   make七he             s七a七ernen七s   made,             in七he     ligh七of七he   circums七ances   under   which七hey   were  made,   no七rni.sleading;   and

(c)  engaging in an ac七，prac七ice,  and course of  business which opera七ed and would opera七e as a fraud and.decei七upon a person, in viola七ion of Ti七le 15,  Uni七ed S七a七es Code, Sec七ions 78j (b) and 78ff,七o  wi七，BANKMAN-FR工ED agreed  wi七h  o七hers七o  engage  in  a

 

scheme-to    defraud   inves七ors in    FTX. com by providing     false     and mislead ng                          informa七ion     to     those    inves七ors regarding   FTX. com's financial                       condi七ion.

12. In fur七herance of七he conspiracy and七o effec七七he illegal objec七．七hereof,七he following overt ac七，among o七hers, was commi七七ed in 七he Sou七hern Dis七ric七of New York and elsewhere: on or abou七Sep七ember 18, 2022,_SAMUEL BANKMAN-FRIED, a/k/a'.'SBF,"七he defendan七，caused an email七o be sen七七o an FTX inve s七or in New York, New York七ha七con七ained ma七erially false informa七ion abou七FTX's financial condi七i

(Ti七le 18, Uni七ed S七a七es Code, Sec七ion 371.)

COUNT SEVEN

(Conspiracy七o Commi七Money Laundering} The Grand Jury fur七her                                       charges:

13. From a七least in or abou七2020,  up七o and including in

．一

or abou七November    2022, in七he Sou七he工n Dis七ri_c七of New York, and

elsewhere, ·SAMUEL BANKMAN-FR工ED, a/k/a "SBF,"七he defendan七，and 0七hers known and unknown, in七en七ionally and knowingl_y did combine, conspire, confedera七e, and agree七oge七her and wi七h each o七her七o viola七e Ti七le 18,  Uni七ed S七a七es Code, Sec七ions 1956 (a) (1) (B) (i)

and 1957(a).

14. 工七was a par七and an objec七of 七he conspiracy tha七SAMUEL BANKMAN-FR工ED, a/k/a "SBF,"七he defendan七，．and o七hers known and unknown, in  an offense  in  and af feeting  in七ers七a七e  and  foreign

 

commerce,  knowing七ha七七he  proper七y  involved  in  a  financial七ransac七ion,七o wi七，one or more mone七ary七ransfers, represen七ed七he proceeds of some form of unlawful ac七iv让y, would and did conduc七and a七七emp七七o conduc七such a financial七ransac七ion, which in  fac七involved七he  proceeds  of  specified  unlawful  ac七ivity,七o

wi七，七he wire fraud· alleged in Count Two of this Indic七men七， knowing七ha七七he七ransac七ion was designedfn w ole and in par七七o

conceal and disguise七he na七ure,七he loca旦on,七he source,七he ownership, and the con七;ol of七he proceeds of specified unlawful ac七ivi七y, in viola七ion of Ti七le 18, Uni七ed S七a七es Code, Sec七ion 1956 (a) (1) (B) (i).

15. 工七 was a    fur七her    par七 and  an  objec七 of    七he   conspiracy

七ha七SAMUEL-BANKMAl炉FRIED, a/k/a "SBF,"七he defendan七，and o七hers known      and                unknown,                  wi七hin七he         Uni七ed     S七a七es,      would      and     did

knowingly�虚莘e  and旦七七竺巴pt    七o eng旦ge    in  a mone七ary＿一七ransac己on                

in criminally derived property of  a value grea七er七han $10,000 and七ha七was derived from specified.unlawful ac七iv迂y,七0 W江，七he wire fraud alleged in Coun七Two of七his工ndic七ment, in viola七ion of ·Ti七le 18,  Uni七ed S七a七es Code, Section 1957(a).

(Ti七le 18,  Uni七ed S七a七es Code, Sec七ion 1956 (h).)

 

y

COUNT E工GHT

(Consp正ac     七o Defraud 七he Uni七ed S七a七es 云五d- Violate 七he Campaign Finance Laws)

The  Grand Jury  fur七her  Charges:

16. From a七leas七in or about 2020, up七o and including in or abou七November 2022, in七he Sou七hern Dis七ric七of New York, and elsewhere, SAMUEL BANKMAN-FRIED, a/k/a "SBF,"七he defendan七，and远hers known and unknown, knowingly did combine, conspire, confedera七e, and agree toge七her and w迂h each o七her七o defraud七he United State百，in viola七ion of Ti七le 18,  Uni七ed S七a七es Code, Sec七ion  371,  and willfully and knowingly did  combine,  conspire,

confedera七e,     and agree七oge七her    and    w迂h   each o七her七o    comrni七 offenses                            against七he. United S七a七es by engaging in           viola巨ons       of federal law involving七he making, receiving,               andrepor七ing of            a con七ribu七ion, donation, or expendi七ure, in viola七ion of Ti七le 52,

                       _U_n_i_t d _SJ;召旦七es Code, 30109 (d) (1) (A) & (D) .                                                             

17. 工七 was par七and anobjec七of 七he conspiracy 七ha七SAMUEL BANKMAN平R工ED, a/k/a "SBF,"七he defendant, and others known and unknown, would and did defraud七he Uni七ed S七a七es, and  an  agency七hereof,  by impairing, obs七ruc七ing, and  def ea七ing七he  lawful func七ions of a depar七m_ent and agency of the Uni七ed S七a七es七hrough

decei七ful and dishones七means,七o wi七，七he Federal Elec七ion Commission's function七o adminis七er federal law concerning source and_amoun七res七ric七ions  in federal  elec七ions,  including七he prohib江ions  applicable  to cor:12.ora七e  con七ribu七ions  and  condui七

10

 

con七ribu七ions,      in     viola七ion      of     Ti七le     18,     Uni七ed   S七a七es  Code, Sec七ion 371.

18. I七was a  fur七her  par七and  objec七of七he  conspiracy七ha七 SAMUEL BANKMAN-FR工ED, a/k/a "SBF,"七he defendan七，and o七hers known and unknown,     would and             did      knowingly           and              willfully make contribu七ions七o candida七es for             federal         office,    join七fundraising commi七七ees, and independent expendi七ure committees in 七he names of

0七her  persons,  aggrega七ing七o $25,000 and more in a calendar year, in viola七ion of Ti七le 52,  United s七ates Code, Sec七ions 30122 and 30109 (d) (1) (A) & (D).

19. 工七 was a    fur七her par七and objec七of  七he conspiracy 七ha七 SAMUEL BANKMAN-FRIED, a/k/a "SBF,"七he defendan七，and others known and unknown,        would             and    did           knowingly     and willfully                make con七ribu七ions七o                    candidates        for federal                  office               and     join七

fundrai sing�i七七�� _1::>y_• a corpora旦on,  aggrega七ing 七o $25,000

and more  in  a calendar  year,  in  viola七ion  of  Ti七le- 52,  Uni七ed S七a七es Code, Sec七ions 30118 and 30109 (d) (1) (A).

11

 

20. In fur七herance of七he     conspira,cy    and   to     effec七七he illegal objec七S七hereof,    the  following over七act,                                  among o七hers, was commi七七ed in the Sou七hern Distric七of New York and elsewhere: in or abou七2022, SAMUEL BANKMAN-FR工ED a/k/a "SBF,"七he defendan七， and one or more o七her conspirators agreed七o and did make corpora七e

con七ribu七ions    七o    candida七es    and     commi七七ees    in      七he    Sou七hern Dis七ric七of                              New York飞hat     were.repor七ed土n七he  name  of     ano七her

person.

(Ti七le 18,      Uni七eds七a七es.Code, Sec七ion 371.) FORFEITURE ALLEGATIONS

21. As a resul七of comrni七七ing七he offenses alleged in Counts One, Two, Three, and Four of七his工ndic七men七，SAMUEL BANKMAN - FR工ED, a/k/a "SBF,"七he  defendan七，shall  forfei七七o七he  Uni七ed

 

Sta七es,         pursuan七        七o

 

Ti七le

 

18,

 

Uni七ed         S七a七es         Code,

足ec七ion 98:L(a)_(1._LJ_Q)      and         Title

 

28      United      §_七a仁es        Cod色

 

Sec七ion 2461(c),  any   and   all      proper七y,    real and personal,七ha七 cons七itu七es or is derived from proceeds七raceable七o七he commission of        said offenses, including bu七no七limi七ed七o a sum of_ mon至yin United    S七a七es          currency    represen七ing七he         amoun七of proceeds七raceable七o七he commission of              said offenses.

22. As a resul七 of commi七七ing the offense alleged in Coun七 Seven of七his Indic七men七，SAMUEL BANKMAN-FR工ED,                              a/k/a "SBF,"七he defendan七，shall                     forfei七七o七he Uni七ed States, pursuan七．七o Title 18, Uni七ed Sta七es Code, Sec七ion 982(a) (1), any           and.all                                       proper七y,

12

 

real  and personal,  involved  in  said  offense,  or  any  property七raceable to such proper七y, including bu七not limi七ed七o a sum of money in United States currencyrepresen七ing the amoun七of proper七y involved  in  said  offense.

23. If any of七he above-descri forfei七able property, as a resul七of                      any ac七or                 omission of七he defendan七：（a)· c_anno七be loca七ed                  upon七he              exercise      of      due     diligence;        (b)     has     been七ransferred or s ld七o, or deposi七ed with, a七hird person;                                     (c)• has been placed                            beyond七he                   jurisdic旦on      of七he     Cour七； （d)  has     been subs七an七ially diminished in value; or  (e) has been commingled with 0七her proper七y which canno七be      subdivided wi七hout difficulty;· it is七he inten七of七he Uni七ed S七a七es,               pursuan七七o Ti七le 21,         Uni七ed S七a七es    Code,            Sec七ion   853(p)                     and Title 28, United S七ates  Code, Sec七ion  2461(c),七o  seek forfei七ure  of  any o七her  proper七y of七he defendau七—up—区切evalue of七he_above forfe让able p兰9P互习3攻·

(Ti七le  18,     United S七a七es  Code, Sec七ion  982;

Title  21, Uni七ed S七a七es  Code,  Section  853; and

Ti七le  28,     united  S七a七es  Code,  section 24·61.)

庆沪～h”“佐＾

DAMIAN WIL荨AMS

Uni七ed  S七a七es  A七七orney

13

 

Form No. USA-33s-274    (Ed.  9-25-58)

 

UN工TED STATES DISTR工CT COURT SOUTHERN D工STRICT OF NEW YORK

 

UNITED STATES OF AMER工CA

-      V.        -

SAMUEL BANKMAN-FRIED,

a/k/a  "SBF,"

Defendan七．

 

SEALED INDICTMENT

22 Cr.

(Ti七le 7, United S七a七es Code, sec七ions 9 (1) and 13 (a) (5); Title 17, Code of

，

Federa·1 Regula七ions, Sec七ion 180.1; Ti七le

15,  Uni七ed  S七a七es  Code,  Sec七ions  78j (b)     and

78ff; T让le 17, Code of Federal Regula七ions, Sec七ion 240.lOb-5; Ti七le 18,

Uni七ed  S七a七es  Code,  Sec七ions  371,  1343,

一1-34-9,- 195·6丁－and—士95-7--;-Ti七l-e-52-, Bni七ed一 S七a七es  Code,  sec七ions  30118,  30122  and

30109(d)(l)(A)  & (D).)

DAMIAN WILL工AMS

Uni七ed  S七a七es  A七七orney

 

 

Astonishing Facts on the Fall of NFT Art

The NFT art world was all the rage in 2020, 2021, and part of 2022. As I publicly predicted in April of 2021 that the NFT craze would last into 2022 but expected it to fizzle out from it's peak. Sure enough my prediction rang true for the most part and I even helped invest into an NFT meets Metaverse game that is publicly launching now that we are seeing the market starting to rebound back after the FTX scandal and blowups.

So here are some interesting stats that appeared in one of my newsletters that popped up today:

Bored Ape Yacht Club surged to $346.1 million dollars just under a year ago in January of this year. Since then the sales fallen off a proverbial cliff with sales volume under $32 million dollars in September & October but now we are seeing a small rebound in November with that number doubling to almost $64 million in November of 2022. So at one point it was down around 90%. We also are now contending with lawsuits from plaintiffs who bought crypto coins only because celebrities backed and promoted them. This will greatly affect future celebrity endorsements and the legal jargon that will go with these future promotions. So thats why you may hear about Madonna, Steph Curry, Tom Brady, and other well known celebrities getting sued for something they promoted that may have been legitimate at the time but well... Thats how business goes with fads and trends. If the people made money were they going to donate more money to the celebrities that promoted these coins?

Other big NFT Drops are for NBA Top Shot, which is created by the Crypto Kitties family over at Dapper Labs in British Columbia. They used licensing agreements with the NBA to sell sports trading card clips and highlights from the NBA. This was a common sense NFT that made more sense than the majority of GIFs going around. Dapper saw sales volume top $200 million 21 and 22 months ago. Last month however it fell to $2.1 million. Seems to be in line with the 90% range of volume dropping or 10% of the peak numbers. Topps MLB NFT collection had $8.5 million in sales volume 19 months ago but by JJune 2021 they couldnt break $1 million in sales trading volume. NFL has also had a similar issue with numbers peaking in September of this year at $14.3 million.

So overall the peak NFT volumes has dried up but the lovers and users and innovators will stick around and create value that at some point we will have increased values but may never ever see the trading volumes that we saw over the past 24 months. So follow the trend but dont get stuck in it.

The History of Total Request Live

For a brief bit of nostalgia read this 2017 detailed writeup about TRL and how it was being revived (it didnt last): https://www.theringer.com/music/2017/10/2/16394708/trl-behind-the-scenes

Is SBF and FTX Blowup Similar to an insurance carrier blowing up in Florida

Reading through the New York Times discussing how Insurance carriers and claims are at an all time high in the 2010's. The biggest threat isn't neccessarily that we have more storms. To the contrary this year as we had the slowest August Hurricane season of all time this past 2022 summer. There was one big storm in Hurricane Ian that did the majority of the billions of dollars in damage this year and thats when the journalist claims that it's that we've had more growth in coastal areas with additional homes, cars, and businesses all being built up around the coast.

So knowing that an insurance company may be aggressive in trying get as much business as possible and collect premiums each month. So what if a catastrophic storm hits and the claims are so big that it wipes out an insurance company. Could this happen? Well yes it absolutely could and has and thats when either a re-insurance company or the federal government has to step in and backstop to ensure there's not a total loss for the population...

Thinking about the FTX and SBF liquidity crisis that caused it's insolvency is similar to a bank run but also similar to an insurance company taking it on the chin after a big hurricane and not being able to pay out. The difference is insurance companies are highly regulated and deal with customers who reside in the USA mostly. So are there similarities to an insurance carrier reinvesting funds and having trouble paying out after a devastating hurricane and the FTX blowup loaning money to Alameda without their clients consent?

My Buddy and Me

I subscribe to a 1980's and 1990's retro newsletter and he brought up the throwback My Buddy and Me. I remember getting this as a holiday gift 33 years ago next month. Seems that the marketing idea behind it was to have a catchy kids jingle and well it worked to attract young boys like myself at the time. Good design, catchy tunes, and marketing was an 80's marketing ploy for success.

For the commercial I used to watch back in Owings Mills, Maryland see below:

 

 

This Week in Tech Updates from Richart Ruddie

Google ads and Google as a company is finally getting serious about privacy. They've been tightening up and making changes to Analytics and working on a cookie free future and this past week they just released this announcement: "New data protection laws, which apply to the collection and processing of personal information, will be coming into effect in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, and Utah in 2023." While we're at it and dealing with privacy issues Google settled with 40 out of 50 states here over tracking issues and is paying a few hundred million in fines. Read about the not so not evil company practices here: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/11/google-settles-location-history-lawsuit-with-40-states-will-pay-392-million/ 

CBS News got off of Twitter for what they said was security purposes and then got back on a day later. It's been purported that their followers are fake or that they have extremely low engagement on Twitter and that may be to fraudulent followers or bots.

If you use Wix for SEO or have client sites that are created on Wix then this resource SEO guide released this week may also be helpful: https://www.wix.com/seo/learn/resource/manage-seo-edit-by-page

Sucuri is a popular wordpress plugin  and they have just uncovered a WIDESPREAD hack that appears to be designed to improve someone's SEO performance which is a tricky and clever hack to send malware using black hat hacking techniques. https://blog.sucuri.net/2022/11/massive-ois-is-black-hat-redirect-malware-campaign.html )

Artificial Intelligence news for the week courtesy of The University of Cambridge states that "claims AI can boost wordplace diversity are 'spurious and dangerous'"https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/claims-ai-can-boost-workplace-diversity-are-spurious-and-dangerous-researchers-argue  and here's some more cool AI News: https://www.engadget.com/mit-century-old-differential-equation-liquid-ai-computational-bottleneck-160035555.html 

QUANTA MAGAZINE PROFILES A NEW "energy-efficient [AI] chip" that promises to revolutionize chip design and artificial inteligence research https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-brain-inspired-chip-can-run-ai-with-far-less-energy-20221110/ ). The chips use (relatively newly developed) Resistive RAM memory and the chips are called NeuRRAM (neuromorphic resistive RAM). These memory chips operate in ANALOG rather than DIGITAL mode, which is revolutionary. Analog computers predate digital computers but they didn't have memory systems like RAM.

Now companies are laying off en masse and doing a RIF which means a Reduction in Force or workforce for those who keep on hearing about these RIF's and had wondered what the acronym meant.  These companies over-hired during the pandemic, expecting a much larger economic bounce back that was pent up with money flooded into the system and for the last year we've been bearing the outpouring of that money.

So what does the future hold? Whatever you make of it.

Is Mogul Press a Scam? Vertabyte Scam By Nabeel Ahmad & Susan Roberts

You may have received a bunch of spam lately from an email Trymogulpress.com from a fictictious name Susan Roberts. The owner of Mogul Press Nabeel Ahmad has hired really bad sales people in David Wilder or Mogul Press is just one giant scam like the other 50 emails a day we receive from link sellers and blog posters who want to sell us the same blog links.

After receiving this email below where Mogul Press is illegally scrapping Linkedin something that other scrappers just got sued for doing the same practice as you can read about here: https://news.linkedin.com/2022/february/taking-legal-action-to-protect-members-against-scraping

Susan's email said the following:

From:

[email protected]

Just came across your profile on LinkedIn, and thought I would reach out to talk about some extremely unique opportunities for you and your business.

I represent a PR firm called Mogul Press. We work with top entrepreneurs to help them literally transform their personal brand and business, by offering many powerful services:

- Features on major publications (Forbes, Entrepreneur, etc)
- Interviews on huge TV shows and podcasts
- Social media verification (blue tick) and Wikipedia page creation
- Roadmap for awards (Forbes 30 Under 30, etc), and speaking engagements (TEDx)

We literally offer guaranteed placements in the shortest possible time frames, something no one else in this industry offers.

Press is a very powerful tool. It helps you build your personal brand, position yourself as an expert authority or thought leader in your industry, build brand credibility and social proof, use authority logos on your websites and marketing materials, improve your Google search presence, close more deals, and if leveraged strategically, it can 10x your business within days.

PR is a natural and necessary step for anyone looking to take their personal brand and business to the next level. 

Would you be down for a call, so we can discuss this in detail, and see if we’re a good fit to work together?

Best Regards,
Susan Roberts
Head of Marketing, Mogul Press

P.S: If you are not interested, or don't want me to email you again, please reply and let me know about that as well.

After scheduling a call and receiving numerous text messages but 0 responses to our questions about Mogul Press's service we got vague responses from a David Wilder who seems to have no idea what he's doing IMO based on his bizarre answers. In addition he provided an invalid link for the call and does not answer his phone at the time of appointment. He could not answer about placements outside of what the usual spam emails send out daily.

Is Nabeel Ahmad a Fraud or Fake Person?

If you've been to India then you should know that the Indians and Pakistani's aren't the best of friends but yet his Crunchbase profile says that he is located in Lahore, Punjab, and Pakistan and runs a digital marketing agency called Vertabyte and a company called Skyray ventures. You must be weary and careful of these types of online scams and fake public relations agencies that sell the same junk blog posts.

If Nabeel Ahmad is real and can make up for the waste of time we suffered from David Wilder and Susan Roberts than I will be glad to delete this page.

Richart Ruddie Quote of the Day

Sometimes you hear a good quote and you want to jot it down so you don't forget it. Today's quote of the day for Tuesday November 15th, 2022 is:

"Life really teaches you how to live it if you can live it long enough"

Great Advice from MJ Demarco

Do you ever read a book and think wow I should be friends with this person? Thats how I felt in 2011 after reading The Fastlane book by MJ Demarco. Today the fastlane forum is still alive and well but the time to follow forums is so small these days but a quick newsletter read always provides great advice and tips. This week he covered loss aversion. Check out the bullet points below on how you can use loss aversion and fear appeals in your everyday business.

• People stick with jobs they hate. Because they fear the loss of status and stability. Even when they have the potential to earn more doing something else
• People tend to overvalue what they own. Because they relate selling with losing (the endowment effect). So yes, Tyler Durden was right. The things you own end up owning you
• Investors sell their winning positions but keep the losing ones forever. Because they don't want to realize the loss
•  People try to cover their mistakes even when it's inadvertent. Because they fear the loss of credibility. The audit firm Arthur Andersen that caused the Enron Scandal was not convicted of securities fraud — but of shredding tons of documents to cover up its errors and avoid potential fines
• Organizations resist change. Because the potential losers of the change are always louder than the potential winners

If you are a business book reader than read his book or Richart Ruddie's The Creatures You meet at the bar for a good laugh but don't expect to get any business advice from it. Every company is a mess but be less of a mess in the building stages of your company. To get to a term sheet convince the VC to invest post due diligence and as long as everything you said was correct you should be able to close your round. Trust is the foundation of every single relationship personal or professional so get an introduction from somebody who has that current trust.

 

 

-Richart Ruddie

Richart Ruddie Art Market Statistic

Fun art market statistic to mull over when thinking about it from an investment stand point:

The 100 most expensive pieces of art work re-sold at approximately $3 billion. While thats a gigantic number it equates to only .00025% of all the art market transactions between auctions, gallery sales, and art fair sales. That $3 billion number though is half of 1% .5% of the entire art market. The artists are also almost entirely dominated by USA, Europe, Russia, and China. Yayoi Kusama is one of the biggest outliers who helps to skew the market a little bit in terms of diversity. 

Richart Ruddie on the importance of Culture

Culture is great not just for business but for learning the ways of the world. Thats why there is such an important emphasis to diversify your travels. Traveling around the world to new countries, cities, provinces/states, and continents that you only hear about in books or the internet growing up. When you do so you have the opportunity to learn about how other societies operate. 

When you experience a new city it's enlightening to meet people of different cultures, try their food, view their buildings and architecture, see the spirit of the people and this helps to change your perspective from potential subconscious biases you may have had previously. When you return and meet somebody from that culture or place you've visited you now have something to talk about and the ability to relate. Outside of reading books this is a great way to build knowledge, understandings of others, and traveling and eating are a great way to live life to the fullest. 

So if you follow my ZeeMap or Mapster showcasing all the places "Richart Ruddie" has been to know that there are so many more and yet so little time to make it to them all but if there's a will there is a way.

Rich Ruddie AI Future Playbook

AI is going to change the way we make graphic designs for blog posts, create art, nfts, create royalty free music and sound clips. There's so many positive benefits being created with the future of DALLE-2 and the AI revolution thats on the horizon. Here are a couple of cool references to check out and use:

https://app.inferkit.com/demo - This lets you put in subject matter and see how the machine writes a story around it.

Google CoLAb - This is the place to get started for Machine Learning and has a monthly fee.

Robert Bruce Carter covered an AI Jukebox where the Github list of 4,111 artists are compiled and used to make sound clips and music. You can see his story about it here.

For image creation on the fly you can register with OpenAI this is a game changer that is going to destroy the royalty image business overnight. Think about how the iPhone destroyed MP3 players. Who is going to want stock images of a team at work for a fee when they can generate it via AI in seconds and ensure it's unique and is not going to be recreated?

For fun I put in Richart Ruddie to see what images would be created in the OpenAI image generator and here is what it created:

As you can see I don't look like either men on the left or right and I don't have a sculpture or statue in a square but maybe it was focusing on Rich and Art? That could be the reasoning for the ship sailing. To determine if a photo is created via OpenAI look for the colors of the rainbow in the bottom right corner.

Since I'm an art collector and fan I typed in Picasso Painting on the Beach. The initial photos had an easel on the sand. A clear operator error that was adjusted to "a picasso painting of the beach" and this is what it generated:

Rich Ruddie on Relationships are negotiable

We have choices everyday in everything we do in life. If you decide to stay for a hurricane or flee. Do you tweet or go to lunch to meet a new business contact. Do you apply for that job or stay where you are. Every action or inaction can have substantial affects on how things in your life turn out. Most of the choices in our lives are fully negotiable. With negotiations our choices about what to do with your time is important. You only have 24 hours in a day so make the best use of your time as time is our most valuable commodity far and away. With more time you can fix and resolve almost anything.

Your relationship with time and what you choose and choose not to do is entirely negotiable and up to you.

-Rich Ruddie

Best Data Rooms when Doing an M&A Transaction

Data rooms take all shapes and designs when trying to figure out the best way to share your data when undergoing an M&A transaction. Some of the mid-level brokers and investment bankers I've noticed just default to Google Drive and Dropbox to share files. Here are 3 other good ones that come highly recommended:

https://digify.com/ - Document security to easily control access and distribution of your files and virtual data rooms. 

https://www.idealsvdr.com/ - Has offices in London, Hong Kong, and New York so fits the biggest locations for M&A transactions and bankers. Doesnt tell you the price on the site

https://www.datasite.com/us/en.html - Has a whole suite of services outside of just data room uploading and downloading.

Rex is Latin for King

While watching a clip about Queen Elizabeths funeral they talked about 500 royal dignitaries gathering on a bus to pay their respects. The random tidbit I learned was that Rex was latin for King and thus bridges Richard along with Rex as two names that signify King.

Perspetive on Game Developers in 2023

In 1990, almost one-third of households in the U.S. had a Nintendo

 

That was more than the number of households that had a computer, which was 23%.

 

Today 84% of households have a smartphone. If you're a game developer you have a bigger opportunity than Nintendo did 32 years ago. Given that you could start a game development company or make a game and launch it on Android and iOS stores you would be able to reach 84% of the U.S. population. For a nominal cost this is pretty astonishing the reach..

What Ever Happend to Evernote?

While we may be saying the same thing about clubhouse in 5 years. In 2011 I remember driving down the 101 in Santa Clara County in awe of all the big tech companies with their campuses or office buildings and EverNote was one of them. I never used the service till just now and hadn't heard about them nor have I seen their building in Silicon Valley recently but the website and app are still live so it's wading along somewhere I must assume.

IMDB Pro Profile Richart Ruddie

IMDB Pro is a place where actors, media, models, and those in the film business can create a profile and connect with others in the film industry. I published the Children's Book for Adults The Creatures You Meet at the Bar which you can find on Amazon and have done a few podcasts and interviews discussing entrepreneurship and business growth. IMDB Pro acts as a great place to find those interviews and database all of them. Here is the Richart Ruddie IMDB Pro Profile thats now live.

Amazon owns IMDB as well FWIW.

Richart Ruddie Recommendation MJ Demarco

The fast lane has the type of mentality and thinking that can drive great success in your career. As life leads to a few simple rules to follow. One of mine is remembering your ABC's not always be closing but always be calm, cool, and collected. So following the 3 C's MJ Demarco has the 3A's which are Act, Assess, and Adjust. In business you are always acting, looking at the results, and revamping. If you don't you can't innovate and grow.

"It's like rowing a boat in a river: The market is the river. Your actions are the rowing. Sure, you can fight the current, but the market currents will always give you clues on the best routes.  Bottomline, GET INTO THE RIVER and see where it might take you."

Now this is not to be confused with a market research paper that says by 2024 there will be 5 million people desiring this service. If Ford Motors did that in the 1900's they would've said more horse power and not from an automobile.

"If I asked what my customer's wanted, they would have said faster horses" -- Henry Ford.


Ozan Varol also has some great talking points

If you look at SpaceX and NASA Rocket scientists they take a very balanced Goldilocks approach to a failed rocket launch or mission that doesn't pan out. Instead of being discouraged they rub it off for the greater cause. So don't celebrate a failed experiment but don't let it block you from progressing.

So instead the saying is a spin off of facebook's move fast and break things or from Ozan "Lear Fast don't fail fast"

Approaching failure through curiosity, trial, and error. Breakthroughs are evolutionary yet not revolutionary. If you learn from all the updates, changes, and iterations while getting better with the updates you'll function like a growing app where each update or software improvement makes things better and patches old bugs. Look at what Apple has accomplished with capabilities on the iphone from 2008 to now.

Apple has not become complacment with their success either and continues to improve privacy, safety, and technological improvements that improve your user experience. You can still take the wrong approach or do things wrong and still succeed. You can also do everything right and fail especially when not everything is in your control.

After a success or failure ask these questions. What is it that you did correct and why did it work out this time? What went wrong and what are your most important lessons from the results. 

I'm big on principles and the continous micro improvements in life, business, and social settings. 

-Richart Ruddie

 

 

The Viewpoint For Tech Startups in Q4 2022

Saw this and thought it was interesting in how much a landscape can change in roughly 1 year. Again when you think about how much of the world can change and adapt in the course of 1 year things don't seem so drastic. This was a great excerpt that is helpful for viewing valuations, growth, and business models in the tech space in 2022 and beyond.

"Investors are moving away from "growth at any cost" towards "growth at a reasonable cost"... Of course, it also depends what stage you're at.

Bootstrapping a company until you get closer to the $20 million a year in recurring revenue and then look to take on private equity partners or outside funding. If you can target a goal where you end the year with zero profit and maximize growth to that point.  If you can show 5% cash EBIDTA and roughly 30% year over year growth.  

The big question to ask while on the journey is how much quicker can you grow with additional capital and leverage? If the answer is not astronomical it may be better especially with depressed valuations at the moment to grow smart and not raise outside funding. Of course this all reflects on the total addressable market size for your enterprise.

VC's at the end of the day though prize growth and that is valued much more than profitability with the caveat that you can turn the switch (think Amazon's ability to grow and switch to profitability when they want) and there needs to be "levers in place where you can relatively easily slow growth and increase profitability .

For example, a company which is growing at 40% with zero profit whose Customer Acquisition Cost to Average Sales Price ratio is off the charts (high) would likely not be seen nearly as favorably as one whose metrics are more reasonable... after all, if you were to spend $100k to acquire a new client who pays $20k per year... even with high retention.

If your growth has slowed down and your company is flat but you've maximized your profitability and you've managed to achieve 40% ebitda, then it's still a great company but the buyers' would likely be different (strategic or financial vs. growth equity buyer). In this scenario, both a strategic and growth equity values might be comparable but the financial buyer might be much less."

Macho Man Randy Savage

I've soared with the eagles and slithered with the snakes and everything in between. Nobody likes a quilter and if you get knocked down get back up and fight again becasue nobody likes a quitter. -Macho Man Randy Savage

This was what the WWF Wrestler said to Arsenio Hall in the early 90's when asked if he ever cried and he said no shame in showing emotion.

Dumb & Dumber Accuracy Fact About Aspen Police Car

While the Dumb & Dumber film was not actually filmed in Aspen, Colorado the directors do shoot for some accuracy. The hotel labeled "The Danbery" used in the movie was actually the Stanley Hotel located in Estes Park Colorado which is 200 miles away and 4 hours and 30 minutes by car if driving down to Aspen. The police cars used in Aspen, Colorado at the time were Saabs like the one pictured below:

.

After the villains Nicholas Andre and JP Shay get arrested at the end of Dumb & Dumber they are hauled away in a Saab Police car even though Estes Park, Colorado did not use Saab Police cars while Vail & Aspen Colorado did as you can verify for yourself in the clip below.

 

Andrew Chen Covers Some Trends Happening Now

It's a difficult landscape for many right now. The best entrepreneurs and companies can persevere and the weak ones will get swept up by the storm and taken out. Andrew Chen formerly of Instagram & Uber works for Andressen Horowitz now and covers great thought leadership angles in the venture capital world. In his latest newsletter he covers a myriad of complex trends that we've run into over the last 2 years.

While the world experienced a fundamental shift with covid-19 and the remote work trend that only accelerated and helped big tech, small tech, and emerging tech startups. Now the biggest hurdles for new products and advertisers is dealing with the Apple Privacy Changes on ad networks and the removal of some cookies with Google's ad-tech. Another trend popping up in 2022 is the stingy venture capital landscape where valuations are being cut in half so you have to do twice the amount of revenue to achieve the same valuation and in a downward cycle where inflation is on the rise and expenses are being cut that becomes quite difficult.

In addition Andrew Chen says that hiring freezes that are happening the big question mark behind the future of web3 and metaverse plays and how leaders will reinvent themselves similar to the smartphone and mobile app store boom we saw in the early 2010s. The new environment is rapidly taking shape and as Andrew says "it’s critical for teams to take a pause, figure out a new approach, and build towards the next boom."

If your idea is rejected don't give up

If your idea is rejected don't be upset. It's important to be resilient and resistant to hearing words like NO and this is a stupid idea. I say this because today I learned about the German invesntor George Ohm who created the world famous "Ohm's law" was rejected by the German scientific & education community for over a decade after Georg Ohm published his research. So keep on pushing if it makes sense. If you have an idea that is not true or is a crap shoot then maybe it is best to try something else but in the case of Ohm's Law George knew the science and it all made sense but the ignorance and stupidity of others stopped him from being a proven success for many years.

Free SEO Tool Term Suggest Replaces Uber Suggest

Uber Suggest was a tool that allowed you to check out and see what drop down terms in Google's Autocomplete populate with. Now that tool is gone (I think Neil Patel bought the domain but I'm not sure) there is a new one from Joe Hall that popped up called Term Suggest: https://termsuggest.com/ it allows SEO experts to research all of the drop down suggestions and what terms you can target.

Another great tool is Surfer.

Exaggerated Scamming and Grifting

ESG is supposed to be about environmental, social, and governance and is a fantastic concept that was created to help improve standards across large corporations across the globe. Unfortunately an analyst at Muddy Waters research has a new meaning for ESG and it has nothing to do with the environment instead Hannon Armstrong stock is plummeting on the news of Muddy Waters saying in this instance it stands for Exaggerated, Scamming, and Grifting.

Now Hannon Armstrong is fighting back (Sounds like they could use a Brandefender to help they navigate this PR crisis. Their statement to CNBC is:

"The 'report' by this deceptive short-seller, for which the Justice Department is investigating for suspected coordinated manipulative trading, is an attempt to mislead and confuse the market. The report is replete with factual errors and numerous inflammatory and misleading statements ,Hannon Armstong's accounting is fully compliant and indicative of our performance. We are proud of our long history of transparent disclosure and best-in-class accounting practices."

Carson Block of Muddy Waters Research says its the first US public company dedicated to ESG where the disclosures were being declined and after a lot of digging into joint venture partners, PMI, Delaware UCC filings, former employees and the company has odd accounting practices with renewable projects with tax equity investments. While not illegal the book value change is taking the tax credit value and runs it as through its old income.

It's larget EMI Jupiter lost 380 million last year.

Disclosure I do not own or invest in Hannnon Armstrong HASI at this time but hope that those focusing on ESG are actually doing so to improve the environment.

What would you talk about in a business interview?

Ever consider what questions would come up? What are you okay with discussing and what are you not okay revealing? Just something interesting to ponder this July.

One of Rich Ruddie's Favorite Quotes

Quotes can be inspiring and give you a new sense of motivation. Sometimes they explain a situation when there are no words to say. Here's one of my favorite quotes and the reason why is below:

"There is no reality except the one contained within us. That is why so many people live such an unreal life. They take images outside them for reality and never allow the world within to assert itself." Hermann Hesse

Hermann Karl Hesse was a 1946 Nobel Prize winner from Germany. The German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painters works crossed multiple continents. His best-known works include Demian, Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and The Glass Bead Game, each of which explores an individual's search for authenticity, self-knowledge and spirituality.

As there is no reality except the one we create and as we do things in life that the general response is "you can't be serious" or "that can't possible be real is it?" is often asked and it's important that we all live a life that feels unreal because it will push you to do bigger and better things in your lifetime and make your mark on the world.

What are you doing to change the world?

-Rich Ruddie

Remembering a friend Craig Sinema

Remembering a great Fort Lauderdale friend who left our presence far too soon. His family said it best:

You can shed tears that he is gone, or you can smile because he has lived. You can close your eyes and pray that he'll come back, or you can open your eyes and see all he's left.
Your heart can be empty because you can't see him, or you can be full of the love you shared.
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday, or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.
You can remember him only that he is gone, or you can cherish his memory and let it live on.
You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back.
Or you can do what he'd want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

 

 

 

Googles Advice on Improving Your Shopping Cart

Google released a slideshow on ways to improve your shopping cart experience and build up your e-commerce store. Here is an overview:

In the United States, bad online search experiences cost (someone) $300 billion per year.

"85% of global online consumers view a brand differently after experiencing search difficulties."

"64% of U.S. retail Website managers have no clear plan for improvement."

Takeaway #2: "9 in 10 U.S. consumers (90%) say a good search function is very important or absolutely essential, with 97% agreeing that their favorite retail websites are ones where they can quickly find what they are looking for. Additionally, the search function is the most commonly used feature on retail websites compared with the navigator menu, filter feature, or promotions on the homepage."

Takeaway #4: "69% of consumers say that a successful search experience often leads to the purchase of additional items, with almost all consumers (99%) saying that they are somewhat likely to return to a website if it has a good search function."

"98% of website managers are confident consumers are able to find what they need when visiting their website."

"1 in 10 consumers say they find exactly what they're searching for every time while using the search function."

"3 out of 4 consumers report that after an unsuccessful search, the sale is often lost to competition."

"52% of consumers abandon their entire cart and go elsewhere if they cannot find one item."

"77% of consumers avoid websites where they've experienced search difficulties."

Quotes for the weekend on Satisfaction

Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of the UK, on the connection between action and satisfaction:

"Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's a day you've had everything to do and you've done it."

Source: Quoted in "As I Said to Denis: The Margaret Thatcher Book of Quotations"

---

​II.

Philosopher Alan Watts on mistakes:

"Regard yourself as a cloud, in the flesh, because you see, clouds never make mistakes. Did you ever see a cloud that was misshapen? Did you ever see a badly designed wave? No, they always do the right thing. But, if you will, treat yourself for a while as a cloud or a wave and realize that you can’t make a mistake whatever you do. Because even if you do something that appears totally disastrous, it will all come out in the wash somehow or another. Then through this capacity you will develop a kind of confidence. And through confidence you will be able to trust your own intuition."

Source: Taoism: Way Beyond Seeking​

​

​

1 Question For You

Think of the best coach, teacher, or leader you ever had. What can you learn from them?

Think of the worst coach, teacher, or leader you ever had. What can you learn from them?

Journalist Studio Reference Guide

Google has released a reference guide for journalists that provides some really fantastic resources. They include a DDOS service as an alternative to Cloudflare for those running political sites, Tilegrams for those who want to build cartograms for map data, a fast fact check explorer, a Google Data GIF maker, and Flourish a data visualization tool for data with pre-set templates. Will be interesting to see articles online from the NY Times, Washington Post, ESPN, Politico, and other places where you recognize these solutions that Google has provided.

For more information check out the journalists studio.

My favorite section that a stats nerd can really got list in is the Public Data Directory

For access to the WTO, ICT, IMF, and other stat databases visit:

https://www.google.com/publicdata/directory

- Richart Ruddie

MIT Review on Neuroscience

A super exciting article about how scientists are learning more about the brain to make positive affects on our future lives. If we put this much focus and $'s in resolving the issues and problems discussed in this article than there's nothing we can't accomplish. Read MIT review from 8 different scientists here: https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/08/25/1031458/scientific-mysteries-human-brain

South Florida Michelin Restaurant Guide by Richart Ruddie

As an update to the original post below with the predictions of what restaurants would earn a Michelin star in the state and which would not. I am shocked that Naoe was not named but was glad to see some of my other favorite restaurants in South Florida did make the list like The Surf Club and L'Atelier in the Design District which was the only 2 Michelin star restaurant in the state.

Here are the restaurants in Palm Beach, Broward, and Dade Counties that made the cut. 

The 14 restaurants are The Surf Club at the Four Seasons in Surfside (North Miami). This was a prediction of mine as well as Le Jardinier in the Design District. Other notable restaurants are Boia De, Cote the popular Korean BBQ spot that started in New York City and is a near replica with their Miami location. 

Hiden in Wynwood which is one of the harder tables to get with a secret bodega like door that opens to the Omakase dining experience in Wynwood is a must do if you love sushi, The Den at Azabu Miami Beach, Stubborn Seed, ElCielo which also has locations in Medellin Colombia and Washington DC, Los Felix, and Ariete.

Out of the 14 star winners Cote, Le Jardinier, Le Atelier, and ElCielo all have locations in at least 1 other city so if you can't eat there when in Miami you can always try at another location.

Original Post from November, 2021 with predictions:
In 2022 Michelin is finally coming to South Florida. As California found when they paid Michelin to come and rate their restaurants the hospitality industry exploded leading up to the covid pandemic. So here are my current picks for restaurants in Miami, Broward, and Palm Beach County that will make the Michelin 1, 2, and 3 stars:

3 Star Michelin Restaurants in Miami:

Naoe - Run by Wendy who will let you know that there are only about 1,000 Japanese families in Miami and this one is by far the most authentic. You get the whole restaurant to yourself and a true Omakase experience. This is definitely the best restaurant in Miami and my pick for the only 3 Michelin star restaurant in Miami.

2 star Michelin Restaurants in Miami:

Surf Club at the Four Seasons - This restaurant does not have a tasting menu but everything was fantastic at this famous restaurant from Thomas Keller who is no stranger to Michelin Stars
Hiden - A Special bodega style entry at this restaurant that you have to book months out should be a 2 star Michelin rated restaurant.
L atelier de joel robuchon - Located in the Design District this restaurant gives you a choice between a tasting menu and a la carte. 

1 Star Michelin Restaurants in Miami:
La Mar
The Bazaar
Joe's Stone Crabs
Stubborn Seed
Le Jardiner

Milo's

Mr. Omakase

La Mar
Le Petite Maison

El Cielo

Sushi Erika

Pao

 

Broward & Palm Beach County Michelin Star Restaurants

 

These are my predictions for Broward and Palm Beach county restaurants:

Broward County:
Diplomat Prime
Tatiana
Steak 954
Lobster Bar

Palm Beach County:

6 Tables

Cafe Boulud
Flagler Steakhouse
6 Tables in Boca Raton

Cafe L'Europe

Le Bibloquet

Sant Ambroeus

La Goulue

Will look forward to checking back in 2022 and seeing which restaurants I predicted made the list and which ones did not. 

Basic Strategic Advice For Roll Ups

After talking with a private equity advisor the advice to follow when doing a roll up is be ready to commit at least 5 years to the venture, building high growth and high value business where you can increase margins & operating efficiencies. If you are working in or buying a software as a service business you can get multiples of revenues that are 10x or greater especially if you can show consistent 20% growth margins. Services or public relations businesses you are looking at more of an 6-12x especially if you are selling to a global agency. Good to showcase 15-25% operating margins in a standard business and 15-30% margins in a public relations agency model.

Notes for the future.

Google Gets Sued and Loses Over Failure To handle Right To Be Forgotten Requests Properly

This is a doozy of an article with Spain taking the lead and suing Google and loses over 10 million Euro's because they are sending the right to be forgotten removals and requests overseas to the Lumen Project in a sneaky but creative effort to keep the stuff they really don't want to delete online. This time they got caught with their hand in the cookie jar as their usual protection with the Irish DPC taking years to handle and review a case is also being sued by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties over its slow movement on issues relating to Google complaints which may or may not be on purpose but from my friends who work at Google they sound off that the company isn't so "Don't Be Evil" anymore...

Full article can be found here: https://www.cpomagazine.com/data-protection/spain-hands-google-e10-million-gdpr-fine-for-violation-of-right-to-be-forgotten-rules/

"Spanish data protection authority Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (AEPD) called the two infringements that led to the GDPR fine “very serious.” Both relate to Google’s transfer of EU citizen data to an academic research project based in the United States.

The decision centers on the Lumen Project, an ongoing study conducted by Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center and supported by the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The project, which began in 2001, collects cease-and-desist letters related to online activity with an eye to determining any effect they might have on free speech. Google has contributed to the archive since 2002, first motivated to action when the Church of Scientology filed bad faith takedown requests in order to silence websites critical of them.

The Lumen Project has typically focused on takedown requests made under the United States Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), but has also begun collecting data deletion requests made by EU citizens under the rights granted by the GDPR. The first of the Spanish regulator’s findings was that Google could not demonstrate a legal right to pass these requests on to a third party, as it was not providing users with notification or a choice.

The AEPD also found that Google tripped over the “right to be forgotten” granted by Article 17 of the GDPR by putting the deletion request itself, and the attendant details, beyond their reach. The form that users were asked to fill out to request removal of their data from Lumen Project was also found to be faulty and confusing in its structure.

While AEPD has little recourse directly against Lumen Project, the organization has said that it has honored a request by the AEPD (via Google) to delete the data of users found to have been communicated to it without a legal basis. Google has said that it is reviewing the AEPD’s GDPR fine and that it is re-evaluating how it shares data with Lumen Project in light of the decision.

One of Google’s two prior GDPR fines also related to the right to be forgotten, but in that case a de-indexing stipulation for search engines that was first established in 2014 (and later incorporated into the GDPR terms). Sweden fined Google the equivalent of about $8 million in 2020 over failure to keep up with de-indexing requests in a timely manner and failure to remove the full range of web addresses attached to certain requests.

Jurisdiction and efficiency of GDPR fines called into question by Spain decision

The AEPD judgment is noteworthy not just for being a rare GDPR fine for Google, but also for shining a spotlight on a bottleneck of cases created by the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC)’s lead role in regulating cases involving the tech giant."

Remember Robert Miller of Bethleheem Steel in Baltimore

Always interesting when digging up old artifacts and materials about family members you never knew. In this case my grandfather Robert Miller whom I am named after worked at Bethlehem Steel Company in Baltimore City at what was then known as the Baltimore Yard. The photo with the Navy Stamp on it shows him being 6 feet tall and with an accompanying U.S. Navy moniker. Now 80 years later would he have expected to end up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with his grandson Richart?

Busiest Flight In the USA IS NOT NYC to LA

I was watching an educational video on the California High Speed Rail project and how it was announced in 2008 and here we are in 2022 with no sign of a high speed rail but yet billions of dollars spent already. So outside of thinking the hyperloop may be a good fiscal alternative I was wondering what the top flights in the USA are as it said that the second busiest flight in the country is the Los Angeles to San Francisco route linking the city of L.A. with 19,000,000 people with San Francisco's 9,000,000 people.

So an online lists says that JFK to LAX is the number one route with 26,198 wide-body aircraft used to serve the two cities in passengers transporting 3,531,613 transcontiinental flyers over the last 12 months there are bigger aircrafts being used transporting more people but less overall flights taking off versus the LAX to SFO flights. So the real answer is Los Angeles to San Francisco is the busiest flight. If we didn't have the Amtrak on the east coast linking Boston to Washington and every city in between than it may be DC to NYC as the most flights to and from.

Drop me a line for more fun facts and quotes.

Finding Your Groove

If you follow my thought philosophy you'll recognize that I often talk about the importance of finding what works for you. In many cases those with the most potential don't achieve it due to being distracted by other wants and desires. Whether it be their own or their families pressure to point them in a direction they may not be meant to flow in.

So follow your efforts and follow your groove and flow where your energy and talents reside. Here's a quote that resonated that made me think of that:

"We all of us have limited amounts of energy, and I am sure the people who are successful have learned, either by instinct or consciously, to use their energies well instead of spilling them about. And this has to be different for every person, writers or otherwise. I know writers who go to parties every night and then, recharged instead of depleted, happily write all day. But if I stay up half the night talking, I don’t do so well the next day. Some writers like to start work as soon as they can in the morning, while others like the night or—for me almost impossible—the afternoons. Trial and error, and then when you’ve found your needs, what feeds you, what is your instinctive rhythm and routine, then cherish it."

Husband and wife combo, Benjamin Zander, a longtime conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, and Rosamund Zander, a family therapist, on the power of point of view:

“Every problem, every dilemma, every dead end we find ourselves facing in life, only appears unsolvable inside a particular frame or point of view. Enlarge the box, or create another frame around the data, and problems vanish, while new opportunities appear.”

What Richart Ruddie's 2021 Philanthropy Went Towards

Effective Altruism in practice makes a monumental shift in society. 2021 was the biggest year yet and the report on where donations that I helped contribute towards went and how they changed the lives of those across the globe are remarkable to say the least. With careful consideration a company GiveWell who was featured in the book "The most good you can do" stuck out from the crowd for donors and thus has been one of my main targets for yearly donations in practicing effective altruism.

4th quarter of 2021 donations went to the following initiatives:

 

Against Malaria Foundation

Deworm the World Initiative

Helen Keller International's vitamin A supplementation program

Malaria Consortium's seasonal malaria chemoprevention program

New Incentives

Sightsavers' deworming program

Funds allocated through donations and grants like mine helped to fill the highest priority funding needs when it was time to decide how to allocate the funds. My hope is that these types of gifts that are an integral part of the impact that the grants start to catalyze others to step up and contribute to causes that make the world a better place versus causes that make their instagram look like they are living in a better place.

So what changes did Richart Ruddie's Donation Contribute Towards?

• How about saving  the lives of  8,400 people? Yes, thats eight thousand four hundred people through the distribution of long-lasting antimalarial nets, seasonal chemoprevention to protect against malaria, provision of vitamin A supplements to children, and incentives provided to caregivers for vaccinating their infants
• So how do you top that number? You contribute towards a program that focuses on change and not running a not for profit who also provides close to 17 million children with life-improving treatment for parasitic worm infections

Making donations to places so far away that most people couldn't even fathom heading towards that direction. Most will never go and visit sub sahara Africa and thats okay because you don't need to see those you donate to in order to substantially impact their lives. Here is a map of countries impacted directly a continent away from us here in America.

 

So whats the breakdown of the organizations receiving the funds and what do they specialize in? Glad you asked along with the total allocation

Malaria Consortium

Total allocation: $22.2 million
Where these funds will be used: Burkina Faso, Chad, Nigeria, and Togo
Expected lives saved: 5,200
Intervention: Seasonal malaria chemoprevention to prevent malaria, which disproportionately kills children under five in sub-Saharan Africa.[4]

New Incentives

Total allocation: $9.4 million
Where these funds will be used: Nigeria
Expected lives saved: 2,100
Intervention: Conditional cash transfers to encourage caregivers to immunize their children against potentially deadly but preventable diseases, in a part of the world where vaccination rates are low.[5]

Sightsavers

Total allocation: $7.8 million
Where these funds will be used: Nigeria, Cameroon
Expected treatments delivered: About 9.6 million across both countries
Intervention: Mass deworming treatments for children, which we believe may have a significant effect on their future income and subtler benefits to their overall health.[6]

Deworm the World Initiative

Total allocation: $4.8 million
Where these funds will be used: Kenya, Nigeria, and Pakistan
Expected treatments delivered: About 7 million across all three countries
Intervention: Mass deworming treatments.

Against Malaria Foundation
Total allocation: $3.4 million
Where these funds will be used: Nigeria
Expected lives saved: 570
Intervention: Long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLINs) to protect against malaria-carrying mosquitoes.[7]

Helen Keller International
Total allocation: $1.4 million
Where these funds may be used: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria
Expected lives saved: 600
Intervention: Vitamin A supplementation (VAS) to prevent stunting, anemia, blindness, and death in young children.[8]

I hope that in 2022 and beyond that you consider pledging more of your income towards causes that significantly impact the bulk of a population. Follow the footsteps of other major donors like Sam Bankman who set an example for philanthropy and the lack of living lavishly so others can live better.

References:

1. See a list of past distributions from the Maximum Impact Fund here. The largest distribution prior to this one was of funds received in Q4 2020, totaling $25.9 million.
2. October through December 2021. 
3. See this spreadsheet, rows labeled "MIF Q4 2021," for a list of all grants made with Q4 2021 Maximum Impact Fund donations and their expected outcomes. Note that these outcome estimates are specific to these grants, and the cost-effectiveness of other grants to these top charities may be higher or lower. More information about the cost-effectiveness of Maximum Impact Fund grants we've made in the past can be found here.
4. "The percentage of total malaria deaths in children aged under 5 years reduced from 87% in 2000 to 77% in 2020.... About 96% of malaria deaths globally were in 29 countries. Six countries – Nigeria (27%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (12%), Uganda (5%), Mozambique (4%), Angola (3%) and Burkina Faso (3%) – accounted for just over half of all malaria deaths globally in 2020." WHO, World Malaria Report 2021, p. xvi
5. In 2019, 43% of Nigerian infants did not get the full set of DTP, PCV, and HiB vaccines, and 33% did not get the BCG vaccine (see Our World in Data, Global vaccination coverage, Nigeria, 2019). New Incentives' program directly incentivizes all of these vaccines; see our report on New Incentives' program for more.
6. See "What are the benefits of mass deworming?" in our report on combination deworming programs such as those implemented by Sightsavers and Deworm the World.
7. See the "In a nutshell" section of our report on mass distribution of LLINs: "There is strong evidence that when large numbers of people use LLINs to protect themselves while sleeping, the burden of malaria can be reduced, resulting in a reduction in child mortality among other benefits."
8. From our review of Helen Keller International's program: "Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) can cause stunting, anemia, xerophthalmia (dry eyes, which can lead to blindness), increased severity of infections, and death.... Helen Keller supports countries' VAS programs for preschool-aged children by providing technical assistance, engaging in advocacy, and contributing funding to governments for implementing the programs."
9. You can read more about GiveWell’s plans to roll over a portion of 2021 funds into 2022 here.

-Richart Ruddie

Mangers Bet on the wrong people

For people who claim they can see the future and make predictions you need to laugh them off. For that is hard to predict over the long term. Short term guesses in less than a year are a lot easier but here's an excerpt from NY Times best seller Adam Grant who lauds how the Kansas City Star in Missouri rejected a cartoonist named Walt Disney for a job. 30 NFL teams passed up Tom Brady the best NFL player of all time and record labels said no to Kayne, Ed Sheeran, The Beatles, and Madonna just to name a few...

"For decades, managers have bet on the wrong people — and rejected the right ones. The Kansas City Star once rejected an application from a cartoonist named Walt Disney. Record labels said no thanks to the Beatles, Madonna, U2, Kanye and Ed Sheeran. A hotel, a police department and a Kentucky Fried Chicken all denied Jack Ma a job. And 30 N.F.L. teams decided not to draft Tom Brady."

 

For hiring advice and hiring the best people read this scientific study:

A META-ANALYSIS OF WORK SAMPLE TEST VALIDITY: UPDATING AND INTEGRATING SOME CLASSIC LITERATURE

"Work sample tests have been used in applied psychology for decades as important predictors of job performance, and they have been suggested to be among the most valid predictors of job performance."

Read the whole research paper here & the New York Times Adam Grant piece here: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/01/smarter-living/how-to-fix-job-interviews-tips.html

Sam Zell Am I Being Too Subtle Notes

I'm a professional problem solver and after reading Am I being Too Subtle he is one too. A great entrepreneur doesn't just recognize problems but provides solutions.

Sometimes you read a book and you feel like you know the person writing it. Books that resonate with you can have a lasting impact and help develop your career mentally, emotionally, and socially. This is one of those books where I kept on pausing to take photos of pages to take notes so that I can come back and do this post for when I want to pull up these quotes & ideas that he mentioned. Another book that I recommend that shared great life skills and advice is Stephen Schwartzman from Blackstone's book that I read first and found it interesting that he said he knew to get out and liquidate all of his real estate in 2008 when Sam Zell the king of real estate was getting out but at the end of the day Zell clarifies what what down and why in his book.

When people ask me what I do it's often a difficult question to answer since my life entails so much and there are multiple answers that I typically give one of which was similar to something he talks about in the book and Sam Zell says it perfectly: I'm a professional opportunist!

So here are the notes that I want to remember in perpetuity in permanent ink:

Sam Zell's first business was not actually apartments at The University of Michigan but rather he was in the magazine importing business buying and reselling playboys. This is where he learned one of the most important rules of business.

• Where there is scarcity price is no object. The basic tenet of supply and demand is the core principle of business philosophy
• If you teach your children that having fun is frivolous and drill into them diligence and intelligent discussions and education you will breed a winner.
• Be comfortable standing apart rather than searching for a common denominator with others
• Embrace the tendency to go against conventional wisdom 

Sam realized that he didn't take orders from leaders well and was meant to be one not take orders from one. So setting the record was the path he created.

Meritocracy was a big learning experience at summer camp in Wisconsin. Another book I love Ray Dalio's principles is huge on meritocracy as well.

• The basics of business are straight forward. It's all about measuring risk. If you've got a big downside and a small upside RUN. If you've got a big upside and a small downside DO THE DEAL.
• Always make sure you're getting paid for the risk you are taking on and never risk what you can't afford to lose
• Keep it simple a scenario that takes 4 steps vs 1 step is one that provides 3 more failure points.
• Opportunity is very often embedded in the imbalance between supply and demand.
• It could be rising demand against flat or diminishing supply or flat demand against shrinking supply.
• When there's an imbalance look where the two lines will intersect and then determine whether it is cheaper to buy or to wait.
• Be an owner, act like an owner, and when it comes to your investments, do everything you can to make sure everybody is aligned.

When there is too much reliance on outsiders who don't have enough skin in the game that creates problems.

• Companies need engaged owners and staff members
  Owners are willing to give up short term benefits for long term gains.
• An owner uses their vision to steward a company and guide management
• Owners do whatever it takes for management, their teams, and company to succeed while working with others who have skin in the game and ensuring their interests align

A leader can not let his emotions impact his stability. Have methods that keep you steady.

My saying is to remember your ABC's - Always be calm, cool, and collected. In Ray Dalio's book he talks about the importance of mental health and having a clear mind. Working out, running, or yoga. In the case of Sam Zell he's an adrenaline junky who loves Skiing and riding motorcycles.

• Look for micro opportunities from macro events. In Sam's case it was the deregulation of the radio industry where he struck gold and found a 1,237% return off of Jacor. Look for big picture influencers and anomalies that will direct the course of industries and companies.
• First mover advantage requires conviction in regards to his distressed asset fund and timing is everything in regard to accepting an offer to sell Equity Office. Don't allow your personal feelings to interfere with your investments or your duty to your shareholders.
• Sentimentality about an asset leads to a lack of discipline.
• Chairman of everything and CEO of nothing. Sticking to what your good at: Vision, Direction, Strategy.

Behind The Deals Chapter

• Stick to where you can add the most value. Sam spends his day listening to other people, He then asks questions, probes, and comes up with potential solutions.
• Pick great people to run your companies and in Sam's case he doesnt involve himself in the day to day but stays close to those who do. This is a very similar strategy and mindset that Warren Buffet has with Berkshire Hathaway.
• The Radius Theory of business  - Your ability to succeed is ultimately limited by the number of people between you and the decision. The farther away from you the decision is made the less you control the risk.
• You get buried when you delete too much or don't delegate enough

Culture is King, it's the heartbeat of your company. Meritocracy and open "kimono" policy.

Best predictor of success isn't IQ or being a rocket scientist but rather

1. Drive
2. Energy
3. Attitude
4. Judgement
5. Conviction
6. Passion
7. Cut to the center of an issue
8. Assess a problem and see what the risks are and then dissect it but don't get caught up in the numbers

Progress, improvement, and forward momentum. Like Michael Jordan in basketball he made everybody else better.

See opportunity and convert it to something tangible.

 

• Be on the lookout for anomalies and disruptions in a market or company. Be able to recognize the psychology of market extremes which can lead to attractive points of entry.
• Any event out of the ordinary is like a beacon telling you there's a new opportunity emerging.
• Be a good listener it can make all the difference in getting something done when somebody says no.

Immerse yourself in the life of a project and the book concludes with this:

An owner is consumed with making the most out of what he already has. An entrepreneur is always looking for a new opportunity always reaching.

While I have family in Chicago that is close with the grandchildren of Sam Zell I have never met him personally but had such glee from this book that I've called them up to see if they can help me get the book signed by Sam himself and thats how you know a book really resonated with you and you loved it. 

Uber Super Pumped Trivia Travis Kalnanick's SAT Score

Listened to a 2011 story and interview with a very young looking Jason Calacanis of The All in Podcast doing episode 180 of This Week in Startups interviewing Travis Kalanick. So a fun fact that comes up is that Travis Kalanick scored a 1580 on his SAT's and got only 2 questions wrong on the verbal part of the college admissions test. So interesting to learn that the founder of Meta/Facebook Mark Zuckerberg who got a 1600 and Travis Kalanick who co-founded Uber were both college dropouts and aced their SAT's.

Maybe there is a quality behind high SAT scores and startup success?

For the interview from 2011 see below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=550X5OZVk7Y

How To Master Superior Management

The Ivy's weekly series sends over a recap of great advice for real life practice and psychological thought patterns. Below are the notes and advice from this weeks series on mastering superior management skills broken down into 5 easy to read points.

 

1. How can you elevate performance and decision-making across your organization?
   A successful strategy in today’s business landscape requires managerial behavior that is different from what is traditionally taught. It used to be that if you are the manager or leader, you make all the important choices because you’re the boss; you do strategy, and then other people execute. Yet, in reality, there is no difference between strategy and execution – both requires good choices to be made. 
   
   Nowadays, a CEO or manager in any sizable organization simply isn't going to be able to make all those important choices. There are important choices at every level. The most important thing you can do as a leader is to make clear A) the overall strategy B) what choices you will be personally responsible for, and C) “chartering” your colleagues for the choices that they will be responsible for to ensure the overall strategy is met. In short, successfully chartering a strategy requires you to make sure your people own the choices that will feed and support your strategy. 
   
   When I was working on improving Rotman’s EMBA program, a tool I relied on was to ask the people working under me to write, in their own words, what goals and actions they thought they needed to execute on to achieve our overall strategy. My number two, Beatrix, translated my strategy vision into her own thinking and style–that gave me a lot of important information. If there was no trail of breadcrumbs between what she wrote and what was in my mind, then I would need to fix that problem, but if it was close enough, then that to me was a success; she’s giving herself her own set of instructions based on what she heard from me and I agree. Procedurally, this is a very effective way to manage talent. Decision making is aligned at every level with the strategy, and people are empowered to interpret it and make decisions on their own.
    
2. Does your organization’s strategy pass the can’t/won’t test?
   When designing a strategy for your organization, you must A) decide what playing field you're going to play on as a business and B) how you’re going to be distinctive on that field–how you’re going to be the best. You have to have a very clear view of where you can win with your business model.
   
   Your strategy choice must pass what I call the “can’t/won’t test”–meaning your competitors simply can’t or won’t match what you’re doing. In other words, they could do it, but they won’t because they have a conflict of motives. For example, they won’t get into that distribution channel because it’d be channel conflict for them. Or they can’t match you because they lack critical ingredients to be successful. If you don’t have a definition of where you’re playing and how you are going to be distinctive and best in-class, then you might as well not have a strategy.
    
3. How can you ensure you reevaluate your strategy regularly and course correct?
   A great tool for strategy is an approach I call “What would have to be true?” If you have three strategic options to choose from–we could go left, we could go straight, or we could go right–you ask the question, “What would have to be true for left to be good?” You ask this of each different strategy option. What would have to be true about the industry, customers, our capabilities, our cost structure, our competitors–what would have to be true about all those things for strategy A to be a good idea? Do the analysis for each option, and you will find your optimal strategy path based on your organizational strengths.
   
   Then, take that “what would have to be true” analysis for your chosen strategy, and tack it up on the board in front of your desk. Every morning, come to work and look at the chart and ask yourself, “Are the things that we felt were true when we selected this strategy still looking true?” If the answer is more yes than no, then put it aside and get back to work. If any one of those are not true, then it’s the time to reevaluate your strategy. There’s no definite cadence to when strategy must be reevaluated. Your strategy should stay in place as long as the things that would have to be true for it to succeed continue to be true. That analysis is your canary in the coal mine. It’s the early warning system. It will tell you you’re off track while you still have a chance to modify, and before bad things start to happen. 
    
4. How can you better avoid analysis paralysis?
   Analysis paralysis is a function of not knowing why you’re analyzing what you’re analyzing. Don’t do any analysis until you know what choice you’d make based on how a given piece of analysis comes back. Analysis paralysis happens when you say to some poor junior colleague in the company, “It’s time for strategy, do a SWOT,” and they start analyzing everything under the sun–so you get buried under piles of decks. That’s when you get analysis paralysis, because you didn’t think about the logic of the choice–what would have to be true to make this a good call, and which of the things that would have to be true that may not be true? How can we analyze that one thing? You want analysis to be an inch wide and a mile deep, not a mile wide and an inch deep. Analysis paralysis is not the fault of the analyst. It’s the fault of not thinking about the logic of what you’re actually looking for that will get you stuck.
    
5. How can you future-proof your strategy by creating win-win-win scenarios?
   To be successful going forward, companies need to figure out how to make their business model a win for everyone. If corporations are not taking care of all stakeholders, their ability to operate will become more constrained. The era of having winners and losers is over. This is not to say you should neglect shareholders in the quest to get wins for communities, customers, and employees. Shareholders need to be winners too. If there are some groups that are simply not given a chance to advance, there’s going to be a brighter light shone on that. If every business makes a commitment to find the win-win-win scenario we’ll see a fall in labor challenges, a rise in wages, and a flattening of the maldistribution of income. Increasingly, corporations have to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

The Best Time to Buy a House is when the Mortgage Payment to Income Ratio is between 15-20%

Looking at the chart below from Knight Mortgage the best time to buy a house is when the Mortgage Payment to Income Ratio is between 15 and 20% if you followed that guideline you would have bought at great times in the market over the last 20 years. As mortgage rates rise now we are in a unique environment with sky rocketing demand in Florida and a lack of housing supply so that dictates that even with increased mortgage rates prices are not dropping drastically as of now we are seeing strong demand for housing and bidding wars on the properties we developed and are coming onto the market soon.

 

Quotes for the spring

CEO and Sales Trainer talks about how you can master the sceience of sales with the right traits, mindset, and behaviors that can create a dynamic sales floor. David Hoffeld's top take away and quote is: "One mindset that seems to matter more than others in sales is a growth mindset. So this is the idea that you treat your sales skills and abilities like a muscle that must be continually developed. This makes you more resistant and resilient when bad things do occur on lost sales calls. It also gives you an unfair advantage over others because no matter what happens, you're focused on growth." Jousha Yaffa an award winning Moscow correspondent top quote and take away is: "It's been common knowledge for several years that many journalistic and academic articles, often cite the high degree of popularity for Putin, himself, who see approval ratings of well above 60%, often above 70, even into 80% range. It's my argument that this is actually passive support and people are really in favor of the status quo and stability. They don't necessarily have any great affection or enthusiasm or loyalty to Putin, himself. That it's more about a lack of credible alternatives, as most Russians see it."