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Connections Create Opportunity (Jason Finkelstein and Jamie Schneiderman) · Unstuck Pod

• Jamie Schneiderman: Hi everyone, welcome to the Unstuck Pod. very excited today to have Jason Finkelstein joining us. And I will pass it off to Jason to give everybody a little bit of background on his his journey, what he's doing, and kind of kick off our conversation that way. So Jason, welcome. Jason: Well, happy to be here. Thank you, Jamie. So I'll give you a quick thirty second bio of where I'm coming from. Grew up in Jewish day schools my whole life. my grandparents on my father's side were Holocaust survivors, which is where I could probably get my mental illness from, bipolar one, hypomania. My mom's side were real estate entrepreneurs, owned hotels in South Beach, own factories. my dad was a lawyer, started his own business. went to school in New York, majored in accounting because a capitalist Israel rabbi in Israel told me to become an accountant, it'd be good for me. Worked for Amex, worked for Merrill. When I was in rabbinical school, worked for a company called shopping.com, was a fourth employee, got bought up at eBay for $900 million. worked for digital marketing for 15 years, worked in Bloomberg campaign for a year. then I started my own fund, which was general thesis, real estate. biotech, then I started another fund focused on web three blockchain real world assets and two charities which I started and support as well. Jamie Schneiderman: Okay, so there's a lot there, you know, and you know, and and you did that all in the last year. No, I'm just joking. The the the right so Jason: It's it seems like it I always tell people it's it's it's my thirty second bile. You know, I was just a guy to keep trying to figure it all out. It all but it all like makes sense looking back thirty years later like these were all the right moves. I wouldn't change a thing. Jamie Schneiderman: Okay, so so let's talk about that a little bit. So before we get into what you're doing now, why? Why were they all the right moves? Why do you so a lot of people will look back and go, I shouldn't have done this and I shouldn't have done that. And by the way, I will tell you that while I'm doing it, I'll give I'll take it myself. I'm like, I could have skipped certain things or you know, cause they weren't necessarily the right things for me. So why do you feel like those are all the right places for you? Jason: Because every step along the journey I've met people along the way that that have evolved in my life. I've learned something. I've grown from the experience. Every setback, every pain, every every bad experience has turned out to be a God's loving and kindness and and really propelled me to further growth and understanding. It never really seemed like a setback. It seemed like a temporary setback. But looking back from what I've grown from it and how I've learned from it, it it just seemed like the perfect thing that I needed for my life. 'C for humility, for growth, for whatever reason, I had experienced other things, even the negatives turned out to be positives. Jamie Schneiderman: Interesting. That's a so maybe it says, but to me, maybe that just says more about you and your ability to kind of take what's given to you Jason: I don't think so. I I'm I'm a spiritual guy and I believe I know the you know, I I I spend more time studying and praying in charity than I do business wise. You know, what I'm focused on. That's my real love and passion. I I I believe that you know, waking up early in the morning, developing good habits, waking up early, meditating, praying, reading, you know, these type of things will give you a a a a leg up in the world and it grounds you spiritually. When you're focused And make God's your partner in your life, then your events are gonna succeed no matter what you do. When you look at your somebody, your fellow, not as a competitor, but as a brother, then God's your father and God's gonna take care of you. So I've I view all my actions through a very spiritual lens. Jamie Schneiderman: Interesting. so okay. So you d and and in that context, you feel like this was the journey you needed to go on? Is that a fairer way to look at it? Jason: We're all unique. I I don't need to be the next person. I don't need to be the next Elon Musk. You know, I was given got given potential. I wanna be the best Jason Fingelstein I could be and live my journey. I don't need to be Donald Trump. I don't need to be Elon Musk. I need to be Jason Fingelstein. Jamie Schneiderman: No, no, and that I think that's great. I think that's awesome. So, so Jason, so so help me with what let's talk a little bit more about what where you're focused now. So let's let's just say like today. what does what do you so you're in you're you're an investor. Let's talk a little bit about Jason: An invest I'm an investor and a startup advisor. So it used to be when I first started, I had no money. A book by Jason Calakinas, Angel, How to Become a Venture Capitalist Without Having Money to Invest. I highly recommend that book, Sweat Equity. So it helped with market strategy, it helped opening doors, helped with business development, just to get my foot in the door. Now I have money to invest in companies. So it used to be pre-seed, pre-c companies that had an idea, had no revenue. But that takes a lot of time and a lot of them fail. So now I work with a lot of series A companies that have revenue, that have a model in place, and I take it to the next level. So I'm doing a lot of data centers, I'm doing a lot of web three real world asset stuff, a lot of stuff in crypto. Those are my current focus, this is at this point. Jamie Schneiderman: Okay. And and l let me ask. So how you're you talked a little bit about your, you know, I I met people and I learned things and I'm talking about the journey, right? How much of that plays into how you're finding opportunities now. how you turn your Jason: it's It's a hundred percent. I mean, it's it's funny. People want to work remote and I tell people all the time is you can't work remote. I went to the office, I met the partners, I met my colleagues, I went to the conferences, I built a network, I built a network on LinkedIn, I built the network on Facebook. These are the people that are reaching out to me to invest and I'll take any meeting. I'll 'cause you learn from every person. One meeting it might not work out, but they'll introduce you to somebody else. So the network that you meet going to the colleges, going to the conferences, going to the office, LinkedIn, social media, Facebook are the type of people who are gonna help build your career and get you to the next level. It's very important. Very important. Jamie Schneiderman: So, okay, so when it comes to the types of investments, so so for you, you have a series of re like you said, there's relationships, there's a there's there are all these people who are framing and helping you form who you are and what you do and et cetera. But let's talk a little bit around the types of investments. Is there anything that anything in those investments that came from your specific experience from before that you're leaning into, or is it just these are certain people or theses that you have around Jason: Theses. I'll give you an instance. for instance, I I brought one person into a an investment. So he brought me into a data center, which is a three hundred million dollar deal. You know what I mean? That's a huge. another company that they reached out to me, Cole Calling, just on LinkedIn, based on my experiences in the field in LinkedIn. a wonderful company, Be Belong Rent Gain, which is essentially people that it's a advertising platform where advertisers show their advertisements on the f on the feed, people watch the advertisement, earn money to pay for their rent. So single mothers who have no rent money actually now generate money to pay for their rent. Another company is a crypto wallet which is works as a bank and generates savings on your crypto on your cryptocurrency. So these are all companies I currently invested in. I sit on the board in them right now. Jamie Schneiderman: Interesting. So and it's a fascinating kind of balance between how do you, you know, call it capitalism and also you know, giving back, right? Like you you talk a little bit about philanthropy. Jason: Well it's a a a lot a lot of my thing now is I I I l if I look at patents, I look at the team, have have you done it before? I look at impact investing. Is it something that's gonna make an impact on the world? You know what I mean? Not just selfishly make me money. It's just gonna help people, help communities, help the world. That's my thesis right now. Jamie Schneiderman: So so let me let me do this. So let me ask a question. First, so you know, you started off by describing your journey, and and how your journey was critical for everything that you've got, everything you've done and learn in and important that way. What things I'm sure there were many mistakes. But I'd love to know 'cause everybody has them. I I certainly do. The the the the what things that didn't go well in particular stood out to you and helped to frame what what's next? Jason: Okay. I I for instance for instance, one one you could say is a huge mistake, but I don't think it's a mistake. I was in rabbinical school, they offered me stock options. The company that got bought up by eBay offered me stock options. I said to my two mentors, Do I take the stock options and leave rabbinical school? They said, Do you love Torah? Do you love studying it? I said I love it with all my heart. They said stay in the rabbinical school. Don't take the stock options. And as a Torah year old, I lost millions of dollars. So did I lose out? Did I not lose out? Also basically debate. Another time last year, one company screwed me over with a contract. They were very vague with the contract terms. And I didn't read it properly because I had like fifty contracts I was dealing with at the time, and I have to sue them now. So that was a mistake. Another thing is my two divorces. Not mistakes, wonderful people, but untreated mental illness that I had to deal with. So I'm dealing with that now. That led me to deal with my mental illness that I have under control. So mistakes I don't view them as mistakes. I just don't. Stepping stones, stepping stones. Jamie Schneiderman: Okay. No no. No no. And that's I think it's interesting. I I'd like to know from you. So those are great examples and I I I can only imagine the conversation at at rabbinical school talking about the do I Jason: Twenty year old can you imagine a twenty year old being given the king to king I mean unfathom people retired on that wealth. You know what I mean? It was wealth in the nineties when it was the biggest IBO of the year. I could have lived pretty for many, many years doing nothing. But would it have been good for me? Probably not. Would have burned blown it on women and drugs. Jamie Schneiderman: Yeah. Okay. Okay. So w which, you know, has a place, but anyway, th probably not the right Jason: Which is I I I'm from Miami and I I know the place very well. Don't don't tell me that don't don't you don't need to preach me about women in drugs. Jamie Schneiderman: okay, so so this by the way, we've just hit a new spot in my podcast. Like I don't know if I've ever we've ever I've ever had this conversation, but I'm enjoying this. Jason: Well, that's why that's why that's why I was kicked off of one podcast before. It was tuberce gay. So hopefully this g doesn't get in Jamie Schneiderman: We're all good here. Jason: okay, okay. Jamie Schneiderman: We're all we're all good. Don't worry. okay, so so so I actually want to know. So as a venture investor, so so you talk about mistakes and learning from them, and you can look back at those things and go, I've done this, I've done this. You're very open and honest about it. Who how does that translate to how you deal with founders as you're working with them once you've made an investment in them? Jason: It it it's honesty, transparency is key. I mean one of the recommendations on my LinkedIn was honest, honest, trustworthy mensch. And that led me to my first day to my future wife. If you're transparent and honest and trustworthy, people will be flocking to you to do business with you. Jamie Schneiderman: Makes makes a lot of sense. And so what it so let's talk a little bit. So so things, you know, I know investors who only want to hear good news in a business. I don't know of any business that only has good news to offer. but so so you're we talk about honesty and transparency. How do you balance like things are going well, how things are not going well? What are those like what does it look like? What's your role? How do you see yourself in these conversations when you're actually dealing with a founder that way? Jason: I'm involved I I'm involved from beginning till end, you know, from investment all the way to exit. So if the things are not going well, find somebody that I could plug into the system to help. Maybe it's not something that I could do, but somebody I know that I could bring into the system to help bring it to the next level. So it's found I'm about f I'm I I'm I'm I'm a people connector. I I'm about finding the right person for the right job. It's not always me, but a lot of times it is. And if it's not, find that right person. Jamie Schneiderman: So, so if you if you look at so let me talk a little bit about the founders and let me talk a little bit about the businesses that you're in. What are the things that you're seeing? You know, you've had a range of different experiences, you're investing in a bunch of different companies, you're very open to things that you're seeing that are working and not work or that you've done, sorry, that have worked and not worked. How do you look at those companies and see? Where are the areas where companies are consistently doing things well, where are companies struggling or where founders struggling in your mind? Jason: It's not having the right connections. It's in order for Jamie Schneiderman: Interesting. Jason: I a good idea is with the right startup advisor BC will go huge. A great idea without the right startup advisor VC will go absolutely nowhere. It's about having the right person. Not someone who's gonna give you write you a check or charge you money for meetings up front when you have no money to start with. You know, that's not a VC, that's not a startup advisor. That's a that's that's I don't know what that's a pirate. You know, you want somebody who's there to be with you along the journey, help you along the way and open up doors for you. Jamie Schneiderman: and how do you and how would you if you were counseling a founder, how how do you how do they look for that? You know, everybody's struggling, they go, they're pitching, they're trying to find the right Jason: Every every every every founder struggles with the same thing. Money connections. Money connections. I mean Jamie Schneiderman: But how do they know? Right. So so what's a you tell me in a meeting, Yeah, I've got lots of con sure, I can write you the check, but I can I've got lots of connections. How how am I supposed to know as a founder? So help me help walk Jason: Because 'cause what I'll do what I'll do is not only will I write the check, I'll open up my LinkedIn and allow them to use my connections to to actually open up doors for themselves. So they know firsthand the value of my connections. Jamie Schneiderman: I love it. I think it's great. okay, so so fantastic. Okay, so so you're into you're in you've invested in crypto and data set. So where do you see the world like where do you see things headed as we go forward? Where are the big opportunities and why those places? Jason: Right now right now right now data centers are huge. I think blockchain is huge. I think data centers are gonna shrink. I think there's gonna be a data center bubble just like there was a crypto a dot com bubble ninety nine. I think people are are overly invested into it and the stronger players will survive and a lot of people will lose a lot of money, just like in nineteen ninety nine. Jamie Schneiderman: That's gonna be yeah. I I I it's interesting. Jason: There there was there was an interesting article in this in this week's New York Times article. Is Larry Ellison the face of the AI bubble? 'Cause he just went all in with Trump investing in AI at eighty. So interesting article to read. Jamie Schneiderman: That's an interesting it's an interesting point of view. And again, nobody knows until after the fact what it is and what it isn't, right? Jason: Nobody knows, but but everyone knows there there will be a bubble. I was on a a podcast that hasn't been published yet about AI and that's my prediction. There will be an AI bubble. Jamie Schneiderman: Yeah, I I think it's I think that's a fair I mean there's just too much money that's poured in and probably not an Jason: Yeah. Jamie Schneiderman: not n at least in the foreseeable future, not enough that can come out, right? So Jason: 'Cause nowadays you have every company building something and it's called A. I when it's not AI. And people pour money into it just 'cause it's AI. So that's trust me, there's a big bubble all the way. Jamie Schneiderman: very, very interesting as you start to look at it. Okay, so so let me let me if if you were going so okay, so you talked about what someone should have if they're making an investment. You want to have people who have the right connections. what other advice, if anything, would you give to you work with lots of founders, would you give to founders? around their business and other things that you might impart on them. And I and I would stretch it through your whole career and your own personal experiences. What are the things that you wish that you knew maybe as you started? Jason: I start I mean, I I knew it intuitively, but this is the best piece of advice I could give. Don't ask for something. Offer something and in return they'll receive they'll offer something. Meaning leash out on ring and saying, I've noticed X, Y, and Z about your profile. Can I do something for you? Or can I have fifteen minutes of your time? You know, you make yourself useful and available to people, and then in r in in in kind they'll they'll they'll respond. Jamie Schneiderman: Interesting. I think it's I think it's very, very good advice. I think it's a lot of people just don't they don't understand, right? Jason: I knew it intuit I knew it intuitively. That's because I'm I'm a people person. I generally want to help people. So I came across a piece of advice, but it's noticed it served me so well over the b and now I have over thirty thousand LinkedIn connections because of that. Ten thousand Facebook Jamie Schneiderman: Wow, pretty pretty impressive. Jason: connections, ten thousand Facebook. Yeah, so it's it serves me well. It serves me well. Jamie Schneiderman: So we ha we'll have to connect on LinkedIn. Yeah. Jason: No doubt, no doubt. I sent you an I sent you an invite. I sent you an invite. Jamie Schneiderman: Okay, awesome. so so okay. all right. And so no, I l I love this. This is amazing. yeah, the give the idea of give to get, and Jason: Correct. Jamie Schneiderman: is probably over is probably under I say underutilized, but I don't mean it like as a as a tactic. I think as you have it as a philosophy, not like as a way of being and a way of thinking. Jason: Is my is my way of life and if people did that more, you'd be surprised that the doors you could open up and live. Jamie Schneiderman: So so in an now the sorry and now sorry Jason, the the the w thing I wonder about around that is it is it that it's a speed thing? Like is people are just in a hurry, like they just they want what they need now and they don't wanna Jason: People people are self people are selfish. People people want Jamie Schneiderman: So they think about Jason: to get people are looking to get from people instead of give to people. If you look to give, Jamie Schneiderman: Interesting. Jason: you'll get. Jamie Schneiderman: All right. No, I love this. This is it's an amazing way to think about things and it probably isn't utilized enough. Okay, so so all right, so so help me with this. What so if people want to get hold of you, reach you, connect with you, whatever, and I'm sure lots Jason: I'll give my email email my cell phone. Email Jason dot J dot F-I-N-K-E-L-S-T-E-I-N at gmail dot com. My LinkedIn profile, Jason Finkelstein, my cell phone number, 917-405-1945. Very easy to get a hold of. Always take a meeting. I always take a meeting. I always take a meeting. Jamie Schneiderman: I love it. We'll we'll put we'll put it's amazing. I mean we'll put we'll put all the links in the description and we'll and make sure that people can get hold of you as they go ahead and do that. Anything else that you want to add or share like while you're here and and we you want to talk about? Because I I'm interested in the stuff that you want to talk about. Jason: No, I just wanna say that I know people go through tough times, you know, don't give up. In a moment's notice, the light comes. You know, it it just when you're not looking forward, you're looking for one thing, it comes in a different manner. Never give up, always persevere. no is one step closer to a yes. That's it. Just move forward. Don't look back on the past, always look forward to the future. That's what you got going for you. Jamie Schneiderman: I love it. That is the best way to summarize it and and and end on because I think the advice is fantastic. And I think not enough people talk that way. So all right. Well, Jason, thank you so much for your time. This is fantastic. This is great. and Jason: Thank you, Jamie. Pleasure's mine. I really enjoyed Jamie Schneiderman: and everybody who is watching and listening, until next time, thanks. Jason: You see me?