On board today is Richard, a Sydney based digital marketer to talk all about digital marketing and online business, and how he leveraged digital marketing to create a business, reach financial independence and leave his job.Richard actually has had a similar background to me, starting off his career in engineering and then chasing financial independence through leveraging his time and creating a business in his dream job.

Richard grew up in Canberra and currently lives in Sydney with his Wife and daughters. Whilst web design and digital marketing is his current expertise, he has actually been building websites since he was 15 years old (and back then it was a lot tougher and required a lot more coding!). After a break, he ended up getting back into websites as a side hustle as taught by Matt and Liz Raad at the eBusiness Institute after he and his wife attended one of their seminars. They ended up absolutely killing it – managing to create passive income from several personal websites as well as building some high-performing websites for local business clients.

Based on their success, Richard continued to build and support client sites for regular income, and actually was able to leave his full-time Engineering job back in 2019 when he and his Wife co-founded Paramark. Paramark is their digital marketing agency that specializes in helping industrial, tech and finance businesses grow through engaging web design, search engine optimization and online advertising.

Fast forward three years to today, he runs this business full time with a team of seven, and is continually expanding. Richard runs dozens of websites (both clients and personal portfolio sites), enabling his family to reach financial freedom and regain control over their lives. He says he feels a lot better as he finally has time to spend raising his young family, with the ultimate ‘work optional from home flexibility’ that comes with running an online business.

https://captainfi.com/podcast-richard-paramark/

Onboard the podcast today is Chris Brycki, founder and CEO of Stockspot investments and three times in a row winner of the ASX share trading game!

Chris has over 25 years of investment experience and spent most of his early career as a Portfolio Manager at UBS. Chris has been a member of the ASIC Digital Advisory Committee and volunteers as a member of the Investment Committee for the NSW Cancer Council. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting/Finance Co-op Scholarship) from UNSW.

Chris Brycki, founder and CEO of the digital investment advisor Stockspot.Chris Brycki, Stockspot

On board today is Chris Brycki, the CEO and founder of Stockspot, a Sydney based online investment company.  Chris is an experienced fund manager, holding a Bachelor of commerce and some impressive credentials – Chris was the national winner of the ASX share trading game three years in a row, and went on to work successfully as a portfolio manager at UBS investments. 

After years working as a fund manager and openly discussing finance with his close friends and family, Chris saw the need for an investment tool that was fairly priced and focused on the client, and not just on extracting the most fees out of investors! He also decided he wanted out of the corporate rat race, and somehow managed to convince his partner to sell their property to found the dream of their very own investment company. Fast forward 8 years, Chris has been an absolute success story building one of the most popular automatic investment tools in Australia and is now managing over $450 Million of clients funds completely hands-free for them.

I actually really like the passive approach Stockspot use and after meeting Chris and the team I decided to voted with my dollars, and now have 5 figures invested with them. 

Today Chris and I are going to unpack this bit more and talk about what Stockspot is, how it works, the role asset allocation plays and the impact of CHESS sponsorship on the structure of your investments. I’ll also try to get as much valuable information out of Chris as I can about his journey to Financial Independence and his experience working as a fund manager.

“We’re trusted by thousands of clients to manage hundreds of millions of dollars. That’s because we always act in our clients’ best interest, and we’re completely independent from the funds we recommend.”

Chris Brycki, Founder and CEO Stockspot

On board today is Pat Garrett, co founder and CEO of Six Park online asset management. Pat is a financial advisor and member of the FPA, as well asgraduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He has worked as a Board member, CEO, CFO, senior level corporate advisor and a private equity investor. Pat has over 30 years experience in the financial industry - having worked for JP morgan in New York and San Fransisco before moving to Melbourne where he worked as managing director for private investment firm Georgica Associates. In 2014 he co founded Six Park with Brian Watson (AO) who himself also worked at JP Morgan (as the Chairman of JP Morgan Australia).

Pat is a serious investor, but outside of finance he loves Surfing, Barbecuing and spending time at home with the family and his dog Charlie. I've been in touch with Pat for some time now, and he has always had time to chat with me and answer any questions or concerns I have had - not just about my Six Park investment balance and whether I am in the right fund, but also about investing, mindset and life in general. He's even taught me a few new recipes he learned in lockdown!

Update - in July 2023 SixPark announced it would be closing down operations, and are not taking on any new clients. Existing clients were able to withdraw or transfer their investments to other roboadvisors.

On board the podcast today is Scott Rieckens, Author of Playing with FIRE and producer and feature of the Playing with FIRE documentary.

Happily married in California with a young daughter, Rieckens had his dream life: A luxury car, yacht club membership and a big house. Underneath this façade, he was struggling with depression, overworked and overwhelmed, with no exit strategy…..

“What If a Happier Life Was Only a Few Simple Choices Away?

Scott Rieckens

After discovering the financial Independence Retire Early movement, Scott began learning as much as he could, finally explaining to his family and his wife Taylor that it was time to change. After a lot of research, talking and hesitation, they finally agreed. He finally quit his job, the family hit the road to move interstate, begun working remotely, and finally settled in a lower cost of living area, downsized their home and cut their expenses by 50%. Playing with Fire is Rieckens’ story as told from their ‘works in progress’ perspective on their journey to financial independence through deliberate minimalism, reduced spending and maximised investing over a one year period.

A man after my own heart (and hairline!), Scott has championed Financial Independence, and his documentaries, short films, interviews and published works have provided information and inspiration to millions globally. I am absolutely stoked to have been able to chat with him and pick his brain for us all to benefit.