Happy Monday everyone, thanks for tuning into this week's update. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on your preferred platform

In this episode, we dive into Ant Group, the highest valued fintech company in the world. Ant Group dates back to 2004 when Alipay was created at the beginning of E-commerce to solve the trust between buyers and sellers in online transactions. Sort of like an Escrow service where it would hold the cash to ensure that products or services were delivered. This allowed e-commerce to flourish, it solved one of the largest problems. The company was previously held under the Alibaba Umbrella owned and Co-Founded by Jack Ma and was spun off in 2011 from Alibaba. Alibaba does have a 33% equity stake in the business.

Ant Group divides its services into three main categories. CreditTech , InvestmentTech, and InsureTech

It was supposed to be the biggest IPO of a company, Ant Group - To the point where Hong Kong stockbrokers were so confident in Ant Group’s blockbuster IPO that they offered retail investors to buy the stock with as much as 20x leverage some reports saying even 30x leverage. Due to a reflection of fierce competition for finance and trading fees. Ant planned to do a dual listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai and was expected to raise at least $35B. Hong Kong has more than 700 brokerages but only 14 generate more than half the city's daily stock turnover. Loans increase the odds of winning an IPO allocation and amplify gains when the stock rises after listing. Using the 20x leverage, if the stock declined 5% then their entire investment would be wiped out. 

Regulators told the company that the online lending business world faces greater scrutiny. Most brokerages said they would waive handling fees and interest rates on margin loans for investors who had subscribed to the share. Bright Smart, a brokerage said that listed companies should be required to compensate investors in such situations, other major lenders like HSBC and BOC Hong Kong Holdings said they would still charge interest on margin loans. 

Check out the acquired episode on Alibaba Here:

https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/season-3-episode-5nbspalibaba

We also talked about Edtech, This industry is growing in the united states, it is called Edtech. It is comprised of PreK-12, post-secondary, and corporate training. Research made by Grandview estimated the global education tech market to be around 76.4 billion dollars in 2019, and they expect a CAGR of 18.1% from 2020 to 2027.  The K-12 sector is being the most explored, with 42% of total revenue from the industry Preschool expected to have the highest CAGR 2020-2027 (20%) North America is the region that is focusing the most on EdTech, 38.2% of 2019 rev. American Edtech companies raised around 1.5 billion in 2018. This number increased to 1.7 in 2019 (deals dominated largely by series C)

Emerging Technologies are creating a new environment for companies. We can divide those supporting technologies into 4 different industries (Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Blockchain) AR/ VR: Labster, which brings virtual laboratory simulations for STEM students (a great solution if properly executed), raised $21 million for its series B. Owl Ventures led the round.   AI: Kidaptive, an adaptive-learning company that uses their platform combined with 3rd parties’ solutions (such as iPad-games) to capture and share data collected on the students to help educate companies to increase their learning outcomes. Raised $19.1 million in series C in 2018.  Robotics: Roybi and Robotify Blockchain: Credly, which I would say is a section of itself, structuring a skills-based currency for workers where badges are given to you based on your skills and shared with companies. 

Happy Wednesday everyone. Today we have a great interview with Morris Amiri, Founder, President, and Chief Investment Officer of Sunset West Advisors (www.sunsetwestadvisors.com). Sunset West Advisors is a wealth management firm based in Beverly Hills, California. They help their clients crystallize their unique financial objectives and offer comprehensive solutions for how to best achieve them. If I had money to be managed Morris and his team is the first place we would put it. 

In this podcast we talk about our history, Connor met Morris while bussing tables at Toca Madera while attending Santa Monica Community College. That interaction led to Morris mentoring Connor around Real Estate, Finance, and most importantly the foundation of being not only a great businessman but a good person. We also dive into his past of working at Bear Sterns, RBC, and now owning his private wealth management firm. We also talk about the opportunities in real estate right now and how COVID has affected our lives. We hope you enjoy it!

Happy Monday everyone. Hope everyone was safe and ready for November. Today's topics include Dunkin Brands Group being acquired by Inspire Brands. We are also looking into the Pokemon Card Market as it is very interesting to hear about this wave of alternative investments. Europe is also locking down again and there may be some consequences associated. Continue to be safe and we will see you Wednesday for a special episode. 

Diving into in, Dunkin Brands Group being potentially acquired in an 11.3B cash buyout by Inspire Brands, which is owned by the Rowark Capital. Dunkin or Dunkin Donuts (changed due to a focus on coffee), also owns Baskin Robins restaurants international and abroad. Dunkin Brands runs on a 100% franchise business model where their sources of revenue come from royalties, franchise payments, licensing, certain product sales, and advertising fees. Dunkin has had a great year as stock when compared to other QSR (Quick Service Restaurants) in the space like Mcdonalds, Chipotle, and dominos (even compared to Starbucks, Dunkin has done great). Over the previous thinking, we would assume that restaurants would get hit hard. Inspire Brands currently owns brands like (Arby's, Buffalo Wild Wings, Rusty Taco, Jimmy Johns, and Sonic Drive-in. Inspire Brands was on a purchasing spree and has developed a lean portfolio of the franchise and multi-location restaurants that is diverse (Arbys - Fast Food, BWW - Sports Bar, Jimmy John's - Sandwiches, Rusty Taco - Mexican, Sonic: Drive-In) when adding Dunkin and Baskin they are very diverse. It will be interesting to see what Inspire Brands does with this acquisition and to see if they make more acquisitions in the future.

We also look into the pokemon card space. There are some things to be learned from this even if pokemon cards are not a credible investment by some standards. Trading Cards, Collectables, Clothing, Sneakers are all products that have seen a huge growth in recent years, especially pokemon cards most recently. Pokemon is the largest grossing media franchise. We talk about the pitfalls of investing in this type of asset class and the issues with the overall market. 

We also look into the EU and their lockdowns. Although GDP in Europe has grown, so have the cases in the country. This action shows the intensity of what is going on not only there but what has been occurring in the world. Government aid should be arriving but we are curious to see how the United States moves. The elections are coming up and it will be interesting to see what happens. Stay safe out there!

Happy Monday ! In this episode we break down Peloton, Goldman Sachs & Data Ethics. 

Peloton is a fitness technology company that is leveraging hardware and software by producing high end fitness products and a SaaS business model to boot. John Foley is the CEO and Founder of the brand where he was previously the President of E-Commerce at Barnes & Noble. The company has seen amazing growth at a market Capitalization at a rate of over 380% since their IPO. YUGE. The company, like Zoom has seen huge growth and has taken advantage of the COVID-19 Pandemic as consumer behavior is shifting. 

Goldman Sachs was involved in the 1MDB Scandal (1 Malaysia Development Berhad Scandal) which is one of the biggest financial scandals of all time. This Scandal involved the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund and then Prime Minister Najib Razak who was accused of moving $700M from the 1MDB to his personal bank accounts. Goldman Sachs led the fundraising for 1MDB and had to pay over $2.8B. Jho Low is A Malaysian businessman and is an international fugitive for his connection in the 1MDB scandal and was supposedly the mastermind behind the process. 

Data Data Data! Luca is looking into the startup world at the company, Mine. Mine is a company that brings the ownership of data back to the user. With Mine, you can enjoy the internet feeling safe and secure where it gives the power back to you. They use AI (Artificial Intelligence) to discover what companies are holding your data by analyzing your emails’ subject lines. Mine makes it easy to reclaim your data. Mine Recently raised a Series A of $9.5M. Mine is an Israel company. The company was founded by CEO Gal Ringel, CTO Gal Golan and CPO Kobi Nissan. Ringel and Golan are both veterans of Unit 8200, the cybersecurity unit of the Israeli Defense Forces. 

Happy Friday. In this episode, we explore BaaS (Banking as a Service). These new types of companies are bridging the older established banks with newer financial technology by using their software to make transactions and management of their services seamless. There is also current business news regarding Facebook and Twitter censoring the prudential candidate Joe Biden. Finally, we will be speaking about Dan Bilzerian and his company Ignite.The company recently appointed a “New” President, who is also the COO. What's going to happen to his company? They are igniting their cash on fire! 

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Happy Monday! On this podcast we are discussing square purchasing $50M worth of bitcoin to add to its balance sheet. The company owned by Jack Dorsey has been an advocate of the cryptocurrency and even allowed users of its CashApp to purchase the currency in 2018. There was also a lot of other news this month with Brian Armstrong of Coinbase releasing his memo around their company's mission. Andreeson Horwitz also released a documentary called crypto startup school. We are also talking about Triller, the tiktok alternative, us based content app. The company is estimated to be worth over $1B. We finish off talking about some new ipos that are happening this week featuring Array Technologies (ARRY) which is founded to develop integrated ground mounting systems including steel supports, electric motors, and electronic controllers called single-axis trackers. 70% of all ground-mounted solar energy projects in the UNited States are built with tracker systems in 2019. We also talk about Miniso Group going public which is a lifestyle retailer with several thousand stores in China. Be sure to follow us on Instagram and share with your friends!

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Happy Friday, in this episode we are speaking about J.P. Morgan and their spoofing issue. The CFTC has charged J.P. Morgan for around $1B. This was the largest amount of money charging a bank for spoofing. We also talked about Forbes AI 50 list with the help of sequia and other VCs. Ghost is a driverless car company looking to take on Tesla and AMP Robotics is looking to change recycling with robots doing recycling. We also talk about the debate and what could potentially be happening to this world!

Happy Monday! On today's episode, we talk about Quibid. Quibi is trying to create the first entertainment platform built for easy, on-the-go mobile viewing, allowing today's leading studios and creative talent to tell original stories in an entirely new way. It also develops short-form media content designed for smartphones. They have raised $2B so far and currently are having some issues. We feel as if Quibi might come back into a topic as some rumours are spreading about a potential merger or acquisition or a public offering through a potential SPAC. Facebook is also going through some antitrust issues. It seems as if Facebook has constantly had a target on its back. With the social dilemma and Are we going to have a Face App and Book App? Is Facebook the New Standard Oil? We are looking into Tech potentially overreaching or is the government overreaching with their claims?  We also talk about Taiwan and Asus as they plan to create new manufacturing processes. The process involved machines that leverage AI and Machine Learning in order to do more tasks. This is huge because this can lead to more education of the population. Asus has already said that there is a 5% yield increase through these new productions. This seems to be the way innovation is taking place on a manufacturing standpoint. 

Happy Friday! In this episode we talk about Palantir Technologies. Palantir develops and builds data fusion platforms for public institutions, commercial enterprises, and non-profit organizations. They use multiple data points to create additional  data that has a greater value when its put together. We also talk about Opendoor which transforms the current selling process of listing, showings, months of uncertainty and makes selling a home a few clicks online. Opendoor is going public via a SPAC, or a blank check company. We also talk about the EU and Google beef that is going on. We also have some breaking news on the podcast! If you enjoy or learn anything from the podcast, be sure to share it with friends.

On this episode, we have Kyle, a guest on the show, who goes to Loyola Marymount University and studies Marketing. We first dive into Mcdonalds and their partnership with Travis Scott. He is a music artist that has recently also done different collaborations including one with Fortnite. We also talk about social justice that professional sports leagues are promoting. We are also talking about amazon’s hardware event where they release many different items. We finish off the podcast talking about space travel and the companies that are pioneering this industry including Virgin Galactic, SpaceX, and Blue Origin. Rate us 5 Stars on Apple and Follow us on Spotify - but most importantly share this podcast with a friend!