This week on Weighing the Risks we are joined by Raj Udeshi, Founder of FarmClub and, previously, the founder of Hidden Levers. As a serial entrepreneur, Mr. Udeshi has a history of bootstrapped success. Now fully immersed in a 1,400-acre pistachio farm for the past 4 years, Mr. Udeshi has turned his attention to the things that matter most – security for food, water, and energy. Before entering the agriculture sector, Mr. Udeshi was Founder and CRO of a HiddenLevers, a fintech platform which was acquired after 11 years in business (acquired by Orion in 2021). Mr. Udeshi stayed on as Chief Innovation Officer and then transitioned into farming. He is now the Founder and Managing Member of FarmClub, a nascent agriculture innovation incubator in Central Valley, California. Mr. Udeshi received a JD from Pepperdine School of Law and a BA from Northwestern University, with work experience in appellate law, sales + trading, fintech, new media, and visual arts. 

Key Takeaways

• [03:16] - More on Raj’s background and his work at Hidden Levers.
• [11:56] - Learn more about FarmClub, the new agriculture company that Raj founded.
• [16:16] - Learn more about the Hidden Levers’ war room webinars. How did Raj create these and what were they designed to do?
• [22:47] - How does Raj define risk and how does he think advisors and investors should think about it?
• [26:14] - What about a potential civil war is so compelling to Raj?
• [29:51] - How would Raj define civil war, in all its potential permutations, in current times?
• [38:00] - Might the US debt be the powder keg or catalyst for a “civil war” type event?
• [45:47] - What would it take for the US to lose its status as the reserve currency?
• [49:37] - Could all of the political unrest be a potential way of deleveraging and growing our way out of debt?
• [65:21] - Base case market scenario for the election year and how probable Raj thinks this is.
• [71:12] - Good case market scenario for the election year and how probable Raj thinks this is.
• [82:35] - Ugly market scenario for the election year and how probable Raj thinks this is.
• [88:24] - Are there any other risks that advisors and investors should be considering right now?

 Quotes

[23:27] ~ “Now, I’d say we are in a different era, we’re definitely in a stock picker’s era. Fundamentals matter way more. I’ve noticed just how much equities react on the day of earnings, up and down, just way more than the first 20 years of my career. So, maybe it’s a more fundamentals market now and macro matters less, or it’s just quickly put to the side…and I do agree with the comment that is commonly heard in finance, which is, the biggest risk is being out of the market - right? Over a 20 year period, over a long horizon, the biggest risk is being out of the market, not having something at risk. ” ~ Raj Udeshi

[35:03] ~ “You know The Fed looks a lot at winter, and non-consumption during winter, because people aren’t driving, people aren’t vacationing, they’re not doing those things. So, if there’s a serious amount…a pervasive or scaled violence, what I’d say is I’d be afraid of societal non-participation…people not going out to the movies, eating dinner [etc].” ~ Raj Udeshi

Links

• Raj Udeshi on LinkedIn
• [email protected]
• “Harvest Moon” by Poolside (Neil Young Cover)

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