Business School with Sharran Srivatsaa

Latest Episodes:

After 31 Years of Investing, THIS Is My Exact System (Copy Me) Sep 24, 2026

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The biggest investing struggle isn’t picking the wrong stock–it's not having a system in place. In this episode, Sharran breaks down the investing framework he uses to make smarter, more disciplined decisions without constantly watching the market.

He explains his three core rules of investing, explores the difference between active, passive, and thematic investors, and explains why knowing which type you are matters. Sharran then dives into tax optimization, asset location, tax-loss harvesting, and the simple weekly, monthly, and quarterly cadence he uses to manage his portfolio.

Financial freedom goes beyond finding great investments. It includes creating a system and using it consistently to deploy your investments over time. Tune in, take notes, and build an investing playbook designed for the long term.

“A passive investor essentially invests in active investors... because if it's passive for you, it has to be active for someone else.”
~ Sharran Srivatsaa

Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction

00:54 - The three rules behind Sharran’s investing system

05:47 - Tax-loss harvesting and building a warehouse of losses

08:15 - Investment strategies, asset allocation, and optimizing for taxes

17:15 - The weekly, monthly, and quarterly investing cadence

20:45 - How a simple system creates investing confidence

Disclaimer: Financial decisions depend on individual circumstances. Please consider speaking with qualified financial professionals before making investment decisions.

Resources:
- The Next Billion by Sharran Srivatsaa - https://sharransrivatsaa.substack.com/
- Acquisition.com - https://www.acquisition.com/
- ACQ Real Estate - https://acqre.acquisition.com/
- Board Member: ARC Multifamily Real Estate Investing - https://arcmf.com/
- Board Member: The Real Brokerage - https://www.joinreal.com/

Connect with Sharran:
- Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/likesharran
- Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sharransrivatsaa/
- X - https://x.com/sharran
- LinkedIn - http://www.linkedin.com/in/sharran
- YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzpl_gT1bVB1iNZl9yQbWuA?sub_confirmation=1
- Threads - https://www.threads.com/@sharransrivatsaa

4 Brutally Honest Truths That Are Stopping You From Becoming Rich Sep 21, 2026

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Everyone talks about the different ways to create wealth. But what if some of the financial advice you've been following is keeping you broke?

In this episode, Sharran breaks down four brutally honest money truths about 401(k)s, credit cards, hot stocks, crypto, and financial advisors, and challenges some of the conventional advice people receive about money.

The goal is to become financially literate. At least enough to understand your money, question the incentives behind the advice you're getting, and take personal responsibility for building your wealth.

“Everyone talks about how to get rich. Nobody talks about the brutal truths on how we're staying poor, we're staying broke, even though our entire families are working hard.”
~ Sharran Srivatsaa

Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction

00:25 - Why maxing out your 401(k) won't make you rich

02:14 - Why cutting up your credit cards isn't a wealth strategy

04:10 - The danger of chasing hot stocks, crypto, and random tips

06:41 - Why financial advisors won't make you rich

09:28 - Why financial literacy matters even when you have an advisor

10:40 - The real goal: take personal responsibility for your money

Disclaimer: Financial decisions depend on individual circumstances. Please consider speaking with qualified financial professionals before making investment decisions.

Why I Left Goldman Sachs After Landing My Dream Job Sep 17, 2026

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What happens when you finally land your dream job only to realize it may not be the right path for you? Sharran spent years working toward Goldman Sachs, landing the job after 39 one-on-one interviews, but he walked away from it a few years later. Today, he shares three lessons he learned while working at Goldman Sachs that made him question his role as an investment banker and ultimately led him down a different path.

He tells the story of the opportunity that changed everything: taking a stake in a struggling real estate business despite never having operated a company before. With his money, time, and reputation on the line, Sharran helped grow the business from just over $300 million to $3.4 billion in five years.

More importantly, he learned what it takes to become an entrepreneur. This is the story of how Goldman Sachs helped Sharran discover what he was truly meant to do and why the best career path isn't always the most prestigious one.

“You don't want to get good at something that you hate.”
~ Sharran Srivatsaa

Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction

00:45 - The hidden costs in financial fees

04:10 - The lesson that demonstrated the power of ownership

06:01 - A lesson on the skills and sacrifice needed for entrepreneurship

08:01 - How Sharran grew Teles Properties 10X in five years

10:31 - How to figure out whether entrepreneurship is right for you

Disclaimer: Financial decisions depend on individual circumstances. Please consider speaking with qualified financial professionals before making investment decisions.

How I Would Invest $1000 If I Were Starting Over Sep 14, 2026

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What would you do with your first $1,000? Most people see their first $1,000 as money to save, invest, or spend. But what if you’re looking at it all wrong? In this episode, Sharran challenges the conventional approach to investing and explains why your first $1,000 should be viewed as an opportunity to create something bigger, not simply as money to put into a stock, ETF, or savings account.

He introduces the One-Hour Question, a constraint designed to help you figure out what you could build with $1,000 while working just one hour a day. He then explains the Learning Dividend: investing in a skill that can increase your earning potential for years to come.

Finally, Sharran explains why you are your best investment and why the return on investing in yourself is often difficult to see immediately. The goal isn't to grow $1,000 into $1 million overnight but to learn how to create the million dollars repeatedly.

“It’s not about the $1,000; it’s what the $1,000 can enable you to actually do.”
~ Sharran Srivatsaa

Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction

00:57 - The one-hour question: What can you build with $1,000?

04:16 - The learning dividend: invest in skills that pay for life

08:20 - The weekend sprint: learn a valuable skill without spending $1,000

09:42 - Why you are your best investment

13:03 - Why the ROI of investing in yourself is hard to see

14:08 - The real goal of your first $1,000

Disclaimer: Financial decisions depend on individual circumstances. Please consider speaking with qualified financial professionals before making investment decisions.

I Built 2 Billion Dollar Businesses. Here's What I Learned. Sep 10, 2026

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You can have a great business idea, talented people, and ambitious goals–but without the right systems for hiring, decision-making, focus, wealth, and leadership, growth can become much harder than it needs to be. In this episode, Sharran shares seven major lessons from 30 years of building businesses, investing in more than 100 companies, and leading organizations at scale.

He begins with one of the biggest drivers of business performance: finding and keeping A players who can create significantly more value than they cost. Sharran then breaks down his four-step decision-making framework, introduces his wealth ladder, and explains why financial freedom requires a system rather than simply a higher-paying job. Sharran closes with a leadership lesson that applies to teams, individuals, and even AI.

If you want to build a better business without learning every lesson the hard way, take these seven principles and put them into action.

“A great leader's job is to define what good looks like.”
~ Sharran Srivatsaa

Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction

00:23 - Lesson #1: How to find and keep A players

04:09 - Lesson #2: The 4-step framework for better decisions

07:36 - Lesson #3: Build a business for options, not just an exit

10:03 - Lesson #4: Turn value into a powerful value proposition

13:15 - Lesson #5: Why focus is more important than intelligence

16:43 - Lesson #6: The wealth ladder and how to get rich once

21:07 - Lesson #7: Great leaders define what good looks like

Disclaimer: Financial decisions depend on individual circumstances. Please consider speaking with qualified financial professionals before making investment decisions.

This Goldman Sachs Secret Finds Winning Investments ($3B+) Sep 07, 2026

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Most people invest based on hype, advice from friends, or the promise of high returns. But without a framework, you can either make emotional decisions that cost you or freeze and miss good opportunities. In this episode, Sharran introduces the Investment X-Ray, a four-part framework he has used for 20 years to evaluate investments and make better financial decisions.

He breaks the framework into four categories and explains how each category can be scored out of 25 to create a simple 100-point investment filter. He then applies it to examples including gold, startups, ETFs, Bitcoin, and real estate.

Drawing from his experience as an investment banker and professional investor, Sharran explains why relying on financial advice from social media can be dangerous. His Investment X-Ray allows investors to analyze and compare opportunities based on factors that actually matter to their goals.

“Rule number one of making an investment is don't lose money, right? Or if you know what you're doing, at least you know the risk that's associated with it.”
~ Sharran Srivatsaa

Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction

01:29 - Capital preservation: understanding your potential downside

02:51 - Tax efficiency: looking beyond investment returns

05:25 - Yield or cash flow: making your money work for you

06:36 - Growth: evaluating an investment’s long-term upside

07:23 - The 100-point Investment X-Ray scoring system

09:26 - Using the framework to evaluate startups

11:46 - Applying the X-Ray to ETFs and the S&P 500

14:38 - Evaluating Bitcoin through the four-part framework

17:25 - Comparing real estate investments using the Investment X-Ray

Disclaimer: Financial decisions depend on individual circumstances. Please consider speaking with qualified financial professionals before making investment decisions.

If I Started Over Tomorrow, I'd Do These 7 Things First Sep 01, 2026

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Click Here to Get All Podcast Show Notes! (https://sharran.com/podcast/)
You can spend decades learning lessons the hard way, or you can learn from someone who has already built billion-dollar companies, lost millions, and started from dumpster-diving for food. In this episode, Sharran reflects on the seven lessons he wishes he had learned earlier in his entrepreneurial journey.
He explains why persistence can be more powerful than having a perfect “why,” why entrepreneurs should build the biggest possible business, and how creating a competitive moat can turn massive upfront effort into long-term leverage. He also explores why building a business is less about the exit and more about creating options.
Sharran then shares his belief that everything has a playbook, warns against risking an entire “empire” for a short-term opportunity, and explains his definition of being “deserving.”
Success leaves clues. Don't waste decades figuring it out through trial and error; steal the seven lessons from Sharran so you can start winning.
“Everything in life has a playbook. I’m a strong believer that everything in life has a way to win. And I call that the input-output equation.”
~Sharran Srivatsaa
Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
01:06 - Lesson #1: Never give up today
03:47 - Lesson #2: Build the biggest possible business
05:43 - Lesson #3: Create a competitive moat
08:35 - Lesson #4: Build for options, not just an exit
10:03 - Lesson #5: Everything in life has a playbook
12:41 - Lesson #6: Don’t risk the empire for a pot of gold
15:25 - Lesson #7: Ask intelligently by becoming deserving
Disclaimer: Financial decisions depend on individual circumstances. Please consider speaking with qualified financial professionals before making investment decisions.
Resources:
The Next Billion by Sharran Srivatsaa - https://www.mynextbillion.com/
Acquisition.com - https://www.acquisition.com/
ACQ Real Estate - https://acqre.acquisition.com/
Board Member: ARC Multifamily Real Estate Investing - https://arcmf.com/
Board Member: The Real Brokerage - https://www.joinreal.com/
Connect with Sharran:
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/likesharran
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sharransrivatsaa
X - https://x.com/sharran
LinkedIn - http://www.linkedin.com/in/sharran
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@sharran/featured
Threads - https://www.threads.com/@sharransrivatsaa

The ONLY 5 Assets You Need to Invest In (Not Stocks) Aug 25, 2026

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Everyone thinks money is the only way to get ahead. But what if your greatest assets aren’t sitting in your bank account? Discover the five trades you can use to create opportunities, build wealth, and unlock unlimited upside.

In this episode, Sharran explains why money is only one of the many assets people can use to create opportunities and reveals five powerful trades that can be exchanged in the marketplace.

Through personal stories, including his experiences with investing in mentors, relationships, and real estate opportunities, Sharran shows that wealth is not just about how much money you have but also about understanding and leveraging all the assets available to you.

“When you see money as this one-dimensional thing, and it's the only way you can win, it is very debilitating… But when you start to see that you have multiple assets, that’s when it really starts to work.”
~ Sharran Srivatsaa

Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction

01:25 - The money trade: Using capital to create significantly larger returns

05:14 - The relationship trade: How connections create wealth opportunities

07:47 - The time trade: Turning time into money and equity

09:54 - The skill trade: Developing valuable skills that increase income

12:17 - The brand trade: Building an asset you can monetize

13:43 - How to combine multiple assets to create bigger opportunities

Disclaimer: Financial decisions depend on individual circumstances. Please consider speaking with qualified financial professionals before making investment decisions.

4 Things That Always Steal Your Money (Avoid No. 3) Aug 18, 2026

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You can work harder, earn more, and cut small expenses, but still struggle to build wealth. The reason? Four silent money monsters are quietly stealing your money without you even realizing it.

In this episode, Sharran provides a simple framework for identifying and eliminating the four biggest obstacles to your financial freedom. Because, of course, wealth is often lost through overlooked forces working against you.

Sharran explains why idle cash loses purchasing power, why having a tax strategy can dramatically impact wealth building, and how emotional decisions can interrupt the power of long-term investing. He also reveals how seemingly small investment fees can compound into millions of dollars lost over time. A key takeaway is that building wealth is not always about making more; it is about keeping more.

“Sometimes wealth creation is not about making more—it’s actually about losing less.”
~ Sharran Srivatsaa

Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction

01:31 - Inflation and the hidden loss of purchasing power

06:32 - Taxes and how they destroy wealth creation

14:22 - Interruption and the danger of breaking your investment plan

17:49 - Fees and the hidden cost of investment expenses

22:06 - Recap: The four money monsters

Disclaimer: Financial decisions depend on individual circumstances. Please consider speaking with qualified financial professionals before making investment decisions.

The 5 Money Milestones That Give You Financial Freedom Aug 11, 2026

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Most people are chasing random financial goals: Buying a house, hitting a net worth number, or copying what everyone else is doing. But nobody ever gives you a structured financial roadmap.

In this episode, Sharran breaks down the five money milestones that create a clear path toward financial freedom and shares examples, including how his college roommate went from earning $65,000 to $125,000 after increasing his skills and market value.

“If you can just get your active income greater than your monthly expenses, you’re already 90% of the way there.”
- Sharran Srivatsaa

Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction

01:26 - Milestone #1: Make active income greater than monthly expenses

05:10 - Milestone #2: Create a money distribution system

08:17 - Milestone #3: Understand asset location and where your money lives

13:30 - Milestone #4: Make every dollar work through cash management

19:08 - Milestone #5: Investing in asset classes that create long-term wealth

Disclaimer: Financial decisions depend on individual circumstances. Please consider speaking with qualified financial professionals before making investment decisions.

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