Raise the Bar

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TME 11 | How You Can Win Trump’s Tariff War Aug 20, 2025

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Title: How You Can Win Trump’s Tariff War Summary: The video hosted by Seth Bradley discusses the potential economic implications of President Trump’s aggressive tariff policies and how they might present unique opportunities for wealth building in America amidst global economic upheaval. Bradley explains that tariffs—essentially taxes on imports—are economic tools that can protect domestic industries but also lead to broader economic challenges, particularly if not applied thoughtfully. He outlines the dynamics of Trump’s tariff strategy, including a systematic and reciprocal approach to trade that could reshape relationships with various countries. Seth Bradley emphasizes that while the stock market is experiencing volatility and media outlets are reacting negatively, there are underlying opportunities that savvy investors should seize. He advocates for a focus on U.S. manufacturing and infrastructure, energy independence, and advancements in AI and automation as key areas for investment. The video posits that although immediate challenges like inflation and retaliation from trade partners are likely, the long-term outlook sees a potential reshoring of American industry, a reemergence of economic sovereignty, and ultimately an empowered U.S. economy. Links to Watch and Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgWxz_V0lPk&list=PLSfheWyV7beFqERLX4ebBUJ4SmzmF6z8e&index=2 Bullet Point Highlights: Market Volatility: The stock market sees a significant downturn as tariffs take effect, presenting both challenges and opportunities. Tariff Strategy: Trump’s tariffs are described as calculated economic warfare, designed to compel countries to negotiate trade terms. Manufacturing Reshoring: The video advocates for investing in U.S.-based manufacturing as companies look to bring jobs back onshore. Energy Independence: Emerging opportunities in U.S. energy production are highlighted amid tariffs hurting foreign oil imports. AI and Automation: The potential for AI-driven solutions to replace expensive offshore labor costs is discussed as a strategic investment avenue. Investment Strategies: Three key strategies are proposed for capitalizing on the unique economic landscape: investing in infrastructure, energy, and AI technologies. Vision for the Future: The potential long-term benefits of Trump’s tariff policies are framed as a chance to reset trade imbalances and promote U.S. economic strength. Transcript: (Seth Bradley) Trump just broke the global economy and it might be the best thing to happen to America in decades. The stock market is crashing. China, Mexico, Canada, they're retaliating. The mainstream media is melting down. But the truth, if you understand what's really going on, this might be the single greatest opportunity of the decade to build wealth. So, let's break it down. No fluff, just facts. What's up, big brains? Welcome back to Raise the Bar, where I simplify complex money, legal, and political moves so you can make power plays in real time. I'm Seth Bradley, securities attorney, founder, and investor, and I quit a multiple six-f figureure big law job to pursue entrepreneurship and a life without limits. Today, I'm giving you the truth about tariffs, Trump's Liberation Day, and how to turn this global shakeup into your personal leverage point. All right, let's get it. Let's start out with the basics. So, what exactly is a tariff? At its core, a tariff is a tax on imports. That's right. It is a tax. When a foreign company sells goods into the US, the government slaps on a tax, usually a percentage of the total value. So, if a car from Germany costs 50k and there's a 10% tariff, then that car now costs $55,000 to bring into the US. So, who pays the tariff? Well, it's US importers, not the foreign shippers. And yes, it trickles down to you, the consumer, right here in the US. But tariffs aren't just taxes. They're economic weapons. And right now, Trump's using them with either surgical precision or as a nuclear bomb, depending on how you look at it. All right. To know where you're going to go, you have to know where you come from. Tariffs go way back in American history. It's not anything new. And in fact, before the IRS, tariffs were how we paid for the entire federal government, rather than through, let's say, income taxes, property, capital gains taxes, and all these other taxes that we all just know and love today. Tariffs haven't always resulted in good or bad for the US. It's a mixed bag. Alexander Hamilton pushed for tariffs to protect US industry. Success, yes. Abraham Lincoln used them to industrialize the North during the Civil War. Success, yes. But in the 1930s, the Smooth Holly Tariff Act backfired hard, triggering a trade war that deepened the Great Depression. So, not always successful. Tariffs can protect jobs and industries, but if they're too extreme or poorly timed, they can tank the economy. So, the key is strategy. And whether or not you believe in Trump, he's playing chess here, not checkers. Something you never used to associate with Trump is humble, but he has come a long way and is humble enough to at least have some of the greatest economic minds in his corner. So, they have a business-minded mentality, and that's exactly what this is. We need to stop treating the government like it's aing goodwill. It's not here to give you for free, and it's certainly not here to take what's yours. It's here to work for you, for what the people want, and decide through a democratic process what to do. Once upon a time, we literally became a country because we wanted independence, self-sufficiency, and freedom. We chose to break free from overt taxation, oppression, control, regulation, and government oversight. What's happening in 2025? In case you missed it, let's get caught up right now. Trump has declared Liberation Day and followed up with the most aggressive global tariff policy in modern history. A minimum of 10% tariffs on every import into the US, up to 60% tariffs on China. That changes every single day though. Reciprocal tariffs on all countries. If a country charges us 25%, we charge them 25% back. But that's not exactly true. And we'll get into more of that later. Canada and Mexico not exempt. This isn't just about China. It's about a full global reset. So the kicker is formula based. Trump's trade team built a publicly disclosed algorithm that adjusts tariff rates based on countries how countries treat the US exports. It's dynamic. is constantly changing. It updates monthly. This isn't random. It's calculated economic warfare. All right, next. Now that it's in effect, what's happening? Well, you're seeing it. Wall Street is panicking. S&P 500 is down 14% in the first two weeks. Tech stocks are plummeting. Elon Musk just posted on X that supply chain realignment is overdue and this pain is necessary. Mexico is negotiating. Canada's threatening retaliation, but also showing signs of blinking. China, they're digging the toes in, but there's exports that are suffering. You just won't hear all this stuff on CNBC, but you know, many of these global players are coming to the table. Tariffs are doing exactly what they're designed to do. Force negotiation, good or bad. Trump's move is forcing every country to rethink dependence on the US consumer. And not just that, it's forcing us to rethink how we depend on them. All right, let's set the record straight on a few of these common things that are floating around here. One, tariffs only hurt the other country. That's totally wrong. US businesses and consumers feel the sting, and we will. We are, at least at first. Sometimes you're going to hear this is just economic nationalism. But that's also wrong. This is about strategic leverage, not about isolating us. Third, it's inflationary in the short term. This is true. But if local supply chains relocize, prices stabilize and strengthen the domestic economy and we'll be good to go. But right now, we're feeling it. Next, tariffs can bring manufacturing back. This is true. Maybe, and we're already seeing US factories reannounced, reopenings in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, places like that. And we've seen trillions of dollars of investment promises rolling in already. But if this steers us into a deep recession, companies won't have the resources or confidence to build. All right. So, what's my prediction? And some of these aren't even predictions cuz they're happening right now. Are risks, short-term inflation, price increases, stock market volatility, retaliation from trade partners. These things are already happening. So, they're probably just going to escalate for the near future. But the potential upsides, reshoring of manufacturing, massive supply chain independence, huge massive negotiation leverage for better and at the very least equal trade terms. Stronger US dollars, capital fleas, unstable markets abroad. Those are all massive positives, but they're not going to happen overnight. So, what's my prediction? short-term pain, long-term economic sovereignty, but we're entering a serious rebalancing period, and the US is reasserting its economic power. And while it hurts now, this could finally reset the broken trade game that's been bleeding our economy dry for decades and would eventually take us down. All right, so what do we do about it? We need to capitalize. So, what are the three smartest ways to capitalize on Trump's 2025 tariffs? There are lots of unknowns and unpredictability in business. But one thing is always true. When there's panic in the streets, there is massive opportunity somewhere and there's going to be wealth transfer. For those with cool heads, fortitude, and discipline, we can win. So, what am I doing? And what can you do to capitalize on all of this unpredictability? All right. Strategy number one, invest in US manufacturing and infrastructure. Tariffs equal a return to Americanmade. Full stop. Trump's reciprocal tariffs aren't just economic sanctions. They're a forced reshoring event here in the US. Global trade is breaking. Supply chains are rerouting. Countries like China, Mexico, and Canada, they're scrambling to adjust. And meanwhile, America is rebuilding. This is your moment to build wealth while the rest of the market panics. So, how do we actually do this? Play number one, invest passively in the U in industrial and infrastructure projects. Tap into private equity funds, syndications, or REIT alternatives that focus on, of course, manufacturing facilities, US-based supply chain logistics, cold storage, and warehouse assets, transportation, freight infrastructure, that stuff works, too. These funds are just pouring into the reshoring initiatives, not just from the government, but from Fortune 500 companies rethinking their risk exposure. Play number two for my capital raisers out there. Raise capital for experienced sponsors in the same space. If you're not the operator, but you've got a network, become a capital aggregator. Use SPVS or fund of funds models like TriVest to compliantly pull investor capital into high quality US industrial and infrastructure deals. Bring your network along. Bring limited partners into deals with better terms, higher leverage, and strategic upside. Focus on experienced sponsors. Of course, do your due diligence. Make sure they have a track record in industrial real estate or again critical infrastructure. All right, play number three. If you have the resources, buy directly. Also got to have the knowhow, right? Focus on manufacturing assets, warehouses near growing ports, logistics hubs, things like that. Make sure you have a boots on the ground partner if it's not you in that local market. Think markets like Columbus, Kansas City. These cities are turning into many powerhouses as global shipping patterns shift inland. Bonus play, buy dirt where the roads are going. Right? So, if you're into residential and you don't know anything about industrial and you're not comfortable with it, think about residential and mixed juice land near inland ports, new highways, industrial corridors, growth zones, things like that. These plays won't necessarily cash flow day one, but they will appreciate like crazy over the next 3 to 5 years as that infrastructure is finally built out. Strategy number two, energy independence investing. If manufacturing is the body, energy is the blood, where are you going to power this thing from? Trump's tariffs are slamming foreign oil and renewables equipment. And that gives domestic US producers, especially in oil and gas and renewables such as batteries, an unmatched advantage. And with the world watching this tariff war unfold, there's one thing everyone agrees on. Energy is national security right now. So what do you do? Play number one, invest passively, of course, in US energy assets, oil and gas royalties, own a slice of production without the drilling risk. You have to dig deep into those documents and see what you're getting yourself into. There's a lot of different oil and gas funds that are structured in different ways and have different tax incentives versus cash flow. So, make sure you dig deep into that. Also look at battery manufacturers like Stack Rack Battery, especially US-based ones, solar developers, those leveraging domestic supply chains. Look for funds and startups focused on energy independence, not just ESG headlines. Real world example, I had mentioned StackRrack battery. I co-founded StackRrack, a US-based modular battery company. And we're not just producing batteries, we're part of the national grid modernized push. Our battery systems are designed, they're assembled, and they're shipped right here in the US. We're ULcertified, scalable, and recession resistant. And tariffs just gave us a built-in mode. This is exactly what happens when policy meets opportunity. You just have to open your eyes and find those right opportunities. And a bonus here, tax credit tailwinds. The US is still offering massive tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act, for now at least. Pair that with import based price increases and you've got a once in a decade profit window. And building on that, what's your capital aggregator play? If you don't want to operate, partner with fund managers or sponsors deploying capital into these sectors, be the legal, the capital raising or the strategic partner in high demand governmentbacked tariff fueled energy projects. My law firm, Raise Law, can help you build any capital raising structure you can imagine. So feel free to reach out. All right, strategy number three, back or build AIdriven alternatives to offshore labor. Tariffs don't just hit goods, they hit services, too. Let me explain. Think about it. If China, Mexico, or Canada are now more expensive to work with because of reciprocal tariffs, that raises the cost of offshore labor. So, enter what's happening right now. AI, automation, US-based software. This is your moment to kill the middleman. Reduce labor cost and automate what is already going to be offshored. This is your moment to kill the middleman. Reduce labor cost and automate what was once offshored in different countries. So here we go. Play number one. Build or invest in AI tools that replace outsource labor. Think about jobs like customer service, document review and data entry, uh logistics coordination, manufacturing floor labor, things like that. It's not sci-fi. The LLMs and the manufacturing robotics are ready today and the opportunity is right…

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RTBL 07 | Why Most Capital Raisers Will Get Sued in the Next Crash with Rob Beardsley and Craig McGrouther Aug 19, 2025

Show notes

Title: Why Most Capital Raisers Will Get Sued in the Next Crash with Rob Beardsley and Craig McGrouther Summary: In this episode of “Fund Friday,” hosts discuss the innovative solutions offered by Tribe Vest, a pioneering fund-of-funds startup, which is poised to transform the landscape for emerging fund managers, investors, and capital raisers. Guests Travis Smith and Seth Bradley delve into their personal journeys and the genesis of Tribe Vest, highlighting the advantages of adopting a fund-of-funds model that enhances compliance and increases access for numerous accredited investors. They detail how Tribe Vest supports fund managers through its comprehensive services, allowing them to raise capital efficiently while ensuring legal and financial compliance. The conversation unfolds various industry challenges faced by fund managers, such as the difficulties in connecting accredited investors with good deals and maintaining compliance in the ever-evolving regulatory environment. Smith and Bradley underscore the essence of Tribe Vest, focusing on its operational efficiency—providing essential support like K-1 tax distribution, capital-raising infrastructure, and investor onboarding—all streamlined with technology. In conclusion, they not only spotlight the competitive pricing and quick service turnaround of Tribe Vest but also express their commitment to fostering a landscape that democratizes access to high-quality investing opportunities while empowering fund managers. Their vision seeks to break down barriers traditionally faced in private investment, paving the way for a more inclusive investment future. Links to Listen and Subscribe: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fund-friday-e49-the-cost-effective-way-to-launch-a/id1511202840?i=1000673582673 https://open.spotify.com/episode/4tLAtXFe3OrqtCwyc7gfBE Links to Watch and Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVgT4GMrPPI&t=70s Bullet Point Highlights: Tribe Vest revolutionizes the fund-of-funds model for emerging fund managers. The connection of accredited investors to high-quality private investment opportunities is crucial yet challenging. Efficient operational support, including compliance and investor onboarding, sets Tribe Vest apart. The need for compliance amid industry scrutiny has shifted sentiment towards fund-of-funds for risk mitigation. Tribe Vest empowers fund managers by providing an institutional-level infrastructure for capital raises. Cost-effective solutions allow fund managers to focus on relationships rather than administrative burdens. Quick setup times (just five days) streamline the capital-raising process for fund managers. Transcript: welcome back to another episode of fund Friday this is going to be a very nutrient dense jam-packed episode with two amazing people we just had the pleasure of connecting with them once more at our Flagship uh summon event in New York City the gentleman behind tribe vest here a cuttingedge fun to fun group VC backed the whole nine this is going to be such an important episode for all you emerging fund managers you Capital raisers Maybe investors who kind of want to know behind the curtain what's going on and also just from a structural perspective as to how we've been able to scale our business safely and compliantly but with that said let's give a warm introduction to Travis Smith and Seth Bradley how are you both today good craigg good to see you it's been just a few weeks since we were in New York together which was an awesome event glad to be here yeah well there's been a lot of great updates to the product that tribe is offering since our initial conversation we had so I would almost even argue um for the better Awards you can maybe even scrap that episode for future purposes don't need to look back because we're going to cover that and then some here today so I'm absolutely elated and thrilled to talk about that so let's get right into it and just to start with for some some context because we're gonna just keep it moving forward here how did Seth and Travis and the team have tried best kind of Forge and kind of come together from you know this Alliance from a business perspective yeah tra you want to kick that off man sure sure and look you can't scrap that first episode because I think it's the first episode yeah like we're in the record books at this time right yeah so yeah no look uh me finding Seth and Seth Finding Me is a big part of our story no doubt really uh in early 2023 we had built out the infrastructure and the technology uh we' even been challenged by our clients to build out the back office where we do all the distributions cap table management uh k1s taxes and um but I hadn't quite figured out the fun to fun portion of this yet and uh good story you know met Seth Bradley at a a conference in the British Virgin Islands where we were both speaking at the event uh both of our wives were there and uh they hit it off we hit it off and just had a wonderful wonderful week and weekend and um and that was when Seth kind of really opened my eyes to um this opportunity Seth you know how how do you remember it where where you know how how did it go from there yeah well funny enough my my pitch or my speaking engagement was on fund of funds it was it was teaching the group about fund of funds what is it how can you how can you go from basically a passive investor and and start a business raising capital and and fund of funds is kind of the the next step and at the same time the industry was was pivoting there was uh you know there were Winds of Change so to speak from the the cgp model and people were starting to really take the fun of funds model more seriously and take a deeper look at it and the timing just couldn't be better as Travis was taking his company and and trying to make it pivot himself into the the syndicator and the fund and the capital raising market and you know originally there was a cgp type of model that was being uh thrown around and actually had a good bit of success Travis right going into uh earlier that year and you know I I we just got into some deeper discussions about where the market is and where it's going and the market was really going to fund to funds and I said' look Travis if you're going to if you're going to take this business to the next level get ahead of the game like this is where it's going it's going to fun and fund is kind of getting away from the cgp model so if you're going to build a product around that market really should focus in on fun to funds yeah I mean and I'll just go as well just to to piggyback off that timing is so funny there because I think it was roughly around the summer of 2023 when fun to fun was the biggest buzzword in the industry what is a fun of fund how does it work why is this the most compliant way do I need to do it what is it how does it structure everything included there so we're going to unpack that all there but it sounds like Travis you might have had an additional comment well I was say it really it truly was right place right time for Seth and I to meet you think about leading up to that it was the becc 2023 and there just all these Rumblings with some some bigger names in our industry that were under an investigation for the CP model and that was really how the industry was working with capital Partners at the time and uh collectively realized that there's got to be a more compliant better way and there I was with a two-thirds of the solution talking to Seth who rep represented the the last third of the solution so really was right place right time and and uh you know we're we're we're so glad to be partnered together and and solving a big problem Big Challenge yeah well and let's get right into that problem so the the problem of the industry so how can someone like loans start Capital safely compliantly bring dollars into our deals from outside investors fund managers capital allocators and opportunity so what is the industry problem and what are you guys both solving Seth I I'll hand it over to you I think from a big industry problem I mean there's just the age-old you know you have awesome lead sponsors that are working hard finding great deals private deals out there like Lone Star and and then on the other side there's over 20 million accredited investors that want the benefits of private investing they want the the benefits that come with real estate they want cash flow they want tax advantages uh you know they they want the appreciation all those things that are Why Real Estate so awesome they want to invest with these lead sponsors in these deals but as as we know unless you're kind of in a country club or in the network it's really hard to access those so that's the big problem the big problem is we have great lead sponsors with great deals and then on the other side we have have awesome accredited uh investors looking for those deals meanwhile they can't find each other and uh they don't know how to access them and so the the industry as a whole you know a big conduit to solving that is this Capital Partner right the fund manager and Seth I'll turn it over to you kind of again maybe start with how the industry was solving it and what the problem was with that right yeah I mean I think you framed it correctly it's it's access we know these these accredited investors are out there there's Millions U maybe tens of millions out there in the United States that um maybe they know it maybe they don't but they they might want to invest um they need educated they need access to Deals and on the other side you've got uh lead sponsors you've got fund managers you've got Capital aggregators who want to get access to these folks and we work on that in our business every single day about how do we reach these accredited investors um and then we all have our own little networks of people that we can raise capital from and that we know and that they no like and trust us to be able to place their Capital with us um you know since the jobs act in 2012 which is um what enabled us to start going out and soliciting and advertising um in the public uh for deals and raising capital in that manner and the the problem is that everything's been great since then up until covid right the real estate market has just been going absolutely through the roof so anybody that decided to jump into the the sector during that time had success I mean you could just you know throw paint in a wall and you're G to have success because the market just really helped us out a lot like you had to make a lot of mistakes operationally um for things to go wrong right I mean you really did you really did um not to not not Lone Star Lone Star is awesome right you're you're absolutely right no you you you hit the hammer on the nail there for sure yeah and it's uh you know until covid hit and we got that little blip and that was just kind of a you know something that you know came and went um but now you've seen in the last year and a half or so the market has slowed down um you've seen Capital calls you've seen um you know some SEC um interactions with folks and trying to see if Capital was raised correctly things like that um kind of looking into how the market evolved the market evolved beginning with a cgp model um you know initially the C GP model was thought to be compliant and if it executed properly it is compliant if you have all people in a group that are raising capital for their own deal they're all active participants they're all General Partners they're all executing the business plan and participating in decision-making all good that's an age-old uh way to do business and it's been done for all the time right like you've got Capital you've got people actively participating and all is good but just like anything else you know us entrepreneurs we like to go around the edges and try to pick and choose like oh well can we do this or can we do this let's push the limits and unfortunately the market kind of changed into this this um this thing where we push the limits too far and we've had 10 15 20 CPS in an active deal where you know really all they're doing is Raising Capital right like we might try to say on paper that this person's doing that and this person's doing investor relations and this person's doing a little bit of underwriting which all may be true true but at the end of the day if the SEC comes in and says let's take a look at your whole business plan plan with this particular asset in this particular offering and see how you raise capital and who's doing what and they're going to look under the hood and they're going to be able to figure it out they're they're smart people back there they can figure out what you're doing they can figure out that hey this person raised uh $200,000 and got 2% and this person raised $600,000 and got 6% it's pretty easy to put those pieces together um but like I had mentioned before the market you know kind of went our Direction and there were really happy investors nobody was upset nobody was suing nobody was asking questions and now since the market has changed you've seen the capital calls you've seen the foreclosures you've seen the investors upset um and now that's what Travis was alluding to earlier is there were certain folks in the industry that were um you know getting interviewed by the SEC I don't think anything ever came of it but it was enough for people to be like look we've still got to raise Capital we've still got to do these deals somehow what other way is there to do it that's more compliant than this cgp model that the industry has turned to and the answer is fun to funds and it's always been fun to funds you know there's people out there that have preached that for years but it's just a little bit you know more nuanced a little bit more complicated a little bit more expensive so people have stayed away from it yeah so exactly and and thank you so much for painting such a Picasso beautiful picture here pertaining to the why before and why now and kind of the context there because I think so many people are missing that why y component so you beautifully explained that so but then why is the fun of fund the route to do it in because it's pretty similar right and fun of funds to your point have actually been around for really not going to say forever but for a long period of time so just curious to know you know why fun of fun is this the solution from a client's perspective and and things of that nature yeah and we can and Travis jump in here whenever you want but we can kind of go through um with each stakeholder why why it's compliant why they love funded funds maybe why they don't you know let's talk about the pluses and the minuses um I think we can start with the lead sponsor I mean for the lead sponsor um to me there's there's really no downside and I'd love for somebody to may maybe making a counterargument to that but to me there there's no downside for the lead sponsor themselves right the people that are actually operating buying executing the business plan by them creating a level of Separation through the fund to funds model and not uh inviting other folks into their deal to raise Capital they're creating they're creating uh risk mitigation and dissipating liability for themselves right and they don't have to worry about bringing people into their business because it's a totally separate offering that the fund manager is going to be putting out there s…

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MDM 03 | Million Dollar Monday With Eli Faceda Aug 18, 2025

Show notes

Title: Million Dollar Monday - Eli Facenda

Summary:

In this Million Dollar Monday episode, Seth Bradley interviews Eli Facenda, who shares that he made his first million through an international youth sports tour company. The business was growing fast until COVID wiped it out completely. He made his last million through his current business, which helps entrepreneurs use credit card points to take luxury trips for a fraction of the cost. Now, Eli is focused on making his next million by scaling the same business through lower-ticket, community-driven, and digital products, while maintaining his high-ticket services.

Links to Watch and Subscribe:

https://youtu.be/o8qmXoQf8LE

Bullet Point Highlights:

First Million: Built through a youth sports international tour company (pre-COVID)
Business Model: Organized overseas travel for youth teams and families
Impact of COVID: Entire business was decimated by travel restrictions
Last Million: Made via a business helping entrepreneurs maximize credit card points for luxury travel
High-ticket offers: $5K–$15K services, hit $1M revenue in 2024
Next Million Strategy: Scale through lower-ticket products, community offerings, and digital content (YouTube, affiliates)
Goal: Reach more people without sacrificing service quality at the high-ticket level
Approach: Reverse path—starting high-ticket, moving into scalable, lower-ticket reach

Transcript:

Seth Bradley (00:00.16)

Welcome to Million Dollar Monday with Eli Facenda. Let's just jump right in. Let's do it. Yeah. How did you make your first million?

So I actually made my first million in a tour company. Now I made the first million. I didn't get to keep the first million, but what we were doing, we were running sports trips all over the world. This is actually part of how I fell in love with the travel industry and the work that I'd now do with points. And ultimately what we were doing, we were creating these international tour packages for youth sports teams and families to go on these international tours. So think of like a 14 year old baseball team in your, you're in San Diego. We'd like do a selection of kids.

from that area, the families would come and they would go to Japan or Italy or wherever and travel for 10 days, experience the culture, have an educational tour and also play the local teams. So we did that in a variety of sports, ice hockey and baseball and lacrosse, all these different sports and we were growing a lot and then that was ramping right until COVID and that just decimated the entire business. it took us about two years to get to a million and then we started to double almost every year for a few years and that was like,

really really tough break in COVID but that was the first night.

Man, nobody saw that coming. I No,

Eli Facenda (01:09.548)

definitely you know group large or large group sports international travel was like the worst potential like you can't go overseas and you definitely can't do it with 60 people so it was a brutal industry to be in

Yeah, there were certain sectors that just, I mean, there was nothing you could do. We opened up our first gym actually two weeks before COVID hit in 2020. So we had our, us like two years to open and then our grand opening. And then we had a bunch of free clients in those first two weeks. And then they ended up being free clients for about a year because we couldn't charge them. Cause we couldn't get them back in the gym. We're doing online workouts and all that kind of stuff. Isn't that? Hey, we adapt man.

Yeah, the true entrepreneurial muscles are definitely strengthened in times like that though. mean, like the people that bounce back and figure it out, like you just have a new sense of confidence of like, you know, I can handle anything.

Yeah, man. I mean, you pivot, right? Like I actually ended up launching my first podcast during COVID because I was stuck inside and it was like, all right, let's do this. Let's get on Zoom and interview people and all that kind of stuff, man. So that leads us right to the next question, man. How'd you make your last million? How'd you make that transition?

Yeah, so the last million that I made was in the current business that I have. so essentially what we've been doing there for about four years now is helping entrepreneurs maximize their travel on credit card points. So helping them get their dream bucket list trips, these 30, 40, $50,000 trips all over the world for about 90 % off by leveraging credit card points. And we've traditionally had some pretty high ticket services. I mean, not crazy expensive, but like,

Eli Facenda (02:40.046)

know, 5, 10, 15K in that range has been the main service. And so we cracked our first million about two years in. So that was 2024. Actually, it was the first year we made a million there.

Awesome man, awesome. How about your next million? Where are you scaling to?

Yeah, so the next million I want to make is the same business. I love what I do. I really enjoy it. And what I want to do is do it in a more community oriented and lower ticket way. So I want to have bigger reach, more digital products, more of the community, more affiliate services and stuff like that. And I'm really excited about kind of cracking the code on that because we've done it decently with the higher ticket stuff, more agency level service level stuff, which is great. And we're still cranking on that. We're going keep growing it. But I really want to see what we can do with

So the lower ticket stuff, creating awesome stuff on YouTube that leads to different channels and distributions there. So that's the next million and same business, just different type of money.

love it man. Yeah, that's kind of opposite of how some people approach it, right? You usually start with a lower ticket and then you have to build up that base before anybody will give you, you know, higher, pay for that higher ticket product, but you're kind of working backwards because you want to help more people.

Eli Facenda (03:44.398)

Totally, exactly. Yeah, there's a limit. mean, what we do in the high ticket is incredible, but it really is a specialized skill. Like you think about like a bookkeeper or an accounting firm or something, there's like a million bookkeepers. There's like 50 people that know points and travel to the level that I need them to know it to really serve clients with the highest level. So there's a real limit on the ability to scale that. It's also just like, we want to be able to do really quality work for less people, but then serve more people with the other stuff too.

Links from the Show and Guest Info and Links:

Seth Bradley’s Links:

https://x.com/sethbradleyesq

https://www.youtube.com/@sethbradleyesq

www.facebook.com/sethbradleyesq

https://www.threads.com/@sethbradleyesq

https://www.instagram.com/sethbradleyesq/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethbradleyesq/

https://passiveincomeattorney.com/seth-bradley/

https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/sethbradleyesq

https://medium.com/@sethbradleyesq

https://www.tiktok.com/@sethbradleyesq?lang=en

Eli Facenda Links:

https://www.instagram.com/elitravelguy/

https://x.com/elitravelguy

https://www.linkedin.com/in/eli-facenda/

https://www.facebook.com/eli.facenda

https://www.youtube.com/@elifacenda

https://www.threads.com/@elitravelguy

https://www.skool.com/@eli-facenda-5305?t=posts

TME 10 | Travel Like a Billionaire: The 90% Off Secret to a First-Class Lifestyle with Eli Facenda Aug 13, 2025

Show notes

Title: Travel Like a Billionaire: The 90% Off Secret to a First-Class Lifestyle with Eli Facenda In this conversation, Eli Facenda shares insights on maximizing travel experiences through strategic use of points and credit cards. He discusses his nomadic lifestyle, the entrepreneurial journey that led him to travel hacking, and the importance of understanding the value of different points systems. Eli emphasizes the need for a structured approach to travel, focusing on maximizing points, optimizing travel upgrades, and effectively using credit cards to enhance travel experiences. The discussion also touches on the significance of having a clear strategy for business owners and how to navigate the complexities of travel rewards. In this conversation, Eli Facenda shares his expertise on maximizing travel experiences through strategic use of points and credit cards. He discusses the importance of community in travel planning, innovative solutions for entrepreneurs, and his personal journey in the travel industry. Eli emphasizes the significance of experiential wealth and actionable steps listeners can take to enhance their travel experiences. Links to Watch and Subscribe: https://youtu.be/c7QqSscsajc Bullet Point Highlights: Seth and Eli kick off with casual banter about van life, audio gear, and the nomad lifestyle. Eli shares his background going from broke entrepreneur to travel-hacking expert. He explains how he got obsessed with using points after a free trip to Thailand changed his mindset. Eli now helps entrepreneurs take $20K–$50K luxury trips for 90% off using credit card points.His 3-part system includes maximizing points, optimizing travel perks, and redeeming for bucket-list trips. He gives a real-world example of booking a $20K ANA business class flight to Japan for just $12. Seth dives into a real-life org structure and Eli explains how points flow to the guarantor, not the LLC. Best practice: 2–3 business cards and 2–3 personal cards tailored to your biggest spend categories. Eli introduces his new “DreamTrip Alert System” that delivers full trip itineraries at massive discounts. In the Million Dollar Monday segment, Eli shares how he made, lost, and remade his first million. His next million will come from scalable digital products and a wider reach through content and community. What makes Eli top 1%: He walks the walk, traveling the world and running a business around it. His #1 tip: Pick your dream trip, put it on the calendar, and commit, then let the how figure itself out. Transcript: Eli Facenda (00:00.059) What's up, Seth? Seth Bradley, Esq. (00:01.43) Yo, what's going on, brother? Eli Facenda (00:03.237) How we doing, man? How we doing? Seth Bradley, Esq. (00:05.141) Excellent man, what's happening? Eli Facenda (00:06.893) Not much. you, how's the audio coming through here? Seth Bradley, Esq. (00:11.032) Sounds good, sounds good. Eli Facenda (00:12.547) it clean? Okay, because I'm, it's basically we're in the middle of a Nomad trip here, so I normally have like a, like a shirt mic like you have, but on the road I haven't had, so I haven't had to test this yet, but I figured the DJI's are pretty solid, so I wanna make sure it's actually coming through decent. Seth Bradley, Esq. (00:16.962) Okay. Yeah. Seth Bradley, Esq. (00:26.732) Nice. Yeah, no, it sounds good. Sounds good, man. Eli Facenda (00:29.425) Okay, cool, awesome. Awesome Dave, we'll get to connect with you. Seth Bradley, Esq. (00:33.802) Yeah, brother definitely, so I don't butcher it. How do you pronounce your last name? Facenda, okay, cool. Cool Awesome, man. Yeah, we've we've crossed paths on social media. I think or maybe our va's have crossed paths who knows Eli Facenda (00:39.077) for sender. Yep, yep. Eli Facenda (00:47.663) Yeah, think that was where, yeah, think we were initially connecting, yeah, totally. Instagram, I think, was the place. Yeah. Because you're out in California, right? Nice, I'm in West Palm right now. And I mean, normally based in Austin, but we're in the middle of a like, six to eight month nomad adventure. And so we are, we're on the road here, and we go to Europe in a few weeks for like the next several months. Seth Bradley, Esq. (00:53.42) Yeah, nice, nice, where you at right now? Yep, San Diego. Seth Bradley, Esq. (01:10.446) Sweet dude. Seth Bradley, Esq. (01:17.166) That's awesome dude, awesome, awesome. Love it man, that's a long time. So we did last May we did, man it's been like a year, geez. We did like 30, 33 days in a van trip. So we took our van up through Wyoming into Montana and into Canada. That was a long time for us, but 68 months. Right, yeah. Eli Facenda (01:18.117) Yeah. Yeah. Thank you, man. Eli Facenda (01:33.455) Nice. Eli Facenda (01:37.465) sick. Yeah, well vans are intense too. You know, I haven't done van life but my fiance, she did that before and it was like a lot for her. But yeah, so totally depends on the way you're traveling as well. Yeah. Seth Bradley, Esq. (01:47.266) Yeah. Nice, nice. Cool, man. Just give you a quick rundown. our audience, my audience is typically, so it used to be passive investors, right? So it used to be the passive income attorney podcast. I think when we might've tried to schedule before and that was for investors. So accredited investors trying to get them to invest in my commercial real estate deals, that sort of thing. But now I've rebranded to raising the bar, which is more geared towards active investors and entrepreneurs and folks like that. So still, Eli Facenda (02:10.619) Mm-hmm. Seth Bradley, Esq. (02:19.982) Still, I'm sure your clients, wealthy folks that are starting businesses, that have businesses, that are raising capital for real estate or private equity or other types of businesses, that sort of thing. And then we'll do about, we'll do it a little on the shorter side. So we'll do about 30 minute interview, probably at the longest. And then we'll kind of just close that out. And then I do two little smaller sections that I break down into like little five minute episodes. One is a million dollar. Eli Facenda (02:25.403) Totally. Seth Bradley, Esq. (02:49.622) Monday I put that in the notes and it's basically just like real quick, like how you made your first million dollars, how you made your last million, how you plan on making your next million. then, yeah, and then the last one is the top 1%. Basically just kind of what separates you and makes you the top 1 % in what you do. Eli Facenda (02:59.675) Cool. Yeah, I love it. It's great. Eli Facenda (03:08.699) Okay, beautiful. And then as far as, is there any place you want me to point people that is connected to you or do you care if you're asking about that? I don't have any hard call to action kind of pitch thing, but it's more just like. Seth Bradley, Esq. (03:19.916) No, man, whatever, it's up to you, man, whatever you want to do, whatever you, whatever call it action you want to use, if want to send it to your website or social media, whatever you want to do, Eli Facenda (03:26.577) Cause you know what we do have, I can do this. We have a pretty cool playbook that's normally 150 bucks and I'm happy to give it to your listeners for free. So I could give them a code, just say what would be the best code for that? Seth Bradley, Esq. (03:37.175) Okay, awesome. Seth Bradley, Esq. (03:43.429) Um, just raise would probably be good. use that a lot for like call to action, like DME raise. So you could use a raise. Eli Facenda (03:46.161) Cool. All right, so yeah, so I'll just say go to the website and just DM or just put in the code RAYS and you'll get it for free. But it's like a whole playbook on how to maximize points for trips. I've act like legitimately I've had someone buy it and within 48 hours he texted me a screenshot. was like, dude, I just saved 20 grand on a trip from your ebook. And I was like, wow, okay, it works. So it's good. Yeah. Seth Bradley, Esq. (03:57.07) Sweet. Seth Bradley, Esq. (04:09.366) Nice, Cool. All right, man, well, we're already recording, so I'll just jump right in, and then if I need to add anything to the beginning, I'll do that later. And cool, man, yeah, we'll just jump right in. Eli Facenda (04:14.129) Sweet. You're welcome. Eli Facenda (04:20.27) Awesome. Eli Facenda (04:24.913) Let's do it. Seth Bradley, Esq. (04:27.444) Eli, what's going on, brother? Welcome to the show. Eli Facenda (04:30.181) Thank you man, excited to be here and I we're going coast to coast today so this will be good. Seth Bradley, Esq. (04:34.382) Absolutely, man. So we chatted beforehand, but I think you're tuning in on a road trip right now. So you're living proof of what you do, right? Eli Facenda (04:44.065) Yeah, totally. are, well this part's kind of like a road trip. We're in West Palm Beach right now, but this is basically leg number two out of, we'll end up being probably an eight month nomadic adventure with me and my fiance and our little puppy. And so we're in West Palm Beach right now in Florida. We head to Europe in less than a month and we'll be bouncing around different parts of Europe for about four months roughly before we decide where we're gonna go next, which we're not exactly sure. Seth Bradley, Esq. (04:58.904) Nice. Seth Bradley, Esq. (05:12.28) That's awesome, man. Are you using all your hacks and secrets and travel tips that you put out there? Eli Facenda (05:18.449) Absolutely, yeah, 100%. I mean, we just got back from a crazy trip to Japan. This was really cool. I run an entrepreneur mastermind. So we integrated our own trip around Japan around this mastermind event. So I had 53 people come out for like eight days. We went snowboarding in the mountains in Niseko in the Northern Park. And then we went down to Tokyo for the cherry blossoms. But for myself personally, to get there and back and do a lot of the hotels, we used points. We saved over 50 grand just on that portion of the trip. We then... know, flew down to West Palm on points and then going over to Europe and a lot of the stays over there will also be leveraging the point strategies that I help clients use and then I talk about on social media and the stuff that we'll dive into today. But yeah, I like to be living proof of it because it's pretty awesome. It's something that's really impacted my life. I love doing it. And when I do it, I get to share it too. So has like a multiple benefit for everybody. Seth Bradley, Esq. (06:06.648) That's awesome, man. I'm excited, dude. I'm excited to dig in here, because it's just for my own personal benefit and education, because I'm super stoked about this stuff, and I travel a lot with my fiance, or my fiance, my wife, and it's something I'm personally interested in as well. We've had past conversations too, so it's great to have you on, man. So just to start off, man, if somebody, you meet somebody in the street, they ask you what you do, how do you explain that? in a sentence, right? Like without going into some crazy like tangent about all the awesome things that you do. Like what, how do you answer that question? Eli Facenda (06:36.453) Yeah. Eli Facenda (06:41.329) Sure, sure, Yeah, it really does depend on the situation, but I oftentimes will ask a couple questions because it makes it easier for people to understand. So usually it's like, do you have any big dream bucket list trip you've ever wanted to take? And they'll be like, oh yeah, Greece. I'm like, well, what we do is we help you get to Greece in business or first class, stay in five star hotels, have the trip of your dreams at about 90 % off. So that's kind of the tagline is take the trip of your dreams for about 90 % off. I'll get into the whole point side of things, but some people don't know what points are, or some are really well studied in that world. So I just leave with the trip because that's usually what people want. They want to have the experience where it's you and your wife flying first class, sipping champagne on the way to Paris to go see the Eiffel Tower and the points and the credit cards. That's really the mechanism. That's how we make the experience happen. But at end of the day, what we want is the amazing memories, the beautiful experience, all that stuff. So I leave with the trip when I talk about it. Seth Bradley, Esq. (07:37.848) That's awesome, man. Yeah, I mean, you're literally selling the dream, right? Like in marketing, you sell the dream or hit on a pain point. Like you are like the quintessential selling the dream. Like that's what everybody thinks about. So. Eli Facenda (07:42.969) Yeah, exactly. Yeah, Right. Well, it's funny because, you know, in marketing, they'll say like, sell the destination, not the vehicle, right? They'll be like, sell the outcome, not how you get there. And so we do that in our marketing. But then when you think about it, when people are taking a trip, what we are helping them do is make the vehicle to get to the destination part of the destination. Because really, when you travel well, and you do it in style, the flight becomes a part of the trip that you're excited for. I can't wait to see the the drinks and the champagne and the food they're gonna have and how awesome the seat is and the movie selection, how big's the screen. At least for people that love to travel, it becomes a fascination of the trip, not just getting there. So that's a big difference maker when people start to go on these flights, and this is what a lot of our clients will say, and for me, it goes from flying economy to like, I'm counting down the hours to get off this freaking plane. to like, we do another lap around the city? Cause like, I'd love to just hang out here longer, right? And like the flight attendants treat you really well. So yeah, it's a whole experience. Seth Bradley, Esq. (08:49.314) That's awesome, man. Yeah, that's great. Was there a trip that you went on personally where you just kind of thought, man, I can turn this into a business, right? Like you're just enjoying it so much that you just were like, like the light bulb went off or how did this business spawn? Eli Facenda (09:04.515) Yeah, there wasn't one trip that I made the connection between like, trip is awesome, let me start a business. But there was one trip that gave me the light bulb of, my God, I am obsessed with this, I need to learn everything I can. There was zero intention or thought about business that when it first started. And that'll take you back about 10 years. So was around 22 years old and I'm just coming out of college. And basically I'm in my mom's basement and I remember this really... like heavy feeling because I went to a good university near New York City and all my friends went to Wall Street and they were making like six figures plus right out of school. And I had this like entrepreneurial bug. I was like, that's not for me. I don't want to sit in an office. I don't care if I can make a lot of money. I want to like play life on my terms, even if it means I'm making less. So at this point I have friends that are making tons of money, know, lots of disposable income and I'm making like 20 grand a year. I'm working four side jobs. I was trying to build a company. I remember getting this text. And my stomach just dropped, because I was like, shit, I'm going to miss out on this incredible experience. was friends inviting me to go to Thailand. And I was like, if…

Full show notes at the publisher

RTBL 06 | How to Survive When Real Estate Deals Fail with Ruben Kanya Aug 12, 2025

Show notes

Title: How Survive When Real Estate Deals Fail with Ruben Kanya Summary: In this conversation, Seth Bradley, a securities attorney and real estate investor, discusses the complexities of capital raising, the importance of experimentation in finding one's niche, and the critical role of networking and trust in the investment landscape. He shares insights from his journey in real estate and tech, emphasizing the need for grit and public speaking skills to succeed in capital raising. The discussion also highlights the challenges of the first capital raise and the lessons learned along the way. In this conversation, the speakers delve into the multifaceted benefits of hosting a podcast, emphasizing the importance of listening and connection. They explore the intricacies of capital raising in real estate, discussing the significance of grit, networking, and leveraging other people's money. The dialogue also covers compliance with securities laws, compensation structures in syndication, and the emerging trend of fund to fund structures. Tribevest is introduced as a solution for simplifying fund management and ensuring compliance in capital raising efforts. Links to listen and subscribe: https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/raising-capital-the-right-way-compliance-funds-and/id1341895972?i=1000688593916 Links to watch and subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyF9Z72m2R0 Bullet Point Highlights: You need a license to raise capital legally. Experimenting with different models helps identify what works for you. Building authority and trust is essential in capital raising. Networking with high net worth individuals is crucial. The first capital raise is often the hardest. Grit and determination are key to success in entrepreneurship. Public speaking skills can enhance your ability to communicate effectively. Learning from clients can provide valuable insights for your own journey. You can leverage your existing skills to add value in capital raises. Building a strong network can facilitate easier capital raising. Having a podcast enhances listening skills and fosters connections. Capital raising requires grit, a strong network, and resources. Leveraging other people's money accelerates business growth. Compliance with securities laws is crucial in capital raising. Compensation structures in syndication vary based on deal size and type. Fund to fund structures are becoming more prevalent in real estate. Effective communication is key to successful networking. Tribevest simplifies the process of raising capital compliantly. Understanding the legalities of capital raising is essential for success. Building a community can expedite personal and professional growth. Transcript: Ruben Kanya (00:00.142) whole idea here is you're actually not allowed to raise capital without a license. So just like being a doctor or a dentist or an attorney, you have to have a license to be able to raise capital and it's called a broker dealer or potentially an RIA, registered investment advisor. So if you're not one of those people, if you don't have a license, you need to have an exemption from having that license. if it's your, this is speaking in generalities, but if it's your own deal, if it's your own fund, If it's your own syndication, if you're the one buying the property, that's an exemption. You're exempted. You can raise capital for your own deal and that's okay. And that's kind of the co-GP concept that we talk about sometimes. I actually don't like to say co-GP because to me it's a fallacy. There's no such thing as a co-GP. You're either a GP and an active partner. Who's this? you're an entrepreneur? you're a real estate investor? you're trying to learn from those who did it? Well, come into the lab then. Put your white coat on, gloves on, notepad, and let's go, Joe. Experiment nation this episode was a really fun one with Seth Bradley who is a fun manager Invest in entrepreneurs. He's an attorney he as a startup founders of software as a service and Really what I loved about What he's built is Everything that he's built, it's vertically integrated, which I love, but he really embodies the principles of experimenting. Right. And what I mean by that is he has tried multiple models in real estate, which allowed him to get exposure, which I think is really important when I talk about having a well-rounded experiment in your lab, LabAK being your life, so that you can at least identify (Seth Bradley) (02:10.529) what you like, what you don't like, what gives you return on energy, what drains you. I think those are all important things for us to then be able to niche down. A lot of times we talk about niching down, but we haven't even gotten a taste of what's on the menu to even understand what it is that we want to niche down in. And so part of what I created here at Experimentation in the lab is to bring you folks who can present the menu of the different options that there is in not only real estate, but in business and even career to then give you that exposure so that you can then get a taste even from this show and then implement it yourself and maybe try one or two or three experiments or four or five. How many it takes for you to feel like this is the thing. This is the thing that I'm going to hold on to and grasp to and go all in on. Right. And that's what we did. And keep in mind that life has seasons. A lot of us can do something and it could be four seasons. Your season could be five years, 10 years, 15, but I do believe in the compound effect. his journey, Seth's journey, he was able to get his first duplex, then quads, then small multifamilies and big multifamily units. And the next thing you know, he's doing $120 million a deal just in 2022 alone, right? In one year. But with that, one thing I wanted to highlight, so one thing is the experiment, different exposures, AKA building blocks towards the very thing that he's doing now. But the other thing is being able to get a free, or I should say, get a paid internship. And that's through servicing your clients, learning from them, and then taking a page from their book. He was an attorney that was putting down together his SEC deals of syndications, capital raising, and then he learned from his clients because he had full transparency. Sometimes, often we're in a position where the proof of concept is right in front of us, but we don't grab it by the horns. We just see it for what it is, just clocking and clocking out. No matter what job you have, there's an opportunity for you to actually take lessons, systems, SOPs, structure, any skillset to take it to the next level for your own endeavors. (Seth Bradley) (04:38.252) And what I mean by that is I was a realtor and I was a realtor for the investor. understood how investors, underwrote their deals. And that was my win for me to hone my craft in real estate, underwriting deals, pulling comps, walking properties, understanding value at all. That was when I was the realtor for the investor. You can still look it up on bigger pockets. You can still see my page. That's what I was doing. I was helping investors invest until I then became an investor myself. And in this case, he was an ICC attorney providing these, you know, going through the process of doing syndications, fund to fund, et cetera. And then he learned and he said, not only do I have a practice that does it, but I can also be on the other side of that transaction. So don't you ever forget the importance of being on the other side of the transaction in whatever service that you offer, even if it's just call it. You work in hospitality at a restaurant to make ends meet. There's a system, there's a SOP, there's a checklist. There's something in there that is a proof of concept that you can then take and implement somewhere in your business. And the universe will tell you its secrets if you listen. The clues are all around us. Last but not least, I love our conversation around being an authority, building a brand. Essentially, that's what capital raising is and he talked about three pillars. I don't want to talk about he said money Right is one heart of the center trust in your network, right? Your network is you gotta have a big network He talks about having a platform like this where I think everybody should have a podcast because you get the interview you get to learn the skills of communication listening, etc but most importantly you foster relationship while on the air and then It builds trust to whoever's listening. I'm sure that if you're listening right now and you and I wanted to go into a deal together, there's some form of trust. If this is not your, your first episode. So there's that, right? We talked about having a meetup, restarting our meetups. That's key. Connecting people, they trust in you. Being an authoritative figure, trust. They can't flow you if they don't know you. So stop being cute and stop hiding and put yourself out there. Right? Money. Money follows all of the above network and trust. (Seth Bradley) (07:00.408) people who have money in your network will make it easier than those who are in your network who are broke. So surround yourself with people who have money, not just because they have money, but of course it can help you tremendously if you're trying to raise capital. And there's something that goes about saying with people who have money, it's not that they're better or anything, but there is a level of opulence and abundance. And I think there should be a good balance. But certainly if you're trying to raise money with people who don't have money and you're in a circle, people don't know how many doesn't mean to say that you can't uplift them when you have an opportunity, but it's going to be hard to raise capital from people who don't have capital. Right. So that's one thing to keep in mind. Money trust network and being an authority. You can build an authority from home in the lab, in a studio, in person. And you don't always have to be an expert in something else. Sometimes you can actually have authority within your own circle. If you're a dentist and you're trying to raise capital with other dentists, they trust you. You have authority maybe in your current marketplace, you're a manager of some kind or you're a lead or you're just someone that people really trust. You have that authority. You have trust already with like-minded people in your circle. So this was a great one. He brought a lot of core values home. And that's what I love about the show. It's every time you listen or anytime you interview someone who's had done some amazing leaps and experiments in their own lab, there's always some consistent clues that kind of bring to the surface and maybe it just, I'm aware of them, but if not, my goal is to extract that and make them aware for you. So I trust that you're going to get a lot from this episode without further ado, Seth Bradley in the lab, y'all. Experimentation, what's going on? Your host Ruben here. Today I have the pleasure of connecting with a gentleman that we connected with, had some mutual connections. And I was like, I didn't want to let the serendipity go to waste because I saw there was a mutual beneficial component to the lab, as I always say. And I always think you're as good as your tools, you're as good as your resources. And so I'm really happy to have the gentleman here step into the lab with us to give us insight. And I also love the (Seth Bradley) (09:21.39) I'll call it a vertical integration I think and maybe Seth will keep me honest here, but without further ado I want to welcome Seth Bradley. How's it my man? Welcome to the lab brother Going great, man. Ruben, really appreciate you having me on. Thanks for having me in the lab. Absolutely, man. I should so listen if I'm curious so Seth because you know, we we start to talk a little bit and I was a car We're getting to the weeds of things. I want to make sure I hit this record button, but I'm just a curious guy and I'm so curious that if I'm at a real estate conference and you and I sit next to each other and I say hey I'm Ruben Seth. Nice to meet you. You know, what do you do for a living? What do you lead with because you have a very interesting background? So I want to we're gonna reverse engineer, but I'm so curious as to at the time that we're recording this, what do you lead with if you don't know what my interests are, you don't know where I'm coming from, I could be an investor, I could be interested in putting my money to work, what do you lead with? I'm just so curious. I love that question, man, because sometimes I have a hard time answering it. It's an easy question to answer for most people, but for me, I have to think about it for a second. But typically I'll lead with I'm a securities attorney, specifically a real estate securities attorney. So if you're raising capital for real estate from passive investors, I'm your guy. can help you put together your fund or your syndication compliantly and secondarily, or, you know, one B I'll call it a tech founder. So involved in a few tech startups as well. (Seth Bradley) (10:48.238) That's awesome. Then that opens up the window because I see her tech founder and then I securities attorney. Is that that accurate? Yep, nailed it. securities attorney. would you do you happen to do you still do I mean, of course, you've been involved in raising capital yourself, which is what I want to lead with next. But are you actively investing? And if you are, what is the model? Is it more investing in the startup? Or is it more investing in actual capitals? I should say social capital relationships, or even you know what, maybe it's some form of real estate, what is your current I guess, investing season for lack of better words. Yeah, it's all across the board, man. mean, everything that you mentioned, I mean, just quickly, I started in real estate in 2013. House hacked into a duplex did kind of the bigger pockets podcast. Listen to that. Red Rich Dad, Poor Dad, you know, the typical journey you take and house hacked into a duplex and started buying bigger and bigger properties got to the point where, you know, I wanted to get into syndications and funds and start raising capital. So I started actually investing passively into real estate first and I got my feet wet. Ruben Kanya (12:01.55) figured out what that investor journey looked like. And then I started raising capital myself from my own syndications where potentially I could be just a capital partner or also an operator. So I raised a good amount of capital from 2019 to 2023, I would say, before the interest rates started to spike. And then we slowed down a bit, but we still own a good amount of that real estate and just put it in perspective. We bought about $120 million with the real estate in 2022 alone. And now I'm kind of involved with a handful of tech startups where I'm also in that same capacity where I'm raising capital or helping the CEO raise capital for seed rounds for these startups. Okay, very interesting. So I'm glad let's go to the very beginning because you talked about bigger pockets with shout out to bigger pockets, right? Because that's or did you say bigger pockets? I did hear you say that. Okay, cool. had a mutual kind of, know, I was planning my seeds. I think that they did an amazing job, of course, like mind…

Full show notes at the publisher

MDM 02 | Million Dollar Monday with Mike Hoffman Aug 11, 2025

Show notes

Title: Million Dollar Monday - Mike Hoffman

Summary:

Mike made his first million in real estate during the COVID short-term rental boom, and his last million by flipping outdated vending machine routes into modern micro markets selling unconventional products like shampoo and Tide pods. His next million will likely come from leveraging AI to scale vending and small business operations. He emphasizes the rapid evolution of AI and its ability to replace manual tasks, predicting a near future where AI-powered robots handle everyday chores.

Links to Watch and Subscribe:

https://youtu.be/1EOavier6ug

Bullet Point Highlights:

First million: Real estate + COVID timing (short-term rentals)
Last million: Vending machines → flipped old routes into micro markets
Sold high-ticket items (e.g., $35 shampoo) in vending setups
Tech improvements + AI driving down costs, boosting efficiency
Next million: Scaling vending/small biz ops with AI tools
Believes AI is replacing human roles fast (e.g., virtual assistants)
Predicts humanoid AI robots in homes within 5 years

Transcript:

Seth Bradley (00:00.172)

Welcome to Million Dollar Mondays, how to make, keep, and scale a million dollars. Mike is a super successful entrepreneur in the vending machine business and beyond. Tell us, how did you make your first million dollars?

Yeah, Seth, probably actually through real estate and just getting a little bit kind of lucky with timing with COVID and short term rentals and some of that. But yeah, that's probably how I got the first million.

Gotcha. Yeah. Real estate usually plays a role in the everybody's strategy down the line, whether they're in, you know, in that primary business or not, you know, whether they start out there or they end up there, real estate usually plays a part. How'd you make your last million?

Yeah, that's a good question because it's completely different than real estate, but it's actually been vending machines. that's been kind of fun. just, you you talk about product market fit whenever you're an entrepreneur with a business. And that was just kind of the perfect storm right now of traditional vending really kind of being outdated. And we found a product market fit.

with it. Gotcha. Cool. And that was from, was this maybe mostly attributed to kind of buying those routes, those larger routes?

Mike Hoffman (01:14.646)

Exactly, yeah, buying old school routes and really kind of flipping them like a house with modern micro markets, charging with different products and what would fit in a vending machine like more of the unorthodox, know, toilet paper and tide pods and things that wouldn't fit in a traditional vending machine. I mean, we'll sell $35 bottles of shampoo in these micro markets. So just kind of go and add it in a different way.

Yeah, and then with the aging population, there's got to be more and more of these things popping up. So there should be more opportunity for people to get involved or for people like yourself to just snag everything, right?

Yeah, think there's no chance I could snag everything, not even just in this town alone that I'm currently in. I mean, machines are getting cheaper, the technology is getting way better with AI. And nowadays, it's not what fits in a vending machine motor. It's okay, what's shelf space? So if it's a bottle of shampoo or a glass Coke, it doesn't matter because it's not just getting thrown down the chute of a traditional machine.

Makes sense, makes sense. Last, how are you planning on making your next million dollars?

I think probably with AI, we're doing a lot of interesting stuff with helping people scale their vending routes that is applicable to any small business. And so I'm really intrigued. Just every time I go down a rabbit hole with some new AI tool, I feel like there's another better one that just came right behind it. So I just think it's kind of that time where you can really get ahead by just learning right now in this kind of wave of AI.

Seth Bradley (02:49.27)

Yeah, totally makes sense. mean, people that are not paying attention to AI, whether it's simply using chat GBT instead of Google search are getting left behind quickly because it's just advancing so fast. I can't even imagine what this world's going to look like five years from now, the way that things are moving.

It's crazy. Three years ago when I was working for a tech company selling software to the government, I would have to work with three secretaries to schedule a meeting with the general to sell their software. Now my EA is literally an AI bot and everyone that's scheduling time on my calendar, they don't even know they're talking to a non-human, which is perfect.

Yeah, 100%. I predicted within five years, everybody's going to have a humanoid robot in their home with AI instilled, and they're going to be doing physical things for us at our homes.

I hope so. I hope they can go to Costco, get all our groceries, do our laundry, the dishes.

Yup. Yup. Awesome,

Links from the Show and Guest Info and Links:

Seth Bradley’s Links:

https://x.com/sethbradleyesq

https://www.youtube.com/@sethbradleyesq

www.facebook.com/sethbradleyesq

https://www.threads.com/@sethbradleyesq

https://www.instagram.com/sethbradleyesq/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethbradleyesq/

https://passiveincomeattorney.com/seth-bradley/

https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/sethbradleyesq

https://medium.com/@sethbradleyesq

https://www.tiktok.com/@sethbradleyesq?lang=en

Mike Hoffman’s Links:

https://www.instagram.com/mikehoffmannofficial/

https://x.com/mrpassive_?lang=en

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikedhoffmann/

https://www.tiktok.com/@mr.passive

https://www.tiktok.com/@sethbradleyesq?lang=en

T1C 02 | The 1% Closer with Mike Hoffman Aug 08, 2025

Show notes

Title: The 1% Closer - Mike Hoffman

Summary:

In this conversation between Seth Bradley and Mike, Mike shares that what separates him from others in his field is discipline and focus, particularly the ability to say no to things that don’t align with his goals. He highlights that successful entrepreneurs are usually highly focused and niche down. Mike attributes much of his own success to concentrating on vending machines after realizing it drew the most interest. For those looking to get started in vending, he advises leveraging personal connections to secure high-foot-traffic locations.

Links to Watch and Subscribe:

https://youtu.be/w_phQef7MOU

Bullet Point Highlights:

Mike credits his success to discipline, focus, and the ability to say no
Emphasizes the mindset: "It's better to be respected than liked"
Believes the top trait of successful entrepreneurs is focus
Success came by niching down into vending after testing other passive income streams
Advises newcomers to start by leveraging warm connections to place machines in high-foot-traffic locations
Examples include urgent care clinics, apartment buildings, gyms, and kids’ studios

Transcript:

Seth Bradley (00:00.162)

You're clearly in the top 1 % of what you do, Mike. What is it about you that separates you from the rest of the field?

Ooh, that's a good question, Seth. I think it's just discipline, know, discipline and focus. One of the hardest things is being able to say no with the things that don't align. And when I was growing up, I had a quote that has really stuck with me that's like, it's better to be respected than liked. And I think that really resonates. Like, naturally, as a human, you want to be liked and help people, but the 1 % are really good at saying no.

Yeah, I love that man. That's a great answer. Going to build on that. What do you think the number one attribute is that makes a successful entrepreneur? Yeah. Yeah. Yep. The one thing, right? The one thing. That's why.

Probably focus.

Mike Hoffman (00:47.246)

You come back to like the most successful entrepreneurs, they always niche down and they niche down because they just hyper-focus. Like this is kind of why for me, you know, I started this passive, Mr. Passive on social media before I even got into Vendi. Well, now everyone's like, well, how passive is Vendi? Well, it's like, what's really interesting is I was posting all these different, what I thought passive income streams in the time, but everyone, 95 % of the questions I got about Airbnbs are all my different.

investments was about bending. So I just niche down on on bending and I just look back on that and I was like it really forced me to focus.

Awesome, awesome. What's one thing someone could do today to get 1 % closer to success in the vending machine business if they are really interested in learning?

Tap into your connections and find a location that has high foot traffic, whether that's a friend that works at an urgent care, a sister that lives at an apartment. You take your kid to that gymnastics studio that has a ton of foot traffic between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. All those locations are prime locations to put one of these modern smart machines in. so tapping into your connections, a warm intro is better than 10 cold.

Awesome. Alright Mike, I appreciate it brother.

Links from the Show and Guest Info and Links:

Seth Bradley’s Links:

https://x.com/sethbradleyesq

https://www.youtube.com/@sethbradleyesq

www.facebook.com/sethbradleyesq

https://www.threads.com/@sethbradleyesq

https://www.instagram.com/sethbradleyesq/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethbradleyesq/

https://passiveincomeattorney.com/seth-bradley/

https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/sethbradleyesq

https://medium.com/@sethbradleyesq

https://www.tiktok.com/@sethbradleyesq?lang=en

Mike Hoffman’s Links:

https://www.instagram.com/mikehoffmannofficial/

https://x.com/mrpassive_?lang=en

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikedhoffmann/

https://www.tiktok.com/@mr.passive

https://www.tiktok.com/@sethbradleyesq?lang=en

TME 09 | I’ve Read 236 Business Books: Here Are the 12 That Will Make You Rich Aug 06, 2025

Show notes

Title: I’ve Read 236 Business Books – Here Are the 12 That Will Make You Rich Summary: In this video, Seth Bradley, a successful real estate investor and former attorney, shares a curated list of the 12 most impactful business books that significantly changed his approach to wealth generation, investing, and entrepreneurship. He expresses his frustration with the majority of business literature but firmly believes in the transformative power of these selected titles. Seth emphasizes that achieving financial freedom involves moving away from traditional employment and cultivating a mindset geared toward asset building and strategic operation. Each book he mentions has played a critical role in shaping his journey, providing strategic thoughts on productivity, relationship management, and scaling businesses. The emphasis is not merely on the content of the books but on applying their principles to realize tangible success. Furthermore, he wraps up the discussion by encouraging viewers to take action by reading these books and applying their teachings to improve their financial status and life in general. Links to Watch and Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QXX37vgJPE&list=PLSfheWyV7beFqERLX4ebBUJ4SmzmF6z8e&index=4 Bullet Point Highlights: Transformative Reading: Seth Bradley highlights 12 business books that transformed his financial mindset. From Employees to Investors: Books teach the importance of shifting from earning through employment to making money through investments. The Power of Mornings: The “Miracle Morning” book stresses the significance of a structured morning routine for success. Execution Over Perfection: “The Lean Startup” emphasizes launching quickly and improving based on feedback. Relationship Building: “How to Win Friends and Influence People” underscores the importance of communication and building relationships in business. Mindset Shift with 10x Rule: Grant Cardone’s “The 10x Rule” encourages ambitious thinking and significant effort to achieve exceptional results. Love Languages in Business: “The Five Love Languages” reveals how understanding different communication styles can enhance business relationships. Transcript: (Seth Bradley) [Music] I've read 236 business books and let me tell you honestly most of them are a complete waste of time but these 12 these are the ones that actually made me Rich these books change the way I make money I invest and I run my businesses and before you ask no I'm not including Rich Dad Poor Dad why because it's the purple Bible and if you don't know that one you're already behind so real quick if you don't know me I'm Seth Bradley really estate investor Capital Riser and former big law attorney I left a multiple sixf figureure corporate career because I realized I'd never get rich working for someone else at least not wealthy I don't mess with stocks I don't waste time on 401ks I build businesses and I buy assets so if you want to break free from the 9 to-5 start raising capital and actually control your financial future this is the list you need this is the real playbook for Financial Freedom the books that shaped How I build wealth just stick around and at the end I've got a book you'll never expect but it might be the most important one on the list all right let's get into it book number one it is Robert kosaki cash flow quadrant kosaki breaks down the four ways people make money employee self-employed business owner and investor most people spend their whole lives on the left side trading time for money the rich they're on the right side where businesses Investments make them money while they sleep you know I was making six figures as a lawyer but I was still on the wrong side that's when I knew I had to start buying assets the second I understood this what my man was saying in this book I stopped thinking like an employee and starting moving towards Financial Freedom book number two Miracle morning by how El Rod now it's a solid morning routine is a cheat code for Success when I'm consistent with mine I dominate when I slack off my entire day suffers this book gives you a proven structure to start your day like a high performer if you don't control your mornings you don't control your life one of the biggest takeaways for me was how much intentionality matters if you wake up and immediately start reacting to your world rather than you dictating how you perceive the world emails notifications demands you're already behind but if you take time to focus on yourself set goals and visualize success you'll operate at a much higher level this book will give you the tools to craft a morning routine that sets you up for Success now I do have to say that my morning routine is changed over time I read that book I had a very structured morning I started out I needed that discipline but now I don't necessarily need it as much because I can really get into that flow get into that zone a lot easier I get up I make coffee I take my supplements I sit down and I start doing the hard work first so that morning routine whatever works best for you sometimes you need that structure and discipline to get going then once you kind of harness how you can do that you no longer need to take all those steps number three the 4our work week by Tim Ferris now this one gets a lot of attention and also a lot of criticism but this book it taught me that time is the most valuable asset it's really not about working less and working 4 hours a week I mean for some people maybe but really it's about working smarter before reading this I was deep in the weeds of every task emails admin busy work this book just showed me how to automate how to Outsource how to focus on only high value moves and if you're always busy but not really making real progress this book will change your mindset completely jump into that one for sure here we go book number four traction by Gino Wickman I still use this book every single day most businesses fail because they're a disorganized mess no systems no accountability that was me when I started out and that's how a lot of businesses start out traction fixes that I remember when I first started to grow my real estate business and my legal business at the same time along with the gyms and some other things I had no clear structure no direction and frankly I was working my ass off but wasn't actually growing this book showed me how to implement the entrepreneurial operating system EOS and you can adopt a name for yourself like rais law operating system for me which is just a fancy way of saying here's how to actually run a business that doesn't depend on you doing everything yourself if you're stuck in the weeds this book is absolutely mandatory book number five The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven cubby success isn't luck it's built on habits and this book lays them all out the biggest game changer for me be proactive and focus on what you can control not what you can't most people react to life and they wait for things to happen to them and to complain about them but wealthy people we make things happen this book helped me move from being reactive to strategic if you feel like life is happening to you instead of for you this book will completely change your mindset be sure to pick that one up read it every single year book number six the e- myth Revisited by Michael Gerber if you're doing everything in your business then you don't own a business you own a job and that was me before this book I used to think that being an entrepreneur meant grinding 24/7 and sometimes we still do I still do but all I was doing back in the day was creating a high-paying high stress job for myself and that's not the point this book showed me why systematizing your business is the only way to truly scale once I implemented these systems I was able to step back work on the a big picture and finally grow instead of just survive book number seven The Lean Startup by Eric rise most people wait way too long to launch they overthink they over plan they never execute this book teaches you the exact opposite launch first improve later I wasted so much time like many of us early on just trying to perfect things before putting them out there this book changed how I approach every every single business now I focus on launching fast testing and adapting if I read this earlier I would have saved years maybe decades the best businesses don't come from perfect planning they come from Quick execution and constant learning book number eight How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale to Carnegie business is all about relationships and if you don't know how to communicate you're screwed this book taught me how to build connections negotiate better and influence people without being manipulative of course but if you're going to raise Capital you're going to close deals this book is an absolute must read I apply these principles every single day they're simple in concept but they're harder to execute consistently whether it's working with investors Partners employees team members this book is the foundation for strong relationships in business and also in everyday life book number nine the 10x rule Grant Cardone you know he says a lot of controversial things some people give him Flack but this dude knows how to make money most people think too small not Grand this book forced me to build bigger execute at a higher level because everything worth doing takes 10x more effort than you expect if you apply this mindset you're going to stop making excuses and you're going to start making big moves the most powerful lesson here to me average actions they lead to average results if you want to dominate in business and in life you have to push way far beyond what's reasonable that's what separates High performers like us from everyone else if you want success this book will force you to raise your standards always do 10x more and 10x higher all right book number 10 who not how Dan Sullivan this one's incredible successful people don't ask how do I do this they ask who can do this for me who can help me with this this mindset shift completely changed how I run my businesses instead of wasting time learning everything myself I hire experts I ask for help and I let them execute at a higher level before this book I was stuck in the mindset of trying to figure out everything myself once I embrac the who not how principle I stopped being the bottleneck in my own businesses but now I focus on finding the right help finding the best people to execute finding experts in their fields rather than trying to do everything myself so if you struggle with delegation this book is an absolute GameChanger book number 11 how Elrod Strikes Again The Miracle equation so this book it's simple right unwavering Faith plus extraordinary effort and I know that sounds a little kind of flu fluey and that's not really me and it might not be you either but look I mean I say that Mantra to myself every single day it gets hard sometimes so if you don't believe success is inevitable and you're not willing to put in the work an insane amount of effort then you're never going to make it one of the biggest lessons from the book is that mindset alone it's not enough you have to back it up with absolute Relentless action you can't just hope for Success you have to put in the work consistently every single day no matter what no matter how you feel no matter what's going on no matter what obstacles arise this book will shift your perspective on commitment and perseverance remember that saying preach it to yourself every day when gets hard all right book number 12 I told you it would be a surprise on the list I don't think this makes anyone's list for a business book but number 12 the five love languages by Gary Chapman you've all heard of it but let me explain a relationship book sure but business is all about relationships if you don't know how to connect with people you're never going to succeed at a high level this book taught me that people communicate and they receive value in different ways whether it's clients it's Partners its employees knowing how someone feels appreciated will change how you do in your business and how successful you ultimately are for example some people value words about affirmation While others need tangible recognition once I started applying these principles in business and you keep it in your head for all conversations I became a better leader a better negotiator and a better connector if you want to improve your ability to work with people which you will this book will give you an edge a relationship book yes but business is all about relationships remember that if you don't know how to connect with people you'll never succeed at a high level all right there there you go folks the 12 business books you need to Succeed in Business and honestly in life generally read those 12 put them on repeat read them every single year which book hit you the hardest drop a comment below I want to know which one resonated with you the most if you found this valuable hit that like button or subscribe whatever you're watching this on and share it with someone who needs it these books absolutely change my life and they can do the same for you now go take action read those books apply those principles and let's get this money let's go [Music] Links from the Show and Guest Info and Links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QXX37vgJPE&list=PLSfheWyV7beFqERLX4ebBUJ4SmzmF6z8e&index=4 https://www.instagram.com/p/DHZAmMtTXDA/ https://x.com/sethbradleyesq/status/1902426622608994373 https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sethbradleyesq_wealthbuilding-moneymoves-businessbooks-acthttps://x.com/sethbradleyesq https://www.youtube.com/@sethbradleyesq www.facebook.com/sethbradleyesq https://www.threads.com/@sethbradleyesq https://www.instagram.com/sethbradleyesq/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethbradleyesq/ https://passiveincomeattorney.com/seth-bradley/ https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/sethbradleyesq https://medium.com/@sethbradleyesq https://www.tiktok.com/@sethbradleyesq?lang=en

Full show notes at the publisher

RTBL 05 | How to Stay Compliant While Raising Millions with Bronson Hill Aug 05, 2025

Show notes

Title: How to Stay Compliant While Raising Millions with Bronson Hill Summary: In this episode of the Mailbox Money Show, host Bronson Hill interviews Seth Bradley, an accomplished attorney and entrepreneur known for his efforts in passive and active investing. The discussion revolves around the significant shifts in the real estate market post-COVID-19, including rising interest rates and the challenges passive investors face with underperforming deals. Seth shares his experiences with multifamily investments and the importance of selecting the right financial structures, highlighting how his focus on fixed-rate loans has insulated his deals from the volatility that adjustable-rate loans often endure. As they explore other investment avenues, Seth discusses their ventures into various businesses, including gyms, e-commerce, and oil and gas projects. Both entrepreneurs illustrate how innovation and technology, particularly artificial intelligence, can significantly improve investment decision-making and operational efficiency. Their combined expertise offers valuable insights into the world of multifamily syndications, risk management, and leveraging technology for investment insights. The episode concludes with Seth’s perspectives on effective communication between investors and sponsors and the importance of due diligence documents in passive investing. Links to listen and subscribe: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/seth-bradley-what-can-i-do-if-a-deal-goes-bad/id1580397502?i=1000698697087 https://open.spotify.com/episode/4pogVHik6rHwh0k5yFLs1U Links to watch and subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xrvBhGtS5w&t=396s Bullet Point Highlights: Diverse Entrepreneurial Background: Seth Bradley is not only an attorney but also a successful entrepreneur with experience in gyms and startups, adding depth to the authenticity of his investment strategies. Impact of Rising Interest Rates: The podcast discusses how increasing interest rates have shifted the landscape of real estate investments, influencing cash flow and project viability. Importance of Fixed-Rate Loans: Seth emphasizes the protective benefits of using fixed-rate loans in investments to buffer against economic shifts and rising rates. Shifting Investment Focus: As traditional multifamily deals become tough, both Bronson and Seth explore alternative assets, including oil and gas, debt funds, and smaller multifamily properties. Gym Ventures: Seth shares insights from operating gyms, illustrating how franchise businesses can provide a structured path to entrepreneurship with community support. Navigating Passive Investing Challenges: The episode highlights the key steps passive investors should take when deals aren’t performing as expected, including reviewing existing legal agreements. Leveraging Technology and AI: The discussion underscores the growing role of AI in analyzing investments and legal documents, showcasing how technology can enhance investment efficiency and accuracy. Transcript: hey guys this is Ken mroy and you are listening to the mailbox money show with Bronson Hill hello hello and thank you for joining the mailbox money show my name is Bronson Hill I'm very excited for this episode with Seth Bradley you're gonna really like him he's done a lot of things he's like the renaissance man like he has done uh passive investing he's done active investing he owns a couple gyms he's starting another one he's got a couple startups he does he's got all kinds of things speaking very intelligently to a lot of different topics he also has a show called The passive income attorney actually also an attorney as well and puts together syndication paperwork so he does a lot of different things and so I always love talking to people that are doing many things because first of all inspires me that I'm not doing enough and then secondly um you know they'll speak very intelligently on kind of trends that are happening so he's talks about what what we're going to talk in this interview about what happened over the last few years he's doing less real estate looking at some other things and just what do you do if a deal does not go well what are the steps you can take as an investor so I think you're really going to enjoy this we also get into Ai and some awesome other topics so let's jump in Seth welcome to the mailbox money show Bronson what's going on buddy good to see you again hey man we're both in Southern California I know we're not that far apart but you're in like the better part especially lately with all the fires up in La recently uh you're in San Diego man I don't know anybody that says they don't love San Diego yeah man I mean there's no better place in the United States that's for sure I mean I've seen some some beautiful places around the world and I don't know San Diego still might beat it um I get a little bit used to it because I've been here for quite some time now but San Diego is really tough to beat yeah awesome man well I'm excited to have you here today I know you're an attorney you have your podcast called the passive income attorney podcast and you also work with tri vest which helps investors and you have a lot you to say around uh diligence around deals going bad we've seen deals uh We've we've had a couple deals that have really struggled uh I've been an investor passively in deals some deals that have struggled people don't really talk about this as much and I think it's really important to talk about um but let's let's talk about kind of what's changed the last couple years interest rates have risen um obviously if you're a multif family investor the deals maybe aren't as juicy as they were the projections are a little lower a a little little far between as far as you know deals that actually cash flow or deals that make as much sense but uh what have you seen the last couple years and how have you kind of shifted a little bit of your business and your investing for sure I mean it's been um it's been an experience right I think a lot of the past investors out there that are listening or if you're an operator or lead sponsor out there the same thing I mean we've we've gone through a period of time starting I think back when Co hit in 2020 that was kind of the first dip in the market that we've we've seen in this kind of generation right like the jobs act well I I should say the previous dip was in you know 2008 2009 that was one cycle but that was before the jobs Act of 2012 so the jobs Act of 2012 is where some of these private Investments started being opened up to more people and more people like ourselves were able to get involved and start raising capital and and do deals and you've just seen that market kind of exponentially grow since 2012 um so we haven't seen a downturn until Co hit in 20120 and that one was kind of weird right because it was just kind of a blip it wasn't because of the economy it was because of something that just you know nobody's going to be able to predict um but that's the first uh crack in the armor that we saw and then after that then we saw the interest rates go up in in 2020 towards the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023 and that's what really started um you know giving us this experience that I'll say that we're we're still kind of going through because the interest rates are still a little bit higher than what we've we've seen over the past years and we're we're seeing more deals go go bad right or or at least you know there maybe a capital call or or two or perhaps um you know some of your distributions if you're a passive investor might be on pause and these are things that we're just not used to seeing because we're just used to seeing over the past you know 10 years up till 2022 all the deals have just gone really really well so it's a surprise to us and it shouldn't be because you know it's it's cyclic but we we'll figure it out and you know you're just seeing these things that we've all been warned about and they're now coming to fruition yeah yeah it's interesting you know I think if you between 2010 and 2020 you know 2021 even if you just owned a multif family apartment you were a genius right because things were just only going up and to the right and and then sudden like there's that quote by Warren Buffett says you can only tell who's been swimming naked when the tide goes out kind of thing the tide interest Rising the tide goes out it's like oh my gosh this isn't work in the way we planned it um and now you in your portfolio you guys have done very well you've had some some great you haven't done as many deals more recently but um your deals have done well is that because you did kind of fix interest rate or is just the markets you chose or I'd love to hear a little more about that that's right I mean fixed interest rates to be honest were a huge thing um that that's one thing that we really pushed for in our deals and that's and that saved us a little bit when these interest rates started to r that protected us um you know you saw that those were the deals that got in trouble those those adjustable rates got people in trouble and you know there towards the end like let say 2021 22 it was really hard to make the deals start to like continue to work and get those returns that we promised those passive investors without taking those adjustable rate loans so you know those folks that got in in 2021 2022 maybe the beginning of 2023 those deals had adjustable rate loans and that's where they got into some trouble yeah yeah it's interesting kind of how things have changed now it's interesting too there was um a time not even that you know just a few years ago that that real estate was Cash flowing pretty well especially multif family real estate and now it's pretty tough because you know you got rates are higher uh cost you know the price maybe have come down a little bit but you got higher Insurance you got higher other costs other inflation things you know there's not a lot of cash flow so a lot of you know syndicators or multif family investors have kind of just stepped out or maybe they got pitched on a deal here and there so we we've shifted a little bit to do we still do some multif family in in specific situations but um we' switched to go really focus on oil and gas we're doing uh other types of businesses like I mentioned we're buying this business that's a e-commerce business High cash flow and then there's also debt funds you know debt these days there are debt funds paying like Equity was paying with less risk than it was a few years ago right so if you can get not debt funds are the same there's some that are first position that are low leverage and things like that uh what are are there anything else that you're finding for cashow or that you're finding attractive right now as an investor yeah I mean I think you got to just look a little bit deeper I mean there's still some decent multif family deals out there too and that's always going to be to me kind of like bread and butter right like that's something that we're always going to need it's always going to be um it's always going to be something that people are interested in um because we've all lived in apartments at some point in our lives and I think it's an easy thing to grasp mentally okay like I'm going to invest in a multif family or apartment building because I've lived in one I know what it's like I know how they work people pay rent you collect you you know expenses that sort of thing um but it's it's a lot tougher to find those deals um so people have looked at other things so I've seen a lot of um you know debt funds like you said a lot of people pivoting to um you know even smaller multif Family Properties um you know before we were looking at like 100 200 250 unit properties um now I've seen a lot of people kind of Ratchet that down a little bit and look for some better deals in in some smaller properties maybe in the 25 to 75 unit range range that sort of thing um I've seen people like get into mobile home parks and RV parks after cuz we saw that go quite up quite a bit during CO as well and then came rocketing back down um but now you can kind of see like where where it really sits like now you can see like what the value of that asset is so you can see that the you know what those what they really are without like that big spike for covid and those are turning out to be some pretty good Investments to get involved in too yeah and I know um you know we talked about this before we started recording um you and your wife you guys also operate a business or you guys have a a gym a couple gyms that you operate tell us about that and it's that um I know you're sounds like you're spanning so it sounds like it's going well I need to pop into a gym I'm probably get my butt kicked if I pop in there and you g through the Seth Bradley workout there right so yeah man we have a we have a couple of gyms right now we have one open in Oceanside this is in San Diego uh San Diego County one in Oceanside one in Poway getting ready to open up a third one in anas it's under the burn boot camp franchise fly FL so it's a franchise um and I got uh really interested in franchises for that and then I ended up buying into another franchise I ended up buying into a water restoration franchise called Al dry so we've got a few businesses going um but those gyms are great right like once we battled through again I hate to keep bringing up Co but it keeps coming up um but we battled through Co we opened up right before that hit uh actually one week before it hit so then we had to shut it down and work out outside workout inside we had to do um on online workouts those sorts of things um had our lead trainer in our apartment recording videos and me and my wife were in the background doing the exercises um pretty insane what we had to go through but they're they're doing really well now and luckily my wife has taking over that business and she runs the whole thing so I don't do anything she doesn't even want me involved anymore so it's fantastic it it's actually turned into passive income for me for you it's passive income right for her it's right it's it's Fitness income right but that's you know really a lot of people like um lifestyle businesses you know where you're like it's just I think it's just a cool thing to say I own a gym or own a restaurant or I own this thing I mean a lot of like really wealthy people be like oh yeah I own a Vineyard or I own a I own a horse racing thing or something like that but is it is it I mean you don't have to get into specific numbers but is it pretty it's you're opening another one so it's pretty lucrative to do it it sounds like it's working out well the it's a boutique gy that does kind of boot camp type stuff and you have certain classes you go in and those have become super popular all over the us but especially in big metros like Southern California for sure and look I don't want to say that it's easy because it's it's definitely not you have to have the right mindset you've got to be an entrepreneur you've got to be able to fight through the hard times but you know these these types of businesses they're they're kind of done for you to…

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TME 08 | How to Make Millions with Vending Machines with Mike Hoffman Jul 30, 2025

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Title: How to Make Millions with Vending Machines with Mike Hoffman Summary: In this conversation, Seth Bradley and Mike Hoffman delve into the world of vending machines as a business opportunity. Mike shares his journey from a Midwest farm boy to a successful entrepreneur in the vending industry, highlighting the evolution of vending technology and the potential for passive income. They discuss the importance of location, understanding demographics, and the scalability of vending routes. Mike emphasizes the need for upfront work and learning before delegating tasks, while also addressing the misconceptions surrounding passive income in the vending business. In this conversation, Seth Bradley and Mike discuss various aspects of entrepreneurship, particularly in the vending machine business. They explore the importance of capital raising, the journey of self-discovery, influences that shape business decisions, and the definition of success. The dialogue emphasizes the significance of flexibility, discipline, and focus in achieving entrepreneurial goals, while also touching on financial milestones and the attributes that distinguish successful entrepreneurs. Links to Watch and Subscribe: https://youtu.be/aNCkzBp_Mfg Bullet Point Highlights: Mike's journey from a classic Midwest farm boy to a successful entrepreneur. The evolution of vending machines from traditional to smart technology. Understanding the importance of location in the vending business. The analogy of baseball levels to describe starting in vending. Scaling up from single A to big leagues in vending routes. The significance of demographics in product selection for vending machines. The potential for passive income with proper systems in place. The need for upfront work before achieving passivity in business. Vending is not a get-rich-quick scheme; it requires dedication. The future opportunities in the vending industry are expanding rapidly. Raising capital can dilute ownership but may be necessary for rapid growth. Self-discovery often leads to unexpected career paths. Influences in business can come from personal experiences rather than just mentors. Success is often defined by the ability to prioritize family and flexibility. Entrepreneurs work harder than in traditional jobs but gain flexibility. Discipline is crucial for saying no to distractions. Successful entrepreneurs often focus on niche markets. High foot traffic locations are ideal for vending machines. AI is transforming business operations and efficiency. Networking and connections can lead to valuable opportunities. Transcript: Seth Bradley, Esq. (00:04.898) Mike, what's going on buddy? Doing great brother, doing great. How about you? Mike (00:06.748) Don't worry, Mike (00:11.664) Good, I'm a little flustered. I usually have my mic set up over here, but I guess we just moved and it's not here today. I guess, yeah, new office and it's been a whole hot mess. Seth Bradley, Esq. (00:19.822) New office or what? Seth Bradley, Esq. (00:27.862) Nice man, nice. I see you got the whiteboard cranking back there. Love to see that. Mike (00:33.114) Always. I love your background. That's sweet. Seth Bradley, Esq. (00:38.03) Thanks man, yeah, I'm on camera all the time so I like I need to just build this out instead of using like a green screen so Made the investment made it happen Mike (00:44.86) Totally. Yeah, absolutely. Seth Bradley, Esq. (00:49.442) Have we met in person or not? I don't know if we've met at a Wealth Without Wall Street event or I couldn't tell. Okay. No, I did not go to Nashville last year. Mike (00:58.478) I don't think so. don't think you're... Were you in Nashville last year? Mike (01:04.634) No, okay. No, I don't think we've met in person. Yeah. Seth Bradley, Esq. (01:08.256) Okay, all good, man. All good. Well, cool. I'll just go over the format real quick. We'll do kind of a shorter recording. We're do like 30 minutes, something like in that range. And then we'll just kind of like break. And then I'll, want to record a couple of other quick segments where I call it Million Dollar Monday. I'm kind of asking you about how you made your first, last and next million. And then 1 % closer, which would just be kind of what separates you, what makes you the top 1 % in your particular vertical. So we'll just kind of record those separately. Those will be real short, like five minutes or so. Mike (01:44.924) Okay, yeah, I'll follow your lead. All good. Seth Bradley, Esq. (01:47.15) Cool. Cool. Let's see. I think I already have this auto recording. So we're already recording. So I'll just jump right in. Mike (01:55.377) Okay. Seth Bradley, Esq. (01:57.782) Welcome to Raise the Bar Radio, hosted by yours truly Seth Bradley. We today we've got Mr. Passive, Mike Hoffman. Mike, welcome to the show. Mike (02:08.189) Thank you for having me fired up to be here. Seth Bradley, Esq. (02:10.855) Absolutely man, really happy to have you on. I know it's been a little bit of a trek here to get our schedules lined up, but really stoked to have you on today, man. I see you said you moved into a new office. You've got the whiteboard cranking, so love to see it. Mike (02:25.372) yeah, whiteboards are the only place I can get my thoughts down. Seth Bradley, Esq. (02:29.399) Yeah, man, it makes a difference when you actually write something rather than type it or even on a mirror board where you're doing it online. just there's something about physically writing something down. Mike (02:41.328) You know, I'm glad you said that because yesterday I flipped to Seattle for a quick work trip and I didn't have wifi and I literally had three pages of just, I, was so like the clarity of some of these kinds of bigger visions I have now from just being able to write for an hour on a flight was, I was like, man, I gotta do this more often. Seth Bradley, Esq. (03:00.363) Yeah, for sure. The key though is once you write it down, it just doesn't go into the trash or into a black hole somewhere where you never see it again. So that's kind of the disadvantage there. If you have it on your computer and you're taking notes or you have it on a mirror board, at least it's there to reference all the time. If you write it down on paper, sometimes, I've got my Raze Masters book right here for notes, but it's like, it might go into the abyss and I'll never look at it again. So you gotta be careful about that. Mike (03:27.184) Yeah, yeah, I need to check out the Miro boards. I've heard a lot of good things about them. Seth Bradley, Esq. (03:31.467) Yeah, yeah. Awesome, Mike. Well, listen, for our audience who doesn't know anything about you, maybe just tell them, you know, tell them a little bit about your background. Tell them about your your main business and we can take it from there. Mike (03:43.354) Yeah. So I think for those that don't know about me, I'm a classic Midwest farm boy started with a classic, you know, showing cattle at the county fair and all of that and had a lemonade stand growing up. And then my first job was actually at McDonald's, you know, thinking about the whole success of that business model. But when I was coaching and, out of college, I got my first rental and I was like, wow, this is crazy. making money without. really much time involved. and then with my work in Silicon Valley, know, Seth, was classic Silicon Valley, you know, cutthroat job that, startup life and traveling three weeks out of the month. And I was on, I was in airports all the time. And was like, these vending machines I would run into at airports were just so archaic. And so I went down this path of like unattended retail and kind of the future of, of that. And that's really where I just see a huge opportunity right now. And so it's kind of what led me into all these different income streams that I'm passionate about. Seth Bradley, Esq. (04:49.431) That's awesome, man. Well, let's dive into that a little bit deeper. me about these income streams. It centers around vending machines, right? But I'm sure there's a lot more to it. I'm sure there's a lot of different entry points for people. Maybe just kind of give us a general synopsis to start out. Mike (05:06.78) Yeah, so I think the big thing with, you know, if we're talking vending specifically as an income stream, you know, most people think of vending as the traditional machines where you enter in a code, you put your card on the machine and then a motor spirals down a Snickers bar or a soda and you go into the chute and grab it. Nowadays, there's these smart machines that literally you just unlock the door, or even if you go into, land in the Vegas airport right at the bottom of the escalator where it says, welcome to Las Vegas, there's a 7-Eleven with gates and AI cameras, and there's no employees in the 7-Eleven. And it just tracks whatever you grab and to exit the gate, you have to pay for it. So like, there's just this huge market now where we just installed it in urgent care. less than two months ago and we can do over the counter meds in that machine because it doesn't have to fit into a motor. It's just shelf space. You identify with the planogram with the AI cameras like, okay, Dayquil in this slot or Salad in this slot and then whatever they grab, gets charged to the person that pulls it from it. Seth Bradley, Esq. (06:15.469) That's interesting, man. Yeah, I mean, my initial thought too, was just like the traditional old vending machine where you're getting a candy bar or a cola out of there. But yeah, nowadays, now that you mentioned that, you see this more and more every single day where you've got these scanners, you've got kind of self-checkout, that sort of thing. So that's kind of, that expands that world and really opens it up to the future, right? Like it just really, that's what we're trying to get to, or at least we think we wanna get there, where we're kind of removing humans and... kind of working with technologies and things like that. Mike (06:49.488) Yeah, and I think, you know, removing the whole human thing. mean, those machines still got to get stocked and you know, there's not robots running around doing that. But I just come back to, I was a Marriott guy when I was on the road all the time and I'd go to these grab and goes at a Marriott and grab a, the end of the night, I'd grab like a little wine or an ice cream sandwich. And I literally had to go wait in line at the check-in desk behind three people checking in just to tell them, Hey, put these on. room charge and I was like if I had a checkout kiosk in that grab-and-go I could have just removed all the friction for this customer experience. Seth Bradley, Esq. (07:27.772) Right, 100%. Yeah, I mean, there's a place and time for it and there's more and more applications for it that just pop up every single day and you can kind of spot that in your life as you're just kind of moving through, whether you're checking into your hotel or whatever you're doing. Mike (07:41.456) Yeah, yeah. So that's just kind of what excites me today. Seth Bradley, Esq. (07:45.973) Yeah, yeah, so when a stranger asks you what you do just in the street, what do you tell them? Because I have a hard time answering that question sometimes too, but I'd love to hear what your answer is. Mike (07:56.804) Yeah, I would just say it depends on the day. You know, what do you do or what's your, you know, it's like at the golf course when you get paired up with a stranger and they're like, tell me about what you do for your career. And I just say, I'm a classic entrepreneur. And then I'm like, well, what do you do? And it's like, well, tell me about the day. You know, what fire are you putting out? Like today we just got the go ahead for five more urgent cares for our local route. But then, you know, we have a community of operators across the country that we help really build. Seth Bradley, Esq. (07:57.933) haha Ha ha ha. Seth Bradley, Esq. (08:09.879) Yeah. Yeah. Mike (08:25.616) Vending empires and so we had a group call this morning. So literally, there's a lot of just, you know, it's classic entrepreneurial life. You never know what the day's script is gonna be. Seth Bradley, Esq. (08:36.161) Yeah, for sure. And you focus a lot on not only on your own business, but also teaching others, right? Teaching others how to kind of break into this business. Mike (08:45.402) Yeah, that's my passion, Seth. When I got into my first investment out of college was a $70,000 rental, you know, putting 20 % down or 14K and using an emergency fund. like my background in going to college was as a coach. like I knew I wanted to kind of take that mindset of like coaching people, you know, teach them how to fish. I don't want to catch all the fish myself. It's just not fulfilling that way. So that's really where my passion is. Seth Bradley, Esq. (09:15.373) Gotcha, gotcha. tell me about like, tell me about step one. I mean, how does somebody break into this business? Obviously your own personal business is probably very advanced. There's probably a lot more sophisticated investing strategies at this point and you've got different layers to it. But somebody just kind of starting out that said, hey, this sounds pretty interesting. This vending machine business sounds like it can be passive. How do you recommend that they get started? Mike (09:40.57) Yeah, so I'm always, I view like the whole vending scale as similar to Major League Baseball. You got your single A all the way up to the big leagues. And if you're just starting out, I always recommend like find a location where you can put a machine and just learn the process. Like to me, that's single A analogy. you know, that always starts with, people want to jump right to like, well, what type of machines do you recommend? products, how do you price products? And the first question I'll always ask Seth is, well, what location is this machine going in? And they're like, well, I don't know yet. I was just going to buy one and put it in my garage to start. And it's like, no, you need to have the location first. So understanding that, is it a pet hospital? Is it an apartment? Is it a gym? Where is the foot traffic? And then you can cater to what's the best machine for that type of location. Seth Bradley, Esq. (10:36.887) Got it, got it. Now is this a kind of a rent, you rent the space to place the machine with that particular business or wherever you're gonna place it or how does that all come together? Mike (10:47.644) not typically, some people are kind of more advanced, like apartment complexes are used to the revenue share model. So they're going to ask for a piece of the pie for sure, for you to put the machine in their lobby. but like, you know, when we're talking urgent carers or even pet hospitals are viewing it as an amenity. And so we probably have, I don't even know how many machines now 75 now, and we, you know, less than half of those actually, Seth Bradley, Esq. (10:50.423) Okay. Mike (11:15.1) us rent or ask for a revenue share to have them in there. So I never leave lead with that, but we'll do it if we need to get the location. Seth Bradley, Esq. (11:23.989) Interesting gotcha. So it's really a value add for wherever you're gonna place it and that's how most people or I guess most businesses would look at that and then you're able to capture that that space Mike (11:27.366) Mm-hmm. Mike (11:34.236) Yeah, absolutely.…

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