Standout Quotes:

• "Rich families that own good assets generally don't look to sell them to maximize Pre-tax IRR" - [Moses]
• "If you do not lose the building, the rents will recover" - [Moses]
• "When you start to think about things indefinitely, and you're not in a rush, it kind of opens up other possibilities in terms of structure and strategy" - [Moses]
• "It's very hard to go from zero to something… and it takes an entirely different set of skills to go from something to something much larger" - [Moses]
• "I do not believe that we as individuals live our lives for ourselves" - [Moses]

Key Takeaways:

• Moses has been buying, renovating, and managing apartment buildings in Los Angeles since 2008, through his company, Adaptive Realty, alongside investor partners. He focuses on sub-institutional deals.
• The most important part of the strategy is that rather than buy, fix and sell buildings to maximize pretax IRR, they buy properties, make them high-quality assets, manage and refinance them to get higher returns. The strategy was born from his family values as they had always been involved in Real Estate but never engaged particularly in sales of property.
• There are two reasons why people sell; firstly investors have a mindset too focused on Pretax IRR, and secondly, the sponsor gets their money after selling. If you just hold on and keep the building, the rents will recover.
• The initial funds for the business came from friends and family of Moses, and later from another family office who partnered with them. This partnership helped them build a track record that encouraged other investors to feel comfortable with them.
• The structure for the business model is not to buy, renovate and sell like the typical model with PEs, but rather they partner with wealthy families with the explicit assumption to hold on to the property not sell, however, liquidation rights goes to the family that put up all the capital. The primary strategy has been to refinance the property to pull the capital out and give it back to the investors who still retain ownership and cash flow from rents. Adaptive Realty only gets fees for their work but not cash flow from rents, sales or refinance until the investors have got their capital.
• Describing his family history, Moses shares how his first building was bought with capital from the family money dating back 4 generations. The wealth he enjoyed from his family was mostly in form of basic needs being met and, particularly education.
• When starting a business with a partner, it is critical to have a decision-maker or tie-breaker irrespective of how profits are split. The relationship between Moses and his partner in terms of how earnings are split is quite stable even for the coming generation but open to discussions if need be.
• There is currently no long-term family structure for his family, however, Moses spends a lot of time with his kids, to instill the values of passing on to the next generation what was done for them.
• Discussing Storytelling, Moses emphasizes that your forebearers are a living part of your life, and tries to make those people present for his children even though they will never meet them.
• Gaining exposure and immense assistance from his friends to succeed, Moses was also motivated to start finding ways to help people who didn't have the kind of opportunities he had.
• Advice from Moses to those aspiring for multigenerational success: Don't put yourself in a position where one investor can wake up one day and force you to restart your career. This involves having different capital providers rather than being completely dependent on one.
• From Moses to his kids: We owe everything to those who came before us, however, we can't repay them. We can only try to do for those coming after us what has been done for us, if not more.

Episode Timeline:

• [00:48] Meet today's guest, Moses Kagan.
• [01:53] About the business, Adaptive Realty.
• [13:50] How do you get investors to join you with your strategy of holding properties permanently?
• [16:45] How have you structured Adaptive Realty to be different from the typical P.E model?
• [21:55] Moses shares his family background.
• [32:36] What's your perspective on multigenerational wealth?
• [38:28] What does the future look like in terms of the next generation?
• [41:07] Do you expect your children to get involved in the business?
• [46:15] Is there any form of family governance structure?
• [48:18] Moses shares his approach to storytelling as a method to pass on values.
• [52:55] How Moses works to help others who haven't had the same privileges he enjoyed.
• [57:06] Advice from Moses to listeners aspiring to build generational legacies.
• [01:00:33] From Moses to his kids.

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Special Guest: Moses Kagan.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• Property management for exceptional Los Angeles apartment buildings — Moses Kagan's company, Adaptive Realty, along with its investor-partners, owns approximately $200MM worth of high-quality buildings in interesting neighborhoods.
• Moses Kagan — Moses Kagan has been buying, renovating and managing apartment buildings in Los Angeles since 2008

I was fortunate enough to preview his new book which was released last month, titled Life Profitability. In Life Profitability, Adii provides you with a new perspective for becoming self-aware, recognising your values, and understanding your impact. An enriched life and successful business are not mutually exclusive. In fact, this book will provide you with the first steps in building a business that is more sustainable with increased options for you, your employees, and your family.

Standout Quotes:

• "The biggest burden I felt was that transition from wealth generation to wealth maintenance" - [Adii]
• "I think in any kind of business partner relationships, as long as everyone is aligned towards the same goal, then everything is hunky-dory, and as soon as someone is not aligned with your process then everything is not hunky-dory" - [Adii]
• "Whatever I do, it should be that truest expression of self" - [Adii]
• "There are multiple things that pull us into different directions on a daily basis but having an awareness of when that happens... that's Mindfulness" - [Adii]
• "I truly believe in transparency for the kids" - [Adii]
• "The family office should serve as a leg up for the trustees and that's the kids, right? it's not a handout" - [Adii]
• "Neither the family office or any of our individual lives should be so rigid like we're constantly trying to fit into a single recipe" - [Adii]
• "The cost of anything we do in life is just Life" - [Adii]
• "I don't care if they miss 99% of it, even if they become 1% of the context of this conversation" - [Adii]
• "The way I think about legacy is, if I were to die tomorrow, the goal would be to have left my kids or anyone who cares enough breadcrumbs about who I really was" - [Adii]

Key Takeaways:

• A major transition point for Adii was moving from wealth generation to wealth maintenance.
• With little information on how to run a family office, he was able to get started by asking questions and got propelled into motion when the law firm got the right people around him to explain the process.
• Adii describes his value system: How can I wake up every single morning and spend my time manifesting the truest expression and version of myself in anything that I do?
• An ideal day for Adii is "being present".
• Adii explains that the main reason he went back into entrepreneurship was he wanted to create again, he was enthusiastic about building a team, and those are his higher values for now.
• While admitting that his kids have a great life especially from the financial perspective, he is concerned not to bring up spoilt kids who can't be individuals with their purpose.
• Adii describes the strategies he uses to help build his kids to become individuals with a backbone: Transparency, which involves letting the kids be fully aware and involved with the ongoings in the family office, as well as the concept of Gratitude.
• The family office should always prioritize business ideas from the trustees.
• Expounding on the concept of 'Paying a Life Dividend': A business that's not just financially profitable but profits your whole life. Adi discusses the relevance of having assets that mean more than their financial value to the family, which is selected by stress testing, effective communication, and evolution.
• It is important to sequence things, rather than doing two things at once and have none getting your full attention.
• Every single minute of our day, we only have finite attention, time, and energy to do anything, so the decision to anything is costing us life.
• Unfortunately, mainstream media has created a narrow definition of success that serves barely 0.1% of the world, but there is a much wider and diverse definition of success for the rest of us, and it is our responsibility to define it.
• To Adii's Children: Do the work, continue learning towards discovering who you are, and figure out how to manifest that in most of the things you do in life.

Episode Timeline:

• [00:49] About today's guest, Adii Pienaar, describing his origin story and path to First-generation wealth.
• [08:26] What does a family office mean to you, and how did you know what to do when you set out to do this for the first time?
• [11:19] How have you and your understanding of value systems evolved?
• [13:59] Adii describes his picture of an ideal day.
• [16:13] His motivation for diving into entrepreneurship for the 3rd time.
• [19:20] How have you explored this concept of multi-generational wealth or the family office?
• [29:50] 'Paying a Life Dividend'
• [37:34] Adii recounts a significant failure with the lessons learned.
• [40:15] About Adii's book: "Life Profitability"
• [49:12] What was the motivation for writing and publishing a book?
• [53:00] How else do you document your history within your family for the next generation to discover?
• [54:40] Adii's letter to his children.

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Special Guest: Adii Pienaar.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• Adii Pienaar - Personal Website — Adii Pienaar is the founder of three technology companies, two of which he’s exited so far to create first generation wealth for his family
• CM Commerce: Email automation for ecommerce stores — Adii Pienaar is the founder of Conversio
• WooCommerce - Sell Online With The eCommerce Platform for WordPress — Adii was co-founder of WooThemes/WooCommerce
• Life Profitability: The New Measure of Entrepreneurial Success by Adii Pienaar | Amazon — In Life Profitability, Adii provides you with a new perspective for becoming self-aware, recognising your values, and understanding your impact

He has been active in the business of education since 1994 when he and his wife, Arabella Peters, co-founded Apollo English and then the British University Vietnam. Since then they have invested in a number of businesses all focused on education.

Khalid and Arabella see themselves as the founding generation of their family enterprise and intend to never sell their Dragonfly Education hold co. They’re actively involving their young children in business conversations and laying the foundation for generational wealth, legacy and impact.

Standout Quotes:

• "What's your biggest headache?"
• "Learning from successful family businesses; so many of them do not load up on debt" - [Khalid]
• "The future of education is blended, that means you've got to incorporate online with offline" - [Khalid]
• "Sophisticated multi-generational families.. have taken generations to figure out that they need to separate the Governance from the Operations, and that the family needs to be excellent stewards and owners first before they can consider playing an active role in Operations" - [Mike]
• "A well-run family business is difficult to beat, especially during downtimes" - [Khalid]
• "Why trade anything in, when we've found purpose?" - [Khalid]
• "If you’re building any business, I'd say that 'Focus' is the thing that's often lacking, especially if the entrepreneur at the beginning thinks they have to say yes to everything" - [Khalid]
• "Look for the good in life... because it really helps you enjoy the journey" - [Khalid]

Key Takeaways:

• If you want to be truly in control of your journey in a business, you need to be the owner, not the manager.
• At the very beginning, the vision was simply to get the business to survive.
• It's only when you move from surviving to thriving that you can ask, "what do you want to do?"
• When asked "what is your biggest headache?" at an event, many of the entrepreneurs answered "My father".
• If you're not happy with 60000 pounds per year, then any more money might not change anything.
• Khalid describes the challenges of Covid-19 as a learning period for the business as a whole.
• Finding a way to create balance and incorporate online with offline learning is pivotal, that will be the future for the family business.
• Khalid and his wife, Arabella involve their kids as much as possible in the family business even at the early ages of 8 and 10, with some tests to determine their level of interest and perception of the business as a whole.
• In the future, the key role for the kids is going to be "Good Owners"
• The stewardship role is critical
• One of the tips to help foster togetherness among children is that if one of them does something wrong, punish them all.
• Other points to note is to never elevate one sibling above the other and to always leave them to sort out their arguments without being the judge.
• Khalid shares that the preferred investments taken by DragonFly are those in which a controlling stake can be bought.
• A major mistake that was made at some point was accepting an offer from Nokia when it should have been turned down because it was distracting from the core competency of the business.
• Khalid shares that his source of knowledge includes mentors, peer to peer learning, and mistakes.
• From Khalid to his kids: Look for the good in life because it really helps you enjoy the journey.

Episode Timeline:

• [00:49] About Khalid Muhmood and the inspiration for starting the business of education
• [06:01] Khalid explains some of the reasons behind the choice of Vietnam as a location for starting the business
• [08:59] What was the vision at the time of starting the business
• [15:03] The new vision for Dragonfly Education Group
• [19:41] How did the business hold up in this period of Covid19, do you have an interest in online learning?
• [24:34] Is there a vision of bringing your kids into the business if they're interested?
• [31:20] Do you have any other family structures aside from stewarding Dragonfly as the main asset?
• [32:53] Khalid shares some of the values, principles, and parenting approaches to raise well-rounded children amidst wealth.
• [36:37] Where does this family business DNA come from?
• [41:17] Where do you think you'll make the next operational or financial investment?
• [43:01] One of the major mistakes made in running the business: Losing focus
• [47:50] A letter from Khalid to his kids

For more episodes go to
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Special Guest: Khalid Muhmood.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• Khalid Muhmood — Khalid is the Founder and Investor in education with a passion for delivering education that develops global citizens and fosters prosperity.
• Trung Tâm Anh Ngữ Apollo | Chương Trình Học Tiếng Anh Với 100% Giáo Viên Nước Ngoài — Khalid has been active in the business of education since 1994 when he and his wife, Arabella Peters, co-founded Apollo English and then the British University Vietnam. Since then they have invested in a number of businesses all focused on education.
• Dragonfly Education Group — Khalid is from the UK and through the family business holding company Dragonfly Education Group, is an operational investor in education.

A small angel investment that Dave made in 2005 opened his eyes to an alternative way of supporting seasoned entrepreneurs who wanted to build large, profitable, innovative businesses that they would run privately for their lifetimes. In 2013 he founded The Tugboat Institute, a membership organisation designed to support Evergreen leaders and their companies over the very long term.

"We believe in the vital importance of humans coming together to create and grow enduring, private businesses that make a dent in the universe." - Tugboat Institute

Standout Quotes

• "How do you help a company have good hygiene? A very important component of that is how you develop the family members into the business" - Dave Whorton [31:44]
• "If you feel your company is deeply purpose-driven and meant to have a significant impact for a long time in the world then you do think naturally about it from a standpoint of stewardship" - Dave Whorton [34:04]
• "How can I take this incredible asset and move it forward before handing it over to the next steward?" - Dave Whorton [34:16]
• "I think it's really important to develop a work ethic in your kids, I don't care what level of wealth you have" - Dave Whorton [45:50]

Key Takeaways

• The 7Ps that makes a company evergreen: Purpose, Perseverance, People First, Private, Profit, Paced Growth and Pragmatic Innovation [21:44]
• Entrepreneurs have to be very clear with CEOs about what they want from their investing partners [39:37]
• Dave describes some qualities that he observed to be common among evergreen leaders which mostly include being introverted and humility [23:46]
• Developing a work ethic at a young age is critically important and also exposing them to the importance of saving [46:11]

Episode Timeline:

• [00:48] Mike introduces Dave and tells us a little about him
• [02:06] Dave shares his backstory and work background in more detail
• [17:20] The Tugboat group and how it's evolved over time.
• [21:44] The 7Ps that makes a company evergreen: Purpose, Perseverance, People First, Private, Profit, Paced Growth and Pragmatic Innovation
• [23:46] Dave describes some qualities that he observed to be common among evergreen leaders which mostly include being introverted and humility
• [30:18] How does Tugboat support generational transitions of family members or other closely held businesses?
• [34:04] if you feel your company is deeply purpose-driven and meant to have a significant impact for a long time in the world then you do think about naturally about it from a standpoint of stewardship; How can I take this incredible asset and move it forward before handing it over to the next steward?
• [39:37] Entrepreneurs have to be very clear with CEOs about what they want from their investing partners
• [45:33] Dave shares his thoughts on generational wealth and legacy building in contrast to a focus on the children developing a work ethic and inheriting nothing.
• [49:29] The failure Dave faced that eventually took him on a journey to where he is today.

For more episodes go to
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Special Guest: Dave Whorton.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• Seed The Future - Evergreen Movement | Dave Whorton with Tom Bilyeu (IQ50) - YouTube
• Tugboat Institute — We believe in the vital importance of humans coming together to create and grow enduring, private businesses that make a dent in the universe.
• The Tugboat Group — An Alternative Path to Growing Lasting, Private Companies.
• How to Build a Company That Will Last for 100 Years | Inc.com — A growing number of entrepreneurs are ditching the steroid-like growth that comes with outside investment, and building their companies to last.
• Dave Whorton | LinkedIn
• Book: How to Be Rich: Getty, J. Paul — There are plenty of books on making money by men who haven't made much. But if J. Paul Getty, who Fortune magazine called “the richest man in the world,” doesn't know how, who does?
• Book: In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best-Run Companies (Collins Business Essentials) eBook: Peters, Tom — Based on a study of forty-three of America's best-run companies from a diverse array of business sectors, In Search of Excellence describes eight basic principles of management -- action-stimulating, people-oriented, profit-maximizing practices -- that made these organizations successful.

Jim Sheils developed the Family Board Meeting process out of necessity for his own family and hopes to help business owners bridge the gaps between themselves and their loved ones.

Standout Quotes

• “I look at my family as my most important clients, investors, and key team members.” – Jim Sheils [8:43]
• “If people hear nothing else today Mike, I mean nothing else, just know that the potency and power of one-on-one time is irreplaceable. It separates the parts to strengthen the whole, it takes away sibling rivalry, it puts the magnifying glass on the relationship in a positive way.” – Jim Sheils [12:01]
• “There is no substitute for quality time and communication.” – Jim Sheils [21:03]
• “What I’ve told my kids is our wealth is tied to certain core values. I will give you opportunities that I did not have. I will help set up those things, but I won’t do the push-ups for you.” – Jim Sheils [21:47]
• “Probably one of the worst things to ever happen to businesses and entrepreneurship, is to try to force a child to go into the family business.” – Jim Sheils [32:00]
• “I think it’s important for my children to remember they have certain gifts and talents that they will be able to detect that they’ll intuitively feel a pull for. I want them to have the courage, comfort, and support to go for it.” – Jim Sheils [40:24]

Key Takeaways

• Understanding the “great entrepreneurial lie” and how to begin living in the now
• How irreplaceable the power and potency of one-on-one time is for strengthening your family connections
• Tips for making sure you are not “half-in parenting” as you work from home
• Understanding the challenges that come with successful succession in multi-generational family businesses
• The importance of setting core values and guidelines to reach success

Episode Timeline

• [1:31] How a major life shift can change your values and awareness on life
• [2:46] The great entrepreneurial lie and the importance of focusing on your family
• [4:26] Jim’s focus on his children’s education
• [6:07] Personal development, financial intelligence, and relationship skills for the next generation
• [8:30] Jim’s family board meeting concept
• [10:35] A solution that is simple but has key fundamental action steps
• [11:54] The three guiding principles Jim has for his family board meetings
• [15:05] Some success stories families have had using the family board meeting method
• [20:15] The third-generation rule and providing proper stewardship
• [21:34] Jim’s outlook on his children inheriting his wealth
• [24:17] Half-in parenting while working from home
• [28:12] The failures that set Jim up for success
• [31:05] Strife and family breakdowns in the succession of multi-generational businesses
• [37:17] 18 Summers and the desire to form lifelong child-parent connections
• [40:06] Jim’s focus on encouraging his children’s own gifts and talents

For more episodes go to
BusinessOfFamily.net

Sign up for The Business of Family Newsletter at https://www.businessoffamily.net/newsletter

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Special Guest: Jim Sheils.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• The Family Board Meeting: Is Business Success Hurting Your Family? — Already implemented by thousands around the world, the Board Meetings Strategy is yielding great returns for families. You too can begin connecting, deepening and strengthening the relationship with your most important asset-your children. Using this simple strategy, busy entrepreneurs, business owners and professionals have been re grounded in balance between professional and home life.
• 18 Summers — You Only Have 18 Summers With Your Children… How Will You Make Them Count?
• Jim Sheils Website

It was Rob who first introduced me to the phrase "The Business of Family" and ignited in me a passion to explore this topic deeply.

The Robson Family approach to structuring their family partnership and stewarding their assets for succeeding generations is some of the best work I've seen in this area. I have no doubt that you'll have many take aways from today's conversation.

Key Takeaways:

• The growth strategies you can employ to sustain and expand your family business
  
• How to apply the two concepts of business of family and family business in your business
• How to make your business a great place to work and entice the family to want to work there
• Learning to let go off your dream for the greater good of future generations
• The importance of putting as much effort in the business of family as the family business

Standout Quotes:

• “We made it a goal to make our business interesting for our children…our children really became great critics of our business and that was pretty tough on the business.”- Rob Robson [16:46]
• “Give as much attention to the business of family as you would to the family business.”- Rob Robson [34:57]
• “Sometimes life isn’t fair but it’s livable and it’s the ability to adapt and change.”- Rob Robson [42:14]

Episode Timeline:
[0:49] Intro
[1:40] He explains how and why he and his wife travel the world sailing 5-7 months a year.
[4:55] He narrates how he and his wife expanded his parent’s grocery business by researching and employing innovations over the years.
[11:01] The two aspects of the business of family and the family business explained.
[14:30] Rob explains how he and his wife made an intentional decision to actively involve their children in their business from a young age.
[16:43] How they made the business an interesting place to work over the last 30 years and how the ownership of the business is distributed across the family.
[19:58] He describes the process of his family counsel partnership and how it works.
[22:47] The four rules of Harvard on the relationship between the family and the family business.
[25:16] The change of generations as time goes by in a family business.
[28:24] Why it is not automatic for a family member to be offered a position in Rob’s business.
[29:04] He explains how they handle the family business’ funding among the family members.
[33:27] How and why they invested in a family business.
[34:55] Lessons you can learn from Rob on how to grow a multigenerational business.
[37:44] He describes his legacy as having put the effort in both the business and the family.
[40:25] Rob shares what he would include in a letter of a life lesson he believes many parents don’t teach their children.

For more episodes go to
BusinessOfFamily.net

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Special Guest: Rob Robson.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• Book: Family Wealth - Keeping It in the Family: How Family Members and Their Advisers Preserve Human, Intellectual, and Financial Assets for Generations: James E. Hughes Jr. — The landmark book that changed the way exceptional families think about their heritage, their wealth, and their legacy to future generations.