Interview number eleven with Lee Cooperman.

Photo:  Courtesy Lee Cooperman

Justin Higgins:  “Hi Lee, what life advice do you have for young adults?”

Lee Cooperman:  “Hi Justin.  There are five things that I generally like to tell young adults.

First, I tell them about the gazelle and the lion.  Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up and knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed.  Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up and knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.  In life, it doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle, when the sun comes up, you better be running.  I always preach full commitment and hard work in everything you do.   The harder you work, the luckier you are going to get. 

Second, in the wise words of Andrew Carnegie, “I wish to have as my epitaph:  ‘Here lies a man [or woman] who was wise enough to bring into his [or her] service men [or women] who knew more than he [or she]’.”  In your career, always try to find and hire the best people humanly possible because they’ll improve your performance.  Don’t be threatened by strong people.  Be benefited by strong people. 

Third, no matter how wealthy you become, the one luxury you cannot afford is arrogance.  Be nice to people whether they are above you or below you.

Fourth, I quote Henry Ford, who said:  “The best way to make money in business is not to think too much about making it.”  If you do what you love and love what you do, you are bound to be successful.

Lastly, I read a comment many years ago by William Arthur Ward, who gave the following advice:  “Before you speak, listen.  Before you write, think.  Before you spend, earn.  Before you invest, investigate.  Before you criticize, wait.  Before you pray, forgive.  Before you quit, try.  Before you retire, save.  Before you die, give.”  That advice is the arc of a productive life.”

. . .

Lee Cooperman is the Founder, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Omega Advisors, Inc.

At the end of 1991, following 25 years of service, Lee retired from his positions as a General Partner of Goldman, Sachs & Co. and as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs Asset Management to organize and launch an investment-management business, Omega Advisors, Inc.

At Goldman Sachs, Lee spent 15 years as a Partner and one year (1990-1991) as of-counsel to the Management Committee. In 1989, he became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Chief Investment Officer of the firm's equity product line, managing the GS Capital Growth Fund, an open-end mutual fund, for one-and-a-half years. Prior to those appointments, Lee had spent 22 years in the Investment Research Department as Partner-in-charge, Co-Chairman of the Investment Policy Committee and Chairman of the Stock Selection Committee. For nine consecutive years, he was voted the number-one portfolio strategist in Institutional Investor Magazine's annual "All-America Research Team" survey.

As a designated Chartered Financial Analyst, Lee is a senior member and past President of the New York Society of Security Analysts. He is Chairman Emeritus of the Saint Barnabas Development Foundation, a member of the Board of Overseers of the Columbia University Graduate School of Business, a member of the Board of Directors of the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, a member of the Investment Committee of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and Board Chairman of Green Spaces, a committee organized to rebuild 13 parks in Newark, NJ.

Lee received his MBA from Columbia Business School and his undergraduate degree from Hunter College. He is a recipient of Roger Williams University's Honorary Doctor of Finance; a recipient of Hunter College's Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters; an inductee into Hunter College's Hall of Fame; and a recipient of the 2003 American Jewish Committee (AJC) Humanitarian Award, the 2006 Seton Hall Humanitarian of the Year Award, the 2009 Boys & Girls Clubs of Newark Award for Caring, and the 2009 UJA-Federation of New York's Wall Street and Financial Services Division Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2013, Lee was inducted into Alpha Magazine's Hedge Fund Hall of Fame and was honored by the AJC at their 50th anniversary with the Herbert H. Lehman Award for his professional achievements, philanthropic efforts, and longstanding support for AJC. In 2014, Columbia Business School awarded Lee its Distinguished Leadership in Business Award, and Bloomberg Markets named him to its fourth annual "50 Most Influential" list (one of only ten money managers globally to be so honored, selected "based on what they're doing now, rather than past achievements"). He was inducted into the Horatio Alger Society in April 2015.

Interview number four with Christopher Burch.

Photo:  Courtesy Christopher Burch

Justin Higgins:  "Hi Christopher, what life advice do you have for young adults?"

Christopher Burch:  "Hi Justin, my advice for young adults is think out of the box.  Never create a company after a company that's already been ... find a new and disruptive twist.  There is no balance in life when you are starting out after college.  You need to work nonstop and always ask questions. Engage in conversations.  Be curious.  And collaborative.  When you are most fearful, move ahead, and when you feel you have it all figured out, be very cautious."

. . .

The company’s investment philosophy is an expression of Christopher Burch’s entrepreneurial values and his vision for new market opportunities, using a creative skill set along with sound financial practices to create, incubate, support, and scale disruptive brands and businesses.

In his 30-year career as an investor and entrepreneur, Christopher Burch has participated in the rise of more than 50 companies. By combining an intuitive understanding of consumer behavior with international and direct sourcing experience, he has a built a long track record of connecting innovation to impact.

Creative Capital represents the evolution of venture capital based on Christophers’ belief that the activity of successful investing also includes creativity.

In the past, we were investors looking for existing opportunities. Today, we are entrepreneurs who invent and attract new ones. We apply more than funding to earn a return. We invest our creativity, passion, and insights to create value.

Burch Creative Capital’s brand portfolio includes the recent introductions of ED by Ellen DeGeneres, Cocoon9, Nihiwatu, Poppin and TRADEMARK to a list of established brands previously embraced by Christopher including the Faena Hotel + Universe, Jawbone, Next Jump, Powermat, Tory Burch and Voss Water.

The company is currently supporting the development of several lifestyle and consumer products brands ranging from retail, apparel and home furnishings to the hospitality, organic foods, and technology industries.

Interview number three with Chris Sacca.

Photo:  Courtesy Chris Sacca

Justin Higgins:  "Hi Chris, what life advice do you have for young adults?"

Chris Sacca:  "Hey Justin, my advice for young adults:

The most successful and ambitious people out there know to create value before asking for anything in return.  You want to get my attention?  Start doing some of my work.  Don't try to convince me of your potential with a cover letter.  Show me your potential by getting some shit done.  Don't email asking if you can pitch me.  Send me a URL to something you built or discovered that makes me stop in my tracks.

Two months ago, a 15-year-old in Mississippi overheard me say on Periscope that I wished our firm's web site had a Jobs page.  So, without reaching out to us at all, he just went ahead and built one.  He scoured the sites of all of our portfolio companies cataloging all of the open positions and created a dynamic and beautiful page from scratch.  He said he had a day off from school so he banged it out and posted the link on Twitter.

Well, guess which venture capital firm that gets thousands of resumes a year now has a 15-year-old intern routinely helping us with projects?

Distinguish yourself through your hustle and your initiative.  Everyone who works with me didn't end up here by sheer chance or coincidence.  Rather, it was the result of consistent, material, tireless effort along the way.  Gravity wants you to be average.  Fuck gravity."

. . .

An accomplished venture investor, company advisor, and entrepreneur, Chris manages a portfolio of over eighty consumer web, mobile, and wireless technology start-ups as well as an array of mature enterprises through his holding company, Lowercase Capital. While primarily known for its investments in seed and early stage technology companies like Twitter, Uber, Instagram, and Kickstarter, Lowercase has quietly grown to be one of the larger venture funds in the United States.

Previously, Chris served as Head of Special Initiatives at Google Inc. In that role, among other responsibilities, he founded and headed up Google’s Access division. His most visible projects include Google’s 700MHz and TV white spaces spectrum initiatives, the company’s groundbreaking data center in Oregon, and Google’s free citywide WiFi network in Mountain View, CA. Chris also spearheaded many of Google’s business development and M&A transactions and was on the founding team of the company’s New Business Development organization. In recognition of his accomplishments, Chris was one among the first Google employees ever given the Founders’ Award, the company’s highest honor.

Before joining Google, Chris held a number of executive roles at one of the world’s largest streaming and digital media distribution companies, Speedera Networks (acquired by Akamai Technologies), and was ultimately responsible for their legal and corporate development efforts. Prior to Speedera, Chris was an attorney with the Silicon Valley law firm of Fenwick & West where he handled venture capital, mergers & acquisitions, and licensing transactions for technology clients such as Macromedia, VeriSign, and Kleiner Perkins. In 2008, Chris worked on President Barack Obama’s campaign as a Telecommunications, Media, and Technology advisor, a speaking surrogate, a field office volunteer, and as Co-Chair of Finance and a Trustee of the Presidential Inaugural Committee. In 2012, Chris continued his work as a National Finance Committee member, a host of the President’s own technology roundtable series, and as a Co-Chair of Tech for Obama.

In The Wall Street Journal, Chris was once cited as “possibly the most influential businessman in America” and Vanity Fair recently named Chris to its distinguished “New Establishment” list. Since 2011, Chris has been one of the youngest members of the coveted Forbes “Midas List” recognizing the country’s top technology investors and has been climbing up the list each year, landing at #3 in 2015. Chris is a fixture in the Silicon Valley startup community, in part for the kind of fruitful and fun collaborations with early stage companies for which he was named of the top 10 angel investors in the country by BusinessWeek, and in part for his unforgettable cowboy shirts which earned him a spot on GQ’s ”Worst Dressed List”.

Chris is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute, which annually selects 20 of the world’s most promising leaders and public servants under the age of 45 and he has also served as an Associate Fellow of the Said Business School at Oxford University and as an MIT Enterprise Forum Global Trustee.

Chris regularly appears on television, radio, and in print and has been featured in BusinessWeek, Fortune, Fast Company, and on CNBC, BBC, CNN, FOX, and NPR as an expert in the realms of entrepreneurism, venture capital, and disruptive technologies. In parallel with his frequent keynotes at technology industry events, Chris is perennially hired by many of the world’s largest companies, financial institutions, universities, and governments to speak about innovation, workplace design, and business strategy in a digital era.

Chris graduated cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center where he was a member of The Tax Lawyer law review and was honored as the school’s Philip A. Ryan and Ralph J. Gilbert Memorial Scholar. He also graduated cum laude from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and was an Edmund Evans Memorial Scholar as well as a Weeks Family Foundation Scholar. During his studies, Chris attended university at each of: the Universidad Católica del Ecuador in Quito, Ecuador, University College Cork, in Cork, Ireland, and the Universidad Complutense in Madrid, Spain. Long before that, beginning in 7th grade, Chris attended the State University of New York at Buffalo for six years of college mathematics classes wearing thick glasses, awkward braces, and knowing the entire time that technology and computers would be passions of his for life.

Always taught by his parents the importance of giving back to those who need our help, Chris dedicates much of his time to helping charity:water and, if you spend any time with him, he will likely rope you into doing your part as well. When not on the road for his companies, or huddled up in the cramped apartments and coffee shops where his entrepreneurs often write their code, Chris lives with his family in both Truckee and Los Angeles California, is an avid alpine and nordic skier of the Sierra, surfer and kitesurfer of the California coast, an Ironman triathlete, and he has bicycled coast-to-coast across the United States of America.

Interview number one with Anthony Scaramucci.

Photo:  Courtesy Anthony Scaramucci      

Justin Higgins: “Anthony, what life advice do you have for young adults?”

Anthony Scaramucci: “Justin, I would break it down into three components.

Number one is continuing your educational arc. That means a ton of reading, going to conferences, doing a ton of networking is super important and continuing to build your intellectual capital.

Number two, you better start saving money because the government is not going to help you out when you are seventy. Maybe your parents are going to, I don’t know, hopefully they will have some money to give you, but if they don’t, you are going to have to start doing it yourself. The first thing you need to do is pay yourself first. You get all those bills in the mail from the cable and your iPhone and all this other nonsense, write a check out to yourself first for about ten percent of your net disposable income and put it into a savings account, a stock account or a mutual fund. It is something I learned when I was about 26. It really helped me build up a nest egg and got me comfortable leaving Goldman Sachs at the age of 32 to start my own business.

Last thing, super important, you have to find something you love. If you are a young adult, the good news is that you probably had a job or two by now as far as your job experience, maybe you liked it, maybe you disliked it, but ultimately you have to find something you love.”

. . .

Anthony Scaramucci is Assistant to the President of the United States Donald J. Trump and Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs.

Mr. Scaramucci is the founder and former co-managing partner of SkyBridge Capital.

Mr. Scaramucci is the former co-host of “Wall Street Week,” the iconic financial television show revived in 2015 currently airing on the Fox Business Network, and a contributor to the Fox News Channel. He is the author of three books: The Little Book of Hedge Funds, Goodbye Gordon Gekko and Hopping Over the Rabbit Hole, a 2016 Wall Street Journal best-seller in the business category.

Prior to founding SkyBridge in 2005, Mr. Scaramucci co-founded investment partnership Oscar Capital Management, which was sold to Neuberger Berman, LLC in 2001.  Earlier, Mr. Scaramucci was a vice president in Private Wealth Management at Goldman Sachs & Co.

In 2016, Mr. Scaramucci was ranked #85 in Worth Magazine’s Power 100: The 100 Most Powerful People in Global Finance. In 2011, he received Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year® – New York Award in the Financial Services category.

Mr. Scaramucci is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), vice chair of the Kennedy Center Corporate Fund Board, a board member of The Brain Tumor Foundation and Business Executives for National Security (BENS), and a Trustee of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Foundation. He was a member of the New York City Financial Services Advisory Committee from 2007 to 2012.

In November 2016 he was named to President-elect Trump’s 16-person Presidential Transition Team Executive Committee.

Mr. Scaramucci, a native of Long Island, New York, holds a B.A. in Economics from Tufts University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.