Retail investors often mistake social media followers for proof of investment skill, leading to emotional decisions. Limited partners face the same problem: they struggle to vet operators. The fix is background checks, mentors, and experienced investment communities.
I think the hardest thing in the last 5 to 10 years is that we have mistaken social influence for social proof. Now you've got retail investors who are making emotional decisions based on influence rather than, hey, I read about this person, they've got a massive follower count. Let's actually see if what they're saying is what they're actually doing. And that's where we want to come in.
You know, the other thing is too, that if you're an LP, you're really at the mercy of the information that's available to you. Running the background check is a pretty basic thing that should be done, in my opinion, on any investment that you do or any operator of an investment that you do. But as an LP, it's pretty difficult to actually do that.
I think there's a level of self-realization that LPs have to have based on how they make decisions. If they know they're not someone that can get into the weeds and do a deep analysis of pro formas and this and that, you have to either do the background check, you have to find the coach, you have to find the mentor, or you have to leverage a community of people who have already experienced what you're interested in experiencing. It's saying—
