Interview + Q&A with Ryan Miller

Very excited to have Ryan on with us. Uh, today we're going to be diving into, uh, all the gold nuggets that Ryan has learned in not only his own path of investment funds and investing and doing some pretty cool deals, but also in working with our clients and really what he's seeing on the ground. So for those of you who don't know, my name is Nikita Manjaris, one of the guys here at Fund Launch. Um, I have a few investment funds that I've been able to launch thanks to the help of our guest today, Ryan Miller. And Ryan is our rockstar head advisor. So he is the one behind the scenes, on the front lines, working with the clients in our Black Card programs, and has even really personally helped me launch some funds. And, uh, Ryan, I think today is going to be able to give a lot of value and wisdom. So Ryan, thank you for coming on with us, my friend.

Hey Nikita, this is really good to, to finally be on here. I'm glad we could open up a little bit of time for you and I to share some time together. So really excited, got a lot to cover today.

Amazing. Well, why don't you kick us off just so people can get to know you a little bit better? Walk us through your background, really how you got started in business and investing. Um, and yeah, just, uh, take it from the top.

Oh brother, it was quite a ride, I'll tell you that. So, uh, for many of our listeners right now, uh, you— hopefully some of you could relate, but actually hopefully not. But let's, let's get into it. So for some reason, I just wanted to be an investment banker when I grew up. So maybe too many, uh, I'm old enough to remember all the old Wall Street movies. Um, this, this gray hair didn't grow itself. So, uh, I remember, uh, watching these things, Gordon Gekko and all these things as a kid, and I just want to be investment banker when I grew up. One problem is I was poor. I didn't come from anything. I didn't know anything about it. And so, uh, books were the way to go. So I studied my tail off, got into the number one accounting school on the planet. I don't know what they are now, but they were pretty good when I went there. That's just code for they had a strong pipeline to Wall Street. So I gave up all the, all the fun stuff, uh, girls and parties, and I just studied my tail off to, to really make the grade because I know where I came from and I had an opportunity, uh, to make a difference and rewrite the stars. So I did that and I graduated with a finance degree and made it to New York City in 2008. It was literally the worst time, the worst degree, and the worst city to try to launch a career. So here I am, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. ready to launch my career in Wall Street while everybody's walking out all depressed. So that was fun. So while I did achieve my goal, sort of, um, the recession had other plans for me, like it did maybe many of you who are listening right now. And so, um, you know, I moved back to Canada. That's where I'm from. And I, you know, I thought, and I took that moment, um, and I thought, you know what, I'm not going to lament over what I don't have. I'm going to think about What do I have left? And so I'm going to treat this moment like a deal that kind of worked but mostly didn't. Maybe some of you have had that moment. Maybe Nikita has. I certainly have. And so I sat down and I thought, okay, if this was a deal that kind of worked but mostly didn't, what would I do? And the answer was I would rebuild from the scraps. So then the question that, uh, changed my life, and I hope it changes yours and everyone else listening, was What do I have left? And in that moment, that question completely changed my life. The answer to that question is I realized in that moment that I had the most— 2 most valuable assets that all successful fund managers and entrepreneurs have. Has nothing to do with money. It's your reputation and your relationships. And my friends, if you optimize those 2 things, money and deals will flow to you. Now imagine building a fund where money and deals just keep filling up your fund. It's like the best job ever. You don't even have to prospect. People just hear about you, they read about you at Forbes or watch your podcast, whatever it is, and then they're just like, I gotta invest with this guy, I gotta work with this guy. So I did that, launched a career. I started to build a venture capital portfolio. And, um, after that, I, I think kids these days call it a side hustle. I was just trying to eat, man. It was a recession. So then I built up my first venture capital portfolio, generated a 52x in my first year. Yes, 52 times So a million dollars turns into fifty-two million dollars. This is a very nice investment that we're able to do. And then I guess you asked about my background. If I sent my resume, see, I had a graduate degree, graduated top of my class with master's degree of finance. Went on to be a VP of finance of an oil and gas company where we did mergers and acquisitions of oil fields. Managed a half a billion dollar IT projects portfolio. So tech kind of comes in handy for venture capital. And then I was a chief. Financial officer for an insurance company. So now I have a fund called Pentium Capital Partners. I got a couple other things. I sit on the board of a pharmaceutical company. And finally, I just launched a podcast this year called Making Billions, and it was recently ranked in the top 5% of all podcasts on the planet. So what does that mean? Means I'm busy. It means I love to serve. And if there's any value from my experience or moving forward, please, please please reach out to me, Nikita, or anyone at Fund Launch. Uh, we're, we're happy to bring that experience and, and help you achieve a little more success than we ever did.

Yeah, Ryan is a very good example of that. For, you know, obviously very impressive background resume, um, he's been able to do a lot of cool things, yet is still very much engaged on a one-on-one and personal aspect. Uh, Ryan, I, I remember when you and I were working together and launching some of my first funds, you—

I remember.

Hey, how are things going?

You know? Yeah.

How are, you know, what are the investors saying? How's the capital raise? And yep, you just take that very personal approach, which I think is a really good reflection of what you were saying as well when it comes to, you know, your reputation and your relationships. That is definitely one of the foundational cornerstones of how you operate as well.

Yeah, thank you.

Now our clients have a lot to say about you as well. You are always talked about. We have a Slack WINS channel and, uh, you know, Ryan's name is being mentioned left and Right. So walk us through a little bit of, you know, what do you see on a day-to-day basis in working with clients? What do you feel like your strengths are in helping them? And yeah, just walk us through a little bit of that process.

Yeah, you know, I'm kind of weird, and in that way, uh, it's kind of unique. So I didn't even know this, but, uh, one of, one of, uh, more of the, the leaders, the executives, um, who, when I hired, he told me I was the first coach that was hired. I didn't know this. So I always say I'm the first coach that was hired that didn't grow up with Bridger. So Uh, so in the early days, man, it was just me, Lincoln, and Bridger. We threw this bad boy that we call Black Card Program, the coaching program, we threw it over our shoulders and we built it up. So in the early days, um, we were really just walk students. Like, if, if I was the first face you saw, I was the next and the final face that you saw. So I coached you for everything. So I'm one of those weird coaches that at this point I can help you with anything. So you asked about my strengths. I would say whatever your questions are, I can help you. But this is the one thing that, uh, I do notice that really people underestimate. And this is one of the great things about Fund Launch is they get their launch formula mixed up. It's hard to pick a favorite, but my favorite part that this Fund Launch formula does is it flips it on its head and removes— we always think you need to start with legal. Start with legal. Yes, you need legal. But what we've done is saying, well, test your market first. So we actually adopted those lean startup principles, which any venture capital would appreciate, is to say, actually test your market, test your offering, See how that goes, and then come back and then make it legal, make it official. This is something a lot of people kind of confuse, and they spend all this money just to find out the market doesn't want their offering, and then they got to spend more money. So we help students to avoid that pitfall. That's number one. Number two, I would say one of my favorite things is talking about raising money. We are able to help people. In fact, it's me who teaches you that on how to raise money. All the students, I do keep track. We've raised, who followed my methods, I've helped students who followed my methods raise over $3 billion in this program. $3 billion. If that doesn't make you wanna sign up, I don't know what does, but I would certainly sign up. Anybody that's helped others to do that, I'm in. So any program that does that, this certainly can do that. Obviously, I can't make a guarantee, but there are methods that are field tested and they work. So, um, so raising capital, understanding the Fund Launch, uh, process or the Fund Launch Formula that we call.

Mm-hmm.

And just having a coach, just having someone to bounce it— look, sometimes doing this is tough. You doubt yourself. You're trying to achieve your dreams. You need a good coach, not only that can stimulate your neurology but stimulate your biology, give you that courage and that strength you need. Because we know— I know, I'll get to know you, and I know what you really want to start. This is going to bless your family. It's going to bless people's lives that you haven't even met yet. I will not let you give up. I think those are some of the areas that, um, come in handy when you buy a do-it-yourself program versus a coaching program. I think it's a night and day difference.

Yeah, I couldn't agree more. I think you really hit the nail on the head that we, you know, really flip things on its head of how they're typically done, you know, in starting with, you know, getting that market test first. That's one of the main things that you instilled in me is like, look, let's get some feedback from investors, let's get some reps in, let's Let's have some of those conversations, not only one, so you can get comfortable as the fund manager, but two, you can hear what they're saying in return and figure out if anything needs to be restructured or rethought through. What are— yeah, what are some of those things that, um, you know, you recommend people have in place when they are going through that market test and, you know, seeing, seeing if it is a fit?

Yeah, great question. Um, I would say, so number one, do you like raising money? Not everybody does. I don't know anybody that likes it. I mean, I kind of do. Um, but in the beginning, I started this 15 years ago. I pitched my heart and soul out, didn't do a thing. So number one, when you're out there, we call it testing the waters. I think the SEC calls it that too. So when you're out there testing the waters, try to have fun, try to enjoy it. Be a little bit playful with some of your investors. Um, most, they're human beings. They like a good joke. Just obviously don't be too ridiculous, but just learn to enjoy the process and not just the destination. This is a marathon of sprints. And so what that means is you're gonna hustle and then you're gonna stop for a minute. So you're gonna hustle and raising money and you're gonna stop, then you're gonna hustle raising, uh, doing your legal and, and finding partners. And so one of the things that I did when I launched my fund, which was reflective of your question, is what do I like doing? And so in funds, we break it down into really 3 main roles: capital raiser, expert investor, and, uh, I don't know the third one, I can't remember, but, um, those, those 3, uh, fund manager.

Yeah.

And so I sat and I said, look, I love raising money. I'm pretty good at it. Um, why don't I do that? And then I just hired out other people. So I would say, um, just when you're out there doing these things, figure out what it is that you like to do. It'll make it so much easier. Um, and, you know, don't try to satisfy all of those 3 roles in one shot. Um, find what you're good at, find what you enjoy, and then find other partners who can support you. And to that note, Final comment on this point, Nikita. One of the other benefits, and I just want to highlight this and I wholeheartedly believe it. So we have many programs, a do-it-yourself program, which is fantastic. However, there are a few things that you don't get that are critical in my opinion, which is the community. And you know as well as I do, that's what all of our students rave about is the community, not just because you're making friends. Yes, that'll happen. But more importantly, you're finding people who you can connect with to also be other partners. Very often in this program, students come in and they'll say, you know what, I just wanna raise money. I don't actually wanna launch a fund. Or someone's saying, I just wanna run a fund. I don't wanna raise money. And so what happens is there's this synergy that happens in this Fund Launch community where people actually meet their co-founders. So imagine joining this thing and someone's like, hey, can I just go raise some money for you? Like, that's crazy. So it's, You see what I mean? So back to the reputation and relationships, that all speaks to being part of a community, which is exactly what happens right here.

Absolutely. I think it's probably one of the best communities in the entire investment fund space. Uh, yeah, that— yes, we've been able to do a good job and bring a lot of people in. However, the reason people stay and the reason people have such a valuable time and valuable experience is because of people like Ryan and our advisors. You know, you guys really do a fantastic job, um, of connecting people, helping them, you know, see different perspectives, helping them understand how valuable, you know, these partnerships and these team members are. Uh, because that's not a lot, you know, really people don't talk about that, of, hey, there's different aspects of a fund, figure out what you like, focus in on that, and then find, you know, complementary pieces for the rest.

Yeah.

That's very powerful. So when it comes to working with clients You know, a lot of people that you work with obviously are first-time fund managers.

Yes.

Do you think that puts people at a disadvantage? Because I think that's one of the biggest things that probably prevents a lot of people from getting started is, oh, I've never managed a fund before. But what do you— or I guess, how do you approach that from your perspective?

So great question, and you're absolutely right, Nikita. Um, there are a lot of people who are like, I've never done this before. And, um, I don't think that's a disadvantage. Um, I don't think it's an advantage or a disadvantage. It's just a thing. It just, it just is. It just exists. One of the things that are quite good, um, from people who are quite early in launching this part of their business, um, is they're easy to teach. They're all ears, man. So in fact, I don't have to unteach anything. Um, very rarely does that happen. Most people are so humble, so receptive in this program. It is absolutely unbelievable. And so, no, um, having that beginner's mind, as we kind of hear about in all this hustle world that you, you follow on Instagram, um, having that beginner's mind, I find a lot of our students do that. Um, some of the more experienced people typically that get sent to me, um, and I'm happy to support them as well. Some of them are experienced. If you are experienced, trust me, there's still a lot you can learn in this program. Um, and one of the things that more experienced people, uh, tend to comment on is, again, the coaching, the community that they did not have. Um, and coaching does provide accountability, but also a lot of the partnerships. This is something that we don't talk a lot about in the program or outside of the program. Once you're in, you'll know about all the partners. I won't, I won't reveal the secret sauce, Nikita, don't worry. But there's a lot of partnerships that you also are able to participate in, even from the beginner all the way to the expert. We have, uh, something for anybody on that spectrum.

Yeah, I think it's, it's fun to see how different levels of people are able to succeed on different levels. I mean, the, the expert people taking it back to the principles and maybe getting some things fixed, or the newbies being able to just knock it out of the park with, um, you know, some really good partnerships or some really good, uh, you know, strategies when it comes to to raising capital. Now, we've talked a lot about our clients and, you know, about the process. I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the more general landscape of raising funds because we've kind of been through COVID, post-COVID, all-time highs in the VC markets. Now, you know, huge interest rates.

Yeah.

What do you feel like the macro landscape looks like right now for getting a fund launched?

Oh, brother, I'm so glad you asked because obviously I'm a venture capitalist. I invest in clean energy, which is just a stepbrother to ESG. So that being said, I saw this about 3 years ago when I was like, you know what, obviously winter is coming, there will be a recession, it's long overdue. But in that moment, we say my thoughts were, how do I prepare my portfolio to be ready for all weather? And it started to become blatantly obvious, at least to me, a few years ago that There are, uh, governments and sovereign wealth funds and large multinational investment banks and so on. All these asset managers are getting together collectively. They monitor over or manage over $130 trillion. That's a lot of weight, man. $130 trillion. And they all banded together and said, hey, we're a bunch of rich dudes, and if you want our money, you need to invest in ESG. Holy smokes. So ESG, um, and there's a lot of stuff around that, and that's not for everybody, nor is that an investment thesis. But you join the program, I'll, I'll sort you out if you're trying to figure that out. But, um, needless to say, what the macro landscape is, is there's been a shift in tides, and a lot of people are going to seek for yield. Now, historically, we see after, uh, runaway inflation, we see what's called the lost decade. So my first prediction on the macro landscape is we're going to experience the lost decade, which is just a long fancy word of stagflation. Now, for about the 10 years, that's going to be tough, right? So for those 10 years, I believe the place of safety and alpha even is going to be in private equity, private funds, venture capital, specifically focused on clean energy. Sustainability and governance, otherwise known as ESG. Now focusing on those 3 things, now you have a place where $130 trillion of asset management who says, yeah, if you're, if you're rocking those kind of investments, give me a call, we're interested. Okay, $130 trillion just pooled up there looking for a home in ESG. So the macro environment, in my humble opinion, would be all within ESG. That's where we're going to develop Uh, a lot of alpha. That's where I think the tides have changed. Um, and in one wise man's words, who you probably know, um, he said, look, when the tides come in, you can either stand in front of the wave, put your arm out and say stop, or you can grab a boogie board and ride it. Um, I took that advice to heart and said, look, the tides are changing. Where's the boogie board and how do we ride this wave?

What a good lesson. I feel like that is something that a lot of people overlook. I think a lot of success in raising capital for your fund or for your business comes from understanding where the money is coming from.

That's right.

Go to where the money is, and there's so much less resistance in that process. I think that is awesome insight that you just shared.

Thank you.

So with, you know, the macro landscape, what would you talk to with first-time fund managers? I mean, Is now a good time to launch a fund? Should they be waiting, you know, 6 months to figure out what the markets are doing?

Yeah, great question. So is now the time? The quick answer is yes. But I think what we really want to know is why do I say yes? I'm not just being dismissive. It really is the best time to do that. Now again, if you, if you look at where money flows, especially heading into recessions, during them, and coming out, um, education does quite well. So what happens is, is that people are— we call it retooling. So people are retooling, getting new skills and, and launching that. See, people with money understand not only how to make it but how to protect it and where to place it. So what this means is a lot of people are scaling back. There is a ton of dry powder on the sidelines, meaning there's a ton of cash that's waiting to be placed right now. In fact, it's, it's at one of its highest levels historically. So what does that mean for new students? Well, what that means is there's a lot of low-hanging fruit, right? The, the field is ready to harvest. Right now, immediately, right now, sign up for this program. We're gonna help you get launched. Um, and the speed is up to you. We can go as a matter of weeks or a matter of months. It's, uh, it's up to you. But the point is there's a ton of dry powder right now. I would say launching your fund, either going into choppy waters, um, is the best time. And I think I could be wrong. Someone, I'm sure, will— the, the internet will fact-check me on this, but I believe some of the biggest monster funds. Ray Dalio, uh, his Bridgewater, uh, Ken Griffiths, uh, I believe all of those mega funds all launched during a recession. Now we're not in a recession, but the talking heads say that we're going into one. Sure, I guess we'll see. I'm ready for it. Um, but either way, now is a good time to launch your fund.

I love that. I think it's, uh, really just a matter of having that perspective. I think a lot of people you know, just need that first step of confidence to know, hey, it's a good time to launch a fund. And what I found over the past several years is, you know what, there is always a good angle to launch a fund around, whether that's a changing thesis, whether that's, you know, good at low interest rates, high interest rates, whether that's dry powder, whether that's, you know, whatever the situation is, there is a— there's always a good pathway to get your fund launched. Um, and I think that's a huge benefit of having people like Ryan, some of our other advisors with all these very diverse aspects and levels of experience to help navigate that, for sure. Awesome. So one, one of the things that I want to end with, and then we have a few questions that have come up, I want to hear about things that you are excited, whether that's wins from clients, personal wins, but walk us through some wins that you're seeing right now.

Uh, geez, where do I start? So right now, uh, so I have First one that comes to mind is somebody that's working on a north of a billion-dollar development deal in the continent of Africa. Obviously, that's about as far as I can disclose. Phenomenal thing. These people are signed up and very pleasantly surprised. Another one of my guests or students or friends by now. This— look, this guy was in Forbes magazine. He's done all of these amazing things on TV shows, completely, um, revamped a lot of, um, what do we say, just lower-income housing, Section 8 and everything. He's done that. Another, uh, student of mine, uh, we worked on his thesis. Get a load of this, man. So we worked on his thesis. This guy was, um, buying— he was creating, um, Homes for the homeless in his country by buying hotels. So hotels, this just tells you, man, everyone's like, oh, recession, I can't do anything, I need to hold on. Heck no. The COVID thing, uh, hotels got hammered. Guess what? He bought them all and then made— and then got the government to, to lease it. So, um, he got a, I don't know, like a 20-year lease client from the government, who's the only people that have money, and then converted all of these hotels into homes for the homeless in his country, which was staggeringly high, disappointingly high. high. And this guy took it on. He felt a, um, duty to serve his people, and he did it through the skills that he had. And I'm pretty sure he made a few bucks along the way. I could keep going, man. I mean, the, the— you know as well as I do, the, the— on in the community, the, the Slack channel, I mean, we, uh, we give away shoes for people that have raised $10 million, $100 million. Those shoes are just constantly getting awarded. It is phenomenal. It's so cool to see. And let me tell you this, One of my favorite things, if I can put in a shameless plug, one of my favorite things about being in this program and being a coach is I get the feeling of a proud papa every time one of my students crosses that stage, gets those sweet shoes that are spinning from Bridger and Mason, gets those sweet shoes that are spinning. And I just sat there and I was like, I knew you could do it, buddy. This is just, um, it, it is rewarding all around. I mean, the vibe in this community is It's really something to be experienced.

Amazing. Well, I think you are a huge contributor to that vibe. And, uh, you know, once again, if people are just tuning in, if you're joining us live, if you're watching the replay, I highly suggest really digesting a lot of the value that Ryan shared with us today. He is, you know, one of our top advisors. He's our main advisor and, uh, you know, really goes above and beyond working with clients, making sure that they have a wonderful experience throughout the whole thing. Now, a few, a few questions as we wrap up that have come up in the chat. Uh, says, you know, Ryan, thanks so much for sharing your time today. What is the average timeline people expect when they're going through this process and launching their fund?

So the average timeline can expect, uh, they can expect, it really depends on, uh, like all finance answers, right? Depends. But to, to really give you, um, somewhat of a sense, now nobody guarantees this because literally it can be quick, it can be a long time. What determines how fast you go is how much coaching you need, which most people need a fair amount, which is great. The thing that tends to lock you up the longest is getting your legal docs done. That's a pretty extensive process that could go as short as two or three weeks. Depends how responsive you are with your attorney and how much you know what you need. It can go a couple months. So what that means is a lot of our our students they can get it wrapped up in I would say eight weeks. Would you say that's a fair assessment? Eight weeks we can get you up and running as quick. Is 8 weeks. Um, I've heard of people going even faster than that, which is bananas, but 8 weeks and you already— and you become a financial institution. Let's not forget that you're literally becoming a financial institution in 8 weeks. That is light speed. Or it could go a couple months, but either way, you're going to be in the program. You're going to have access to me and any of the coaches, the community, Nikita, all of that stuff. So even when you're up and running, it's not like we kick you out the door. We actually invite you back. You get to come to the seminars, you get to come to the events, you get access to the coaches. I mean, this is an ongoing thing. But to be concise, I would say 8 weeks to, yeah, 2 to 4 months, I'd say.

Awesome. And another question coming through is, can we test the waters by inviting potential LPs to a Zoom meeting webinar and presenting a pitch before having the legal docs in place? Is there anything to watch out for there?

So that is— now the laws are changing all the time, and Nikita, you know this. So on November 4th, a lot of the marketing rules were released or updated. I think they gave us better guidance. I don't know if it's new rules, um, as much as it was better guidance. So that being said, can we test the waters, um, before we have fund docs? Um, yes, but check with your lawyer because this is a legal question. But yes, you can talk to LPs. What we suggest is, um, those LPs that you talk to, make sure it's friends and family. We call it Triple F, right? Friends, family, and fools. So talk to friends, family, and fools. These are people you know, um, and just get in the reps like Nikita said, um, And, uh, I think that's a good place to start. That's where we challenge our students to start. Make your mistakes with them, say the dumb stuff that we've all said, get that out of the way, and that's a good place to start testing the waters.

Awesome. All right, last question before I ask for any parting words.

Sure.

Is there a specific goal that people should shoot for when raising capital? Is $5 million too big? Is $10 million too big?

So too big, too small— this goes— I love this question. I get asked all the time, um, and it is very relative. Too big, too small— my answer is, compared to what? I don't know. Well, in my opinion, it's compared to your reputation and your relationship. So, um, if you— a lot of— I swear, some people are like, all my friends are broke. Great, your reputations are in this area— they're wonderful people, but For raising money, that rep— uh, relationship probably doesn't carry the weight that you need it to. So it might take a little bit longer. So if you say, hey, there's a million-dollar minimum investment and I'm raising a billion dollars in my first fund and I don't know anybody with money, yeah, I'd say you're— you might be pushing it. But that's what a coach does is we say we're pretty good at sizing up, um, asking you questions and understanding that. But really, I would say the size of the fund that you raise is really a function of your reputation and your relationships. Like Warren Buffett, is $5 million too big? No. Why? Because he's got reputation relationships that far exceeds a fundraise amount of $5 million, maybe $50 billion. But for somebody else, a million bucks might— a fund of $1 million, go for it, man. Like, you're— you will be wildly encouraged in this program, whether you're talking to me or anybody else. We don't care about the number we want to raise. We just want you to win. You just need to get started, and this is one of the best places to start.

I love it. What a great answer. Well, Ryan, I appreciate your time today. Are there any last words that you would give to emerging fund managers looking to potentially launch a fund over the next few months?

You know, don't worry. Yeah, so again, uh, I think we, we did the stats. I've done over 2,000 calls, um, I've helped about 500 people, so I would have to be completely asleep at the wheel to not see patterns at this point. Some of those patterns that I've seen, I want to help you. Whether you go in this program or not, that's up to you. But while you're listening to the sound of my voice, if I can encourage you, this is what I'm going to do. Number one, one of the reasons why people fail, we mentioned before, you try to do everything by yourself. You want to hold on all the equity and hold 100% of nothing. Don't do that. Find partners, find communities to belong to, which is relationships. Find a way to add Value. When I started, that's what I did. I would talk to these wealthy people, and I, you know, I wasn't a lot of things, but the one thing I was good at is building financial models. And I would volunteer. I always joke being generous made me rich. Be generous with your skills. That's a great way to get into the door, to really get the seat at the table, get your feet under the table where deals were done. In the early days, that's how I got started. I learned a lot. I met people from Saudi royalty. I met people from that were billionaires in the energy sector, all because I had this attribute of being generous. So I would say keep leveling up in your figure out ways to build your reputation and your relationships while still maintaining generosity in your skill sets and the value that you add. One great philosopher told us. The law of nature alone will find a way to eliminate things that do not contribute to its environment. So being generous is a way to contribute to your environment, to not get knocked out of the game and continue on your quest to grow your wealth and to benefit your life.

Wow, I feel like that's something we just need to sit with for a minute.

That was— Let it percolate into your soul.

I think that that is just a reflection of really this whole call today. It's been so valuable, Ryan. You've been such a key asset in the process of all of our clients getting their funds launched, have been such a good example of that yourself and do some awesome huge deals and capital raises. So once again, thank you so much for your time today.

You bet.