Hopping over the Rabbit Hole summary

After the success of the early SALT Conferences, it only made sense for SkyBridge to start thinking about taking the conference overseas.

On a trip to Asia, the author and his partner Oviedo found what seemed like the perfect location: Singapore. The small Southeast Asian country had a thriving entrepreneurial spirit and a booming private banking industry. Plus, Singapore’s government was willing not only to endorse SALT, but also to assist SkyBridge throughout the planning process.

Lots of prospective entrepreneurs have an overly glamorous idea of what it means to start a business or become an investor. They dream of being able to afford top-of-the-line sports cars, lavish mansions, or private jets.

The author fell into this trap, too, when he was young. In 1986 he was in his senior year at university, and was dreaming of a three-week trip to Italy. To finance it, he planned to make use of Hood Ice Cream, a company that allows individuals to rent ice cream trucks and buy inventory to sell to customers. 

When it comes to team-building, you might be tempted to seek out a bunch of geniuses. But this is a mistake. Those geniuses often want to pull in different directions, which ends up wasting valuable time and creating conflict. 

It can actually be much more effective to build a team of modestly intelligent people who are great at working as a team. Choose employees who possess a collective spirit and don’t care who gets the credit for a big success. And once you’ve found them, make sure you give them everything they need to flourish.

When the author’s career first began, he had a huge chip on his shoulder. He was a middle-class Italian kid from Long Island, and he didn’t enter the business world with a ton of connections or skills. So when he was fired from his first job at Goldman Sachs, he was convinced it was because he was different. But in reality, he just wasn’t the right fit for the job and lacked the necessary technical skills.

It hurt for the author to reckon with his own shortcomings. But he had mountains of school debt to pay off, and he simply didn’t have time to victimize and pity himself. So he took personal responsibility for his circumstances, and decided to live in the present rather than the past. You should do the same.

Do you have a thick skin when it comes to taking criticism? You might think you’re immune to negative feedback. But the truth is we all care what other people think – at least to some extent. And that’s actually okay! But when it comes to your business, letting people’s opinions influence you can quickly become detrimental.

The world’s greatest entrepreneurs, like Arianna Huffington, Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos, all get healthy doses of criticism and negative media coverage. But their entrepreneurial visions have made them willing to challenge public opinion and push on with their dreams – even when many people have been critical. 

Whether or not you’re in sales, you’ll almost inevitably have to sell something during your career. It could be a new business venture, a fund, or a more traditional product like dishwashing liquid. So you probably can’t avoid sales forever. But you can change the way you approach it. 

Many people think of selling as a kind of tug-of-war. As if you, the salesperson, are trying to drag unwilling people away from their money. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Instead, you can sell honestly and ethically. All you have to do is build relationships. 

Many novice businesspeople squirm at the idea of networking or speaking in public. Even the author admits that underneath his brash public persona, he’s actually quite shy. 

The prospect might be terrifying, but it’s important to use any networking opportunities that come your way. Don’t think you have to be the most fancily dressed person in the room in order to make an impression. Instead, just go for it. Remember that in any networking situation, other people are likely to be just as uncomfortable as you are. If you simply walk up and introduce yourself to people, they’ll probably be grateful that you did.