From Corporate Banking to Physical Copper: Allen Cates on Trust, Failure & Reinvention

Allen Cates’ entrepreneurial journey has taken him across countries, industries, and some incredibly difficult business lessons. Growing up in Canada, Australia, England, and the United States taught him how to adapt quickly, appreciate different perspectives, and become comfortable entering unfamiliar environments.

In this episode of Anything But Typical, Allen shares how his career in banking prepared him to purchase and operate a small business—and why he eventually knew it was time to move on. He also opens up about investing with a trusted business leader who was later discovered to be forging financial records. That experience forced Allen to confront failure, forgive himself, strengthen his approach to due diligence, and rebuild his confidence.

Allen also explains the mission behind Kilo Reserve and how the company gives investors access to physical industrial metals. The conversation explores copper’s role in electrical infrastructure, electric vehicles, AI data centers, and the power grid, along with the differences between owning physical metal and investing through mining stocks, ETFs, or futures.

In This Episode

How an international childhood shaped Allen’s adaptability and leadership
Why every piece of feedback deserves consideration
The value of learning “on someone else’s dime”
What Allen learned from buying and selling a small business
Why entrepreneurs must become comfortable with failure
Recovering emotionally after betrayal by a trusted business partner
The importance of understanding the asset behind an investment
How Kilo Reserve makes physical industrial metals more accessible
Why following the process matters more than one final result

Key Takeaway

Failure does not have to become your identity. Allen’s story demonstrates the importance of acknowledging what happened, learning from it, forgiving yourself, and carrying those lessons into the next opportunity.

Connect With Allen and Learn More

Kilo Reserve: Official website
Allen Cates on LinkedIn
Kilo Reserve on LinkedIn
BizBuySell: Explore businesses available for purchase

Subscribe to Anything But Typical for more honest conversations with entrepreneurs about the successes, failures, pivots, and lessons that shaped their journeys.