Podcast Summary: Built Online with Cody McGuffie

Episode: STOP Wasting Time: Start Building Real Wealth Today
Date: November 4, 2025
Guest: Ryan Hoegh

Episode Overview

This episode centers on shifting from simply earning income to strategically building wealth, especially for entrepreneurs running e-commerce businesses. Host Cody McGuffie and guest Ryan Hoegh (multi-platform e-commerce entrepreneur and investing enthusiast) discuss the importance of creating automated income streams, then deploying profits into diverse investments—especially the stock market and Bitcoin—to compound wealth and achieve greater life freedom. The conversation blends practical business insights with a big-picture look at today’s economic landscape, personal goal-setting, and the realities of modern money.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Game of Life & The Role of Money

• Gamification of Money: Ryan likens money to a point system in the “game of life,” channeling his competitive gamer mindset into wealth-building.

• Purpose Over Perfection: Both agree that wealth creation is not just about money, but about family, freedom, and building a life worth living.

• Goal-Setting Frameworks: Cody shares grouping goals into Family, Health, and Wealth, emphasizing measurable objectives especially in business and health (04:46).

  "It's literally like family, health, wealth, I think, is the order you put it in. I would put it in a similar order."
  — Ryan (09:24)

2. Building Automated Income Streams

• From Web Development to E-Commerce: Ryan's journey evolved from web development to e-commerce (Amazon, Etsy, eBay, Walmart, Redbubble), focusing on automation for “money while I sleep.” (05:18-06:18)

• Passive Income as the Base for Investing: Automated e-commerce profits are funneled into investments for long-term compounding returns.

  “My goal is just to create passive income streams where I'm selling things online, but the fulfillment is automated. So like 95 plus percent of the business is automated, allowing me to scale and literally make money when I sleep.”
  — Ryan (05:56)

3. Investment Philosophy: Diversification & Defensive Positioning

Understanding Money, Inflation, and Asset Classes

• Modern Money as a Social Contract: Ryan explains that dollars are no longer backed by gold, and highlights the idea that fiat currency’s value is rooted in trust and social consensus (11:06-12:39).

• Asset Classes Discussed:

  • Bank savings (and FDIC limitations; see below)
  • Physical and "paper" gold
  • Stock market (emphasis on index ETFs like S&P 500—SPY)
  • Cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin

• FDIC Reality Check:

  “Reality is they've got something like 1% of the assets that they cover, that they claim to be able to cover.”
  — Ryan (13:08)

Inflation: The Real Enemy

• S&P 500 as Inflation Benchmark: Ryan argues that the real inflation is best measured by the performance of the stock market itself (S&P 500 up 20.4% in the past year).
  (18:13)

  "To me, 20.4% loss of purchasing power."
  — Ryan (18:16)

• Wealth Preservation for the Elite: Ryan posits that the world’s wealthiest hold assets (not dollars); assets rise in dollar terms to compensate for inflation, maintaining real wealth.

4. Practical Strategy: How to Invest as an Entrepreneur

Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA)

• When to Start: Don't wait for a large sum—begin investing regularly (even small amounts) into diversified assets (S&P 500, Bitcoin) as soon as you consistently cover living/business expenses.

  “Dollar cost average into bitcoin and the stock market just start there...as long as you have enough to cover your rent...the sooner you start, the better because this, this trend is accelerating.”
  — Ryan (36:30)

• Rule-Based Investing: Cody and Ryan agree: set clear rules for moving profits from business (retain enough runway: 3-12 months) into investments—avoid gut reactions and emotional trading (37:19).

  “Have that automated exposure to these assets that appreciate.”
  — Ryan (40:52)

Dangers of Over-leveraging

• Don't rob the business itself to chase investment returns; maintain sufficient business capital before reallocating funds to investments.

  “It's very, very important to not hurt the asset that I just spent like the last two years building just because I deploy it into another asset class.”
  — Cody (37:19)

Deep Dive: Bitcoin as Digital Gold

Bitcoin’s Unique Qualities

• Deflationary by Design: Only 21 million will ever exist; breaks the paradigm of inflationary fiat currencies.

• Store of Value, Not Just Payment: Ryan views Bitcoin primarily as digital gold, not as a replacement for everyday transactions.

• Network Security & Decentralization: No CEO/founder; core development is by consensus, not driven by any single entity (31:03-32:37).

  “Bitcoin is...a misunderstood technology...it humbles people that try to trade it...What role that has to play in like the future of finance is yet to be seen.”
  — Ryan (26:44, 28:15)

• Psychological Hurdles & Unit Bias: Just because you can't buy a whole BTC doesn’t mean you can’t participate—buy fractions (Satoshis) to build exposure (34:34).

On Timing and Human Nature

• Don’t Try to Time Markets: Attempting to predict peaks leads to missed opportunities; compounding and “being in the game” matter most.

  “If you were not fully invested for like the 10 most green days in like the last 10 years, your gains would have been significantly lower.”
  — Ryan (38:54)

• Automate, Ignore FOMO: Set up recurring, rules-based investments to make steady progress regardless of market volatility.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Wealth-Building:

  “The game is not to be trading in and out of things, because also every time you do that at a profit, you create a tax liability...It's almost makes no sense to trade most of the time.”
  — Ryan (26:58)

• On Family & Self-Acceptance:

  “You don't have to constantly be chasing perfection. You can kind of just kind of relax and find comfort in, like, who you are and who your partner accepted you to be.”
  — Ryan (09:24)

• On Business Freedom:

  “I have a business that...I get to talk about entrepreneurship and creating businesses and creating lifestyle freedom and financial freedom and time freedom every day. Like, dude, I'm literally like in a dream and I'm blessed for sure.”
  — Cody (08:13)

Timestamps of Important Segments

| Timestamp | Topic/Quote | |-----------|-------------| | 01:21 | Cody’s goal-setting philosophy (family, health, wealth) | | 05:18 | Ryan’s e-commerce journey & mindset | | 09:24 | Ryan on the real order of priorities, acceptance | | 11:06 | Modern money: social contract, not gold-backed | | 13:08 | FDIC insurance reality | | 18:13 | Using S&P 500 as “real inflation” measure | | 26:44 | Bitcoin as misunderstood technology, investment approach | | 34:34 | When to move cash from business to investments | | 36:30 | Dollar cost average—when and how to invest as an entrepreneur | | 40:52 | The importance of automated, rules-based exposure | | 41:17 | Ryan’s bullish call on Bitcoin’s next breakout |

Future Outlook & Final Thoughts

• Ryan’s Plan: Continue building and automating online income streams; allocate excess profit into appreciating assets (especially Bitcoin and broad index funds).

• Key Advice: Start investing sooner than you think, use automation and rules, and let compounding do the work.

• Market Commentary: Ryan ends by predicting a significant breakout for Bitcoin, citing long-term technical patterns (41:17).

  “It spent five years and it had to try to break through this invisible line on a chart seven times before it broke through. And now we've had five weekly closes...above it. ...I see what's building, it's loading. And that's why I was excited to kind of just like share the message.”
  — Ryan (41:17)

Where to Find Ryan

• YouTube: Search “Reinhoeg” for e-commerce and investing content (41:04).

Disclaimer:
Nothing in this episode should be construed as financial advice. The discussion is intended as shared personal experience and opinion.

Summary prepared for listeners who want actionable insights into entrepreneurial wealth building, practical investment frameworks, and the unique interplay of e-commerce and long-term investing in the Bitcoin era.