Podcast
Smart Humans with Slava Rubin
Hosted by Vincent · EN
Smart Humans explores the world of alternative investments. From Venture to Collectibles, NFTs to Real Estate, Art to Debt and beyond - we discuss a new world of investment opportunities and the catalysts that impact their demand. Join our host Slava Rubin as he talks with entrepreneurs, investors and thought leaders across the diverse ecosystem.
Any data, text, or other content on this page is provided as general market information and not as investment advice. Past performance is not necessarily an indicator of future results. Investing involves risk and possible loss of principal capital.
38episodes
Episodes
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Smart Humans: Wefunder CEO Nick Tommarello on the evolution of crowdfunding, the importance of community investing, and democratizing startup investing
Jul 23, 202500:35:09Tap to summarizeNicholas Tommarello is the Founder and CEO of Wefunder, a pioneering crowdfunding platform that allows individuals to invest in startups. He co-founded Wefunder in 2012, leveraging provisions from the 2012 JOBS Act to enable unaccredited investors to purchase equity in early-stage companies, thereby democratizing access to investment opportunities that were traditionally available only to wealthy individuals. Tommarello holds an MBA in Entrepreneurship from Babson College and participated in the prestigious startup accelerator Y Combinator in 2013.
Transcribe →Smart Humans: Energea's Mike Silvestrini on the renewable energy sector and the evolution of solar energy investments
Jul 14, 202500:41:23Tap to summarizeMike Silvestrini is a seasoned renewable energy professional with a longstanding commitment to environmental sustainability. He has played a central role in developing over 500 solar projects across the United States, Brazil, and Africa—contributing meaningfully to the global transition to clean energy.Prior to Energea, Mike co-founded and served as CEO of Greenskies Renewable Energy LLC. What began with a desk in a basement and a $25,000 check grew into one of the country’s largest commercial and industrial solar firms before his exit in 2016.As Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Energea, Mike draws on his deep industry experience to expand access to renewable energy investments worldwide. His proven leadership and focus on sustainable infrastructure position him as a key voice in the fight against climate change.Outside of Energea, Mike serves on the board of the Big Life Foundation, which protects 1.6 million acres of wilderness in East Africa. His work supports community-based conservation and initiatives that preserve biodiversity through sustainable practices.
Transcribe →Smart Humans: Pre-IPO Briefing on defense tech startup Anduril with Sacra's Jan-Erik Asplund
Jul 7, 202500:49:27Tap to summarizeIn this conversation, Vincent founder Slava Rubin and Sacra founder Jan-Erik Asplund discuss the rise of Anduril, the defense technology startup that has disrupted traditional defense contracting with innovative products and a unique business model. They explore the evolution of Anduril's offerings, and how the company has positioned itself as a potential sixth prime contractor in the defense sector. The discussion also covers Anduril's revenue growth, competition with established defense primes, and the opportunities and risks it faces in the global market, as well as its IPO prospects.
Transcribe →Smart Humans: Unlimited's CEO Bob Elliott on the current economic landscape and making hedge fund strategies accessible to everyone.
Jun 30, 202500:47:51Tap to summarizeBob Elliott is the Co-Founder/CEO of Unlimited Funds, a firm disrupting the investment landscape by empowering everyday investors with sophisticated tools reserved for the world’s financial elite.Unlimited uses machine learning to replicate the returns of 2&20 style high-cost alternative investments like hedge funds, venture capital, and private equity, at a low cost. Under Bob’s leadership, Unlimited has democratized access to sophisticated returns through cost-effective and liquid ETFs like the $HFND, one of the fastest-growing active ETF launches of 2022.A Harvard graduate, his expertise in decoding complex financial systems is transforming the way investors and advisors approach alternative investments, making him an invaluable voice in today's economic discourse. He speaks frequently on CNBC, Bloomberg TV, and Fox Business.
Transcribe →Smart Humans: Alture Funds' CEO Harold Hofer on the evolution of alternative investing and the importance of yield and diversification
Jun 23, 202500:34:36Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Smart Humans, Slava Rubin interviews Harold Hofer, co-founder and CEO of Alture Funds.Harold Hofer was a crowdfunding pioneer when he launched Rich Uncles in 2012, featuring the first digitally delivered investment offering available to non-accredited, non-millionaire investors. Through its NYSE listing in 2019 (NYSE: MDV), Rich Uncles grew to thousands of investors and hundreds of millions of dollars of real estate acquired and managed.Harold brings this pioneering knowledge and experience to Alture Funds. Alture Funds offers self-managed investment capital the opportunity to purchase shares in large, existing alternative investment funds that historically limited capital raising to "human" wealth managers. For the first time, these Alts are now available on a digital platform dedicated to connecting digital native, self-managed investors with large, legacy Alts sponsors, starting with $2,500.Harold attended UCLA, where he holds undergraduate, Masters (Economics) and Juris Doctor degrees.
Transcribe →Smart Humans: Fenchurch Legal's CEO and founder Louisa Klouda on the world of litigation finance and the opportunities it presents for investors
Jun 16, 202500:43:48Tap to summarizeLouisa Klouda is the CEO and Founder of Fenchurch Legal, and is responsible for overseeing all business operations. Louisa founded Fenchurch Legal in 2020 after an interest in the litigation finance market sparked an idea to apply a secured lending model to litigation finance. She discovered a market largely dominated by funders focusing on high-value, complex cases such as class actions, however, there was a lack of support for smaller claims. This insight led to the creation of Fenchurch Legal. Before launching Fenchurch Legal, Louisa operated the broking and dealing desk for a corporate brokerage and finance firm in London. In this role, she gained extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, and investment product structuring.
Transcribe →Smart Humans: EquityMultiple CEO Charles Clinton on the importance of diversification, the impact of interest rates, and the state of the real estate market
Jun 9, 202500:46:27Tap to summarizeCharles Clinton is the CEO and co-founder of EquityMultiple, an online platform that enables individuals to invest in institutional-grade commercial real estate. Before launching EquityMultiple in 2015, Charles was a real estate attorney at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York City, where he advised major private equity clients such as Blackstone and KKR on transactions exceeding $10 billion, including Blackstone’s acquisitions of the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Motel 6, and Hilton’s restructuring ahead of its IPO. Charles earned his JD and Business Law Certificate from Berkeley Law and holds a BA from Amherst College, where he captained the swimming and water polo teams. He is FINRA Series 7 and 66 certified and resides in New York City with his wife and two daughters.
Transcribe →Smart Humans: Carry Founder Ankur Nagpal on tax optimization and getting the best return from your investments
May 23, 2024Tap to summarizeAnkur Nagpal is the founder of Carry and previously founded Teachable, which he scaled to $60M+ in ARR. Ankur also runs a venture fund, Vibe Capital and has invested in 100+ startups.
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