Invest In Ripple - Gavin Guidry

[00:00:05] Speaker A: Welcome to the worst advice I ever got. We're so excited to have you with us today and to have our special guest, Gavin Gidry, with us. Gavin helps create campaigns for billion dollar brands like Uber, Sprite, and Instagram. He's currently a creative director for Spotify and coincidentally, the host of his own podcast, Tools for Time traveling, which talks about the future of the creative world. Gavin, thanks for being our guest today. [00:00:31] Speaker B: Yeah, of course. Super excited. [00:00:33] Speaker C: So, with all of our guests, we don't beat around the bush. We jump right into. Just tell us about the worst advice you ever got. [00:00:40] Speaker B: Lots of candidates there, but I would say the worst advice I ever got was to invest in. [00:00:48] Speaker C: Oh, okay. So tell us more about ripple. [00:00:51] Speaker B: Yeah. Okay. [00:00:51] Speaker D: Is that a dribble competitor? [00:00:52] Speaker B: No, but very on brand of you as a content creator. To think so. It's not dribble. No. It's ripple, which is XRP, which is a cryptocurrency. You can find it. It's, like, traded on Coinbase. It's one of those cryptos. But it was one of those coins, right? Like, after Bitcoin blew up and Ethereum blew up and all these different coins were blowing up. It was one of these coins, but it was super cheap. So I want to say it was like a penny or like a dime or something, like per ripple. And then at one point in 2017, it went up to, like, seventy cents or something like that, or like a dollar 30. And so people were like, oh, my God, I made $100,000. And so when that happened, my friend was, like, telling me all about it. He was a coworker of mine. Good dude, well intentioned, and he was like, yeah, man, I have, like $100,000. And at the time, I was like, oh, my God, that's so much. [00:01:57] Speaker D: You're the queen of England. [00:02:01] Speaker B: You made it. Quit. Quit the job and sell it like you're rich. But he was like, yeah, here's how you do it. And at the time, I'd obviously heard of cryptocurrency, but I didn't have a wallet, really had no idea how to go about. [00:02:15] Speaker C: So you were new to the whole crypto world? [00:02:17] Speaker B: I was new to the whole entire crypto world. Really new to invest. At that point, I hadn't really even done much investing actual money, just like savings and things like that. So this was exciting because it was novel, right? It's like something new. And there was this whole, like, you'll get rich potentially sort of thing. I was like, all right. I talked to my wife about it. I was like, I think, let's just put $1,000 into it and never seen that. $1,000 is not $1,000. She gone. [00:02:54] Speaker C: You lost it all. [00:02:55] Speaker B: I didn't lose it all, but I would say, like, that $1,000 is probably, like $300, and if I take it out, then it's never going to be more than $300, so it's like $300 now. And, yeah, didn't lose it all, but definitely was not the best way to invest my money. I'll say, yeah. [00:03:16] Speaker C: Painful. I can relate a little bit. I made an investment in the stock market early on. I didn't invest in the crypto market, but I invested in one of my first stocks, put $5,000 into this stock, and it literally went to zero. And I thought my wife was going to divorce me. It was bad news. How did this loss. Right. I mean, it was painful. How did that affect you? [00:03:41] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, part of it is, like, it's a little bit embarrassing to be like, I tried this thing and kind of fell flat on my face. But I think the worst part of it is I just felt very skittish going forward about investing, just in general. I dipped my toe in. This felt very much like a dipping of the toe. It's like, okay, cool. Well, you know, I want to see, but if, like, a shark comes up and rips your foot off or something like that, and it's like, I'm not going to dip my toe. I only got one more foot left. No. So it definitely made me super cautious, and I just felt like I got burned now. It feels like I almost have, like, trust issues with investing. It's 2024, and it's all about being a first mover. Right? Like, we learn in school about first movers and things like that, and I don't want to be a first mover anymore. And I think over the long term, that's probably a good idea. But I also think that there's potential opportunities that I could miss out on when it is something legitimate. The issue with the ripple thing and all these Elon Musk coins that everyone invests in, and they're just trash coins, is that it's just burning so many people, and a lot of them are never going to come back. A lot of them have abandoned their wallets, and a lot of them have just abandoned the space. And now anything that comes from that space is garbage when that's not the case. [00:05:12] Speaker C: That's a great point. I think we draw conclusions on a broader population based upon a singular experience. We have scar tissue. Right? And so we relate everything to that. And I totally agree with you. Early stage investing produces incredible returns. You've got to be prepared to lose a lot, though. And I think back to your point, going back to your initial investment. If you had invested in Ripple and say, four others, three of them failed, two of them hit home runs, you're like, this is great, and I'm all in. But that's not the experience you had. So it sort of created in you a more cautious approach to say, yeah. [00:05:50] Speaker B: No, 100%, it's a ripple effect. [00:05:53] Speaker D: See what I did there? [00:05:54] Speaker B: So why they pay them the big bucks? [00:05:56] Speaker C: Well, we'll see. [00:06:00] Speaker D: One thing you talked about in the pre interview that I really liked how you got to and you started there is the wallet is kind of bundling. People bundle this crypto with other things that are important. [00:06:10] Speaker B: Yeah, it's really about the future. I was telling you before we started, I have my own little podcast and we talk about the future, the future of creativity mostly. And the blockchain, even now, is enabling people to create ownership of digital goods in ways that we haven't been able to do before. And I'm no expert, so I don't know if this is 100% correct, but what I've gathered is to be on chain and to be flexible, movable, nimble within the chain, you need a wallet and you need crypto and currency to be in that wallet, right? And so to have this creative future, right, where we have creators and artists and musicians that don't need labels and they don't need agencies, and they don't need all these different powers that be, these distribution companies and stuff like they can do it on their own and just be artists and have ownership via the blockchain. We need lots of people on chain who are able to buy and sell and be proprietors of that content of those digital goods. The issue when you have these get rich quick schemes of the ripples and the dogecoins and stuff like that, and when it's like, oh, well, I invested, I don't have a wallet anymore, or my friend invested or whatever, and they got burned, why would I sign up and get a wallet? And what we need for this blockchain future to really take off and for artists and creators to be able to sustain themselves, we need a mass of the population on chain. We need JB, like your mom and my mom, to have wallets. And we are nowhere close to the point where they're going to have wallets. One, it's too hard. Two, it's like, well, am I going to get hacked? Am I going to get whatever, is this just going to flop? [00:08:15] Speaker C: Fear. Fear. [00:08:16] Speaker B: And bad advice. [00:08:18] Speaker C: And bad advice. I hear you describing a marketplace. [00:08:22] Speaker B: Exactly. [00:08:22] Speaker C: We don't have the marketplace yet, but something very interesting, you got burned based upon investing in this one coin yet you're talking about. To have this creative marketplace, we need more people coming in to take some of these risks. So it's an interesting dichotomy, right? It's like we need more risk takers, and that's really what our marketplace is built upon. Entrepreneurial risk takers that have gone out there, and it's about trying to filter through the good ones and the bad ones. Yeah, that's hard to do, but we have to be okay. Getting hurt, getting back up, going back at it. Right. You're very creative. You're in a creative workplace. Your job is very creative, and you have to take risks. Creative people naturally take risks. [00:09:14] Speaker B: Totally. [00:09:14] Speaker C: So it's very interesting to see that you got a little burned investing in something that was new, a creative marketplace, yet it didn't necessarily stop your creative, natural way of approaching things. [00:09:26] Speaker B: Yeah, well, and here's where the difference is. Right. When I invested, I don't think I was investing enough in the marketplace. I think I was just investing in, like, a get rich quick, because I was like, I'm going to dip my toe to get the money. But it took me a while to really understand the viability of not necessarily just cryptocurrency, but that marketplace, like you were saying, and it's not just a get rich quick scheme. And I think that's the issue. And obviously, this is America. It's a capitalist society. There's always going to be some sort of capitalist intention, I guess, to everything. But that, to me, I feel like, is kind of what's almost, it's funny because it's almost staying in the way of the marketplace. [00:10:15] Speaker D: Because definitely is. [00:10:16] Speaker B: Yeah, because. Because you're basically saying this coin is so you can get rich, rather than this coin is so that we can build this sort of future marketplace where you can buy and sell the same way you do with a debit card, but it's decentralized. And all of this stuff, but the get rich quick and all the documentaries that they're making about crypto bros. And all that stuff is now what's standing in the way? Because it's like I was telling JB this. It's like, okay, this crypto is a new thing. And it's like Morpheus from the Matrix is like, we have red pill and the blue pill. You can either use this as a way to decentralize banking and have financial freedom and give the control to people, or you can make a lot of money. And everyone was like, give me the money. [00:11:09] Speaker C: Give me the money. I'll take the blue pill. [00:11:11] Speaker B: Yeah. I'll take the blue pill. [00:11:12] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:11:15] Speaker B: It's weird because that's sort of like, what's standing in the way. I think of a little bit more flourishing in the future. [00:11:22] Speaker C: I think a lot of the stories are on the gains and the losses. This coin gained this, this coin lost this, and we're all focused on the individual performance versus, to your point, the viability of the entire network, the viability of the marketplace. And if we come together in the context of trying to build a marketplace that can be successful, maybe we have a better shot. But people unfortunately approach it with, hey, what can I turn this into? What kind of return can I get out of this? [00:11:56] Speaker D: The only thought they have, they think this is crypto. Crypto is great. And that's the only thing I should think about. It's the only reason it's there. And when it doesn't work and people get bad advice like Gavin got, it's a ripple effect. [00:12:09] Speaker C: Well. [00:12:11] Speaker B: He'S really trying to make ripple effects. Yeah. [00:12:13] Speaker C: Goodness gracious. It's interesting. I can relate a lot to what you're talking about here with that loss and how it affected you. I've kind of gotten back on the horse again, so to speak. Do you ever see yourself going back in and investing maybe in an individual business or an individual coin? Or has this sort of prevented you from ever wanting to take that step? [00:12:34] Speaker B: Yeah, I definitely see myself getting back into web three and the blockchain in some sort of way. [00:12:46] Speaker C: Okay. [00:12:47] Speaker B: I don't know if it'll be like I was saying before, sometimes you have to invest in a coin in order to have any sort of mobility on chain. So there's definitely the possibility that I'll invest there. But I think one of the best things I did was just linked up with a financial advisor. And so I would definitely recommend folks to seek expert opinions because I was able to get just like, a full view of money. Cash flow savings liability has a big part to do with money that people don't think about. And that makes it so, like, okay, well, I'm not just wishing on a star here with this and hoping something sticks. No, I have an actual strategy. So, like, you were saying, I know how much. Okay, I can put this here. If this is a little bit risky, because I'm doing all of these other things that are not risky now. I think because I have a more holistic view of my finances and things like that and feel a lot more confident I can do some riskier things and actually invest because I have other investments that are less risky. I definitely invest now. Not in the crypto space. Let's say there's an opportunity to invest in something like you were saying, like a business, or invest in some sort of new technology. I think now learning from getting burned in the past, as well as just gaining that expert confidence through working with an advisor, I'd be more likely to take that sort of step, that sort of jump. [00:14:37] Speaker D: Yeah, but you wouldn't go into another coin if someone's like, hey, you can make $10,000 tomorrow. [00:14:44] Speaker B: Oh, no. And that's never the way. [00:14:47] Speaker C: Well, frankly, it's the get rich quick kind of thing. Right. [00:14:52] Speaker D: If there's any get rich quick gabbit is out. [00:14:55] Speaker B: Yeah. I don't know if get rich quick is real or not. [00:15:00] Speaker C: Yeah, I was wondering the same thing. I don't know a lot of people that have gotten rich quick. I know a lot of people who have tried to get rich quick and lost big. And so that is a truly, truly high risk, potential, high reward scenario with real extremes. The financial advisory piece, I really appreciate that, since we're financial advisors. That was a nice. [00:15:24] Speaker B: I honestly didn't do that. [00:15:25] Speaker C: No, I know you did perfect. But I can't let that pass. No, the point is, you've created, in your mind, a diversified portfolio. Right. I'll do some things that are riskier, but I'll do some things that are more concrete, safe, secure, and that's very smart. And it allows you then to take some risks. And you know what? If I lose it, that's okay. And if it hits a little bit bigger, that's okay. And when I was describing earlier, I've gotten back in and made a few investments like that. It's somewhat because I've created that similar framework that you're talking about. And I work with a financial advisor at Smith and Howard wealth management for that very purpose. [00:16:03] Speaker B: 100%. Yeah. That's the best advice I've ever gotten. Like, we were talking about the worst advice I've ever got. That's the best advice I've ever got, is just work with a financial advisor and build up. It makes it so much easier to maneuver in other spaces. I think. [00:16:21] Speaker D: Feel confident about your moves? [00:16:23] Speaker B: Yeah, totally. [00:16:24] Speaker D: What message would you give to somebody who received similar advice? [00:16:29] Speaker B: So I would say if you've heard advice like, invest in this coin or invest in this company, invest in this stock, you're going to make $100. Did you see what's happening on Reddit? To me, and I think maybe a shared understanding is like, there is no such thing as get rich quick. Right. If you do happen to get rich quick, you're probably going to get poor quick. You're probably going to lose that money real quick. And it's really about a long term strategy. It's fun. They just put out that dumb money movie. [00:17:08] Speaker C: I watched that. I literally flew back from Vegas this weekend and I watched that. The whole GameStop Robin Hood environment and the squeeze. Fascinating. [00:17:19] Speaker B: I mean, fascinating. But like, and I haven't seen the movie. I just heard it when it was happening, and people were like, oh, I'm buying GameStop, GameStop stock. But did any of that last? I actually don't know, but I feel like the answer is probably not really? And those people, are there people in jail? I don't know. [00:17:39] Speaker D: Definitely not. Look, I want to go to jail. [00:17:41] Speaker C: It was very artificial versus concrete. [00:17:44] Speaker B: Right. [00:17:44] Speaker C: Okay. When you're investing in something, I think you have to get a better understanding of the core of what you're investing in, especially if you're going all in with a business or with a concept or with a coin. And it takes a little more due diligence, it takes a little more work. You can't just say, oh, that's great, let me grab that and go with it. And that's where I think, look, I'm all for capitalism and entrepreneurialism and taking risks. Thank God we have people that did that. Our own firm was founded based upon two guys that left a very established place to start something from scratch. And the first few years were very lean. Right. So we need that. But I think when you're looking to invest in something like that, you better get a core understanding of who's behind it, what's behind it? Does it have a chance? Before you just say, oh, yeah, based upon your general advice, I'll throw $1,000 at that? [00:18:47] Speaker B: Yeah, totally. That's such a great point. Yeah, definitely do the research. Because even I think what I learned after investing in the coin was that all of these coins technically are supposed to have some sort of use. That's why they were made. They're not just money. Even the ones that do make money, they are supposed to have some sort of use. And I didn't understand that use. I invested and then read up on it instead of reading up on it first. There's also like, oh, well, there's now laws against this coin, and that has a lot to do with the volatility. It's like, oh, well, the SEC is investigating it now, so it's going to plunge. It's like, oh, well, now it's not under investigation, so it's going to go up. And so it's good to know about the histories, the uses, who's behind it and, yeah, so I would say that's great advice. [00:19:39] Speaker D: Why is this the advice you said in the beginning? I have a lot. Why is this the one that stuck out to you? [00:19:47] Speaker B: Yeah, I think that this advice is the worst advice, or at least the advice that stuck out to me, because I just think it has a lot of implications, and I just think that there's so much opportunity in new technologies that are happening, and I think it would just be a shame for people to abandon it or sort of push it away just because of what they've heard. There's a lot of bad hype around crypto, which affects blockchain as a whole and web three as a whole. But there's a lot of viability in that. There's a lot of opportunity in that. And I think it's definitely top of mind for this time because it just feels like a watershed moment in technology and creativity and anything that could help individual creators and can help decentralize and all of that good stuff I think should be invested in. [00:20:56] Speaker C: I think it's great because I think there's a lot of people out there who got burned the same way you did on some of these investments, and you didn't walk away from it, from the environment, from promoting it, from the viability of it, even though you were burned, which I don't think is the natural reaction for most people. I think they would say, I'm never going there again. You're basically saying, hey, wait a minute, this has legs like, this has viability. And don't let yourself be dismayed completely from the marketplace that we need to create simply because you got hurt. [00:21:33] Speaker B: Yeah, totally. I mean, I'm passionate about this stuff. I mean, JB knows, anybody who knows me just knows I'm very passionate about creativity. So even though I've been burned by that, I think it makes you a better version of yourself. Right. In order to have that, you need to have something that you're sort of striving towards for me, it's like a better creative future and empowering creative people. I think that there are ways to do that, and I don't want my experience and experiences other people have had with this sort of get rich, crypto bro thing to stand in the way of that. I feel too passionately. [00:22:12] Speaker C: I think at the end of the day, when we get bad advice, many times the ripple effect, boom, I took that. I wasn't going to let you have this one all to yourself. The ripple effect of bad advice is a better you in the future. And I think what you're describing to me is I'm better off having had that experience now because it has me approach things in a smarter way. And hopefully that's what really each of these episodes helps our listeners understand, is the worst advice we ever receive, sometimes makes us the best version of us that we can possibly be. So I really appreciate you coming on and sharing your story because it's very applicable, and I think we gained a lot from it. [00:22:56] Speaker B: Yeah, well, no, thank you. Thank you for the space and the advice. [00:22:59] Speaker C: Thank you, Gavin. Really appreciate you being with us today. You know, at Smith and Howard, we're not in the business of giving bad advice. We're in the business of giving great advice. So if you need some help, be. [00:23:10] Speaker A: Sure to connect with us and tune. [00:23:12] Speaker C: In next time wherever you listen to your podcast, for the worst advice I ever got.