Info
The goal for this document is to:
1. Draft ideas worth exploring & deepening as I progressively understand how my values intersect with the broader space of financial wellness.
2. Outline the broad business paths that I see falling under the “Second Generation” umbrella — each of these are meant to be operationally independent, but conceptually intertwined.
How We Got Here
Despite our various walks of life, we’ve undoubtedly have similar stories & goals.
Being First Is Significant
Education level, career achievements, and current financial standings are just byproducts of a mindset that we’ve all developed over time. Chances are, we were the among the first in our family to do something — first-generation college graduate, first-generation American, first-generation white-collar worker, you name it.
What unifies us is our shared experience of socioeconomic class, whatever that may actually look like.
Overcoming Scarcity (Mindset)
At one point or another, we experienced a lack of foundational financial security — whether that’s through monetary scarcity, or the mindset that often comes along with it. Now, while we’ve learned how to earn, we still actively struggle to find the “right” way to save, spend, and/or invest.
This transition, in and of itself, creates a whole new set of unique challenges that are about the “how” as much as they are about the “why”.
Taking Fruitful Risks
Seemingly at odds with our emotional journey, we exist in a economic system that not only rewards, but often requires risk to succeed.
Even though we’ve learned to earn, we lack financial guardrails to really make the most of our efforts.
Building What’s Next
On Writing
While virtually non-existent at times, my newsletter started as a place where I told my story and shared a bunch of my ideas about wealth. The more I wrote, the more I started understanding what money means to me, and began to zero-in on what it actually meant to talk about wealth for “other people like me”.
I’ve learned a ton over the past few years. While I still feel no more qualified on the topic than when I started, I know that I’m just getting started.
The Finfluencer Dilemma
Here’s the thing: every piece of finance content out there (aka “finfluencers”) boils down the same things. Making content full-time is cool in its own right, but if you’re like me and don’t care much for the theatrics, I’ll save you some time. All the advice out there falls into these buckets:
-
If you’re in any sort of debt or feel like you’re living ‘paycheck-to-paycheck’, the only way out is to spend less or grow your income. This means getting serious about budgeting and/or focusing on growing your income.
-
If you make a decent living, maybe even like what you do, and want a secure future: start investing, and understanding what risk means for you, whether that bein a 401(k), safe index funds, etc. This means contributing and being patient — not picking stocks or looking to “10X your money”.
That’s it.
Working through these financial phases is hard, but simple. Financial content is really about making tried-and-true information accessible. For the today’s attention economy, that means putting your own spin on it, building a following, and staying relevant by posting multiple times a week.
Doing The Harder Stuff
Content is great, but accessibility is only half the battle. At best, content exposes us to options — leaving much to be desired in terms of any real guidance. At worst, it gives us the illusion of change — helping us cope with existential pressures to succeed or make more money, but never making that a reality.
While writing will still have its place within Second Gen (and my life overall), I first and foremost want to concretely help others actualize the financial future they want. I want to create the value-aligned financial blueprints and financial literacy we never had access to.
Whether it’s through blog posts that explore the emotional nuances of our position, creating long-term financial plans, managing assets or building software — the point is to help as many of you lean into what feels hard and take action alongside you.
Invest, Advise, Embrace
Taking our stories and principles into account, I’m excited to revamp my intentions for Second Generation. With a ton of hopes, desires and goals, I’ve broken things down into multiple tracks and made it a choose-your-own-adventure:
Second Generation Invest (2GI) is a permissioned investment group built for the modern investor — with the built-in security, ownership model, and instant-settlement of crypto and the ease, convenience, and trust we expect from all professional financial institutions.
Second Generation Advise (2GA) is a financial advisory service for those looking to sustainably grow wealth in alignment with generational values. As your adviser, I would deeply understand just how emotional and personal finance really is — offering my authentic, informed perspective to help you choose what’s best for you.
Second Generation Embrace (2GE) is the home to writing about our evolving socioeconomic status — the soul of this newsletter, where I’ll continue to share my ideas, concepts and frameworks for navigating the first-in-family financial world.
Guiding Principles
The ideas, emotions and mental models that continuously inspire and shape this work.
Examples of Practicing What I Preach
How our guiding principles translate into key actions for Second Generation
- Crypto empowers Second Gen Invest members to have instantaneous access to their assets that can generate recurring income
- Whether it’s through the bite-sized pieces of advice in my newsletter or a personalized financial plan — you’ll always be taken care of and in control.
- As a registered investment adviser in good-standing, I have a fiduciary duty — both informally and formally — to you all.