Micro-business investor Chen Vasanthakumar joins Ara to drop some knowledge on the best places to find and buy a micro-business, and how to assess if it will be profitable. Some of the other topics they discuss include Chen’s passion for travel and learning about other cultures, being in Barcelona at the height of the pandemic, ambitiously working towards the goal of having his family and friends possibly thinking he has a few screws loose, and his newfound love for Teslas.
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Connect with Chen:
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/whatsgoodchen/
Timestamps:
00:15 – Introducing Chen Vasanthakumar
02:45 – How Chen’s corporate finance background, and a friend from middle school, spurred his interest in buying businesses
09:49 – Buying his first business for $0, running it for less than a year, and profiting $60K
12:47 – Taking some time off to travel, network, and evaluate Southeast Asia
14:09 – Finding a needle in the haystack business on Flippa
17:40 – The impact of COVID and the lesson Chen learned about mitigating risk
19:52 – Chen’s next move after buying a travel based business at the height of the pandemic and remote work visas
24:00 – The difference between behere (https://gobehere.com) and Airbnb
25:54 – The best place to find and buy businesses
31:32 – Doing the de-risking yourself to make more money
34:35 – Where Chen sees himself in the next 3-5 years
35:56 – Wanting to be remembered by friends and family for going against the grain
37:11 – Chen’s favourite book (Shoe Dog)
39:33 – Embracing a marathon mindset
41:47 – Chen’s connection to the Tamil community on a personal and professional level
45:36 – Chen pays respect to Shiv (co-founder of TamilCulture)
47:09 – Tim Ferris almost made Chen quit his job, Nipsey Hussle being the only rapper who rapped openly about entrepreneurship
50:11 – Would You Rather
55:40 – Wrap up
