Entrepreneurship and wealth building
Jeff's Keynote on Legacy, Value and Building Wealth With Purpose
Billionaire Jeff Hoffman's Keynote at the Family Office Club’s 8th Annual Family Office Super Summit
Founders, investors and family office principals who want a simple test for judging deals and want to think about what their wealth is for.
Worth quoting
"Your business should be the vehicle that takes you to the life you want to live, not the obstacle that prevents you from living it."
"A value equation is simply this: would a lot of people in the world pay you more for the thing your business does than it costs you to do it?."
"Employees driven by passion and purpose will far outperform employees driven by a paycheck any day."
What you will hear
A question Jeff asks of any business is whether many people would pay more for what it does than it costs to do. He calls this the value equation. If the answer is no, he says, it is a hobby. He uses it as a sanity check on deals, and asks whether anyone is calling to see if the product is ready yet.
The keynote was given at the Family Office Club's 8th Annual Family Office Super Summit. Jeff tells how he quit an engineering job, says he invented the airport check-in kiosk, and later helped build companies such as Priceline and ubid.com. He then turns to legacy. He describes a quarterly community fund, a women's shelter he helped, and a hiring question about what a person needs to do with their life.
Key facts
- Jeff says a film made for 1.3 million dollars was sold in 49 countries and grossed over 100 million dollars.
- Jeff says he took a company from his giving program through a sale to a Fortune 500 company with zero percent voluntary turnover.
- Jeff says he set a goal of dinners with families in 50 countries and has now reached 100 families.
Sources
From Richard C. Wilson's Centimillionaire Strategies YouTube channel: Billionaire Jeff Hoffman's Keynote at the Family Office Club’s 8th Annual Family Office Super Summit. Quotes come from the video captions, lightly edited for readability. Figures are the speakers' own estimates and experience.
General education only. Not legal, tax or investment advice.
The 5 big lessons
- Test every business with a value equation. Jeff asks whether many people would pay more for the product than it costs to deliver. If they would not, he calls it a hobby. He says few deals pitched to him present this clearly.
- Solve a real problem in an industry. Jeff looks for companies that have studied an industry and found a problem no one has solved. If they solve it, the key players in that industry should turn to them. He says this is how the airline kiosk found its first customers.
- Business can serve the life you want. Jeff argues that a business should be the vehicle to the life you want, not the obstacle to it. He says you can be profitable and still pursue your goals in the same place.
- Give from revenue through a community fund. Each quarter Jeff sets aside a percentage of revenue, not profit, in a community fund. His employees choose whom to help. He says staff feel ownership of the giving because they picked the cause.
- Hire for purpose, not only skills. Jeff opens interviews by asking what one thing a person needs to do with their life to look back and say time was well spent. He says skills can be taught, and that people driven by passion and purpose will far outperform people driven by a paycheck.
- 1Set aside a percent of revenue
- 2Fund the community pool each quarter
- 3Employees choose whom to help
- 4Staff take part in the giving
- 5Company, staff and community all gain
Related questions
- How do I close a funding round?I close a funding round by focusing on investors who fit the opportunity and moving each interested prospect through clear, consistent follow-up.
- What documents do investors request during due diligence?Prepare a clear, organized package covering your operations, investments, compensation, team, and track record.
- How do I raise capital for my business?I raise capital by building a repeatable system for attracting the right investors, establishing credibility, and developing relationships before asking for money.
Questions about this video
What is the value equation Jeff describes?
It asks whether a lot of people would pay more for what your business does than it costs you to do it. Jeff says that if the answer is no, you have a hobby, not a business.
How does Jeff run his community fund?
Every quarter he takes a percentage off the top of revenue and puts it in a community fund. His employees decide whom in the community to help. He says a company donation chosen by the boss does not carry the same feeling for staff.
What does Jeff ask people in job interviews?
He asks them to name one thing they need to do with their life so they will look back and say time well spent. He then commits to helping that goal happen. He says this tells him more than a job description would.
Put this into practice with the investor meeting follow-up checklist. See all entrepreneurship and wealth building resources.
