We're still surprised people did this but... 50+ founders worth $10M to $4B reveal their personal finances. Here it is: https://joinhampton.com/mw-wr
Why do we do this? Because if you're an aspirational person or someone who runs a business and is making money, it's incredibly challenging to figure out what to do. Information is impossible to find — and that's what we put together: the net worth reveal and why we do this podcast, Moneywise.
He took a company public at 23, lost a $65M poker business in one day, and now spends $110K a month on a private zoo.
Dan Fleyshman started selling baseball cards at an LA swap meet at four years old while his parents sold Levi's out of a van. At 17 he snuck into a Vegas trade show with $5 vending-machine business cards and wrote $1M in orders. At 23 he took his energy drink company public. Then the government shut down online poker in 2011 and his $65M poker site was gone in a day. Today he runs Elevator Studio, has raised $56M for 18 companies through a 2,214-person syndicate, holds 43 angel investments, and puts his net worth north of $50M.
This episode gets into how Dan actually makes money: the 20% carry, trading agency services for equity, and why only 3 of his 18 syndicate deals have failed. He walks through the $6.6M ranch with a lake, a wedding venue that has never hosted a wedding, and 208 rescue animals. He explains why he rents both of his homes, flies Southwest while spending over $1M a year on travel, and refuses to slow down as a new dad. He closes with the list of 39 names in his phone that explains all of it.
Also, this podcast is made by Hampton, which is a community for founders doing on average $20 million a year in revenue. We saw a lot of these money conversations happening privately behind closed doors and we thought, "What the heck, let's make it public." If you are a founder, apply here: http://joinhampton.com/mw
Timestamps:
00:00 — Selling baseball cards at four years old at an LA swap meet while his parents sold Levi's out of a van
01:58 — A family of four on $24K a year, sleeping on a couch, and turning his mom's $13 into $30 of candy sales
04:00 — Three jobs at 15, $43K saved for college, and spending all of it on a clothing brand instead
04:40 — Sneaking into the MAGIC convention at 17 with $5 business cards and writing $1M in orders next to Sean John and FUBU
06:47 — Going public at 23: two years, $2M, and "you literally hire an auditor to audit your auditor"
10:31 — Daniel asks for the net worth number and Dan starts working it out live
11:00 — $56M raised across 18 companies, a 20% carry, and only three failures
12:25 — How Elevator Studio works: 3,500 influencers and trading services for equity
14:01 — Personal checks of $25K to $250K, and why he charges his 2,214 syndicate investors no management fee
16:37 — The $6.6M ranch, the $1.5M lake, 208 animals, and $110,250 a month in overhead: "I've never done a wedding"
18:43 — Why he rents both of his homes, plus the $500K Everbowl check that went from 13 locations to 104
20:08 — Joyride candy, Cards and Coffee with Gary Vee and Steve Aoki, and $28M in small business loans
22:50 — The day online poker shut down and his $65M company disappeared: "diversify with investments, not with attention"
24:47 — "If you were under oath": Dan puts a floor on his net worth
28:15 — High-stakes cash games, charity tournaments, and why he still plays
29:35 — Cards and Coffee revenue drops from $12M+ to $6M, and the $250K-a-year security guard
31:17 — 250 travel days a year, private 20 to 30% of the time, Southwest the rest
33:02 — Charging for a private jet in his speaking fee, then flying JetBlue and keeping the difference
36:04 — His daughter joined a mastermind call on her first day alive, and why he won't pretend he's slowing down
38:48 — The 39 people he's lost and the list he keeps in his phone
Sponsors:
- Silvia, your personal AI CFO. Bring your investments, cash, property, and debt into one view and get answers built around your finances, your family, and creating generational wealth. https://www.cfosilvia.com/moneywise
- Daily Body Coach - achieve your dream body with https://moneywise.dailybodycoach.com
Subscribe to Moneywise: https://www.youtube.com/@themoneywisepodcast
Follow Daniel on X: https://x.com/danielcberk
Listen on Spotify / Apple Podcasts: [search "Moneywise Hampton"]