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Join us every week as host Ben Samuels helps demystify wealth creation strategies, increase listeners‘ financial literacy, exposes false narratives in the capital markets, and reframes ”the American Dream” in digestible, actionable chunks. Our mission is to give some perspective and context to those that may not have the tools at their disposal, whether income or acumen, to step out and truly do their own thing but can still leverage their networks, etc. to build passive revenue streams or wealth in other ways. The American dream can be reached through multiple paths, it’s time we talk about it!
Episodes
Monday Apr 04, 2022
Monday Apr 04, 2022
Mike Umbro is an entrepreneur and investor in the oil and gas industry, and environmental entrepreneur, and a principal at FieldView Capital, a boutique investment bank providing specialized services to clients in the energy sector. He is also the vice president of corporate development at RL Environmental Inc. provides full-spectrum liquid waste processing to oil and gas operators. Mike joins us to discuss the state of the oil and gas industry in California, opportunities to invest, and lots of advice for those who want to get started in the industry.
Timestamps
[01:25] Mike Umbro’s background
[03:33] How are California’s regulations on the industry
[05:36] Production stats
[07:39] About FieldView Capital
[08:43] Selling produced water in California
[12:23] Opportunities to invest in oil and gas
[15:25] Umbro’s business model
[16:37] Advice from Mexican Gas Association
[18:03] Timing the exit and entry right
[20:38] Advice for startups
[23:10] California’s oil and gas landscape
[32:50] Bill Gate’s Report and predictions of the industry
[36:49] Water beneficial re-use
[42:53] Connect with Mike Umbro
Notable Quotes From The Episode
- What we’re seeing from the federal government now, I feel like the Californian playbook is going to impact those in West Texas.
- If I didn’t have this oil field project with my partner and I wasn’t so excited about that, I think now would be a really interesting time for raising funds to go after certain things that are long-term.
- Don’t put any money into it that you can’t afford to never see again.
- I found value in focusing on my projects in addition to different agreements with different environmental service companies that I work for on other consulting agreements.
Resources
Connect With Mike Umbro
California’s Oil & Gas Industry is a Gem of Opportunities
While Texas is known to be the major player in the oil and gas industry in United States, entrepreneurs and investors in other states have seized the vast opportunities lying in other states as well. We interviewed Mike Umbro about the state of the oil and gas industry in California, the regulations and how they impact the players, and different opportunities to invest.
Mike Umbro is an entrepreneur and investor in the oil and gas industry, an environmental entrepreneur, and a Principal at FieldView Capital. FieldView Capital is a boutique investment bank that provides specialized services to customers in the energy sector. The company has partnered with entrepreneurs to provide business strategy and corporate development to assist in growing and creating long-term value by supporting clients’ business strategies and advising clients on general financial matters.
Mike Umbro’s Background
Born and raised in San Diego, Mike came into the oil and gas industry in 2006, working for a by-side magazine acquisition firm. His job was to dial for production, sourcing, upstream assets all over Texas and Oklahoma.
When the 2014-16 downturn hit, he went back to further his study in Energy Business.
California’s oil and gas industry state
Mike says a lot of oil fields in California were discovered in the 1890s. 10-20% of the state’s production is from hydraulically fractured wells. The governor is now going after steam injections to cut a lot of production, a move that may affect those in West Texas.
“What we’re seeing from the federal government now, I feel like the Californian playbook is going to impact those in West Texas.”
Mike says they are targeting a zone about 1200 feet for steam flood or have 120 producers and 70 injection steam. They are also looking forward to doing some shallow wells like 800 feet.
The Opportunities
For many years, producers have been selling produced water back to water districts to use in farming and agriculture. However, the exciting part is that California’s water can’t be cleaned up for use in agriculture or water banking to help alleviate the drought situation in the state.
The flip side is, you could probably make the argument that the volume of produced water is fairly small. So, with the super dry climate (6 inches of rain), you can use the produced water for dust control.
“In the long term, there’s a lot of opportunity to use produced water in California.”
Mike also says there’s a huge opportunity to do better in terms of waste handling and recycling to minimize oil going to the land.
Mike’s big Advice
Having worked with the Mexican Gas Association, Mike says one big takeaway from them is that when it’s really good, don’t buy anything unless it’s with cash. There’s no need to put yourself into debt.
He also advises investors and entrepreneurs to never put any money into something that they can’t afford to never see again.
He advises startups to continue betting on themselves and learn a new skill set when they have the opportunity.
Listen to the whole episode and connect with Mike Umbro on LinkedIn:
Connect With Mike Umbro
About the show
On Coffee & Liquidity, our mission is to give some perspective and context to those that may not have the tools at their disposal, whether income or acumen, to become a full-time entrepreneur but can still leverage their networks, etc., to build passive revenue streams or wealth in other ways. The American dream can be reached through multiple paths. It’s time we talk about it!
SHOW SPONSORS: Alderaan Ventures Affiliate Partners
Please subscribe to the podcast and drop us a five-star review. We appreciate you, and your support enables us to keep bringing you the goods on the show!
Thursday Mar 24, 2022
Thursday Mar 24, 2022
Vincent Lam and Sean Huang are the Co-founders of Matidor, the ultimate location visualization and data collaboration tool for businesses. It is also the only software solution that combines geospatial data with team collaboration. Vincent Lam was the Head of Product and Director at Loqus, a location-based AR platform that empowers users to visualize and interact with visual objects in real-life locations with accurate dimensions and attributes. Sean Huang was the Head of Business Development and Director of Locus and, Co-founder of EstPal, a technology company, aiming to disrupt the automotive marketplace. In this episode, Vincent and Sean talk about Y-combinator, the best startup accelerator, the importance of annual recruiting revenue in a business-to-business company, and the importance of social media in a business. Tune in to learn more about Matidor and Y Combinator.
Timestamps
[01:54] Vincent’s background and the genesis of Matidor GIS
[04:24] How long has Matidor been in the market, and what does it address?
[07:02] Y Combinator, the best startup accelerator
[15:32] The importance of Annual Recruiting Revenue in a business-to-business company
[17:15] How the Silicon Valley ecosystem is different from the rest
[23:06] Spending money as opposed to profit
[27:26] The size of the team in Matidor
[33:33] Other use cases for the Matidor platform that has nothing to do with energy and environment
[41:44] The importance of social media in a business
- Y Combinator is the best accelerator. They are the first in the market with an accelerator model.
- One thing about Y Combinator is that their model makes something people want. So, they want you to focus on what makes your business successful and keep building towards that.
- The matrix that defines a successful business-to-business company in the very early stage is how much revenue they have and how long it took them to reach that revenue stage.
- No matter what stage of company you are in, spending a lot of money in the beginning before you have a product market is suicidal for a startup.
- If you don’t know what you are keeping track of, if you don’t have a product that people are engaging on, you are just burning money.
Connect with Vincent Lam and Sean Huang:
Website: https://matidor.com/
Vincent LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lamvincent/?originalSubdomain=ca
Sean LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-huang/?originalSubdomain=ca
Vincent Lam and Sean Huang: Matidor and Y Combinator
“If you don’t know what you are keeping track of. If you don’t have a product that people are engaging on, you are just burning money at the end of the day.”
For ages, companies have been struggling with decision making, efficiency, complex relationships between internal teams, vendors, clients and, partners. Luckily, Matidor has come up with solutions to all these problems. It is the only software solution with built-in GIS functionality, making it easy for technical and non-technical users to manage and share geospatial information.
“The matrix that defines successful business-to-business company in the very early stage is how much revenue they have and how long it took them to reach to that revenue stage.”
Co-founders Vincent Lam and Sean Huang have known each other for many years but have only decided to go into business together in 2018. Vincent was the Head of Product and Director of Loqus, a location-based AR platform that empowers users to visualize and interact with virtual objects in real-life locations with accurate dimensions and attributes. Loqus provides better contextual awareness to surrounding, increase on-site efficiency and reduces safety risks.
Sean Huang is the Head of Business Development and Director of Loqus. He was the Co-Founder of EstPal, a technology company aiming to disrupt the automotive marketplace. When an accident occurs, the platform allows drivers to reach multiple body shops from the palm of their hands. Sean was also the Co-Founder and CEO of Morfus Mixed Reality, responsible for all marketing, strategic partnerships, business development, sales, and investor relations.
Matidor
Matidor is a new team collaboration platform that combines intuitive portfolio management with robust, user-friendly mapping. Matidor makes every day more productive and successful for teams working on map information, visual project planning, more intelligent data management, great collaboration, and secure and easy sharing.
“Nothing breaks the power of handshake.”
Roles
- Create a standardized outreach for current and future clients and coordinate its implementation across sales channels, client management, and marketing and communication.
- Prospects and close relationships with key target clients.
- Monitor the strategies and processes across the revenue cycle from customer acquisition to engagement of success.
- Develop and implement robust sales management processes- pipeline, account planning and, proposals.
How long has Matidor been in the market?
Having seen the need for better GIS and collaboration software in the field services and space, Vincent and Sean decided to leave their previous roles and bring their unique skills and experience together to form Matidor. It was formed in 2018, ever since it has grown from a humble, Vancouver-based startup to a promising tech disruptor that has already been recognized for its growth, investment, and market breakthrough potential.
Y Combinator
Y Combinator is the best startup accelerator. They provide seed funding for startups.
Seed funding is the earliest stage of venture funding. It pays your expenses while you’re getting started. They make small investments in return for small stakes in the companies they fund.
“One of the reasons we really wanted to go into Y Combinator is because of the resources, getting mentorship, and working with the best of the best.”
What happens at Y Combinator?
The first thing they do is work with startups on their ideas. Since they are hackers and have spent a lot of time figuring out what people want, Y Combinator can see pretty clearly the direction in which a small idea should be expanded. The second thing is helping founders deal with investors and acquirers.
About the show
On Coffee & Liquidity, our mission is to give some perspective and context to those that may not have the tools at their disposal, whether income or acumen, to become a full-time entrepreneur but can still leverage their networks, etc., to build passive revenue streams or wealth in other ways. The American dream can be reached through multiple paths. It’s time we talk about it!
SHOW SPONSORS: Alderaan Ventures Affiliate Partners
Please subscribe to the podcast and drop us a five-star review. We appreciate you, and your support enables us to keep bringing you the goods on the show!
Tuesday Mar 22, 2022
Tuesday Mar 22, 2022
Collin Placke is a petroleum engineer and real estate investor and entrepreneur who began investing in single-family rentals to help smooth some of the up and downs of the oil and gas industry. Today, his focus is on large 100+ unit apartment buildings and has done close to 2000 doors across the Southern Eastern US in Texas, Tennessee, Florida, Arkansas, and Alabama. Collin is also the creator and host of the Rigs to Real Estate podcast that seeks to give back to the industry and help oil and gas professionals set their first foot in investing in real estate.
Timestamps
[02:28] Collin Placke’s background in the oil and gas industry
[03:27] Why real estate is a strong bet in the market now
[06:33] Preparing for bad times
[09:35] Networking for real estate investors
[11:00] Keys to success in real estate
[14:11] Mistakes to avoid when starting
[18:53] Skill transfer from oil and gas into real estate
[20:36] About Rigs Real Estate podcast
[22:36] Buying the first property
[23:09] Mass exodus to urban areas and investment
[33:08] Fundrise and micro-investment platforms
[41:02] Finding a good real estate CPA
[42:41] Real estate mastermind group
[44:53] Collin Placke’s why drive
[49:48] The future of the oil and gas industry
[51:54] Collin Placke’s contacts
- Fall in love with finding a solution to the problem. Don’t fall in love with an industry solution.
- The point is to be doing things when times are good to be better prepared when times are bad.
- You’re going to think about something that can be passive, can create income, and have passion for it. Otherwise, you’ll burn out.
- Your network is your net worth
- You’re gonna make mistakes when you get started. You just have to learn from them and keep going forward.
Resources
Connect with Collin Placke
Is Real Estate a Strong Bet in the Current Market?
People are talking about cryptocurrency and blockchain for the most part of their investment ideas, forgetting about one of the most profitable investments, real estate. But with real estate has been around for a long time now, is it still a good bet in the current market? To find out more, we interviewed Collin Placke, the owner of Rigs to Real Estate podcast that is focused on giving back to the industry and helping oil and gas professionals set their first foot in investing in real estate. He gives reasons why he thinks real estate is still a big bet in the current market, networking for real estate investors, and the keys to success in the industry.
Collin Placke is a petroleum and real estate investor and entrepreneur. He began investing in single-family rentals to help smooth the ups and downs of the oil and gas industry. To date, Collin he has done close to 2000 doors across the southeastern US in Texas, Tennessee, Florida, Arkansas, and Alabama with his specialty being on large 100+ unit apartment buildings. He still also works full-time as a production engineer for Delaware Asset Company.
Preparing For Bad Times
“The point is to be doing things when times are good to be better prepared when times are bad.”
Colin says you need to get control of your own finances first. You shouldn’t be looking at investments until you have control of your own finances. To take control of your finances, you need to live within your means.
After getting control of your finances, he advises that you find something that can earn you money while you’re asleep and things that are not going to be tied to commodity prices. He also emphasizes diversifying your investments instead of putting them all in one basket.
“You’re going to think about something that can be passive, can create income, and have passion for it. Otherwise, you’ll burn out.”
Keys to success in real estate
Focusing on your passion makes the whole thing not feel like work. Network with people who have done what you want to invest in and get their insights. You can also pay a mentor to guide you through.
Colin advises real estate investors to network through social media platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Join groups and conversations with people having similar goals.
“Your network is your net worth.”
On mistakes you need to avoid when starting, he says that you need to know if real estate is for you or not for you. You can ask yourself these questions to find out.
- What are your monthly cash flow goals?
- Where is your time best spent?
Real estate is not for you if you haven’t taken care of finances also.
Collin says that you’re going to make mistakes when you’re started. What will bring the difference is whether you will learn from them and keep going forward.
“The biggest mistake is not getting started at all. You could really start with tow of three things. (Education, time, money).”
Connect with Collin Placke
About the show
On Coffee & Liquidity, our mission is to give some perspective and context to those that may not have the tools at their disposal, whether income or acumen, to become a full-time entrepreneur but can still leverage their networks, etc., to build passive revenue streams or wealth in other ways. The American dream can be reached through multiple paths. It’s time we talk about it!
SHOW SPONSORS: Alderaan Ventures Affiliate Partners
Please subscribe to the podcast and drop us a five-star review. We appreciate you, and your support enables us to keep bringing you the goods on the show!
Tuesday Mar 15, 2022
Tuesday Mar 15, 2022
Mason Moreland is the Deputy Project Manager at SWCA Environmental Consultants that provide clients with environmental solutions based on sound science and client-focused perspective. He specializes in oil and gas transmission, generation, communication, development, and protected species projects. Mason is also the Managing Partner of Texas Vine Country, a wine and beverage-centric investment business that focus on growth and continuous improvement. In this episode, Mason talks about how he was attracted to the Texas Vine Country, the effects of soil and weather on the growth of grapes, other regions in the world that produces wine and, the typical life cycle of grapes. Tune in to learn more about growing grapes, identifying a business gap and, transforming an idea into a business.
Timestamps
[02:37] Mason Moreland’s background
[05:01] Mason Moreland’s attraction to the Texas Vine Country
[07:19] Climate, soil and, other conditions that affect the growth of grapes
[09:35] Other regions in the world that produce wine
[11:29] Texas Vine Country investment thesis
[16:04] Has wine seen the same major uptake in the market prices that so many other markets have seen?
[22:02] Those who are not profiled for the wine investment
[24:42] Mason Moreland’s personal information
[27:07] Identifying a business gap and transforming an idea into a business
[29:40] Mason Moreland’s entrepreneurial journey
[35:49] Water consumption for the vineyard fields
[38:10] The life cycle of grapes
[43:56] The effects of fire and smoke on the wine production in California
[48:32] Mason Moreland’s closing thoughts
Notable from the episode:
- Texas has a long history in the wine industry. It never took off a large commercial scale until the last 20 years.
- Grapes don’t like to be wet all the time. They want to have rain then stay dry. So, if you have wet grapes all the time, it promotes fungal diseases, which are a big issue.
- Within the US, Texas is the fifth-largest wine production state.
- The wine production is not for someone who wants hyper liquid investments because it takes five years for grapes to get to full production.
- Once you realize that there is a lot of value in what you can provide to people, you can build a business out of it.
Connect with Mason Moreland:
Website: https://www.texasvinecountry.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mason-moreland/
About the show
On Coffee & Liquidity, our mission is to give some perspective and context to those that may not have the tools at their disposal, whether income or acumen, to become a full-time entrepreneur but can still leverage their networks, etc., to build passive revenue streams or wealth in other ways. The American dream can be reached through multiple paths. It’s time we talk about it!
Please subscribe to the podcast and drop us a five-star review. We appreciate you, and your support enables us to keep bringing you the goods on the show!