A T SOME POINT IN HIS CAREER, Philanthroin - vestors ® founder Ivan Anz realized he was just “investing money for money.” It wasn’t always like that, however. Anz had an entrepreneurial spirit long before he created Philanthroinvestors, which combines traditional venture capital financing with philanthropic principles to achieve social impact. He started his first venture at seven years old, when he leased his go-kart to the children in his neighborhood. Anz fol - lowed that by buying candy and selling them at a profit. “It was nice to get experience being an executive, even at seven years old,” Anz said. “I created my first business and the first thing I did was give a job to someone else. That’s the job of an executive and an entrepreneur.” That mentality started to slip away in 2009 when Anz entered the specu -
lative investment world. He’d created four businesses and started to use the profits to make investments. It didn’t take long for Anz to feel like he wasn’t an entrepreneur anymore. Suddenly, his focus was on taking money, turn - ing it into more money so he could buy high-priced items like sports cars and mansions. “The reality was I went from being involved with my team, clients and real life to being a guy meeting once a month with my (companies’) CEOs,” Anz said. “I was the guy behind a computer, buying and selling things. As the numbers went up and down, I felt depressed.” Even turning $30,000 into $238,000 in a six-month span couldn’t help lift Anz’s spirits. He still felt unfulfilled and that his work lacked purpose. It’s perhaps no surprise that the $238,000 Anz created became $7,000 in three weeks.
“Lacking purpose gives you a lack of engagement,” Anz said. “When you have less engagement, you have less control and you put the responsibility in other people’s hands without taking any. Then you have the possibility to lose it all, and that’s exactly what happened.” The dramatic financial loss led to a personality change in Anz. He became angrier and realized he wasn’t him- self anymore; he was merely a guy who was too focused on money. “When that happened, I realized I needed to create something good,” Anz said. “Something that would take the entrepreneur and the investor out of the sensation of money for money.” APHILANTHROINVESTOR ® IS BORN Anz’s initial step away from the “money for money” investment model took him toward real estate. He tried to buy lots in Argentina for $20,000, develop them and sell them for $50,000. He wasn’t having much luck selling lots and saw his funds shrink- ing again, which started to bring his mood back down; he also felt the “money for money” mindset creeping up again. Just as Anz realized he had to do something different, he met a family and things changed for him. The family lived in the neighbor - hood where one of Anz’s lots was, and children expressed to their father that they wanted to live there. When the father told Anz he couldn’t afford the place, he suddenly found his calling. “I said, ‘you know what? This is it, this is what I want to do with my life,’” Anz said. “I want to help peo - ple accomplish what they otherwise would never be able to.” For the first time, Anz had an opportunity to make an investment with a goal of more than just making money. Sure, he would get a return,
16 | think realty magazine :: january 2021
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