Codie A. Sanchez

Contrarian Thinking

Opportunity is found in the disconnect between narrative and the truth. 
CT is where hundreds of thousands of investors, entrepreneurs and contrarians come to learn about unconventional ways to diversify income, generate wealth and increase their profits. 

Join here → https://contrarianthinking.co

Founder - Investor - Writer

Unconventional Acquisitions

We buy, sell and invest in small businesses and teach others how to get into the ownership seat.

Co-Founder

Entourage Effect Capital

EEC Advisory Board Member

Board Member EEC Portfolio Company Arcview Capital

EEC is one of the first Growth Equity firms in the cannabis industry, we’ve invested $150 million in cannabis since 2014

Managing Director - Partner

First Trust

I head the Latin America & US Offshore Investment Business, providing investments and market strategy to enable some of the worlds leading pensions, institutions and advisors to reach their investment goals.  We've built a business from the ground up, to one of the fastest growing firms in LatAm.

Head of Latin America Investments

State Street

Worked in Latin America and the US with Fortune 500 Companies, pensions, sovereign wealth funds, central banks, endowments, and foundations to manage their investment portfolios. We navigated some treacherous regulations and industry changes to raise billions in previously uncovered markets.

Director Institutional Sales

Goldman Sachs

Investment Associate

Vanguard

ETF Consultant & Distribution Specialist

The Arizona Republic

In-depth Investigative Reporter Mexico

Investing millions in Main St businesses & teaching you how to own the rest | HoldCo, VC fund, Founder

On a mission to create financially free and free-thinking humans.

I founded a media company called Contrarian Thinking that teaches people to think critically and cashflow unconventionally with boring businesses.

Our newsletter has over 500,000 weekly readers, here: http://contrarianthinking.co/join.

Our community has taught 2,000+ members biz buying, biz growing, and doing deals. 

This is how I got here:

• Got my degree in PR & Journalism from ASU's Honors School (honored to be partying mostly); MBA from Georgetown University; Ph.D. from Fundacao Gestulio Vargas.

• Started as a journalist at the Mexico border. I witnessed horrors there that made me realize money = power to change the world. I wanted to speak the language of freedom ($$), so I went to finance.

• Joined Vanguard ETFs in 2008 (wild timing). Then: Goldman Sachs→ SSGA → LatAm investments for First Trust → MD/Partner at the largest cannabis private equity firms.

Then, candidly, I got tired of the rules and trappings of the traditional finance world. I went a little rogue, and not everyone always liked that.

Now, I value experience over degrees.
Betting on myself over making $$$ for other people.
Main Street over Wall Street.

My mission is less suits, more boots. Meaning: we the people holding the power… and the purse strings.

🔗Join 500,000+ others who get our free newsletter: https://contrarianthinking.biz/li
🔗YouTube: @CodieSanchezCT
🔗Instagram: @codiesanchez
🔗Twitter: @Codie_Sanchez
🔗Learn how to buy a business (& get support doing it): contrarianthinking.co/our-courses
🔗Weekly Boring Business Brief: contrarianthinking.co/bbb

Founder

We help free minds and build bank accounts.

Let them hate you.

Let no desire to be loved stop you.

Let no focus on likability dissuade you.

You are not here to be liked, but to create that thing inside you no other can.

You are not here to make others comfortable, but to make the world a better place.

Stand in the truth of what your two hands have toiled for. Actions scream, words whimper.

While those who have known you as "quiet" try to push your voice back inside, remember: you playing small serves no one.

Who cares if they hate you?

Grow anyway.

You are not everyone’s cup of tea.

That’s good.

If this resonated, you should stick around. Feel free to follow me Codie A. Sanchez

3 harsh truths I've been thinking about a lot lately... 
 
1. Most successful people I've met aren't that smart. They move fast, they take risk, they work a lot. That's it. 
 
2. The world is run by C students & failed employees. You can't underestimate yourself. 
 
3. Managing what you choose to sell, do and focus on is more important than how hard you work or how smart you are. 
 
Example: 
 
You can, for the next 40 years: 
• Climb up the corporate ladder 
• Grind for a mission you don't believe in 
• Spend 50hrs/wk+ away from your family 
 
All for a 401k and a white picket fence at the end to show for it. 
 
OR 
 
You can learn how to buy a business and: 
• Own a cashflowing biz in your community 
• Touch your work with your own two hands 
• Disconnect your money from your time 
• Spend more time on the things that matter 
• Become one of the few... an Owner. 
 
Ownership is not for everyone. 
 
But it could be for you.

I'm hosting a Masterclass next week for you to check it out, completely free.

All I need from you is 60 minutes and a little creativity about your future.

I'll go over:
• How you find a business
• How to tell if a business is good
• How you know which one is right for you

Save your spot here → https://lnkd.in/efY8vM-j

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3 more harsh truths about success: 
 
• You only have to be right ONCE. One big right move can erase a lifetime of wrong ones. 
 
• You can't be upset at the results you’re not getting from the actions you’re not taking. 
 
• The successful don't wait for someone to come save them. You want a better life, go build it. 
 
If you needed to hear this today, feel free to share for next person who needs it ♻️

Andrew Sridhar

I don’t want to be liked.  
I want to be so good, I’m respected.  
  
Repeat that to yourself when it gets hard and the hard requires toughness.  
  
Don’t be easy and likable.  
  
Be righteous in what you do and believe. Don’t be less for other people.  
Don’t let them bend you or break you.  
  
Don’t be a doormat walked upon, be a pointed nail...  
  
One that holds things together and one that others would never tread on.

Winning requires reps.

There's only 1 way to compensate for lack of skill:

Volume.

Talent is a bit of a myth.

Everything you are now good at, you were once bad at.

The difference is, you did it.

You went to bat.

Over and over.

Until you hit the home run.

Put in the reps at smaller weights → you’ll be ready lift the big ones when the time comes.

↓

You follow 100 accounts, only 1 changes your business and your life. Could this be the one? 😉 → follow Codie A. Sanchez

How we actually measure time:

↓ ↓ ↓

If this was some perspective you needed today, feel free to share for others to find♻️

Times vs Years

Story from my dad today.  
  
If you’re a business owner, it may hit you as deeply as it hit me...  
  
He said, you know you’ve met another builder or doer when they’ve felt that flinch at the second Friday of the month.  
  
My father has never bounced a check.  
  
But he remembers this...  
  
It was payday, his business was owed money, and they couldn’t bridge the gap between the two in time.  
  
He could just picture the guys’ faces.  
  
Those last two workers, who had done more than anyone else, stayed later than anyone else…  
  
And they were about to be punished for that by not getting paid.  
  
So he called up his banker, told him he needed a line of credit, and pulled out $100,000 give or take to make sure that every single one of their checks cleared.  
  
At the time, my dad had a business partner who was a different type of guy.  
  
He was the sort to make excuses, pay himself first, and not particularly care if everyone else’s checks cleared as long as he got his.  
  
That partner has since had many businesses fail - and many more employees go without a paycheck.  
  
And my dad has never in all these years had a business fail, or lost anyone a dime.  
  
He often attributes his business success to the fact that he would never let his hardest working guys go hungry...  
  
People will always be your biggest struggle and your greatest gift in business. Treat ‘em right.

↓ ↓ ↓

You’ll always recognize another builder.

But if you see yourself in this story a little TOO much, it might be time for cashflow tracking.

This one spreadsheet has saved my a** countless times to meet payroll comfortably every month. Get it here free →

https://lnkd.in/gtMPAuB8

MBA grads are skipping the building part and going straight to CEO. 
 
While in 2016, roughly 20-30% of MBA grads founded their own startup. 
 
Here's their new strategy: 
 
(*spoiler: you don't need an MBA to do it) 
 
The path for ambitious MBAs is changing... 
• Old way: Launch a startup, beg VCs for money, burn through it before you profit 
• New way: Pitch yourself as the CEO, buy a biz, then use cashflow to scale 
 
It's less sexy. But damn if it works... 
 
It’s called a search fund. The idea is simple: 
• Raise $ from investors 
• Use it to find a business to buy 
• Buy & run the business 
 
It is kinda like a startup. But you skip that risky part where you build from scratch. 
 
And this trend is just revving up. 
 
In 2023, a record 94 search funds launched. 
 
That's more people buying businesses than ever before. 
 
Why the surge? Let's dig into the data (from a brand new 2024 Stanford study): 
 
Of all search funds: 
• 63% successfully buy a business 
• 37% come up empty-handed 
 
But for those who land a deal? Returns are all over the map... But around 27% see 1-2x their investments and some even go beyond 10x returns. 
 
For context: 
• S&P 500’s average yearly return is ~10% 
• Search funds hover around 33-35% 
 
Business buying is crushing the investment game. 
 
But you're probably now thinking: 
 
"Cool story Codie, but I don't want an MBA and I can’t raise millions to do this.” 
 
But here's what most people don't realize:  
 
You don't need an MBA to do this. 
 
And you don't even need investors. 
 
In fact, you could be better off WITHOUT both those things.  
 
But if the average, MBA-less person can buy businesses... 
 
Why don't they? 
 
Because it's hard. 
 
If you buy a business, you have to:  
• Source the biz 
• Value it accurately 
• Decide if it's right for you 
• Secure financing 
 
...and that's all BEFORE due diligence & negotiations. 
 
I think finding a business to buy should be about 100x easier than it currently is. 
 
And I believe it can be. 
 
So. I'm building the solution to do it. 
 
The goal is to help future owners go from... 
 
"I never knew this was possible" → "I just bought my first business."

Official launch is coming, but be the first to hear about it here:
https://lnkd.in/eHwd3tXr

graphical user interface, text, application

Our generation NEEDS to do hard things. 
 
Here’s exactly why: 
 
• There’s 333 million Americans 
• 1 in 10 own a business 
• But 77% owners are OVER the age of 45 
 
It’s time for the next generation to step up. 
 
They say 10,000 boomers retire a day, which means: 
 
- Someone needs to run those businesses 
- But the majority of kids DO NOT want to take over the family biz 
- So there’s more opportunity than ever for buyers 
 
Small businesses have 3 potential fates once their owner is ready to move on: 
 
1. They shut down. 
2. They’re bought up by institutions and corporations. 
3. OR people like you from your community step up and keep Main Street local. 
 
Problem is... 
 
Most people have no clue how to buy a small business. Or why they should, or if they should, or where to find the right one for them. 
 
But my mission is to build a nation of owners. To teach this from the ground up. 
 
Even if it takes a little bullying ;)

So…

If you’ve read this far, I have something special for you:

I’m hosting a live Masterclass walking through how to find & evaluate businesses, structure deals, and avoid the biggest mistakes. Free to attend, Q&A with me after

Save your spot & find more details here → https://lnkd.in/eBVWDG67

A strong marriage is a superpower for my business.  
  
Our list of (surprising) things that make our relationship stronger:  
  
- King beds, never queen beds  
- A pact to ALWAYS Irish exit together  
- Earplugs  
- No computers in the bedroom... ever  
- You’re either on your phone or having a convo, never both  
- Never force either spouse to cook  
- Travel packing lists, and actually use them  
- For god's sake someone check the forecast  
- Go to the gym → together  
- Headphones, buy them like candy  
- Multiple iPhone chargers  
- Never ever TV during dinner  
- Thou shall not commit cine-adultry  
- Grocery store flowers, often  
- Learning breathwork (kills fights)  
- Taking a pause before walking through the door from work, shift that energy  
- 4 pillows per person per bed (forts, right?)  
- Pillow presents (every time you see a lil something inexpensive your partner would like, buy it, write a lil note, then leave it on their pillow) 
  
Hit me with your relationship hacks👇

Stop making other people rich. 
 
Do you know how the really rich do it? (Hint: It's not just by earning a salary.) 
 
If you want to know how the wealthy play this game, read this... 
 
You simply don't get REALLY rich from a salary. 
 
Even the highest-paid employees aren't truly "wealthy." 
 
Let's look at some top CEO salaries: 
• Tim Cook (Apple): $3M salary 
• Sundar Pichai (Google): $2M salary 
• Jamie Dimon (JPMorgan Chase): $1.5M 
 
Sounds like a lot, right? 
 
But then check out the attached chart... As you can see, these CEOs make WAY more than that. 
 
Plus, look at their net worth: 
• Cook's = $2.2 billion. 
• Pichai’s = $1.3 billion. 
• Dimon's = $2.3 billion. 
 
They didn’t hit this level with a paycheck.  
 
They did it through ownership. 
 
Now, let's consider your typical 9-5 job: 
• Fixed hours 
• Limited vacation 
• Boss breathing down your neck 
• Capped earnings 
 
It's "stable," but at what cost?  
 
For every dollar you make your company, you keep a fraction. 
 
The rest? It hits someone else's wallet. 
 
But this isn’t about vilifying your CEO. It's about understanding that they’re playing a completely different game. 
 
A game you can play too... And honestly, wouldn't you rather join a game that rewards winning?  
 
Of course, owning a business has its challenges: 
• Long hours 
• Stress 
• Risk 
 
But honestly? If ownership is for you, these "cons" are just pros in disguise: 
• Long hours = building something real that's YOURS 
• Stress = personal growth 
• Risk = potential for massive rewards 
 
Plus, you're in control. Your livelihood is no longer collateral damage due to budget cuts, or "restructuring"... 
 
Consider recent layoffs. 
 
A member of my business-buying community works at Intuit. The day 1,800 of his coworkers were laid off, he wrote: 
 
"I made it through this round of layoffs but all I could think about today is getting the f!*# out of this W2 rat race.  
 
"It's either fit the mold or realize you could be next. ... I'm looking to acquire a business and gain control of my future." 
 
Here's the bottom line: 
 
If you want financial freedom, a salary alone won't get you there. 
 
Skin in the game will. 
 
So, what can you DO to get ownership? 
 
1. Get equity at your current company. 
2. If you can't do that, go somewhere that WILL give you equity for your expertise. 
3. If you can't do that, buy your own. 
 
It's time to stop working for someone else's dreams. 
 
Start building your own. 
 
I'm working on something behind the scenes that will completely transform the process of buying a small business. 
 
Hear about it first here: 
https://lnkd.in/eHwd3tXr

My advice to most:

Don't start, buy.

Entrepreneurship is incredibly hard.
• Failure rate: 90%
• Avg salary: $46k

Instead, go buy a profitable business using SBA loans like a mortgage.

Best way to learn biz? Be in business.
Fastest way to own a profitable biz? Buy.

Greatest tool for buying biz's?

I'm announcing it tomorrow. We've been building behind the scenes. I've invested millions of my own $ into it. I believe it will change the landscape of SMB acquisitions.

Follow me if you're not already so you don't miss it → Codie A. Sanchez

Waking up at 5:45am solves 99.9% of daily issues.  
  
12 other unreasonably simple habits to change your life:  
  
1. Grab your to-do list. Do the thing you want to do least, first.  
  
2. Stop all 60 min meetings, make them 45 minutes. Tighter meetings, more time.  
  
3. No social media, email, or text when you wake up. Write something, read something, or create something before you get sucked in.  
  
4. Do the $1,000/hr Test. Group work in 3 buckets based on return: $10, $100, $1,000. Offload one low ROI task per day.  
  
5. Change one meeting a week to a walking call. Watch how excited the other meeting member becomes.  
  
6. Add a How vs Won't check-in. When you say, "that WON'T work." Instead ask, "How could that work?"  
  
7. Be the dumbest one in your friend group, then move on when you’re not. As they say, if you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.  
  
8. Take a picture of your net worth. What gets measured gets managed. Check finances daily.  
  
9. Always the stairs, never the elevator. Pick the hard option. See how much stronger you are than you think.  
  
10. Never write to-dos in stone. You're 10x more productive if you reprioritize daily.  
  
11. Meditate. 10 minutes a day. For a twofer - do it in the sauna. Sometimes hacking culture gets it right.  
  
12. Get intimidated. Everything you want is on the other side of fear. Do something every day that scares you a little bit.  
  
Life is the small things repeated daily.  
  
Change one daily habit, and beautiful things start to happen...  
  
So pick one.

↓ ↓ ↓

If you need more high-leverage habits, frameworks, and general kicks in the a**... you might like my newsletter → https://lnkd.in/e-ZR_W_8

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