SRB Ventures

SRB Ventures is an investment firm committed to investing in and accelerating the most compelling startups in the world. Fund I is a $10 million stage and sector-agnostic vehicle writing $100-250K checks into high-growth technology companies around the world.

Managing Partner

Penguin Random House

Forthcoming non-fiction book on the topic of wealth—redefining it in a more comprehensive way and providing a framework and tactical guide for assessing your priorities and building a fulfilling, wealthy life.

Author

Sahil Bloom Holdings

Sahil Bloom Holdings is a personal holding company currently comprised of six cash flowing business assets.

Owner

The Curiosity Chronicle

The Curiosity Chronicle is a 2x weekly newsletter where I provide actionable ideas to help build a high-performing, healthy, wealthy life to a global community of 225,000+.

Writer

Altamont Capital Partners

Advisor

Vice President

Senior Associate

Associate

Analyst

Brixton

Board Member

INTERMIX

Fox Racing

Exploring my curiosity and sharing what I learn along the way.

Every week, I create content that reaches over 1 million people around the world across Twitter (@SahilBloom), a newsletter (The Curiosity Chronicle), LinkedIn, Instagram, and more.

I am Managing Partner of SRB Ventures, an investment firm committed to investing in and accelerating the most compelling startups in the world. Fund I is a $10 million stage and sector-agnostic vehicle writing $100-250K checks into high-growth technology companies globally. Prior to launching the firm in January 2022, I was an early stage investor in 40+ startups across the technology landscape, including multiple unicorns.

I am writing a forthcoming non-fiction book with Penguin Random House on the topic of wealth—redefining it in a more comprehensive way and providing a framework and tactical guide for assessing your priorities and building a fulfilling, wealthy life.

I am the owner and operator of a personal holding company comprised of five cash flowing business assets.

I was previously a Vice President and Advisor at Altamont Capital Partners, a generalist investment fund with over $3.5 billion in capital under management, focused on control investments in middle market companies. While at Altamont, I served as a board member at several Altamont portfolio companies, including Fox Racing, Intermix, and Brixton.

I graduated from Stanford University with an M.A. in Public Policy (2014) and a B.A. in Economics & Sociology (2013). While at Stanford, I was a four-year member on the Stanford Baseball Team (2009-2013), twice helping to guide the team to NCAA Super Regional appearances (top-16 finishes). Additionally, I earned two PAC-12 All-Academic Team awards, and twice received the Bruce R. Cameron Memorial Award, given annually to a student-athlete exhibiting excellence in athletics, academics, and leadership. Academically, I was advised in my pursuits by former Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice.

Reminder: Forcing humans to sit still all day is foolish. Recess is sacred—for children and adults alike!

This brain scan is from a study where researchers studied the effects of a 20-minute walk on the cognitive performance of a group of children. Reading comprehension performance was significantly better after exercise. Spelling and arithmetic performance were better, though the results were not statistically significant.

Researchers concluded:

“Single, acute bouts of moderately-intense aerobic exercise (i.e., walking) may improve the cognitive control of attention…and further supports the use of moderate acute exercise as a contributing factor for increasing attention and academic performance.”

A simple challenge for all of you: This weekend, go for a 30-minute tech-free walk.

• No phone
• No music
• No podcasts
• No articles
• No audiobooks

Just you, your thoughts, your gratitude, and the fresh air. A simple reset that will change your life. I guarantee it.

***

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Sahil Bloom

A cheat code I wish I could teach my 18-year-old self...

The 4 Types of Luck:

In 1978, neurologist Dr. James Austin published a book entitled Chase, Chance, & Creativity: The Lucky Art of Novelty.

He proposed that there are 4 types of luck:

(1) Blind Luck
(2) Luck from Motion
(3) Luck from Awareness
(4) Luck from Uniqueness

I think of Type 1-3 as coming in stages as you grow up:

• Type 1 dictates the early years of your life.
• Type 2 comes into play as you begin to hustle in your 20s.
• Type 3 sets in as you develop experience in your 30s.

Type 4 is unique—it’s dislocated from age dependency.

***

Incredible discussion with my man Raj Shamani. Check out the full episode of his Figuring Out podcast for more!

Life "cheat codes" everyone should know:

1. When you think something nice about someone, let them know right then.

2. Never think twice about investments in yourself. They pay dividends for a long time.

3. Put your alarm clock in the bathroom. If you have to get up to turn it off, you won't snooze.

4. If you want to get better at anything, do it for 30 minutes per day for 30 straight days.

5. Hire a writer to document your parents' childhood stories. Print it with old photos.

6. Write down three things you’re grateful for before bed. Read them out loud when you wake up.

7. Go for a 15 minute walk every morning. It has a positive impact on your mood, sleep, metabolism, digestion, and more.

8. Always pursue the path that has the larger luck surface area.

9. Tell your partner one thing you appreciate about them every single day.

10. Do a few things that you'll be excited to tell your kids about someday. Create stories worth telling.

11. Spend 15 minutes every evening preparing for your first focus tasks the next morning.

12. If someone tries to put down your accomplishments, cut them out of your life.

13. Take yourself out for a meal alone once each month. It’s insanely freeing—a meditative experience.

14. When you're starting your career, swallow the frog for your boss to get ahead. Observe your boss, figure out what they hate doing, and take it off their plate. Easy win.

15. When someone is going through hell, just say "I’m with you." Advice is minimally impactful. The notion that someone is with you is 10x more powerful.

16. If someone regularly brags about their wealth, income, or success, just assume the reality is about 50% of what they say.

17. Reread your favorite books annually. You may read thousands of books in your life, but there will only be a few that deeply change you.

18. Never delay difficult conversations. If you're nervous, do it on a walk, it makes it much easier.

19. Do the "old fashioned" things well. Look people in the eye, have a firm handshake, and always stay true to your word.

20. If you're about to say yes to something on the assumption that you'll have more time for it in the future, say no instead.

21. Give people a second chance, but never a third.

22. If you want something—and have put in the work to deserve it—ask for it.

23. Never take advice from people on the sidelines.

24. Learn one dance move that you can reliably bust out when you inevitably get pushed into the center of a dance circle at a wedding or event.

25. Be bored for at least 15 minutes per day. Boredom unlocks creativity.

26. Invest in personalized stationery and use it regularly.

27. Spend more time doing things you never regret.

28. Make decisions that your 80-year-old self and 10-year-old self would be proud of.

29. Do one hard thing every day when you could do it the easy way.

30. Be interested in everyone you encounter.

***

What “cheat codes” would you add to the list?

I made a list of 10 things I know I’d regret on my deathbed.

Here’s my list (and why everyone should make one):

1. Not spending enough time with my kids during the magic years.

There's a devastatingly short window of time during which you are your child's entire world. After it, they have friends/partners that fill that role.

I refuse to miss those precious years.

2. Not spending enough time with my parents during their remaining years.

The time we have with our parents is limited—the vast majority of it behind you by the time you leave school.

I won't hide from the scary math—I will prioritize this special time with them.

3. Not training my body and mind during my middle years.

It's easy to let other priorities step in front of your physical and mental health in your middle years. But if you stop training body/mind, they will fail you in your later years.

I will prioritize it.

4. Allowing true friendships to atrophy over time.

It's easy to let these friendships wither—distance and life make get togethers harder.

I will be the friend who checks in and plans the gatherings to keep them thriving.

5. Allowing negativity to linger in my life.

Negativity is a black hole—it sucks the happiness from your universe.

I will confront it and ruthlessly eliminate it.

6. Letting money control my life.

There are very few things in the world I find as sad as the "rich-yet-miserable" existence.

I will place family and my core values ahead of money.

7. Not leaving something that lasts beyond my life.

Your children and grandchildren will remember you, but your great-grandchildren probably won't.

I will strive to leave a mark on the lives of those less fortunate than I was.

8. Wasting precious time stressing about stupid little things.

If you get absorbed by every little stress, life takes on a sad dullness.

I will handle real stressors and "opt out" of stupid stress.

9. Not working on things I consider meaningful.

We get one chance, so why use our precious mental energy on things that feel small.

I will make sure I work on meaningful projects.

10. Allowing my quest for more to distract me from the beauty of enough.

True wealth is found not in attaining more, but in discovering your version of enough.

I will always be grounded by my enough.

***

Those were the 10 things I know I'd regret on my deathbed—and my plans for how to live to avoid them.

I conducted this exercise to clarify my core values and design my life in a way that would minimize my regrets in the end.

I think everyone should go through this exercise…

The questions to ask yourself:

What are the things you know you'd regret on your deathbed?

If you continue on your current path, will you have those regrets?

If so, what changes need to be made to avoid them?

How can you design your life to avoid those regrets?

The Harvard Study of Adult Development found that the single most important predictor of physical health at age 80 was relationship satisfaction at age 50.

The strength of our relationships makes (or breaks) our health.

What an incredibly powerful insight to internalize!

Feeling stuck? Go for a walk.

There is no mental block strong enough to outlast the power of a 30-minute walk.

We really need to normalize boredom.

Some of your most creative moments come during periods of boredom.

On a walk, in the shower, or at dinner by yourself.

You’re bored, your mind wanders, your thoughts mingle. Bam! Creative insight strikes.

Schedule boredom into your weeks.

***

Join 275,000+ others who receive the 2x weekly newsletter, where I provide actionable ideas to help you build a high-performing, healthy, wealthy life: https://lnkd.in/esGsF85Q

I can’t stop laughing at this…

We’ve all been there!

Critical macro skill to develop early in your career: Storytelling.

World-changing CEOs and leaders aren't the smartest or most talented in their organizations.

They are exceptional at:

• Aggregating data
• Communicating it simply & effectively

Data in, story out.

If you build that skill, you'll always be valuable.

When we embrace voluntary struggle, we prepare ourselves for the involuntary struggles of life.

Feasting on the chaos of voluntary struggle in my cold plunge this morning in New York.

🥶🥶🥶

In high school I was trying to flirt with a girl in the computer lab.

It was her birthday.

I extend my hand to give her a high five/hand hold hybrid deal.

She stares and goes, “Is that a high five?”

I say, “Um ya.”

She taps it and walks out.

That girl is now my wife.

***

Moral of the Story: Do the super embarrassing stuff early in your relationship. If the person still likes you, it might just be meant to be!

P.S. I’ll write a piece on how to high five your way to love soon 😂

If you want to perform better under pressure, you must understand this:

The Yerkes-Dodson Law is a simple model of the relationship between performance and stress. It says that stress and performance are positively correlated, but only up to a certain point, after which more stress reduces performance.

Anecdotally, this probably checks out for most people:

We like to procrastinate a bit on big projects or tasks. The pressure of the deadline gets us into a focused state that pushes us through to the finish. If we procrastinate too much, the pressure becomes overwhelming and our performance suffers as the deadline approaches.

There are effectively three states of stress to be aware of:

Low Stress: This is a state of low arousal. This state is necessary for recovery, but it is generally not conducive to performance. Working on important tasks while in this state is not ideal.

Optimal Stress: This is the optimal state of arousal. It's the "Goldilocks" level—not too hot, not too cold, just right. When you're in this state, you are well-positioned to work on important tasks.

High Stress: This is a state of high arousal. This is typically where we see a biological fight-or-flight response kick in. It may lead to a complete shutdown from system overload. Working on important tasks while in this state is not ideal.

There are countless examples of athletes who seem to rise to the occasion in the biggest moments—Michael Jordan, Serena Williams, and Tiger Woods come to mind.

There are genetic factors at play, but you can also train yourself to handle and manage stress more efficiently (shift the apex of your curve to the right):

Place yourself into controlled stressful environments and work on managing your mental and physical faculties.

Example: Get into a cold shower or ice bath and see if you can focus and perform a mental task (simple math, reciting a poem, etc.) for a fixed period of time.

This type of training may flatten the right side of your curve—slow the decay in your performance—enabling you to perform in a wider variety of situations.

Learning to manage stress is the first step.

Learning to wield it as a weapon in your personal arsenal is the next step.

***

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This is beautiful.

A wonderful lesson for all of us to embrace: Make the ordinary come alive. The extraordinary will take care of itself.

Listening to audiobooks on 2.5x speed so that you can flex on reading 100 books per year is foolish.

We should all stop talking about how many books we read.

It's much more impressive to read one book and have it deeply impact you than to read 100 books and not feel a thing.

Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I try to remind myself: No one has any idea what the hell they’re doing.

Some people are just better at putting on a brave face and marching forward into the unknown.

***

Join nearly 300,000 others who receive these insights in my 2x weekly newsletter, where I provide actionable ideas to help you build a high-performing, healthy, wealthy life: https://lnkd.in/esGsF85Q

The days are long but the years are short.

Don’t blink.

Focusing on 10 things is really just focusing on nothing.

Identify your “most important thing” and make sure you’re committing the necessary time and energy towards it.

Focus is a superpower.

I recently came across a short story that forced me to rethink my life, priorities, and regrets: The Parable of the Farmer and the Horse.

Here are the two lessons everyone needs to hear:

***

There was a farmer in a small village with a single horse who helped him earn a living for his family. The other villagers constantly told the farmer how lucky he was to have such a great horse.

”Maybe,” he would reply.

One day, the horse ran away. The villagers came to the farmer to express their sympathies.

”Your horse ran away. How unfortunate!“ the villagers exclaimed.

”Maybe,” the farmer replied.

A few days later, the horse returned home, with ten strong wild horses in tow.

”What good fortune. What incredible luck,” the villagers crowed.

”Maybe,” the farmer again replied.

The following week, the farmer’s son was riding one of the wild horses in the fields, when it kicked him off and broke his leg. The villagers arrived to express their dismay.

”What dismal luck,” they said.

”Maybe,” the farmer replied.

The next month, a military officer marched into the village, recruiting able-bodied young men for the war. The farmer’s son, with his broken leg, was left behind.

The villagers were joyful, “Your son has been spared. What beautiful luck!”

The farmer simply smiled.

”Maybe.”

***

Lesson 1: Everything is Cyclical

Seeds of destruction are sown during creation. Seeds of creation are sown during destruction. When times are bright, enjoy, but know the dark will come. When times are dark, adjust your eyes, and remember the seeds of light are being sown.

Lesson 2: Dispel the Narratives

The farmer separates story from reality. He allows space for the events to just exist, to be neither good nor bad—to just be. Events of your life needn't be judged. The wisest among us allow events to exist without applying a narrative layer.

***

The Paradox of Change says that the only constant in life is change. Entropy is reality. It’s the one thing you can always count on—the only constant.

The Parable of the Farmer and the Horse teaches us to embrace chaos—to be dynamic, to flow with it, and to avoid judging it.

So as you go through life, remember these two lessons:

1. Everything is Cyclical: Seeds of destruction are sown during creation. Seeds of creation are sown during destruction.

2. Dispel the Narratives: Allow events to simply exist.

Thrilled to be working with a group of friends (who also happen to be incredible investors and operators) to launch Seed Checks.

It's probably the simplest way to get your startup deck in front of 13+ early stage, value add investors at once. No need for warm intro games or endless meetings to get in front of the right people.

With Seed Checks, your deck is quickly seen by the founders of Dropbox, Mercury, and Product Hunt, some of your favorite creators like The Chainsmokers, Shaan Puri, Julian Shapiro, Codie Sanchez, and Packy McCormick, and many more people I deeply admire.

For more, check it out: https://lnkd.in/eXicPnkJ

3 hard lessons for life (that we all need to learn):

(1) Stop chasing people who are running away.

(2) Stop trying to change people who don’t want to be changed.

(3) Stop allowing people to rob you of your peace of mind.

It may take years, but once you internalize these lessons, you’ll find yourself living a much healthier, wealthier life.

***

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As an extreme morning person, I get asked a lot about my morning routine.

Here it is:

4:30am: Wake up (quietly, so I don’t wake my wife and son). Get my blood flowing with my 5-5-5-30 technique of 5 push-ups, 5 squats, 5 lunges, and a 30-second plank. Drink 16oz water with AG1 and LMNT for hydration and some key nutrients.

4:45am: 3-7 minutes in the cold plunge at 39 degrees Fahrenheit. Natural energy rush, dopamine surge, a whole host of health benefits, and a winning feeling to start the day.

5:00am: Sit down at desk with cold brew coffee for deep work session. Focus is on “most important thing” (currently my book writing).

7:30am: Out the door for a 60-90 minute walk with my son. Fresh air, quiet, and father/son bonding make this my favorite part of the day.

***

Note: I am a rather extreme morning person.

I have always been able to wake up early and generally find my peak creative flow state comes right after I wake up. My routine and morning is tailored to that natural disposition.

I love the feeling of being able to knock out a few hours of deep work before my wife and son are awake—it allows me to prioritize time with them during the rest of the day.

This is just my routine. It works for me, but it’s certainly not for everybody! Find what works for you.

The best routine is the one you can stick to.

P.S. I go to bed at 8:30 (lol).

***

What does your morning routine look like? I’d love to see examples that work for other people.

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