Building Cryptocurrency Companies, Racing a Moto-Taxi Down the World's Most Dangerous Road, and Becoming Thailand's Fittest Man with Ben Lakoff (Ep 30)

Learn how work ethic, cash-flow discipline, hiring, and remote teams can turn an entrepreneurial leap into real scale. ============================ Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds. ============================ ON THIS EPISODE Ben Lakoff takes us on his journey of becoming a Division 1 Golfer, getting into corporate finance, and then becoming an entrepreneur and helping build one of Thailand’s most popular Cryptocurrency exchanges. He shares his experience helping to raise $2 million dollars through an ICO (Initial Coin Offering), and becoming the CEO of Intelligent Trading Foundation which develops sophisticated tools for cryptocurrency investors. He then shares insights on making the entrepreneurial leap, the work ethic required to build a start-up, cash-flow management strategies, scaling and hiring, and tips for communicating with and managing a distributed team. He also talks about being an angel investor, how he evaluates investment opportunities and the most important thing for him to invest in a company. He then explains his overall personal investment portfolio strategy, including alternative investments like Indie-films, and what he sees for the future of cryptocurrency. He also talks about becoming an Under Armor sponsored athlete and being named “Thailand’s Fittest Man”. Ben then shares his experiences traveling to over 60 countries and living outside the U.S. for 8 of the last 10 years. He tells stories about hiking the Himalayas to Mt. Everest base camp, scuba diving around Komodo Island (Home of the Komodo Dragons) in Indonesia, Racing a Moto-Taxi down the World’s Most Dangerous Road in Bolivia, and participating in the “Running of the Bulls” in Pamplona, Spain. He also gives his tips for staying fit while traveling the world, reducing stress and optimizing productivity. → Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here. ============================ FIND YOUR NEXT EPISODE Explore The Maverick Show Starter Packs — some of my favorite conversations curated by theme so you can easily find the episodes that match your interests. ============================ FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU See my Top 10 Travel Apps See my Top 10 Books that Shaped the Way I Travel See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual) Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use) ============================ ENJOYING THE SHOW? Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally Support the show by buying me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes!