Building Beats Investing

Sam Parr expresses frustration with purely financial investing, believing it lacks meaning compared to building real value through companies and helping people. He sees a disconnect between financial optimization and making meaningful impact in the world.

• Financial Arbitrage is Unfulfilling:

  • Tired of discussions about "carry fees" and optimizing returns
  • Views pure financial plays as "soulless" and "boring"
  • Dislikes investments that are just "things on a spreadsheet"

• Meaningful Impact Matters More:

  • Wants to focus on making regular people's lives better
  • More interested in solving real problems (like helping a mother make better choices for her child)
  • Believes wealthy people should do "something cool and meaningful" rather than just optimize returns

• Critique of Pure Financial Focus:

  • Sees shows like "Billions" as glamorizing meaningless financial optimization
  • Criticizes wealthy people who just "hawk shit" through websites
  • Dislikes mechanical investment approaches that only look at metrics and "check boxes"

• Perspective on Capital Deployment:

  • Prefers starting companies (even if not running them) over passive investing
  • Acknowledges investing isn't inherently bad, but the mental energy spent on financial optimization is wasteful
  • Believes those who already have wealth should focus on impact over returns

• Personal Evolution:

  • Recently reached a breaking point with traditional investing mindset
  • Wants to "get out of this financial arbitrage circle jerk"
  • Seeks to make a difference and have an "exciting wonderful life" while helping others