There's a million newsletters about stocks, real estate and venture capital. This is about options that don't get talked about as much — with a focus on digital assets, websites and micro-businesses. There's a world of opportunity out there. Let's explore it!
Yo!
So, three months ago Melbourne entered the world's strictest lockdown and I started a weekly newsletter. (So original, I know!)
I'm now 13 issues in and it's going pretty well.
What are Alternative Assets?
An alternative asset is anything you can invest money into that produces a real, positive cash flow. It does not include the usual suspects (equities, bonds, etc.)
There’s a world of opportunity out there...
Here are some examples:
💻 Digital properties. From websites and domains, to SaaS & mobile apps. Early days of a tremendously exciting space led by Flippa and Empire Flippers. The cornerstone of digital acquisition entrepreneurship.
📦 Ecommerce, Dropshipping and FBA businesses. Thrasio is doing some really interesting stuff here.
💸 Equity crowdfunding. What Birchal and Equitise are doing.
🤝 P2P lending alternatives. Plenti lets you invest in Australian “green energy loans.”
🖼️ Art & collectibles. Masterworks is leading the way here.
🏎️ Classic cars. Rally lets you trade shares in classic cars.
📚 Amazon KDP. Kindle Direct Publishing is about as passive as you can get. Lots of eyeballs on this space lately.
📣 Social accounts. These have value, and are starting to catch the eye of savvy investors.
🏇 Racehorses. A fun side hobby with potentially big payouts.
🍷 Wine. With Vinovest, you’ll get access to a portfolio of fine wines.
🚜 Farmland. A big market. Invest by buying land, REITs, or new platforms like FarmTogether.
👕 Print on demand. Arguably the easiest dropshipping you can do.🏫 ISAs. Income Share Agreements may be par for the course in Australia, but there are some investing opportunities in America.
💎 Rare earth minerals. Not just the domain of mining companies, surprisingly.
🚘 Parking lots. They’re boring and ugly. But they produce consistent returns.
🏬 Billboards. Same as above.
📜 Patents. Many patents go unused. There’s a market in buying, selling, and (ugh) extorting these.
🌃 Towns. Yes, technically entire towns are for sale, if that’s your thing.
🍫 Vending machines. Surprisingly easy to own and operate.
🏡 Real Estate. I’ll cover alternative real estate investments, such as what Rhove and Nico are doing, REITs, and ADUs.
🌴 Islands. The market is fascinating - if not unattainable for most. PrivateIslandsOnline is trying to change that.
🗞️ Newsletters. They’re assets too. Some interesting bundling and potential M&A opportunities here.
There’s a few themes I don’t cover:
❎ Stocks & bonds. Nothing against stocks, they’re just the obvious choice, and everyone is already talking about them. This newsletter is for the non-obvious stuff.
❎ Bitcoin. I think everyone should own bitcoin, but bitcoin is already covered in a million other places. And frankly, the blockchain just doesn’t interest me that much anymore.
❎ Venture capital. I’m not a VC and never will be. I mean, technically a lot of what I cover could be considered “ventures”, and they require some “capital.” But you know what I mean. If you want traditional VC content you’ve come to the wrong place, Jack.
❎ Gold. Ahh yes, the original alternative asset. And easily the most boring. Good thing there are dozens of others now!
A bit about me: I’m the Head of Product at Flippa - the world’s largest marketplace for buying & selling online businesses. I also created & run Flippa’s Due Diligence Program, and have bought & sold about 10 websites and micro-businesses.
I live, breathe, and love this world. Come explore with me 🤙
Alts