Ron Kerbs

One of the greatest things that we have learned from @techstars and our managing director @kjsnyc is to use the big rocks system to make sure we are focusing on the important stuff. Below 👇I will share some thoughts on how we use it Let’s start with the mechanics: 1/7

@ramit No financial calculation beats your ability to sleep well at night. And some people sleep better when they are debt-free

I've changed my tune on people paying off low-interest debt like this person below Some people TRULY HATE DEBT. They were almost always raised being told "never go into debt." To them, debt feels like failure. Usually, they come to me with a single goal: "I want to be debt free." When I ask why, they look at me like I'm crazy: "Because debt is bad." When I ask them if they've ever calculated how much they will lose by paying off their debt early, it's like me asking "How much taller will you get if you give your mom a hug?" It simply does not compute If I have the chance, I will show them the math. Paying off a 2.6% mortgage early, for example, might cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars 99.999999% of people are unaware of this BUT HERE'S THE INTERESTING PART: They don't care! And this is where I've changed my approach. I used to harangue people about the math and "maximizing investment returns." Some people simply do not care. As long as they know the numbers, it's up to them -- even if they will lose tons of potential gains. Some people truly just hate debt.

@FBIRichmond Gaming has become one of the most common places for online predators to reach kids. That's why we created @GetKidas, software that alerts parents about potential scams, predators, and harassment in gaming.

Important alert for parents! #FBIRichmond is sharing crucial information about a new threat to kids' safety. Watch the video and get the details here: ic3.gov/PSA/2025/PSA25….

@ramit Your insurance cost may go up at renewal the same as your rent may go up a renewal.

Remember when I told you rent is the maximum you'll pay but your mortgage is the minimum you'll pay

@realEstateTrent When you treat your kids as a chore, you don't have free time. If you, like me, decided to have kids enjoy the free time you have TOGETHER

You have free time because you don’t have kids

@NaiMack21 @realEstateTrent Using the same logic the returns of the S&P in the last 50 years are not known since I didn't personally hold the ETF during the entire time period

@KerbsRon @realEstateTrent ok so not a decade 🤣

Buying a home to rent out for income is a terrible investment. Pick any house in America. Take the monthly rent x 12. Subtract property taxes, insurance, and random things breaking. Now take that number (your income), and divide it by the purchase price. Ya like 3%, I know.

@NaiMack21 @realEstateTrent I still haven't held it for a full decade but if you look at the past of neighboring properties and run the calculations - yes.

@KerbsRon @realEstateTrent Over the last decade?

@NaiMack21 @realEstateTrent I have one with 20%+

@KerbsRon @realEstateTrent I don’t think a one single family rental in the US averaged 13.16% IRR like the S&P. Multi family sure.

@realEstateTrent I'll correct it for you: residential RE in the US always goes up, if your investment horizon is long enough.

Real estate price always go up? Tell that to all the folks who bought 3.5% cap Chipotles in 2022.

@Hadley @EniacVC Thanks for the shout out @Hadley

Thrilled to share the new 2025 @EniacVC AI market map! Hope you find it useful!

@anothercohen I know a few places, for example, Hoboken, NJ, that have a good public preK3 and preK4.

It's pretty insane that with all the taxes we pay in the US, you still have to spend $1500+ for daycare per kid every month until they turn 5, unless one parent decides to stay at home full time

@besttrousers @AlecStapp All prices are irrelevant since they include nursery home prices, for example, that are irrelevant for people in their 20s. The important part is the CPI of the products and service people in their 20s consume

@KerbsRon @AlecStapp That what's the graph does, but for all prices.

Narrative violation

@skylarromines The beginning of January is tough - a workout that typically takes me an hour takes an hour and half because it is so crowded at the gym. Kudos fir everyone starting but most of them give up after 3 weeks.

It’s January & lots of new people are trying in the gym. It can be tough to stick to a workout routine when you’re already in shape. It’s very intimidating to start when you’re out of shape & may not know what you’re doing. Don’t make fun of people who are putting in the work to better themselves.

@skylarromines Plot twist: you send your representative and he sends his. After 5 dates they start dating each other

A service I would pay for: someone to go on the first 4-5 dates with a person then give me a debrief if they’re worth meeting. Does this exist? If not, can we start it?

@realEstateTrent Voice memo is today's way of the other side to tell you "my time is more important than yours" Easy to record very annoying to receive

Is there anybody in the world who seriously prefers a voice memo to a text? If I'm in a loud place, I can't hear what it says, and maybe I'm using it wrong by every time I bring the phone up to my ear it stops playing. What a useless invention.

@alexiskold Same here. Recently I realized that having a canned "Not interested" response for cold inbounds takes me of their automation so I get less emails

Here is my business etiquette: - Cold email -- may, but not obligated to reply - Cold intro -- may, but not obligated to reply - Met founder -- will always close the loop - Warm intro -- will always close the loop 0 ghosting policy, but also not always replying to cold inbounds.

@ramit @ramit you have to admit that many people are not disciplined enough to save and therefore having a mortgage is probably the only way to get them to save

Great point! Reminds me of how private jet flyers have a net worth 1,000x higher than those flying Southwest, which is why you should buy a private jet to become wealthy

@realEstateTrent The key here is the time horizon- how long do they plan to live there? While in year 1, it might be the case, in years 2, 3, 4, etc., the rent goes up while the fixed mortgage stays the same. Not to mention the appreciation, tax write-off, etc

Better financial decision? Buys $1.5M house: $75k interest to your bank $18k to property taxes $5k for insurance $15k average to fix random things $113k/yr “thrown away” Rents $1.5M house: $85k/yr “thrown away” And can actually invest that $380k down payment somewhere.

@Codie_Sanchez Remove unnecessary regulations and filings for small businesses: beneficial ownership information, annual meetings etc

I'm writing policy ideas for the SBA to help small businesses... what could your government do to TRULY help you in your small business?