Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Jacobs.
Hi Ryan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Ryan Jacobs: COO/CFO/finance professional + golfer + spiritual acro yoga teacher. Ryan was born Ryan Jacob Schaffer and now goes by Ryan Jacobs (his first and middle name + the first initial of his last name) because it is much easier to say and spell. To anyone thinking of going by a different name, it is so nice when people can say and spell your name correctly the first time, I encourage it if it feels true to you!
I was born in Philadelphia and grew up in Voorhees, New Jersey with my younger sister, Marielle, and my amazing parents, Sydria and Scott, who celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary last year. I grew up in a suburb and was always drawn to sports, music, and technology. My biggest “idol” growing up was Jim Carrey because I loved his movies and felt that his weirdness and passion were “normal” which probably influences my personality today.
As a young kid, I was a huge Michael Jackson fan because my babysitter would always listen to his music. I am very grateful to her for introducing me to Michael Jackson, the greatest! I am still amazed by his dancing and watch videos of him on YouTube. I grew up playing roller hockey for many years. Around age 13 I started playing golf, heavily inspired by Tiger Woods who was “making golf cool”.
In the summer, my friends and I would play golf every day because our Dads had golf club memberships that allowed kids to play in the afternoons after the adults were finished. I played golf competitively for 10 years and earned honors in high school. The highlight of my high school golf career was shooting 32 (-3) for a 9-hole match which was a school record and that is still the lowest score I have ever shot for 9 holes, which is especially legit in competition when the rules are very strict.
In high school, I had a passion for technology and computers and became obsessed with building a surround-sound movie theater setup to watch my favorite new movie, The Matrix. Perhaps this was the beginning of my spiritual journey. I have always naturally been an entrepreneur. In high school, I turned my passion for computers and technology into a business, purchasing and configuring computer systems for homes and small businesses.
After high school, I attended Syracuse University where I completed my bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management and was selected as an honors student. After I graduated in 2009, I moved to Los Angeles with two other friends to be in a big city with warmer weather. This was probably the smartest decision I have made in my whole life because I can not imagine a better place at the time for new possibilities and to be around beautiful, talented people. Since then, the corrupt government has ruined the city/state, which is why I moved to Florida in 2021, but back then LA was nice.
I started my career working as an employee at a tech startup and had a health scare while I was at my desk at work one day in 2010 when my appendix ruptured, requiring me to undergo life-saving emergency surgery. After I got out of the hospital, I was very skinny and realized I had to gain my strength back, so I signed up for a gym membership and became passionate about health and fitness and pushing my body and physical capabilities.
I began to realize that health and strength are happiness and I trained at the gym almost every day. After working in tech for a few years, I got accepted into the master’s MBA program at UCLA and started working in venture capital in 2013. As a kid from New Jersey suburbs, it was exciting to work in the heart of Beverly Hills known as the “platinum triangle.”
I graduated from UCLA with my MBA in 2015 and co-founded a startup with the head of the venture division at CAA, one of the top agencies in the world. I then continued to work in finance/venture capital, serving as VP of Finance of Thermal Ventures in Santa Monica and then VP of Finance of Composite Ventures, where I gained valuable knowledge working directly with VCs on the Forbes Midas List.
This was also the time that I ventured out of the gym and started working out at the famous Muscle Beach in Santa Monica. This was a different fitness environment where most people were barefoot and many people focused on bodyweight exercises. I saw other people doing handstands and decided I wanted to learn this skill. I also did acro yoga for the first time, which is partner yoga, it’s kind of a combination of dancing and yoga.
I saw handstands and acro yoga as fun skills and activities I could do that required no equipment and could be done anywhere, which was the complete opposite of golf. I also had intense pain in my spine from a bulging disc caused by deadlifting twice my bodyweight for years without equally strengthening my core and without releasing my glute muscles, which pulled on my spine… I was unaware of this at the time. I was desperate for a solution to my back pain and saw yoga as a hopeful solution.
I was so determined to heal myself with yoga that I started teaching yoga while I still had intense back pain, but I would teach what I could. Then slowly, I found a solution and I am pleased to say that I successfully healed my body with yoga. Since then, I love to share health and fitness advice to help people, and I still teach yoga and acro yoga at special events or occasions, which I love to do.
In 2020, the covid “pandemic” happened (spelled how I want to spell it) and I moved to Miami for freedom, to escape the tyrannical, corrupt government in California. The rehearsed events of the last few years have been driven by an agenda of pharmaceutical profits and evil. Therefore, I have been very grateful for Ron Desantis and his leadership in upholding freedom and natural health.
I served as COO of a tech company last year and now am a partner at ScaleX, a financial advisory company that helps raise money for companies using our private network of investors + crowdfunding campaigns to fundraise between $5MM and $75MM from both accredited and unaccredited investors. I now live in Miami Beach and travel to Costa Rica often.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I started my career working as an employee at a tech startup and had a health scare while I was at my desk at work one day in 2010 when my appendix ruptured, requiring me to undergo life-saving emergency surgery. After I got out of the hospital, I was very skinny and realized I had to gain my strength back, so I signed up for a gym membership and became passionate about health and fitness and pushing my body and physical capabilities.
I began to realize that health and strength are happiness and I trained at the gym almost every day. I also had intense pain in my spine from a bulging disc caused by deadlifting twice my bodyweight for years without equally strengthening my core and without releasing my glute muscles, which pulled on my spine…I was unaware of this at the time. I was desperate for a solution to my back pain and saw yoga as a hopeful solution.
I was so determined to heal myself with yoga that I started teaching yoga while I still had intense back pain, but I would teach what I could. Then slowly, I found a solution and I am pleased to say that I successfully healed my body with yoga. Since then, I love to share health and fitness advice to help people, and I still teach yoga and acro yoga at special events or occasions, which I love to do.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about ScaleX?
website: scalexcap.com
Scale Your Vision
ScaleX is an end-to-end advisory that helps founders raise capital between $5 million to $75 million to grow their businesses. We provide access to the most effective way for founders to fund their companies, which we call: Fundraising As A Service. ScaleX helps founders raise funds while retaining full control of their company and vision.
ScaleX provides access to SEC-Compliant Crowdfunding Fundraising via Reg-D, Reg-CF, and Reg A+ vehicles, which allows both accredited and unaccredited investors (most USA citizens) to invest with as little as $1,000 into private early-stage offerings. Our team provides Executive Advisory around Corporate Structure, Due Diligence, Access to our Unparalleled Network, Executive Placement, Marketing Strategy, and Go-to-Market Commercialization.
Why ScaleX?
Our team at ScaleX facilitates the complete process of raising millions of dollars for your company, even if you are a small company with less than $2MM in revenue. ScaleX provides an end-to-end solution for Founders who are looking to fund their Company. We offer a complete solution including Advisory, Compliance, Technology, and Growth utilizing our best-in-class Marketing Company, Escrow Company, Auditors, Lawyers, and Corporate Governance advisors.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
The shift towards crowdfunding offerings is already transforming capitalism, allowing everyday US citizens the ability to invest directly into early-stage offerings. No longer do you have to have a huge chunk of money to be an investor in a private company, and no longer do founders need to take money from VCs at the cost of giving up large equity and control. A great example of this is Grant Cardone: he is doing a Reg-A+ raise for a $150 million distressed real estate fund.
Pricing:
- $50K up-front
- $50 per transaction which comes out to around $250K in fees on a $5 million raise
Contact Info:
- Website: scalexcap.com
- Instagram: @ryanjacb
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanjac/
