Interview with Ryan Eagle
Ryan, how did it all begin? You started as an adolescent. Can you detail your ascent?
I was always fascinated with business from as long as I can remember and I thought the only way for me to make money was through technology. Nobody would know how old I was behind the computer monitor. I coded my first website in 5 th grade and by highschool I was operating several websites as a hobby. On these websites, I placed advertising on them and began to generate a small income. When I was 16, I decided to quit my last job as a pizza delivery boy to focus full time on creating websites. Within weeks of me quitting and focusing on creating websites and ranking them in search engines, I woke up to see that my advertising account was almost at $1000.00 in profit for the day – and this was before school even started. To say the least, I never went back and redoubled my efforts.
What is one thing you wish you knew when you started?
Money comes and goes for everyone and everything is a cycle, so save some money for the downturns and diversify your assets. For years every single business that I touched would go gold, as if I was King Midas. I’m grateful that several years ago I encountered my first failure which was a reality check for me. Regardless of the effort I put in, there was nothing that I could do to remedy the issue and it was incredibly humbling. Even though my success relies on my intelligence and aptitude, there is a huge luck factor involved. I’ve exerted the same amount of effort into two businesses parallel to each other, only to have one fail. Being conservative and planning for the future is easier said than done though – I have a lot more discipline to achieve in this sector.
Describe what you do now.
I am the principle investor at XCell Fund, a private equity fund that focuses on financing in publicly traded companies. XCell Fund specializes in financing companies with market caps below 300mm. I personally administer and facilitate a comprehensive solution which includes debt restructuring, structured capital injection, and auxiliary business support through my offshoring company, Sidago. We have created a prestigious reputation because we have a history of leveraging complex financial instruments that improve shareholder value. I also operate and advise several private companies in the technology sector, as I have vast personal experience in this space.
After you achieve massive success, what motivates you to wake up and get going every morning?
I was just in Abu Dhabi at the Royal Palace and it made me right-sized. As I was laying on the beach and saw fighter jets doing a demonstration for the King, I realized that there is a lot more to achieve. Even though I may be successful, the ceiling is endless. For example, as soon as I buy a car I plan my next one and put a personal timeline on it. When I moved into my home, I immediately looked for the next one to get. Every material goal that I have ever wanted has been realized or will get realized. Beyond material acquisition, I would like to do something amazing for humanity with the money I will accumulate. It sounds lofty, but I will fund the to cure addiction as I believe it’s a genetic malady. Even though great treatment exists, I believe if there was a way to genetically cure it at the root – it would change society for the better permanently. Goals like this keep me motivated and I promise to reach all of them.