Lesson 39: Potential

Travers J. Bell, Jr., known as the “Father of Black Investment Banking”, realized his potential. Born in Chicago, his father worked in a brokerage office and got him a job there as a messenger before he went to college. After completing his education, he entered a career in investment banking to sculpt his skills in finance before launching his own firm. In 1971, he co-founded Daniels & Bell, Inc. with William E. Daniels (who left the company early in the venture). 

Not only did Bell help launch the first Black-owned investment bank listed on the New York Stock Exchange, but he was 29 years old when he did it.

Today, I am 29 years old searching for a business to acquire, but more deeply, I am searching for ways to realize my own potential. The lessons I learn from Bell include: 1) Start young, 2) Sharpen your skills, and 3) Network. My questions include: 1) Did Bell’s father see his son’s potential when he got Bell that job in the brokerage office? 2) What opportunities did Bell see in the market and how did he create value for his clients?

For the first question, I would have to go back in time to ask Bell’s dad, but for the second I learned he underwrote securities for minority-owned businesses. He created value by supporting business owners in need of capital and financial guidance. The firm was formed with only $175,000, and before his passing, Daniels & Bell had a net worth of $15MM. Bell did not realize his potential by merely serving minority-owned businesses, but he also had to be excellent at his craft.

My values are to act with love, humility, and wisdom. Realizing my potential requires a mastery of the craft of investing, and this ultimately requires wisdom. I started picking up books, like Securities Analysis: Principles and Techniques by Benjamin Graham and David L. Dodd. First published in 1934 during the heart of the Great Depression, Graham and Dodd outlined the values investing framework. Today, this framework guides many investors 90 years later. Graham and Dodd echoed this conventional wisdom for all investors: “To buy in times of depression and low prices and to sell out in times of prosperity and high prices.” Investors must have the fortitude to make decisions based on their deep analysis of the market rather than popular opinion.

Bell had the fortitude to invest in minority-owned enterprises because he saw they were undervalued. I plan to realize my own potential by studying the craft of investing, and some day we will see the return. For my rising investors, I offer this advice: Dig into your potential.

Potential is Lesson 39. Next week, I will share Lesson 40: Gratitude.