In a recent interview, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak gave some insight on his investing strategies, one of which is simply avoiding stocks and other volatile assets such as crypto in order to keep the stress that comes with investments like those out of his life.
He says, „As a rule, I don’t invest often, because then you’ve got to be watching it every day, and I like my head to be really peaceful and low stress,” which doesn’t exactly mean he’ll steer clear of companies he believes could achieve greatness one day.
Steve is currently one of the investors on the online reality show „Unicorn Hunters” which helps up-and-coming tech companies make pitches to seasoned veterans in the field looking to invest in the next big thing.
Despite his attitude toward investing being public knowledge at this point, companies continuously send him pitches, reaching up to a dozen every day, and it’s always them presenting themselves as „The next Apple” or the „next Steve Jobs” he says.
A startup really has to get Steve’s gears going to really pique his interest, and it often hinges on his personal interests or his computer engineering experience for a company to reel him in as a backer.
With decades of experience behind him, he can easily tell whether an idea has potential, saying, „I’m just looking at: Does this technology mathematically, scientifically, [and] engineering-wise have a chance of actually being developed at a reasonable cost?“
Take every investment with a grain of salt
Wozniak is also of the belief that being skeptical as an investor can go a long way, as most sales pitch only highlight the most optimal outcome for any product or company, withholding the negative information obtained through research or polling.
He takes every pitch with a grain of salt, examining every aspect of it, saying, „I also try to think about: Does this technology already exist? Does it have worthwhile alternatives? Is it really saving people as much as it claims to be?”
He considers himself fairly conservative when it comes to financing, and the last thing he’d do is invest in a company that’s overextending, especially now that he’s a millionaire, rather than a billionaire.
His stance on cryptocurrencies is still a negative one, as he claims that investing in crypto is too risky of a business for the average Joe and that the practice usually involves biting off more than one can chew, which can be devastating with volatile assets such as Bitcoin.
He doesn’t entirely disapprove of cryptocurrencies though, as he states, „I only look for cryptocurrencies that are based upon – kind of like stock in a company – something you could visualize and see, and they’ve been successful already.“
Wozniak is currently involved in 2 crypto projects, one of which he helped launch back in 2020, and the blockchain in question now offers a token called WOZX which allows investors to earn a portion of the involved companies’ energy savings.