Pro snowboarder turned finance guru? It doesn't seem a likely transition, but that's exactly the path that Chris Naugle has taken.
When Chris was 16 years old he was snowboarding as much as possible and working at a restaurant with a toxic work environment. Berated by his boss, he knew it wasn't what he wanted from life, and after leaving, he vowed to never work for anyone again. Chris wasn't necessarily looking for huge money, he just needed enough to get him to the hill on his board. With a desire for independence, he caught the entrepreneurial bug and started a clothing line out of his home. With his sales team (his buddies selling product out of their backpacks at school) his business grew and evolved. He designed patterns with his mom, tested prototypes on the snowboarding hill, and sought out seamstresses to produce his products.
Chris hustled his business while traveling for snowboarding competitions, he himself making sales calls to local board shops. He had stepped into a particular shop to pitch his clothing line to the shop owner when the owner asked if he wanted to go ride. Knowing that there was no one to work the shop, Chris asked how he could do that. The shop owner said, "I'll just close the shop, let's go."
Insert Chris's head exploding.
The goal shifted. It was more than being your own boss, it was owning a shop and living by your own rules. Chris's mom put their house on the line in order to secure a loan and he opened his first shop in November of 1994. They were coasting along nicely until the recession hit around 2008 and Chris's retail businesses dropped significantly. With a heavy heart, Chris realized he needed a job. Little Caesar's wasn't hiring. So Chris put his one-page resume out, and curiously enough, a few Wall Street firms reached out. That was his entry into the complicated world of finance.
After working for about 14 years and learning everything he could about finance, Chris stumbled on the concept of private banking systems. Intrigued, he did some research and found that private banking was a little-known but big-impact way to invest. Still holding that entrepreneurial spirit, Chris started his own systems with great success and left his Wall Street job. He knew, however, that he wanted to share, so he started Private Money Club.
So what does that mean? "Private Money Club, LLC (“PMC”) is a forum and community for private lenders, private money lenders, and hard money lenders to network and interact with real estate entrepreneurs and real estate developers across the country." (privatemoneyclub.com) Essentially, PMC is a dating app for lenders and borrowers. Swipe left, swipe right, match with the lender or borrower you need–it's all on the PMC app.
Chris officially launched PMC October 14th at a worldwide event at Sundance, and has seen an amazing response so far. With over 2,000 members, the member community is growing quickly and the one-stop-shop app is user friendly and also includes a lot of continual learning "best practices" features. Every thing you do on the app has a white paper or video that explains what it is, why it's important, and advice on the best practices for that transaction.
Whether it's hitting the snowboard hill or working in finance, Chris Naugle has learned to work hard and go big. Construction is currently underway for PMC's Utah office, set to open in Summer 2023. To learn more about Private Money Club visit privatemoneyclub.com
