SoFi Supper Club Stories: 3 Key Insights from Mike Cagney

It’s not every day that you find yourself having dinner with a successful entrepreneur, hedge fund manager and CEO.  But this is exactly what a small group of SoFi borrowers will do this week when they attend our special Supper Club event at the home of Mike Cagney, SoFi Co-Founder and CEO.

Since the inaugural SoFi Supper Club three months ago, this impactful series has given over 100 SoFi borrowers the opportunity to meet and learn from successful business leaders while connecting with like-minded professionals in an intimate, informal setting.  Wednesday’s event promises to be another evening of great food, lively discussion and valuable networking for our members.

Because it’s our own CEO on the hot seat this time around, we asked Mike to give us a taste of some of the insights he may discuss with Supper Club attendees.  Here’s what he shared with us:

1)    Everything’s better with a little red wine.  

When he’s not busy running SoFi and global macro hedge fund Cabazon Investment Group, Mike spends his downtime indulging in great red wines and passionate economic discourse with fellow oenophiles.  His current favorite (and the wine most likely to make an appearance at this week’s Supper Club): a young California Cab.

2)    Fundraising rarely follows a linear path. 

In addition to wine education, Mike’s Supper Club attendees will likely learn about some of the ups and downs of building a business from the ground up.  For example: SoFi’s latest $80 million round of financing, while ultimately a great success, came about in ways that were surprising to the founders.  According to Mike, “It’s a tale of hugs, broken promises, luck and perseverance.”  In other words, a can’t-miss story.

3)    A business is as strong as the values it’s built upon. 

It’s no secret that Mike and his fellow co-founders started SoFi as a way to address the broken $1 trillion student loan market.  As Mike puts it, “SoFi borrowers benefit not only from a potentially lower interest rate on their owns, but also from the advantages of being part of the SoFi Community – a network that offers events, programs and mentoring opportunities that can help them have a successful career and life.”

This focus on Community underscores every business decision that Mike and the other senior leaders at SoFi make on a daily basis and, from Mike’s perspective, this adherence to the company’s founding values is one of the reasons SoFi has been so successful.  “My advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is always to get really clear on your mission and values, then don’t stray.  It sounds obvious, but I’m surprised how often I see businesses fail because they don’t follow this rule.”

SoFi Members – want to join a supper club in your city?  You can view a list of upcoming community events here; contact Pete Hartigan, VP SoFi Community for details.  Better yet, bring a potential SoFi borrower from your network – if they join the SoFi community you can both earn $100.  Restrictions apply; see here for details.