We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dane Fenner a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Dane, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been one of the most interesting investments you’ve made – and did you win or lose? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

The best investment I’ve ever made was in myself. More specifically, my self-education–investing money in what schools, my parents and peer groups did not teach me. My thirst for knowledge regarding finances, business, and who I am as an individual, came in the form of books, paid mentorship programs, and training courses.

Dane, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Born and raised in South Jamaica, Queens, and the son of two African-American parents, I have always had a passion for technology. Growing up, my parents used to take me to the local flea market where I started to collect spare computer parts – that I’d piece together myself and eventually learned how to build computers through reverse engineering.

As I grew older, my passion for technology and processes developed naturally. While I was into fitness, I never fell into sports like other students. I enjoyed working with computers and knew this was the field I wanted to be in. Also drawing influence from my older sister—who accomplished a lot for herself and set the bar—I embarked on a journey in higher education. Ambitious by default, I enrolled in North Carolina Agricultural & Technology State University (NCAT), majoring in both IT and computer technology. I completed two degrees in four years!

Decades later, I established myself as a high-functioning cybersecurity manager and team leader who has had the opportunity to work with companies like JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, BNY Mellon and more. Never lacking in ambition and making goal-setting a habit, I also found a calling in real estate.

Through finance and mindset books, I learned how to invest my extra money into real estate. I purchased my first home in 2012 as a primary investment. Years later, I would purchase another property and have continued to do so leveraging 401K, business loans, and group economics. Eventually, I was motivated to start my own asset management company—Fenner Legacy Holdings.

Balancing a full-time career and my own company is no easy feat but I thrive in the complexities of my ambitions and goals, trusting that I am more than capable of achieving all that I set out to do. What I’m most proud of is that I’m self-made; I was never given any handouts, never had a mentor and I wasn’t born into a family that had money or connections. For me, the next level consists of seeking out opportunities where I’m able to inspire people to believe in themselves and that they can curate a life they’ve always dreamed of.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

As an avid reader, many books have significantly influenced my journey, education and way of thinking–which trickles into my management style and business/entrepreneurial mindset. Books like, “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert T. Kiyosaki, “Richest Man in Babylon” by George Samuel Clason, and “Never Split The Difference” by Christopher Voss and Tahl Razor, all gave me insight into how finances should be handled; something that I was never taught at home or in school.

Then there are books that helped shape my management style, such as “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie, “Compound Effect” by Darren Hardy, and “The 10x Rule” by Grant Cardone. And books that also helped shape my mindset such as, “A Man’s Search For Meaning” by Viktor E. Frankl, “The Game of Life and How to Play It” by Scovel Shinn, and “The Power of Your Subconscious Mind” by Joseph Murphy.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When I was 20 years old, a life-changing event occurred that not only illustrated my resilience but forever shaped the person I am today. This particular lesson taught me how to be more responsible and showed me the importance of control and discipline. While on Spring Break, during my senior year of college, I over-indulged and got intoxicated which resulted in me being run over by a bus–fracturing my wrist, and back and losing sensation in my entire right arm. I was a few months away from graduation and had to learn how to write with my opposite hand to complete the work that was required to graduate on time. My recovery required me to take a year of therapy while entering the job force as a junior associate. Not only did I have to overcome the challenges of working in the corporate world full-time but I had to balance my recovery.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://danefenner.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dane-fenner-2268a632/
• Other: https://fennerlegacy.com/