Joey Feste

Joey Feste, Senior Managing Partner of KM Capital Management in Austin, Texas, has served his clients for over thirty years. He has his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Texas. After graduation in 1987, he began his career with Rotan Mosley, now Paine Webber as a registered investment advisor representative. He continued his career as an investment advisor when he joined Morgan Stanley.

During his time with Morgan Stanley, Joey Feste was managing money for some athletes. There were many services that he wanted to provide for his client but felt limited within the principal structure of Morgan Stanley.

In 2004 Joey Feste struck out on his own and launched KM Capital Management. The business focuses on the unique goals and requirements of its clients to create a personalized financial plan to keep their lives in healthy financial order.

Where did the idea for KM Capital Management come from?

I was working for Morgan Stanley at the time. I was managing money for some athletes and there were some things that I wanted to do but could not do at Morgan Stanley. They didn’t have the bandwidth to be able to do things like pay bills or negotiate contracts. That is when I made a decision. I kept some of my Morgan Stanley guys and opened KM Capital. It is a small family office for athletes and entertainers. We pay bills, we negotiate leases, we buy cars and insurance, we touch nearly every part of their financial lives so that nothing falls through the cracks. Those are the kinds of things I couldn’t do at Morgan Stanley, which is why I opened KM Capital.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

My day is never “typical.” It begins at 5 a.m. at the gym to get the day started. I begin getting business calls as early as 6:30 or 7 from my guys who are checking the markets and managing money. I have an enormous to-do list and it is never the same. I do some traveling as well. For example, I just signed a contract with an athlete in Florida last week.

How do you bring ideas to life?

We are always working on perfecting our business. When anyone comes up with an idea that we can better serve our clients, we implement it. We’d like to make our systems so smooth and seamless that our clients find it simple to do business with us. We want to give clients the very thing that they need to make them productive in life and financially successful.

What’s one trend that excites you?

The trend that excites me is that the athletes we work with have a platform and they know how to use it for good.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

I have an enormous capacity. I don’t require a lot of sleep and I don’t get tired. I can out-work most people, especially my competitors.

What advice would you give your younger self?

It is funny that you ask that because my son works for me and I give him the same advice every day that I would give my younger self. That advice is don’t give up. When things get hard and they get crushing, don’t give up. I think too many people give up before the break-through.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

One thing that not all people believe is that deep down all people are good. With social media today, I believe it is just a disagreement of opinions. The hatred is towards opposing opinions, and it is just an opinion. There is an epidemic of hate towards opposing opinions. They equate people’s opinions with their ability to be good or bad. Verses, we simply disagree with one another. There are many people out there that have opposing opinions to mine, yet I believe they are good people.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

I would recommend that everyone plan out their day or the day will be planned for them. Whatever I put on my calendar, I finish the task.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

One strategy that I use is to bring in people with strengths in the areas where I lack. In other words, build a good team that can support and scale what you’re doing.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

I had a bad investment where I partnered with a dishonest guy. As a result, we lost some capital. I was open and transparent with my clients. Even with the transparency, clients saw it for what it was, we went through, and we kept building.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

I would recommend a poultry farm. There is such a demand for clean organic poultry. A friend of mine started a free-range clean organic poultry farm for a client of mine. There is a huge demand for that business. We don’t need technology and mass-produced yellow chicken. But, to raise clean free-range organic chickens. That would be a great in-demand business.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

The best hundred dollars I ever spend is out to dinner with friends. It is a Rembrandt moment. It can’t be reproduced no matter where you eat, even if you bring the same people in. I get life from relationships. Anytime I can spend a hundred dollars spending time with my family and friends over a meal, It is worth it every time. I do it as often as I can.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

Black Diamond is a reporting software. It consolidates all of our clients’ investments where ever they are into one easy access point. We can report to clients easily. It is invaluable.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

The Wealthy Barber. It is a great book! It is a very simple book that teaches everyone to save ten percent of their income from each paycheck. Our company motto is “It’s not what you make, its what you keep.” The Wealthy Barber is a good fundamental financial book.

On a personal note, I’d recommend, the Bible is the other book. I believe if you don’t know who you are then the world will define you and other people will define you.

What is your favorite quote?

Be kind to people cause you never know what they are going through.

Key Learnings:

● Plan out your day or your day will plan you.
● A great business strategy is to build a good team that can support and scale what you’re doing.
● If you don’t know who you are then the world will define you and other people will define you.
● There is an epidemic of hate towards opposing opinions these days. People equate opinions with their ability to be good or bad. Verses, we simply disagree with one another.