Alexander Dillon

Alexander Dillon is the co-founder of GenCap Management, an investment firm established in 2021 and based in New York City, New York. Throughout his career, he’s focused on supporting and growing businesses with capital and leadership. Dillon has invested in dozens of small startup companies, intending to give them the support they need to become large players in their industries.

Where did the idea for GenCap Management come from?

I was inspired at a young age to jump into the world of investing. After a couple of years in investment banking special situations, I decided to take a gamble and start my own venture capital / private equity fund.

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

My days are fairly structured. I wake up early every day, I normally stretch for 30 minutes. I have about an hour walk to work where I clear my mind and take time to reflect on the day ahead. I focus on the important tasks first at the office, its easy to get distracted these days, but scheduling out time for the top priorities always helps.

I try to get 1-2 hours in the gym every day. I find it to be extremely important to make a strong effort in the gym after a long day at the office.

How do you bring ideas to life?

Just do it! A lot of ideas go to waste by not actually doing anything to make them come to fruition. If I am inspired by an idea, I will always go all in before losing steam on it.

What’s one trend that excites you?

The upward trend in physical asset value is very interesting to me. Housing, cars, luxury goods. It appears as though mainstream investors are starting to see a value store in assets that have previously been for select groups of smaller investors and collectors. Specifically cars, watches, wines, and exotic vacation homes.

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

Trusting my gut.

What advice would you give your younger self?

It’s okay to tell people no… When I was younger, I used to say yes to everyone always. I know now it’s okay to tell people no once in a while.

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

You can have fun at work and enjoy what you do.

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

Do what you know and love. The most successful people I know are all building businesses in something they intimately know and understand.

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

Be good to your team, and reward your employees. A tight-knit team in a small or start-up business is extremely important. I don’t think we would have succeeded if there was constant turnover and unhappy or unmotivated staff.

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

Trusting the wrong people. We learn from our mistakes, when I was younger, I was a target for more experienced business people looking to take advantage.

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

Large-scale blockchain verification for authenticity of commonly replicated goods. For example… watches, sneakers, and artworks are sold with a token that’s registered on the blockchain, shows the chain of ownership, and verifies that the item is in fact authentic. If sold in the secondary market, the new buyer should receive the token as well upon payment.

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

Probably a gym membership! There’s not much in the investing world you can do at the moment with 100. But you can invest in yourself. Sound body, sound mind!

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

Google suite. It’s crazy how much google offers for free! Mail, docs, chat – hangouts. We run all our businesses off google engine. The shared docs make it easy to collaborate, especially while some stuff work from home. Most of their services are also free!

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

Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

What is your favorite quote?

No rain No flowers – Davey Soltis