Meet Jon Gosier | Film Financier and Private Equity Investor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jon Gosier and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jon, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
As an investor, I’m in the business of risk. Either chasing it or mitigating it. In venture capital (what I did for most of my career) the idea is you take big risks on companies when they are starting out so that you earn value as they grow. In private equity (what I do now) you’re finding operating companies that already have value and you try to help them maximize that value. So for me understanding risk, taking calculated risks, and managing known risk is my day to day.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I run a company called Southbox Capital which evolved from my angel investment activity over the past 8 years or so, I realized I had built up quite the portfolio of tech, real-estate and media investments. It was a few million dollars spread across the assets in our portfolio. So a few years ago I began to hire staff members with the intent to grow the fund. Our goal is to reach at least $100 million in assets within 5 years.

The path got to where we are was not at all easy. It wasn’t like I went out and raised money like some fund managers do. This was the culmination of using my own earned income to diversify and invest in as many companies as I could afford.

The hardest part was staying disciplined enough to not use my extra income for buying unnecessary things. Instead, every time I had some extra money I put it into the teams and companies I believed in. That’s ultimately paid off in big ways.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My favorite area in the city is the Shops of Buckhead area where my office is. There’s a lot of great restaurants there that I frequent like Le Colonial and Gypsy Kitchen. I’m also a bit of a cigar-head so the lounge at Chops, Red Phone Booth, and Davidoff’s are more of my favorite spots.

For date nights I recommend Le Bon Nosh, Bacchanalia and Lucien.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Growing up I had a lot of different interests and was always dabbling in different areas like art, photography, computers, film etc. I’m lucky I had a very encouraging and open-minded mother who supported and encouraged these interests. So, although it’s a little cliché, I’d have to thank my mother Margie for just being a great champion and for not trying to limit my education and development in any way.

Website: http://southboxcapital.com

Instagram: http://instagram.com/jgosier

Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/jongos

Twitter: http://twitter.com/jongos

Image Credits
All photos take or commissioned by Jon Gosier.