$100M Investor Explains: How to Invest in 2026

About this video

Martell outlines how to invest money in stages, claiming he built and exited three companies, became a multi-millionaire at 28, and was voted number one angel investor in Canada. He says rich people do not start with stocks, because two stages come first. Stage one, trade your time: when young, invest time around mentors, stack skills and reps, use drive time for audiobooks, and take projects for exposure to bigger ideas, until you hit a time wall. Stage two, buy back your time, using his ‘buyback loop’: audit the last two weeks of your calendar, highlight tasks green (energizing), red (draining), or yellow (mediocre), mark whether each is cheap or expensive to delegate, then transfer the low-value red/yellow bucket to others and fill freed time with high-leverage, revenue-generating work. He says his executive assistant/chief of staff Ann and Betty, who manages his house, real estate, and vehicles, buy him, he claims, literally 100 hours a week. Stage three, let your money work for you: be a professional capital allocator, invest only in what you know and can explain in one simple sentence, in things that will always be true (housing, food, experiences, clothing), and play the long game; he gives his early Intercom investment, which he says became a multi-billion dollar company, and recounts a medical-supplies tax scheme that cost him hundreds of thousands in back taxes seven years later. He also relays a mentor’s rule to put half in a ‘don’t lose it’ pile. Stage four, own the thing: wealth comes from owning equity in your own or others’ businesses, with uncapped upside, which is why he built Martell Ventures.

Key takeaways

• Do not start with stocks: stage one is trading and investing your time to build skills, reps, and mentor access.
• Stage two is buying back your time with the buyback loop — audit, color-code, price, and transfer low-value draining tasks, then fill time with high-leverage work.
• Hire to buy back your time, not just to grow the business, and learn to work through other people instead of doing everything yourself better.
• Stage three: put money to work only in what you know and can explain simply, in things that will always be true, and play the long game rather than chasing quick multiples.
• Stage four is owning equity in your own or others’ businesses, which he presents as the only asset with uncapped upside and the source of real wealth.

Episode details: published June 18, 2026 · 14:12 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dan Martell’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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