Why Startups Fail But Tequila Works in Alternative Investing
Wed Jan 21 2026
Born out of the 2020 lockdowns, Alts.co has grown into a unique platform offering access to unconventional asset classes, including tequila barrels, sports ventures, and K-pop music rights.
But how do you promote alternative investments like these without getting lost in the hype?
A conversation with Stefan von Imhof, CEO of Alts.co.
Watch it on YouTube or listen on all podcast apps.
A few quotes from our conversation
Trust vs Fun
Trust is earned slowly but surely, and you can lose it like that if you’re not careful. But that’s why we’re careful. And so, it feels good. It feels really good to bring great deals to the community. And yeah, if we have stories to tell on top of it, fantastic.
I’ve asked Stefan a few questions about what I call “investing beyond returns”, because investing is not multi-dimensional; topics for dinner conversation, status, learning, etc., all matter. But it turns out that the answer is more boring than I was hoping. Returns matter more than anything else, and trust is built on returns.
That Tequila Trip
We’ve been to Mexico twice now. We’ve been working with our tequila dealer, and yes, he’s as cool as he sounds, but we’ve been working with Miguel for about a year before this. And then as we matured as a company and realized tequila really is a great investment. It has all the same appreciation as wine and whiskey, without the wait. Tequila goes from Blanco to Reposado, to Anejo, to extra Anejo in three and a half years, and you’re out.
I was a bit obsessed about something that sounded too much fun to be a sound investment: a tequila tasting and investing trip to Mexico. It turns out that meeting people, visiting locations, are just a normal part of a thorough due diligence, a topic that kept coming back in the conversation.
The Right Risk-Profile
It’s tough to get our community excited for anything under like 12%, roughly. I would say the sweet spot is like 13 to 18%.
The area above 20%, people just start getting skeptical. It sounds like b******t.
And then it’s got to have downside protection.
Stefan also added that they don’t offer startup investments and avoid Equity risk for the same reason. This brought me back to the issue I expressed with YieldStreet Willow Wealth: the most toxic offering for retail investors is a high headline yield, combined with a high level of risk (such as equity tranches) hidden in the footnotes.
More information about Stefan & Alts.co:
Alts.co https://alts.co/
Stefan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefanvonimhof/
About the Investlogy podcast:Investology is a podcast dedicated to rethinking investment management and uncovering new ways to deliver better outcomes for investors.Listen on podcast platforms, or watch on YouTube.
An episode produced by Orama (orama.tv):
Accelerate sales to the financial industry with content that builds trust and drives pipeline with sales-driven video strategies.
About the Host:
George Aliferis, CAIA, is the founder of Orama. Before that, he spent over a decade structuring, marketing and selling complex financial products to institutional clients in Europe and Asia.
George LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-aliferis-60078312/
Related episodes
Yieldstreet (now Willow Wealth):
Leyla Kunimoto:
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit investorama.substack.com
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Born out of the 2020 lockdowns, Alts.co has grown into a unique platform offering access to unconventional asset classes, including tequila barrels, sports ventures, and K-pop music rights. But how do you promote alternative investments like these without getting lost in the hype? A conversation with Stefan von Imhof, CEO of Alts.co. Watch it on YouTube or listen on all podcast apps. A few quotes from our conversation Trust vs Fun Trust is earned slowly but surely, and you can lose it like that if you’re not careful. But that’s why we’re careful. And so, it feels good. It feels really good to bring great deals to the community. And yeah, if we have stories to tell on top of it, fantastic. I’ve asked Stefan a few questions about what I call “investing beyond returns”, because investing is not multi-dimensional; topics for dinner conversation, status, learning, etc., all matter. But it turns out that the answer is more boring than I was hoping. Returns matter more than anything else, and trust is built on returns. That Tequila Trip We’ve been to Mexico twice now. We’ve been working with our tequila dealer, and yes, he’s as cool as he sounds, but we’ve been working with Miguel for about a year before this. And then as we matured as a company and realized tequila really is a great investment. It has all the same appreciation as wine and whiskey, without the wait. Tequila goes from Blanco to Reposado, to Anejo, to extra Anejo in three and a half years, and you’re out. I was a bit obsessed about something that sounded too much fun to be a sound investment: a tequila tasting and investing trip to Mexico. It turns out that meeting people, visiting locations, are just a normal part of a thorough due diligence, a topic that kept coming back in the conversation. The Right Risk-Profile It’s tough to get our community excited for anything under like 12%, roughly. I would say the sweet spot is like 13 to 18%. The area above 20%, people just start getting skeptical. It sounds like b******t. And then it’s got to have downside protection. Stefan also added that they don’t offer startup investments and avoid Equity risk for the same reason. This brought me back to the issue I expressed with YieldStreet Willow Wealth: the most toxic offering for retail investors is a high headline yield, combined with a high level of risk (such as equity tranches) hidden in the footnotes. More information about Stefan & Alts.co: Alts.co https://alts.co/ Stefan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefanvonimhof/ About the Investlogy podcast:Investology is a podcast dedicated to rethinking investment management and uncovering new ways to deliver better outcomes for investors.Listen on podcast platforms, or watch on YouTube. An episode produced by Orama (orama.tv): Accelerate sales to the financial industry with content that builds trust and drives pipeline with sales-driven video strategies. About the Host: George Aliferis, CAIA, is the founder of Orama. Before that, he spent over a decade structuring, marketing and selling complex financial products to institutional clients in Europe and Asia. George LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-aliferis-60078312/ Related episodes Yieldstreet (now Willow Wealth): Leyla Kunimoto: This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit investorama.substack.com