Client Confidential: Chenny Xia

This article appears in the March 2022 issue of Advisor’s Edge magazine. Subscribe to the print edition, read the digital edition or read the articles online.

City: Toronto

Age: 32

Occupation: Co-founder and CEO of Gotcare

Assets & liabilities: Net worth of about $1 million, split between two real estate properties (75%) and a self-directed RRSP and TFSA (25%). That does not include her equity stake in Gotcare, the health-care company she founded with Carol and Rod MacDonald.

Up close and personal

I’ve always had a very complicated relationship with money. To help pay for school (Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver) I worked two jobs — one at a coffee shop, starting at 5 in the morning, and the other at Pan Pacific Vancouver as an events support worker, often working until midnight. On top of that, I started my own company, Pixelbot, doing human-centred design projects to help companies’ staff and clients. I found my first project on Craigslist, which was way less sketchy then. I would never recommend this for someone getting into design now!

Getting started on the right foot

I started Pixelbot while I was in university. That design work kept me so busy that I attracted the attention of Small Business B.C., which wanted to know why my business was not properly registered. And my profs wanted to know why I wasn’t showing up in classes. Thankfully, when they saw what I was doing, they actually marked me on my Pixelbot work so I could graduate. One of them nominated me for Canada’s Next 36, an entrepreneurial training and support program. That’s how I ended up moving to Toronto.

Serial entrepreneur

Pixelbot was all about helping businesses through change, essentially solving problems for our clients. Eventually I realized that it was far better to help companies understand where they wanted to go and lead them on the path to get there. So, we rebranded as Journey. I kind of stumbled into entrepreneurship because I realized I had forgotten how to be a good employee. Being a leader and being a soldier are very different things. I tried really, really hard to be a good soldier but I never could develop that muscle.

Early investment success

When I was 19, I bought a home in Vancouver with someone else. This was in the days of 0% down. When we sold it a couple of years later, we made some money. When I moved to Toronto, I was able to buy a little condo that also appreciated nicely. So real estate has been very good for me. I also bought less than $100 worth of Bitcoin in 2013, mostly as a joke. I ended up selling it for almost $100,000. I wouldn’t do it again. I don’t know enough about crypto and I don’t like taking risks. When you grow up in extreme poverty, you tend to be very careful with your money.

Finding the right advisor

I really liked having a financial advisor for a while, through a branch at one of the big banks. It was nice to have someone walk you through investment decisions and bounce ideas off. I loved it. The problem was the advisor never lasted long enough for us to develop a true relationship. It was like a revolving door. There wasn’t even a transition. Suddenly they would be gone, and I’d be like, “What am I going to do? Catch up a whole new person from scratch?” I just thought I could do this on my own, and I started self-directing. And if I need specific services, I know how to find the right person to help. I draw on my business skills for that.

Getting comfortable with money

I’ve had a very steady-as-she-goes journey. Gains have been steady and moderate. I don’t identify as a speculator. I used to be very conservative in my investing style. Now I might be considered moderate. But when you grow up with a scarcity mindset, you always believe that your financial success could end at any time. I had such a combative relationship with money for so much of my life. In hindsight, I wish I hadn’t had all that anxiety all the time. But you have to go through what you have to go through in order to grow to be who you become.