We’ll be sharing more interviews with Freetrade community members to find out more about their stories 
If you’d like to take part, just drop us a line!
@DespaRobinson is Founder & Director of Be83 Music Group and a keen investor.
Tell us a bit about yourself, what are you doing right now?
My name is Despa Robinson, I’m the founder and managing director of BE83 Music Group, a music management and recordings company. We represent some really cool acts and produce some really great music.
What was your first step into the music business?
I started out producing artists, making beats and all that. I saw an opening to make some money, so I eventually ended up opening up my own studio in the area which was my first experience in running my own business. My network started to grow and things just went from step to step. My dream was always to have my own record label with Universal Music, and flash forward a whole lot of years, I do.
Advice for people looking to get into the biz?
Find someone you can offer value to, and aim to be better than anyone else at that very thing you’ve chosen to offer. Reputation is everything and the more great things you do, the more your reputation will spread and hopefully the more doors open up to you. What you do after they open, is completely up to you.
Let’s talk about investing. When and why did you start, and what are your goals?
I started when I was in my teens but to be honest I didn’t really know what I was doing. I was just messing around on the computer thinking I was smart buying shares, and selling them quickly because the value had fallen and I didn’t have a good understanding of errm yeah, they do that ha. I bought Google and Apple shares in 2007 and they fell a little, I got scared and sold them. WHAT A MISTAKE THAT WAS.
Now though, my outlook is more educated and is centred in wealth preservation + growth. I have kids, I want them to be wealthy before they even know what that actually means, and then eventually accrue a better understanding of what money is and how to use it correctly. So I invest to hold for long term growth, and at the least invest to beat inflation.
How did you first discover the Freetrade app?
I tweet a lot and I asked my followers what the best app would be for low to no-fee trading and boom FREETRADE came up a lot, and here we are.
What kinds of industries and companies are you interested in?
I lean a lot to the tech industry, I’m a geek so consumer electronics, AI, machine learning all of that kinda stuff I research about on a day to day basis just as a hobby interest, so investing in those areas of growth make sense for me. I’m into media too, plus I’m starting to keep my eye on these Cannabis/CBD companies.
Which entrepreneurs and founders do you admire?
Cliché as it may seem, I’m a big admirer of Steve Jobs, mostly because of his fierce long-range vision. That’s a guy that had a deep deep understanding of what he wanted to create and spent years, on years, on years and various iterations of his product line to get there. Really inspired me to think long and not lose sight of the why’s.
In my music life I’ve always looked to Percy ‘Master P’ Miller, he was the first to demonstrate how to make millions in Hip Hop selling records independently and the importance of retaining ownership of your catalogue. His distribution deal was unheard of at the time, and it really helped change the industry. Those lessons have lived with me.
What’s your best-performing investment and why did you decide to invest in it?
I bought Netflix in 2013, and I’m currently 1900% up on that purchase :). My decision was based on the fact that Netflix was new to the UK and the show House of Cards had just launched. Everyone at work was talking about this new show in the lunchroom, and I couldn’t watch it unless I subscribed. I subscribed, saw the other content available and kept paying my subscription. I saw they had a lot of room for growth and figured this scenario would be replicated in households worldwide so I bought in immediately.
How can people find out more about what you’re doing?
You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @DespaRobinson
Thanks again to Despa for taking part in this interview! 