#51 - High vs. Low Agency

Author

Graham Schroeder
March 28, 2025

Your home base for investing, finance, personal growth.

This week Robinhood expanded it’s services, Rivian is building new products, and why you should focus on building a high agency mindset.

Market Recap

  • Rivian Launches Micromobility Startup 'Also'

    • Rivian $RIVN ( ▼ 7.41% ) has spun off its internal micromobility division into a standalone company named Also, securing $105 million in Series B funding from Eclipse Ventures. ​

    • The company aims to develop affordable lightweight electric vehicles, including e-bikes and scooters, leveraging technology adapted from Rivian's larger EVs. ​

    • Rivian retains a significant minority stake in Also, with CEO RJ Scaringe serving as chairman of Also's board.

  • Robinhood Unveils New Financial Services

    • On Wednesday Robinhood $HOOD ( ▼ 11.11% ) released three new products including “Strategies” wealth management service offering expert-managed portfolios with a 0.25% annual management fee, capped at $250 for Robinhood Gold members. ​

    • They announced an online banking platform providing features such as a 4% annual interest rate, FDIC insurance up to $2.5 million, international transfers, and on-demand cash delivery to users' doorsteps. ​

    • To top it off they are rolling out an AI-powered investment tool called “Cortex” designed to deliver real-time analysis and insights, including stock performance summaries and trade-building assistance.

  • CoreWeave Faces Challenges Ahead of IPO

    • CoreWeave, Inc. is an American cloud-computing company based in Livingston, New Jersey. They specialize in providing cloud-based graphics processing unit (GPU) infrastructure tailored for artificial intelligence developers. CoreWeave plans to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol $CRWV ( ▼ 13.02% ) during its initial IPO.

    • The companies extensive deployment of over 250,000 Nvidia GPUs faces accelerated depreciation due to the swift advancement of AI technology.

    • The decreasing value of these GPUs may necessitate adjustments in asset valuation and depreciation schedules, potentially impacting CoreWeave's financial statements and investor perceptions for it’s IPO.

Google purchased Nest ($3.2B), Amazon acquired Ring ($1.2B)…

And now, RYSE is aiming to be the next big smart home acquisition.

With 10 granted patents, $10M+ in revenue, and 200% YoY growth, RYSE is transforming window shades from a manual chore to a seamless smart home upgrade. And, they just launched in over 100 Best Buy stores and are expanding into HomeDepot in 2025!

Past performance is not indicative of future results. Email may contain forward-looking statements. See US Offering for details. Informational purposes only.

Freedom Fund Portfolio

This week markets shifted up and down a bit after President Trump announced 25% tariffs on automobiles. The market showed signs of recovery after a turbulent period, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq snapping a four-week losing streak. This week I snagged up some total market shares and bought additional shares in SoFi after it dipped almost 7% on Thursday following the Robinhood news. The sell-off in SoFi resulted in the market thinking Robinhood will own Fintech in the future. But the reality today is that Robinhood still is a trading platform and more of a software play whereas SoFi is an actual bank. Robinhood itself is not a bank, but it partners with banks to offer banking services.

Freedom Fund Background: I created the Freedom Fund as a public brokerage account back in October of 2022 to share that anyone with a social security # and a bank account can begin their investing journey by investing a couple hundred dollars a week. Every week and month I post on X (@GrahamInvesting) public updates about the purchases, exits, dividends, and growth of the fund if you want to follow in real time. The biggest obstacle people have to investing is just getting started so I decided to start a new account at $0 to start from nothing with you.

Mindset Matters - High Agency vs. Low Agency People

In every industry, every friend group, and on every team you'll find two types of people: those who make things happen, and those who wait for things to happen. This all comes down to agency and how much control you believe you have over your life, decisions, and outcomes. Agency is the belief that your choices shape your life. I think we can all be guilty at times to be high and low agency thinkers. I know I am guilty of waiting for the perfect conditions at times and having a fear of failure to get started towards a goal or a task. Sometimes my realism about situations comes off as pessimism which can lead to low agency actions. The more you train your mind to have high agency over low will allow you to become more valuable in society. Lets break down the differences between the two:

High Agency People: The Builders

High agency people see a wall and immediately think, “How do I get over it, under it, or through it?” They tend to be your friends who have zero patience for stagnation. High agency individuals:

  • Take initiative without waiting to be told.

  • Seek solutions during challenges.

  • Don’t blame their situation they adapt and adjust.

  • Believe they are responsible for changing their circumstances.

You give them a problem, they give you a plan. You give them a blank canvas, they start painting. If you start to look around your work, friends, family, and society you can begin to quickly start identifying high-agency people.

Low-Agency People: The Drifters

Low-agency people tend to float. They tend to stay stuck in their spot and blame everything but themselves first for their situation. I think we can all fall into a low-agency mindset at times especially if you focus too much on what everyone else has going on. Low-agency people tend to:

  • Wait for permission or perfect conditions.

  • Blame systems, people, or luck for inaction.

  • Need constant external motivation.

  • Often fear failure more than they crave progress.

They're not lazy… they're just trapped in a mindset that life happens to them, not through them.

Now What Can We Do?

  • Define what high agency looks like for you. Agency isn’t about being busy, it’s about being deliberate.

    • What area of my life do I avoid taking responsibility for?

    • Where do I default to excuses, waiting, or blaming?

    • How do deal with a task assigned to me that is not my “responsibility”?

  • Create a daily high agency prompt. Every morning, ask yourself “What’s one thing I can take full responsibility for today?” It could be:

    • Starting a tough conversation.

    • Solving a nagging issue without waiting.

    • Making progress on something you’ve been avoiding.

  • Flip limiting thoughts on the spot. Train your internal voice to push for action. Catch yourself in low-agency moments:

    • “I can’t because…” → “How can I?”

    • “That’s just the way it is…” → “What would a builder do here?”

    • “I wish someone would…” → “Why not me?”

  • Do the small hard thing first. Every day, do one thing that feels slightly uncomfortable or inconvenient. This could be something most people would put off. Why? Because high-agency people build momentum by acting, not by waiting for motivation.

  • Build a Creator Bias Ask: “Am I being a consumer right now or a creator?”

    • Instead of passively scrolling, write something.

    • Instead of complaining at work, propose a solution.

    • Instead of waiting for opportunity, start building something small.

  • Track Wins, Not Perfection

    At the end of each day, jot down: “Where did I take agency today?” This reinforces you identify that you are someone who acts, adapts, and builds.”

At the end of the day, high agency people build companies, movements, and lives they’re proud of. Low agency people wait for someone else to do it for them. Agency isn’t something that you are born with, it is something you practice like a habit or ritual everyday.

You get to choose which one you are every day.

The purpose of this newsletter is to encourage you and our other 85 Gazette subscribers to start and stay consistent with your personal, professional, and financial journey.

Thanks for investing your time reading this.

Disclaimer: Graham’s Gazette provides information and resources related to investing, financial topics, and personal growth for educational and entertainment purposes only. The content presented is not intended to be construed as financial advice. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with qualified professionals before making any financial decisions. Graham’s Gazette and its creators do not assume any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the information provided nor do they guarantee any specific results from such use of information.