Friends of Max Chernov

There is one person I’ve interviewed four times on my channel: Donald Klip. The only person I’ve interviewed more is my friend Andy Lim, whom I’ve traveled to India with several times. What’s unique about Donald is that he has real skin in the game, having built a business that surpassed $1B in transactions, while also maintaining a strong helicopter view of global trends. That combination is rare. I sat down with him at the American Club Singapore and asked how Iran is affecting Singapore and Southeast Asia, how people are likely to make money with AI over the next 5 to 10 years, and where to invest based on the direction of the global economy. I recommend watching it, especially if you are operating in Asia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QWK1Y3od7Q

Filming this video was one of the most unusual experiences in my life. I came for an interview when there was almost nobody in the office. Only a couple of people finishing their work, Mishal and me. He was very polite and gentle, a bit unexpectedly. But I knew that he is one of the most influential people in the Gulf region and worth 4 billion dollars. Not someone you meet every day. We started talking. Smiling and laughing, he shared a story about how, at 19, he went to the US from the Middle East for a Catholic (!) university, whose building was facing a gay bar street. Okay, okay... After we finished talking, I noticed that he looked a tiny bit like he was looking for something. He asked to excuse him and said that he was slightly late for his evening prayer. Mishal took a mat and went to another room connected to the room where we were, without any door. And here you go, it’s me alone in the building with this billionaire wearing a traditional white thobe, praying 5m away from me. What kind of job am I doing? That day was quite bizarre but very, very fulfilling and inspiring. Anyway, I wanted to give you a bit of a backstage feel of how it was. And now, knowing this, you can watch the video now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrh0J93E9Hw

A big video is coming tonight at 7pm Singapore time on our YouTube channel. Another billionaire, this time from Dubai. He is the biggest guest I’ve interviewed so far, with a net worth of $4B and representing one of the most influential families in the Middle East. It may be perceived as controversial given the current situation with Iran. Let’s see how it lands.

Flying to Phuket (again lol) for The Backstage Circle weekend we’re hosting for a very private, high-level group of 12 people. They are successful founders and investors from Singapore, Thailand, and Hong Kong. I’m quite nervous and excited at the same time.

Flying to Phuket (again lol) for The Backstage Circle weekend we’re hosting for a very private, high-level group of 12 people. They are successful founders and investors from Singapore, Thailand, and Hong Kong. I’m quite nervous and excited at the same time.

Welcome. If you’re here from the Didi episode, you probably value unconventional thinking. So here’s who I am and what this Telegram is about. I’m Max Chernov, a Singapore-based entrepreneur and YouTuber. On YouTube, I interview founders, billionaires, expats, and operators — mainly across Asia and the Middle East, with more US content coming soon. The channel has 400K+ subscribers and almost 200M views. Long-form, deep conversations. This Telegram is different. Here I share: • Raw reflections after interviews • What high-level people are actually focused on • Patterns I see across the top 5% • Behind the scenes of my travels, business, and YouTube channel • Unfiltered takes I won’t always post on YouTube I’m also building The Backstage Circle — a private group for serious entrepreneurs who value real conversations over networking theater. If you care about wealth, geo freedom, leverage, and signal over noise, stay.

This last video with Didi, a crypto guy who lives a very unconventional life with his family in Thailand, is one of the fastest-growing videos on my channel (if not the fastest). Something clearly resonated with the audience. The comment section is divided between huge fans and deep haters. That’s probably the best you can get on YouTube haha. But I think there’s something deeper behind why people are clicking and watching. It could be overall fatigue with the current world (read as "the Western world"). It could be the dream lifestyle he represents for many people. It could also be the fact that he’s doing this with three kids, so he’s not just some solo freelancer who downshifted to Asia. That makes it more more relatable and more provocative at the same time. Anyway, for me as a YouTuber, it’s great to see cases like this. Now we’re discussing with the team how to build on it and find similar guests for the next interviews.

What the top 5% are thinking about right now Just came back from a 3-day Phuket trip where I was doing some organisational work for The Backstage Circle weekend in March. Met with the Thai organiser, visited the private villas where we’ll be staying, and checked a few of the activities we’re planning for the group. On top of that, I of course arranged a few interviews with expats in Thailand. All four of my guests were successful entrepreneurs – the owner of one of the best beach clubs in Phuket, an early Bitcoin adopter who did extremely well, the founder of the biggest news platform in Phuket, and a globally known mixed martial arts promoter. I always dig deeper during the conversations that later get published on our YouTube channel. But I also try to understand the person when the camera is off. Most important decisions and real conversations don’t happen publicly. That’s actually the core idea behind The Backstage Circle. After this trip, I noticed a few patterns in what high-level people are focused on right now. They are very hands-on when it comes to their businesses, competitors, markets, and the economy. They’re not detached from reality. They stay close to it and understand it well. At the same time, they are extremely focused and ruthless about prioritising signal over noise. That’s something I see across all successful people. Another recurring theme was kids and education. Several of them spoke about the importance of children learning AI and developing creativity, rather than just following traditional paths. It may sound obvious, but when multiple successful entrepreneurs independently repeat the same idea, you start paying attention. And that’s exactly what we’ll be focusing on during The Backstage Circle in March: understanding what the top 5% are thinking about right now, prioritising signal over noise, building meaningful relationships, and sharing unique experiences together. For example, we’ll be spending time with a billionaire at his private residence. So far we have a very high-level private group of participants coming from Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Australia. I’ll take another 3–4 people and then close the intake. Details below. https://apply.thebackstagecircle.com/phuket

Couldn’t imagine it when I started the channel four years ago!

You know what annoys me? When people jump in to judge straight away when they see something that’s not in their “normal” view of how the world functions. We just posted a new interview with a renowned British journalist, TV presenter, and writer who’s been in Dubai for 33 years and deeply understands the place and the changes that have happened there. Yet some people are just ready right away to spit out their limited and negative view of the city, which is pre-programmed in their mind. Such a shame. I often see people fixated on negative things instead of noticing progress in life, business, or a country’s development. I’m currently interviewing potential candidates for my The Backstage Circle meetup happening in Phuket in March. And one of the main criteria (besides formal ones, like a high level in business or career) is having a growth-positive mindset. This is what I heard from billionaire Bill Heinecke, whom I interviewed recently. I asked him: as an entrepreneur, you have to be optimistic about the future, but do you need some “realistic” person next to you? He said: it’s very easy for a “realistic” person to say that things are bad and just give up. So watch out for someone who is too “realistic”, mostly negative, and “knows everything already”. And speaking of Dubai, what they have done there with this future-oriented, positive mindset over the last 30 years is incredible. Here is the best explanation of Dubai, the UAE, life, and business there that you’ve ever seen on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8Z88VaHSh8

No travel for the next 5–6 weeks 🫣 That’s exactly what I wanted after almost a month abroad, haha. Thank you, universe!

My last trip to Dubai was quite insane. I participated in the 1 Billion Followers Summit, a massive global event. The craziest part is that it wasn’t organized by a private company, like most major creator events in the US or Asia, but by the UAE government itself. Which is VERY unique. I think I have a healthy self-esteem, but I know I’m not a scientist, a spaceship engineer, or a heart surgeon. The REAL professions. I’m “just” a content creator. But I believe we make meaningful, deep, valuable videos, and seeing content creation recognized and supported at a government level was both shocking and very motivating. I genuinely believe content creation is the new oil, and it’s very smart of the UAE to focus on it at a national level. You know I’m a big fan of Singapore and always advocate for it. But the energy in Dubai is definitely higher. Big ideas are bigger, and execution is faster. You feel it when you talk to people, listen to officials, and simply observe what’s happening around you. A big part of my work is traveling to different countries, meeting interesting and accomplished people, and helping them share their stories through my YouTube channel with a global audience. I did exactly that in Dubai. During this trip, I interviewed several foreigners who have lived in Dubai for 30 to 40 years and witnessed the country’s transformation firsthand. The videos are scheduled for publication starting next week. I also interviewed someone very unique, even by our channel’s standards. Mishal Hamed Kanoo, one of the most influential figures in the Gulf region and the chairman of one of the oldest and most prominent family-owned business groups, founded in Bahrain in 1890. I expected the conversation to be very formal and sanitized, but it turned out to be warm, deep, and genuinely human. After this trip, I realized I’ll definitely spend more time in the UAE. Together with my beloved Singapore, it’s one of the most high-energy and forward-looking places in the world right now.

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Btw I found the photos to show what my previous networking events looked like six years ago.

Been working on The Backstage Circle concept lately. The first gathering will be in Phuket in March. I’m trying to create something that doesn’t really exist on the market. Not sure if that’s a good thing, haha. I used to run a networking club before. We organized events in Russia and Europe, sometimes up to 250 people. That was a very different format. This time, I’m intentionally building something much more private. I don’t want to call it exclusive. That word feels cheap to me. It’s more about a carefully preselected space for high-level people who actually fit each other and will share very unique experiences together. Not easy to do, honestly. We already have 256 people on the early list, so the interest is clearly there. Now the real work is selecting the right people and protecting the room. Anyway, if this resonates, you can still join the early list here: https://forms.gle/RQBzZ9TvHxngWcxx7

Guys, we just published a video with one of the most senior self-made people I’ve ever interviewed. His name is Bill Heinecke, and his story is quite insane. Born in the US and raised in Bangkok, he started his first business at 17, borrowing $1,200 from a friend. Nobody trusted him, so he grew a beard, got married, and eventually built one of the largest hospitality empires in the world, with close to 100,000 employees. His company operates hotels in 60+ countries under luxury brands like Anantara, and franchises global food chains such as Burger King and Dairy Queen. I was invited to Bill’s house in Phuket, where we talked about how being in Thailand helped him build a multibillion-dollar business (he gave up American passport btw). What is the secret that allowed Bill to survive multiple crises on his path to success. And why does he see this century as Asia’s time, while many foreigners still believe the myths pushed by the media. Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hvlh3dZijFY P.S. I’m excited and nervous at the same time 🫣😅