Escaping the Financial Mainstream With Tom Suvansri
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Episode Description
On this episode of the On The Rise Podcast, host Jeremy sits down with Tom Suvansri, founder of Perennial Pride, who helps high-income earners and business owners deploy capital into tax-efficient real estate and private investments. Tom shares how he became a "corporate refugee," why mainstream financial advice leaves most people boxed into deferral-only strategies, and how changing your facts can legally change your taxes. The conversation digs into what generational wealth actually requires beyond a will, how active earners should balance liquidity against illiquid real estate, vetting operators over pitch decks, and why last-minute year-end tax investing so often backfires. A practical listen for anyone rethinking how they build and protect wealth.
Summary
Mainstream financial advice keeps you in a narrow lane.
Tom describes realizing that conventional advice was the same "normal drum beat" — defer into a small pool of market-based investments and figure out the exit later. Breaking out required looking beyond the advisors and CPAs who weren't discussing alternatives at all.
Deferral isn't a full tax strategy.
Most people are told to defer as much as possible with little thought about how to withdraw those assets tax-efficiently down the road. That reactionary approach often leaves people at the end saying, "this isn't what I signed up for."
Change your facts to change your taxes.
Borrowing a line from Tom Wheelwright, Tom explains that the tax code is a set of incentives. Investing in ways the government rewards — often things that also benefit society — reframes tax planning from a burden into a positive, intentional strategy.
Generational wealth is about preparing heirs, not just dollars.
The commonly missed piece isn't transferring the most money — it's preparing the next generation to receive it wisely and in line with family values. Money is a tool, and families need open conversations to use it well rather than treating it as taboo.
Everyone needs a basic estate plan.
Many people assume they don't have enough wealth to warrant planning, but even a simple power of attorney is baseline protection. Estate planning takes willingness to act and should evolve over time, just like an investment approach.
Balance illiquid upside with a liquidity safety valve.
Real estate and private businesses carry higher upside but demand a long-term horizon and reduced liquidity. Tom stresses keeping enough liquidity to "sleep at night," since both opportunities and mishaps arrive unexpectedly.
You invest in the operator, not the pitch deck.
Chasing the shiny pitch deck isn't a strategy. Because private deals can lock up capital for three to five years or more, what matters is whether the operators have the integrity and staying power to weather inevitable storms — a lesson Tom learned the hard way.
Get ahead of tax planning — don't wait for December.
Last-minute, year-end investing forces rushed due diligence, fewer available options, and emotional decisions with no coordination across your advisors. Planning early — even adjusting withholdings to free up capital — leads to better decisions and longer-term impact.
Resources
Website: PerennialPride.com
