2025-07-17 Gary Sheng & Zachary Smith Apartment Strategy Session

Date: July 17, 2025 Location: Gary Sheng's apartment, Austin, TX Participants: Gary Sheng, Zachary Smith Context: Strategic planning session covering event coordination, investment facilitation, and network development

Event Planning Coordination

August 14th Zach Levi Ranch Event

Zachary confirmed Zapher's (Saudi/Dubai fund representative) strong enthusiasm for the planned Zach Levi ranch gathering: "Zapher loves the idea of Arena Hall and he loves the idea of Zach party, Zach's party. So those are both booked."

Matt Holm Partnership: Secured strategic partnership for event logistics with Matt Holm providing firearms and ammunition for shooting activities. Zachary outlined the coordination plan: "Matt home will wants to partner with me on it and help bring people. And then also he'll provide all of the guns. And ammunition."

Group Coordination Strategy: Planned four-way group text including Gary, Zachary, Matt Holm, and Zach Levi for event coordination, with Zachary taking point on initial Zach Levi confirmation: "My thought is to make a group text, that's you, me, Matt Holm and Zach Levi."

Arena Hall Event Development

Confirmed Arena Hall as second venue option with Matt Holm partnership extending to both locations. Strategic approach involves leveraging dual venue access for maximum flexibility and guest accommodation.

High-Net-Worth Social Access

Larry Covert Oxcart Ventures Party

Zachary attended exclusive gathering hosted by Larry Covert (former Giga Fund, current Oxcart Ventures founder) featuring notable technology and investment figures: "Last night I went to a crazy party... Larry Covert is a former giga fund, but now has Oxcart Ventures."

Notable Attendees: Event included Elon Musk's sisters and Dimensional Fund Advisors personnel: "All of Elon's sisters were there... and, um, a bunch of like, like, uh, crazy people, like the Dimensional Fund advisors."

Defense Industry Connections: Zachary identified defense contractors with significant capital who will attend upcoming Austin events: "But there's some defense guys that are coming that will come to the. The thing that had tons of money."

Investment Facilitation Opportunities

Zapher's Investment Parameters

Zachary revealed specific investment ranges Zapher seeks, positioning this as exceptional opportunity for strategic introductions: "I really pushed Duncan. He's like, I was like, what, what would be, what would make the Austin trip insanely good? And he said, if you could introduce me to a few companies that could take like a really small check. And I was like, what's a small check? And he said, $10 million."

Scale of Investment Interest:

• $10 million considered "small check" for direct company investment
• $100 million for fund investments described as "really small"
• SPV opportunities for $10 million+ deployment

Strategic Value Assessment

Zachary positioned this as optimal opportunity for relationship building: "And he was like, if you could pull up that, I met like a ton, like let's say like four different people that I could write these kinds of things into. Oh man, it would be very valuable. And he was like, oh my gosh, you just got on this call and said, Hey, can you, um. Do like the easiest layup of all time."

Reciprocal Benefits: Zapher committed to significant value creation in exchange for successful introductions: "He said, if you could make this happen, I will make a lot happen for you."

Cultural Intelligence and International Relations

Lean (Zapher's Analyst) Profile

Zachary provided detailed assessment of Zapher's Jordanian analyst, combining professional capability with political positioning: "Lean is his, uh, uh, analyst who somehow, we don't, we don't talk about it. But she's there politically for some reason... But she's also smart. She's not like an idiot."

Political Connections: "She must be the daughter of someone very poor. We don't know who or why, but she is... You smelled old, old money. Yes."

Cultural Activity Interest: Strong enthusiasm for American recreational activities typically restricted in Middle East: "She is very excited about being able to shoot a gun... Every so zapper on the call multiple times was like, and then we're gonna go shoot guns. And like, and you could say it deliberately so that we could see the reaction on her face."

Alcohol Access: Notable interest in alcohol availability: "She also asked if there could be alcohol. Yeah, of course. And I said, yeah. She, she's like, we can just have alcohol anywhere."

Business Development Strategy

Rob Gritz Real Estate Connection

Gary suggested leveraging Rob Gritz's real estate round for Zapher's investment interests: "Well, just first, you should fill the real estate round. Uh, the Rob Gritz. Rob Gritz? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Rob Gritz is coming."

Venue Integration: Positioning Zach Levi ranch as showcase location for investment discussions: "And then we'll have it at Zach Levi's Ranch. So he'll get to see that then possibly help fill that."

Celebrity vs. Business Focus

Discussion of Zapher's priorities revealed business-first approach over celebrity engagement: "Does he, like he wants to meet with Ford Smith. Does he like celebrity? He seems not super into that."

Personal and Professional Transitions

Gary's Miami Plans

Gary confirmed upcoming Miami transition as part of broader strategic repositioning: "Probably go to Miami for a little bit. Uh, start this new chapter."

Tulsa Family Trip Integration: Family-oriented approach to professional relationships: "It's uh, the guy in Tulsa is doing a family trip that I'm probably doing like with his kids... Would you be like chief of stock of like him personally, so that would cover his family and his businesses."

Ongoing Projects and Coordination

Trump Administration Work

Zachary confirmed continued active engagement with Trump-related projects: "But like with the Trump thing, I like have no idea what's gonna end up happening. Like they, they were still texting me at 1:00 AM last spring."

Unpredictable Schedule: Late-night coordination requirements affecting daily planning: "My day is a little bit hectic, so I don't really know what's going on today."

Strategic Implications

This conversation reveals Zachary's continued evolution as a strategic connector between international investment capital and Austin's high-net-worth ecosystem. His access to exclusive social events (Larry Covert party) combined with coordination of international investment visits (Zapher and Lean) positions him as valuable intermediary for deal flow and relationship development.

The specific investment parameters ($10M-$100M range) and cultural intelligence about international visitors (firearms and alcohol interests) provide actionable framework for successful business development and relationship building.

The integration of recreational activities (shooting, ranch venue) with serious business discussions demonstrates sophisticated understanding of relationship-building methodology for high-net-worth international partnerships.