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How 433 Investors Unlocked 400X Return Potential

Institutional investors back startups to unlock outsized returns. Regular investors have to wait. But not anymore. Thanks to regulatory updates, some companies are doing things differently.

Take Revolut. In 2016, 433 regular people invested an average of $2,730. Today? They got a 400X buyout offer from the company, as Revolut’s valuation increased 89,900% in the same timeframe.

No wonder 10K+ everyday people are taking the chance on Pacaso.

Founded by a former Zillow exec, Pacaso’s co-ownership tech reshapes the $1.3T vacation home market. They’ve earned $110M+ in gross profit to date, including 41% YoY growth in 2024 alone. They even reserved the Nasdaq ticker PCSO.

The same institutional investors behind Uber, Venmo, and eBay backed Pacaso. And you can join them. But not for long. Pacaso’s investment opportunity ends September 18.

Invest While You Still Can

_{Paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com. Reserving a ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the NASDAQ is subject to approvals.}

🚨 Welcome to this week’s issue of Generation Xcellent. I’m Stephen Perrine, New York Times bestselling author and former top editor at Men’s Health and Maxim. And like you, I’m doing all I can to survive the moshpit of midlife. Thanks for joining me on the journey! (And as always, our content is 100% Organic Intelligence—written by guys like us, for guys like us.)

📩 Thanks for joining the conversation!

- GEN X CULTURE -

This Midlife Crisis Goes to 11!

The profound wisdom hiding in a 40-year-old mockumentary

By Bob Larkin

Bob Larkin writes for Men’s Health, the New York Post, and other publications.

- SEX -

Four Exercises that Make You Better in Bed

Add these to your workout routine and your partner will thank you

By Myatt Murphy

>Hollywood seems transfixed lately with films about dissatisfied women stepping out on their husbands with younger men. [Here’s Anne Hathaway’s hotwife cougar scene. Unless you prefer Nicole Kidman’s hotwife cougar scene.] It’s enough to make a Gen X guy think twice about the status of their mojo.

As a certified strength and conditioning coach and longtime health journalist, I’ve had both clients and friends confide in me with concerns about sexual performance. The answer: increase blood flow, flexibility, and endurance in just the right places. Here’s the plan I recommend.

Boost the flow down below

More blood flow equals more get up and go, but extra heft, high blood pressure, and other health issues can turn that torrent into a trickle. This simple cycling move simultaneously improves circulation through your legs and groin while also strengthening your abs.

Master it: Lie flat on your back with your legs extended, arms at your sides, hands tucked under your butt. Lift your legs about 4 to 6 inches off the floor, keeping your knees unlocked. Draw your right knee toward your chest while simultaneously straightening your left leg, then reverse the movement by straightening your right leg while drawing your left knee towards your chest. Continue cycling for as long as you can at a slow, controlled pace (too fast will only cause you to lose your balance), then rest for 90 to 120 seconds. Repeat the move for a total of three times.

Loosen up that lower back

Nothing makes you feel—and act—older than an aching back. This classic stretch loosens your back, hips and glutes as well, maximizing your odds of taking control when the lights go out.

Master it: Lie on your back with your legs bent, feet flat on the floor and arms down by your sides. Curl your knees up towards your chest, grab them with both hands and gently pull them up into your chest as far as you comfortably can. Hold this position for 3 to 4 seconds, then return to the starting position. Repeat the stretch for a total of 4 to 5 times.

Maximize your core stamina

Being a boss in the bedroom takes full-body endurance, especially throughout the muscles that keep your body stable during sex. The classic plank targets all the major players—shoulders, legs, glutes, chest, and especially your core.

Master it: Get in a classic push-up position with your legs extended behind you, feet shoulder-width apart. Next, rest on your forearms so that your arms are at 90-degree angles, elbows positioned directly below your shoulders. Pull in your stomach and adjust yourself so that your body is completely straight from your head down to your heels, then hold this position for as long as you can. Rest for 90 to 120 seconds, then repeat the move for a total of three times.

Improve your groove

Hip flexibility dictates how efficiently you can rotate your pelvis and thrust forward and backward in any position. Constant sitting can cause your hips to tighten up, but this stretch can reverse what your desk job has secretly sabotaged.

Master it: Stand with your feet together, hands on hips. Place your left foot about 12 to 18 inches in front of you, then step your right foot back about 12 to 18 inches behind you. The toes of both feet should be facing forward. Hold this position as you gently push your pelvis forward—but don’t lean forward, keep your torso upright. Pause for five seconds, then relax. Repeat three or four times, then reverse your legs—right foot forward, left foot back—and perform the stretch three or four more times.

—Myatt Murphy, CSCS, is the author of the Ultimate Dumbbell Guide: The Body You Want in the Time You Have, and more than a dozen other health and fitness books.

Ask Jen: The X-Rated Files
“Can We Turn Our Empty Nest into a Love Shack?”

>Got a question about sex, marriage, dating, or whatever’s happening in your DMs? Ask Jen X. She’ll sort it out, no judgement. (Well, maybe a little.)

Q: The last of our kids is leaving home, and it’ll just be me and my wife. I don’t think we can snap back to being who we were before becoming parents. It’s not like we’ll start having sex all day and being wild. What’s a second act supposed to look like? —Frank T., Des Moines, IA

A: First of all, congratulations: you’ve completed 18+ years of unpaid Uber driving, sous-chef work, and dorm-move-in labor. You deserve a medal, or at least a quiet house where no one is “borrowing” your phone charger.

You’re right that the second act isn’t about becoming wild twenty-somethings again; it’s about becoming wild fifty-somethings who actually know what they like and have Amazon Prime to deliver it by tomorrow. Start with curiosity, not pressure. Try new things together—travel, hobbies, a class you’d both be terrible at (pottery wheel, anyone?). And yes, sex belongs on that list. (See “pottery wheel sex.”) You’ll be amazed what you can fit in when there’s no soccer practice or curfew to work around.

Think of this phase less like a “second honeymoon” and more like a “choose your own adventure.” Just remember: if one of the choices involves a motorcycle and a leather vest, be sure your life insurance is up to date.

- TECHNOLOGY -

How to Browse the Dark Web

An innocent bystander’s guide to the land of mischief

By Jeff Stevenson

>Like many of us, you may occasionally read about some felonious or just morally bankrupt individual getting arrested, outed, shamed or just plain assassinated because of some activity involving the Dark Web. And like many of us, you may think, “This Dark Web thing sounds kinda cool.” But what is it, exactly?

The Dark Web is sort of like a different, somewhat sketchy neighborhood in your hometown, one you never really knew existed. It’s on the other side of the tracks from the rest of the internet, away from the prying eyes of law enforcement and polite society. Google doesn’t index its websites or track your activity on them.

There’s nothing illegal about the Dark Web itself, and you can’t get in trouble for logging on—although what happens once you’re in, we can’t vouch for. Sites on the Dark Web are specifically trying to stay out of sight. Maybe it’s because they’re fighting government censorship (investigative news sites like ProPublica and the BBC maintain sites on the Dark Web for users who can’t safely access regular news sites). Maybe it’s because they’re trafficking in something less noble. 

Regardless, you can’t get there from a normal web browser. The best browser for accessing the dark side is Tor, which was engineered for a higher level of security and privacy.

Tor puts several layers of opacity between you and the web, including an encryption technique called onion routing—essentially running your data through an array of nodes, which makes it much harder to track the original source of any activity, but also makes the browser move a bit slower than you’re used to. And while you can’t be seen, you can be found out—if someone knows who and what to look for. In other words, you can never really throw away the murder weapon. Your internet provider will also be able to see you connecting to Tor and then disappearing; you may want to install a VPN to further confuse any tracking.

Once logged into Tor, you can launch DuckDuckGo, the default search engine inside the Tor browser, and once you turn on the “Onionize” switch in the search box, you can use it to find Dark Web links (they typically use “.onion” instead of “.com,” etc.).

So, now you’ve got the keys to dad’s liquor cabinet. What are you going to do in there? Remember that law enforcement has gotten far more sophisticated when it comes to tracking down illegal activity. Remember also that, just like in that bad neighborhood back home, most people on the Dark Web are grifters of one sort or another: you can get ripped off, you can get scammed, you can get hacked, and no one will be there to protect you. 

So maybe just admire the sights for a moment, and then get the hell out. 

—Jeff Stevenson has written for an array of classic men’s magazines including Maxim and Men’s Health.

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