Time is precious. Five Carat founder and Chief Experience Officer Alan Rae understands that—and wants more people to make the most of their precious time, the way he has. Five Carat is here to help high-net-worth individuals do exactly that. This is the story of how it all started.

Growing up in humble Apartheid-era South Africa, Alan Rae had big dreams—or at least dreams that felt big at the time. Owning an automobile, flying on an airplane… After a stint in the military and five years working in finance in Rhodesia, he left Africa for London before eventually immigrating to Canada. He married his wife, Debbie, and started a family. He also earned his Canadian Securities License and joined Pemberton Securities, which was eventually absorbed by the country’s largest investment firm, Dominion Securities, and ultimately taken over by the Royal Bank of Canada.

For over 40 years, Alan was entrusted with everything families had in the world—not just their wealth, but their dreams and hopes and aspirations, for themselves and their kids and their kids’ kids. Understanding the weight of this responsibility, he went above and beyond to perform for his clients. And perform he did. Talented and tenacious, Alan proved to be a star at Royal Bank. He rose through the ranks and consistently earned a place on the prestigious Chairman’s Council, which recognizes the firm’s top performers.

Alan’s professional success has allowed him to create the comfortable, experience-rich life he dreamed of as a young boy. In fact, he’s been able to surpass it, accumulating lived experiences he couldn’t have fathomed back then. He doesn’t just fly on airplanes; he flies first class. He’s ridden on private jets. He doesn’t just own an automobile; he drives a big black Mercedes Benz S550.

Alan doesn’t believe in keeping a bucket list; he prefers a to-do list. Not someday, but today (or at least as soon as humanly possible). As he learned growing up in South Africa and during his military service, tomorrow is never a guarantee. So the experiences he craves, he creates—whether that’s being in the paddocks at the Kentucky Derby, golfing alongside Ernie Els, or treating his loved ones to a luxurious 50th birthday celebration at Richard Branson’s opulent Ulusaba safari camp.

They’re the kinds of experiences that consistently provoke responses like “I can’t believe you’ve done that!”—words he’s heard countless times. Over the years, Alan has frequently been baffled by the response of people with whom he shares his stories—people with means coveting similar experiences, but not taking steps to experience them for themselves. Eventually he realized it was because they didn’t know which steps to take, or felt as if they were too busy to take them. This, he thought, was a real shame. But he could help.