Not everyone invests, but assuredly we all expire. As ubiquitous as death is, it’s pretty hard to assume what happens at the end of our existence. No-one has ever reported back. It is a known unknown. In the absence of information, there are some pretty well founded narratives: Heaven. Hell. Enlightenment. Rebirth. Etc. Each is supported by authority shaping mechanisms.
Religion, ritual, et al. It is as if the human instinct to explain mysteries with narratives is so strong that even those divorced from proof fulfill our palate. Exactly what does this want to do with investing? Well, investing is approximately future and the future is unknowable (no one has ever reported back).
To the wise investor, the near future is probabilistic, to the unwise it is really as certain as loss of life. The main point is that investors should be aware of the narratives throughout them, about stocks and shares, about the overall economy, about business and investing. Grasping for a narrative is really as natural as a heartbeat and almost as involuntary, but we have to be skeptical when they are not supported by evidence. Faith is not just a sound investment thesis.
- To raise the employees’ morale
- Understands end-user software requirements
- 1992 Situational Crime Prevention: Successful Case Studies. Albany, NY: Harrow and Heston
- 36$364,652 $0 5%
- The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert
- Key Underwriting Factors
- A full-time commitment (if possible) will get you there in <2 weeks
I’ve been considering death – and the places where capital goes to die – following my recent investment in IZEA. It really is an uncharacteristic investment for me for several reasons, but in the centre was failing of process and an lack of discipline. It isn’t my effort to describe here how I acquired got myself into a situation where I own shares of an awful company. I had been fighting a nagging problem and I found the wrong solution.
Learning is a step function; in this full case, I tripped onto it. I’m writing here instead to talk about what I’ve learned so maybe others can reap the benefits of this experience. For the trouble I’ve paid (in writing), I are worthy of a PhD. 1. People talk about looking forward to your pitch but the baseball analogy fails when you swing at the wrong pitch. It can take away your capability to get right up for another at bat.
This is especially true for a concentrated buyer. 2. When you realize you’ve made a blunder admit it and move ahead. Shifting however doesn’t indicate making a second mistake. Two wrongs don’t make the right. Rather, get back to process and discipline and try to find a means out.
Part of what I’ve done to attempt to right this wrong follows by the end of this post. 3. Don’t lose clients’ capital. It is the same with customer capital. Just don’t lose it. The long lasting lack of client’s capital is like killing your children. 4. Start with the cash stream statement.
I come from the sell aspect where most of the concentrate is on earnings and margin. When the sell was remaining by me aspect and started considering as an investor, I quickly gravitated towards the balance sheet and thinking about how a company can grow assets faster than liabilities. Now I see the utter simplicity of starting with the annual cash flow statement when creating a historical model. It doesn’t imply a blanket avoidance of cash burning companies; early stage companies or those in turnaround are going to burn cash for some time frame. But there has to be a pathway towards a ongoing company existing on its own cash flow.
Also, cash generating companies that show poor accounting revenue can make excellent investments, while the reverse isn’t so true (they can make good shorts). 5. Checklists. I’ve always been skeptical of checklists b/c I really believe they create a false sense of security, as though checked containers assure a come back. They don’t. Furthermore, I think checklists when excessively detailed filter ideas that might be profitable under highly probable situations.