Not so brief history of SSI and me.
After 7.5 years at specialsituationinvestments.com with a handle Dt, it is probably way past the introductions. But not too late for some recent history.
Kicking it off with a couple notes on my background.
After 7.5 years at specialsituationinvestments.com with a handle Dt, it is probably way past the introductions. But not too late for some recent history.
Kicking it off with a couple notes on my background.
1/ In my early days, I did some exciting entrepreneurial stuff such as founding a furniture import business in London and launching the first online car insurance brokerage in Lithuania.
2/ My finance ‘career’ took off during the GFC. It was tough - no one was hiring and everyone wanted to be hired.
3/ I recall taking overnight trains and spending nights in airports on cheap connecting flights to get to job fairs/workshops in London, Zurich, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, etc - all just to have a 5 minutes chit-chat with recruiters hoping to leave a good impression.
4/ Eventually, I somehow landed a strategy consulting gig in London in early 2009.
Few months in, I was bored and started thinking I am not getting paid enough for my brilliant work - modesty was not my thing ;)
Few months in, I was bored and started thinking I am not getting paid enough for my brilliant work - modesty was not my thing ;)
5/ A year later, I convinced a client to buy my services directly and not through the consultancy - sounds cheeky, but all was done with permission and no one got hurt.
The best part - my pay shot up 5x overnight and I started accumulating some serious capital (in my eyes).
The best part - my pay shot up 5x overnight and I started accumulating some serious capital (in my eyes).
6/ Two years into this cashflow machine, my modesty still had not kicked in.
The work seemed empty - just a small screw in a big corporate machine.
The work seemed empty - just a small screw in a big corporate machine.
7/ It felt like I was selling my life for money.
And if you are selling your life for money, then no amount of money will ever be good enough.
And if you are selling your life for money, then no amount of money will ever be good enough.
8/ Most importantly, I was no longer learning much new on a daily basis.
You all know the feeling when every day seems like the day before and you can’t even recall what you did on Thursday last week.
You all know the feeling when every day seems like the day before and you can’t even recall what you did on Thursday last week.
9/ At the time, I was also starting a family and had a 1-year-old son.
(have two kids now, boys of 7 and 10, and they both are adorable)
London wasn’t the place for the kids to grow up.
It was time for a change.
(have two kids now, boys of 7 and 10, and they both are adorable)
London wasn’t the place for the kids to grow up.
It was time for a change.
10/ I have always found investing and stock picking fascinating - a mixture of science, art, and luck.
11/ With a few finance degrees under my belt and an eye-opening short-lived pre-GFC ‘trading career’ reminiscent of today’s WSB crowd, I had a rough idea of what I was getting into.
12/ We traded London for sunny Spain.
Over the next couple of years, I was eagerly digesting various value investing classics and other business books/biographies while learning a bunch from stock pitches on VIC.
Over the next couple of years, I was eagerly digesting various value investing classics and other business books/biographies while learning a bunch from stock pitches on VIC.
13/ And my young family was enjoying the beaches and mountains of Mallorca, Canaries, and Andalusia.
Time of my life.
Time of my life.
14/ I found love for investment writing - putting my own thoughts in black and white made me rethink the thesis several times over and spot weaknesses in my reasoning. Writing helps me to improve as an investor to this day.
15/ I did publish numerous articles on SeekingAlpha.
And got into VIC on my first try.
My portfolio performance was rather in line with the markets, but to me the game mattered more than the final result.
And got into VIC on my first try.
My portfolio performance was rather in line with the markets, but to me the game mattered more than the final result.
16/ This brings us to 2014, when I started SSI.
Back then odd lot tenders and split-offs were still a bit of a secret among retail investors (and too small for institutions to be interested) - publishing an odd-lot pitch publicly was frowned upon.
Back then odd lot tenders and split-offs were still a bit of a secret among retail investors (and too small for institutions to be interested) - publishing an odd-lot pitch publicly was frowned upon.
17/ However, these were very lucrative and numerous - especially if spread across several accounts. I know of a few investors who traded odd-lots on 20+ separate accounts on IB alone.
I followed odd-lots as well, even if these made only a tiny impact on my returns.
I followed odd-lots as well, even if these made only a tiny impact on my returns.
18/ And thus, one sunny day while sitting on the patio and watching my kids play in the sand, I decided to start a paywalled blog for odd-lot trades.
19/ Hardly a groundbreaking idea, but paywalled blogs similarly to paywalled online newspapers were still quite a novelty at the time.
People were used to getting online content for free and the switch to paywalls was just starting.
People were used to getting online content for free and the switch to paywalls was just starting.
20/ If I recall correctly, @AndrewRangeley had a similar idea on his previous Whopper Investments blog, a predecessor of YAVB empire, a must follow for any event-driven investor.
21/ And so I asked one IT guy to build the service.
For $100 I received a functioning site with subscription capabilities. Yes, that's the total cost.
Retrospectively, the best investment I've ever made.
Later SSI iterations on the IT side were exponentially more expensive.
For $100 I received a functioning site with subscription capabilities. Yes, that's the total cost.
Retrospectively, the best investment I've ever made.
Later SSI iterations on the IT side were exponentially more expensive.
22/ Kudos to @AlphaVulture for design inspiration - literally used the same theme, clean and easy to read.
Btw, Hielko’s blog is great, free, and with an impressive performance track record.
Btw, Hielko’s blog is great, free, and with an impressive performance track record.
23/ Unluckily, I put way too little effort and creativity in choosing the domain name and ended up with the one that takes a mouthful to spell.
Regret it to this day for not opting for simplicity.
Regret it to this day for not opting for simplicity.
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