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I still maintain that $HMNY (the parent company) stock was an interesting and unique case where the average person could buy shares in, essentially, an early st

I still maintain that $HMNY (the parent company) stock was an interesting and unique case where the average person could buy shares in, essentially, an early stage startup that had tremendous consumer interest and growth. Most of the time you see tech startups they are either in the seed/VC stage (you can't invest unless you are accredited and have connections) or the IPO stage (mega-companies that everyone has heard of). Did it turn out poorly? Yes (Share price went from $35 to $1 for a while and then down to basically zero). But was it a good process? I think so!

rossdavidh 7y ago
There is a school of thought that says that you shouldn't let people without investment experience, put their money into early-stage tech startups run by people they know nothing about, precisely because they are less likely to understand that the great majority of startups fail. It's an elitist school of thought, for sure, but I have to say there is some truth to it.
- mikestew 7y ago
  It didn't used to be an elitist school of thought, because a school of thinking on the subject wasn't needed. There were high enough fences to keep the riff-raff out (high transaction fees, inaccessible markets for commoners, et. al.). Thanks to e-Trade, Schwab, and the like, those fences got torn down, not knowing those fences not only kept people out, but they also kept the bad things in. Bad things like super-duper sketchy penny tech stocks (HMNY). Elitist? Meh, no more elitist than, say, a climbing permit for Mt. St. Helens (which is just $15 and fill out a form). Put up even a token barrier, even if it can easily hopped over.
  - projektfu 7y ago
    It was made inaccessible. Previously new and speculative companies were pretty accessible. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curbstone_broker https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curbstone_broker
- aasasd 7y ago
  Well thankfully now there are crowdfunding and ICOs for the hungry amateur investors.
- H8crilA 7y ago
  The Intelligent Investor footnote: "In Graham's times IPOs were considered an undignified exploitation of the naive investor, and big investment banks steered away. How things have changed in the 2000 era."
kart23 7y ago
I remember when r/wallstreetbets was going nuts over this stock. Someone actually bought it and made a ton of money, and I suppose that inspired more people to buy in, and lost money on the resulting fallout.
- H8crilA 7y ago
  Some things never change. The Oldest Book Ever Written On Trading Stocks (It’s 330 years old!) http://bilalhafeez.com/the-oldest-book-ever-written-on-trading-stocks-its-330-years-old/ http://bilalhafeez.com/the-oldest-book-ever-written-on-tradi...

rossdavidh 7y ago

There is a school of thought that says that you shouldn't let people without investment experience, put their money into early-stage tech startups run by people they know nothing about, precisely because they are less likely to understand that the great majority of startups fail. It's an elitist school of thought, for sure, but I have to say there is some truth to it.

mikestew 7y ago
It didn't used to be an elitist school of thought, because a school of thinking on the subject wasn't needed. There were high enough fences to keep the riff-raff out (high transaction fees, inaccessible markets for commoners, et. al.). Thanks to e-Trade, Schwab, and the like, those fences got torn down, not knowing those fences not only kept people out, but they also kept the bad things in. Bad things like super-duper sketchy penny tech stocks (HMNY). Elitist? Meh, no more elitist than, say, a climbing permit for Mt. St. Helens (which is just $15 and fill out a form). Put up even a token barrier, even if it can easily hopped over.
- projektfu 7y ago
  It was made inaccessible. Previously new and speculative companies were pretty accessible. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curbstone_broker https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curbstone_broker
aasasd 7y ago
Well thankfully now there are crowdfunding and ICOs for the hungry amateur investors.
H8crilA 7y ago
The Intelligent Investor footnote: "In Graham's times IPOs were considered an undignified exploitation of the naive investor, and big investment banks steered away. How things have changed in the 2000 era."

kart23 7y ago

I remember when r/wallstreetbets was going nuts over this stock. Someone actually bought it and made a ton of money, and I suppose that inspired more people to buy in, and lost money on the resulting fallout.

H8crilA 7y ago
Some things never change. The Oldest Book Ever Written On Trading Stocks (It’s 330 years old!) http://bilalhafeez.com/the-oldest-book-ever-written-on-trading-stocks-its-330-years-old/ http://bilalhafeez.com/the-oldest-book-ever-written-on-tradi...