42 ms·

I'm more thinking more from the perspective of your average tech person who might be considering angel or startup investing. There's a very real "myth" that the

by tempsy 7y ago

I'm more thinking more from the perspective of your average tech person who might be considering angel or startup investing. There's a very real "myth" that the only way to strike it rich is to invest in private startups vs public investing.

icedchai 7y ago
Yes, more tech folks should read "The Millionaire Next Door."
- tempsy 7y ago
  right...and if you want to rev up the risk then buy deep in the money options in large cap tech stocks most people will never have access to the best seed investments anyway
  - icedchai 7y ago
    Most folks don't realize how simple it is to set themselves up for life if they start investing early and consistently. This is especially true on a "tech" income. This stuff is not taught in school.
    - tempsy 7y ago
      ehh this is all relatively new. 10 years ago kids were not making $300k out of school and this bull market is unprecedented everyone looks like a genius when everything is up. but yes enjoy it while it lasts, totally agree.
      - icedchai 7y ago
        Yes. I've been working and investing since the late 90's. It's never been like this. Very crazy. And hopefully the kids making 300k/year+ are smart enough to save and invest 50% of their income.
awb 7y ago
> There's a very real "myth" that the only way to strike it rich is to invest in private startups vs public investing. It depends on your goals. Private investing has much higher risk/reward.
- tempsy 7y ago
  Most people who aren’t named Sam Altman will never access the best seed investments. I would’ve invested in Stripe in 2012 too but couldn’t even if I wanted to. The idea that you can’t find the risk reward is untrue. I’d consider investing in biopharma to be equivalent in risk reward to early stage startup investing. The difference is that these companies go public early because that’s traditionally the only way they can raise. And if you want to rev up the risk to make 10x-100x you can options trade in the public market as well. I mean, Nancy Pelosi of all people will make $130K in Facebook call options expiring this week. http://clerk.house.gov/public_disc/ptr-pdfs/2018/20010631.pdf http://clerk.house.gov/public_disc/ptr-pdfs/2018/20010631.pd...
  - strbean 7y ago
    > I’d consider investing in biopharma to be equivalent in risk reward to early stage startup investing. Similar risk reward, but it seems harder to have any insight into a pharma startup's chances of success. Sure, it is easier to gauge potential market (% of people affected by condition X), but whether they will be able to develop a product is a total dice roll.
    - tempsy 7y ago
      it's definitely a gamble...not sure how to necessarily measure whether it's any more or less than early stage tech investing, though. at least your investment is liquid, which is big, and the timeline for trials, readouts, etc. is known relatively far in advance. you can look at things that an early stage investor looks at like team, hiring, etc. beyond just progress. IMO this decade will be absolutely massive for biopharma. Plenty of good opportunities, especially for those complaining that the reward is public markets is not as high as early stage.
bpt3 7y ago
Your average tech person shouldn't be considering angel investing in my opinion, and should only allocate a small portion of their portfolio to VC. It's under-performed the public market since the late 90s, and I don't think that's going to change any time soon, but it could in theory. I think there's at least a kernel of truth to the "myth" about public/private investing that you mentioned. You won't become a billionaire working as a software developer and investing in index funds for the next 30 years, but you can if you invest in the next Facebook or Google early enough. That said, most tech people I know are looking to work at the next unicorn, not invest in it.

by tempsy 7y ago

icedchai 7y ago

Yes, more tech folks should read "The Millionaire Next Door."

tempsy 7y ago
right...and if you want to rev up the risk then buy deep in the money options in large cap tech stocks most people will never have access to the best seed investments anyway
- icedchai 7y ago
  Most folks don't realize how simple it is to set themselves up for life if they start investing early and consistently. This is especially true on a "tech" income. This stuff is not taught in school.
  - tempsy 7y ago
    ehh this is all relatively new. 10 years ago kids were not making $300k out of school and this bull market is unprecedented everyone looks like a genius when everything is up. but yes enjoy it while it lasts, totally agree.
    - icedchai 7y ago
      Yes. I've been working and investing since the late 90's. It's never been like this. Very crazy. And hopefully the kids making 300k/year+ are smart enough to save and invest 50% of their income.

awb 7y ago

> There's a very real "myth" that the only way to strike it rich is to invest in private startups vs public investing. It depends on your goals. Private investing has much higher risk/reward.

tempsy 7y ago
Most people who aren’t named Sam Altman will never access the best seed investments. I would’ve invested in Stripe in 2012 too but couldn’t even if I wanted to. The idea that you can’t find the risk reward is untrue. I’d consider investing in biopharma to be equivalent in risk reward to early stage startup investing. The difference is that these companies go public early because that’s traditionally the only way they can raise. And if you want to rev up the risk to make 10x-100x you can options trade in the public market as well. I mean, Nancy Pelosi of all people will make $130K in Facebook call options expiring this week. http://clerk.house.gov/public_disc/ptr-pdfs/2018/20010631.pdf http://clerk.house.gov/public_disc/ptr-pdfs/2018/20010631.pd...
- strbean 7y ago
  > I’d consider investing in biopharma to be equivalent in risk reward to early stage startup investing. Similar risk reward, but it seems harder to have any insight into a pharma startup's chances of success. Sure, it is easier to gauge potential market (% of people affected by condition X), but whether they will be able to develop a product is a total dice roll.
  - tempsy 7y ago
    it's definitely a gamble...not sure how to necessarily measure whether it's any more or less than early stage tech investing, though. at least your investment is liquid, which is big, and the timeline for trials, readouts, etc. is known relatively far in advance. you can look at things that an early stage investor looks at like team, hiring, etc. beyond just progress. IMO this decade will be absolutely massive for biopharma. Plenty of good opportunities, especially for those complaining that the reward is public markets is not as high as early stage.

bpt3 7y ago

Your average tech person shouldn't be considering angel investing in my opinion, and should only allocate a small portion of their portfolio to VC. It's under-performed the public market since the late 90s, and I don't think that's going to change any time soon, but it could in theory. I think there's at least a kernel of truth to the "myth" about public/private investing that you mentioned. You won't become a billionaire working as a software developer and investing in index funds for the next 30 years, but you can if you invest in the next Facebook or Google early enough. That said, most tech people I know are looking to work at the next unicorn, not invest in it.