4 ms·

Serious question, I am a total noob when it comes to investments. But let's say I want to bet on another ".com" implosion, what can I invest into to make that b

• three_seagrass 6y ago
  Unlike the .com implosion, the current unicorn market is propped up by VC funds and angel investors. By the time they IPO and you can short them, they're not really unicorns anymore simply by getting to that point.
  • blackrock 6y ago
    While I agree with you, the problem is that shorting does have its own risks. The saying goes: The market will stay irrational, longer than you can stay solvent. So while your thesis is correct, it may be too soon. So you’d be wrong. You can also get caught up in a short squeeze, in which case you will be carrying heavy losses. Or if you buy a Put, then the derivative may expire worthless. There are just too many insider trading manipulations that can happen behind the scenes, that you as a random investor are not privy to. But, if you are lucky, and if you timed it correctly, then shorting a stock can net you a significant amount of money.
    • three_seagrass 6y ago
      Well, sure, but the question was how to profit off of Unicorn demise. I don't think they were looking for riskless bets.
• Analemma_ 6y ago
  One of the reasons why these startup bubbles happen is that you can't short companies pre-IPO, nor can you short VC funds. It's a good demonstration of why shorting is an important part of a healthy market, no matter what people like Elon Musk claim. It's the way that sanity fights back against bubbles and irrational exuberance.