Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Full Circle

 I started down this path in the stock world when the startup I was working for went bankrupt in early 2013.  At the time I had minimal savings to support my wife and two kids so we had to uproot and move to get a new job.  

That experience is what pushed me to expand my financial horizon to end up here.  If you want to hear more about my stock beginnings, I talk about it in some podcasts here and here.

Here I am 11 years later and yesterday my project was closed down.  Deja vu.  Turns out the world of new technology development has risk :) 

Second time getting laid off but we are in a much better position than back then.  Thanks to the stock world, my mentor, this blog, everyone who talks stocks with me, and all you readers we have a big enough cushion to say we are not moving.  Unfortunately not big enough to retire but I don't have to start a new job within a few weeks like last time.  No uprooting the now three children or my wife.  We can take more time finding what's right and if it pays less we can supplement with stock savings money.  The plan worked!

I'm grateful for all of you and this whole stock journey.  I'm feeling pretty numb right now but it's time to be new.  

Thanks to everyone reading this

--Dan

disclosure: long gratitude

23 comments:

  1. Sorry to hear that, Dan. But good to know that you’re still in a comfortable spot. Were you working on the secret car project?

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  2. Getting fired sucks. I was also let go very recently. I was more than numb for a couple of days, until I realized I’m worth a lot to the right employer. Also I have a big cushion so decided to take a few months break.

    Cheers and good luck!

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  3. Seems odd to almost be congratulating someone on bad news, but you know what I mean. A margin of safety is a good thing for home life too.

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  4. Sorry for your loss, hope something better lies in the future.

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  5. We appreciate very much your generosity, you are a great men. Thanks for your work Dan, and good luck in your new phase.

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  6. Sorry to hear that Dan, happens to the best of us (me too, Dec 23). Wishing you well and thanks for all your research over the years.

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  7. Maybe investing should be your full time job!!! You seem like a really smart, creative, and talented guy and I hope you find something fulfilling soon. Good luck!!!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks I've thought about that. For now my earning power is higher as an engineer and main thing is supporting the fam

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  8. Sorry to hear Dan. That sucks. Glad you are in a better spot than the last time.

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  9. Great that you are in a much better position this time around. Hope you will have the opportunity to do exactly what you most desire.

    Thanks for writing this valuable blog. Good luck!

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  10. Their loss, hopefully you will find a door where their were once walls.

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  11. Sorry to hear, best of luck with your next adventure in both stocks and jobs!

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  12. Best of luck and hope you find something you enjoy. Your interviews were one of the things that really got me down my own path with investing/trading. Wish I had asked you to grab a coffee when you were still down here in the Bay Area!

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  13. Dan, best of luck in next chapter. btw do you have a view on IEHC here? thanks

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    1. It's somewhat tone-deaf to ask for his thoughts on a stock in a post where he has just shared news of his job loss.

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    2. it's totally fine. I enjoy the stock stuff.

      IEHC not great numbers lately. I'm glad they're back to filing. I think the biz will come back

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  14. Hey Dan,

    you are going to kill it no matter what you do next! Good luck and keep up the great work.

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  15. Best of luck in your job search. When I was 46, I was laid off during dot com bust with a family to feed, my 401k near zero as my company went to 80 to pennies. I had to look at stock investing to supplement my income. Luckily it all worked out for me as I become financially independent so it can be done as you are way better than me

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  16. You are the king dude. What an awesome journey. Don’t sweat 4 years of underperformance. All the great long term value investors had to suffer protracted periods of underperformance. The cost of long term outperformance IS short term underperformance. Your numbers speak for themselves.

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  17. However, there are some major drawbacks to this strategy. For example, it cannot be used with larger portfolios, you may have to live with unpleasant delistings, or you may be slow to buy or sell shares. Above all, outperformance is by no means guaranteed. All in all, it is only suitable for some investors.

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  18. Replies
    1. Yes, that's my hope too. But even very good strategies may not work for a long time. "Long" can mean 10 years or so. Times can change and strategies can fall out of favour. There is also the question of whether you should buy such shares in very small companies when there are cheaper, better quality shares in larger companies. I would say probably not, but I am not sure.

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