My Decade…Economically Speaking

Paul Krugman of the New York Times is calling this economic decade “The Big Zero .”

It was a decade in which nothing good happened, and none of the optimistic things we were supposed to believe turned out to be true.

Paul and I smoke insanely different tobacco. As an entrepreneur that has managed a hedge fund now for 11 plus years through bubbles and crashes, I almost take offense.

When 2000 started I was living pretty high on the hog. Stocks only went up and they did so 50 points at a time. By March of 2000, that party ended. In March of 2009, if the same stocks moved $50, they would have been -$49 and change. BUT, by December 2009, the S&P is only 28 percent below all-time highs.

That’s definitely SOMETHING.

This decade was all about two things, creative and greedy destruction. Both hit all-time highs in 2009. In ten years we will see dizzying new highs again.

Here is a list of great creative destruction and economic wonderous things we did not have a decade ago (thanks @gregory for the fast list, great post and super cool Listorious ):

Skype
Wikipedia
Gmail
Facebook
YouTube
Twitter
adWords
Amazon AWS
iPod
Wordpress
iPhone
Google Docs
Flickr
etc……………………

If anything, this decade did not see enough creative destruction…see AT&T.

As for creative greed , count me as a wounded, frustrated casualty. In 2000, I was way green and soft. When bad stuff happened to me I was a victim godammit! In 2009, when bad stuff happens to me, I blame myself. That’s a little growth.

In 2001, I was caught up in ‘collateral damage’ and I learned about diversification and humility. My lawyer was my best friend and saved/guided my ass (I love you Sara). I have written a few posts about it over the years . In 2009, I know that if my lawyer is my best friend, I am in trouble. That’s something.

Since my personal economic bottom in 2002, I have had many big victories . There was an insane amount of hard work, a lot of good fortune and a little luck. In 2005 I discovered blogging when I typed ‘term sheet’ into Google’s search box. I was directed to Brad Feld’s blog. I was inspired by Brad and his wicked blogroll of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. That term sheet was one I was writing for an angel investment in GolfNow.com .

As you know though, blogging is a waste of time and of no economic value.

In 2006, I started Wallstrip. In 2007, Wallstrip was purchased by CBS. Booyah!

In 2008, I co-founded Stocktwits. In 2009, True Ventures and Foundry (yep Brad Feld) invested. In 2010, someone from Russia will invest bonker dineros. That’s just how shit will go down in the next decade of the web.

It’s not just economic progress. It’s global, thermonuclear economic progress. Who will be there with me? Krugman, will you?

Howard Lindzon is a hedge fund manager since 1998. He is also the creator of Wallstrip.com (purchased by CBS in 2007) and now the cofounder of Stocktwits.com. Howard is also a partner in Knight’s Bridge Capital Partners a Private Equity Firm in Toronto, Canada. He blogs at www.howardlindzon.com and tweets at www.twitter.com/howardlindzon

Follow us on Twitter.

Sign up for Mediaite’s daily newsletter.

filed under

share this post

1 comment

Nachi says:

December 30, 2009 at 5:21 pm

0  0

The Decade. BushDrunk & Supporters. America’s spectacularly ugly footnote. The nasty, oily residue left on the pavement of the country/world by the GOP giant Hummer of destruction – before it could be hauled off to the crusher. A raw, filthy wound that will be with us for decades – if we survive that long. The worst & most demeaning years in American history.

Click here to cancel reply.

If you would like to comment, please login or register:

» Login » Register

Connect with your Facebook Account