Founders #108 Jim Simons (Money Printer)
Embrace Discomfort
- Don't be defeated by inevitable life struggles; focus on present actions.
- Persistent action, not fleeting emotions, defines success.
Valuing Talent
- At the IDA, talent was valued based on brainpower and ambition.
- Expertise was considered secondary to innate potential.
Close to the Money
- Gamblers, judged immediately on profit and loss, gain unique insights.
- Staying close to the "money" provides valuable information through experience.
What I learned from reading The Man Who Solved The Market: How Jim Simons Launched The Quant Revolution by Gregory Zuckerman
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The story of the greatest moneymaker of all time [0:01]
Simons prefers to move in silence [1:40]
Unknown Unknowns > Known Knowns / Wise people always know exactly why something won’t work. That is why I never employ an expert in full bloom. —Henry Ford [2:42]
A one word summary of the book: PERSISTENCE [4:15]
Simons’ early life / Only the arrogant are self-confident enough to push their creative ideas on others. —Nolan Bushnell [4:44]
Advice from his father: Do what you like in life, not what you feel you should do. [6:16]
Personality: Jim had a persistent and burning desire to be wealthy [7:20]
A seed has been planted + Jim’s existential crisis [9:55]
Lessons from codebreaking that Jim applies to his business later [14:08]
Jim Simons at 29 years of age: Fired, father of 3 young children, no idea what his future holds [20:00]
Jim Simons at 33 years of age: Genius and madness are next-door neighbors [21:44]
Jim Simons at 40 years of age: Jim finally makes the jump. Only misfits understand misfits [22:55]
Jim’s first trading style [28:00]
We all go through times like this: DON’T QUIT! [29:15]
Jim Simons at 44 years of age / Jim’s partner doesn’t see the point in developing automated trading system / Giant success followed by giants failures [34:30]
Back to being filled with self-doubt [37:15]
Our mind loves playing tricks on us [38:00]
Jim Simons studied the past to gain an information advantage [41:00]
Finally, the new strategy starts working! / Even with wild success people will tell you that you are wrong [46:55]
Business is like nature, it doesn’t care if you arrive at the right answer from the wrong reasoning. [52:50]
Emperors want empires [57:02]
Life advice from an 82 year old Jim Simons [1:02:40]
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