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How to Run a Ponzi Scheme for Tech People

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Re: How to Run a Ponzi Scheme for Tech People

#171

Post by dannyw »

LatteLazy wrote: post #21
an_opabinia wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> For a classic example, just look at /r/wallstreetbets -- young people are frustrated because there's no end to this tunnel That's a bad example. By many measures retail investors have outperformed institutional investors since March. The simple reason is that options have a built in exit strategy, the thing that's missing when most people lose in scams - including Ponzi schemes! On the flip side, why then do they o…

Not trying to sound aggy but... Do you have a source for retail investors out performing institutions since march? I'd like to know more about this and I haven't heard anything but I've been pretty disconnected from news so excuse my ignorance please!

There’s no credible way to precisely define this, especially because success of investing is not purely based on returns of a half year horizon or so.

Re: How to Run a Ponzi Scheme for Tech People

#172

Post by dvt »

coldtea wrote: post #33
dvt wrote: post #6

This article is fantastic. I think "get rich quick" schemes are so much worse when it comes to my generation and beyond (millennials/gen-z). People have been endlessly screwed over: graduated college during the 2008 economic bust, lived with parents until their 30s, fired/laid off during the 2020 pandemic -- so I fundamentally understand the mirage of Instagram fame and endless sacks of money for doing basically noth…

> How does one break out when everyone's taking glamorous selfies in Thailand but I'm working in a dingy apartment trying to build the next big app? Isn't the idea of building the "next big app" itself based on the same kind of get-rich-quick mindset those schemes are exploiting? Only except for the "nomad lifestyle" or "selling courses", etc, it's supposed to happen by coding in a dingy apartment. But it's equally u…

> How about merely building a business? Think small indie developer or Basecamp at best, vs Facebook and Amazon.

I think you're getting hung up on my qualifier of "big" -- really, I'd be very happy to make 250k yearly off of a project (a far cry from Basecamp's $25MM yearly revenue), but even ramen profitability is hard, let alone getting to quarter-of-a-million.

Re: How to Run a Ponzi Scheme for Tech People

#173

Post by refurb »

bsanr2 wrote: post #146
refurb wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trading creates liquidity, which supports a healthy capital market which companies can access for capital.

(I mean so does heavy taxation of capital ~hoarders~ holders, to be redistributed among the country's labor base, who will then tend to spend it immediately on goods or personal investment, but we don't talk about that. OR The point of liquidity is to get people doing things, but the status quo today seems more like giant firms trading above our heads to manage the risk of rent-seeking on an increasingly precariously…

Neither of your points seem based on an accurate understanding of the financial markets.

Re: How to Run a Ponzi Scheme for Tech People

#174

Post by esoterica »

dx87 wrote: post #20

The "nomad" posts always bugged me, especially when it's someone traveling around the world by working odd jobs and relying on the kindness of strangers. They're always presented in a way to make you feel bad about having a steady 9-5 working for "the man" when you could be seeing the world and being free. They conveniently leave out the fact that their lifestyle is completely dependent on the majority of people work…

I think being a digital nomad implies working a remote job that's not tied to your location? If you work odd jobs you're just a regular nomad.

Re: How to Run a Ponzi Scheme for Tech People

#175

Post by zimpenfish »

goatinaboat wrote: post #155
coldtea wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd say the combo of "work ethic, risk tolerance, and perseverance against ridiculous odds" involved in Tesla/Apple/etc, is orders of magnitude more commonly found than actual Tesla/Apple/etc level success...

I'd say the combo of "work ethic, risk tolerance, and perseverance against ridiculous odds" involved in Tesla/Apple/etc, is orders of magnitude more commonly found than actual Tesla/Apple/etc level success... Agreed. For every tech millionaire there are a thousand guys who are just as smart and worked just as hard and it didn’t work out for whatever reason. Maybe their timing was off by a mere 6 months for example. T…

> Maybe their timing was off by a mere 6 months for example.

First job I had (1995) was "Classified Ads on the Internet" - back then it was expensive to host a website and hugely expensive to add CGI (I think Demon wanted maybe £300 a month for that?) and the money ran out after a year. If they'd been able to keep it funded for, say, another 2-3 years, until home internet was more accessible, I think they'd have been in a pretty good position to own UK classifieds on the web (at least for a while.)

Re: How to Run a Ponzi Scheme for Tech People

#176

Post by ajmadesc »

v64 wrote: post #14
dvt wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That's a bad example I don't think it's a bad example, because if you spend some time on that subreddit, you'll quickly realize people are literally gambling with their life savings. In no small part due to disillusionment and cynicism with the current economic realities -- we can no longer work at a stable company, marry a pretty wife, have a couple of kids, retire 40 years later, and live off of a plump 401k.

> you'll quickly realize people are literally gambling with their life savings Gambling, yes. But the stock market is not a ponzi scheme.

It kind of is. 1. Debt accumulates 2. Return on investment grows faster than the economy 3. Capital starts to strangle economy through rent causing political tensions. 4. Suffering 5. Economic reset through war, revolution, plague.

Re: How to Run a Ponzi Scheme for Tech People

#177

Post by bawolff »

coldtea wrote: post #163
closeparen wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Check the footer of the website you’re on right now? The whole thing is content marketing for an offering of capital.

Ah, the "pretty easy" part is "convince some VCs"?

Yes indeed, convince VC's is a lot easier than being born a millionaire

Re: How to Run a Ponzi Scheme for Tech People

#178

Post by ajmadesc »

refurb wrote: post #173
bsanr2 wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(I mean so does heavy taxation of capital ~hoarders~ holders, to be redistributed among the country's labor base, who will then tend to spend it immediately on goods or personal investment, but we don't talk about that. OR The point of liquidity is to get people doing things, but the status quo today seems more like giant firms trading above our heads to manage the risk of rent-seeking on an increasingly precariously…

Neither of your points seem based on an accurate understanding of the financial markets.

Neither of his points seem based on Economic dogma shoved down your throat during undergrad.

Re: How to Run a Ponzi Scheme for Tech People

#179

Post by cultofmetatron »

coldtea wrote: post #33
dvt wrote: post #6

This article is fantastic. I think "get rich quick" schemes are so much worse when it comes to my generation and beyond (millennials/gen-z). People have been endlessly screwed over: graduated college during the 2008 economic bust, lived with parents until their 30s, fired/laid off during the 2020 pandemic -- so I fundamentally understand the mirage of Instagram fame and endless sacks of money for doing basically noth…

> How does one break out when everyone's taking glamorous selfies in Thailand but I'm working in a dingy apartment trying to build the next big app? Isn't the idea of building the "next big app" itself based on the same kind of get-rich-quick mindset those schemes are exploiting? Only except for the "nomad lifestyle" or "selling courses", etc, it's supposed to happen by coding in a dingy apartment. But it's equally u…

Working as a software engineer remote is easy mode compared to everyone else. You don't have to spend your time coding in a dingy apartment. There are plenty of people that will pay you a descent wage to work and you can do that from a nice cafe in Thailand. Living costs are low enough that you can pay your bills working part time while spending the rest working on your get rich long term side hustle. I'm writing this as we speak from an airbnb in Turkey with much lower living expenses than when I was in san francisco.

Re: How to Run a Ponzi Scheme for Tech People

#180

Post by rorykoehler »

jasonkester wrote: post #167
rorykoehler wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you written about the magic formula? Care to share?

Yes. A bit. Check out my comment history here for more detail but mostly it’s this: Work remote contracts to fund yourself while building a saas business targetting real problems that companies will spend money on. Repeat as necessary until you hit a niche that works. My first success was on try number six or so. The second was half a dozen tries later. Good luck!

It's basically what I'm doing however I have steered clear of B2B as I suspect the 10 hours a week will be hard to stick to once I have paying customers who have support requirements. How do you contain expectations in that regard?
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