Oct 22, 2021 Sign Up

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"If your business is the right business, then money will never be an issue." – Adam Neumann

Good morning! CFA exam pass rates are wylin'. The pass rate for Level II exam, slipped to an all-time low record of 29% in August, from 40% in May/June. In a much needed move, Fed is barring senior officials from purchasing individual securities, following disclosures last month that resulted in resignations of two reserve bank presidents.

Want to invest in Early-Stage Silicon Valley start-ups? Here’s your chance to invest in NanoVMs latest round.

As promised, please find the Short Squeez financial modeling course here, updated with the 2nd module. There are 5 modules in total and the remaining 3 will be sent every Friday over the next 3 weeks.

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1. Story of the Day: WeWork's 2nd Chance

WeWork has had a roller coaster ride. In 2019, it was valued at $47 billion after Softbank had poured $18.5 billion into the start up. Yesterday it went public via a SPAC at a $9 billion valuation.

WeWork's troubles began when the company released its IPO filing in August 2019. It had lost $1.9 billion the previous year, and was on track to run through its remaining cash. CEO, Adam Neumann's management style and activities, such as selling a trademark he owned ("We"), to WeWork for $6 million came under intense scrutiny. Neumann stepped down as CEO that month, and received a cool $1.7 billion to do so.

WeWork's troubles did not stop as it suffered massive losses after Covid-19 shut down its office spaces worldwide.

Yesterday, WeWork got a 2nd chance after its $9 billion SPAC merger with BowX Acquisition. After all the drama, Neumann is worth about $2.3 billion. Even after his share sales, he’ll own stock worth $722 million in the new company.

Short Squeez Takeaway: Only time will tell if WeWork is able to make the most of its 2nd chance. Adam Neumann is probably not worried though. Other than his WeWork ownership, his venture capital portfolio is worth $2 billion, which includes companies such as loan servicer Valon Mortgage and Selina, a hotel chain. His real estate portfolio is also worth about $1.5 billion. (Looks like he is doing slightly better than fellow scammer, Theranos founder, Elizabeth Holmes)

Source: Bloomberg

2. Markets Rundown

• Stocks were mostly higher on Thursday, with the S&P 500 rising to log an all-time high as a parade of strong earnings results and economic data helped buoy equity prices.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Digital World Acquisition ($DWAC) +356% after news that former President Trump's planned social media platform would go public through a merger with the special purpose acquisition company.
• (+) Crocs ($CROX) +9% after the shoemaker's third-quarter financial results exceeded analysts' expectations.
• (–) IBM ($IBM) -9% after it released third-quarter results late Wednesday that included a revenue miss but a slight earnings beat.

3. Top Reads

A Message from NanoVMs: Invest in This Early Stage Silicon Valley Startup

All tech companies run their software on a 30 year old server operating system called Linux. Google, Uber, Facebook and most of your favorites are all built on Linux. NanoVMs is pioneering a new server side operating system that runs Linux software faster and safer than Linux itself through it’s unikernel technology.

NanoVMs has raised $2.4M to date from investors such as Initialized Capital, Bloomberg Beta, L2 Ventures, Gula Tech Ventures and more. NanoVMs has received grants from the Department of Energy and holds a $950M ID/IQ from the United States Air Force. NanoVMs has been issued 3 patents and has four more filed.

Now you too can invest in NanoVMs latest round.

4. Book of the Day: The Long Game: How to Be a Long-Term Thinker in a Short-Term World

It's no secret that we're pushed to the limit. Today's professionals feel rushed, overwhelmed, and perennially behind. So we keep our heads down, focused on the next thing, and the next, without a moment to breathe. How can we break out of this endless cycle and create the kind of interesting, meaningful lives we all seek?

In The Long Game, Clark shares unique principles and frameworks you can apply to your specific situation, as well as vivid stories from her own career and other professionals' experiences. Everyone is allotted the same twenty-four hours—but with the right strategies, you can leverage those hours in more efficient and powerful ways than you ever imagined. It's never an overnight process, but the long-term payoff is immense: to finally break out of the frenetic day-to-day routine and transform your life and your career.

5. Short Squeez Picks

• An excerpt from "The Elements of Choice: Why The Way We Decide Matters." by Eric Johnson BehavioralScientist
• If you are a young professional looking to expand your social network and explore NYC, check out Shaka Club (Halloween party on Oct. 30th)
• The Algebra of Wealth 

6. Daily Visual: Stonks Lose Appeal
Net monthly deposits in crypto vs retail investing

Source: Axios

7.  Daily Acumen: Curiosity

“Scientists who study the mechanics of curiosity are finding that it is, at its core, a kind of probability algorithm—our brain’s continuous calculation of which path or action is likely to gain us the most knowledge in the least amount of time. 

Like the links on a Wikipedia page, curiosity builds upon itself, every question leading to the next. And as with a journey down the Wikipedia wormhole, where you start dictates where you might end up. That’s the funny thing about curiosity: It’s less about what you don’t know than about what you already do.”

Source: Farnam Street

8. Memes of the Day

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