#108 Jim Simons (Money Printer)

What I learned from reading The Man Who Solved The Market: How Jim Simons Launched The Quant Revolution by Gregory Zuckerman ---- 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] ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast