I am Back as CEO Of Stocktwits - What Can You Expect?

Good morning everyone…

Last week I stepped back into the CEO role at Stocktwits. It has been about 8 years since I stepped away.

I am taking over for Rishi Khanna who we hired to be CEO in 2020. That was not an easy time as COVID was just beginning and the way we work was about to radically change. Rishi did a great job growing the community and business. The Company is well capitalized and in a great position to grow.

Way back in 2008 when we launched Stocktwits, Fred Wilson said about it…’if you love stocks and you love talking about them all day long, Stocktwits is for you’.

Today, I would add (so would Fred) Stocktwits is for people around the wortld that love talking about stocks, markets, crypto, blockchains, NFT’s and collectibles, 24/7/365.

The ‘cashtag’ that we created in 2008, still rules the fintwit world and the ‘.X’ ($btc.x) we created for discussing crypto is growing faster than ever on Stocktwits (and Fintwit) around the world.

This is a very exciting time for technology and markets even though the headlines, politics, and the mood suck. The people I trust and follow closely on the future of technology (people that have been right often and over a long period of time) are all excited and aligned about the opportunities in tech ahead including Fred Wilson, Chris Dixon, Andy Kessler, Michael Parekh, Jeff Richards, Om Malik, Jim O’Shaugnessy and Gavin Baker.

When I started Stocktwits in 2008, we were in the middle of the Great Financial Crisis. Today we are going through a ‘Deglobalization’ era/crisis. While we de-globalize, the world is reconnecting via blockchains and the power of semiconductors. My friend Brian Norgard (also on Stocktwits board) calls Google Maps ‘air’. Now semiconductors are air. They breathe into everything we use all day everyday like ‘maps’. Blockchains and chips make for a more exciting and interesting world for markets and growth than just financials and banks.

Just last week, Reddit filed for an IPO, and the companies that survived the IPO and tech crash hell of 2021 and 2022 are emerging extremely strong. Examples include $SPOT, $NET $ABNB $UBER $COIN, $SHOP, $SNAP, $PINS, $DDOG, $SNOW, $ESTC. Web 2.0 might be over, but the leaders are surviving and thriving. Their moats are incredible now that ZIRP is over. The lessons they have learned from intense valuation drawdowns in the 2022 meltdown will make them stronger.

Going quickly forward at Stocktwits, we will be tripling down on our roots of community and the people that make us great. That means important core product improvements and enhancements are coming quickly (search, AI, charting, fundamentals and group chat) so that the next generation of investors onboarded during the last boom has an incredibly useful and fun place to journal, banter and learn the language of the markets.

As I get older, my interests and passions about the markets have evolved and so will Stocktwits. Stocktwits has always been a ‘lean forward’ type of community and I doubt that will change. It should not have to. A next concentric circle of the Stocktwits brand/ecosystem will be more ‘lean back’ content starting with ‘Trends With Friends’. Tie-ins with the ‘luxury economy’ and wealth management are coming soon.

We will be quickly expanding our media voice and presence by way of our highly engaged email audience. Millions of Stocktwits content emails are opened weekly. Having a front row seat as a seed investor and board member at Beehiiv has opened my eyes to the best tool for the creator economy - email.

The international markets will also be a focus. We have been growing in India thanks to Shiv Sharma who has been leading the growth and community there. I introduced Shiv to Rishi after Shiv moved to Singapore to work at Amazon. Shiv was previously in Corp Dev at Cisco. Shiv loves stocks and markets as much as I do and so we convinced him to come do what he loves for Stocktwits. Now Shiv has stepped into the President role at Stocktwits helping all of Stocktwits grow.

From my newsletter the past year you know that tie-ins to the wild world of the sports betting and the degenerate economy are a must.

We plan to make a few acquisitions as well.

A few more changes at Stocktwits include the following additions to the team…

Seth McGuire has joined our board. I have known Seth a long time and it was one of my first calls after taking over as CEO. Seth has been a great leader in the fintech and data industry. At Gnip/Twitter….

Ted Merz has joined as an advisor to the company. Ted spent 33 years at Bloomberg and his last eight as the Global Head of News Product. Ted was instrumental in bringing Twitter into Bloomberg.

Having Seth, Ted and my Social Leverage partner Matt Ober (Matt was chief data scientist at at Third Point and before that co-head of data strategy at Worldquant) on our team has an incredible opportunity and even edge.

Last but not least my pal and ‘shrinkologist’ Phil Pearlman (my co-host on Trends With Friends) will be back advising our content and community team. Phil was my first hire after starting Stocktwits and set the ‘house rules’ that guide our community to this day.

Have a great Sunday.