Investing and Trading....Just Words.

I love investing and I love trading. The longer I do both, the more connected the two seem to be but in 2011, trading is the devil’s work while investing is god’s work.

I call bullshit.

As the world shrinks and everyone is connected socially, the line between trading and investing has blurred as well.

Today, startups have never had more access to capital (we could argue forever if it’s easier or harder to get) and they have never had a greater access to exits – corporations with cash and underinvested in technology and Second Markets (SecondMarket, Sharespost, Felix, Cantor….). We are not all born, raised or educated equally, but the tools to succeed as an entrepreneur, investor and trader have leveled the playing field.

There are two things that matter to me. One is access to capital which may never be equal but the web is making easier every day (see WordPress, Twitter, Stocktwits, Angel.co etc…) and attitude. Attitude is something you can completely control.

In the markets (public and private) you are competing against a lot of knuckleheads. Most have the wrong attitude and lose money. They than blame the system. Here is what a knucklehead with the wrong attitude to invest or trade sounds like (fresh from one of my blog posts):

I would not let this person invest $5 for me and if I was a client that knew his real identity I would be frightened. The great news about the web is you can actually follow him. It may be worth it just to do the opposite.

In my home, I want Max and Rachel to experience the thrill (and opportunity costs) of ringing the register and investing in long-term projects. Max has his lemonade stand and Rachel has her reading. I wish Max read more and we are pestering him daily and we need to get Rachel to understand the thrill of the register. They also need to be in an environment that allows them to experiment and fail.

To get the best returns on your capital, do not pigeonhole your style with ‘words’.

I invested a lifetime of energy and thinking about stocks when I created Wallstrip, but when CBS acquired it 8 months after we started it, my investors had themselves a trade. I did as well. Wallstrip was a trade that started out as an investment, but the experience was an incredible investment.

I invested in Assistly which was 4 partners and an unfinished product, but 18 months later Salesforce acquired it so an investment I did not expect to see a return on for 4-10 years was now a trade.

I thought I would get a quick flip when I invested in the Rent.com series Q round in 2000, but it ended up being a great investment and people think I am smart.

Over the years I have had to call myself an investor and trader, now I just say let’s put money to work and have a plan and an open mind to change it tomorrow.