Page 19 - THE MARKET WHISPERER

18 Foreword

They wanted their money, and they wanted it pronto. They, too, began to
air threats while foreclosing my accounts and simultaneously adding fuel
to the fire with more fines, commissions, and interest at gray market rates.
In less than a year, a half-million dollars ballooned into one million. What
does one do? How can the debt be covered? What about the house and
mortgage? How can interest be repaid when it charges ahead at the speed
of a red Ferrari Turbo?

Most people who find themselves in this situation declare bankruptcy,
raise their hands in despair, and disappear from the market. Today, I
understand them. Very few of them ever return to business activities. But I
was never part of the majority crowd. Instead, I took the advice of a lawyer
who deftly gave me one of the best, most effective pearls of wisdom I had
ever heard: “Don’t seek the protection of the courts of law. Don’t deny the
debts. Admit they exist, speak to the debtors, reach an arrangement, and
pay them off!”

I did as he had suggested. The banks gave me some breathing space,
reduced the debts and interest, and left me some room to maneuver,
hoping that I’d repay the debts. That was all I needed. Instead of weeping
over my bitter plight, their flexibility was a huge motivator to return to
business activities and take my future in hand.

Upward Trend

It was 2000, the slowdown of the tempestuous hi-tech run-up to Y2K.
A short while before the dot-com bubble burst, I held rich business
experiences and numerous ideas for innovative Internet products that
would conquer the world during the period when millions of dollars
still flowed freely to Internet startups. Within just a few short months, I
established a fantastic startup, recruited partners, and raised several
million dollars. Money was flowing again.

The hi-tech life was good to me. But like so many others in hi-tech,
especially after the bubble had burst, the market collapsed, and investor
funds ran dry, I felt as though I was stuck in one place. I was bored with
waking up early every morning, getting to work before traffic started,
returning home late after the traffic jams, and catching up with my family
pretty much only on weekends. I experienced a mini-crisis one day when
my wife asked me to take our little girl to kindergarten, which I happily
did. But when we arrived, my daughter turned to me and said, “Daddy, that
was my kindergarten two years ago…”

I sought a way to leave the rat race, pay back my debts, and make that