Rich Courses, Poor Lessons

"Too good to be true" is such a cliche - but it's a good one and it's true. Investing is a breeding ground for charlatans. Which makes sense. Wherever there's money, they're there. The scam I see a lot of lately involves training from stock market "geniuses". A classic. Fake experts have always existed, the internet has just made them louder.

The con is simple. A promise of outsize returns through some kind of proprietary system or insights. A guarantee in returns is a guaranteed red flag. Even the best acknowledge investing is hard and returns are finicky. Anyone who is this confident are at best misinformed, at worst a liar.

They'll show charts of amazing performance. Usually beating the market by hundreds of points. Shouting you can learn to do it too!.....for just a few hundred bucks. What a value, right?

This is usually nothing more than cherrypicked (or made up) data. Think about it. If they had the key to the markets, why would they give it away? Sharing eliminates all of its value. Why not profit off the insights themselves?

They don't make money from investing because they can't. They make money from people who think they can. Those who can't do, teach.

It's alarming how many scammers are out there. From the young to the old, from Tik Tok to Yahoo Finance. They are everywhere. Be careful of their ads. They try to make it look like real research when it's just them selling their junk.

If you're reading finance blogs, you're likely literate enough to ignore these. They're after the financially vulnerable. Spread the word if you know anyone who might get caught up.

Comments

Today's Special: Humble Pie

You champion a project, fight for an idea, and then...reality sets in. That churning in your stomach isn't butterflies, it's the realization you've missed the mark. Pride will puff up your chest, and kick in the "defend at all costs" instinct. But arguing with the umpire never changed a call. Admitting you're wrong isn't a sign of weakness. It can strengthen your professional standing. In a world obsessed with the illusion of infallibility, the courage to adjust course is a breath of fresh air. It shows you're confident enough to be wrong, and adaptable enough to learn from it. Do your research, think critically, and stand behind your decisions. But when the data whispers (or screams) otherwise, don't be afraid to swallow that slice of humble pie. Be the first to acknowledge. Don't wait for someone to point out your mistake. Be open, take responsibility, and most importantly, focus on what you're going to do to address it. Don't dwell ...

When Perfect Becomes a Problem: The iCar Story

Let's talk about Apple's iCar, or rather, the ghost of it. A decade. Ten billion dollars. Poof. Gone. Like a puff of smoke from a dream that never quite woke up. They wanted to launch a revolution, a fully-formed, flawless chariot. But revolutions aren't born in secret labs; they're forged in the messy, chaotic crucible of the real world. You don't build a movement by hiding in the shadows. You don't create a product people love by ignoring them. You don't change the world by waiting for perfection. It's about the minimum viable. It's about shipping early, shipping often, and listening—really listening—to the people you're trying to serve. Apple built a cathedral of secrecy. A monument to what might have been. And then, they tore it down. They spent billions on a dream, while ignoring the simple truth: the market doesn't care about your dreams. It cares about solutions. It cares about things that work. So, here's the lesson: stop chasing...

Why We Shouldn't Be Afraid of Ambiguity

Ambiguity. That fuzzy monster that chases us down darkened hallways, whispering doubts about our roadmap and feature sets. You know the feeling. You constantly wrestle with unknowns: Will users like this? Is this the right direction? Frankly, if you had a nickel for every time the answer wasn't crystal clear, well, you might actually want to chase that ambiguity down the hall. But here's the thing: ambiguity isn't your enemy. It's your dance partner. Innovation rarely happens in a land of perfect clarity. Sure, there's a time for well-defined processes. But when you're creating something new, there are bound to be more questions than answers. The key is to learn to waltz with the unknown . Embrace the experiment. Don't be afraid to throw some spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks. Focus on outcomes, not outputs. Don't get hung up on features. What problem are you trying to solve? How will you measure success? Get comfortable with "go...

Herman Ye

Search