The Goods from Stocktoberfest 2014 That’ll Get Me to STF2015

The Goods from Stocktoberfest 2014 That’ll Get Me to STF2015

Oct 31, 2014

On the heels of this week’s 3rd successful Stocktoberfest conference, organized by Stocktwits and Howard Lindzon, I’ve put my takeaways together as a signpost to compare to the future editions of what’s become a highlight of the year.

  1. Phil Pearlman deserves a talk show format where he’s on the couch and Guests sit behind the desk.  “Study your mind as closely as you study your charts.” I’d watch it.
  2. It’s a natural high to get out of routines, (re)visit gorgeous destinations (HT Coronado), meet fascinating people, and buzz from valuable interactions of trending ideas and hard-nosed experience. I feel like I’ve received an oxygenated, nutrient-rich blood transfusion.
  3. Brokers like E*TRADE and TD Ameritrade buck the trend, come to Stocktoberfest to listen, and actively engage with everyone’s ideas. Makes them evergreen leaders in my book. Where’s that intangible show up on a chart? Balance Sheet? Long. Really.
  4. This edition will be remembered for its spotlight on the growing services and information ecosystem around crowd funding and bitcoin. Firms like DataFox and others are creating the means to make high quality decisions previously reserved only for the most capitalized investment bankers and VCs.
  5. Benzinga’s got its act together building out a financial content machine without going HuffPo on us. Marketfy a case in point here: great job of aggregating what’s diffusing for readers and publishers alike.
  6. Thank you Gregor Macdonald for making energy thought provoking. I’m watching the Trade Ideas Energy Channel with renewed focus as a result.
  7. The 80/50 Rule.
  8. George T. Stagg is the slowest drink you should ever consume at 135 proof! Many thanks to Nick Fenton for his generosity and good times. I’m a fan!
  9. Another gentleman of good taste and generousness: Hand of God winemaker, Jon ‘El Jefe’ Staenberg at Vigilucci’s. Great wines from Mendoza, Argentina. Great conferences have their wildcards onstage as well as mingling around!
  10. Ross Levinsohn was as good as it gets. I appreciated his blunt talk about his time at Yahoo! as CEO.
Most clever tweet of the conference goes to Andy Swan.
Next year I’m sitting next to: Frank Zorilla and Dave Whitmore. They didn’t miss a beat it seems.
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