Thirsty for Financial Skills

I’m passionate about coding but lately I have been spending a lot of free time studying money. First, Fred Wilson’s MBA Mondays turned me on to some of the financial fundamentals of business. Next, I had to cope with TweetRiver‘s taxes, which is extremely frustrating since I know almost nothing about accounting or corporate taxes (thankfully, I learned I could file an extension on the 1120, whew).

The switch in my brain really flipped when I read The Big Short by Michael Lewis, which mentioned You Can Be a Stock Market Genius a few times. I was intrigued and bought the book billed as “the great investing book with a terrible name.”

I couldn’t put either book down. I am very intrigued with the analysis of special situation and value investing. I would really love nothing more than a great education on how to value a company, not only by its financials but also by understanding what makes a business a great business (Warren Buffett style).

There is one quality about financial/business analysis that is really new to me relative to my skills as a developer: the uncertainty of it all. The reason why I loved Computer Science in college was that I knew if my answer to a problem was right or wrong, period. Contrast that with making trades or deciding what idea to pursue as an entrepreneur – I just can’t ever feel fully confident. Maybe it’s healthy self doubt or maybe I’m just too much of a novice.

I guess we’ll see what happens as I start to explore this field more.

On another note, I’m just plain thirsty lately. I need to drink more water….