“So we shall let the reader answer this question for himself: who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed?” - Hunter S. Thompson
A few days ago, I caught up with one of my closest friends, Ben Rubin, the Co-Founder and CEO of SnoFox. Our conversation followed our usual catching up routine: discussing what he and I are up to, updates about the other guys in our friend group, and being a sounding board for one another. Ben does a great job at seeing things objectively so when I ask him for advice, I take it to heart. I mention this because ever since Ben and I spoke, I’ve found myself reflecting on taking risks, betting on yourself, and the impact of pursuing your passion.
Quick sidebar - I suggest reading about the cool things Ben and his team are doing at SnoFox, which I have linked to above.
Our conversation amplified a lingering uneasy feeling that I’ve had since leaving my previous role. Rather than continuing to dismiss it, I decided to explore what has been nagging me and I’m thankful that I did because it finally hit me: it is easy to follow the path of least resistance, but it is infinitely less fulfilling than taking the road less traveled. I realized that the ‘nagging’ feeling was my subconscious’ way of telling me that I have been stuck and I need to act. In retrospect, I finally understood that my hesitation to accept offers in CIO and Portfolio Manager roles was not a function of nerves, but it was one of fear. Don’t get me wrong, as a 28-year-old, I am extremely fortunate and grateful to have been offered prestigious roles at a young age, but the fear of not pursuing my dream outweighed the positives that come with the roles I mentioned previously. As a result, my decision was made, I’m going to do what Ben did and bet the house on myself.
What that means is that I am going to pursue my lifelong dream of starting my own hedge fund. I have debated if I was going to publish this news, but I realized that I would be a hypocrite if I did not. As I stated in my previous piece, I believe that introducing one’s thoughts and ideas into the public square is a critical function of holding myself accountable and refining skills. Had I avoided announcing what I was going to do next out of fear that I would fail, I would be a hypocrite to my own process. So, if you’ve been wondering why it has been a week since I wrote last, now you know.
The idea of betting on yourself is a straightforward idea when taken at face value, but the actual execution of betting on yourself requires discipline, getting comfortable with risk-taking and most importantly, an unconditional belief in oneself. In keeping with the plan of executing my goal, I thought I’d give readers an overview of what’s next. I will be writing a more detailed piece at a later date focused solely on the fund, but I have written a brief overview below:
Introducing AlphaLoop Capital
AlphaLoop Capital (ALC) is a hedge fund managed by first-time fund manager, Tom Hogan. AlphaLoop Capital seeks to provide investors with non-correlated, asymmetric returns in an investing landscape that is increasingly focused on passive investing. The fund’s investment philosophy combines the traditional strategies of Long-short equities and Activist investing and marries it with event-driven tactical trading. AlphaLoop Capital’s actively managed investment strategy seeks to provide absolute returns through concentrated positioning and tactical trading. ALC will also look for opportunities to become activists in long positions, calling on Partners and Advisors to take board positions (via proxies) in companies where they have domain-expertise.
For those who are interested, please feel free to email me: [email protected]
To say I am excited to transform AlphaLoop Capital from an idea into an active fund is an understatement. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous, but a life without risk is one that I am not interested in. Life’s too short to let fear be in the driver’s seat – always bet the house on yourself.