Before meeting Howard Lindzon, CEO and cofounder of StockTwits a largely successful social networking website (120,000 members and counting) geared toward the world of finance I envisioned something of a (stereotypical) “New York City stockbroker”: brusque demeanor, high-strung, etc. When I did meet him, however, he was the exact opposite of my assumptions: very relaxed, funny and courteous, and seemed to reflect the calm, casual vibe of Coronado. He, like many non-native Coronadans, visited Coronado on vacation with his family (in 2009) and decided it to be the perfect new home for his family and business. He now lives in the Village with his wife and kids, and has headquartered StockTwits in several office spaces on the top floor of an Ynez Place building.
A StockTwits Commercial
While StockTwits is Twitter-like in essence (with its concept of microblogging’, trending’ stream, and its StockTwits-created tagging language in which a ticker symbol preceded by a dollar sign creates a stream of that topic’s mentions), the website differs by being finance-specific, and serves as a medium for traders and investors to share “market insight, ideas, charts, and news streaming in real-time”. Though the company aims to gain intelligent and financially savvy members, Howard also explains that StockTwits is a great place for novices to “look over the shoulders” of veteran investors. Not only is StockTwits something Howard is truly passionate about and has fun doing, he also believes the website provides an important, modern tool where people can enrich their “stock smarts” and, as a result, make better investments. StockTwits ranks #8 on Fast Company‘s list of 10 Most Innovative Web Companies and is named one of Time Magazine’s 50 Best Websites of 2010.
Lindzon’s decision to relocate the StockTwits headquarters was largely based on a fondness for Coronado that developed upon vacationing here for the first time. “Coronado is a great place to start a company and raise a family,” he says, adding that he’d like to see more engineering and tech businesses establish here. Although he does miss his family and friends in Toronto (his birthplace) and Phoenix (former StockTwits headquarters and home for 20 years), he and the family are quite settled and enjoying their new lives here in Coronado. Some of Howard’s favorite things to do on the island include biking and sailing with the kids, golfing at the local course, and hanging around the Hotel del Coronado, where he is a member.
Howard mixing business with humor at the beach in Coronado
Though the StockTwits offices/headquarters are located in town, Howard states that very few people (aside from employees) actually set foot in the building. One of the perks to the online-based business is that it’s accessible from any internet-capable device, enabling Howard, the StockTwits team, and members to access the site and its information at virtually any time or place. Because of this, he occasionally works from his home office and also enjoys working from the comfort of the Del. It’s evident that he’s very attached to his company and speaks with passion about what he does. When I asked, out of curiosity, what profession he’d enjoy outside of this industry; his response was unexpectedly perfect: “I think I should be President,” he said (only half-jokingly).
Having an interest in finance myself, I wanted to know what advice a seasoned investor might have for beginners. Log on to StockTwits, Howard advises, and take advantage of the knowledge that its members have to offer. He believes that learning about the market and investments can be done through “osmosis” or immersion, and compares it to picking up Spanish by watching TV shows in the language it’s something that you’d pick up naturally if constantly surrounded by it.
Besides running StockTwits, Howard Lindzon is also the founder of Social Leverage (a company that invests in start-ups), author of The Wallstrip Edge: Using Trends to Make Money and The Stocktwits Edge: 40 Actionable Trade Set-Ups from Real Market Pros (a collaborative work coauthored with StockTwits team members Philip Pearlman and Ivaylo Ivanhoff, and several other contributors), manager of a hedge fund started in 1998, an avid (and often hilarious) blogger and “tweeter”, and now a proud Coronado resident.
www.StockTwits.com
www.HowardLindzon.com
@HowardLindzon on StockTwits and Twitter
