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Hey guys,
I'm looking for some help with choosing the right focus for my business, as I'm feeling a bit lost right now. I wanted to talk about it with someone, and I think this forum is a great place to do that.
First, a bit about me. I'm quite familiar with the Fastlane model but what I struggle with is the execution. I’m a programmer with over 15 years of experience (running my own web dev business, etc.). A few years ago, I switched to quant finance (systematic trading) using AI/ML. I even got a PhD in this field (because I wanted to learn how it's done, not just for the degree). I'm really good at math, coding, statistics, etc., and I usually find solutions to problems that others find tough in this field. After my PhD, I started working in academia, which I'm not too happy about. The pay is shit, and I struggle with the archaic structures and the publication system. It was never my main goal, just something to help pay the bills while working on what I really want to do, and it doesn't take up too much of my time.
Now, I have a few business ideas in this field, but I'm struggling to choose the right direction. Trying to tackle all of them at once is almost like doing nothing — no real progress in any direction.
Here are my business ideas, in order of my preference:
Thanks a lot,
Jakub
I'm looking for some help with choosing the right focus for my business, as I'm feeling a bit lost right now. I wanted to talk about it with someone, and I think this forum is a great place to do that.
First, a bit about me. I'm quite familiar with the Fastlane model but what I struggle with is the execution. I’m a programmer with over 15 years of experience (running my own web dev business, etc.). A few years ago, I switched to quant finance (systematic trading) using AI/ML. I even got a PhD in this field (because I wanted to learn how it's done, not just for the degree). I'm really good at math, coding, statistics, etc., and I usually find solutions to problems that others find tough in this field. After my PhD, I started working in academia, which I'm not too happy about. The pay is shit, and I struggle with the archaic structures and the publication system. It was never my main goal, just something to help pay the bills while working on what I really want to do, and it doesn't take up too much of my time.
Now, I have a few business ideas in this field, but I'm struggling to choose the right direction. Trying to tackle all of them at once is almost like doing nothing — no real progress in any direction.
Here are my business ideas, in order of my preference:
- Algo trading strategies - There's a big demand in the market for effective trading strategies, automated or not. I often get messages from companies looking for quants with their own systems to trade their funds. I could also license the strategies or trade on my own (raising funds wouldn't be a huge issue). The challenge is that creating a profitable strategy is extremely difficult, bordering on nearly impossible, even for experienced quants. The risk is that I could work for 10 years and never find anything that performs better than a simple buy-and-hold. On the upside, if I did manage to create something successful (as there are examples of individuals and companies who have), the profits could be nearly unlimited.
- Education - In my time in academia, I've seen that the demand for education in this field is also high. I can teach anything from basic coding in any programming language, data science, AI/ML, to quant finance. The market is reachable through selling courses, webinars or training workshops. The issue is it is getting crowded, especially with programming/AI courses. My edge could be the high quality of my courses, as I find many out there to be quite poor. Also, there aren't many courses in quant/algo trading, but the interest in them is limited, as it requires a deep understanding of math/stats and can be a bit boring.
- Writing - I was also thinking about writing books and other materials on these topics. Again, the market here seems a bit saturated. Academic books are good but often dry and hard to get through, even for me. My approach would be to make them more practical and engaging. The downside is that I'm not a natural writer and don't particularly enjoy writing, but I could work on that.
- Services - After spending over a decade in the services business, I have no interest in going back to it.
- Software - Developing software solutions in this field would be a natural fit for someone with my background. However, these solutions can be extremely complex, and I don't have many ideas that could compete with current market offerings.
Thanks a lot,
Jakub
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