Best Entrepreneur Ever

I was reading a story about Iraqi insurgents, and how they often wear ski masks to avoid identification. This made me wonder, who was the genius entrepreneur who decided to sell ski masks in the desert? Man, talk about your “outside the box” thinking. Be honest, how many of you, at the start of the Iraq war, thought “They’re going to need a lot of ski gear”?

Any time there’s some huge disaster, my first thought is “How could I make a fortune off of this?” It’s more of a thought-hobby than a financial strategy. I just like thinking about it.

[At this point, about 30% of my readers are considering leaving a comment about buying land 100 miles inland and waiting for global warming to turn it into beachfront property. I’m saying it first so you don’t have to.]

I’d love to see a web site that tells you what companies to invest in depending on what events you believe will happen in the future. The web site would provide an ever-growing list of potential future happenings matched with companies that would prosper in those events. I’d enjoy watching the news a lot more if I had money riding on every sort of outcome.

For example, I’d like to know which companies will prosper when Mitt Romney becomes president. We usually elect the tall guy with the best hair regardless of his experience or policies. No one ever went broke underestimating the thoughtfulness of the American public. I’d like to put some money on that.

I also think the Iraqi civil war will be resolved relatively quickly once America pulls its forces back to protected bases. I make this prediction because the common wisdom is exactly the opposite. When was the last time the majority of Americans predicted world events correctly?

If you ask me whether the stock price of some particular company will increase faster than the S&P 500, my answer is always “Uh. . . beats the shit out of me.” But if you ask me whether my fellow Americans will make uninformed and irrational decisions, I’m willing to put some money behind that.

Comments

[Brad]

Scott, this is basically the premise of Nassim Nicholas Taleb's The Black Swan. Or, if you want the condensed version you can read to your cat, try this:

http://www.gladwell.com/2002/2002_04_29_a_blowingup.htm

It actually hints at his options trading strategy which is to lose a little bit every day and hit it big occasionally on someone else's screwup.

[Dougal888]

I don't know a hell of a lot about it but I expect that ski masks have been popular in Iraq for a very long time - and not at all for terrorist purposes, as one typically paranoid poster assumed. Has no one else heard of Sand Storms? Surely a ski mask would be standard equipment on your camel if you were a desert dweller.

[Sir]

Just regarding Mitt Romney and electing the best looking guy, I think that there are some good looking candidates that get eliminated before anyone gets the party nomination. I just think that this bet would be safer once the two finalists are selected.

[Walter Guest]

Before 9-11 I bought a few hundred shares of a little company that was near my home in orange County. Their main product was truck engine parts. Then it turned out (unbeknownst to me) they made the most reliable flak jacket available.

Zoom! Thru the roof.

[Jim]

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We usually elect the tall guy with the best hair regardless of his experience or policies.
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That's a stunningly insightful observation!
Provided that you've never heard of 2004, or 2000, or 1988. Apparently your definition of "usually" is "in 2 out of the last 5 cases."

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When was the last time the majority of Americans predicted world events correctly?
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Another brilliant rhetorical question. Until you realize that Americans don't sit around making predictions all day; we leave that to bored cartoonists, especially those who predicted Joe Biden will win the next US presidential election. Your genious overwhelms.

[Billy B]

There must be a good amount of money to be made selling black market ammunition considering how the world is getting, and how I expect it to get the next twenty years. Anarchy, recognized or not because it is hid within an organized government uses up a lot of ammo.

Gotta run, I need another box of bullets.
Billy B

[rd]

oh i miss the Sunday Serious Post badly
don't know about entrepreneurship anything
but so anticipate that this will happen in our lifetime
i mean - the Contact
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldobKRWKfgk
cool cartoon from childhood

[Eddie]

There is a web site to predict future events, it's called Tradesports.com.

[Mark Thorson]

Where's today's blog? I'm
going to complain to my ISP
if it doesn't show up soon!
Where's my Internet! Fix it!
What do I pay you guys for?

[PW]

Easy light, flamable flags, maybe with a safety pole/handle. I constantly see protesters on the TV news trying to burn American and British flags, either without much success or else the opposite, they burst into flames nearly catching the protester.

[Real Live Girl]

You can never lose money persuading women there's something else they need to do to themselves to look better.

For the most part, I try and keep up but I simply don't have the time to get every appendage waxxed, buffed, shined, and painted. Just deciding to wear sandals adds 30 minutes to my get dressed & ready routine.

And I pale in comparison to the many women who are using their toes as a canvas and have pictures plus jewelry on them.

Even though it will most likely make the trendsetter a millionaire, I will put the hurt on the next person who thinks of something new I can decorate on my body!

[Steffen]

Just try and listen to "A satisfied mind" of Johnny Cash. Maybe then you stop this constant bickering about money!

[Borjan]

The best entrepreneur ide ever was this:

http://www.lunarembassy.com/lunar/shops.lasso?-database=aa654s5677556pr&-layout=US$_pr9981_en&-response=index_e.lasso&-NoResultsError=index_e.lasso&-token.affindex=&-token.trackindex=1313547&-token.rn=15802721&-token.cs=US$&-token.rs29=33&-token.rscd=LE&-token.firstlogin=&-token.skip=&-show

Genius all the way! And just on the idea the man already earned more than 20 million dollars...

[Mark Bowness]

Brilliant. Absolutely Brilliant!

Mark Bowness

[alister]

If Mitt Romney gets up, corner the market in those stupid magical Mormon underpants. You'll make a killing! That, and if you manage to control the supply of unmarried women looking for a husband who already has a wife...

[Mark]

Don't you mean "misunderestimating?"

[jerry w.]

In California, I'd say you might want to buy land about 1/4 mile East of the San Andreas fault line. There's no need to wait years for global warming when the big one is just around the corner. And of course, that corner might be moving tonight.

As for Mitt Romney, being Jewish (Mormon for Infidel) means that I have my own concerns. My plan is to market a product that I'll call "Bris-A-Way". It's slipped on sort of like a condom, and gives the user the look of still having a foreskin. Pre-lubricated, it will be easy to slip into when there comes that 4 in the morning knock at the door. Naturally, it will be available in a variety of skin tones, such as Ashkenasi and Sephardic, this way the carpet matches the drapes (so to speak).

http://boskolives.wordpress.com/

[anonmeous]

We invested in a local tatoo removal business and it has
been paying off big time now. It has been so popular to get
one we figured there would be alot of folks wanting to have
their "permamnent" mistakes removed.

[Steveo]

You sure got mean once you turned 50.

[KOW]

There was an entrepreneur pre-selling beach front property in the Hawaiian islands. I believe it's about 10 000 years from now they expect the land to rise from the sea.

[Mark Thorson]

I've been thinking the same
thing about who will prosper
when the massive Hollywood
strike occurs. The guilds
for the writers, actors, and
directors are gearing up for
one of the biggest strikes
in history. The stakes are
high (royalties over Internet
distribution of films and
video), and the last time an
issue like this arose
(royalties over videotape
and CD sales) the guilds were
royally shafted. They're not
going to let that happen
again.

If the strike is protracted,
the best play might be to buy
failing businesses affected
by the strike, on the
assumption that they'll become
profitable again when the
strike is over. For example,
bars and restaurants near
movie studios. The beauty
of this strategy is you can
wait until the strike occurs
(and has run for some time)
before making the decision
to buy in. You aren't really
gambling on a future event
occurring. (There could
always be a last-minute
settlement, but that seems
unlikely at this time.)

As an investor in restaurants,
maybe you could take a trip
down to Hollywood and Burbank
to scout out the busiest,
most profitable places right
now. If you wait until after
the strike begins, you might
not be able to tell for sure
which places represent the
biggest potential returns.

For more information on the
looming strike, see:

http://artfulwriter.com/archives/2007/02/the_average_wri.html

[Eugene]

Well, you can put money on the proposition that Mitt Romney will become president at intrade.com. It's a good way to cut through the bull that the media spins and see what really matters.

[Alegis]

If you buy land 100 miles inland you will, oh wai-

never mind.

[Sqeaky]

I am making that web site, Please don't sue me...

I think the lawyers actually have the market on this cornered. They can make money just by chasing ambulances. Talk about making money off every little tragedy.

[T.G.]

Just this morning i was thinking that would be good to have a sort of plastic that don't degrade. Despite all what is said, like that a plastic bag needs 300 years to disintegrate, my experience reduces it from 4 to about 10 years depending on place and thickness ... maybe my land is too bioactive ... and also, not a too wise global warming investment, only 50km from coast line but about 600m above (current) sea level, if the sea reachs here ... well ... a lot of things will not matter anymore :).