Skip to content

Why Did Nick Kokonas Shut Down a Risk-free Trade? · My First Million

My First Million

How to find your arbitrage (from the guy who’s done it 3x) ft. Nick Kokonas

Database on how long it takes to become a millionaire: https://clickhubspot.com/tyvc Episode 876: Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) sits down with Nick Kokonas ( https://x.com/nickkokonas ) to talk about finding arbitrages and how to win an many different games. — Show Notes: (0:00) Intro (9:45) How I Became a Trader With $60K (18:15) Surviving Day 1 of…

People

Notes

How Do You Know You Are Taking Enough Risk? at 1:25

Nick Kokonas knows he is taking enough risk when a morning feels close to throwing up and he has not thrown up yet. Full answer
What Does All Talk, No Action Mean? at 2:40

Nick Kokonas says all talk, no action is what AT&A means in his house. His wife uses the phrase on him. Full answer
Why Did Nick Kokonas Erase College From His Resume? at 13:43

Nick Kokonas erased college from his resume so a firm would hire him as a runner at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange for $5 and 25 cents an hour. Full answer
Why Did Nick Kokonas Offer to Pay His Own Boss? at 16:40

Nick Kokonas offered to pay a floor trader for the chance to work for him, because that trader was the only person in the pit who could teach what he was after. Full answer
Why Is Expertise a Trap? at 21:20

Nick Kokonas says expertise is a trap because comfort is how you get passed. Full answer
Why Is Every Arbitrage About Time? at 24:40

Nick Kokonas says every arbitrage is about the timescale. He turned down podcasts for about three years, then said yes to this one so he could say that. Full answer
Why Did Nick Kokonas Shut Down a Risk-free Trade? at 28:40

Nick Kokonas shut the trade down because it worked too well. Full answer
What Did Nick Kokonas's Father Say About Boats, Women, and Drugs? at 33:20

Nick Kokonas's father told him no boats, no women, and no drugs. Full answer
Why Did Nick Kokonas Quit the Trading Floor? at 38:00

Nick Kokonas quit the floor because the window was closing and he did not like who he had become. Every arbitrage shuts, fast or slow. Full answer
Why Are Tuesday and Saturday Dinner Reservations the Same Price? at 44:00

Tuesday and Saturday dinner reservations are the same price because restaurants still sell time as if every hour were worth the same. Full answer
How Often Should a Busy Restaurant Change Prices? at 46:23

Nick Kokonas says a busy restaurant should change its prices every day, every hour, or every minute. Full answer
Why Do Great Songwriters Throw Out Most Songs? at 49:47

Nick Kokonas says everything is grind: a great songwriter writes songs every day and throws out 98 percent of them, and while a song finished overnight might… Full answer
Why Did Alinea Publish Its Business Plan Before Opening? at 57:20

Alinea published its business plan before opening so strangers could fix it and so future guests would already feel part of it. Full answer
Why Did Alinea Start With an Empty Table? at 1:05:59

Nick Kokonas built the opening of Alinea on the concert Stop Making Sense. Full answer
Why Do Magicians Stand Next to You? at 1:13:20

Magicians stand next to you because trust follows the person looking at the same thing you are. Nick Kokonas took that from old magic books. Full answer
How Did Alinea Group Investors Get Paid? at 1:29:00

Alinea Group investors were paid from the first year, not only when the group was sold. Nick Kokonas sold the group in 2023. Full answer
How Did Tock Finish a Buyer's Question List in Three Days? at 1:34:20

Tock finished a buyer's list of 896 questions in three days because Nick Kokonas would not let the advisors set the pace. Full answer
Why Is Intensity the Strategy? at 1:39:36

Nick Kokonas says intensity is the strategy because winners do not know a secret he missed and they do not hold a magic formula. Full answer
What Did Nick Kokonas Tell Napa Grape Growers? at 1:44:12

Nick Kokonas keynoted the Napa Valley Grape Growers Association last spring after telling the group they had the wrong person. Full answer
What Is Strange House? at 1:58:00

Strange House is a walk-through built to make a stranger feel five years old, not a restaurant and not a magic show. Full answer

Related notes

Plays from this note through the rest of the episode.

Note