Friday, February 20, 1998
The Benefit of Starting
Early
by David Berger
([email protected])
I don't know what it was that got me started in reading the agate type in the Times. My memories of childhood include following my mock portfolio of things I knew: Coca-Cola, Mattel, and this tiny little company called Coleco. My parents were amazed, and could have sworn I was going to grow up to be quite Wise. Little did they know the Fool I'd become.
My first foray into actual stock investing was in college. I bought 100 shares of the company that made my favorite computer game for the Commodore64. One year after I graduated from college, I took that $825 investment in Electronic Arts, and put down $10,000 to buy my first car. I really thought I knew what I was doing.
Early success keeps you from being "scared" of investment decisions. Looking back, I should have been. I knew nothing about EA except that it made games I liked. I was fortunate that a few weeks later, they received the rights to make games for Nintendo and Sega, and the rest is history.
I've made mistakes since then -- listening to a cold-call broker, bottom-feeding on stocks that "just can't disappear," (they do), buying on rumor instead of research.
When those things happen, I look back on my "lucky" first investment, and refocus on what really makes good investing: Sound companies with good products and a propensity for growth. This Fool doesn't get fooled much anymore.
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