Customer Reviews

The Wallstrip (TM) Edge: Using Trends to Make Money -- Find Them, Ride Them, and Get Off

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"You need to start thinking that there are no boundaries to what can be done by someone with an idea and a will to succeed- from any corner of the earth." (page 185)

Howard Lindzon's premise for The Wallstrip Edge is very simple: You Can Use Trends to Make Money. Throughout the book he explains an investment strategy that he coined as `trend-following'. He proposes that you can become a very successful investor if you maintain a strict focus on 3 things: (1) canceling out 100% of life's `noise' including TV, (2) constantly seeking out opportunities while maintaining a `glass-as-half-full' mentality and (3) following stocks that are trading at 52-week highs.

The book is entertaining, easy to read, and is packed with mainstream references including Seinfeld in order to help every Average Joe reader understand concepts in an easy-to-grasp manner. Howard Lindzon is a very talented writer and uses the same writing style that's helped him generate thousands of dedicated followers at his blog @ HowardLindzon.com.

He uses many of his own life experiences in The Wallstrip Edge in order to teach the concept of trend-following and he's 100% transparent about his past & present investments--both his home-runs and embarrassing flops alike. Some of the book's best lessons come from Howard's failures as an investor and his openness, honesty and ability to poke fun at himself kept me very engaged as a reader.

The book covers a wide variety of topics but Howard always finds a way to relate the content back to his central theme of trend-following. The last few chapters of the book serve as Howard's "trends to watch" and his personal insight into social networking trends have inspired me to act immediately. Why? Because in his opinion social networking (Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, etc.) is the faster-than-a-speeding-bullet train that's leaving the station right as I type this book review.

The Wallstrip Edge is a book that every entrepreneur and investor must own. It's a great tool that's given me both `real world' education and plenty of inspiration to act. It would have been nice to read more of Howard's thoughts regarding his exit strategy for Wallstrip the show... especially since he emphasizes the importance of selling the trend. But considering that's my only complaint after finishing the book I'm very pleased to have invested my time in The Wallstrip Edge by Howard Lindzon.

Key Takeaways:

(1) Shut off your TV and all other "push" content and start focusing on web-enabled content you can choose to "pull" in.

(2) Be sure to have an exit strategy in mind whenever you invest and always remember the importance of selling.

(3) The world is always flushed with opportunities- whether it's a bull or bear market.

(4) Right now the internet is the 500 lbs. guerilla in the room and there are enormous profits waiting to be made.

(5) Anyone with an idea has the ability to change the world with the right resources and work-ethic.




Sincerely,

Thomas McCarthy
http://www.CollegeStock.com

Whereas most pundits would advise you to buy "cheap stocks," Howard details how money can be made in stocks like TASR, CROX, HANS, CME, etc. When I was on Wall Street, these were the very stocks that my hedge fund clients made their most significant profits in.

While market conditions as a whole make individual stock picking difficult at best, quarters from now, individuals will return to the market. And they will do so with a lost confidence in the large insitutions to protect and grow their savings in funds that were previously called "safe."

In this new market, I think individuals will be required to be more self-sufficient. This book arms people to pick stocks with basic research and simple guides. Howard debunks concepts such as "Averaging down," which can be really dangerous to individuals, and "being too late," which can prevent individuals from getting in on winners.

There are also interesting comparisons and learnings from the venture market with quasi interviews from leading VCs such as Fred Wilson and Brad Feld.

The book only has passing references to Wallstrip; it is very much a simple and straightforward guide to research followed by technical analysis. The technical advice boils down to trend following with an introduction to Average True Range (ATR). ATR is a valuable metric that allows investors to sell out of positions when a stock moves down below a typical average move

The book is great...

Wallstrip was all about trend following and how to profit from it in the stock market. Lindzon's book expands on the background and practical implementation of this strategy which he has employed successfully in both the public and private markets for over 10 years.

Full of hard earned wisdom and humor, the book is both entertaining and informative. Highly Recommended!

The Wallstrip Edge is a great book to learn about how successes and failures build/destroy companies.

It is also a place to learn about trending following and how stocks should be evaluated.

Howard Lindzon has done a great job of showing how to find stocks, how to hold them and finally how to build liquidity once a company has had its run.

Through his personal experiences and interviews with other start-up entrepreneurs and venture capitalists you can gain some great insight as to how great companies are constructed. Equally, you can see why other companies have failed.

When you start to look at the stock market as something you use everyday (like Amazon, Starbucks, Ebay, etc.) than you can start to realize that stocks are not just pieces of imaginary paper, but living products.

I've been investing for 30+ years & this book changed some of my basic concepts
of position trading/investing. This book is now on my "favorites" shelf, along
with books by Mark Douglas, John Carter, Brian Shannon, Tharp & Schwager.

Great read for both experienced and less-experienced investors - loaded with ideas, but presented in a highly-approachable and entertaining format.

Howard Lindzon's style may not be for all investors (he is primarily a momentum investor) but he does a great job explaining why and how he does what he does - laying it all out so the reader can easily understand and make their own decisions. He does an especially good job discussing not just when to get IN to an investment, but when to get OUT as well - which is too often neglected in other investing books.

Easy to read, loaded with straight talk and ideas, and entertaining - highly recommended.

I have long said that the underlying theme to all the greatest investment ideas is simplicity. Railroads connect geographic locations to facilitate commerce and travel. Cars get us from one place to another. Energy powers everything we need. Microsoft Windows makes computers functional for the masses. Google is our guide to searching the Internet.

In Howard Lindzon's The Wallstrip Edge: Using Trends to Make Money-Find Them, Ride Them, and Get Off, Howard adds practical investing strategies to this core investment philosophy extolled by other world-class investors including Warren Buffett, George Soros, Peter Lynch, and Carl Icahn. The book is easy to read, full of fun stories, and Howard has an entrepreneurial spirit which will leave you excited and inspired to apply his advice.

If I was forced to summarize Howard's book, I would say:

Ignore distracting opinions in the financial media so you can better see true trends as opposed to hyped noise. Once you spot genuine trends, follow up with due diligence on the company and stock. When the stock exhibits certain characteristics (you must buy the book for Howard's secret recipe -- see below), jump aboard and ride the train while using professional risk management techniques to take profits and cut losses.

The last part of the book is like bonus material. Howard offers his seasoned view on which trends he thinks are timeless, and others that seem to be on the cutting edge. This section gives readers a feel for Howard's trend-spotting framework and sets the stage to find your next great investment candidates.

Most investment books claim to be for investors of all skill levels, but they are truly more suited for either beginners or pros. On the contrary, Howard's book is actually a gem for beginners and pros alike. I would be equally comfortable recommending this book to my teenage cousin or a hedge fund manager. Both will walk away with value.

Lastly, Howard has his hands and cash in many interesting companies. I sat down with him (in the virtual world) to learn more about his ventures, how he got started, and some bright new prospects he has uncovered since publishing his book. You can read our exclusive interview at my site.

I've read Howard's blog for about two years. The book is written in the same style- in Howard's voice. It is filled with information you can use now whether you're a seasoned trader or a part-time stock investor. His recommendations do not discriminate by the amount of money you have and the advise is practical. You don't have to have a Ph.D. in Economics to understand it. Best of all, Howard practices what he preaches. It is not some theoretical dissertation on how the market should work. He goes through his investing process (winners and losers) in both the public and private markets and you get a front seat long for the ride. The cherry on top is that he's incredibly funny. If you buy one investment book this year, this is the one.

This book is idiotic. Wallstrip was a horrible show and a terible investment for CBS which is why they killed the show after never making a nickle with it. The show was a money loser, but hey you can always write a book.