Contest: Help Design the Small-Cap Investor T-Shirt

posted by   Ian Wyatt   |    July 30, 2009

Posted in   Small Cap Stocks   |   Comments (6)

My first book, The Small-Cap Investor: Secrets to Winning Big with Small-Cap Stocks, is coming out on September 14. I've been working on the book for a year and a half, and after many fits and starts, I'm pleased to say the publisher just told me that the book is on the presses, being printed right now (you can pre-purchase the book through Amazon).

I'm incredibly excited about the upcoming release, and relieved to have the book completed. In The Small-Cap Investor: Secrets to Winning Big with Small-Cap Stocks, I share my strategies for finding, researching, evaluating, and profitably buying and selling small-cap stocks for big profits. I hope my experiences will help you with your personal investment portfolio.

As part of the book marketing, I've bought the November 10 sponsorship of I Wear Your Shirt. I Wear Your Shirt has a neat concept, allowing marketers to rent a full day of Jason wearing their shirt and getting exposure through his social media networks including YouTube, Twitter, Upstream.tv, and his blog. January 1 sells for $1, and December 31 sells for $365. @IWearYourShirt currently has 14,768 Twitter followers, making this a significant marketing opportunity.

Problem is, I don't have a T-shirt that can be used to promote the book. So I'm inviting my blog readers, newsletter subscribers, @IanWyatt Twitter followers, and friends to share their ideas for a great T-shirt slogan than can be used to promote my book, The Small-Cap Investor: Secrets to Winning Big with Small-Cap Stocks. I'm looking for something funny or clever, related to investing in the stock market and small-cap stocks. You can view the cover and find out more about my book on Amazon by clicking here (you can also pre-purchase it today).

Send me a slogan, tag-line, and idea for a great T-shirt. You can email your ideas to or post to our Facebook discussion page and become a fan of Small Cap Investor on Facebook by clicking here. Please share your ideas by August 9.
 
After receiving submissions, I'll select my favorite three ideas. I'll then invite everyone to vote on your favorite T-shirt concept. The concept that gets the most votes will be the winner, and will be printed on T-shirts and used in our promotional materials for the book, and worn by Jason on I Wear Your Shirt on November 10.
 
I have some great prizes lined up for those who participate:
    - Everyone: a 30-day, 100% complimentary trial to SmallCapInvestor PRO (a $41.25 value)
    - 3rd place: a signed copy of the book and one t-shirt
    - 2nd place: a 1-year subscription to SmallCapInvestor.com PRO ($495 value), plus a signed copy of the book and one t-shirt
    - 1st place: a 1-year subscription to ALL Business Financial Publishing newsletters and trading services ($2,680 value), plus a signed copy of the book and three t-shirts

I need your help, and know you'll have some great ideas for a creative and funny t-shirt to help promote my book. Thanks in advance for your ideas, and help in making my first book a big success. Just email your ideas to me at .  Or become a Small Cap Investor fan on Facebook (just search "Small Cap Investor") and post your idea to our discussion page. Thanks for your help.

$800 Million Culture: Amazon buys Zappos

posted by   Ian Wyatt   |    July 27, 2009

Posted in   Entrepreneurship   |   Comments

Last week I saw on my Twitter feed that Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh had announced that the online footwear company would be bought my Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) in a deal valued at $800 million.

In-line with the company's culture, Tony posted a letter to employees on his personal blog that announced the big news. The announcement came after Tony posted two quotes to his Twitter feed @zappos earlier in the day:

     - "Some see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were and ask why not." -George Bernard Shaw
     - "Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future." -JFK

Zappos is more than an online footwear retailer. It is a high growth, entrepreneurial company that has mastered the art of building a world class culture. The company states that it is in the service business, and happens to sell footwear. And the company's tag line, "Powered by Service" further highlights the importance of customer service. A 24-hour call center, free shipping, and 365 day return policy backup this claim.

My fellow Entrepreneurs Organization / MIT Entrepreneurial Masters Program classmate David Hauser of Grasshopper posted sketch notes from a presentation Tony gave at South by Southwest, or SXSW.

Among fellow entrepreneurs and the press, the Zappos culture is regarded as one of the best. And as the company has grown, it has been able to sustain a small company atmosphere and culture like few companies are able to do with scale.

Zappos 2008 revenues are estimated to be $1 billion, and the company is profitable. The company is the dominant player in the online footwear category, with a 20% market share.

The purchase of Zappos for $800 million is a multiple of 0.8-times estimated 2008 sales. Amazon shares rose on the news of the acquisition, gaining 5.7%. Amazon currently trades at a multiple of almost 2-times 2008 sales, making the Zappos acquisition a relatively inexpensive, all-stock transaction.

Amazon is looking at the Zappos acquisition as more than just another $1 billion in revenues. Zappos sales will be a small portion of Amazon's projected sales of $22.6 billion in 2009. Jeff Bezos has "long admired Zappos" due to the company's customer-centric culture. With Amazon planning to allow Zappos to continue to operate independently, Bezos and the Amazon team are placing a high value on the culture and leadership at Zappos. You can watch video from Jeff Bezos about Amazon and Zappos by clicking here.

Congrats to everyone at Zappos for building such a great company and achieving a very successful exit. Zappos is always my first place I look when re-stocking my New Balance 992's.

Page 1 of 1 pages