Chapter 4: Falling Markets
April 14, 2000
San Francisco
The markets were bleeding.
Television news channels that had spent years celebrating the internet boom were suddenly filled with worried analysts and nervous investors.
The NASDAQ had begun falling faster than anyone expected.
Companies that had once been valued at billions were losing half their value in weeks.
But inside Anshul's bedroom, the atmosphere was calm.
The glow of the bulky CRT monitor illuminated the room as stock charts slowly loaded through the dial-up connection.
NASDAQ Composite
4,386.45
Down again.
Anshul leaned slightly forward in his chair, studying the movement of the market.
For most people, watching the crash felt terrifying.
For him, it felt like watching a plan unfold exactly as expected.
He opened his trading account.
Portfolio Status — April 14, 2000
Starting Capital: $42,800
Short Positions:
Pets.com
Position Size: $60,000
Current Profit: $15,200
Webvan
Position Size: $50,000
Current Profit: $12,400
eToys
Position Size: $40,000
Current Profit: $9,700
Total Portfolio Value
$80,100
His capital had nearly doubled in a single month.
But Anshul didn't celebrate.
This was only the first phase.
The real opportunity would appear when the panic reached its worst point.
That was when strong companies would become unbelievably cheap.
And that was when he would start buying.
---
The next morning at school, the mood was completely different from the financial world.
Students laughed in the hallways.
Lockers slammed shut.
Someone down the corridor was arguing about basketball scores.
Normal life continued.
Mia was waiting beside her locker when Anshul arrived.
"You're late," she said.
"I'm on time."
"You're two minutes late."
"That's still within the acceptable range."
She handed him a notebook.
"Math homework."
"You finished it?"
"Of course not."
"You want me to do it."
"I want you to help."
"That's not the same thing."
"It is for me."
He sighed.
"You owe me."
"I already owe you."
"For what?"
"For the soda bottle incident."
"That was self-defense."
Mia laughed.
"You're such a nerd."
---
During lunch break they sat outside under a large tree near the edge of the school field.
Several other students were talking nearby, but Mia seemed more interested in staring at Anshul.
"You look tired."
"I stayed up late."
"Watching stocks again?"
"Yes."
"You're sixteen."
"That's not illegal."
"Normal teenagers stay up playing video games."
"Markets are more interesting."
She shook her head.
"I swear you're secretly forty years old."
He smiled slightly but didn't respond.
If she knew the truth, she wouldn't be completely wrong.
---
After school the two of them walked home together again.
The afternoon sun warmed the quiet streets while cars occasionally passed through the neighborhood.
Mia kicked a small pebble along the sidewalk.
"Debate club tomorrow."
"I remember."
"You're coming."
"That sounds less like a request and more like a command."
"Correct."
"Why?"
"Because if you don't come, I'll lose."
"You're exaggerating."
"Am I?"
He thought for a moment.
"Maybe not."
She grinned.
"Good answer."
---
That night the market fell again.
NASDAQ Composite
4,210.12
The financial news described it as a correction.
But Anshul knew better.
This wasn't a correction.
It was the collapse of the dot-com bubble.
He opened his account again.
Portfolio Status — April 14, 2000 (Evening)
Total Portfolio Value
$96,700
Almost one hundred thousand dollars.
From an initial forty-two thousand.
And the crash had not even reached its deepest point yet.
Anshul closed the browser window and leaned back in his chair.
Outside the window the neighborhood lights glowed quietly in the darkness.
The world believed the technology boom had ended.
But he knew the truth.
The real technology revolution had not even begun yet.
And when the market finally reached the bottom…
That would be the moment to start building something much bigger.