Today we’d like to introduce you to Ken Berman.
Ken, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I learned about the market at an early age when my middle school ran a stock-picking contest. Each student selected two assets and tracked the performance for eight weeks. My picks of Polaroid and Disney (DIS) won me the contest and jump-started my interest in investing. I would call my father’s stockbroker each afternoon to track individual stocks—at that time, the closing bell was at 4:30 PM and the newspaper was the only way to monitor performance. From there, I got to know the ins and outs of investing.
In the late 90s, I was a stockbroker for Smith Barney now a division of Morgan Stanley when I developed the initial algorithm for the Gorilla Trades platform. It could identify stocks primed to break out using a blend of 14 technical indicators. Yet, the brokerage firm appeared uninterested in what I developed. During that time, online brokerages like TD Ameritrade (AMTD) and E-Trade (ETFC) were also starting to gain traction, giving investors access to low-cost solutions in the market. It was a perfect storm of events that let me branch off on my own.
Trust is foundational to nearly every part of building a new company. It takes time, resources, and effort to create a following that leads to growth, in investing, trust surfaces from a performance. I needed to prove my algorithm consistently identified stocks in an uptrend or prepared to breakout. I started offering the service for free to build brand awareness, but early subscribers knew they would soon need to pay.
I learned early in life hunches and gut feelings don’t work. When I was a stockbroker, it bothered me when seemingly normal. Rational individuals made extremely biased investment decisions based on greed and fear. For this reason, I designed the entire Gorilla Trades system to manage risk and remove emotion from investing — the major reason investors lose money.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
When I first began the company back in 1999, my friends and family were not believers. It took 17-hour workdays and always having to remind yourself just how successful you are going to be. I told my accountant at the time that it was a million-dollar idea. He said, “we’ll see.” Nearly $50 million in revenue later, he is no longer my accountant.
We’d love to hear more about Gorilla Trades.
Gorilla Trades is a proven, market-tested approach to choosing stocks for today’s modern investor. Gorilla Trades takes the guesswork out of investing by not only identifying the stocks with explosive potential, but also by instructing you exactly where to set stop loss levels, and when to harvest profits. Regardless of experience level in the market, Gorilla Trades has something to offer every investor!
What are your hobbies?
I was always a small kid. I began wrestling at the age of nine. I ended up being the captain of my high school wrestling team and state champion. In college, I majored in psychology. I attended medical school at 21 and quickly realized that a life in medicine was not for me. I ended up in the family furniture business and hated it. It wasn’t until years later (1996) that I decided to move to Florida and follow my life-long passion; The stock market.
Physically, I began weightlifting in college (The University of Michigan). This led to me taking third place in the NPC State Bodybuilding championships in 1993. In 2006, I took up the sport of jiu-jitsu. I am a black belt and a 5-time IBJJF World Masters Champion, including being the current champ. I made my professional debut last year in the Fight to Win promotion in Fort Lauderdale.
I use the same discipline and dedication I learned from jiu-jitsu with GorillaTrades. Jiu-jitsu is based upon the idea of rational problem-solving in stressful situations, and it allows you to adapt tactics to overcome any situation…and continue overcoming as the problem itself changes. It gives you a problem-solving mindset, which I think applies to the stock market and life itself.
Pricing:
- $499.95 annual subscription, after a no-credit-card-required, 30-day free trial
- $795 discounted 2-year subscription
Contact Info:
- Website: www.gorillatrades.com
- Phone: 866-222-6639
- Email: thegorilla@gorillatrades.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GorillaTrades
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/c/GorillatradesStockPicks
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