Interview with a 17 year old teenager who is interested in the investment world. until writing a book on Amazon

Nong Kla or Mr. Patcharapong Silappreecha, 17 years old, currently studying in Mathayom 5 at Harrow International School Bangkok (Harrow International School Bangkok). A boy who studies well, scores good grade point averages in all subjects. and is an outstanding person in both sports Represent swimming athletes In his free time, he plays music such as piano, saxophone, violin and sports. He is a regular musician in the school orchestra. and has experience as a music teacher for the Air Force Music Institute

Moreover, now he has turned himself to seriously study investing until he understands it thoroughly. Able to translate knowledge into the first book of his life at just 17 years of age. This interview will reveal aspects of investing. writing a book to the benefit of Nong Kla’s society

Investing perspective of a 17 year old boy

What inspired you to become interested in investing?

‘Father’s Candlestick’ is probably the best symbol of my first love of stocks. This feeling has arisen since I was young. Because I always see stock market reports on the news. and the fluctuating green and red price charts And since the jargon seemed mysterious and exotic, I have found myself drawn to the excitement and uncertainty of the stock market ever since.

I often ask my father various questions. It’s always about investing. But I got rejected every time. My father kept telling me, “I’m too young. And I will teach you when I grow up.” These words instead made me stop wondering about investing. But on the other hand It awakened my curiosity even more.

After that, I began to study knowledge by myself. To learn about the magic of stocks and investing. The more you research, The more interested During that time, I read books and researched stocks. Bonds and Cryptocurrencies and the history of these various assets

The first investment idol

Nong dared to answer without hesitation that that person was ‘Benjamin Graham’ (Benjamin Graham), the man who is like the father of Value Investment, who wrote the legendary investment book The Intelligent Investor and also He is also the teacher of Warren Buffett, the great investor.

But the younger one jokingly said, Although I admire Benjamin Graham, the books he writes are difficult to read. Because the vocabulary is not even familiar. With knowledge at the beginning This made me turn to another book called The Little Book That Still Beats the Market by Joel Greenblatt that focuses on presenting the concept of value investing in an easy-to-understand format. Even for people with no background in finance.

The main idea of ​​the book Trading stocks is like trading a business and uses the Magic Formula, which Greenblatt offers a simple stock screening formula by considering Return on Equity (ROE), which I like the content of. The presentation was later used as a model for writing his own book.

Fundamentals of investors

I also asked Nong Kla 2 basic questions about understanding the investment market and risks. The first question starts with portfolio management and a good investment mindset. Have you ever invested and made a mistake or lost money? How do you manage your feelings? She revealed that in the beginning when she started investing, she was a bit shocked. But when I started studying only assets until I understood the investment market more, I felt indifferent until I got used to it. During the time I invested in crypto One day I bought it and the price dropped almost 90%. At that time I was very worried. But still believe that crypto This is the asset of the future world. It gave me the courage to invest and hold it until today.

And another question: if you were to choose to recommend investing to friends of the same age or teenagers themselves? Which asset should you choose and why? He replied that it would be based on the risk. If you want to focus on long-term holding, choose stocks that are in good companies. If you can take a little risk, buy government bonds or good quality debentures. Waiting to receive interest Or if you are a speculative trader who can take high risks. Then choose crypto. and share experiences in choosing various assets as follows

• Bond for those who can accept the lowest risk. Need consistent interest from bonds or debentures.
• Stock: Look for stocks from stable businesses. long term growth
• Crypto Currency Select coins based on Bitcoin’s fluctuations. Look at the benefits of using it. and look for coins with high confidence There is a large network of users.

Before becoming Beating the Market, the first book

Beating the Market is divided into 3 main parts, linked to 3 assets arranged from low to high risk: government bonds, stocks, and cryptocurrencies.

Where did you start learning how to write?

I have never learned how to write a book anywhere. There is only additional investment study from online courses at Harvard University. during the summer In addition, book writing For things like structuring, I studied it myself from finance and investment books that I liked to read.

After 4 months of researching and learning, a strange thought occurred to me: What if I now had some interesting information about bonds, stocks, and cryptocurrencies? Why don’t we turn all this content into a book that can be published?

The Temporary Limits of a 16-Year-Old Boy and His First Book

My first obstacle was The process of writing a book is not an easy one. I just found myself writing again. and delete entire chapters of a book It made me realize the important thing is that this book is both interesting enough for the general reader. But it’s concise enough so as not to bore the reader. After 7 months of grueling writing, editing and formatting, my book is finally ready for publication.

The next obstacle would be finding a publisher. This is a big challenge. With no publisher willing to accept a manuscript written by a 16-year-old, the only option I had was to self-publish the book.

As I searched for self-publishing of books. I stumbled upon the KDP program of Amazon, an e-commerce giant. And finally I negotiated until making an agreement with them I think in America They try to encourage and promote youth. And finally, the book Beating the Market: An Introduction to Investing in: Bonds, Stocks and Cryptocurrency. Mine was published.

Response to the publication of the book

During the first few weeks Sales slow This book is not very good at all. But after some advertisements and promotions. The book soon began to gain attention. I’ve seen sales from all over the world as this book has been a #1 best seller in multiple categories on Amazon USA and Amazon Australia.

‘Beating the Market’ has also been translated into Thai. and is now available in more than 20 libraries throughout Bangkok. The book has officially sold more than 2,000 copies in 10 countries, including the United States. United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, India, Canada, Brazil, Spain, France and Thailand.

So what do you do with the income from book sales? and return on investment

Nong Kla said Divide this fund into 2 parts, with the first part being used to open the ‘None Left Behind’ Foundation, which uses income from investments and book sales to be turned into clothing and food. For helping the community near Harrow International School Bangkok, which is coordinated directly through community district leaders. To distribute food and clothing to community residents.

And another portion of the income from the book was used to open a store selling wheat straws. Eco Delights is a company that produces 100% natural products to help reduce global warming and align with UN sustainability goal 13: Climate Action, which has a store. On the Shopee Thailand platform

Experiences learned from writing books

Very good question. For me, writing a book allows me to understand the process from beginning to end of writing. Until it was printed as a book. Learning about finding information To further analyze which information is reliable Or what part of the information can’t be believed? Practice finding issues from the information we read. And until it came out as a book, it was not easy at all. Must have good context. Taglines that attract readers You must have patience and be ready to edit every chapter, every page. Everything about writing that I have told makes you understand professional writers more.

Moving forward into the vast future

Currently planning to study at a top university in the United States. to gather knowledge and in-depth financial and investment experience In the future, the goal is to be ‘Fund Manager’ who manages Thai people’s money to become more prosperous