Gawker: tim sykes

Omen That No One Will Pay for Twitter

Ryan Tate — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:50:25 EDT

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.Ever feel like Twitter is just too, well, free? A new company allows you to pay for select tweets. To prove this is a terrible idea, fallen loudmouth banker Tim Sykes has jumped on board.

People are notoriously loathe to pay for well-researched original Web content, so you have to admire the chutzpah of Super Chirp, which is bravely going into the business of selling access to Twitterized brain farts. The company doesn't even have this sad market to itself.

What compelling, original content is Super Chirp launching with? A celebrity Twitter stream? Status updates from some nerd God?

Not quite. The standout among the scant debut offerings is a $10/month feed from Tim Sykes, former star of reality show Wall Street Warriors, who in 2007 ended his hedge fund career with foolish stock bets, earning the title "Trading's Buffoon" from the same publication that had once named him among Wall Street's hot "30 under 30."

Now a Twitter denizen, Sykes urges you to "screw it, sign up" for "real-time trade alerts form [sic] me." How can you resist?

Update: Sykes takes to Twitter (of course) to respond to this post: "Are people really so dense they can't see how valuable real-time info is? Bring it gossip columnists." Of course, his business partner Adarsh Pallian gives a more honest assessment: "@timothysykes on gawker and @pallian on techcrunch - not a bad press day."

Fallen Wall Street Loudmouths In Escalating Trash Talk Feud

Hamilton Nolan — Wed, 07 May 2008 14:27:43 EDT

Frivolous backstabbing egocentric money media war! The protagonists: Tim Sykes (pictured), who made a big name for himself as an under-30 hot shot hedge fund guy by starring in a reality show called Wall Street Warriors, and then proceeded to lose lots of his money and try to remake himself as a media figure; and Randall Lane, the former editor of odious greed magazine Trader Monthly and current head of Doubledown Media, who recently lost a gig publishing Players Club magazine after a financial dispute. Lane disinvited Sykes from a Trader Monthly party last year, and the young capitalist is still nursing his wounded ego! Now Sykes has taken to the internet to tell Lane—a "Sick Twisted Son Of A Bitch"—boo-yah, loser!:

Last time Randall Lane, editor-in-chief of Traitor Monthly was in Page Six, he was attacking a small-time trader (me) because his magazine staff fumbled, disinviting me from their little party at the last minute after we'd been discussing my covering the event for MSN Money for days.
Clearly in the wrong, this balding bastard was forced to go on the offensive, charging my hedge fund's losses were the result of my publicity hounding rather than bothering to research the matter like a responsible journalist might do.

Sykes asks: how do you like hard times, you balding bastard?

So Randy, I know times are tough for you right now—no doubt bringing back memories of when your first magazine, P.O.V., went out of business—but unlike you I'm willing to give second chances to those who make mistakes. After all, we're only human. If you can show some remorse for your actions, I'll consider taking you on at my publishing company, BullShip Press, LLC—as an unpaid intern of course—and under my guidance, I think we'll be able to put you on a more righteous path—no promises, there's a whole lotta work to be done, but if you're willing to change, I'm willing to help you get better.

Disgraced Phenom Hedge-Funder Is Back To Feeling Bullish!

Emily Gould — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 10:20:33 EST

26-year-old Tim Sykes had a bit of a career derailment when the hedge fund he built out of Bar Mitzvah money tanked. He was disinvited from a Trader Monthly party and he had to give up his butler! But now, Tim is having a resurgence, thanks to the website where he's sharing his wisdom with the masses. "I proud to announce that, TIM, or Transparent Investment Management, gained nearly 14% in November, even as both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 lost 4% and the NASDAQ tanked 7%. It was a difficult month for most people (since everyone loves to be bullish), but it's during these kinds of markets that the ability to go both long or short really comes in handy (aka why hedge funds rock!)," he writes douchily in an email newsletter.

He continues: "How was I able to dominate the overall indexes for the month? Well, to find out, all you have to do is visit TimothySykes.com as I've detailed every single trade, potential trade and investment idea that popped into my head during the month. You'll discover I made plenty of bone headed mistakes and that's why I truly believe I can teach others to do better than me!"

Right: Those who can't do, etc.

Hedge Funder Tim Sykes Bombs Out On Wall Street

Choire — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 11:35:40 EDT

Tim Sykes, formerly one of Trader Monthly's hot "30 under 30" who was the the butler-having star of 'Wall Street Warriors', has fallen on very hard times. He says that, due to investment in illiquid stocks, he is "unable to raise any money, unable to take any trading risk so all I can do is take advantage of my publicity efforts and turn that into my new career." He's now "a reporter for TheStreet.com" and MSN Money's "goto video guy." This all comes from his email correspondence with Trader Monthly; they banned him from their big party this week. In return, he offered them five great reasons why he should be reinvited! You see, he's now a financial expert in the media—even though his hedge fund bit it!

1. Rachel and I talked / emailed last week about me coming and she was fine with it, so I made plans to meet up with nearly a dozen friends. Some of these people I haven't seen in a very long time and we've been talking all weekend about what we'll do after the party.For me to bail on them at the last second would be extremely rude.
2. I will have no cameras and will not be covering the party for my new jobs as reporter for TheStreet.com (I'll be starting as a writer in a few weeks) and MSN Money (I am their goto video guy). I'll be low-key, really.

3. I invited 2 female friends who went out and bought new dresses for this event. I don't know how to explain it to them that I can't attend with them.

4. While you guys seem to think 'I've made a mockery of the list' with my eccentric behavior, other media outlets now recognize me as a finance expert / personality. Sure I have an ego, but my position is backed by CNBC (7 appearances since the beginning of the year), CNN (I debated greed with the most powerful religious leaders last month), FOX (I was on Cavuto on July 4th), Oprah and Friends Radio (they loved my book and are having me on in a few weeks), Young Money (I will be their cover story for their October issue, Penthouse (I will have a feature story in their Christmas issue), and Wiley (they offered me a $35k advance for my book).

5. You guys are took a pretty good shot at me in this latest issue so even if you really believe I somehow embarrassed you last year, I consider us even.

Aww, he's kind of sweet. In a really douchey way. The entire correspondence is worth a read.

TRADING'S BUFFOON - THE TIM SYKES EMAILS [Trader Daily]