Bill Perkins

Yeah, except I don't want people to be impressed of us as an engineer. We had a saying on the football team, Ds get degrees. Until later, I found out, wait, you can't graduate with a D in engineering. You have to at least get a C. So I barely graduated. I was a super slacker. So I don't want to be like, I'm an engineer, you know? What position did you play? The bench.

Yeah, except I don't want people to be impressed of us as an engineer. We had a saying on the football team, Ds get degrees. Until later, I found out, wait, you can't graduate with a D in engineering. You have to at least get a C. So I barely graduated. I was a super slacker. So I don't want to be like, I'm an engineer, you know? What position did you play? The bench.

I played the bench, but I was a defensive back, cornerback at the University of Iowa. But did it pay for school? No, I was actually a walk-on. I was trying to get a scholarship. I had a partial scholarship, which means they just give you some food. I basically broke my leg at the growth plate. was pretty much has been before I ever was.

I played the bench, but I was a defensive back, cornerback at the University of Iowa. But did it pay for school? No, I was actually a walk-on. I was trying to get a scholarship. I had a partial scholarship, which means they just give you some food. I basically broke my leg at the growth plate. was pretty much has been before I ever was.

But when you love football, you love the sport, you never want to let go, right? You're not like, oh, I'll just dive into my studies and pick up this hobby. You're kind of like football is life at that age.

But when you love football, you love the sport, you never want to let go, right? You're not like, oh, I'll just dive into my studies and pick up this hobby. You're kind of like football is life at that age.

Not first in my class, the understatement of the year. I was kind of like...

Not first in my class, the understatement of the year. I was kind of like...

lost didn't know what i was going to do really was pretty much a slacker underachiever at the time and my godfather calls me with one of those like what are you going to do with your life at the point and i knew i didn't want to go into engineering it was kind of this cookie cutter life you know you don't really having kind of entrepreneurial spirit in it you work on like a subsection of a chip here's your career path etc is all kind of laid out for you and that was unattractive to me it kind of seemed like death to me and at the time i saw this movie wall street

lost didn't know what i was going to do really was pretty much a slacker underachiever at the time and my godfather calls me with one of those like what are you going to do with your life at the point and i knew i didn't want to go into engineering it was kind of this cookie cutter life you know you don't really having kind of entrepreneurial spirit in it you work on like a subsection of a chip here's your career path etc is all kind of laid out for you and that was unattractive to me it kind of seemed like death to me and at the time i saw this movie wall street

And I was like, oh, that's what I want. I want to be rich. I want to go work in stocks. So when my godfather called me, I go, I want to be a stockbroker or a stock trader. And he goes, I don't know anything about equities, but there's this firm in commodities. Mind you, I didn't know what a commodity was. That's looking for screen clerks. Go check it out.

And I was like, oh, that's what I want. I want to be rich. I want to go work in stocks. So when my godfather called me, I go, I want to be a stockbroker or a stock trader. And he goes, I don't know anything about equities, but there's this firm in commodities. Mind you, I didn't know what a commodity was. That's looking for screen clerks. Go check it out.

And so I got an introduction, came up with my resume. This is what you're like, late 80s, early 90s? Like 91. And- Takes my resume, tears it up, walks me around the floor. People yelling and screaming and, you know, they're kind of casual wear and it's like trading places. And I was like, all this energy. And I'm like, wow.

And so I got an introduction, came up with my resume. This is what you're like, late 80s, early 90s? Like 91. And- Takes my resume, tears it up, walks me around the floor. People yelling and screaming and, you know, they're kind of casual wear and it's like trading places. And I was like, all this energy. And I'm like, wow.

if that guy can be rich, so can I. And so they didn't want to hire me, actually. They were looking to give the job to someone else, another friend of the firm. So I kind of hung out downstairs, waiting every day, calling, can I come up? Can I become a peon here? Can I become a peon? And finally, after three days, they let me become a peon. So what did that job entail?

if that guy can be rich, so can I. And so they didn't want to hire me, actually. They were looking to give the job to someone else, another friend of the firm. So I kind of hung out downstairs, waiting every day, calling, can I come up? Can I become a peon here? Can I become a peon? And finally, after three days, they let me become a peon. So what did that job entail?

It's checking trades and sneaking sandwiches on the floor for traders. It's literally the worst version of the mailroom. But The system in the old days where guys would yell and scream across a pit and write their trades on a pick card and also in their trade book. They'd throw the pick cards into the center. There's a guy with glasses and a giant net. And all these cards would go to him.

It's checking trades and sneaking sandwiches on the floor for traders. It's literally the worst version of the mailroom. But The system in the old days where guys would yell and scream across a pit and write their trades on a pick card and also in their trade book. They'd throw the pick cards into the center. There's a guy with glasses and a giant net. And all these cards would go to him.

They would cash them, put them down the chute, and they would be entered into a computer system. My job was to check the trader's log versus the computer's log. And your name becomes your trader. So if your trader was YNOT or S&M, that was your name. So clerks are running around the floor going, why not? S&M, why not? And then if you're YNOT, you're like, why not here? Ever here?

They would cash them, put them down the chute, and they would be entered into a computer system. My job was to check the trader's log versus the computer's log. And your name becomes your trader. So if your trader was YNOT or S&M, that was your name. So clerks are running around the floor going, why not? S&M, why not? And then if you're YNOT, you're like, why not here? Ever here?