A single setback taught me the truth about investing

In 2014, I closed all positions in Amazon stock because I didn't think much of the Amazon Fire Phone, and then I watched it rise 14 times. The most heart-wrenching lesson? Don't dismiss an entire company because of a single bad decision, especially when the founder is still at the helm.

Bezos is not afraid of failure, which is why we have AWS, Prime, and other current cash cows. I was right originally (the Fire Phone was indeed garbage), but I was wrong in not giving management the space to try and make mistakes.

This lesson saved me once later - when TransMedics (TMDX) acquired an airline, the market panicked and the stock price halved. But I did not repeat the same mistake; instead, I continued to hold and even increased my position. As a result, two years later, the stock price tripled, sales doubled, and the national logistics network created by founder Waleed Hassanein is transforming the organ transplant industry.

Core Insight: Good company + founder leadership = give them time. Short-term “bad ideas” may be long-term gold mines. Don't be swayed by market sentiment.