https://hackernoon.com/how-i-got-hired-by-google-why-i-left-and-why-i-chose-to-join-okcoin-7af99c1d9c4f

It was the summer of 2011 when I returned to a then quiet and quaint San Francisco. I remember walking across Montgomery Street and feeling a sense of relief when nobody pushed me to get ahead after the light turned. It was halfway around the world and 180 degrees from life in Hong Kong, where I was lucky enough to have spent the previous year expanding my mind, working as an analyst for the Greater Asian Hedge Fund. This wasn’t just any global macro hedge fund. The fund manager bucked obvious trends and was a deeply skeptical, extremely wealthy ex-American who renounced his citizenship in the early 90’s, allowing his capital to appreciate tax-free for over 20 years. At 23 years old, he flew me around the US on a private jet, occasionally pointing out clean streets he thought would turn into tent cities. In 2011, I thought his views were extreme to say the least, but I also had the self-awareness to realize he had made over one hundred million dollars betting against the consensus, and I had not. There was a lot to learn from this man, so I chose to listen.

Working under his tutelage, I became familiar with the concept of fake news before the term had been coined, and thanks to his insight, was also paying close attention central bank shenanigans around the world. Most people in Silicon Valley don’t realize this, but it was clear in 2011 that the financial sector was still underwater following the 2008 crisis, and that the Federal Reserve, despite their public statements, had no intention of raising interest rates or slowing quantitative easing anytime soon. Continually subsidized interest rates meant cheap capital would flood into Silicon Valley, and questionable companies would attain undeserved valuations, making wealth accumulation easier for their employees. Based on our fund’s perspective, a career in tech seemed like the best path forward.