hello

My name is Jonathan.
I help people build assets.

I’ve spent more than 20 years analyzing and forecasting ideas across the global economy. Work that’s covered deals in public and private equity, real estate, and commodities. Today, that work helps business leaders leverage financial data and market insights to drive sustainable value.

about me

This is my journey.
Here’s the story so far…

Born ♓ and raised in the south, moved across 3 states, 2 major cities, and 6 schools in 18 years. Three sport 🏀 🎾 🏌 letter athlete in high school, studied computer science in college, and went into finance summer of 2001.

By November, I was a series 7 licensed broker making 300+ 📞 cold calls a day, finding and pitching deals to HNW investors, and spending nights learning strategies and best practices of top money managers.

Got really good at finding the right stocks and writing reports. Built positions in NXTL, WMB, AAPL, and CHKP. However, it didn’t take long to become disenchanted with industry norms (IYKYK) and after Hurricane Wilma destroyed my office 🏢 decided to start a research service for DIY investors. This was well before newsletters were in vogue.

Spent the next decade picking winners across the capital markets and managing private assets for a select group of clients. By 2015, I had begun working more with entrepreneurs and executives – turning investment strategies into models for better business development.

From 2002 to 2018, my research handily outperformed the S&P 500 with close to 75% accuracy. Subscribers included affluent investors, family offices, and financial professionals with total assets under management reaching well into the billions.

During that run, I helped to create and write the premium newsletter at GuruFocus and have since published over 600 📝 articles, many seen on major financial news sites. Along the way, coached 20+ executives, 2 from the Fortune 1000, and wrote a book 📖 on better investing.

In 2018, I decided to close my research service in order to focus on building a membership for business development, designed mostly for SMEs. Then my grandmother passed, the Covid-19 pandemic happened, my wife gave birth to our first child… all in successive years.

Fast forward to 2026 and even if I haven’t hit commercial success, I’m still helping people drive profit and progress and still giving away millions of $$$ worth of insights each year.

Proof is in the pudding…
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Cost of Capital Jonathan Poland

Cost of Capital

The cost of capital is the required rate of return that a company must earn on its investments in order…

Inherent Risk Jonathan Poland

Inherent Risk

Inherent risk is a term used in the field of auditing to describe the risk that a company’s financial statements…

Personal Selling Jonathan Poland

Personal Selling

Personal selling is a type of sales approach that involves face-to-face interaction with potential customers. Unlike other forms of sales,…

Comparative Risk Jonathan Poland

Comparative Risk

Comparative risk is a method of evaluating and comparing the potential impacts and likelihood of different risks. It is used…

Innovation Risk Jonathan Poland

Innovation Risk

Innovation is a proactive approach to business and design that aims to make significant improvements, rather than simply making incremental…

Value Added Reseller Jonathan Poland

Value Added Reseller

A value added reseller (VAR) is a company that buys products from manufacturers or distributors and then resells them to…

Machine Learning Jonathan Poland

Machine Learning

Machine learning is a method of teaching computers to learn from data, without being explicitly programmed. It is a type…

Design to Value Jonathan Poland

Design to Value

Design to value refers to the design requirements and considerations that aim to maximize the value of a product or…

Customer Avatar Jonathan Poland

Customer Avatar

A customer avatar, also known as an ideal customer profile, is a detailed description of the specific type of customer…