Top 5 ways how stock market exposure as a high school kid helped me understand the vast expanse of the business world

P.s: Just a caveat before we start. There will be many references to the Indian stock market.

The stock market is either considered a lottery by some and a path to financial independence by others.

For me, though, it was a pathway to understanding the world.

It all started in 2003-04 when I was around 13 years old, and I heard the word “Stock Market.”

After conversing with my dad about the stock market and how it works, my curiosity was satiated, and I went on with my life.

Cut to a couple of weeks later, one fine Saturday morning, dad takes me to a stock brokering firm near our house, gives me a notebook, and informs me I have around Rs.5000 ( ~100 USD then) in seed capital and that Mom has a brokerage account here and I can use it and learn. I should enter all the transactions I do and track the daily price movements in the notebook.

So, every other Friday and during some school holidays, I hung out in the brokerage firm talking to people and understanding how the markets work. ( Curiously, although my parents were stringent that their three children should have a razor-sharp focus on our education, they were never very particular about where we get the education. So I was allowed to bunk school under one pretext or the other to go hang out here.)

Unlike now, where digital platforms like ICICI direct and Zerodha rule the roost, back then, you had a broker with whom you had to place your orders with

I still remember the first stock I bought ( L&T). I remember the first IPO I participated in( Sun TV). I remember the euphoria as the markets raised from 5K to almost 20K in a span of 5+ years as the Indian economy sprung forward, and I also saw the fall of Satyam (P.S: Held some shares in it), the recession of 2008, and the subsequent recovery. It was a fun and exciting ride.

Simply put, I can think of 5 specific ways in which playing around the stock market got ready for the real world:

1. Playing in the stock market made me realize that the world is big: I learned of the interplay of global markets. I learned how the opening of the Japanese and the Singaporean markets and the closing of the American markets the previous day would affect us. I remember when editorials were written about how the Chinese market is slowly becoming a force to reckon with. I remember the first time the fall in the Chinese market precipitated a fall in the worldwide market, and all news outlets spoke about the rise of the Chinese dragon. But, most importantly, I learned that the world is vast, and I am staying in one tiny corner of this vast wide world. In short, the stock market gave me a global outlook.
2. I learned that there are many exciting industries under the radar: As a high school kid, the only major brands I knew were Nintendo ( Cause of game-boy), Sony (Playstation Portable), Bey-blade, Apparel wear ( Basics, Peter England), and a few others. I learned that there is a whole wide world teeming with industries out there. I learned about the Pharma Industry ( Because of Biocon), I learned of the Oil behemoths like Exxon, and I watched in wonder as the tech stocks like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google took over the old guard of Oil&Gas firms and became the most valuable companies in the world. This taught me that the world is not limited to the 20-30 companies we see in the news and advertisements and that there is a huge world of opportunities out there if only we could grab it.
3. It inspired me: Playing around in the stock market meant that I learned many company origin stories. For example, I got inspired by the story of one man’s grit and determination to build an end to end vertically integrated conglomerate ( Dhirubhai Ambani) to the creation of a new city to build the first steel mill in an Asian British colony ( Tata Steel) to the story of the creation of Infosys and the global delivery model I was inspired by these great men and women and wanted to become like them.
4. It helped me choose my career: The more I saw and in my own small way participated in the stock market in my school and college days between 2003-2015, the more it paved the path as to what I wanted to become. I read about the robber barons of the gilded age of the USA. I heard about the high level of corporate governance and oversight in Infosys and how the lack of which destroyed Satyam. I learned about these great men and women and wanted to build enterprises the way they were built. I wanted to be a builder. I wanted to create new businesses. I wanted to build new products which will radically change how people live, and in a way, exposure to the stock markets helped me choose my career.
5. I learned the importance of finance in the real world: I strongly believe everyone should understand finance basics. But that being said, I learned of its importance through the stock market. I remember trying to read the annual reports in my early days and failing miserably. This kind of uncle ( I always called him ” Blue shirt uncle” throughout the entire time I was there. I never did find out his name) used to explain it to me. One of my Aha moments that led me to understand that everything is connected to finance was when I read the Annual report of India cements (When companies used to send printed copies of annual reports to all shareholder’s homes). There was a point which said something along the lines of ” Although, the subsidiary which sponsors the Chennai Super Kings in IPL is at a loss, the branding opportunities it provides in very high and gives tangible benefits for the mother brand.” (This was in the early years of IPL, before it became the money spinning juggernaut it is today). So even the most glitzy of sports is connected to finance and numbers.

In short, exposure to the stock market at a young age expanded my worldview and helped me create a global outlook.

Because of my personal experience, I feel that every high school kid must be exposed to the stock market.

It is not as difficult as it was during my time. Nowadays, there are so many online platforms where dummy trading accounts can be set. The tech is in place. What is needed is the willpower to build something like this.

In addition to all my experiences from the stock market, it is important to understand that this is also one of the major asset classes that will give us financial independence. So it makes sense to take our high schoolers that as well.

So not only do they understand the world, but they also will learn about one of the pillars of a modern economy and how to use it as a source of income.