After Exiting for Billions He Gave $50 Million to His Employees | Tom Sosnoff

**Tom Sosnoff** (0:00)
We've had five exits, two over a billion and three over 100 million. We've always had only one rule we live by, which is, wow.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:09)
This is Tom Sosnoff, legendary trader, serial entrepreneur, and the mind behind Think or Swim and Tasty Trade. In this conversation, he shares the trading lessons, business strategies, and founder hacks that built companies people couldn't ignore.

**Tom Sosnoff** (0:25)
Within a year, we had millions of followers and the largest digital financial network in the world.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:31)
What is the secret sauce?

**Tom Sosnoff** (0:32)
I'll tell you this story because I don't usually tell this story. When we sold Think or Swim.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:43)
You basically had almost $2 billion in exits.
Who hasn't used Tasty Trade at least once in their life? I'm a big stock trader for a long time. I've used Tasty Trade, everything that you do. I've been a huge fan. But if I had almost $2 billion in exits, I'd probably be on a beach sipping a margarita or maybe a coconut drink. Why are you not on a beach right now? Why are you even talking to me, Tom?

**Tom Sosnoff** (1:12)
I can tell you right now that there's zero chance that you'd be on a beach sipping a pina colada if you had $2 billion in exits. Because it's a little bit like, once you get a taste of certain things, that's what motivates you. That's what turns you on.
Not that I hate going to the beach and drinking a cocktail because I love it, but I'm good for about three hours. Then I love working. I like building stuff. Building shit is my life and I don't really care about anything else. I don't want to. That is what's fun for me.

**SPEAKER_2** (1:48)
Did you ever have somebody say like, balance Tom, you need balance? Because it sounds like you and I are the same in this sense. I haven't had the exits, but I could work all day long. I could work 20 hours in a day and I don't get burned out. I enjoy it.

**Tom Sosnoff** (2:03)
It's funny that you say that because I do a lot of lectures at colleges, grad schools to undergrad, graduate students in schools all over the country just because I love it. Occasionally, somebody will say, what about work-life balance? Then I go off on a freaking rant because no question drives me more crazy than work-life balance.
That doesn't even register with me. So no, listen, I am what I am and I don't care if other people don't think that's cool. That's what I am. I'm a junkie, man. I'm still the first one to work every single day here, now.

**SPEAKER_2** (2:49)
And you're not playing the guitar, by the way. I want to make sure people know that you don't play the guitar.

**Tom Sosnoff** (2:54)
No, no, I have no talent.

**SPEAKER_2** (2:55)
So let's say you have to fill out a sheet online. Somebody sends you over a sheet, whatever that sheet is, and it says, name your hobbies. What is your hobby?

**Tom Sosnoff** (3:04)
Oh, love the question because I actually do not have one.
I am hobby-less. I mean, I don't know how else to say it. I don't have a single, like I mean, I play some sports and I like to go out to eat and stuff like that, whatever. But I have zero hobbies. I feel like there's certain things in life I'm very proud of. I don't have a hobby. I don't have a Netflix account, and I've never ordered anything on Amazon. Those are my three main things in life that I can like, I think, differentiate.

**SPEAKER_2** (3:43)
Wow. Do you still use MySpace?

**Tom Sosnoff** (3:46)
No.

**SPEAKER_2** (3:47)
That would be a good differentiator if you still, like if you, it was you and Tom, you and the other Tom, the two Toms were your only friends on MySpace. Now, let's go back to when you sold the first company. What was that feeling like? Because I think every founder that I know is, I want to do the exit. I mean, and I'm talking like, I would love to do a 10 million, 20 million dollar, but hundreds of million, a billion dollar exit. What is that feeling like?

**Tom Sosnoff** (4:13)
So we have a rule. Scott and I, pretty much, it was a long time. We've always had this one rule, only one rule we live by, which is no high fives.
No high fives.

**SPEAKER_2** (4:23)
No fives or just no high fives at all?

**Tom Sosnoff** (4:25)
Nothing. We haven't even congratulated each other.