The genius behind the FinTech meme MVP
If you gather financial news on Twitter, your timeline and notifications must be lit with tweets from Dr. Parik Patel.
His timely tweets are on point and absolutely hilarious. They are shareable, and it is simply amazing to see someone behind this account coming up with a stock of tweets right when a piece of news is public.
Tweet during Tesla’s massive run-up:
Tweet on the announcement of Bill Gates Divorce:
He now has 308k followers on Twitter, with high-profile investors like Raoul Pal, Chamath Palihapitiya, and David Sacks on the followers list too. His estimated earnings per post are $2,300~$3,800. That’s some serious cash.
But who is Dr. Parik Patel anyway? Is he real?
Who He Claims To Be
Dr. Parik Patel claims to be a well-accomplished individual from Gujarat, India, with some highly regarded credentials. I had to google some of the certifications he has after his name.
BA/Ph.D.: He has a bachelor's and doctoral degree specializing in econometrics from Harvard University.
CFA: Chartered Financial Analyst or Charted FinMeme Analyst
ACCA: Chartered Certified Accountant qualification or world-leading accountancy qualification for aspiring financial professionals
Esq.: Esquire, which is a professional significance showing that the individual is a member of the state bar and can practice law
He seems to have worked in Lehman Brothers back in 2008 and is the father of Chamath Palihapitiya.
Chamath was actually very easy to raise because he was always incredibly sharp and hardworking. He was a little naughty, as all kids are. When he was young, he would host backroom poker games at school and count cards to ensure that he always won. — Interview with Dr. Parik Patel
However, despite the accolades, Dr. Parik Patel maintains that he lives a simple life: “I still buy my ghee from the local Indian grocery store.”
You can read the whole interview with Dr. Parik Patel here.
Speculations
Honestly, the character is excellent. At first glance, it gives him credibility. In the bio, he mentions Aswath Damodaran, who is a famous professor at NYU Stern. Also, it mentions the book Dhanda Investor Chapter 3:4, which covers Mohnish Pabrai, an Indian-American businessman and investor. Do these high-profile Indian businessmen have a pseudonymous fintwit account?
Some people suspect that an anonymous VC runs the account. But really, what is the motive? Why is Chamath Palihapitiya in on the joke? Some digging on the internet gave little more.
I believe we will never get the answers, but I suspect he will even get even bigger once more high-profile accounts like Elon Musk or Bill Gates decide to retweet his posts.
What do you guys think? Who is behind this ingenious marketing move? What are the motivations?
Follow Dr. Parik Patel on Twitter, as it is absolutely worth it.
He also has a weekly column: “Dr. Parik’s Meme Diagnosis of the Week,” which is worth following.
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