#114 Training Elite Wall Street Traders - Michael Steiner on his time at SIG, using games to train market makers & becoming a high school teacher

• 0:00 – Video Intro
• 0:37 – Introduction
• 1:38 – What are the scripts Michael grew up with?
• 3:07 – Arriving at Penn
• 4:04 – First-Gen Student
• 5:59 – Struggling to find self-confidence
• 6:53 – Deciding to work in finance
• 9:12 – Joining Susquehanna
• 10:34 – What was the culture in Susquehanna like?
• 11:29 – Michael’s love for statistics
• 15:00 – Applying knowledge about statistics in real life
• 18:03 – Teaching methods at Susquehanna
• 22:20 – Mock trading and market making
• 25:13 – Susquehanna’s approach
• 27:02 – The learning process
• 28:29 – Influence of teaching others on one’s own learning
• 30:04 – Turning a shy young person into “market-making monsters”
• 34:25 – Gamification of the teaching process
• 36:36 – The multipath model of education
• 39:58 – Struggle vs pain/suffering in learning
• 42:39 – Leaving trading
• 44:02 – Being a stay-at-home dad
• 46:57 – Becoming a teacher
• 47:52 – What is it like to teach teenagers?
• 52:10 – Making the best students his TAs
• 52:57 – Where does Michael get the energy to teach from?
• 54:04 – What do people have wrong about the next generation?
• 56:07 – Creating Stockslam
• 1:01:55 – What are the plans for Stockslam?
• 1:03:57 – What can people learn by playing Stockslam?
• 1:07:03 – Where can people learn more about Stockslam and Michael

Mike Steiner found himself on Penn’s campus at a young age not really knowing what he was supposed to do next. Thanks to helpful roommates, he started to figure out how to take advantage of the opportunities around him. He started getting more interested in math, statistics, and finance. He eventually ended up interviewing in New York and ending up at the famous training firm Susquehanna Investment Group (SIG). As a part-time trainer at first and then in a more central role, Mike started to experiment with different ways of teaching things like market making, probability, thinking in bets, and the behaviors needed to “make it” in the trading pits.

This conversation was a delight and I think you’ll enjoy it. We cover:

• Ending up at Penn and not really knowing what he was going to do

• Figuring out he enjoyed math and finance

• Getting a job at SIG

• Joining the training team

• Leaving finance to spend more time with his kids

• Becoming a high school teacher

• How he thinks about teaching & mentorship

• His 20-year journey in creating his game “Stockslam”Prefer Video? 👉 Watch on Youtube

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