Interview  |  JAN 2005

Interview: Don Miller & The Ultimate Entrepreneurial Experience by J. Gopalakrishnan

Stocks & Commodities V. 23:1 (58-63): Interview: Don Miller & The Ultimate Entrepreneurial Experience by J. Gopalakrishnan Don Miller toiled in the corporate world, wondering if there were more to life — and then he discovered there was. He gave up the comfort and safety of his career in the telecommunications industry and plunged into the world of trading, the “ultimate entrepreneurial experience.” He is an independent futures trader who focuses primarily on the US and foreign indexes, including the US S&P e-minis and German DAX. In addition to trading a private capital fund, Miller writes a midday column for TradingMarkets.com and has created several instructional DVDs (available at DonMillerTrading.com). He is a member of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. STOCKS & COMMODITIES Editor Jayanthi Gopalakrishnan interviewed Don Miller via telephone on November 3, 2004. How did you get into trading? Back in the mid-1990s I was in the corporate world. I had worked my way up to an executive position with a fairly large telecommunications company in the Midwest. My educational background is in finance and accounting, and I did a lot of that. But I got to a point where I had lost my motivation. I was running a division, I was testifying, I was doing all sorts of things, but it just got to a point where I looked around and said, “Is this all there is?” Actually, it sounds like a lot! I guess a better way to put it is that I’d lost the challenge. At that time, access to the markets was more readily available, and one thing led to another. I decided to forgo my nice, safe corporate career for what I refer to as the “ultimate entrepreneurial experience.” It’s been a whirlwind effort ever since.

by Jayanthi Gopalakrishnan