No entrepreneur has ever said that building a solid and promising business from scratch would be easy. It necessitates a lot of hard work, self-sacrifice, and dedication to brave the challenges that come with it. No one knows this all too well than entrepreneur, stock trader, investor, and real estate developer Simon Lerner, the CEO of NetCon and NetCon Trading Academy.
The Russian-born and raised entrepreneur first started his luck in sales at the age of 15 by selling video game items online. The experience showed him that even strangers were willing to give him money for products and services, and so right then and there, he had an epiphany – entrepreneurship suited him quite well.
Especially intrigued by the possibilities brought by stock trading, Simon did his thorough research to understand how it works and started investing. But just like many entrepreneurs and aspiring investors who were just starting out, Simon’s journey to success was not without any difficulties and failures. He blew five trading accounts and almost lost $15,000. Fortunately, he eventually found his footing. He never stopped learning and was constantly on the lookout for the best opportunities possible.
The idea behind creating his company NetCon came to Simon after dropping out of college at 18. He started an online business after realizing he was not developing his business acumen by simply listening to his professors in class, feeling compelled to step out of his comfort zone and learn from actual practitioners outside the university.
“I vividly remember going to my economics professor after class to ask for advice on trading stocks. I was trading Tesla at the time and wanted to know if I should buy more of it. When I came up to the professor to ask for advice, he told me that as much as he’d love to give me advice on investing in the stock market, he can’t as he doesn’t invest in stocks himself since his wife thinks it’s gambling,” Simon shared.
From then on, he made it a point to learn everything he could from anyone with an existing business who has found success in their respective niche. Apart from the wealth of knowledge and experiences that he could potentially acquire from successful entrepreneurs, Simon embarked on a special journey of self-education and personal development. He invested heavily in conferences that would elevate his knowledge and empower him to be the best entrepreneur and trader among people his age.
Structurally, NetCon comprises different sub-companies, including NetCon Trading Academy, NetCon Events, and NetCon apparel. NetCon Trading Academy is an education platform where Simon shares his passion for business, entrepreneurship, and personal development. His company also hosts in-person entrepreneur events where world-class entrepreneurs and speakers come together to share their best business practices to inspire the audience. Additionally, NetCon runs an online trading community where educational resources are made available to anyone who wishes to learn more about trading and the stock market.
Since the age of 18, Simon has hosted large entrepreneur conferences with notable speakers such as Dan Fleyshman, Jason Capital, Brett Knutson, Jeff Sekinger, Ravi Abuvala, and Sean Kelly, among others. Clearly, he has a gift for convening people and gathering huge crowds.
“Just learning everything about the event space in the process, the goal was to have an outstanding speaker-to-attendee ratio where the attendees really would feel important and would be able to go up to any speaker to ask any question and really get to connect on a deep level. What also made us stand out from other events is that we did not let the speakers do hard-pitching from the stage,” revealed Simon.
Now, at the young age of 22, Simon had his mother retired and acquire eight real estate properties, five of which are presently under construction. Moreover, he has grown his trading community to more than 1,000 members, a feat not accomplished by many.
