Tiny big things you need to know before investing in share market : The Paytm Story

 "Mom, I think I am going to win a lottery soon". 

"Oh my poor kid, how come you even say that. Luck has been your biggest enemy since your childhood days na - I still remember the incident when Mr. Luck came to our home, you two had a really bad fight, he slapped you tight and said you'll never have his back". 

"Ah, what mom. Don't joke na, I am going to be a millionaire soon. Anyways leave, you know I have bidden for the Paytm IPO, and I feel so elated to tell you that a mere 1.66 times people have subscribed to this. How amazing na! My chances of getting the bid are quite high this time!!!" (I literally had no idea that 1.66 times subscription means that at any cost I shouldn't bid for this. It'll be a grave mistake to do so."

Mom responded with a flat face, a doubtful smile, and murmured in a feeble tone "oh...kay...I wish!"

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And the D-day comes. With the surreal joy and feeling of accomplishment in mind, I stuck to the screen with the hope that the wallet which I have been using for a long will fill my wallet this time. I was as excited for the market to open as I get before meeting my girl - lovely expected gifts being the reason. And the market opens, Paytm gets listed at ₹1950, with a 20% discount. I went totally blank and before I could understand anything, it started falling more, like a jet crashing down abnormally fast. It came down to 1800, 1600, 1400 and touched the miserable mark of 1350 on the debut day closing. I couldn't eat or drink a sip of water throughout the hours market was open because my hopes were falling on their face, all the excitement was burying deep into the grave of doom, and I was seeing the lavish villa that I constructed in my childish dreams, getting detonated by the bulldozer called Paytm. The only thing I ate was the 'repentance burger', and the only drink I had was the 'tear mojito' that day in lunch. 

Pic credits : The Economic Times

So, why did it all happen?  Why did I fall on my face so hard and seriously injure my smiling lips that shunned my smile for a long time? The pertinent reason is - I took the market for granted: I didn't read the SWOT analysis or the Red Herring Prospectus of the company. Well, these are complicated financial things that aren't easy to understand for a person who doesn't come from this background. So, there were easy things too, I could have just gone through the Grey Market Premium of the company which hardly would have taken a couple of minutes. But, I did nothing, I didn't spend a minute mastering the pre-requisites. All these tiny huge reasons violently broke my opinion that IPOs and the Share Market are only the cash cows and don't demand much hard work and financial literacy per se.

Here is an advice for everyone, especially the layman and the youngsters who think the market is like a well of money. I just want to tell you all in crisp words - 'please don't be mad, it's not!'. Don't make any move in this field, especially if it's putting your money in peril, before taking proper guidance from a reliable, intellectual, and trustworthy person. And let me clear you that the Youtubers who use the clickbait thumbnails like 'spend 1 lakh and become a crorepati in five years'  aren't the ones I am talking about.

(Thursday though the share price has recovered to ₹1798, and it's enough to let the faith's fire reignite again in my mind)

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(A week later)

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"Mom, I feel I am going to get a lottery soon. Go Air's IPO is just around the corner..."