[jstultz]

From the actual Wealthfront page:

"I illustrate the importance of growing the size of the pie to one’s share of pie to my entrepreneurship students at the Stanford Graduate School of Business by reminding them of the formula for a circle’s circumference versus its area. The formula for circumference (a proxy for share of pie) is linear (2 πr) vs. the formula for area, which is exponential (πr²)."

It seems to me that the value of growing the size of the pie as well as one's share of the pie is pretty easily understood and not in need of an analogy. But yet, this guy has decided to use one, and it is terrible.

Not only is it quadratic, not exponential (a relatively minor detail), but what on earth, exactly, is the radius meant to represent in this analogy?

[confluence]

The bullshit you buy when you became a startup employee. Big companies grow their bullshit in linear time - whereas startups are exponential (whoops - I'm a wealth manager to stupid to do basic maths - of course I mean quadratic).

Seeing these math flaws make me wonder if most wealth managers are, in fact, morons. I'm guessing they are - otherwise wouldn't they be making their own wealth to manage?

Oh wait - this is how they are going to do it - ride the tech bubble and impressionable young millionaires to make their fortune.

Clever girl (Jurassic park reference).

/sarcasm