Resources & Tools | David Nowak

My top book recommendations

The Millionaire FastlaneOpened my eyes to how people actually make money and gave me the entrepreneurial bug. The one that started everything.
How to Win Friends and Influence PeopleI was weak at relationships and networking. I'm better now, but it made me aware of what it takes to be liked and to keep friends.
Awaken the Giant WithinThick, dense, and I never finished it. But it introduced me to Tony Robbins, and later on his Personal Power audio program which is the one that actually landed.
The Lean StartupHow to think about a business idea. Problem, unique value proposition, and a single page to flush out a business idea.
The Power of HabitEvery bad habit has a trigger. Spot the trigger and you can swap what follows after.

Learning to program now

My old list of courses is dead. AI writes the code now, so grinding syntax is no longer the point. What I would learn instead:

Design, UI/UX judgementAI can still be weak here. Knowing why something belongs in one place and not another is the part that lasts.
Concepts, not syntaxWhat HTML, CSS and JavaScript each do. How a front end talks to a back end. When to reach for a relational database and when not to. Web versus desktop versus native. Enough to say no, not that, use this.
How to actually use AIAgents, orchestration, review and testing workflows. Someone using AI well moves several times faster than someone who is not.
Enough debuggingEnough to read a log and ask the right question. AI can usually take it from there.
MarketingThe barrier to building dropped to a monthly subscription, so distribution is what makes or breaks you now.

Learning to trade

This one is mostly warnings, because that is what I needed and did not get.

Good marketers are usually not good traders, and often not good educators. Selling a $50 a month discord is far easier than making money trading.
While you are learning, block out trading content on social media completely. The posts that go viral are payout screenshots. Motivating at first, corrosive when you are struggling, and it starts to feel like everyone is winning except you.
Be careful who you follow. Reviews can be faked. Flashing cars and big numbers usually means a better marketer than trader. Some of the best traders aren't big on social media.
You should not have to pay for education. Good, free material exists. You just have to sift for it. Look for someone who trades live, shows up every day, and gets to the point.
Risk management matters a lot more than you think.

The order I wish I had followed

Learn a style of trading concepts. Pick one approach and actually study it.
Backtest until you know where the edge is and where it fails. That is where your stop goes.
Build your own model, or take one that works and make it yours.
Forward test it.
Demo trade. Identical to live, except the money.
Go live, and keep comparing against your numbers. When they drift, take your foot off the gas.

I skipped straight to the end and it cost me years.

Starting something of your own

The best time is now, especially for anything software. AI removes most of the building problem.
Marketing is the hurdle, then design. You can build something excellent and still have nobody buy it.
Scratch your own itch. Then you are not guessing what a customer wants, because you are one.

That last one is exactly how BacktestingLab was born. It's the tool I wanted so I could backtest strategies in a smarter and more efficient way.

Nothing on this site is financial advice. I'm documenting my own journey, including the parts that went badly. Trading carries real risk and you can lose money. Anything I write about building a business is my experience, not a guarantee of yours. Do your own research and make your own decisions.