The Introducer Economy · Part 3

When Did Investors Start Crying About Losses?

October 14, 2026 · By Peter Ciaccia

Somewhere along the way, a generation of “investors” showed up who never got the memo: investing involves losing.

I watch it happen over and over. Somebody puts money into a deal — eyes wide open, risk disclosed, upside explained — and the moment it gets uncomfortable, the tears start. Not real tears. The modern kind: long posts about promises, hurt feelings, betrayal. As if the market owed them a hug.

Let me be blunt: an investment is not a promise. Nobody promised you a return. The paperwork didn’t promise it, the market didn’t promise it, and the person who brought you the deal didn’t promise it. You took a risk because you wanted the upside. The downside was always sitting right there next to it. That’s what the word means.

But accountability is dead. In its place: entitlement and blame. When the deal wins, they’re geniuses. When it loses, they’re victims. Same person, same deal — the only thing that changed is the outcome. Funny how that works.

And the performance of it — the French surrender at the first sign of discomfort. White flag up before the second quarter ends. Real investors know that discomfort is the price of admission. You don’t get the returns without sitting through the parts that hurt. That’s not cruelty, that’s arithmetic.

Here’s the pattern I keep seeing: the people who cry the loudest about losses are the same ones who did the least diligence going in. They didn’t read, didn’t ask, didn’t understand the risk — they just wanted the win. Then when the risk shows up, suddenly it’s everybody’s fault but theirs.

I don’t name names in this series. I name patterns.

You want to be an investor? Then act like one. Do the work, take the risk, own the outcome — win or lose. Or admit you’re not an investor at all. You’re a tourist with hurt feelings.