No matter how good you are at picking stocks, we all have blind spots.
That’s why it’s so important to seek out diverse perspectives and actively challenge your own assertions — something that has always been at the core of our philosophy here at Strawman.
Our platform does a decent job of collecting and organising member insights, even if the process is fairly ad hoc. It’s been great to see so many incredible track records being built, as well as a formidable knowledge base of stock research. But I reckon we can lift community focus, collaboration, and, ultimately, the quality of our research output.
That’s why we’re launching a new Spotlight initiative.
Every two weeks or so, we’re going to pick one promising company and give it the full Strawman treatment. We’ll follow a clear, deliberate path to turn raw data and opinion into a comprehensive investment report:
Crowdsourced Research: We start by pooling our notes. This is where we get everyone’s initial thoughts and findings together on the associated company report page in Strawman. (It’s more or less what you’re already doing by posting Straws, Valuations, and forum posts; we’re just directing the focus for those who want to take part.)
The Inside Scoop: Next, we’ll bring in a senior executive or board member from the company. It’s our chance to grill the leadership, probe their strategy, and get answers to our questions.
The Online Huddle: Once the interview is done, we’ll jump on a call to hash it all out. We’ll debate the risks, compare notes, and see where the consensus actually lands.
The Final Report: To wrap it up, we’ll condense everything we’ve learned into a comprehensive report. Just to be clear, this won’t be an “official” recommendation — we’re not here to tell you what to buy or sell. However, it will help you make your own call with more confidence.
My hope is that the process not only helps us produce more (and better-organised) research, but that it gives us all an opportunity to sharpen our analysis skills and learn from the experience of others, too.
To kick things off, we’re nominating Nova Eye Medical (ASX:EYE) as our first Spotlight candidate. Going forward, we’ll adopt a more democratic selection process, but this one has recently attracted a lot of attention on our forums recently (see below), which means we can hit the ground running.
We’re still trying to line up the CEO for an interview, but in the meantime, we want to encourage you to share any insights, thoughts, or perspectives you have on the company page. And let me be a little insistent here…
Like most things, you only get out what you put in. So no excuses, okay? 2026 is the year to step up your investment game, and in this instance, it just means taking a bit of time to scan a company presentation or report and jotting down some notes on Strawman. If you’re not careful, your inner nerd may actually enjoy it!
(I’m mainly looking in the mirror when I say this… I’ve been more guilty than most in terms of my research efforts lately.)
I’ll be taking some time this weekend to do a bit of reading and will post some notes next week (although a lot of great stuff has been posted already… hopefully I can find something original and worthwhile to say!).
It’ll be interesting to see what the community comes up with and how this whole process works. I’m sure we’ll need to tweak things as we go, but I’m excited to bring a bit more structure and focus to Strawman.
And, of course, find some great stocks!
Strawman is Australia’s premier online investment club.
Members share research & recommendations on ASX-listed stocks by managing Virtual Portfolios and building Company Reports. By ranking content according to performance and community endorsement, Strawman provides accountable and peer-reviewed investment insights.
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