Overview

A Confederacy of Dunces meets Liar’s Poker in this rollicking roman à clef from inside PwnShop’s “bored” room as the embattled company hobbles through an extraordinary short squeeze. Why do good things happen to bad companies? In early 2021, the stock value of PwnShop—a dead to rights bricks-and-mortar retailer disrupted by the digital downloading of video games—inexplicably ballooned overnight. While much has been written about the mechanics of the meme stock short squeezes, no one has yet clarified the chaotic drama of what was happening inside such a company during its zeitgeist moment. Nick Haller is an irreverent HBS Gen X know-it-all and wannabe musician trapped inside the C-suite of PwnShop. Having slogged through bureaucracy and a morass of competing agendas with characters that include tightfisted ex-military executives, demented board directors, vainglorious activists, and the cult-like community of clerks and customers, Haller foolishly believes that he’s found a way forward for the disrupted company. Instead, the pandemic strikes, activists take control of the company, the Reddit-fueled short squeeze occurs, and Nick’s earnest intentions end up on the cutting room floor while his net worth skyrockets “to the moon.” Skinny Dipping at Low Tide is a darkly comedic, gonzo-style satire that chronicles the chaos, absurdity, and soul-searching of a disillusioned executive caught in the maelstrom of a singular stock frenzy. It causes him to question everything he ever thought about capitalism and the corporate world. A piercing and sidesplitting novel, Skinny Dipping at Low Tide is sure to delight readers of Tom Robbins, Joshua Ferris, and Michael Lewis.

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Devoting the first nine years of his career to the music business in Nashville with Arista Records and Sony Music Publishing, Frank “MF” Hamlin completed his MBA at Harvard University in 1997. From there, he progressed through prominent senior marketing and operating roles in retail and e-commerce. He served as chief marketing officer at Guitar Center, EVP and chief marketing officer of Tailored Brands (parent of Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A Bank), and EVP and chief customer officer of GameStop. Frank Hamlin has served on the boards of several public and private corporations and is now focused on his recent appointments to the Board of Trustees for the College of Arts & Sciences at his beloved undergraduate alma mater, the University of Virginia, and as trustee and marketing committee chair for the Dallas Theater Center. All proceeds from Skinny Dipping at Low Tide will support the Causeways Program, founded by the author at the University of Virginia, to inspire and guide future student leaders in fostering constructive engagement, resolving conflicts, and driving positive change.

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