PORTAGE - When Michael Havrilla first started blogging about little-known health care and medical innovation investments in 2007, he quickly learned he'd found a niche.
The 32-year-old Portage man hopes to carve a full-time livelihood through a website on such stocks - and help others make a few bucks trading, too.
The Portage Area High School and the University of Pittsburgh pharmacy graduate walked away from his full-time job as a pharmacist a year ago to chase the dream full time.
Last month, he unveiled mikehavRx.com, offering insight into medical-related stocks that may jump in the near future. He also may be the first to develop a stock index to track such investments - grouping categories for emerging cancer companies, stem cell researchers and others.
"I'd always been doing this kind of stuff on the side," Havrilla said. "But once I started writing about it, it just took off. It's a full-time job."
It's not his first foray into the business.
Havrilla has written dozens of articles on related stocks for well-known commercial online investment sites including The Motley Fool and Seeking Alpha. His online profile for Seeking Alpha shows he has 2,125 subscribers who regularly follow his posts.
He was also a co-founder of
biomedreports.com, a similar venture to his current website started several years ago with California entrepreneur M.E. Garza.
The site took off, prompting him to quit his job as a Rite Aid pharmacist - a position he held for four years.
It garnered attention from Google Finance and others, he said. BusinessWeek also interviewed him as an expert for a May 2009 article on the growing market for biotech stock.
In the past year,
biomedreports.com netted 3,500 subscribers paying $200 or more per year for stock trading analysis, but Havrilla said it became too much of a "stock-picking" site for his liking.
"My goal was always to provide good information and let people make their own decisions on investing their money. Telling someone exactly what to pick, that just feels like a liability. I don't want to be in that position," Havrilla said. "But I've got more experience now. I'm ready to do it on my own."
He has more than 50 subscribers for his new site - folks who pay $300 a year to access information he indexes and updates daily. College students and former subscribers to his previous services can access the site for half the price, he said.
Mary Hunt, managing editor for Seeking Alpha, expects Havrilla will do well.
"We have the greatest respect for Mike's work and wish him ongoing success," said Hunt, saying Havrilla's contribution's to their site brought "significant value to investors and market watchers."
Portage Borough Manager Bob Koban said Havrilla's story has circulated through town.
He says the borough is glad Havrilla calls the Mainline town home and set up shop here.
"To walk away from a pharmacist job like that - it says something. He's obviously pretty confident in the step he's taking," said Koban. "He's the type of person who could be working anywhere. We're glad he's here."
Havrilla recognizes his profession is a bit of a contrast from the blue-collar and coal mining background often associated with his hometown.
But he's fine with that. Portage is home, he said.
"It's a quality of life issue for me. I love the outdoors: hiking, running and kayaking and I can enjoy all of that here," said Havrilla, an avid runner since high school.
He's run the Pittsburgh and Boston marathons in years prior, he said.
"I enjoy it here," he said. "Hopefully, once we grow, I'll eventually be able to give back to this community."
Mirror Staff Writer David Hurst is at 946-7457.
