Invest Like the Best with Patrick O&#8217;Shaughnessy

Founders Episode 311: James Cameron

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For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors, and provider of Canalyst. Tired of calculating fully-diluted shares outstanding? Access every publicly-reported datapoint and industry-specific KPI through their database of over 4,000 drivable global models hand-built by a team of sector-focused analysts, 35+ industry comp sheets, and Excel add-ins that let you use their industry-leading data in your own spreadsheets. Tegus’ models automatically update each quarter, including hard to calculate KPIs like stock-based compensation and organic growth rates, empowering investors to bypass the friction of sourcing, building and updating models. Make efficiency your competitive advantage and take back your time today. As a listener, you can trial Canalyst by Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

(00:03:16) - (First question) - Stripe's curiosity-driven growth fuels enduring success and expansion

(00:08:34) - Why companies should resonate with founders' ideas but also have strong enduring cultures

(00:012:27) - Stripe aims to reduce friction and expand global commerce by solving practical barriers

(00:25:59) - Simplifying processes for startups and large companies to drive growth efficiently

(00:29:11) - Analyzing the enduring stories of ancient companies

(00:35:44) - Success in Hollywood and academia depends on unmeasurable vision and knowledge

(00:40:11) - Stripe's ubiquity, self-serve nature, and collective care drive its unique status

(00:43:16) - Success in tech is grounded in user-centricity, care, and connecting with customers

(00:48:17) - Parental influence on becoming entrepreneurs is complex

(00:50:21) - Adult perspective on parents, admiration for their work, and ongoing philanthropy

(00:52:30) - Stripe's challenges include complexity due to diverse payment methods and global programmable accessibility

(00:57:27) - Aiming for long-term durability, Stripe prioritizes beauty and craftsmanship in its pursuit

(01:02:50) - The most memorable conversation they had between them

(01:05:30) - Why the launch of Atlas was a defining moment in Stripe’s history

(01:06:35) - How their 25-year-old selves would react to what they are doing now

(01:10:19) - The various ways in which they feel proud of each other

(01:14:35) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for them

Strauss Zelnick - Playing to Your Strengths - [Invest Like the Best, EP.347]

10 oktober 2023 | 75 min

My guest this week is Strauss Zelnick, the CEO of leading game publisher Take-Two Interactive. Maybe most well-known for its hugely successful Grand Theft Auto game, Take-Two is a sophisticated, top-tier developer, publisher, and marketer of interactive entertainment that owns Rockstar Games and 2K. Strauss’s passion for entertainment led him strong and fast into the industry as he worked his way from sales to CEO and transitioned from motion picture to gaming.

Today we cover his approach to staying on the cutting edge of media development, unlocking talent and potential in those around you, and becoming the leader you were meant to be. His intensity and his standard for excellence come through clearly. Please enjoy my conversation with Strauss Zelnick.

Subscribe to Colossus's New Show: Art of Investing

Buy a ticket to Patrick and David Senra's live show.

Listen to Founders Podcast

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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This episode is brought to you by Tegus Converge — the first virtual event centered on the world of investor research. When twin brothers Tom and Mike Elnick realized that the research process for investors was broken, they founded Tegus to fix it. Now the people behind the most trusted research platform are bringing institutional investors together to investigate the state — and the future — of fundamental research. On November 8th, join industry luminaries like IGSB Founder Reece Duca and Daniel Gross, AI Expert, Entrepreneur and Investor, to dig into the latest research trends and breakthrough technologies shaping the investment landscape. Register today at tegus.com/register.

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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

(00:03:39) - (First question) - Why the entertainment media sector is so interesting

(00:05:08) - Key inflection points in the history of media

(00:09:17) - The role of pure content in businesses today

(00:10:32) - Requirements for being a successful media business operator

(00:12:03) - Strategies for working effectively with creatives

(00:16:13) - How to cultivate a conducive environment for creatives

(00:25:54) - The allure of collaborating with Take-Two

(00:30:09) - Strauss’ journey to becoming the chairman and CEO of Take-Two

(00:37:42) - Strategies for reducing costs in business

(00:41:16) - Embracing diversity in the video game industry

(00:43:41) - Identifying high-quality intellectual property (IP)

(00:46:04) - The inspiration behind Strauss’ book Becoming Ageless: The Four Secrets To Looking and Feeling Younger Than Ever

(00:51:12) - Influential leaders for learning and growth

(00:55:45) - The impact of technology and the rise of new platforms

(00:57:00) - Common misconceptions about Take-Two

(00:59:42) - Unique attributes of Take-Two projects

(01:00:36) - Defining moments in the history of the business

(01:04:19) - Anticipating the future direction of Take-Two

(01:13:41) - Sources of motivation and inspiration

(01:15:29) - The concept and value of a masterpiece

(01:11:08) - Paramount values as a parent

(01:11:38) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for Strauss

Rick Buhrman & Paul Buser - Find Your X, Nurture Your N - [Invest Like the Best, EP.346]

3 oktober 2023 | 119 min

My guests this week are Rick Buhrman and Paul Buser. Rick and Paul spent over a decade managing the public equity portfolio at Notre Dame’s Endowment before leaving in 2020 to set up a permanent capital vehicle called Sator Grove. As you’ll hear in this conversation, they know, have studied, or have invested with most of the world’s best capital allocators.

A few years ago, they also set up a class at Notre Dame for 40 of the college’s brightest students, called Art of Investing. The class is devoted to exploring the joys of compounding and each week, they bring in a world class investor or operator to share in detail how they’ve built their lives, portfolios, and businesses around the principles of compounding.

Starting next week, it will be available as a Colossus Podcast so that you too will be able to join their class and learn from the likes of Todd Combs, Andre Perold, Ho Nam and others. I’d encourage you to search Art of Investing in your podcast player and subscribe so you don’t miss the first episode. Now onto my discussion with Rick and Paul.

Art of Investing: Trailer

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Tired of running your own expert calls to get up to speed on a company? Tegus lets you ramp faster and find answers to critical questions more efficiently than any alternative method. The gold standard for research, the Tegus platform delivers unmatched access to timely, qualitative insights through the largest and most differentiated expert call transcript database. With over 60,000 transcripts spanning 22,000 public and private companies, investors can accelerate their fundamental research process by discovering highly-differentiated and reliable insights that can’t be found anywhere else in the market. As a listener, drive your next investment thesis forward with Tegus for free at tegus.co/patrick.

-----

Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

(00:02:30) - (First question) - Shifting from Notre Dame to Sator Grove

(00:06:20) - An overview of Sator Grove

(00:11:39) - Launching in April 2021, they manage $300M for diverse, flexible investments

(00:15:47) - Investing in meaningful projects with trust, long-term focus, and high potential

(00:25:30) - How Mitch Rales embodies insatiable curiosity and lifelong learning

(00:39:33) - Embracing change, adapting, and experimenting for success

(00:41:49) - How investors learn from failed companies

(00:51:59) - Investment success hinges on talent's judgment, character, adaptability, and trust

(00:56:53) - What they found concerning in firms and teams when assessing managers

(01:02:16) - Analyzing asset allocation challenges

(01:07:39) - Fostering disciplined habits for growth

(01:13:06) - The importance of nurturing compounding

(01:21:21) - Creating meaningful connections and providing lifelong lessons

(01:26:58) - Wisdom from their mentors and its impact on their investing philosophy

(01:43:49) - Defining the good life: Quality projects, quality people, and meaningful integration

(01:45:29) - The defining moments of their investing careers so far

(01:47:59) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for Rick and Paul

Jack Altman & Miles Grimshaw - Building and Investing in Lattice - [Invest Like the Best, EP.345]

26 september 2023 | 80 min

My guests today are Jack Altman and Miles Grimshaw. Jack is the co-founder and CEO of Lattice, an HR software platform. Miles is a General Partner at Benchmark, an early investor and Board Director at Lattice, as well as a former guest on Invest Like the Best. Jack started Lattice in 2015 and has scaled it into a multi-billion-dollar business that already serves over 5,000 organizations. In our discussion, we look at all aspects of building and scaling a software product from both an investor and operator’s perspective, which made this particularly fun to do. Please enjoy my conversation with Jack Altman and Miles Grimshaw.

Listen to Founders Podcast

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Stretch your research budget with flexible expert calls you can trust. At a fraction of the cost of traditional expert networks, Tegus customers pay only what an expert charges – with zero markups and no confusing call credits – netting an average 70% savings. Don’t want to conduct a full hour call? Tegus offers the ability to schedule 30-minutes, an offer you won’t find anywhere else. And they don’t stop there. With white-glove custom sourcing for every project and robust compliance measures, including a dedicated 50+ analyst team that vets every call transcript, Tegus ensures your privacy and protection. As the industry innovator for qualitative insights, Tegus helps you find the right experts you need at a quality and speed that can’t be matched. For a limited time, as a listener, you can trial Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

(00:02:55) - (First question) - How Jack & Miles met at Y Combinator in 2015

(00:04:22) - Lattice found a niche in mid-market HR software

(00:07:55) - Discovering Lattice's true market need

(00:11:14) - Fear of stalling drove the need for business growth beyond initial product

(00:12:06) - Deciding on multi-product focus over up-market expansion

(00:17:01) - Prioritizing quality of usage over frequency for customer health scores

(00:20:06) - Balancing customer health scores and actual needs

(00:24:31) - Prioritized community by spotlighting HR voices

(00:28:20) - Building community helps companies sell a vision or lifestyle

(00:31:05) - Cultivating broad awareness instead of hard-selling

(00:35:33) - Overcoming the culture of 'perfection’

(00:37:22) - Flywheel effect makes suites efficient: lower go-to-market costs, more focus on product

(00:41:06) - The challenges of juggling current needs and future demands

(00:46:27) - Navigating disagreements and trust-building within a company

(00:50:36) - Investors' roles extend beyond founders, focusing on their own goals and interests

(00:51:52) - How transparency eases the founder-investor dance

(00:55:16) - The changing employer-employee relationship

(00:58:37) - Navigating growth from startup to public equity

(01:05:43) - Lattice's ultimate aspiration

(01:07:42) - Evaluating founders' authenticity

(01:11:18) - What Jack & Miles are most embarrassed about, the most proud of, and the most excited for

(01:14:30) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for Jack and Miles

Michael Simanovsky - A Platform Approach to Real Estate - [Invest Like the Best, EP.344]

19 september 2023 | 67 min

My guest today is Michael Simanovsky. Mike is the Managing Partner of Conversant Capital, a real estate investment firm he founded in early 2020. Conversant aims to be the most flexible capital provider in real estate, investing across public and private markets as well as equities and credit. The firm will also incubate platforms where they see an opportunity to take advantage of a compelling theme that lacks existing business models for investment. We cover the most undersupplied part of the market, why he’s building Conversant to be so flexible, and the surprising appeal of billboards. Please enjoy my conversation with Mike Simanovsky.

Listen to Founders Podcast

Join Colossus live in NYC with Patrick O’Shaughnessy and David Senra on Oct. 19.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

-----

This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors, and provider of Canalyst. Tired of calculating fully-diluted shares outstanding? Access every publicly-reported datapoint and industry-specific KPI through their database of over 4,000 drivable global models hand-built by a team of sector-focused analysts, 35+ industry comp sheets, and Excel add-ins that let you use their industry-leading data in your own spreadsheets. Tegus’ models automatically update each quarter, including hard to calculate KPIs like stock-based compensation and organic growth rates, empowering investors to bypass the friction of sourcing, building and updating models. Make efficiency your competitive advantage and take back your time today. As a listener, you can trial Canalyst by Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

-----

Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

(00:03:32) (First question) - Real estate investing through the lens of the capital cycle

(00:06:50) - The capital cycle in practice

(00:12:07) - Using evaluation of supply to determine where you are in a capital cycle

(00:13:16) - Why real estate drew Mike in

(00:15:35) - The quality of investors in real estate

(00:16:41) - What the US market needs most

(00:20:26) - The range of returns in real estate

(00:23:01) - Insights that stand out

(00:26:45) - Starting a new company vs. building a portfolio of assets

(00:28:46) - Key trade-offs and choices when building a firm

(00:31:10) - Where things go wrong

(00:33:59) - Best investment decision he ever made

(00:38:06) - Philosophy on CapEx

(00:39:52) - Misconceptions about real estate investing

(00:41:31) - Cold storage real estate

(00:43:13) - The most interesting corners of the real estate market

(00:46:13) - AI and its impact on the future

(00:48:30) - Common investor missteps

(00:50:51) - Three guests Mike would invite to a dinner party

(00:52:34) - The most impactful questions to ask a real estate investor

(00:53:17) - A defining moment of his career

(00:53:17) - The premise of the platform approach

(00:56:20) - Possible opportunities and an understanding of the current landscape

(01:03:38) - Lessons Mike learned from basketball coach John Wooden’s philosophies

(01:04:30) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

David Senra - In Service of Founders - [Invest Like the Best, EP.343]

12 september 2023 | 85 min

My guest today is David Senra, the creator and host of Founders Podcast. With an incredible appetite for biographies, David has delved into the lives of over three hundred entrepreneurs, extracting invaluable wisdom that he shares with his audience each week. Throughout the conversation, we discuss David’s love of podcasts, and what can be gained from studying the lives of not just entrepreneurs, but of athletes and film directors alike. I hope you enjoy this conversation with David Senra.

Listen to Founders Podcast

Join Colossus live in NYC with Patrick O’Shaughnessy and David Senra on Oct. 19.

Our first interview with David, Episode 292: Passion & Pain

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors. Tired of running your own expert calls to get up to speed on a company? Tegus lets you ramp faster and find answers to critical questions more efficiently than any alternative method. The gold standard for research, the Tegus platform delivers unmatched access to timely, qualitative insights through the largest and most differentiated expert call transcript database. With over 60,000 transcripts spanning 22,000 public and private companies, investors can accelerate their fundamental research process by discovering highly differentiated and reliable insights that can’t be found anywhere else in the market. As a listener, drive your next investment thesis forward with Tegus for free at tegus.co/patrick.

-----

Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

(00:02:43) - (First question) - David's journey so far

(00:05:13) - Why there are no negative surprises linked to his work

(00:07:13) - Being bullish on podcasts

(00:13:27) - The importance of storytelling to the entrepreneurial journey

(00:17:43) - The impulse of entrepreneurs who are world-builders

(00:23:03) - The universal trait of successful entrepreneurs

(00:27:43) - What David has learned from filmmakers

(00:31:23) - The dark side of the Type-A personality

(00:35:13) - What he has learned from athletes

(00:42:27) - The effects of early childhood on success

(00:43:48) - Insights gained from conquerors

(00:49:33) - Ranking the importance he places on power, wealth, and fame

(00:56:13) - The possibility of episodes on spiritual figures

(01:02:17) - How Henry Ford created something bigger than himself

(01:05:43) - His thoughts on ‘high agency’ people

(01:11:57) - Why David is not afraid to talk about anything publicly

(01:16:27) - His favorite line from Game of Thrones

Will England - A Primer on Multi-Strategy Hedge Funds - [Invest Like the Best, EP.342]

5 september 2023 | 80 min

My guest today is Will England, the CEO and Co-CIO of Walleye Capital. Walleye is a multi-strategy hedge fund headquartered in Minnesota that manages around $5 billion. Our conversation is a primer on multi-strategy hedge funds, which have become a force in markets through the success of firms like Millenium, Citadel, Point72, and Balyasny. We discuss the operational complexity behind the model, which managers best fit this type of investment style, and what happens in stress events like the Gamestop short squeeze in early 2021. We also talk about performance culture, the All Blacks, and Will’s experience as a US National Team rower. Please enjoy my conversation with Will England.

Listen to Founders Podcast

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

-----

This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Stretch your research budget with flexible expert calls you can trust. At a fraction of the cost of traditional expert networks, Tegus customers pay only what an expert charges – with zero markups and no confusing call credits – netting an average 70% savings. Don’t want to conduct a full hour call? Tegus offers the ability to schedule 30-minutes, an offer you won’t find anywhere else. And they don’t stop there. With white-glove custom sourcing for every project and robust compliance measures, including a dedicated 50+ analyst team that vets every call transcript, Tegus ensures your privacy and protection. As the industry innovator for qualitative insights, Tegus helps you find the right experts you need at a quality and speed that can’t be matched. For a limited time, as a listener, you can trial Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

-----

Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

(00:03:22) - (First question) - His fascination with Robber Barons

(00:04:49) - He explains the style of investing he has built at Walleye Capital

(00:08:51) - The importance of scale and what it means for firms like this

(00:13:01) - A breakdown of the component parts of a 15% return structure

(00:16:56) - His advice to new portfolio managers trying to succeed with long/short investments

(00:21:23) - His reaction to an efficient market hypothesis

(00:27:33) - He tells us what happens above the individual manager level

(00:29:42) - The universe of talented people behind the business

(00:35:26) - The backstory of Walleye Capital and why he chose Minnesota

(00:42:37) - He discusses the felt experience of being at Walleye versus other firms

(00:47:25) - Whether he identifies more as an entrepreneur systems builder or as an investor

(00:50:04) - What he says about the half life of successful quantitative strategies

(00:54:03) - A breakdown of style allocations and the percentage of managers within each

(00:56:30) - How he determines how much leverage to use and how to be great at applying it

(00:59:59) - How the firm handles tough investment periods

(01:02:34) - How he knew Citadel wasn’t taking down gross during the GameStop short

(01:03:51) - What he looks for when hiring a portfolio manager

(01:06:37) - His philosophy on performance and how he blends that into his firms culture

(01:09:21) - Inspiration he’s taken from the All Blacks team

(01:11:25) - Addition aspects of the firm he believes are important

(01:13:46) - Historical finance pioneers that inspire him

(01:16:07) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

James Cameron - The Futurist - [Founders, Forever Episode]

29 augusti 2023 | 75 min

Almost exactly a year ago, Colossus entered into a partnership with David Senra and the Founders podcast to join the Colossus network. The show has since exploded with more devoted fans than any podcast that I've encountered. With that in mind, we are excited to share an example episode from his show here today on the director, James Cameron. It's my favorite recent episode of David's. Please enjoy this episode, and if you haven't already, subscribe to Founders.

This is what he learned from reading The Futurist: The Life and Films of James Cameron by Rebecca Keegan and The Return of James Cameron, Box Office King by Zach Baron.

Join Colossus live in NYC with Patrick O’Shaughnessy and David Senra on Oct. 19.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

-----

This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors, and provider of Canalyst. Tired of calculating fully-diluted shares outstanding? Access every publicly-reported datapoint and industry-specific KPI through their database of over 4,000 drivable global models hand-built by a team of sector-focused analysts, 35+ industry comp sheets, and Excel add-ins that let you use their industry-leading data in your own spreadsheets. Tegus’ models automatically update each quarter, including hard to calculate KPIs like stock-based compensation and organic growth rates, empowering investors to bypass the friction of sourcing, building and updating models. Make efficiency your competitive advantage and take back your time today. As a listener, you can trial Canalyst by Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

-----

Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

(00:04:00) - I watched Titanic at the Titanic. And he actually replied: Yeah, but I madeTitanic at the Titanic.

(00:07:10) - I like difficult. I’m attracted by difficult. Difficult is a fucking magnet for me. I go straight to difficult. And I think it probably goes back to this idea that there are lots of smart, really gifted, really talented filmmakers out there that just can’t do the difficult stuff. So that gives me a tactical edge to do something nobody else has ever seen, because the really gifted people don’t fucking want to do it.

(00:07:20) - At 68 years old, Cameron wakes up at 4:45 AM and often kick boxes in the morning.

(00:07:45) - Self-doubt is not something Cameron has a lot of experience with. His confidence preceded his achievements.

(00:09:00) - I basically gave myself a college education in visual effects and cinematography while I was driving a truck.

(00:16:00) - Every idea is a work in progress.

(00:17:30) - He's been on a planet of his own making ever since.

(00:18:00) - The Return of James Cameron, Box Office King by Zach Baron

(00:22:00) - His outlook is that we can take fate in our own hands.

(00:34:00) - Cameron had only been at Corman's for a matter of days, but he was already taking charge. He seems constitutionally incapable of doing otherwise. (What a line!)

(00:35:30) - Your mediocrity is my opportunity.

(00:37:40) - Cameron finds writing torture. He does it anyway.

(00:43:00) - Cameron is willing to let ideas marinate for decades.

(00:55:30) - I'd just made T2 for Carolco and I admired how they rolled, being their own bosses, mavericks, entrepreneurs.

(00:57:30) - Mute the world. Build your own world.

(01:04:50) - Opportunity is a strange beast. It commonly appears after a loss.

Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast.

Lee Ainslie - Hedge Fund Maverick - [Invest Like the Best, EP. 341]

22 augusti 2023 | 97 min

My guest today is Lee Ainslie, the founder of Maverick Capital. Lee started his investing career at Tiger Management where he worked for Julian Robertson. In 1993, he left to start Maverick and has built the firm into one of the top-performing hedge funds of the last 30 years. Lee doesn’t speak in public often so this is a fascinating insight into what it takes to build an enduring investment business - both psychologically and operationally. Throughout the conversation, we flick between his lessons building Maverick, his perspective on the market, and what he’s learned about the craft of investing. I hope you enjoy this great conversation with Lee Ainslie.

Listen to Founders Podcast

Join Colossus live in NYC with Patrick O’Shaughnessy and David Senra on Oct. 19.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

-----

This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors. Tired of running your own expert calls to get up to speed on a company? Tegus lets you ramp faster and find answers to critical questions more efficiently than any alternative method. The gold standard for research, the Tegus platform delivers unmatched access to timely, qualitative insights through the largest and most differentiated expert call transcript database. With over 60,000 transcripts spanning 22,000 public and private companies, investors can accelerate their fundamental research process by discovering highly-differentiated and reliable insights that can’t be found anywhere else in the market. As a listener, drive your next investment thesis forward with Tegus for free at tegus.co/patrick.

-----

Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

(00:03:00) - (First question) - Lee tells us about his relationship with Steve Mandel

(00:04:29) - Why he thinks Steve gave him a hand into the role he excelled at

(00:07:22) - The concept behind investment talent

(00:13:08) - Steps he takes to hire the right individuals for his team

(00:16:14) - Why he stepped out on his own to start Maverick Capital

(00:20:48) - What he thinks makes for a great investment or stock purchase

(00:25:16) - How Maverick maintains its edge over other comparable firms

(00:28:31) - Features of a business that get his attention in a unique way

(00:32:03) - What he learned from Sol Price

(00:38:21) - The difficult aspects of portfolio construction

(00:42:04) - How zero interest rates affected the long short style of investing

(00:47:22) - Positioning his team for success against other competitors

(00:50:32) - How private market activity can affect public market activity

(00:54:27) - Software companies and their strengths and weaknesses in the investment market

(00:59:33) - Things he tells his team to watch for

(01:04:10) - What Lee's learned about money

(01:07:02) - The most important conversation he’s had in Mavericks history

(01:12:38) - Advice for senior executives trying to pass on responsibilities to others

(01:17:54) - What the next ten years for Maverick Capital look like

(01:20:42) - Things Lee and Warren Buffett disagree on

(01:24:11) - The components of a great investment pitch

(01:25:08) - The hardest question anyone could ask him

(01:28:48) - What he thinks is important having started Maverick Ventures

(01:31:32) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for Lee

Nick Kokonas - Know What You Are Selling – [Founder’s Field Guide, Forever Episode]

15 augusti 2023 | 77 min

Today, we are running a special episode from our show Founder's Field Guide. In this conversation, Nick Kokonas shares his experience of bringing a business mindset to the restaurant industry. It is one of our favorites at Colossus and there is something for everyone in this timeless conversation. Nick is the co-founder of 3 of the best restaurants and bars in America - Alinea, Next, and The Aviary as well as the co-founder and CEO of Tock, a comprehensive booking system for restaurants. He majored in philosophy before becoming a derivatives trader and is now one of the most well-known names in the hospitality industry.

Listen to Founders Podcast

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Stretch your research budget with flexible expert calls you can trust. At a fraction of the cost of traditional expert networks, Tegus customers pay only what an expert charges – with zero markups and no confusing call credits – netting an average 70% savings. Don’t want to conduct a full hour call? Tegus offers the ability to schedule 30-minutes, an offer you won’t find anywhere else. And they don’t stop there. With white-glove custom sourcing for every project and robust compliance measures, including a dedicated 50+ analyst team that vets every call transcript, Tegus ensures your privacy and protection. As the industry innovator for qualitative insights, Tegus helps you find the right experts you need at a quality and speed that can’t be matched. For a limited time, as a listener, you can trial Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

-----

Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

(3:02) – (First question) – Why he thinks it’s so important to own something

(4:35) – Make decisions that have outcomes

(7:00) – His interest in the restaurant business

(8:54) – Why restaurants are so tough

(12:05) – How their business mindset changed their running of the restaurant

(14:35) – Words they would avoid in the restaurant

(16:19) – Asking the right questions in the restaurant business

(20:40) – Importance in taking the right risks

(22:02) – Coming up with innovative strategies for ticketing, selling meals ahead of time, and dynamic pricing

(30:08) – Can dynamic pricing be extended to other businesses

(31:20) – Origin of Tock

(36:17) – Early days of Tock and identifying the right customers/challenges

(41:33) – Importance of the first customer

(44:22) – The typical restaurant business model

(49:23) – Lessons from Tock and the importance of knowing what your selling

(53:47) – Lessons from publishing

(55:44) – Other aspects of business that people know but do nothing about

(1:00:19) – Their response to Covid and lessons learned

(1:07:43) – The real impact to the food delivery companies

(1:09:24) – How businesses communicate their end processes to their customers

(1:14:07) – Kindest thing anyone has done for him

Des Traynor - Real Talk about AI and Software - [Invest Like the Best, EP.340]

8 augusti 2023 | 66 min

My guest today is Des Traynor. Des is the co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Intercom - a customer service solution that helps businesses answer product questions, offer instant support, and automate sales. The business was founded in 2011 and its products operate within 25,000 businesses, including the likes of Amazon, Lyft and Atlassian. Our conversation is roughly split in half. First, we talk about AI and how it’s actually changing businesses like Intercom through products such as their OpenAI powered bot called Fin. We then talk about Des’s views as an investor, which includes an answer about software that I’ll remember for a long time. Please enjoy my conversation with Des Traynor.

Listen to Founders Podcast

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

-----

This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors, and provider of Canalyst. Tired of calculating fully-diluted shares outstanding? Access every publicly-reported datapoint and industry-specific KPI through their database of over 4,000 drivable global models hand-built by a team of sector-focused analysts, 35+ industry comp sheets, and Excel add-ins that let you use their industry-leading data in your own spreadsheets. Tegus’ models automatically update each quarter, including hard to calculate KPIs like stock-based compensation and organic growth rates, empowering investors to bypass the friction of sourcing, building and updating models. Make efficiency your competitive advantage and take back your time today. As a listener, you can trial Canalyst by Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

-----

Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

(00:03:42) - (First question) - Des's high level thoughts on Open AI and new technology

(00:07:07) - Advanced AI tech for existing businesses versus start-ups ventures

(00:11:14) - Where Intercom falls on the spectrum of existing and new AI technology

(00:13:16) - Training AI to be tailored to specific fields of work

(00:18:25) - The natural end point is for Intercom incorporating AI

(00:22:25) - Des's product philosophy behind this technology

(00:24:03) - Choosing an AI provider that best suited his customer service industry needs

(00:26:55) - The value comparison between using AI-led customer service versus human

(00:29:18) - Why outsourcing automated data is not for everyone

(00:31:15) - Des's advice for other companies beginning to integrate AI into their operations

(00:36:33) - What he is excited for as an investor in this area

(00:37:50) - The most common discussions he’s having about this technology

(00:41:21) - The inherent risks of using AI models that are not 100% accurate

(00:45:10) - Des's evolution as an investor

(00:48:25) - How Intercom solved it’s AI execution problems

(00:50:46) - Combating other companies that are trying to overtake the field

(00:53:44) - Counter arguments for using AI technology

(00:57:22) - His view on the best software out there

(01:03:00) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

Samo Burja - The Great Founder Theory of History - [Invest Like the Best, EP.339]

1 augusti 2023 | 69 min

My guest today is Samo Burja. Samo is the founder of consulting firm, Bismark Analysis, and has dedicated his life’s work to understanding why there has never been an immortal society. His research focuses on institutions, the founders behind them, how they rise and why they always fall in the end. As you’ll hear, Samo has an encyclopedic grasp of history and his work has led him to some fascinating theories about human progress, the nature of exceptional founders, and the future of different societies across the world. Please enjoy my conversation with Samo Burja.

Listen to Founders Podcast

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

-----

This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors. Tired of running your own expert calls to get up to speed on a company? Tegus lets you ramp faster and find answers to critical questions more efficiently than any alternative method. The gold standard for research, the Tegus platform delivers unmatched access to timely, qualitative insights through the largest and most differentiated expert call transcript database. With over 60,000 transcripts spanning 22,000 public and private companies, investors can accelerate their fundamental research process by discovering highly-differentiated and reliable insights that can’t be found anywhere else in the market. As a listener, drive your next investment thesis forward with Tegus for free at tegus.co/patrick.

-----

Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

(00:02:52) - (First question) - The core thesis behind the Great Founder Theory

(00:06:40) - Great ideas inevitably being discovered at some point in history

(00:08:45) - The historic implications of a global adoption of the Great Founder Theory

(00:10:51) - The different possible directions of future trends

(00:17:08) - Distinctions between great founders versus live players

(00:22:15) - Common misconceptions about what qualifies one as a great founder

(00:24:38) - Noteworthy great founders in the United States

(00:28:34) - Recurring observable traits and common themes of great founders

(00:31:29) - Using caution when projecting a mythic lens onto great founders

(00:37:53) - Social technology as the upstream effects of prior material technology

(00:43:32) - Whether or not institutions play a role in propagating the work of great founders

(00:49:08) - The role of power and differences between owned and borrowed power

(00:56:51) - Additional ideas that play an outsized role in shaping the world

(01:01:09) - A differing worldview to his own that he finds interesting

(01:04:53) - Whether or not capital allocators can benefit from the Great Founder Theory

(01:07:37) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

Chris Paik - Venture Investing Frameworks - [Invest Like the Best, EP.338]

25 juli 2023 | 91 min

My guest today is Chris Paik, who is a General Partner at early-stage venture firm, Pace Capital. Before Pace, Chris spent eight years building and investing alongside last week’s guest, Josh Kushner, at his firm Thrive Capital. During that time, he sat on the board of Twitch. Our conversation explores Chris’ frameworks for investing, from atomic value swaps to business model product fit and the seven deadly sins. We also discuss different consumer trends like the rise of virtual YouTubers, Apple’s Vision Pro, and why everyone graduates off YouTube. Please enjoy my conversation with Chris Paik.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here

-----

This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Stretch your research budget with flexible expert calls you can trust. At a fraction of the cost of traditional expert networks, Tegus customers pay only what an expert charges – with zero markups and no confusing call credits – netting an average 70% savings. Don’t want to conduct a full hour call? Tegus offers the ability to schedule 30-minutes, an offer you won’t find anywhere else. And they don’t stop there. With white-glove custom sourcing for every project and robust compliance measures, including a dedicated 50+ analyst team that vets every call transcript, Tegus ensures your privacy and protection. As the industry innovator for qualitative insights, Tegus helps you find the right experts you need at a quality and speed that can’t be matched. For a limited time, as a listener, you can trial Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

-----

Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

(00:03:00) - (First question) - The history of humanity as a data storage and transfer problem and how that relates to new kinds of computer interfaces

(00:14:47) - Investing strategies; knowing when to invest in new technology

(00:16:39) - Assessing the gray areas of a potential investment

(00:22:13) - CodeMiko and VTubing

(00:32:51) - An explanation of atomic value swap

(00:39:55) - The 7 deadly sins and the degrees to which each sin is monetizable

(00:45:05) - Evaluating the people behind new technologies

(00:50:03) - The Reddit Revolt - the current changes happening at Reddit

(00:53:09) - Business model alignment; the steps to take when determining a business’ value capture mechanism

(01:03:52) - The investment decision that Chris is most proud of

(01:08:14) - The consumer investing landscape today

(01:11:19) - Chris’ methods for finding new content, technology and potential investments on the internet

(01:14:06) - The fundamentals of value creation

(01:15:06) - The dark side of tech, how can it be more than just friction reduction

(01:17:22) - Chris’ opinion on why so many innovations come from the US

(01:20:37) - Defining market places and how to start and grow a successful one

(01:23:23) - Chris’ thoughts on opportunities with bad business models

(01:26:19) - A breakdown of Chris’ analogy “Sculptors versus painters”

(01:29:34) - The kindest thing that anyone has ever done for Chris

Josh Kushner - Building Thrive Capital - [Invest Like the Best, EP.337]

18 juli 2023 | 108 min

My guest today is Josh Kushner, founder and managing partner of venture firm, Thrive Capital. Josh started Thrive in 2010 and launched its first institutional fund in 2011. That first institutional fund was $40 million and, in it, Thrive led Warby Parker’s Series A, invested in Instagram, and incubated a business, which Josh co-founded, called Oscar. Thrive has gone from strength to strength since then and now manages $15 billion with a small team of 9 investors. Their portfolio is stage agnostic and their track record includes many of the best known businesses from the past decade, including Spotify, Unity, Stripe, and Twitch among many more. Josh rarely speaks in public about the firm and their philosophy so it was a blast to do this with him. Please enjoy my great conversation with Josh Kushner.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

-----

This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors, and provider of Canalyst. Tired of calculating fully-diluted shares outstanding? Access every publicly-reported datapoint and industry-specific KPI through their database of over 4,000 driveable global models handbuilt by a team of sector-focused analysts, 35+ industry comp sheets, and Excel add-ins that let you use their industry-leading data in your own spreadsheets. Tegus’ models automatically update each quarter, including hard to calculate KPIs like stock-based compensation and organic growth rates, empowering investors to bypass the friction of sourcing, building and updating models. Make efficiency your competitive advantage and take back your time today. As a listener, you can trial Canalyst by Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

-----

Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

(00:03:14) - (First question) - Why do this podcast

(00:06:14) - The development of taste and quality

(00:10:20) - CS Lewis tweet; The Inner Ring

(00:11:53) - Founders being heroes and motivating quietly from the background

(00:16:14) - Overview the founding story of Oscar Health

(00:21:30) - Is a big business different from a small one

(00:23:18) - Learning to identify good problems and creating a business to solve it

(00:25:43) - The birth story of Thrive Capital

(00:30:14) - Lessons learned from creating the first three Thrive funds

(00:33:35) - Industry wide competition today and models for building a firm in general

(00:37:44) - Talent, recruiting and seeing potential in younger generations of people

(00:45:40) - Investments he made during the early foundation of Thrive that had significant impact

(00:49:12) - His analogy for investing in early versus late stage

(00:54:22) - The current macro environment

(00:57:52) - Giving AI companies computing power instead of money

(00:58:57) - Why he sold small stakes of Thrive

(01:03:10) - His philosophy on what makes a good product

(01:05:20) - What he thinks about the models like Mobile and Cloud

(01:08:10) - His absence from crypto and why he refrained during the boom in 2021

(01:10:33) - Thoughts about the opportunity set in FinTech today writ large

(01:12:04) - Other potential opportunity sets beyond what’s already been discussed

(01:13:39) - Lessons learned from his time spent with Marc Andreessen, Stan Druckenmiller, Henry Kravis, and David Geffen

(01:21:59) - Balancing magnitudes of capital between investment funds

(01:23:32) - Why founders choose Thrive

(01:29:15) - Vision as a key ingredient for founders

(01:32:19) - His view of the investment industry in the world today writ large

(01:40:19) - Other investment firms he would invest in

(01:42:48) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

Jeremy Giffon - Special Situations in Private Markets - [Invest Like the Best, EP.336]

11 juli 2023 | 103 min

My guest today is Jeremy Giffon. I spend all my time trying to find people who have some “singularity” to them. People who seem like they can do an N of 1 something. Having spent many days with Jeremy recently, he strikes me as one of those people. He was the first employee and general partner at private equity firm, Tiny, which buys and holds internet and technology focused businesses. Prior to that, he was on the founding team of MediaCore, which was acquired by Workday. The focus of our discussion is about esoteric opportunities that exist in private markets. How misaligned incentives and co-ordination problems create special situations for people like Jeremy to invest in. The rest of the conversation is wide-ranging and covers everything from compensation advice to meeting your heroes. Please enjoy my discussion with Jeremy Giffon.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

-----

This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Tired of running your own expert calls to get up to speed on a company? Tegus lets you ramp faster and find answers to critical questions more efficiently than any alternative method. The gold standard for research, the Tegus platform delivers unmatched access to timely, qualitative insights through the largest and most differentiated expert call transcript database. With over 60,000 transcripts spanning 22,000 public and private companies, investors can accelerate their fundamental research process by discovering highly-differentiated and reliable insights that can’t be found anywhere else in the market. As a listener, drive your next investment thesis forward with Tegus for free at tegus.co/patrick.

-----

Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

(00:03:15) - (First question) - What defines the nature of a perfect business in his mind

(00:05:21) - Key characteristics he’d look for in a perfect investment

(00:09:58) - Coordination problems that excite him

(00:14:02) - Raising funds and ghostship companies

(00:16:17) - Examples of a special situations transaction in private markets

(00:18:55) - Building up a sourcing mechanism

(00:22:18) - The biggest mistakes he’s seen in buying and selling companies

(00:25:42) - Refining the underwriting process

(00:28:57) - Thoughts about minimum rates of return and multiples on capital for the investments he makes

(00:30:44) - Being lazy enough to wait for good deals on enduring businesses

(00:33:32) - Why people do things they don’t like

(00:35:47) - Whether or not he feels like he knows what he wants in life

(00:40:48) - Invest Like The Best - Kevin Kelly; The reward for good work is more work

(00:42:58) - Hiring CEOs

(00:44:54) - Really good respective returns in low risk companies and why those opportunities continue to persist

(00:47:05) - Tactics for negotiating with and sourcing CEOs

(00:50:37) - Binaries - pre and post fall

(00:55:58) - Being hard to kill

(00:59:15) - His favorite interview question

(01:06:07) - Having an audience is incredibly underpriced

(01:10:13) - What else is significantly underpriced

(01:12:14) - Things he feels are overpriced today writ large

(01:15:54) - Criticisms of the cult of learning

(01:20:21) - The one call that everyone needs to make

(01:27:18) - Meeting your heroes and having mentors

(01:30:48) - Notable differences between the business environments of Canada and the US

(01:33:13) - Lessons learned from people he admires and models for seeing the world

(01:35:35) - Views he holds that would make people scratch their heads

(01:40:02) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

Dave Yuan - A Primer on Vertical Market Software - [Invest Like the Best, EP.335]

4 juli 2023 | 54 min

My guest today is Dave Yuan. Dave is the Founder and Partner of Tidemark Capital, which he started in 2021 after 15 years as a General Partner at Technology Crossover Ventures. Dave has been investing in vertical market software as long as anyone I know and he currently sits on the board of two VMS businesses, Toast and Karbon. He is the perfect guest to deliver a primer on VMS, which is exactly what we do in this episode. Please enjoy my conversation with Dave Yuan.

The Vertical SaaS Knowledge Project - Tidemark Capital

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

-----

This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Stretch your research budget with flexible expert calls you can trust. At a fraction of the cost of traditional expert networks, Tegus customers pay only what an expert charges – with zero markups and no confusing call credits – netting an average 70% savings. Don’t want to conduct a full hour call? Tegus offers the ability to schedule 30-minutes, an offer you won’t find anywhere else. And they don’t stop there. With white-glove custom sourcing for every project and robust compliance measures, including a dedicated 50+ analyst team that vets every call transcript, Tegus ensures your privacy and protection. As the industry innovator for qualitative insights, Tegus helps you find the right experts you need at a quality and speed that can’t be matched. For a limited time, as a listener, you can trial Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

-----

Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

(00:02:57) - (First question) - Vertical Market Software (VMS) offers unique business models and customer benefits

(00:04:02) - Industry-specific software serving SMBs with tailored functionality

(00:06:53) - Assess market based on TAM, competition, and growth dynamics

(00:10:00) - Trust as a nuanced factor in evaluating market opportunities

(00:11:59) - Leverage account-based marketing and local network effects for VMS solutions

(00:14:22) - Vertical solutions offer tailored value and quick results for specific industries

(00:16:21) - Disrupting legacy control points through integration and surrounding functionality

(00:19:07) - Building demand is crucial for small merchants

(00:21:31) - VMS entrepreneurs need operational experience and multi-product mindset

(00:23:13) - Investors need to adapt to the specific growth stage and market dynamics

(00:25:22) - Gross retention is driven by control points, individual-based retention, and distribution

(00:29:43) - Multi-product vertical SaaS: Integrated solutions for efficiency and value

(00:32:33) - Diverse offerings to serve merchants' needs in a multi-product approach

(00:34:07) - FareHarbor's unique strategy led to success in the tour industry

(00:38:43) - LA-based company revolutionized commercial casting with a free software tool

(00:40:03) - Opportunities remain in VMS, with greenfield areas and specific markets

(00:45:12) - Key valuation considerations for VMS businesses

(00:47:27) - Time horizon is crucial for investing in VMS businesses

(00:48:04) - Businesses worth studying in this category

(00:51:12) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

Kevin Kelly - Be Generous and Unique - [Invest Like the Best, EP.334]

27 juni 2023 | 67 min

My guest today is Kevin Kelly. Kevin co-founded Wired magazine and has published a number of seminal books and essays on technology over the past three decades. I have devoured everything Kevin has put out into the world and many of his ideas shape the way I live today. Our conversation explores media, family, money, his concept of the Technium, AI, and more but the central theme of this episode is that we should be as generous and unique as possible. You will hear us refer to his latest book, Excellent Advice for Living, throughout and I highly recommend reading it if you haven’t already. Please enjoy this great conversation with Kevin Kelly.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

-----

This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors, and provider of Canalyst. Tired of calculating fully-diluted shares outstanding? Access every publicly-reported datapoint and industry-specific KPI through their database of over 4,000 driveable global models handbuilt by a team of sector-focused analysts, 35+ industry comp sheets, and Excel add-ins that let you use their industry-leading data in your own spreadsheets. Tegus’ models automatically update each quarter, including hard to calculate KPIs like stock-based compensation and organic growth rates, empowering investors to bypass the friction of sourcing, building and updating models. Make efficiency your competitive advantage and take back your time today. As a listener, you can trial Canalyst by Tegus for free by visitingtegus.co/patrick.

-----

Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

(00:03:05) - (First question) - Excellent Advice for Living - a journey towards authenticity

(00:05:05) - Uncovering the essence of oneself is a lifelong journey of self-reflection

(00:06:47) - What he would have done differently at 30 had he internalized this concept earlier

(00:08:51) - The highest form of self-expression is being authentically unique and redefining success

(00:11:05) - Conforming to others' definition of success and societal biases hinders progress

(00:13:07) - Surrender and collaboration are both essential in becoming your authentic self

(00:14:38) - Prototype your life to embrace imperfections and make ideas tangible

(00:17:34) - Mastering cultural photography in Asia and developing a keen ability to spot trends

(00:19:59) - Energy signatures reveal depth, breadth, discovery, and momentum in events

(00:22:02) - The reward for good work is more work

(00:23:42) - Money is a tool for doing things, but beware its imprisoning burden

(00:28:35) - Imagination can be cultivated and improved, often by challenging expectations

(00:31:38) - Imaginative individuals include lateral thinkers who challenge norms

(00:34:41) - Rites of passage and rituals provide stability and identity for children

(00:38:15) - Mealtime without screens, family traditions, and cultivating a family identity

(00:41:44) - An overview of “The three gates”

(00:43:02) - Humans are naturally kind

(00:47:23) - The Technium: an evolving ecosystem of interdependent tech and their tendencies

(00:52:01) - Thoughts on AI

(00:55:55) - Overestimating the existential threat of AI

(00:57:38) - Idiosyncratic expression of creators

(00:59:48) - Lessons learned about media

(01:01:34) - Be the only, not the best.

(01:05:09) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

Justin Mares - The US Health Crisis - [Invest Like the Best, EP.333]

20 juni 2023 | 82 min

My guest this week is Justin Mares. Justin is the founder of TrueMed and has previously founded three different health food brands that collectively do $100M+ in annual revenue. Every time I speak with him, he makes me reflect on my own health and the state of our health more broadly. This conversation is no different. As Justin puts it, we're in a health crisis that could ultimately bankrupt our country. We talk about the inputs, incentives, and potential solutions related to that crisis, and then move into his experiences building and investing in consumer brands. We finish with a fascinating discussion on why it's more common to see repeat founders these days. Please enjoy my great conversation with Justin Mares.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors. Stretch your research budget with flexible expert calls you can trust. At a fraction of the cost of traditional expert networks, Tegus customers pay only what an expert charges – with zero markups and no confusing call credits – netting an average 70% savings. Don’t want to conduct a full hour call? Tegus offers the ability to schedule 30-minutes, an offer you won’t find anywhere else. And they don’t stop there. With white-glove custom sourcing for every project and robust compliance measures, including a dedicated 50+ analyst team that vets every call transcript, Tegus ensures your privacy and protection. As the industry innovator for qualitative insights, Tegus helps you find the right experts you need at a quality and speed that can’t be matched. For a limited time, as a listener, you can trial Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

-----

Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

(00:03:06) - (First question) - Framing the overall problem of the US health system

(00:04:12) - What it would take for America’s health crisis to affect global competitiveness

(00:11:05) - Important changes that have contributed to the decline of health in the US

(00:14:53) - Other system settings and incentives have contributed to America’s health crisis

(00:16:51) - Thoughts on Ozempic and attempts to engineer solutions for chronic disease

(00:20:07) - Mental health decline, infertility, and other problems tied to the health crisis

(00:24:33) - When he first discovered this problem and became passionate about it

(00:26:56) - The difficulties of building a health-centric bone broth company

(00:31:49) - Why no one has a built supply chain sourcing service to create scale economies

(00:34:44) - Other companies he’s built and other things he’s doing to fight the problem

(00:40:15) - Going to market to simplify the HSA consumer experience

(00:43:04) - The world of water, environmental toxins and forever chemicals writ large

(00:47:17) - The difficulty in avoiding forever chemicals in our everyday lives

(00:51:51) - How he searches for and decides on new businesses to start or invest in

(00:56:52) - The growing popularity and promise of psychedelic therapy

(00:58:48) - Personality traits of people who feel most at home in Edge City

(01:01:36) - Strategies on sourcing and connecting with ambitious and talented people

(01:06:56) - Childhood nutrition and the impact of their diets and health on society

(01:11:26) - Capital formation and creating new businesses in a systematic way

(01:19:57) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

Scott Goodwin - Know The Names - [Invest Like the Best, EP.332]

13 juni 2023 | 73 min

My guest this week is Scott Goodwin. Scott is the co-founder and managing partner of Diameter Capital Partners, which he started as a credit hedge fund in 2017 and has expanded into a $13 billion investment firm that covers all credit markets. Scott spent the first 8 years of his career at Citi where he rose to head of High Yield Trading before moving to Anchorage Capital in 2010 where he led their global trading desk. Scott is one of my favorite examples of the joke I used to make about this show, when I said it should be called - "This is who you're up against." He's one of the sharpest investors I know and I'm sure you'll see why. Please enjoy my great discussion with Scott Goodwin.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

-----

This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors, and provider of Canalyst. Tired of calculating fully-diluted shares outstanding? Access every publicly-reported datapoint and industry-specific KPI through their database of over 4,000 driveable global models handbuilt by a team of sector-focused analysts, 35+ industry comp sheets, and Excel add-ins that let you use their industry-leading data in your own spreadsheets. Tegus’ models automatically update each quarter, including hard to calculate KPIs like stock-based compensation and organic growth rates, empowering investors to bypass the friction of sourcing, building and updating models. Make efficiency your competitive advantage and take back your time today. As a listener, you can trial Canalyst by Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

-----

Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

(00:03:07) - (First question) - Comparing the investing themes of the ‘10s to the ‘20s

(00:04:59) - The skillset differences between investing in equity versus credit

(00:06:28) - Why Carvana’s stock plummeted and thoughts on the destruction of value

(00:07:33) - General overview of credit cycles and what they are

(00:15:42) - Opportunities come from knowing the names well enough

(00:19:17) - Making substantial decisions in a matter of minutes as a credit investor

(00:22:23) - How he thinks about the evolution of sourcing alpha in credit markets

(00:27:37) - Why so many institutional capital pools have fewer credit managers

(00:31:08) - His childhood and the unique aspects of it that set him apart

(00:37:28) - Lessons learned early on about running an investment firm

(00:43:34) - The role imagination plays in credit investing

(00:46:35) - How weekly breakfasts lead to an investing partnership

(00:50:51) - What Tracy Fenton has done for Diameter

(00:53:05) - Things that should change about investing firms writ large

(00:57:09) - Calling balls and strikes and how his team learns and works together

(00:59:37) - Why he’s motivated more by failure than success

(01:00:54) - Where he finds the most joy in his investing process

(01:04:07) - Non-negotiable attributes he’d look for when investing in other GPs

(01:05:22) - New variables that have his attention in the current market

(01:08:27) - What feels like unfinished business to him

(01:09:43) - His reaction to everything going on today in real estate

(01:10:52) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

Rolex: Timeless Excellence - [Business Breakdowns, Forever Episode]

6 juni 2023 | 63 min

Today, we are running a special episode from our show Business Breakdowns. In this conversation, Ben Clymer does an incredible job breaking down what makes Rolex so special. If you enjoy this episode, follow Business Breakdowns for more discussions like this.

Founded in the UK in 1905 under the name Wilsdorf & Davis, Rolex has become the leading name in luxury watches. But, while the company’s products are iconic, the business itself is highly secretive. Owned by a Foundation and run as a non-profit entity, little is known about Rolex. To unlock the secrets, we are joined by Ben Clymer, founder of HODINKEE, and an expert on all things luxury watches. Ben has had rare access to Rolex and the people behind the manufacturer, making him the perfect person to dissect this business with us. Please enjoy this excellent Breakdown of Rolex.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.

-----

This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Stretch your research budget with flexible expert calls you can trust. At a fraction of the cost of traditional expert networks, Tegus customers pay only what an expert charges – with zero markups and no confusing call credits – netting an average 70% savings. Don’t want to conduct a full hour call? Tegus offers the ability to schedule 30-minutes, an offer you won’t find anywhere else. And they don’t stop there. With white-glove custom sourcing for every project and robust compliance measures, including a dedicated 50+ analyst team that vets every call transcript, Tegus ensures your privacy and protection. As the industry innovator for qualitative insights, Tegus helps you find the right experts you need at a quality and speed that can’t be matched. For a limited time, as a listener, you can trial Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

—--

Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss

Show Notes

[00:03:01] - [First question] - His favorite Rolex watch ever

[00:04:24] - What makes the Rolex Daytona such a special watch

[00:07:19] - The job-to-be-done for high-end watches beyond just telling them the time

[00:12:18] - The strategy behind marketing luxury products: The Luxury Strategy

[00:14:34] - An overview of the Rolex business

[00:19:38] - The history of Rolex

[00:38:45] - Their genius in marketing and distribution

[00:41:55] - How they make decisions and what others can learn from them

[00:47:14] - The financials of Rolex and other luxury watch brands

[00:49:02} - Most important business lessons others can learn from Rolex

[00:52:54] - Other luxury brands worth studying

[00:57:26] - Negative lessons gleaned from Rolex

Kieran Goodwin - Imagination, Volatility, and the Pursuit of Alpha - [Invest Like the Best, EP.331]

30 maj 2023 | 61 min

My guest today is Kieran Goodwin. Kieran spent over two decades at the frontier of credit investing. During the global financial crisis, he was a Partner and Head of Trading at King Street Capital, which grew from $4 billion to $20 billion while he was there. He then left to start his own credit hedge fund, Panning Capital Management. In our discussion, we cover the state of private credit today, which forms of alpha he’s most skeptical of, and the blend of EQ and IQ necessary for success and investing. Please enjoy my conversation with Kieran Goodwin.

ZoomInfo Business Breakdown

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

-----

This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Tired of running your own expert calls to get up to speed on a company? Tegus lets you ramp faster and find answers to critical questions more efficiently than any alternative method. The gold standard for research, the Tegus platform delivers unmatched access to timely, qualitative insights through the largest and most differentiated expert call transcript database. With over 55,000 transcripts spanning 22,000 public and private companies, investors can accelerate their fundamental research process by discovering highly-differentiated and reliable insights that can’t be found anywhere else in the market. As a listener, drive your next investment thesis forward with Tegus for free at tegus.co/patrick.

-----

Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

(00:03:00) - (First question) - His view of the state of private credit in capital markets

(00:06:56) - The notion of ball washing and why it’s important to understand

(00:09:04) - What the worst-case domino effects of ball washing could be

(00:12:21) - Arriving at a place where JP Morgan could borrow so much at the fund level

(00:14:20) - Lessons learned from the worst trade he made

(00:16:53) - What could happen in the world of private credit in the next few years and how the bigger players tend to benefit

(00:19:29) - Thoughts on the world of venture capital right now

(00:21:13) - The time he was at the peak of his power as an investor

(00:24:03) - From being new at something to incredibly successful seemingly overnight

(00:26:42) - What kinds of alpha he believes exists and which ones he’s skeptical about

(00:29:30) - Thoughts on income share agreements

(00:31:24) - Why there aren’t more initiatives for new talent to trade their student loans for future earnings

(00:33:13) - The power of EQ over IQ and why it’s important for investor success

(00:35:49) - Whether or not now is a good time to get into the field of capital markets

(00:37:54) - Key tenants to know when learning credit investing specifically

(00:40:09) - Things people misunderstand about the power of volatility

(00:42:39) - Ways he managed to stretch his own imagination effectively

(00:48:06) - The natural inclination to be short volatility

(00:49:24) - Incorporating long volatility into his portfolio and life

(00:52:20) - Thoughts on synergy in relationships

(00:55:48) - Other interesting lessons learned from sports

(00:57:50) - The roles of the multiple coaches that sit in for an NBA team

(00:59:42) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

Henry Schuck - Building ZoomInfo - [Invest Like the Best, EP.330]

23 maj 2023 | 93 min

My guest today is Henry Schuck, the founder and CEO of ZoomInfo. I’ve gotten to know Henry over the past year by virtue of him being on the board of Tegus, where I’m a board observer. I meet a lot of people and Henry is one of my favorites. His energy is unmatched and he knows his business down to the tiniest details. He has tenacity and curiosity in spades.

ZoomInfo is a go-to-market software and data solution for B2B sales. Henry founded the business as DiscoverOrg in 2007 and bootstrapped it for the first 7 years of its life. Today, it’s an $8.5 billion public company with a database of over 140 million business contacts. We delve into the science of great sales, Henry shares some awesome stories, and we talk about his business philosophy more broadly. Please enjoy my great conversation with Henry Schuck.

Sohn 2023 | Kiril Sokoloff in conversation with Stanley Druckenmiller

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

-----

This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors, and provider of Canalyst. Tired of calculating fully-diluted shares outstanding? Access every publicly-reported datapoint and industry-specific KPI through their database of over 4,000 driveable global models handbuilt by a team of sector-focused analysts, 25+ industry comp sheets, and Excel add-ins that let you use their industry-leading data in your own spreadsheets. Tegus’ models automatically update each quarter, including hard to calculate KPIs like stock-based compensation and organic growth rates, empowering investors to bypass the friction of sourcing, building and updating models. Make efficiency your competitive advantage and take back your time today. As a listener, you can trial Canalyst by Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

-----

Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

(00:03:19) - (First question) - The story of Henry’s famous email about building a championship team

(00:07:01) - Dealing with pressure in business

(00:09:14) - Applying pressure from the top down as a CEO

(00:10:28) - How ZoomInfo’s C-suite was constructed and how it operates

(00:13:17) - A high-level picture of their product philosophy

(00:19:29) - Rating the effectiveness of the average B2B go-to-market engine

(00:21:25) - An anecdote about meeting with the head of commercial banking at one of world’s largest banks

(00:23:06) - What separates the good from the great B2B go-to-market strategies

(00:27:30) - Specific questions for screening potential salespeople; characteristics to look for

(00:31:39) - The story of bootstrapping his startup

(00:36:05) - His view on the process of pricing

(00:40:54) - The importance of M&A in building the business

(00:47:01) - The story of how ZoomInfo was acquired

(00:50:06) - The ever-shifting goal posts of mergers and acquisitions

(00:53:15) - Anecdotes of hustling in the early days

(00:59:34) - Another story from the early days of selling

(01:03:40) - Using information to influence a potential lead into a sale

(01:04:57) - How companies can prepare for the advent of generative AI

(01:12:10) - The stages of what it means to be a CEO

(01:13:15) - Learning how to execute M&A

(01:16:43) - What it means for a company to work in unison at scale

(01:18:26) - His advice on M&A, company core values, and corporate communication

(01:26:57) - Tips for going public with a company

(01:28:33) - Lessons learned from leading a public company

(01:34:47) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

Karen Karniol-Tambour - Macro Headwinds vs. Tech Tailwinds - [Invest Like the Best, EP.329]

16 maj 2023 | 38 min

Today’s conversation was recorded during last week’s Sohn Conference. I sat down with Karen Karniol-Tambour, Co-CIO at Bridgewater Associates. I hosted Karen on this show two years ago and if you listened to that, you’ll remember she has a rare skill for distilling and analysing complex macro topics. Today’s environment is strikingly different to the summer of 2021 so this is a timely conversation on the big macro variables that are on investors’ minds today. Please enjoy my conversation with Karen Karniol-Tambour.

Sohn 2023 | Patrick Collison in conversation Sam Altman

Listen to Founders Podcast

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

-----

This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Stretch your research budget with flexible expert calls you can trust. At a fraction of the cost of traditional expert networks, Tegus customers pay only what an expert charges – with zero markups and no confusing call credits – netting an average 70% savings. Don’t want to conduct a full hour call? Tegus offers the ability to schedule 30-minutes, an offer you won’t find anywhere else. And they don’t stop there. With white-glove custom sourcing for every project and robust compliance measures, including a dedicated 50+ analyst team that vets every call transcript, Tegus ensures your privacy and protection. As the industry innovator for qualitative insights, Tegus helps you find the right experts you need at a quality and speed that can’t be matched. For a limited time, as a listener, you can trial Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

-----

Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

(00:03:05) - (First question) - Her take on AI and watching this new technology unfold

(00:06:39) - Things she’s watching in the AI space that might lead to taking portfolio action

(00:09:19) - Potentially using AI to inform or make investment decisions

(00:10:17) - Why might it be the case that no one can use AI for investing in macro markets

(00:11:14) - What she’d write about regarding the general state of capital markets today

(00:13:46) - What pricing is telling us about market sentiment writ large

(00:15:47) - Thinking about portfolio positioning in light of the unattractive state of risk assets

(00:17:17) - Her perspectives on gold historically and today

(00:20:09) - Big long-term slow-moving macro variables that aren’t quite visible yet

(00:22:09) - The all-weather portfolio and building one in light of so much uncertainty

(00:24:38) - The rise of China, its growing power, and potential conflicts with the US

(00:28:01) - Monitoring for things like the banking crisis beneath the public narrative

(00:31:13) - Non-obvious variables that currently have her attention

(00:33:29) - “Overrated or underrated” rapid-fire questions

(00:36:04) - What it’s been like being the CIO of Bridgewater so far

Fidji Simo - Creating Delightful Consumer Experiences - [Invest Like the Best, EP.328]

9 maj 2023 | 73 min

My guest this week is Fidji Simo, the CEO of Instacart. Fidji grew up in a small town in the South of France and was the first person in her family to graduate from high school. Since then, she has had a dazzling career with stops at France’s leading university, eBay, and Facebook. Fidji spent the better part of a decade at Facebook where she led the Facebook App before joining the online grocery platform, Instacart, in mid 2021. We talk about Fidji’s consumer product experiences, Instacart’s role within the grocery ecosystem, and delve into her personal philosophy on leadership. Please enjoy this wide-ranging discussion with Fidji Simo.

Apply for the Investigative Research Analyst position at Positive Sum.

Listen to Founders Podcast

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

-----

This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Stretch your research budget with flexible expert calls you can trust. At a fraction of the cost of traditional expert networks, Tegus customers pay only what an expert charges – with zero markups and no confusing call credits – netting an average 70% savings. Don’t want to conduct a full hour call? Tegus offers the ability to schedule 30-minutes, an offer you won’t find anywhere else. And they don’t stop there. With white-glove custom sourcing for every project and robust compliance measures, including a dedicated 50+ analyst team that vets every call transcript, Tegus ensures your privacy and protection. As the industry innovator for qualitative insights, Tegus helps you find the right experts you need at a quality and speed that can’t be matched. For a limited time, as a listener, you can trial Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

-----

Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

(00:03:51) - (First question) - Comparing her experiences with Facebook and Instacart

(00:06:22) - The dimensionality of creating great consumer products online

(00:07:50) - How Instacart uses AI now and her advice to other companies who are ready to incorporate AI into their business

(00:15:41) - What being a pragmatic technologist means to her

(00:18:02) - Influences in younger years that led to her career path in technology

(00:21:00) - The landscape Instacart seeks to build and how major key players within the industry are involved

(00:27:09) - Data algorithms and their role in helping consumers

(00:29:24) - Scale around the original core business

(00:32:12) - The functional difference between Instacart shoppers and delivery drivers

(00:34:59) - Issues with fully automated grocery store facilities

(00:37:32) - Insight into working with brands and consumer brand loyalty

(00:43:16) - Her vision for the future of Instacart

(00:49:34) - Her principles for capital allocation

(00:52:34) - Common misperceptions about Instacart from prospective investors

(00:54:21) - Her philosophy of seeing the magic in team members

(00:56:46) - Expanding knowledge while managing a complex business environment

(01:01:01) - When she felt the most helpless in her career

(01:03:46) - Insight into generative AI and how it could shape the online grocery experience

(01:08:00) - The role of content and its importance for businesses like Instacart

(01:12:35) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for her

Bessemer Venture Partners - Building a VC Firm that Lasts Centuries - [Invest Like the Best, EP.327]

2 maj 2023 | 78 min

My guests this week are Jeremy Levine, Kent Bennett, and Brian Feinstein. They are partners at one of the oldest and most storied venture firms in the world, Bessemer Venture Partners. Our conversation is split into two parts. First, we explore Bessemer itself. It’s over 100 years old and has a unique operating model with lessons for every investment firm in the market. We then discuss Jeremy, Kent, and Brian’s investing styles and outlook. What they look for in businesses, their thoughts on various sectors like vertical market software, and we close with a discussion about AI and defensibility. Please enjoy this great conversation.

Listen to Founders Podcast

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

-----

This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Tired of running your own expert calls to get up to speed on a company? Tegus lets you ramp faster and find answers to critical questions more efficiently than any alternative method. The gold standard for research, the Tegus platform delivers unmatched access to timely, qualitative insights through the largest and most differentiated expert call transcript database. With over 55,000 transcripts spanning 22,000 public and private companies, investors can accelerate their fundamental research process by discovering highly-differentiated and reliable insights that can’t be found anywhere else in the market. As a listener, drive your next investment thesis forward with Tegus for free at tegus.co/patrick.

-----

Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

(00:03:14) - (First question) - The unique history of Bessemer and how the firm stays current

(00:08:55) - The role of heritage and cooperative partnership in Bessemer’s model

(00:14:36) - How giving each partner autonomy and commissions can lead to better personal and company outcomes

(00:17:18) - The extent of freedom a partner has in terms of the style of investments made

(00:20:38) - Retro-analyzing the effectiveness of their investment roadmaps and core insights

(00:25:10) - What conflict typically looks like in partners’ conversations and how they resolve it

(00:27:06) - How they enable their junior staff using apprenticeship and open dialogue

(00:31:31) - Their different taste in investment targets

(00:35:11) - How they each evaluate companies based on their unique interests

(00:42:32) - Their thoughts on valuations and how they have dealt with with run-ups in the tech market

(00:45:46) - What they anticipate in the future of early-stage investing

(00:49:43) - The significance of Centaur companies that have hit $100-million in revenue

(00:52:38) - The success of Bessemer’s writing and online content

(00:55:13) - Where the vertical market software industry is in its life cycle

(00:59:12) - How the next wave of innovation may revolutionize software or even depart from it

(01:02:33) - Advice they give to companies looking to prepare for future shifts in tech and AI

(01:04:46) - What excites them and what scares them within the development of LLMs

(01:08:18) - Defensibility of an LLM-based company, given the high level of competition

(01:10:39) - How their firm deals with terminating partners if and when they aren’t a good fit

(01:14:53) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for each of them

Alexis Rivas - A New Blueprint for Homebuilding - [Invest Like the Best, EP.326]

25 april 2023 | 51 min

My guest this week is Alexis Rivas. Alexis is the co-founder and CEO of Cover, which is pioneering a new way of building homes. It’s no surprise to anyone that aspects of our housing market is broken. The market is undersupplied and littered with regulatory issues. The homebuilding process has also not changed for the better part of a century. Alexis is attacking the problem and has taken a leaf out of the car industry’s learnings to create a similar production process for home building. In our discussion, we talk about his idea of lego pieces for homes, how they’re refining production with backyard homes first, and how this may change the way people buy and sell homes in future. Please enjoy my conversation with Alexis Rivas.

Listen to Founders Podcast

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors. Stretch your research budget with flexible expert calls you can trust. At a fraction of the cost of traditional expert networks, Tegus customers pay only what an expert charges – with zero markups and no confusing call credits – netting an average 70% savings. Don’t want to conduct a full hour call? Tegus offers the ability to schedule 30-minutes, an offer you won’t find anywhere else. And they don’t stop there. With white-glove custom sourcing for every project and robust compliance measures, including a dedicated 50+ analyst team that vets every call transcript, Tegus ensures your privacy and protection. For a limited time, you can trial Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

(00:03:39) - (First question) - Supply and demand situation writ large for housing in the United States

(00:06:34) - Lack of workforce growth to meet housing development needs

(00:10:23) - Insight into “lego piece” style construction

(00:11:41) - The comparison to automotive manufacturing

(00:16:15) - Strategic description of a good “lego piece” from Cover

(00:20:08) - Utility continuity comparison between panels versus tradition construction

(00:21:05) - Potential criticism from skeptical contractors

(00:22:53) - The marginal cost for a typical home buyer

(00:25:59) - The role of software in the business

(00:28:47) - Insight into support model and “The Last Mile” theory in construction and possible solutions to combat errors during assembly

(00:30:46) - Support system integration for inevitable repairs

(00:32:17) - The changing reality of initial ideas as projects are completed

(00:34:27) - Building factories and streamlining production logistics

(00:37:28) - Focusing on constraints and an example relatable to real life scenarios

(00:38:37) - The value of moving slow to perfect processes early on versus an all in head first approach

(00:40:09) - The scope of ambition over the next several decades

(00:41:18) - The evolution of homes and how they could change based of consumer wants

(00:43:37) - Vertical capabilities of cover panels

(00:43:21) - Types of panels that could be introduced moving forward

(00:45:14) - Timeline for Cover expansion into new states

(00:46:06) - Advice for upcoming entrepreneurs when building similar business models

(00:47:58) - The kindest thing that anyone has ever done for Alexis

Dr. Peter Attia - The Portfolio to Live Longer - [Invest Like the Best, EP.325]

18 april 2023 | 85 min

My guest this week is Dr. Peter Attia. I’ve had Peter on the show twice before but it’s been over 5 years since his last appearance. In that period, his work has exploded and today he’s one of the clear leaders on the topic and practice of longevity and health span. He has a new book out called Outlive, which I heartily recommend. You’ll hear us refer to the last chapter of his book early in our conversation but we chose not to reveal the whole story live so you can read and enjoy it. We highlight the big picture in our conversation, including the transition from Medicine 2.0 to Medicine 3.0. I always leave these conversations with Peter full of ideas, and in this case, highly motivated to go outside and move my body in nature. I can think of no better actionable advice. Please enjoy my conversation with Peter Attia.

Listen to Founders Podcast

Peter on The Tim Ferriss Show Podcast

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors. Stretch your research budget with Tegus Expert Calls. Tegus delivers expert calls at a fraction of the cost of legacy vendors, with white-glove custom sourcing for every project at the speed you need to keep your research moving. And we don’t stop there. With rigorous compliance processes baked into everything we do, you can rest assured we’ve vetted every expert to ensure your privacy and protection. Start your next project today with Tegus Expert Calls. As an Invest Like the Best listener, you can trial Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

(00:04:15) - (First question) - How Patrick influenced Peter’s decision to launch his podcast

(00:05:45) - How Peter has changed in the process of writing this book

(00:08:11) - Process of writing the last chapter of this book

(00:11:12) - How he stopped dealing with imposter syndrome

(00:15:58) - Slow vs. fast death and medicine 2.0 vs. medicine 3.0

(00:22:55) - Doing more early detection screening to avoid slow death

(00:27:00) - Impacts of compounding risks

(00:31:24) - How do we shift thinking to better lifestyle changes vs. pill popping

(00:35:32) - The outsized impact of exercise on health

(00:46:18) - Peter’s exercise portfolio (The Comfort Crisis book)

(00:50:55) - Why habitual workouts create euphoria for exercise

(00:54:45) - How Peter’s views on nutrition have evolved

(00:59:30) - Measuring metabolic health

(01:01:55) - Where Peter hopes the future of healthcare is heading

(01:05:40) - Benefits of mindfulness to health

(01:12:55) - Defining your purpose in life

(01:16:46) - An index card summation of this book

(01:19:45) - Lessons learned being a better interviewer

(01:21:46) - Frontier of Peter’s curiosity

Scott Davis & Rob Wertheimer - Lessons from the Industrial Titans - [Invest Like the Best, EP.324]

11 april 2023 | 71 min

My guests today are Scott Davis and Rob Wertheimer. Scott and Rob head up Melius Research and are the authors of a great book called Lessons from the Titans. The book explains what the industrial giants of old can teach the new generation of high-growth businesses about how to survive and deliver shareholder value over multiple decades. Drawing on their experience as industrial analysts, they present case studies on businesses like Danaher, Roper, Honeywell, Boeing and GE to reveal both what does and doesn’t work when it comes to capital allocation and business strategy as a company enters a more mature phase in its lifecycle. Please enjoy my conversation with Scott and Rob.

Read Lessons from the Titans

Listen to Founders Podcast

Sam Hinkie - Find Your People

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors. I’m a longtime user and advocate of Tegus, a company that I’ve been so consistently impressed with that last fall my firm, Positive Sum, invested $20M to support Tegus’ mission to expand its product ecosystem. Whether it’s quantitative analysis, company disclosures, management presentations, earnings calls - Tegus has tools for every step of your investment research. They even have over 4000 fully driveable financial models. Tegus’ maniacal focus on quality, as well as its depth, breadth and recency of content makes it the one-stop, end-to-end research platform for investors. Move faster, gather deep research to build conviction and surface high-quality, alpha-driving insights to find your differentiated edge with Tegus. As a listener, you can take the Tegus platform for a free test drive by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

(00:03:20) - (First question) - The intersection between the current tech sector drawdown and the historical track record of industrial titans

(00:07:10) - The most common ways they see companies start to fail and the types of errors they commit

(00:11:01) - The best historical examples of companies that have gone from non-operational excellence to operational excellence

(00:15:04) - Teaching the value of a business system and installing one for longevity

(00:24:06) - Questions they’d ask and points of evaluation to uncover the health of a business

(00:31:19) - Thinking about sustainable value creation in a lower growth environment

(00:37:04) - Lessons from operating leverage and the rental industry

(00:39:11) - Ways industrial companies have handled growth CapEx well and badly

(00:43:52) - The line between discovering the future in a lab versus major pivots in reality while trying to solve today’s problems

(00:49:37) - How the best managers nurture a great shareholder base

(00:55:35) - Lessons to learn about business model transitions

(01:00:13) - Further important messages from their book that businesses would benefit from

(01:04:30) - The kindest things anyone has ever done for them

Sam Hinkie, Boyd Varty, Charlie Songhurst - Trail Magic - [Invest Like the Best, EP.323]

4 april 2023 | 101 min

Today’s episode is a little different. Rather than share a new conversation, I have put together a few of my favourites from the past six and a half years of doing this show. I often listen back to these for inspiration, energy, and their timeless ideas on life and investing. Each of these is a significantly shortened version of the original episode. The first conversation you’ll hear is with Sam Hinkie, the second discussion is with Boyd Varty, and the last conversation you’ll hear is with Charlie Songhurst. Sam, Boyd, and Charlie are all exceptional in their own way and I hope you enjoy these condensed versions of our conversations.

Boyd Varty - The Art of Tracking

Charlie Songhurst - Lessons from Investing in 483 Companies

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors. I’m a longtime user and advocate of Tegus, a company that I’ve been so consistently impressed with that last fall my firm, Positive Sum, invested $20M to support Tegus’ mission to expand its product ecosystem. Whether it’s quantitative analysis, company disclosures, management presentations, earnings calls - Tegus has tools for every step of your investment research. They even have over 4000 fully driveable financial models. Tegus’ maniacal focus on quality, as well as its depth, breadth and recency of content makes it the one-stop, end-to-end research platform for investors. Move faster, gather deep research to build conviction and surface high-quality, alpha-driving insights to find your differentiated edge with Tegus. As a listener, you can take the Tegus platform for a free test drive by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

(00:04:40) - (Sam Hinkie)

(00:05:55) - The most amazing thing he’s seen from someone he has worked with

(00:09:51) - His interest in finding “digital breadcrumbs” on his pursuit of knowing a person

(00:13:18) - The impactful story of meeting the assistant GM of the Houston Rockets

(00:17:22) - Strategies he has developed to avoid transactional people

(00:19:22) - How he shapes his career and optimizes from an investment perspective

(00:24:06) - The strangest things he has come across in early-stage investing

(00:29:47) - (Boyd Varty)

(00:33:04) - His early experiences with tracking wildlife and how it applies to investing

(00:44:46) - What can be learned about life goals and paths from the experience of tracking

(00:47:59) - The influence of culture on decision-making and goal-setting

(00:50:39) - His concept of “the ordering of chaos on behalf of others”

(00:54:41) - The importance of moving towards the unknown to start approaching goals

(00:57:15) - His most memorable tracking experience

(01:12:40) - (Charlie Songhurst)

(01:15:10) - His diverse career highlights

(01:16:29) - His analysis of why startups succeed or fail

(01:21:21) - What founders can learn to enable and maintain productivity in their company

(01:25:21) - Nature versus nurture as it applies to adept founders, and the controversial “alien founder” concept

(01:30:10) - The importance of good recruiting from an early stage

(01:33:32) - How founders can make their companies attractive to prospective talent

(01:35:53) - Why he is interested in investing in highly boring and highly complex ideas

David Senra - Passion & Pain - [Invest Like the Best, Forever Episode]

31 mars 2023 | 85 min

Hello everyone. A few days ago, we discussed what we call forever episodes, which are the few episodes of our show that we think will be as popular a decade from now as they are today. When I re-listened to this episode with David Senra, I left wildly energized and wanting to share that feeling. So we are re-releasing it today for anyone who missed it the first time or hadn't yet discovered Invest Like the Best. Please share with your friends and loved ones as I think anyone will benefit from David's perspective and enthusiasm. Have a great weekend and we'll be back with more next week.

David Senra has studied history’s great founders and entrepreneurs in more depth than anyone I’ve ever met, and I’d wager more than anyone else alive. In this conversation, we cover many of the most common themes he’s discovered studying hundreds of entrepreneurs like Estée Lauder, John Rockefeller, Enzo Ferrari, and Edwin Land. Please enjoy this great conversation with David Senra.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Whether it’s quantitative analysis, company disclosures, management presentations, earnings calls - Tegus has tools for every step of your investment research. They even have over 4000 fully driveable financial models. Tegus’ maniacal focus on quality, as well as its depth, breadth and recency of content makes it the one-stop, end-to-end research platform for investors. Move faster, gather deep research to build conviction and surface high-quality, alpha-driving insights to find your differentiated edge with Tegus. As a listener, you can take the Tegus platform for a free test drive by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

[00:03:01] - [First question] - When he first fell in love with reading

[00:07:01] - What’s rooted in his own history that’s made him obsessive about studying history’s great entrepreneurs and founders - Founders Podcast

[00:10:34] - The first time he connected with someone as a positive role model that he was reading about

[00:13:45] - How often obsession is apparent in the founders he’s studied across hundreds of biographies

[00:18:08] - What is often behind obsession and how people listening can apply the lessons to their own lives

[00:22:45] - The dynamic and relationship between inspiration and perspiration

[00:27:11] - Commonalities between the layers of leadership and support underneath founders

[00:31:52] - Where else he’s seen ego rear its head in good and bad ways

[00:38:34] - How often do great founders break the law or enter gray areas of it

[00:41:22] - The role constant learning and listening plays in success

[00:45:12] - Talking about how anything worth doing is worth doing to excess

[00:52:18] - Describing the soul of founders and businesses

[00:58:39] - What he’s learned about all of these founders as it relates to marketing

[01:04:38] - A common story that process is often art

[01:08:10] - Who his idols are in podcasting specifically

[01:14:55] - Major aspects of people he’s studied that haven’t been discussed yet

[01:19:55] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

David Einhorn - The Long and Short of Investing - [Invest Like the Best, EP.322]

28 mars 2023 | 72 min

My guest today is David Einhorn. David is the President of Greenlight Capital, a long-short hedge fund that he co-founded in 1996. He is a prominent value investor with a reputation for rigorous security analysis. In 2002, he revealed a short position in Allied Capital, which was ultimately proven correct and similarly in early 2008, he told the Sohn Conference he was short Lehman Brothers. Over his near three decades managing money at Greenlight, he has delivered impressive returns but it has not been without challenge. Our conversation covers both the highs and lows, his views on the current banking issues, and how he has evolved as an investor. Please enjoy my great conversation with David Einhorn.

The Sohn Conference 2023

Listen to Founders Podcast

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. I’m a longtime user and advocate of Tegus, a company that I’ve been so consistently impressed with that last fall my firm, Positive Sum, invested $20M to support Tegus’ mission to expand its product ecosystem. Whether it’s quantitative analysis, company disclosures, management presentations, earnings calls - Tegus has tools for every step of your investment research. They even have over 4000 fully driveable financial models. Tegus’ maniacal focus on quality, as well as its depth, breadth and recency of content makes it the one-stop, end-to-end research platform for investors. Move faster, gather deep research to build conviction and surface high-quality, alpha-driving insights to find your differentiated edge with Tegus. As a listener, you can take the Tegus platform for a free test drive by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

(00:03:50) - (First question) - Why he is glad he started his fund in 1996 rather than today

(00:05:58) - His view of how companies’ personnel and goals have changed since the 90’s

(00:07:01) - His counter-momentum approach to markets and how he views current trends

(00:11:17) - The jelly-donut theory of monetary policy

(00:14:46) - His outlook on inflation and the Fed from a fiscal perspective

(00:16:48) - The evolution of Greenlight’s portfolio and philosophy through history

(00:20:11) - Periods in his career that stand out as the most challenging

(00:25:58) - How tech advances have influenced his core concept of figuring out worth

(00:28:17) - His three-step process to picking investment targets

(00:29:10) - The companies he has learned the most from studying

(00:30:52) - His experience with investing in Apple

(00:33:33) - How he considers the notion of quality in a business

(00:35:05) - His views on shorting, concentration, and holding periods

(00:38:37) - What he learned from a deep dive on airline businesses

(00:40:31) - His perspective on sports franchises as an asset

(00:42:12) - His new interest in poker and how he got so good at it

(00:45:22) - Applying traditional valuation styles to the modern market

(00:47:13) - Cultivating relationships with his limited partner investors and his team

(00:54:26) - His perspectives on the insurance space

(00:57:33) - The health of the economy and financial infrastructure as he understands it

(01:01:51) - How he thinks about housing and the construction industry

(01:03:54) - How AI and other high-tech are affecting his investment decisions

(01:05:28) - Other topics on his mind, from national politics to social psychology

(01:08:22) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

Avi Goldfarb - The Economic Impact of AI - [Invest Like the Best, EP.321]

21 mars 2023 | 59 min

My guest today is Avi Goldfarb. Avi is a Professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, the Rotman Chair in Artificial Intelligence and Healthcare, as well as the co-author of two bestselling books on AI and its economic impact. His most recent book, Power and Prediction, is probably the best piece of content I have read in explaining how AI may reshape business models, systems, and products. We recorded this before GPT-4’s release last week which, if anything, makes Avi’s ideas on AI’s impact all the more poignant. Please enjoy my conversation with Avi Goldfarb.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors. I’m a longtime user and advocate of Tegus, a company that I’ve been so consistently impressed with that last fall my firm, Positive Sum, invested $20M to support Tegus’ mission to expand its product ecosystem. Whether it’s quantitative analysis, company disclosures, management presentations, earnings calls - Tegus has tools for every step of your investment research. They even have over 4000 fully driveable financial models. Tegus’ maniacal focus on quality, as well as its depth, breadth and recency of content makes it the one-stop, end-to-end research platform for investors. Move faster, gather deep research to build conviction and surface high-quality, alpha-driving insights to find your differentiated edge with Tegus. As a listener, you can take the Tegus platform for a free test drive by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

(00:03:15) - [First question] - His initial reaction to chat GPT when it first launched

(00:07:08) - Prediction Machines; The impact price has on how much something is used by humans

(00:11:07) - The shift from steam powered factories to electric ones and the transition between the two in regards to systems and application solutions; Power and Prediction

(00:17:06) - Midpoints between a point solution and a systems solution and applications that are being built in the middle of them

(00:19:10) - What application, system, and point solutions feel like today in the world of AI

(00:27:03) - The transition from a world governed by rules to one by decisions

(00:30:58) - How the power of prediction moves us from a binary to a decimal framework

(00:34:48) - Ways power disruption will occur as we navigate the emerging AI frontier

(00:44:33) - Other functions like personalization that entrepreneurs should think about putting into their products and features

(00:47:18) - How we should be thinking about the generation of information and data

(00:51:32) - A future where technology either desimates or empowers specific industries

(00:54:16) - What he’s most excited and worried about given the emerging frontier of AI

(00:55:41) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

Auren Hoffman - A Deep Dive on Data - [Invest Like the Best, EP.320]

14 mars 2023 | 71 min

My guest this week is Auren Hoffman. Auren is the CEO of Safegraph, which curates data on physical locations. He also founded LiveRamp, a public data connectivity business. Auren knows more about data businesses than almost anyone I know and that is the topic of today’s discussion. We look at the business of data from every angle and finish with a fun masterclass on how to host a dinner party. Please enjoy my conversation with Auren Hoffman.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Whether it’s quantitative analysis, company disclosures, management presentations, earnings calls - Tegus has tools for every step of your investment research. They even have over 4000 fully driveable financial models. Tegus’ maniacal focus on quality, as well as its depth, breadth and recency of content makes it the one-stop, end-to-end research platform for investors. Move faster, gather deep research to build conviction and surface high-quality, alpha-driving insights to find your differentiated edge with Tegus. As a listener, you can take the Tegus platform for a free test drive by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

[00:03:16] - [First question] - His 2x2 matrix for categorizing different types of data businesses

[00:04:59] - An example of what he calls a religion company in his matrix

[00:07:03] - His notion of data currency

[00:08:23] - His definition of a great business

[00:09:46] - An example of a so-called application religion company in his proverbial matrix

[00:11:24] - Co-op and non-profit business models within and outside of the data sphere

[00:13:35] - The truth application quadrant of his matrix

[00:16:18] - How data has exploded in prevalence for the business world as a whole

[00:18:57] - How to think about the end market for data and its demand

[00:21:09] - Characteristics of a good data set and how to identify it

[00:23:14] - Other factors that impact the usability of a data set

[00:24:30] - Optimizing data collection itself

[00:26:30] - The slow growth that’s typical of early-stage data companies

[00:27:27] - Market share considerations for data businesses

[00:30:03] - Common struggles for data entrepreneurs

[00:34:01] - The genesis of his business; SafeGraph

[00:37:08] - The power of self-maintained and user-maintained databases

[00:40:16] - Typical customers and use cases for SafeGraph’s data

[00:41:08] - How SafeGraph and other companies protect against data theft

[00:42:12] - Frequency of change as a proxy for the value of a given data set

[00:45:32] - Categorizing inbound data based on the most important criteria

[00:47:07] - The founder personalities he finds in the data industry

[00:49:53] - Why he feels the data truth quadrant of his matrix is underdeveloped

[00:50:30] - Bloomberg as an important data company to study

[00:51:42] - The importance of transparency in business and in data distribution

[00:53:07] - Failure modes that he sees most commonly in data-based startups

[00:53:53] - Data businesses becoming application businesses and vice-versa

[00:57:35] - The great dinner parties he’s known for

[00:59:50] - How he makes the dinner parties appeal to introverts

[01:03:11] - Dead people he would most like to have as dinner guests

[01:04:09] - Questions he would ask the most influential religious figures

[01:06:20] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

Trae Stephens - Find Good Quests - [Invest Like the Best, EP.319]

7 mars 2023 | 68 min

My guest this week is Trae Stephens. Trae is a partner at Founders Fund and co-founder and Executive Chairman of Anduril. Trae’s philosophy can be boiled down to finding good quests, which has led him to investing in businesses that work closely with the government on societally important issues. Clearly, that extends to co-founding Anduril and I would highly recommend listening to my Business Breakdowns episode on Anduril if you haven’t already. In this conversation, we discuss the importance of lobbyists, why the high-tech defense firms of the past became stale, and how he hunts for disagreeableness in founders. Please enjoy my conversation with Trae Stephens.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

Listen to Founders Podcast

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This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Whether it’s quantitative analysis, company disclosures, management presentations, earnings calls - Tegus has tools for every step of your investment research. They even have over 4000 fully driveable financial models. Tegus’ maniacal focus on quality, as well as its depth, breadth and recency of content makes it the one-stop, end-to-end research platform for investors. Move faster, gather deep research to build conviction and surface high-quality, alpha-driving insights to find your differentiated edge with Tegus. As a listener, you can take the Tegus platform for a free test drive by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

[00:03:17] - [First question] - Why Trae thinks most high-margin businesses are bad for society

[00:04:28] - What would he change to impact energy technology most if he were in charge

[00:06:18] - His investing focus on dynamism and mission-driven tech companies

[00:09:42] - Analyzing why relatively few people strive to make society-level advancements

[00:11:35] - What he’s done as a parent to enable his kids to develop passions

[00:12:41] - The most noteworthy adventures in his career

[00:14:41] - Founding Anduril and what it taught him about the tech industry

[00:18:40] - The cutting-edge of defense technologies today

[00:21:29] - What Shyam Sankar of Palantir taught him about defense tech

[00:23:34] - Why some of the biggest defense tech companies have stopped innovating

[00:28:29] - What he and Anduril have learned about sales and scaling in the public sector

[00:35:22] - His take on Peter Thiel’s notion that competition should be avoided

[00:38:24] - The importance of being psychologically disagreeable when building a start-up

[00:39:54] - The origin story that stands out the most from companies he has interviewed

[00:41:12] - How he developed an investor mindset on his unorthodox path to the venture world

[00:43:57] - What he has learned from playing supporting roles and aligning with great leaders

[00:46:11] - Important but uncommon lessons about entrepreneurship

[00:48:21] - Venture investing lessons he’s learned from Lauren Gross

[00:50:00] - His first VR project and aspirations for the future of VR

[00:54:50] - The role of religion and spirituality in his business philosophies

[00:59:13] - Why he tries to capitalize on morality as opposed to sin

[01:03:57] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

Doug Leone - Lessons from a Titan - [Invest Like the Best, EP.318]

28 februari 2023 | 71 min

My guest this week is Doug Leone. Doug led one of the world’s most successful venture firms, Sequoia, for over 25 years after he was given responsibility for the firm by its founder, Don Valentine, in 1996. Alongside Mike Moritz, the pair managed its expansion from a single $150m early-stage fund into an $85 billion global powerhouse. It was a privilege to sit down with Doug and learn from him. We talk about his tough start at Sequoia, get into the technicalities of great go-to-market motions, and survey his advice for other investors in the industry. A key theme that will stick with me from this conversation is Doug’s insistence on keeping things simple and clear. Please enjoy my great conversation with Doug Leone.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Whether it’s quantitative analysis, company disclosures, management presentations, earnings calls - Tegus has tools for every step of your investment research. They even have over 4000 fully driveable financial models. Tegus’ maniacal focus on quality, as well as its depth, breadth and recency of content makes it the one-stop, end-to-end research platform for investors. Move faster, gather deep research to build conviction and surface high-quality, alpha-driving insights to find your differentiated edge with Tegus. As a listener, you can take the Tegus platform for a free test drive by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

[00:03:21] - [First question] - What Don Valentine’s heart was like [00:06:30] - The most productive and unproductive parts of Don’s toughness

[00:09:01] - Being the opposite of insufferable and how it was different when he was younger

[00:10:55] - Why it’s so important to understand someone’s core motivations

[00:14:18] - Questions or topics he returns to when getting to know people

[00:15:31] - How much time he believes it can take to really get to know someone

[00:20:37] - What venture looks like to him today relative to his prior career

[00:23:51] - His style of approaching emerging technology markets like AI as an investor

[00:26:37] - Whether or not he’d go into venture today if he was in his late 20s

[00:28:30] - Commonalities between the very best at going to market effectively

[00:31:11] - The key components of great product positioning

[00:32:10] - Helping companies circumnavigate mediocre positioning

[00:33:25] - Generating demand and leads and doing it well

[00:37:15] - How interacting with companies early on has changed over the ears

[00:46:14] - Sussing out the killer gene in somebody

[00:47:25] - What high school was like for him when he first came to the US

[00:49:04] - How successful people can instill the lessons learned from hardship into their children

[00:50:45] - The most common failure modes he’s seen for investors

[00:55:21] - The early 2000s clawback at Sequoia and what navigating that period was like

[00:59:06] - What he’s learned about picking the right LPs and partnering with them

[01:00:40] - The most interesting question an LP has ever asked him

[01:02:18] - Making sure that performance is on everyone’s minds all the time

[01:04:04] - What the components of a fantastic investment memo are

[01:05:00] - Which dinner companions he’d pick to educate a newly successful founder

[01:05:29] - What first popped out at him as black magic when he started investing

[01:07:59] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

Tim Urban - Idea Labs and High-Rung Thinking - [Invest Like the Best, EP.317]

21 februari 2023 | 90 min

I’m excited to share this conversation with Tim Urban. Tim is, in my opinion, one of the best and most engaging writers of our era. He’s tackled many of the most interesting topics in the world from AI to procrastination. I interviewed him in 2017 in an episode we called “Grand Theft Life”, and it remains one of my favorite episodes ever.

In the 6 years since that episode, he hasn’t published almost anything. That’s because he’s been writing the book we discuss in this episode. The book is called “What’s Our Problem”, in which Tim investigates the big issues facing society.

The reason I love Tim’s writing so much is its density of ideas and ridiculously clear explanations: a rare combo that makes reading a joy. I hope you enjoy this great round two with Tim Urban, and go buy and enjoy his great new book.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

Listen to Founders podcast.

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This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. I’m a longtime user and advocate of Tegus, a company that I’ve been so consistently impressed with that last fall my firm, Positive Sum, invested $20M to support Tegus’ mission to expand its product ecosystem. Whether it’s quantitative analysis, company disclosures, management presentations, earnings calls - Tegus has tools for every step of your investment research. They even have over 4000 fully driveable financial models. Tegus’ maniacal focus on quality, as well as its depth, breadth and recency of content makes it the one-stop, end-to-end research platform for investors. Move faster, gather deep research to build conviction and surface high-quality, alpha-driving insights to find your differentiated edge with Tegus. As a listener, you can take the Tegus platform for a free test drive by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

[00:02:50] - [First question] - What it’s been like spending seven years thinking about a single topic: Tim's book, What’s Our Problem?

[00:05:05] - How he’s come to articulate the big question he’s trying to answer in his book

[00:07:58] - A dinner experience where a single question showed just how much of a problem there was to solve

[00:09:47] - Group ideology and the different ladder rungs of human thinking

[00:17:28] - The concept of a social golems and genies and their implications for society

[00:23:02] - His favorite genies and golems throughout history and their impact

[00:29:07] - Examples of canonical high functioning genies across history

[00:34:20] - The key ingredients within liberal democracies that allow for and correct golems

[00:40:44] - Media’s role in shaping ideas and society and what’s changed about it in today’s media landscape

[00:46:46] - What else is going on that has him worried about modern institutions that are failing as social immune systems

[01:01:15] - The gap between what we say publicly versus what we feel privately and the growing pile of unsaid things

[01:07:18] - What’s to be done in order to help society repair itself

[01:14:09] - Whether or not the direction we’re most afraid to run is where we should

[01:17:37] - Thoughts on AI having written extensively on it and the new wave of emerging tools

[01:22:13] - The role and impact of leadership in regards to golems and genies

Dan Rose - How Stunning Founders Operate - [Invest Like the Best, EP.316]

14 februari 2023 | 74 min

My guest today is Dan Rose. Dan is the chairman of Coatue Ventures and has one of the most interesting collections of experiences of anyone I’ve talked to. He spent 20 years at Amazon and Facebook in their early days, working closely with Jeff Bezos, Andy Jassy, Mark Zuckerberg, and Sheryl Sandberg. He’s had a front-row seat to the defining products and founders of our era and his lessons from those experiences do not disappoint. Please enjoy this great discussion with Dan Rose.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. I’m a longtime user and advocate of Tegus, a company that I’ve been so consistently impressed with that last fall my firm, Positive Sum, invested $20M to support Tegus’ mission to expand its product ecosystem. Whether it’s quantitative analysis, company disclosures, management presentations, earnings calls - Tegus has tools for every step of your investment research. They even have over 4000 fully driveable financial models. Tegus’ maniacal focus on quality, as well as its depth, breadth and recency of content makes it the one-stop, end-to-end research platform for investors. Move faster, gather deep research to build conviction and surface high-quality, alpha-driving insights to find your differentiated edge with Tegus. As a listener, you can take the Tegus platform for a free test drive by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

-----

Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

[00:03:27] - [First question] - The story behind Amazon’s Kindle and the lessons it taught him

[00:09:19] - Amazon’s philosophy of working backwards and the most creative solutions he and his team had to come up inside of that framework

[00:13:04] - What he did to convince publishers to get on board with his vision

[00:16:02] - His overall experience of the relationship between innovation and constraints

[00:18:43] - Thoughts about the fine line between genius and nutcase

[00:22:02] - What the key points of his theory on partnerships would be

[00:24:28] - When advising portfolio companies becomes relevant

[00:26:09] - The dark arts of building companies that could be adopted by partnerships

[00:28:40] - Why he thinks the best technology companies drive strategy through product

[00:32:23] - Resolving micro management while also giving skilled talent their own space

[00:36:07] - Where Javier Olivan fits into his ideal executive team

[00:36:57] - What about growth requires its own expertise

[00:37:35] - What makes Dave Schneider an ideal sales leader

[00:39:08] - The most stressful period of time while working at Facebook

[00:42:51] - General thoughts on great versus good business models in tech

[00:45:36] - Topics where Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg would disagree the most

[00:47:13] - Defining the platonic ideal of a great investor approaching corporate enterprises

[00:50:25] - Overview of the investing environment we’re in today from coast to coast

[00:55:07] - What made Sheryl Sandberg so successful; Lean In

[01:00:35] - Why he started his career at Life Mastery selling personal growth seminars

[01:05:47] - What will define the next generation of leaders

[01:07:59] - A product he would build if he could that doesn’t exist yet

[01:08:59] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

Jeff Green - Modernizing Advertising - [Invest Like the Best, EP.315]

7 februari 2023 | 66 min

My guest today is Jeff Green, the CEO and co-founder of advertising platform, The Trade Desk. The Trade Desk is the second advertising exchange Jeff has built, having sold his first venue to Microsoft in 2007. He started The Trade Desk in 2009 and has built it into a $30 billion public business. In our discussion, we talk about the parallels between The Trade Desk and an equity exchange, why Jeff chose to align with ad buyers not sellers, and how he shapes the culture of his firm. Please enjoy my conversation with Jeff Green.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

Founders Episode #136 A Success Story: Estee Lauder

Founders Episode #288 Ralph Lauren

Invest Like the Best with David Senra: Passion & Pain

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This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. I’m a longtime user and advocate of Tegus, a company that I’ve been so consistently impressed with that last fall my firm, Positive Sum, invested $20M to support Tegus’ mission to expand its product ecosystem. Whether it’s quantitative analysis, company disclosures, management presentations, earnings calls - Tegus has tools for every step of your investment research. They even have over 4000 fully driveable financial models. Tegus’ maniacal focus on quality, as well as its depth, breadth and recency of content makes it the one-stop, end-to-end research platform for investors. Move faster, gather deep research to build conviction and surface high-quality, alpha-driving insights to find your differentiated edge with Tegus. As a listener, you can take the Tegus platform for a free test drive by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

-----

Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

[00:03:09] - [First question] - What he’s learned about human behavior and how it’s impacted his business

[00:05:45] - Big differences in generational and perennial behavior

[00:06:56] - The strong link between vulnerability and creativity

[00:07:42] - The necessary preconditions that allowed him to build Trade Desk the way he did

[00:10:53] - What it would have felt like as an early stage employee at Trade Desk

[00:12:43] - The hardest parts about maintaining his type of company culture

[00:14:05] - How much of his company culture is interwoven systemically or whether it arises naturally based on talent choices

[00:15:59] - Defining what talent means to him and the dimensions of it that matter

[00:22:03] - What he’s learned about delivering messages effectively

[00:23:49] - The founding story and history of Trade Desk

[00:28:33] - How he thinks about the key stakeholder groups around Trade Desk’s platform

[00:30:50] - Figuring out who Trade Desk’s key customers were and identifying them writ large

[00:34:55] - The composition of the universe and market of those who buy advertising

[00:36:11] - Practical product implications based on their choice of service

[00:40:16] - Building inventory legibility and its dimensions and importance

[00:47:55] - The time between the first line of code to a multi million dollar revenue stream

[00:50:29] - Markers for technology companies he’d look for that could achieve a similar scale

[00:53:35] - How not being able to simulate poverty or hunger translates into his parenting

[00:57:10] - Describing the margin differences between Trade Desk and Google

[00:59:00] - What stands out as the defining moment in his firm’s history

[01:01:50] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

Carl Kawaja - Dealing with Regime Change - [Invest Like the Best, EP.314]

31 januari 2023 | 73 min

My guest this week is Carl Kawaja. It’s the second time I’ve had Carl on the show and my first conversation with him is one I go back to often. Carl is a portfolio manager at Capital Group, where he’s quietly overseen a huge portfolio for decades. He is one of the top investors operating today as well as one of my favorite people. The investing world has changed quite a bit since Carl and I first spoke in mid-2021 so this was a great chance to use Carl’s curious mind and wide range of experiences to discuss the regime change taking place across capital markets. In true Kawaja fashion, we go all over the map and discuss Apple, the Amazonian rainforest, baseball, the oil & gas industry, Muhammad Ali, and more. Please enjoy my great discussion with Carl Kawaja.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. I’m a longtime user and advocate of Tegus, a company that I’ve been so consistently impressed with that last fall my firm, Positive Sum, invested $20M to support Tegus’ mission to expand its product ecosystem. Whether it's quantitative analysis, company disclosures, management presentations, earnings calls - Tegus has tools for every step of your investment research. They even have over 4000 fully driveable financial models. Tegus’ maniacal focus on quality, as well as its depth, breadth and recency of content makes it the one-stop, end-to-end research platform for investors. Move faster, gather deep research to build conviction and surface high-quality, alpha-driving insights to find your differentiated edge with Tegus. As a listener, you can take the Tegus platform for a free test drive by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

-----

Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

[00:02:44] - [First question] - What the market feels like to him today

[00:06:00] - The pros and cons of the cost of capital and experimentation

[00:09:09] - Things we can learn from Oil & Gas stocks and resource commodities in general

[00:14:38] - Pulling apart the key lessons from Berkshire’s purchases of IBM and Apple

[00:20:37] - The practical implications of wanting to land more soft-wins in investing that aren’t apparent out of the gate

[00:25:52] - How he approaches and considers products and product cycles writ large

[00:31:10] - The Systems Bible

[00:33:15] - Thoughts about making money from value based strategies

[00:38:31] - His methodology to go about finding the next diamond in the rough

[00:42:48] - A New Innings

[00:45:13] - The Arc of Boxing; Lessons from Muhammad Ali fighting Cleveland Williams

[00:48:54] - Someone he thinks is an exemplar in both business and the world

[00:54:37] - Don’t Sleep There Are Snakes

[00:59:41] - The role fossil fuels play in the energy transition and the current regime change

[01:07:35] - What we can learn from uncontroversial transitions in the past

Daryl Morey - Systems Thinking in Sports - [Invest Like the Best, EP.313]

24 januari 2023 | 65 min

My guest this week is Daryl Morey, who is President of basketball operations for the Philadelphia 76ers. Daryl is a computer science graduate but has become one of the NBA’s most successful General Managers during his time with the Houston Rockets and the 76ers. Together with my friend and past guest of the show, Sam Hinkie, Daryl pioneered the analytics movement in basketball. He’s been so influential his style has its own name, “Moreyball”, a nod to Michael Lewis’s book about baseball, Moneyball. Daryl is also the co-founder of the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, which has become the gold standard forum for leaders in sports analytics. I had a blast talking to him about negotiation tactics, systems thinking, hiring, and a ton more. Please enjoy this great conversation with Daryl Morey.

Founders Episode #136 A Success Story: Estee Lauder

Invest Like the Best with David Senra: Passion & Pain

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus streamlines the investment research process so you can get up to speed and find answers to critical questions on companies faster and more efficiently. The Tegus platform surfaces the hard-to-get qualitative insights, gives instant access to critical public financial data through BamSEC, and helps you set up customized expert calls. It’s all done on a single, modern SaaS platform that offers 360-degree insight into any public or private company. As a listener, you can take Tegus for a free test drive by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

[00:03:15] - [First question] - The basic principles of sports and what makes for a great sport

[00:09:54] - How resource concentration influences outcomes in various sports

[00:13:13] - The degree of certainty in predicting sports outcomes based on existing data

[00:16:32] - Using the concept of KPIs to optimize for certain characteristics to win games

[00:18:45] - Training teams on specific systems and plays versus leveraging individual talent

[00:21:07] - Why superstar athletes are key to success in basketball

[00:24:02] - Dealing with constant expected value calculations to appease stakeholders

[00:25:30] - Building the organization’s back office to find talented athletes

[00:28:32] - How he and other GMs make organization-level decisions

[00:34:12] - Why he’s involved with basketball as opposed to other sports

[00:36:17] - How he uses his frameworks to figure out systems outside of mainstream sports

[00:37:41] - Problems with the rules and economic factors of professional soccer

[00:42:54] - Trends he’s observed in the worlds of music, movies, and books

[00:45:33] - His perspective on developing one’s own career path

[00:48:22] - How challenges in his youth benefited him in the long run

[00:49:28] - The person he would call for advice if he was stuck in a foreign prison

[00:51:01] - His emphasis on first principles and why he supports free speech

[00:52:31] - Takeaways from a Harvard negotiation class he took

[00:57:07] - The power of refining the terms and definitions of a deal post-negotiation

[00:58:51] - The four people in the world that intrigue him most

[01:01:40] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

Miles Grimshaw - The DNA of Software Companies - [Invest Like the Best, EP.312]

17 januari 2023 | 72 min

My guest today is Miles Grimshaw. Miles is in his early thirties and is a General Partner at Benchmark. His experience and success belie his age. He was an early investor in Segment, Benchling, and Airtable, all before they had 30 employees. I have learned a ton from Miles about software investing and that’s why I was excited to have him on the show. We discuss his biological approach to investing, whether pure API companies can be good businesses, and what most has his attention right now. Please enjoy this conversation with Miles Grimshaw.

Founders Episode #136 A Success Story: Estee Lauder

Invest Like the Best with David Senra: Passion & Pain

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus streamlines the investment research process so you can get up to speed and find answers to critical questions on companies faster and more efficiently. The Tegus platform surfaces the hard-to-get qualitative insights, gives instant access to critical public financial data through BamSEC, and helps you set up customized expert calls. It’s all done on a single, modern Saas platform that offers 360-degree insight into any public or private company. I’ve been so impressed by the platform that my firm, Positive Sum, recently made an investment in Tegus. We did so because we feel that Tegus will be the gold standard platform for investing research for decades to come. As a listener, you can take Tegus for a free test drive by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

[00:02:57] - [First question] - His notion of the investor as a biologist or a physicist

[00:05:24] - Why he seeks out new companies with unique business models

[00:07:53] - How his investments are based on present and future needs in the market

[00:11:55] - Evaluating the genetics of a nascent or small company

[00:13:38] - The half-life of information as it flows through a company or platform

[00:17:26] - Unpacking how software companies can survive re-evaluation periods

[00:21:03] - The power of environment creation and facilitation

[00:25:10] - The importance of user conferences

[00:25:45] - A company’s potential for a differentiated second act as a sign of good genes

[00:30:21] - Product quality, timing, and reinvention in tech startups

[00:33:10] - Why it’s crucial for companies to avoid copying their heroes

[00:37:41] - Breaking down market perspective on pure API companies

[00:41:29] - His views on software targeted to vertical versus horizontal markets

[00:44:29] - Carefully leveraging relationships with core customers

[00:48:06] - Operational lessons from his experience with the companies he’s invested in

[00:50:26] - His maxim that software development is as much an art as a science

[00:51:12] - His idea of a product magician in the software industry

[00:52:19] - Effects of new products and categories at the forefront of the space

[00:58:21] - How software founders should prepare for 2023

[01:01:41] - How both market structure and product shape the genetics of a business

[01:04:32] - The challenge of pricing and packaging for SaaS companies

[01:06:42] - Cardinal sins in software investing

[01:07:42] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

John Fio - Creating Magic for Consumers - [Invest Like the Best, EP.311]

10 januari 2023 | 83 min

My guest today is John Fiorentino. John is a product inventor and entrepreneur who, in the space of a few years, has bootstrapped four products; Gravity Blanket, Moon Pod, Moon Pals, and Birthdate Candles which have collectively sold hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue. Our conversation is quite different than normal. Alongside his successful brands, John has had a range of life experiences – from starting as a Jazz musician to working for Justin Bieber - that give him an original worldview. I was especially interested in his points around product positioning, creating magic for consumers, not letting yourself become the product, and how to build enduring brands. Please enjoy this great conversation with John Fiorentino.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus streamlines the investment research process so you can get up to speed and find answers to critical questions on companies faster and more efficiently. The Tegus platform surfaces the hard-to-get qualitative insights, gives instant access to critical public financial data through BamSEC, and helps you set up customized expert calls. It’s all done on a single, modern SaaS platform that offers 360-degree insight into any public or private company. I’ve been so impressed by the platform that my firm, Positive Sum, recently made an investment in Tegus. We did so because we feel that Tegus will be the gold standard platform for investing research for decades to come. As a listener, you can take Tegus for a free test drive by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

[00:02:25] - [First question] - The amazing story behind Gravity Blanket

[00:08:51] - What he’s learned about positioning relative to product

[00:13:17] - How fundamental truths drive creativity in commerce

[00:16:17] - Real-world examples of magic as he defines it

[00:19:50] - The investability of consumer businesses from his perspective

[00:25:25] - His contrarian thoughts on venture-backed startups

[00:28:00] - How unique personalities create compelling IP and monetize it

[00:38:28] - The fine line between creative power and self-destruction for brand founders

[00:45:13] - The importance of consumer business goals being larger than oneself

[00:48:45] - The story of the Moon Pals weighted stuffed animals

[00:53:15] - How investors undervalue IP and mythology

[00:57:20] - Leveraging uniqueness as a founder to boost your brand power

[01:00:53] - His eye-opening experience working on Justin Bieber’s team

[01:05:20] - How he identifies potential magic-makers and enables them

[01:09:16] - An odd commonality between high-level successful people

[01:12:14] - Whether or not one could map out their own archetype framework

[01:15:23] - The dangers of focusing on one’s own persona and image as the product

[01:18:19] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

Amjad Masad - The Future of Software Creation - [Invest Like the Best, EP.310]

3 januari 2023 | 62 min

My guest today is Amjad Masad. Amjad is the founder and CEO of Replit, whose mission is to bring the next billion software creators online. Replit has built a browser-based coding environment that makes coding more fun, collaborative, and approachable. We discuss how that is possible and why the way most of us interact with computers today is suboptimal. We then go into the effects of AI on software creation and its broader impacts on technology. Please enjoy my conversation with Amjad Masad.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus streamlines the investment research process so you can get up to speed and find answers to critical questions on companies faster and more efficiently. The Tegus platform surfaces the hard-to-get qualitative insights, gives instant access to critical public financial data through BamSEC, and helps you set up customized expert calls. It’s all done on a single, modern SaaS platform that offers 360-degree insight into any public or private company. I’ve been so impressed by the platform that my firm, Positive Sum, recently made an investment in Tegus. We did so because we feel that Tegus will be the gold standard platform for investing research for decades to come. As a listener, you can take Tegus for a free test drive by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes[00:02:18] - [First question] - The Steve Jobs black-pill

[00:06:02] - Speculation on the near future of programming

[00:09:38] - Potential convergence of simple software and coding tools

[00:11:23] - What an IDE is and how it works

[00:12:44] - The definition of REPL and the role of Replit in the space

[00:14:21] - Decreasing friction in a programming environment using primitives

[00:19:47] - Real-world effects of Replit’s low-friction design

[00:23:27] - His perspective on new coding and AI technologies

[00:30:29] - Promises and limitations of the user-friendly programming movement

[00:33:16] - The dynamic nature of IDE technology and its challenges

[00:39:53] - How he’s priming his team to react to new technologies like the upcoming GPT-4

[00:43:58] - Recommended skills and training for the AI world of the future

[00:47:21] - The impact of IDE and AI tech innovations on existing tech giants

[00:51:56] - His mixed but optimistic views on the trajectory of AI

[00:54:40] - Recommendations for the curious listener without a programming background

[00:56:50] - The role of smartphones in the IDE movement

[00:58:28] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

Rebecca Lynn - Finding Your Customers - [Invest Like the Best, EP.309]

27 december 2022 | 53 min

My guest this week is Rebecca Lynn. Rebecca co-founded early-stage investor Canvas Ventures in 2013 and is regularly featured as one of the best VCs in the market. She has deep positioning and go-to-market experience, which she honed during her time at Procter & Gamble, and that's the focus of our discussion. We cover the details of great marketing, why you should say no to customers, and how she has built Canvas. Please enjoy my discussion with Rebecca Lynn.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus streamlines the investment research process so you can get up to speed and find answers to critical questions on companies faster and more efficiently. The Tegus platform surfaces the hard-to-get qualitative insights, gives instant access to critical public financial data through BamSEC, and helps you set up customized expert calls. It’s all done on a single, modern Saas platform that offers 360-degree insight into any public or private company. I’ve been so impressed by the platform that my firm, Positive Sum, recently made an investment in Tegus. We did so because we feel that Tegus will be the gold standard platform for investing research for decades to come. As a listener, you can take Tegus for a free test drive by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

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Today's episode is brought to you by Brex. Brex is the integrated financial platform trusted by the world's most innovative entrepreneurs and fastest-growing companies. With Brex, you can move money fast for instant impact with high-limit corporate cards, payments, venture debt, and spend management software all in one place. Ready to accelerate your business? Learn more at brex.com/best.

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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

[00:02:37] - [First question] - What she’d do a great job teaching if she could teach a singular 401 level course

[00:05:20] - Defining what the umbrella concept is

[00:06:10] - What about her career at P&G applies most to the kinds of companies she spends her time with now

[00:12:06] - What types of questions she asks to help someone building a product understand their marketing angle

[00:15:34] - The top three things people do wrong when running a survey in tactics or strategy

[00:19:33] - Categories of questions where surveys are always helpful and effective

[00:21:06] - What the Go-To-Market Council is and what it does

[00:28:21] - The ways that most funnels are commonly broken

[00:31:17] - Defining great positioning and what it accomplishes

[00:33:36] - How her knowledge and ideas most impacted the way she built Canvas

[00:35:04] - Lessons learned about the world of digital health and the quantified self

[00:39:15] - The base level attributes that most indicate investment potential when she’s investing in a company

[00:42:32] - The shifts in the world that most have her attention today

[00:46:10] - What has her worried systemically about venture investing

[00:49:37] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for her

Michael Mauboussin - Sharpening Investor & Executive Toolkits - [Invest Like the Best, EP.308]

20 december 2022 | 68 min

My guest this week is Michael Mauboussin. Many of you will know Michael and his work well. He’s Head of Consilient Research at Counterpoint Global, one of the sharpest investment minds I know, and a frequent guest on this show. In this discussion, we go deep into his recent work on market share, returns on capital, and capital allocation - all of which are coming under increasing scrutiny for different reasons. Please enjoy this great conversation with my friend Michael Mauboussin.

Founders Episode #136 A Success Story: Estee Lauder

Invest Like the Best with David Senra: Passion & Pain

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus streamlines the investment research process so you can get up to speed and find answers to critical questions on companies faster and more efficiently. The Tegus platform surfaces the hard-to-get qualitative insights, gives instant access to critical public financial data through BamSEC, and helps you set up customized expert calls. It’s all done on a single, modern SaaS platform that offers 360-degree insight into any public or private company. I’ve been so impressed by the platform that my firm, Positive Sum, recently made an investment in Tegus. We did so because we feel that Tegus will be the gold standard platform for investing research for decades to come. As a listener, you can take Tegus for a free test drive by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

-----

Today's episode is brought to you by Brex. Brex is the integrated financial platform trusted by the world's most innovative entrepreneurs and fastest-growing companies. With Brex, you can move money fast for instant impact with high-limit corporate cards, payments, venture debt, and spend management software all in one place. Ready to accelerate your business? Learn more at brex.com/best.

-----

Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

[00:03:46] - [First question] - Overview of Michael’s recent research on market share

[00:05:48] - Market share dynamics in modern history

[00:08:43] - How market share data is useful for investors

[00:12:30] - Investing in early breakout companies from low-concentration markets

[00:14:34] - Surprises from his recent research project

[00:15:29] - Using the value stick for stakeholder satisfaction

[00:19:12] - Examples of value creation using the value stick

[00:23:33] - Market power in relation to markups and willingness to pay

[00:32:00] - Identifying a company’s real ROIC numbers

[00:44:00] - How important absolute ROIC is when picking investments

[00:47:07] - Research on capital generation and allocation trends

[00:54:25] - Characteristics of great capital allocation strategies

[00:59:26] - Surprises in the market since his deep-dive research

[01:02:54] - Artificial intelligence and other sources of disruptive innovation

Jeremiah Lowin: Explaining the New AI Paradigm - [Invest Like the Best, EP.307]

13 december 2022 | 62 min

My guest this week is Jeremiah Lowin. Jeremiah has been on the podcast a number of times over the years. He’s one of my oldest friends who has been a sounding board for me throughout my career. Today he is the founder and CEO of Prefect, which helps companies automate and orchestrate their dataflows. In full disclosure, Positive Sum is an investor in Prefect. We didn’t plan this conversation, but when OpenAI released ChatGPT, I called Jeremiah for a primer on what’s happening under the hood and how best to contextualize this product amidst the growing AI movement. We have these conversations often, but this time I decided to record it so we can all learn from someone I consider to be a leading mind in the fields of data science and machine learning. We start off in the weeds and zoom out as the discussion unfolds. Please enjoy this conversation with my friend, Jeremiah Lowin.