This week’s conversation is about artificial intelligence and interplanetary travel. Its about content creation, thinking from first principles, and death progress units. Its about brain machine interfaces and why it is crucial that you be a chef and not a cook.
My guest is Tim Urban, along with his business partner Andrew Finn. Tim is the most entertaining writer I’ve come across in years, who explains complicated and interesting topics to his millions of dedicated readers on the website “Wait, But Why.” As an example, Tim’s last post on Elon Musk’s neurlink venture is 40,000 words long, roughly the length of a short book. It explains almost all of human progress and our potential future using drawings and cartoons. Its impossible to stop reading.
While this conversation is wildly entertaining, it is also chock full of metaphors and lessons that will be useful to anyone doing creative work or building a company. I hope this leaves you as energized as it left me. I called this episode Grand Theft Life because that is the name that Tim and Andrew give to their worldview, which I think will change the way you behave, too. Please enjoy my conversation with Tim Urban.
For comprehensive show notes on this episode go to http://investorfieldguide.com/urban
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
To get involved with Project Frontier, head to InvestorFieldGuide.com/frontier.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub.
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Books Referenced
Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies
Links Referenced
The Cook and the Chef: Musk’s Secret Sauce
Neuralink and the Brain’s Magical Future
YouTube Channel Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
Show Notes
1:50 – (First question) – Explaining his concept of planets 1, 2, 3 and 4 and understanding the human colossus
5:46 – Tim’s favorite idea of the human knowledge compounding
7:52 – Die Progress Units (DPU)
9:45 – Different stages of AI and the positives and negatives of each stage
14;04 – What happens when AI gains breadth and general intelligence
16:23 – The idea of a cook vs a chef and how Tim had the chance to interview Elon Musk
17:48 – Why you should reason from first principles instead of reasoning by analogies
25:19 – Why it’s possible to turn a cook into a chef
30:08 – Why being a chef is the safer route in a world with AI and what Tim has changed in himself as to why.
31:22 – Looking at the discovery process
34:39 – Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies\
40:01 – Being the person who creates the metaphor vs being the people who simply using them
43:41 – YouTube Channel Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
44:54 – Most fun that Tim has had researching a topic
46:08 – Musk model for attaining your goals
53:43 – Why not caring what people think is one of the world’s best superpowers, grand theft life
56:50 – Neuralink – what is it and how did Tim come to research it
1:02:38 – Elon Musk’s concerns about AI
1:14:28 – What then if the Neuralink concept works out
1:18:02 – Kindest thing anyone has done for Tim
Learn More
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub
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My guest this week is Stephanie Cohen, who is the chief strategy officer for Goldman Sachs and a member of their management committee. Prior to her current role, she spent the majority of her career in the investment banking and M&A divisions at Goldman.
We discuss lessons learned from her career in M&A and the many initiatives she now leads at the firm. I really enjoyed her perspective on how a big, established firm like Goldman can balance innovation with improving existing businesses. Please enjoy our conversation.
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub.
Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag
Show Notes
1:15 - (First Question) – Motives on both sides for doing M&A
3:26 – Most difficult deal she worked on
4:50 – Biggest value add she brought from her seat on the Fiat deal
5:59 – Biggest changes since she started to today
8:31 – Smartest ways for companies who want to be acquired to be prepared
10:14 – Best M&A banker she’s seen
11:13 – What should businesses looking to make an acquisition be thinking about
15:16 – What does a strategy from her perspective mean
17:16 – Tension between innovation and change
19:46 – Difference between bottom-up and top-down components of strategy
22:15 – Exploration vs exploitation
26:28 – Submission process within accelerate
29:37 – Next step after you see a good idea
31:05 – Her take on FinTech and Industrials and their collision
35:15 – Lessons from elite early stage investors
37:21 – The origins of the LAUNCH program
40:06 – Important pieces beyond just the capital
42:42 – How they market to women starting business
44:56 – Lessons that she has learned about narrative and communications
47:07 – How she handles developing talent internally
49:28 – Managing her time
59:28 – Biggest concerns about OKR’s?
52:09 – Kindest thing anyone has done for Stephanie
53:07 – Kids in the area of competing
Learn More
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub
Follow Patrick on twitter at @patrick_oshag
This week’s guest is Will Thorndike, an author and investor whose book The Outsiders is an all-time favorite of mine. Our conversation is in two parts. First, we dive deep into the lessons of his 8-year research project studying CEOs who were master capital allocators. These CEOs include Henry Singleton, John Malone, Tom Murphy, Katherine Graham, and Warren Buffett. We discuss how these CEOs tended to be contrarians on topics like dividends, buybacks, acquisitions, and the use of debt. As we go through each of the tools in the capital allocators toolkit, you’ll hear several useful lessons for running or evaluating a business.
In the second part, we cover Will’s career in private equity. Will founded and continues to run Housatonic Partners, investing in buyouts, recaps, and search funds. Will has been one of the most active search fund investors for decades, and given how much time I’ve spent in past episodes on the searchers or operators in the micro-cap, permanent equity space, it was great to get the perspective of an experienced LP. As always, we also take time to survey the dangers and opportunities in today’s private equity market.
For comprehensive show notes on this episode go to http://investorfieldguide.com/thorndike
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub.
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My guest this week is Josh Wolfe, co-founder and managing partner at Lux Capital. I had Josh on the podcast last year which was one of the most popular episodes in the shows history. This is a continuation of our ongoing conversation about investing in the frontiers of technology. My favorite thing about Josh and the way that he invests is the mosaic that he and his team at Lux are constantly building to understand the world and where new companies may fit in. We cover a crazy variety of topics from business model innovation, roles of a CEO, the military, the death of privacy, and arrows of human progress. Please enjoy round two with Josh Wolfe.
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub.
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Show Notes
1:22 - (First Question) –Ability to tackle massive scale problems
4:05 – Key roles of leaders and his checklist for evaluating them
5:55 – Common traits among founders that make them incredible storytellers and leaders
10:22 – The concept of ill-liquidity
14:53 – Thoughts on the types of companies going public
16:41 – Most innovative business models
19:14 - Advice for LP’s
23:51 – Common devil
24:01 – The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements
25:09 – Big internal debates at his firm, starting with price discipline
28:45 – The value debate internally
33:34 – CRISPR from an investment standpoint
36:50 – Edge cases they are looking at
46:52 – How they target ideas in a single concept
50:01 – The Coast of Utopia: Voyage, Shipwreck, Salvage
51:04 – New theses that they chase
56:31 – Recent adventure with special operations guys
Learn More
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub
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My guest this week is Katherine Collins, who is the head of sustainable investing at Putnam Investments, a portfolio manager on two of Putnam’s sustainable investing funds, and the author of the book The Nature of Investing: Resilient Investment Strategies through Biomimicry.
Our conversation is on the ins and outs of ESG and impact investing, a young but increasingly common topic in the investing world. This is challenging ground for me as a quant, because the data available is so new and limited—so Katherine’s perspective was very helpful as we continue to learn. Given the importance of this topic, I’m also searching for more guests with both positive and negative views on the role of ESG in an investing framework, and welcome suggestions for future guests. Please enjoy my conversation with Katherine Collins.
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub.
Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag
Show Notes
1:29 - (First Question) –Mechanical vs human judgement processes
4:21 – ESG, and the non-utility portion of it.
7:11 – Data behind the objective function that is different from returns
12:34 – What are the most interesting data sets
16:04 – How does she determine what factors to target
19:31 – Why do we know that diversity of experience/opinion/background is good for a company
21:30 – The social vertical and how it plays into her investing system and better returns
25:51 – Corporate Sustainability: First Evidence on Materiality
27:00 – Environmental factors and the issues that jump to mind
29:48 – Importance of signing the UNPRI and is it just box checking
32:33 – Data for companies on the solution oriented companies
34:53 – Why doesn’t the market recognize the Alpha
36:17 – LP interest in ESG investing
38:25 – How other groups of investors approach ESG
40:03 – Best practices at business making an impact in ESG
44:01 – Unique or interesting tactics in environmental
46:33 – Who is the biggest opponent or position in opposition of ESG
47:37 – Most interesting edge
48:20 – Playbook for business managers thinking about social for the first time
49:59 – Measurements vs principles/values
51:21 – Advice to quants trying to use ESG in how they gather data
53:04 – Most memorable encounter with a company through the lens of ESG
53:53 – Where to learn more about ESG
54:50 – How much role regulation plays in the future of business sustainability
56:30 – Any more lessons from her research into natural systems
57:05 – Kindest thing anyone has done for her
Learn More
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub
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My guest this week Geoffrey Batt and the topic of our conversation is how to earn transformational returns in very hard markets. In his case, that means Iraqi equities which we cover in detail. He now runs a large pool of capital in Iraqi stocks through his firm Euphrates, but the journey was arduous to say the least. This is one of my favorite boots on the ground contrarian investments stories thus far on the podcast. I hope you enjoy the story and the lessons that Geoff has to offer.
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub.
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Show Notes
1:15 - (First Question) – What does it take to earn transformational returns
4:43 – How he deals with LPs, especially given the volatility of the market he invests in
10:26 – Why LPs have to think about the other investors in a fund
1:17 – How Geoffrey got interested in the Iraqi market
16:15 – Factors he was considering when exploring Iraq
16:53 – Harvey Sawikin Podcast Episode
19:20 – Visiting companies in Iraq
22:30 – Most memorable meeting with a company on his first trip
27:18 – Size and nature of Iraqi market when he first got interested
30:44 – A specific allocator in Iraq
34:37 – Does price reflect the work over there
37:51 - What does he perceive as his role in the changes to Iraq’s equity market
40:12 - How do Iraqi equities look today compared to when he started and is the opportunity still interesting
44:14 – How businesses perceive him now that the market has opened up more
47:28 – Scale of potential return and where it comes from
49:51 – Advice for younger aspiring investors exploring frontier markets
52:16 – Kindest thing anyone has done for Geoffrey
Learn More
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub
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My guest this week is Brian Singerman, a partner at the venture capital firm Founders Fund. Founder’s Fund is widely considered one of the top VC firms and its partners are known to have diverse investment strategies.
Brian invests across industries and focuses on backing exceptional founders. You’ll hear right off the bat that he cares about moat, market, and strong execution. I love his point that the only way to become a good investor is to do a lot of investing. He describes himself an investor who uses his gut a lot, which took me a while to get used to in our conversation. But I have to say that at the end of this episode I felt refreshed and generally excited to keep putting in reps in my own way, both in the podcast and the quant research settings. I hope you enjoy.
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub.
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Show Notesd
1:28 - (First Question) – What Brian looks for when evaluating companies
2:38 – What a moat looks like in investing
3:11 – Most memorable initial moat
4:17 – How he evaluates a potential market
5:28 – Attributes they look for in founders
6:24 – Most significant technological changes and how they have impacted his investment strategy
8:57 – The sourcing of his deals
13:00 – Qualities he likes at various stages of deal sourcing
13:46 – How he evaluates the teams he may fund
15:17 – His take on the pricing landscape for deals
16:13 – How he allocates his time as a board member
17:16 – Thoughts on long term stock exchange
18:26 – How much research does he do on an industry in order to stay on top of his investments
20:10 – Outside information he follows
21:20 - Other investors he’s learned a lot from
23:12 – What values does Peter Thiel instill in the partners
24:05 – Process of StemCentrics
26:03 – Other places holding his interest today
26:57 – His interest in e-sports
31:44 – Interactions with LP’s
32:51 – What they look for in recruiting new partners
34:32 – How geography impacts the opportunity for new ideas
36:24 – Opportunities in public companies and other investment types
37:57 – Aspects of overseeing a startup venture
39:26 – Kindest thing anyone has done for him
Learn More
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub
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My guest this week for the third time is Michael Mauboussin. If there is a major question about markets and investing, Michael has usually written one of the best pieces of research on that topic. Today’s conversation is a mix of several of his research pieces, but focuses on the sources of alpha.
The framing of the conversation is the brilliant question “who is on the other side” of a given trade. If you are buying, who is selling, and why? Knowing the answer to this question is one key to understanding where excess return comes from. As is usual with Michael, we also explore tons of other interesting ideas that will serve as food for thought. Please enjoy.
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub.
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Show Notes
1:23 - (First Question) – An outline of the syllabus for the course he teaches
4:02 – What are smart people missing when it comes to decision making
5:33 – Why Michael went down the path of defining major investing concepts
7:41 – On the impossibility of informational inefficient markets
9:14 – Beware behavioral finance
12:03 – What are the behavioral errors that people can take advantage of in a trade
15:14 – Timing opportunities
17:25 – Modest Proposal Podcast Episode
17:47 – Where the analytical edge comes from
21:16 – Is there an advantage to exhibit time arbitrage
23:53 – Technical arbitrage
29:34 – What impact do flows into ETFs play on the market
32:25 – Informational edge and how you source that edge
36:39 – Biggest changes that he has seen on the buy side
43:18 - How would Michael apply this as a sports GM
48:35 – His views on stock buybacks
51:02 – The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success
52:55 – EBIT to EBITDA paper
54:43 – What Does a PE Multiple Mean?
59:28 – The concept of benign myths
1:02:06 – What the future holds of Michael
1:04:17 – The Myth of Capitalism: Monopolies and the Death of Competition
Learn More
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub
Follow Patrick on twitter at @patrick_oshag
My guest this week is with Annie Duke, and the topic of our discussion is how to improve decision making.
We break decisions down into their component parts: values, beliefs, decisions, randomness, and outcomes. After diving into each, we discuss how to make better decisions, how to work in group settings, and how to harness power of tribes and identity to improve our behavior.
Annie has thought about this as much as anyone, and her various tricks for getting us to think in probabilities and to stop evaluating decisions based on outcomes that have been tainted by randomness will be useful for anyone listening.
Please enjoy.
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub.
Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag
Show Notes
1:23 - (First Question) – Why people don’t take the best investing advice
2:11 – Investing tribes
4:21 – Jay Van Bavel twitter
6:34 – Rule setting as a way of crafting an investment strategy
11:13 – How much control do we have in choosing our values
15:52 – Anatomy of a decision
19:28 – Her concept of resulting
26:47 - How beliefs impact your decision making
34:28 – Tact’s for making the best decision
42:40 – Ego and decision making
47:06 – People who are exceptional at changing their decision making
48:18 – How often do people who change their decision making, stick with the rules of the game
50:07 – Finite and Infinite Games
50:28 – Psychology of making decision that involves other people
59:20 - Never close doors on other people
1:01:57 – Best decision that Annie made
1:04:24 – Kindest thing anyone has done for Annie
Learn More
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub
Follow Patrick on twitter at @patrick_oshag
My guest this week is unique and so requires a short story.
I met our guest Michael Mayer because of twitter. I followed and enjoyed one of several pseudonymous accounts that he maintains to experiment with ideas. His various accounts have wide followings.
I think many of the best accounts on twitter are anonymous or pseudonymous, and I’ve always made a point to get to know the ones I like best. As it turns out, Michael was also an entrepreneur. He’d been building a new company and was raising a small amount of outside capital.
I didn’t invest personally, in part because he raised it so quickly after I spoke with him. Ever since, I’ve gotten to know him better and followed his company, Bottomless, with interest. You know that I am always hyper transparent about any potential conflicts of interest, so it’s worth noting that while I am not an investor in this company, I expect to be at some point in the future.
The topic of our conversation is both his social media activity and his company. I am a coffee fanatic, and the problem he is solving is one I live. I order a weekly bag of coffee beans, but I often have too much coffee or run out. Bottomless solves this by shipping you a simple scale which you keep wherever you store your coffee, connect to your Wi-Fi, and set your bag of coffee on. It automatically orders new coffee for you at the right time. Thus the name: Bottomless. If you like the conversation, check out bottomless.com
With this podcast, all I’m really trying to do is find, meet, and learn from interesting people. Michael certainly qualifies. I hope you enjoy this unique episode.
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub.
Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag
Show Notes
2:06 - (First Question) – Why he writes under a pseudonym online
2:58 – Positive impacts of writing this way
3:45 – His background
5:02 – Habits he improved upon
7:03 – Where did his exploration into technology and start-ups come from
7:33 – Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions
10:32 – Elements of business that interest him most
13:26 – Building social capital vs the current state of education
17:06 – What information does he like to consume
18:17 – Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
18:34 – Jerry Neumann blog Reaction Wheel | Podcast episode
18:39 – Kevin Simler’s blog Melting Asphalt| Podcast Episode
21:01 – Why the current education system is busted
22:54 – Formation of his business
24:04 – Importance of making things legible
25:54 – On demand delivery vs subscription business models
30:16 – Early day in developing the scale for his business
33:50 – What he learned about coffee roasters
35:29 – thoughts on supplier power
36:17 – The customer relationship
39:50 – Best objections to his business
41:58 – Biggest operational/emotional challenges
42:56 – Best moment
44:39 – Time at Y combinator
46:28 – His unique co-founder story
49:47 – Marketing strategies and acquisition costs
51:37 – The idea of a commercial loop
53:27 – Discarded ideas, such as spaced repetition social networks
57:38 – Having a long-term plan vs reformatting a business into success
1:00:35 – What works on twitter based on his experience
1:03:09 – Most controversial opinion
1:05:59 – Kindest thing anyone has done
Learn More
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub
Follow Patrick on twitter at @patrick_oshag
Peter is a geopolitical strategist who combines expertise in demography, economics, energy, politics, technology, and security to assess an uncertain future. Before founding his own strategy firm, Peter helped develop the analytical models for Stratfor, one of the world’s premier private intelligence companies.
I came across Peter via his books the Accidental Superpower and the Absent Superpower. We discuss America’s changing place in the world and four additional countries poised to do well in the future. Spoiler alert: he believes the U.S. is particularly well positioned.
While we don’t discuss equity markets per se, all of what we talk about will obviously impact companies across the world for the remainder of our careers. Please enjoy our conversation.
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub.
Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag
Show Notes
1:32 - (First Question) – His model of the world
4:05 – What makes for a strategically advantaged country
5:35 – History of the Bretton Woods agreement and the order that it created
8:47 – The security apparatus that has made globalization of manufacturing possible
12:04 – The US’s pullback from being the naval police of global trade
12:08 – The Absent Superpower: The Shale Revolution and a World Without America
14:57 – How energy has played into America’s disinterest abroad
21:52 – Moving towards global disorder
24:55 – Characterizing factors that will impact countries in any collapse
27:38 – How this manifest in physical conflict
32:44 – How the new world order will end the ease of innovation we are accustomed to today
34:13 – What gets the US to reengage before this new world order
38:08 – Demographics that make a country prepared for this, Japan as an example
40:57 – A look at China
43:59 – What the story is about Argentina
45:52 – How North America fares based on their geography and relationships
49:50 – The trader wars that are currently ongoing
52:17 – US political system
56:15 – Most important policy issues moving forward
58:27 – His view on American infrastructure
1:00:33 – Technologies that interest him the most
1:02:55 – What he is watching most closely in his research, starting with media
1:05:59 – What are and should be the countries of the future
1:06:55 – Kindest thing anyone has done for Peter
1:07:32 – Favorite places he’s been
Learn More
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub
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My guest this week is Michael Kitces, who is one of our industries go-to experts on all things financial advise and financial planning.
We discuss the past, present, and future of financial advise, financial technology, and investing. If you are a financial advisor or use one, this conversation is full of great history and perspective. Please enjoy.
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub.
Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag
Show Notes
1:08 - (First Question) – History of financial planning/advice model
5:26 – Fee changes in the 1970’s
10:01 – The start of the AUM model
10:44 – Value proposition for financial advisors beyond trading vs robo-advsiors
11:49 – Why Robo-Advisors Will Be No Threat To Real Advisors
18:20 – Why are humans still dominating the space
23:58 – Future of advisor fees
32:50 – Viability of the human driven flat fee model
37:50 – The dominance of flat fee models
43:13 – What services are financial advisors offering to justify their fees
47:17 – Dimensions to divide potential customers
52:20 – Exciting updates on the investment side that will help differentiate managers
55:37 – Any investment function beyond the basics that is intriguing to him
58:45 – Most interesting problems to be solved on the investing and non-investing sides
1:04:52 – Advice for young advisors
1:09:24 – How does he invest his own money
1:11:31 – Kindest thing anyone has done for Michael
Learn More
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub
Follow Patrick on twitter at @patrick_oshag
My guest this week is Alex Danco. Alex is a member of the Discover Team at Social Capital, has a background in biology, and has written about all things tech and business. While Alex is only 30, it seems like he has spent decades thinking about all the topics that we discuss, from changing business models, to railroads, to the shift from products to functions, and the rise and fall of asset bubbles. I hope you enjoy this wide ranging conversation.
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub.
Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag
Show Notes
1:15 - (First Question) – A look at his day job on the discover team
2:20 – 40 problems doc
4:27 – How companies get on the list and the turnover
5:21 – Hardest problem they are looking at…housing
11:37 – The investment component that fixes housing
15:35 – Where we are in the technology cycle in the view of abundance vs scarcity
20:54 – Change in distribution and the business vs utility business idea.
28:40 – Bifurcation of small and larger businesses
32:48 – New forms of scarcity today
38:31 – The trend of massive company incumbency
41:07 – The utility of bubbles
49:08 – His favorite bubble
51:18 – Challenges and nuances of bubbles
53:35 – Zero to One Notes on Start-Ups, or How to Build the Future
1:02:22 – Future for VC funding in Silicon Valley
1:04:07 – Advice for business builders
1:08:23 – The Three True Outcomes
1:13:04 – His background in biology and innovation in that space that is coming
1:19:46 – Company examples that are of interest to him and that encapsulate his way of investing
1:24:56 – Kindest thing anyone has done for Alex
Learn More
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub
Follow Patrick on twitter at @patrick_oshag
My guest this week is Keith Wasserman, co-founder of the real estate investment firm Gelt.
This was my first fully dedicated conversation on direct real estate investing, so we cover many different topics, including the pros and cons of different types of real estate, current valuations, risk vs. reward, tax protection, and the most interesting emergent areas.
You can tell Keith is an entrepreneur at heart so I enjoyed his energy and all that he has learned. Please enjoy.
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub.
Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag
Show Notes
1:15 - (First Question) – Their interest in apartments and mobile homes as investments
2:32 – The returns spectrum for different classes of real estate
4:03 – His early entrepreneurial ventures and the start of Gelt
7:45 – Don’t be afraid of negotiating
8:34 – Going through early deals in real estate
11:57 – How he determines when it’s time to sell a property
14:13 – How do they think about taxes in their investment offerings
16:57 – Depreciation strategies in real estate investing
18:27 – The evolution of the types of real estate properties they’ve invested in
21:41 – Most important factors when evaluating a building to invest in
23:50 – Barriers to entry
25:41 – Changes in his cost of capital
28:51 – Cost of debt and deciding how much to put into a building
30:33 – A look at the competition
34:51 – Effective marketing strategies
37:07 – How demographics impact their strategies
39:11 – The co-living space
40:34 – Cloud kitchens and how he would invest in these
46:11 – How autonomous vehicles will impact real estate
47:52 – Pros and cons of developing new properties vs buying existing ones
49:59 – Early stage investing interest
53:48 – Favorite business/entrepreneur story
55:10 – Advice for younger entrepreneurs
57:09 – Kindest thing anyone has done for Keith
Learn More
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub
My guest this week is Alex Mittal, co-founder of Funders Club. Following past guest Jeremiah Lowin, Alex is my second elementary school friend to appear on the podcast—a trend I hope continues.
Funders club is a unique venture firm, because it is build around a network of investors and entrepreneurs who submit deals for consideration and invest together. But as you’ll hear, Alex and his co-founder Boris aren’t just building an open platform for early stage investing: they also then take a very traditional venture approach, making investing decisions themselves when it comes to building a centralized portfolio.
Our conversation is about what Alex has learned investing in almost 300 early stage companies over the past 7 years.
Please enjoy.
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub.
Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag
Show Notes
1:30 - (First Question) – Inception of the Founder’s Club
1:36 – Jeremiah Lowin Podcast Episode
3:59 – How the process of their platform works
5:40 – Role of the network in Founders Club setup and success
8:26 – What he has learned from all of the data he has access to
16:00 – Early stage investing and finding the sweet spot
22:17 – What makes a really intriguing bad idea
25:23 – Why he remains so excited about Ethereum
31:18 – More bad ideas
31:55 – Apoorva Mehta on How I Built This Podcast
37:15 – Thoughts on retail and logistics and how they fit his Venn diagram of boring and crazy
43:13 – Chip and electronic design
45:47 – Companies that are not just increasing efficiencies but actually making foundational changes
45:54 – Energy and Civilization: A History
52:34 – What does he look for in founders
55:26 – Pivot or Fail
57:05 – Kindest thing anyone has done for Alex
Learn More
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub
Follow Patrick on twitter at @patrick_oshag
My guest this week, Eugene Wei, has one of the most interesting backgrounds of anyone I’ve had on the podcast. He worked at Amazon early in its life, was the head of product at Hulu and Flipboard, and head of video and Oculus.
Our conversation is about the intersection of technology, media, culture. We discuss Eugene’s concept of invisible asymptotes: why growth slows down (for both companies and people) and how some can burst through. I’d list more of the topics, but we covered so much that you should just listen.
Finally, I’ll say that after spending a day with Eugene (including a wildly interesting dinner with Eugene, past podcast guest Sam Hinkie, and future podcast guest Kevin Kwok) that he is the type of uniquely interesting and kind person I am always searching for and one that I wish I could bet on somehow. If you know more people like this, reach out and suggest them for this podcast. Now, enjoy our conversation.
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub.
Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag
Show Notes
1:38 - (First Question) – Idea of cuisine and empire
1:52 – Cuisine and Empire: Cooking in World History
4:20 – Key takeaways from the Defiant Ones Documentary
8;25 – Being convinced to buy a sports coat
11:10 – The concept of invisible asymptote
17:43 – How the medium shapes the messaging and the impact of cameras everywhere on society
17:48– Invisible asymptotes
17:56 – Selfies as a second language
22:57 – Proof of work in building a social network
32:51 – Magnification of inequalities in digital networks
34:01 – The Lessons of History
36:47 – His thoughts on the media industry’s impact on society as a whole
39:42 – His time at Hulu
44:48 – Places where video could replace text
47:30 – The need for media for any business looking to grow
49:35 – Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
53:08 – Personal asymptotes
57:19 - Habit building and goal setting
1:00:29 – Travel recommendations
1:03:24 – Movie recommendations
1:08:16 – Product recommendations and what makes them indispensable
1:10:44 – Creation: Life and How to Make It
1:13:23 – Thoughts on the art of conversation
1:14:59 – The Most Human Human: What Artificial Intelligence Teaches Us About Being Alive
1:18:30 – Kindest thing anyone has done for Eugene
Learn More
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub
Follow Patrick on twitter at @patrick_oshag
My guest this week is Michael Duda, and the topic of our conversation is the role that brand plays in business and investing. Michael has worked on and invested in a wide-range of brands including Birchbox, Casper, Harry's, Citibank, DirecTV, Google, TripAdvisor, Under Armour and vineyard vines. His background in advertising made this a unique and interesting conversation. please enjoy.
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub.
Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag
Show Notes
1:11 - (First Question) – Mission of Bullish
2:15 – Typical relationship they have with companies
3:01 – Defining brand
4:35 – Ryan Caldbeck Podcast Episode
5:51 – A dive into how brands make people feel
7:54 – Does the emphasis on brand still matter to consumers and if so, where
10:01 – Process of building up a brand
14:53 – What has changed most in the planning of a brand strategy
18:35 – How does his thinking impact his investing strategy
21:48 – Where does he differ from the rest of the market
23:34 – Advice he would give to companies in general
26:18 – How advertising has changed in the current landscape
28:35 – The screening process for picking potential investments
35:16 – How they analyze valuation
37:31 – Unusual traits he likes in founders
40:12 – Categories most ripe for young companies to disrupt
44:03 – Most interesting marketing channel for direct to consumer businesses
46:45 – Marketing piece he is most proud of
49:23 – Companies that embody the best of what has been discussed
52:31 – His love for people in business
53:41 – Kindest thing done for Michael
Learn More
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub
Follow Patrick on twitter at @patrick_oshag
Over the summer. I spent time with Abby Johnson, who is the chairman and CEO of Fidelity Investments and several other business leads at Fidelity to understand how a very large firm like theirs is navigating change in our industry. What follows is a condensed version of my various conversations with Abby and her team. We discuss the big buzzwords like blockchain and machine learning, but also thoughts on leadership, client centricity and measures of success.
I hope you enjoyed this exploration
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub.
Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag
Show Notes
1:16 - (First Question) – [Abby] A look at the early part of Abby’s career
2:45 – Analyzing the skill of capital allocators
3:27 – A look at the asset management world of today and what to focus on today
7:23 – A set of decision-making principles that guide Abby
12:55 – Their strategy around the digitization of the world
16:07 – Balance between robo-advisors and humans and the markers of a good relationship
18:24 – What is the future of the role of the human in these relationships
20:15 – Their interest in emerging technologies like Blockchain
24:50 – Will crypto be its own asset class in the future
25:58 – [TOM] State of the business and the most interesting points of change
28:14 – Who is winning the battle for the next generation of investors
29:24 – How much of the change in financial business is cyclical
30:17 – What are businesses doing right to bridge that generational gap
31:01 – What does the future of the asset management industry look like
32:13 – What technologies could impact the asset management business the most
33:44 – The difference between machine learning and AI in this format
35:26 – In what way will AI impact these processes and replace humans
36:41 – What has him most excited about the future
37:54 – Advice for people thinking about pursuing a career in financial services
39:20 – Markers of a business that would be attractive for the next generation to consider working for
40:33 – The importance of brand when thinking about their business and those they work with
41:57 – Ways of engendering trust from a branding prospective
43:20 – Kindest thing anyone has done for Tom
44:28 – [VIPIN] Building a team around AI
45:21 – Markers for a good data strategy
47:25 – Kindest thing anyone has done for Vipin
48:58 - [ABBY] – How Fidelity thinks about data as an investing initiative
50:24 – Differentiating attributes of good analysts and if they’ve changed
51:34 – Investor she has always enjoyed learning from
52:37 – Favorite Peter Lynch story
53:17 – Business lessons that people could take away from Abby
54:59 – The role of women in financial services and what can be done to improve the situation there
57:35 – Trends that Abby is most excited to explore
1:00:22 – Positives and negatives of being part of a family business
1:01:46 – Kindest thing anyone has done for Abby
Learn More
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub
Follow Patrick on twitter at @patrick_oshag