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In this new episode format we give a very short briefing on financial news of the week. This draws on our new weekly newsletter called "The Investor's Briefing". If you wish to read it, you can find it here. ~*~ For full access to all of our updates and in-depth research reports become a Speedwell Member here. Please reach out to info@speedwellresearch.com if you need help getting us to become an approved research vendor in order to expense it. ~*~ You can get a free trial to AlphaSense through this link here and read 200k+ Expert Call Interviews. -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Show Notes (0:00) — Intro (1:14 ) — In Financial Markets (6:50 ) — Company News -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- For full access to all of our updates and in-depth research reports, become a Speedwell Member here. Please reach out to info@speedwellresearch.com if you need help getting us to become an approved research vendor in order to expense it. *-*-*- Follow Us: Twitter: @Speedwell_LLC Threads: @speedwell_research Email us at info@speedwellresearch.com for any questions, comments, or feedback. -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Disclaimer Nothing in this podcast is investment advice nor should be construed as such. Contributors to the podcast may own securities discussed. Furthermore, accounts contributors advise on may also have positions in companies discussed. This may change without notice. Please see our full disclaimers here: https://speedwellresearch.com/disclaimer/
My guest today is Peter Lacaillade. Peter is the Chief Investment Officer for Private Investments at SCS Financial and has built one of the most respected private equity allocation platforms in wealth management, overseeing $50 billion for ultra-high-net-worth families and earning the same access as top-tier endowments. He shares how SCS's pooled vehicle structure enables them to compete with institutional giants for the best funds, avoiding the adverse selection that plagues most wealth platforms. Peter shares his investment philosophy across lower middle market buyouts, emerging independent sponsors, and early bets on category-defining managers like Thrive Capital and Shore Capital. We discuss what separates exceptional private equity managers, the evolution of the industry toward AI-powered strategies, and private markets going mainstream. Please enjoy this conversation with Peter Lacaillade. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp's mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. – This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. – This episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. AlphaSense has completely transformed the research process with cutting-edge AI technology and a vast collection of top-tier, reliable business content. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now at Alpha-Sense.com/Invest and experience firsthand how AlphaSense and Tegus help you make smarter decisions faster. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:04:31) Advantages of Private Equity Over Public Markets (00:08:59) Talent Acquisition and Growth at SCS (00:10:28) SCS's Wealth Management Strategy (00:19:51) Challenges and Risks in Private Equity (00:26:06) The Future of Wealth Management (00:12:42) Trends in Private Equity (00:20:14) Challenges and Risks in Private Equity1 (00:22:58) Building Successful Private Equity Partnerships (00:26:06) The State of the Wealth Management Industry (00:35:07) Lower Middle Market Buyouts and Independent Sponsors (00:49:38) Introduction to Long Lake and Its Innovative Approach (00:50:21) AI-Powered Tools for Homeowners Associations (00:52:46) Permanent Capital Vehicles vs. Drawdown Funds (00:54:26) The Rise of Holding Companies (00:57:03) Emerging Trends in Venture Capital 01:05:44) The Role of Endowments and Liquidity Solutions (01:10:40) Jake and Frank's Partnership (01:13:57) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done For Peter
The market is changing, and it's not just about inflation or interest rates. It's rewriting valuations, reworking supply chains, and reshaping your disclosures. This episode of The Pre-Read, brought to you by Workiva, explores what happens when market volatility meets materiality, and why CFOs, GCs, and audit chairs are all paying attention. We feature insights from Nick Mazing of AlphaSense and Josh Gertsch, Workiva Industry Principal for Capital Markets, on the unpredictable forces at play. Nick discusses the messy and varied impact of tariffs, noting that the deal-by-deal approach has created an unpredictable environment, even for companies expected to benefit. He also touches on how AI is maturing in corporate disclosures, the return of M&A, and the growing number of companies allocating to Bitcoin. Josh provides a historical perspective on the IPO market, highlighting the biggest boom in over 20 years, followed by some of the worst years ever, and its current upward trend. He explains that despite a large pipeline of companies ready to go public, market volatility—especially with changes over 20%—is preventing deals from being priced. He advises companies to focus on what they can control, such as refining their equity story and ensuring operational readiness, while they wait for stability. Timestamps: 03:00 The messy and explicit nature of tariff disclosures 06:25 The copper example: Who are tariffs really helping? 09:15 Other topics showing up in earnings releases: AI, inflation, and M&A 11:00 Interest rates, inflation, and the new normal 13:50 The return of big M&A deals 15:45 The risk of assessing the impact in SEC filings 18:50 Josh Gertsch's background and expertise in capital markets 21:30 What happened to the pent-up demand for IPOs 25:30 What needs to happen for the IPO window to open again 30:40 The importance of the equity story and operational readiness #IPOs #CapitalMarkets #Tariffs #M&A #Finance #Workiva #MarketVolatility Subscribe to catch all our upcoming episodes and never miss out on the latest discussions in all things accounting and finance.
Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.-Access expert analyst reports, perfectly summarised by Gen-AI with precision and no hallucinations. Support our productions by booking your free trial today.-Huawei didn't just build networks. It built the backbone of China's rise.From a scrappy startup in 1980s Shenzhen to a global tech titan, Huawei's climb has rattled the West, redrawn alliances, and redefined what a Chinese company can do.At the center is Ren Zhengfei. Ex-soldier, engineer, and survivor.He never planned to take on the world. But the world came for him anyway.Through sanctions, surveillance and accusations of espionage, Huawei always bounced back stronger.This is the story of Huawei — how one man's obsession with technology turned into a battle over power, politics, and the future of global tech.Episode 1: Master SwitchShenzhen, 1987. Ren Zhengfei starts Huawei with limited cash, no tech of his own, and everything to prove. To survive, he builds not just a product — but a system. A culture of hunger, obsession, and unrelenting speed.Episode 2: Cost of SpeedWhen the People's Liberation Army comes calling, Huawei gets its first big break. But with military contracts come new scrutiny, and Ren learns that loyalty has a price.Episode 3: Eyes of the StateHuawei's surveillance tech becomes essential at home — powering cities, borders, and entire regions. But abroad, it triggers alarm. As the company expands globally, critics warn it's not just watching — it's watching for China.Episode 4: Honour and GloryHuawei's mobile division takes aim at the global market — but the launch is rocky. Delays, bugs, and fierce competition threaten to sink it. Still, Ren doubles down, betting everything on the dream of a Chinese-made smartphone empire.Episode 5: Final ConnectionCut off, cornered, and branded a threat to national security, Huawei doesn't fold. It doubles down. Rewriting software, rebuilding chips, the world can no longer ignore them.-Want to showcase your brand to listeners with a combined net worth of over $1 billion and a network of 100,000+ employees and industry contacts? Drop us an email: sales@1upmediapodcast.com-We're looking to grow our team! Support our productions by buying us a coffee.-Want to meet the team? Follow me here!-If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
In this new episode format we give a very short briefing on financial news of the week. This draws on our new weekly newsletter called "The Investor's Briefing". If you wish to read it, you can find it here. ~*~ For full access to all of our updates and in-depth research reports become a Speedwell Member here. Please reach out to info@speedwellresearch.com if you need help getting us to become an approved research vendor in order to expense it. ~*~ You can get a free trial to AlphaSense through this link here and read 200k+ Expert Call Interviews. -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Show Notes (0:00) — Intro (0:51 ) — In Financial Markets (5:04 ) — Company News -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- For full access to all of our updates and in-depth research reports, become a Speedwell Member here. Please reach out to info@speedwellresearch.com if you need help getting us to become an approved research vendor in order to expense it. *-*-*- Follow Us: Twitter: @Speedwell_LLC Threads: @speedwell_research Email us at info@speedwellresearch.com for any questions, comments, or feedback. -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Disclaimer Nothing in this podcast is investment advice nor should be construed as such. Contributors to the podcast may own securities discussed. Furthermore, accounts contributors advise on may also have positions in companies discussed. This may change without notice. Please see our full disclaimers here: https://speedwellresearch.com/disclaimer/
Today's show:Jason and Lon recorded a Thursday night special edition, so no Alex this time, but still lots to talk about.First up, Jason thinks it's time for Tim Apple to exit the stage in lieu of a product obsessive innovator. Speaking of new products, GPT-5 is here and the hosts are… not exactly blown away. Are we in the midst of the AI trough of despair?PLUS we're talking Ripple's acquisition of Rail, Donald Trump's new AI chatbot, Bumble's new direction, Airbnb's potential paths forward and MUCH MUCH MORE.Timestamps:(0:00) Why Jason thinks Apple lacks innovation (plus a look back at his 2019 thoughts)(08:54) Sentry - New users get 3 months free of the Business plan (covers 150k errors). Go to http://sentry.io/twist and use code TWIST(09:54) Show continues…(20:10) Northwest Registered Agent - Form your entire business identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes. Get more privacy, more options, and more done—visit https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist today!(21:18) Is GPT-5 coming for Lovable and Bolt?(29:42) Alphasense - Get deeper insights into your business with the power of AI search and market intelligence. Start with a free trial at AlphaSense.com/Twist.(30:55) Show continues…(35:05) Ripple buying Rail, and why sometimes regulations are GOOD for companies(43:28) Is Ripple about to become the MicroStrategy of XRP?(47:48) Truth Social AI is perplexing, powered by Perplexity(53:27) Should people be using ChatGPT for therapy? What do you think? How does that make you feel?(01:04:42) Anthropic's Dario Amodei recalls his greatest haters(01:11:04) Bumble but… for friendship?(01:12:20) DoorDash's crazy growth, and the guys discuss who should buy AirbnbSubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisThank you to our partners:(08:54) Sentry - New users get 3 months free of the Business plan (covers 150k errors). Go to http://sentry.io/twist and use code TWIST(20:10) Northwest Registered Agent - Form your entire business identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes. Get more privacy, more options, and more done—visit https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist today!(29:42) Alphasense - Get deeper insights into your business with the power of AI search and market intelligence. Start with a free trial at AlphaSense.com/Twist.Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.comSubscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@founderuniversity1916
In this Dialogue episode of The Synopsis, Drew has a "dialogue" of one as he reviews 2Q25 earnings from Floor & Decor and Meta. You can find free versions of these updates below. Meta 2Q25 Business Update Floor & Decor 2Q25 Business Update If you want to get a free trial to access >200k AlphaSense expert call transcripts, you this link here. ~*~ For full access to all of our updates and in-depth research reports become a Speedwell Member here. Please reach out to info@speedwellresearch.com if you need help getting us to become an approved research vendor in order to expense it. -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Show Notes (0:00) — Intro (1:24) — Floor & Decor 2Q25 Update (16:07) — Meta 2Q25 Update -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- For full access to all of our updates and in-depth research reports, become a Speedwell Member here. Please reach out to info@speedwellresearch.com if you need help getting us to become an approved research vendor in order to expense it. *-*-*- Follow Us: Twitter: @Speedwell_LLC Threads: @speedwell_research Email us at info@speedwellresearch.com for any questions, comments, or feedback. -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Disclaimer Nothing in this podcast is investment advice nor should be construed as such. Contributors to the podcast may own securities discussed. Furthermore, accounts contributors advise on may also have positions in companies discussed. At the time of publication, one or more contributors to this report has a position in META and FND. Furthermore, accounts one or more contributors advise on may also have a position in META and FND. This may change without notice. Please see our full disclaimers here: https://speedwellresearch.com/disclaimer/
My guest today is Andrew Milgram. Andrew is the founder of Marblegate Asset Management, an alternative investment firm that invests in credit opportunities and special situations. He joins me to discuss his unique approach to distressed investing in the middle market, revealing how middle market EBITDA has declined 20-25% since 2019, creating what he calls the "K-shaped economy." His investment stories are legendary, particularly his $600+ million bet on NYC taxi medallions, which we go into in great detail. We discuss Marblegate's approach to negotiation, sourcing deals directly from hundreds of regional banks, and understanding the human element in distressed situations. Please enjoy this conversation with Andrew Milgram. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp's mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. – This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. – This episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. AlphaSense has completely transformed the research process with cutting-edge AI technology and a vast collection of top-tier, reliable business content. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now at Alpha-Sense.com/Invest and experience firsthand how AlphaSense and Tegus help you make smarter decisions faster. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:04:58) Understanding the K-Shaped Economy (00:07:08) Middle Market Challenges and Data Insights (00:16:56) Distressed Investing Explained (00:25:06) The Taxi Medallion Investment Story (00:46:46) Navigating New York's Taxi Medallion System (00:47:17) Building Relationships with Regulators and Unions (00:50:22) Taking the Taxi Operation Public (00:51:26) The Future of Autonomous Vehicles and Medallions (00:54:30) Investment Strategies and Risk Management (00:58:41) Negotiation Principles and Human Drama (01:11:55) Personal Reflections and Formative Experiences (01:17:22) The State of the American Economy (01:23:29) Insights on Private Credit and Equity Markets (01:30:39) Future of Asset Management (01:33:16) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Done For Andrew
Investing feels easier when markets are messy. When volatility spikes and fear takes hold, putting fresh capital to work can feel rational, even opportunistic. But when markets are cruising near record highs, valuations look stretched, and AI stocks are powering ahead like a runaway train, adding to a portfolio can feel unnerving. It's a sentiment shared by many right now. With the ASX 200 trading at elevated multiples and earnings growth on track to post its third consecutive annual decline, the contradiction is hard to ignore. But according to FNArena Editor Rudi Filapek-Vandyck, it's not a bubble, and the market isn't broken. The real problem? Investors are using the wrong lens. “The averages are masking the detail,” he argues. High index-level valuations are being distorted by a handful of heavyweight stocks, while strong underlying growth is still coming through in key parts of the market. In this episode of The Rules of Investing, Rudi joins Livewire's James Marlay to unpack what's really going on beneath the surface, why some companies are still worth owning at premium multiples, and how investors can navigate another volatile reporting season without getting spooked out of the market. ___________________ Thanks to our Sponsor AlphaSense This latest episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. See what AlphaSense can do for your investment research—visit alpha-sense.com/livewire to get started.
In this new episode format we give a very short briefing on financial news of the week. This draws on our new weekly newsletter called "The Investor's Briefing". If you wish to read it, you can find it here. ~*~ For full access to all of our updates and in-depth research reports become a Speedwell Member here. Please reach out to info@speedwellresearch.com if you need help getting us to become an approved research vendor in order to expense it. ~*~ You can get a free trial to AlphaSense through this link here and read 200k+ Expert Call Interviews. -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Show Notes (0:00) — 100th Episode, New Product Announcement (2:29 ) — The Investor's Briefing #1 -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- For full access to all of our updates and in-depth research reports, become a Speedwell Member here. Please reach out to info@speedwellresearch.com if you need help getting us to become an approved research vendor in order to expense it. *-*-*- Follow Us: Twitter: @Speedwell_LLC Threads: @speedwell_research Email us at info@speedwellresearch.com for any questions, comments, or feedback. -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Disclaimer Nothing in this podcast is investment advice nor should be construed as such. Contributors to the podcast may own securities discussed. Furthermore, accounts contributors advise on may also have positions in companies discussed. This may change without notice. Please see our full disclaimers here: https://speedwellresearch.com/disclaimer/
Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.-Access expert analyst reports, perfectly summarised by Gen-AI with precision and no hallucinations. Support our productions by booking your free trial today.-Huawei didn't just build networks. It built the backbone of China's rise.From a scrappy startup in 1980s Shenzhen to a global tech titan, Huawei's climb has rattled the West, redrawn alliances, and redefined what a Chinese company can do.At the center is Ren Zhengfei. Ex-soldier, engineer, and survivor.He never planned to take on the world. But the world came for him anyway.Through sanctions, surveillance and accusations of espionage, Huawei always bounced back stronger.This is the story of Huawei — how one man's obsession with technology turned into a battle over power, politics, and the future of global tech.Episode 1: Master SwitchShenzhen, 1987. Ren Zhengfei starts Huawei with limited cash, no tech of his own, and everything to prove. To survive, he builds not just a product — but a system. A culture of hunger, obsession, and unrelenting speed.Episode 2: Cost of SpeedWhen the People's Liberation Army comes calling, Huawei gets its first big break. But with military contracts come new scrutiny, and Ren learns that loyalty has a price.Episode 3: Eyes of the StateHuawei's surveillance tech becomes essential at home — powering cities, borders, and entire regions. But abroad, it triggers alarm. As the company expands globally, critics warn it's not just watching — it's watching for China.Episode 4: Honour and GloryHuawei's mobile division takes aim at the global market — but the launch is rocky. Delays, bugs, and fierce competition threaten to sink it. Still, Ren doubles down, betting everything on the dream of a Chinese-made smartphone empire.Episode 5: Final ConnectionCut off, cornered, and branded a threat to national security, Huawei doesn't fold. It doubles down. Rewriting software, rebuilding chips, the world can no longer ignore them.-Want to showcase your brand to listeners with a combined net worth of over $1 billion and a network of 100,000+ employees and industry contacts? Drop us an email: sales@1upmediapodcast.com-We're looking to grow our team! Support our productions by buying us a coffee.-Want to meet the team? Follow me here!-If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
My guest today is Ramtin Naimi. Ramtin is the founder of Abstract Ventures, one of the most talked-about seed funds in Silicon Valley. What makes Ramtin's story so compelling isn't just his firm's remarkable track record—including early investments in Rippling, Solana, and dozens of unicorns—but also the unconventional path he took to get there. From running a hedge fund straight out of high school to filing for bankruptcy at 24, then bootstrapping his way to building a $2 billion AUM venture firm using AngelList and relentless hustle. Our conversation begins in an unexpected place—the art world—where Ramtin has become a sophisticated collector, learning from mentors like Michael Ovitz about market dynamics that surprisingly mirror venture capital. We dive deep into how the art world actually works, and Ramtin explains how these lessons about "masterpieces" apply directly to identifying power-law companies in venture. We go deep on his approach to early-stage investing and how he built Abstract as a co-investment vehicle alongside firms like Sequoia, Benchmark, and Andreessen Horowitz. We explore his portfolio construction model, his philosophy on dilution-sensitive founders, and why he takes upwards of 30 pitch meetings per week to build his "frame of reference." We discuss why Abstract has the highest graduation rate from seed to Series A among all seed funds, and how this competitive advantage compounds over time. This is his first time telling his story, and we discuss the power of pattern recognition, relentless work ethic, and the unique opportunities available to those willing to start from scratch in Silicon Valley. Please enjoy this great conversation with Ramtin Naimi. Colossus Review Profile: Ramtin Naimi For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp's mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. – This episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. AlphaSense has completely transformed the research process with cutting-edge AI technology and a vast collection of top-tier, reliable business content. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now at Alpha-Sense.com/Invest and experience firsthand how AlphaSense and Tegus help you make smarter decisions faster. – This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:05:40) Learning from Mentors and Starting to Collect (00:08:50) Parallels Between Art and Venture Capital (00:12:57) Challenges in Art Collecting (00:20:45) The Role of Status in the Art World (00:25:00) Who Makes the Most Money in the Art World? (00:28:19) Abstract Ventures: Early Stage Investing (00:42:34) Starting a Venture Capital Firm from Scratch (00:43:12) Overcoming Bankruptcy and Early Struggles (00:50:34) Evaluating Technical Capabilities and Momentum (01:02:53) Competing for Deals and Building Relationships (01:15:25) The Role of Brand in Venture Capital (01:22:39) Early Life and Entrepreneurial Beginnings (01:28:40) Starting a Hedge Fund and Learning Hard Lessons (01:31:26) Transition to Venture Capital (01:37:19) Building Abstract and Family Life (01:52:03) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Done For Ramtin
Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.-Access expert analyst reports, perfectly summarised by Gen-AI with precision and no hallucinations. Support our productions by booking your free trial today.-Huawei didn't just build networks. It built the backbone of China's rise.From a scrappy startup in 1980s Shenzhen to a global tech titan, Huawei's climb has rattled the West, redrawn alliances, and redefined what a Chinese company can do.At the center is Ren Zhengfei. Ex-soldier, engineer, and survivor.He never planned to take on the world. But the world came for him anyway.Through sanctions, surveillance and accusations of espionage, Huawei always bounced back stronger.This is the story of Huawei — how one man's obsession with technology turned into a battle over power, politics, and the future of global tech.Episode 1: Master SwitchShenzhen, 1987. Ren Zhengfei starts Huawei with limited cash, no tech of his own, and everything to prove. To survive, he builds not just a product — but a system. A culture of hunger, obsession, and unrelenting speed.Episode 2: Cost of SpeedWhen the People's Liberation Army comes calling, Huawei gets its first big break. But with military contracts come new scrutiny, and Ren learns that loyalty has a price.Episode 3: Eyes of the StateHuawei's surveillance tech becomes essential at home — powering cities, borders, and entire regions. But abroad, it triggers alarm. As the company expands globally, critics warn it's not just watching — it's watching for China.Episode 4: Honour and GloryHuawei's mobile division takes aim at the global market — but the launch is rocky. Delays, bugs, and fierce competition threaten to sink it. Still, Ren doubles down, betting everything on the dream of a Chinese-made smartphone empire.Episode 5: Final ConnectionCut off, cornered, and branded a threat to national security, Huawei doesn't fold. It doubles down. Rewriting software, rebuilding chips, the world can no longer ignore them.-Want to showcase your brand to listeners with a combined net worth of over $1 billion and a network of 100,000+ employees and industry contacts? Drop us an email: sales@1upmediapodcast.com-We're looking to grow our team! Support our productions by buying us a coffee.-Want to meet the team? Follow me here!-If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.-Access expert analyst reports, perfectly summarised by Gen-AI with precision and no hallucinations. Support our productions by booking your free trial today.-Huawei didn't just build networks. It built the backbone of China's rise.From a scrappy startup in 1980s Shenzhen to a global tech titan, Huawei's climb has rattled the West, redrawn alliances, and redefined what a Chinese company can do.At the center is Ren Zhengfei. Ex-soldier, engineer, and survivor.He never planned to take on the world. But the world came for him anyway.Through sanctions, surveillance and accusations of espionage, Huawei always bounced back stronger.This is the story of Huawei — how one man's obsession with technology turned into a battle over power, politics, and the future of global tech.Episode 1: Master SwitchShenzhen, 1987. Ren Zhengfei starts Huawei with limited cash, no tech of his own, and everything to prove. To survive, he builds not just a product — but a system. A culture of hunger, obsession, and unrelenting speed.Episode 2: Cost of SpeedWhen the People's Liberation Army comes calling, Huawei gets its first big break. But with military contracts come new scrutiny, and Ren learns that loyalty has a price.Episode 3: Eyes of the StateHuawei's surveillance tech becomes essential at home — powering cities, borders, and entire regions. But abroad, it triggers alarm. As the company expands globally, critics warn it's not just watching — it's watching for China.Episode 4: Honour and GloryHuawei's mobile division takes aim at the global market — but the launch is rocky. Delays, bugs, and fierce competition threaten to sink it. Still, Ren doubles down, betting everything on the dream of a Chinese-made smartphone empire.Episode 5: Final ConnectionCut off, cornered, and branded a threat to national security, Huawei doesn't fold. It doubles down. Rewriting software, rebuilding chips, the world can no longer ignore them.-Want to showcase your brand to listeners with a combined net worth of over $1 billion and a network of 100,000+ employees and industry contacts? Drop us an email: sales@1upmediapodcast.com-We're looking to grow our team! Support our productions by buying us a coffee.-Want to meet the team? Follow me here!-If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
My guest today is Alan Waxman. Alan is the co-founder and CEO of Sixth Street, one of the most unique investment firms with a "go anywhere, do anything" mandate across asset classes, geographies, and time horizons, and over $110 billion in AUM. He describes his journey from CIO of Goldman Sachs' Special Situations Group and the frameworks he brought with him to lay the foundation for Sixth Street. Alan details their famous investments like Spotify and Airbnb during challenging periods, their innovative sports partnerships with Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, and their $30 billion "TAO" vehicle that allows them to write billion-dollar checks while keeping individual fund sizes matched to opportunities. We discuss hiring people without egos, enabling a truly multi-strategy approach, and Sixth Street's "face the tiger" philosophy. Please enjoy this great conversation with Alan Waxman. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp's mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. – This episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. AlphaSense has completely transformed the research process with cutting-edge AI technology and a vast collection of top-tier, reliable business content. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now at Alpha-Sense.com/Invest and experience firsthand how AlphaSense and Tegus help you make smarter decisions faster. – This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:04:57) Introducing Alan Waxman and Sixth Street (00:05:58) The Formative Goldman Sachs Years (00:10:21) Unitizing Risk and Return (00:14:23) Facing the Tiger: Sixth Street's Culture and Values (00:34:51) Spotify and Airbnb: Case Studies in Investment (00:39:20) Ambitious Investment Strategies (00:40:40) Strategic Partnerships in Sports (00:41:23) Navigating COVID with Airbnb (00:43:36) Risk and Return Analysis (00:46:56) Investing in Sports and Live Entertainment (00:52:23) Developing Investment Themes (00:55:29) Balancing Leadership and Investment (00:57:30) The Importance of Culture (01:10:33) Future Self and Long-Term Vision (01:15:09) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done For Alan
Huawei didn't just build networks. It built the backbone of China's rise.From a scrappy startup in 1980s Shenzhen to a global tech titan, Huawei's climb has rattled the West, redrawn alliances, and redefined what a Chinese company can do.At the center is Ren Zhengfei. Ex-soldier, engineer, and survivor.He never planned to take on the world. But the world came for him anyway.Through sanctions, surveillance and accusations of espionage, Huawei always bounced back stronger.This is the story of Huawei — how one man's obsession with technology turned into a battle over power, politics, and the future of global tech.Episode 1: Master SwitchShenzhen, 1987. Ren Zhengfei starts Huawei with limited cash, no tech of his own, and everything to prove. To survive, he builds not just a product — but a system. A culture of hunger, obsession, and unrelenting speed.Episode 2: Cost of SpeedWhen the People's Liberation Army comes calling, Huawei gets its first big break. But with military contracts come new scrutiny, and Ren learns that loyalty has a price.Episode 3: Eyes of the StateHuawei's surveillance tech becomes essential at home — powering cities, borders, and entire regions. But abroad, it triggers alarm. As the company expands globally, critics warn it's not just watching — it's watching for China.Episode 4: Honour and GloryHuawei's mobile division takes aim at the global market — but the launch is rocky. Delays, bugs, and fierce competition threaten to sink it. Still, Ren doubles down, betting everything on the dream of a Chinese-made smartphone empire.Episode 5: Final ConnectionCut off, cornered, and branded a threat to national security, Huawei doesn't fold. It doubles down. Rewriting software, rebuilding chips, the world can no longer ignore them.-Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.-Access expert analyst reports, perfectly summarised by Gen-AI with precision and no hallucinations. Support our productions by booking your free trial today.-Want to showcase your brand to listeners with a combined net worth of over $1 billion and a network of 100,000+ employees and industry contacts? Drop us an email: sales@1upmediapodcast.com-We're looking to grow our team! Support our productions by buying us a coffee.-Want to meet the team? Follow me here!-If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
Show Notes: Brian Stollery talks about AlphaSense, an information provider that independent consultants and boutique firms are using to gain an edge over those who rely on chat GPT or consumer LLM tools. AlphaSense is built for this kind of work, pulling in verified content such as industry reports, broker research filings, earnings calls, expert calls, news, and internal research and internal content. It layers this with market-leading AI functionality that can read and synthesize all of it to deliver consulting-grade insights at scale. AlphaSense Explained Brian clarifies that AlphaSense is not primarily an expert network like AlphaSights, but rather a market company and enterprise intelligence search engine for the AI generation. It offers the depth and breadth of authoritative data that would be obtained from a legacy research platform with the intuitive user experience of modern AI tools. The value of AlphaSense lies in the deep, authoritative content set that is the foundation of AlphaSense, along with the speed and accuracy of the AI that allows users to quickly surface relevant insights. Brian also talks about the major categories of sources of proprietary information that feed into AlphaSense. The AlphaSense Platform The AlphaSense platform features an index where users can go to different things, such as portfolio monitors, research topics, expert insights, news, risk signals on consumer tech growth investment strategy, events, company documents, and talent job executive movements. The dashboard includes eight or nine widgets that provide a list of seven or eight articles on various topics. These articles are sourced from various sources, such as news articles or interviews with experts. The platform also has over 200,000 free recorded, transcribed expert calls, which are added to the library for analysis by the AI. How AlphaSense Gathers Information The interviewers are usually conducted by-side analysts, corporate users, and experts in respective fields. They work with corporate development teams and head of corporate strategy to conduct these interviews. The platform believes that a rising tide lifts all boats, and every expert call that happens throughout the AlphaSense is published back in the platform to further enhance and grow its library of expert calls from subject matter experts who are currently active in their industry. AlphaSense Use Cases In management consulting, AlphaSense may not be suitable for calls that would be better suited to AlphaSights where the information is sensitive or should have restricted access. However, the use case for AlphaSense is for commercial due diligence for private equity, where it allows users to get up to speed for engagement and quickly search across benchmark expert perspectives. This allows them to bolster their expertise within the management consulting space. AlphaSense is an institutional grade content engine that consolidates information from various sources, including expert calls, news, research reports, broker research, and more. It offers over 6000 vetted business and market news sources and trade journals, most of which require paywalls. AlphaSense allows users to bypass these paywalls and provides real-time insights from over 700 partners. The AlphaSense Dashboard The dashboard includes relevant documents related to executive movements, risk signals, growth, and investment strategies. Users can explore the dashboard by searching for trigger words related to their watchlist of consumer tech companies. The AI can then pull relevant documents, such as expert insights, event transcripts, press releases, and news, to provide valuable insights for business development or due diligence. The Executive Search Function The document search module within AlphaSense allows users to get forensic insights from relevant documents, such as executive search, talent, and hiring practices. The AI can also generate summary responses, which are useful for top-tier consulting use cases. However, the AI may sometimes make a guess or hallucination if an answer is not available. This is why the Big Three and Big Four rely on AlphaSense for their consulting use cases. The AlphaSense Research Tool The AlphaSense generative search tool is a research analyst team in a box. The tool is designed to answer macro business questions, such as market size or pricing trends. Brian checks McKinsey, Bain and BCG's performance in 2025, including their revenue, talent, hiring, and growth areas. The AI agent breaks down these questions into subquestions and finds 3000 documents across the content library. It then extracts documents from expert calls, press releases, investor relations presentations, research reports, and sustainability reports. The AI outputs a summary of the documents. The tool is particularly useful for understanding the performance of consulting firms like McKinsey Bain and BCG. Quality Sources and Quantitative Data AlphaSense provides bullet points on McKinsey, revenue, growth, talent, and hiring, with links to expert calls and other sources of data. The AI outputs are deep linked and cited to the source, ensuring accuracy. For instance, McKinsey Sciences for Growth, a 2025 focus, integrates tech-enabled capabilities and AI. BCG reported $13.5 billion in 2024 revenue, achieving 10% global growth and expanding its workforce to 33,000 employees. AlphaSense also has sentence-level citations, ensuring every sentence is deep linked and cited to its source. AlphaSense uses various models from partners like open AI, sonnet four, and Gemini 2.5, all grounded in high-quality, relevant documents. The tool's intelligence selects the best model based on the use case, whether it's reasoning-based or quantitative or qualitative. The AI is a comprehensive market-leading library of authoritative content that consultants care about. Modes of Research and Meeting Prep for Management Consultants Brian shares the typical use cases for management consultants using generative search platforms. He highlights two modes: think longer and deep research. Brian used generative search to prepare for a meeting with a client at a mid-sized consulting firm, focusing on digital strategy. The AI summarized transcripts, expert calls, earnings calls, and press releases from iHeart, highlighting the company's focus on technology, digitization, and AI-enabled automation as the key to cost savings and digital revenue acceleration. The platform also offers an iPhone app for on-the-go access to insights. The AI analyzed bullet points and planned insights on every section, creating a comprehensive competitive intelligence report. The report includes chatter on core service offerings, engagement models, pricing structures, sector specialization, news partnerships, partnerships, and tech bets. AlphaSense's Generative Grid Brian talks about using AlphaSense's generative grid, which is a generative AI-powered spreadsheet to aggregate documents and interrogate them. This is useful for tracking executive compensation and performance components for target accounts. The grid allows consulting users to analyze past performance and understand the current climate. Another use case is connecting consulting, transformation, and strategic advisory services to key performance indicators, such as free cash flow, human capital, strategic objectives, or EBITDA. By attaching value drivers directly to performance components, consultants can focus on adjusted EBITDA growth, cost optimization, Target, discover integration execution drive, adjusted ROTC, and revenue growth tied to executive compensation. AlphaSense for Understanding Business Development Brian explains that the use cases and projects of consultants using AlphaSense vary, but one major use case is business development understanding. It helps in identifying companies' propensity for M&A or divestitures, such as changes in management or new strategic initiatives. AlphaSense also offers a deal scanner for M&A consultants looking at acquisitions or private equity deals across a portfolio of companies or industries. It also provides due diligence services, such as meeting prep, company research, trend analysis, market assessment, client benchmarking, and sentiment analysis. Alpha Sense's Access to Information Providers AlphaSense has access to SEC filings, newspapers, trade journals, investment bank coverage, and reports. AlphaSense also has access to other information providers like CrunchBase, capital, IQ, and Pitch Book. The Venn diagram highlights the overlap of information between AlphaSense and other information providers, such as CrunchBase, Morningstar, and CrunchBase. If a company's revenue or employee count is in CrunchBase, it can be accessed via AlphaSense. Alpha Sense vs. Capital IQ The conversation turns to the differences between AlphaSense and Capital IQ, a financial reporting platform. AlphaSense is an end-to-end intelligence engine that provides access to investment banking reports, but it requires downloading them one by one. It is not possible to search across all content sets at once. Capital IQ, on the other hand, offers valuable structured data, is great for downloading Industry Reports, and is a strategic database of financials and filings. It is also useful for importing statistical or financial models into Excel. AlphaSense, on the other hand, is an end-to-end intelligence engine that provides decision-ready insights across billions of data points. Timestamps: 03:23: Overview of AlphaSense's Content and AI Capabilities 07:27: Detailed Walkthrough of AlphaSense Dashboard 12:38: Exploring Different Categories of Information Sources 16:36: Generative Search and Deep Research Capabilities 26:05: Use Cases for Management Consultants 42:50: Comparison with Other Information Providers 49:22: Pricing and Accessibility Links: Website: https://www.alpha-sense.com/ Recently feature on AlphaSense on CNBC with more insight on our Deep Research differentiation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HJ8Egisg-w If folks want to reach out directly for their own personalized demo: Email: bstollery@alpha-sense.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briancity/ Unleashed is produced by Umbrex, which has a mission of connecting independent management consultants with one another, creating opportunities for members to meet, build relationships, and share lessons learned. Learn more at www.umbrex.com.
My guest today is Jens Grede. Jens is the co-founder and CEO of Skims, the shapewear and clothing brand he co-founded with his wife Emma Grede and Kim Kardashian. Our conversation left my head spinning. Jens has this remarkable ability to be both creative and commercial. He puts brilliant frameworks into plain terms and knows consumer like the back of his hand. Jens explains how pop culture is the only remaining hack to the consumer economy in our fragmented media landscape and describes today's cultural shift as "clamoring for comfort" in uncertain times. We discuss individual voices trumping institutions, moving at the speed of culture rather than corporate planning cycles, and why big brands will increasingly win. Please enjoy this fascinating discussion with Jens Grede. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp's mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. – This episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. AlphaSense has completely transformed the research process with cutting-edge AI technology and a vast collection of top-tier, reliable business content. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now at Alpha-Sense.com/Invest and experience firsthand how AlphaSense and Tegus help you make smarter decisions faster. – This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:05:18) The Power of Pop Culture in Business (00:09:28) The Role of Individuals vs. Institutions (00:11:27) Cultural Shifts: From Hip Hop to Country (00:18:36) The Resurgence of Fallen Brands (00:24:33) The SKIMS Origin Story (00:33:42) Building a Strong Product and Brand (00:36:14) The Partnership with Kim Kardashian (00:49:18) Effective Content Creation in Popular Culture (00:50:55) Decision Making in Real-Time (00:51:35) Leveraging Popular Culture for Brand Success (00:57:28) The Role of Networks and Individual Voices (01:14:38) The Future of Status and Digital Influence (01:16:20) Investing Insights and Long-Term Views (01:20:39) Scaling SKIMS and Future Plans (01:23:52) Reflections on Entrepreneurship and Personal Growth (01:29:49) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done For Jens
The Kuok Group feeds cities, builds skylines, and reshapes borders. From sugar to shipping, hotels to high finance, it powers modern Asia in ways few truly understand.Robert Kuok sits quietly at the heart of this story, a man guided by discipline, driven by vision, and guarded in privacy.He didn't chase the spotlight. He chased scale. From the chaos of war-torn Malaya to the boardrooms of Beijing, Kuok built his empire with patience, precision, and a belief in long-term power over short-term profit.He never raised his voice. But when he moved, industries followed.This is the story of the Kuok Group — how a young man from Johor Bahru, Malaysia, rose from rice sacks and ration books to build Southeast Asia's largest sugar empire and, ultimately, to shape the future of China, one power move at a time.Episode 1: FoundationsJapanese bombs fall over Singapore. Sixteen-year-old Robert Kuok begins a long walk home. He is angry, disillusioned, but determined to change the world.Episode 2: Sugar RushRice built Kuok Brothers Ltd. But sugar? That's what will make them legends. When global prices spike and contracts fall apart, Robert learns the true cost of sweet ambition.Episode 3: Sugar CrashTo move beyond importing sugar, Robert sets his sights on building Malaysia's first refinery. But foreign partners try to box him in. In response, he rewrites the rules - mastering policy, strategy, and global trading - until the Kuok name commands respect from London to Kuala Lumpur.Episode 4: The Sugar King To control sugar from source to shelf, Robert ventures into Indonesia and strikes a deal with a powerful, but unpredictable, ally. But as politics sour, he must fight to hold onto the empire he's built before it slips away.Episode 5: Shangri-LaKuok bets on hospitality. The result? A new kind of empire, one made of glass, steel, and silence. But while others chase the West, Robert looks East.-Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.-Access expert analyst reports, perfectly summarised by Gen-AI with precision and no hallucinations. Support our productions by booking your free trial today.-Want to showcase your brand to listeners with a combined net worth of over $1 billion and a network of 100,000+ employees and industry contacts? Drop us an email: sales@1upmediapodcast.com-We're looking to grow our team! Support our productions by buying us a coffee.-Want to meet the team? Follow me here!-If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
The Kuok Group feeds cities, builds skylines, and reshapes borders. From sugar to shipping, hotels to high finance, it powers modern Asia in ways few truly understand.Robert Kuok sits quietly at the heart of this story, a man guided by discipline, driven by vision, and guarded in privacy.He didn't chase the spotlight. He chased scale. From the chaos of war-torn Malaya to the boardrooms of Beijing, Kuok built his empire with patience, precision, and a belief in long-term power over short-term profit.He never raised his voice. But when he moved, industries followed.This is the story of the Kuok Group — how a young man from Johor Bahru, Malaysia, rose from rice sacks and ration books to build Southeast Asia's largest sugar empire and, ultimately, to shape the future of China, one power move at a time.Episode 1: FoundationsJapanese bombs fall over Singapore. Sixteen-year-old Robert Kuok begins a long walk home. He is angry, disillusioned, but determined to change the world.Episode 2: Sugar RushRice built Kuok Brothers Ltd. But sugar? That's what will make them legends. When global prices spike and contracts fall apart, Robert learns the true cost of sweet ambition.Episode 3: Sugar CrashTo move beyond importing sugar, Robert sets his sights on building Malaysia's first refinery. But foreign partners try to box him in. In response, he rewrites the rules - mastering policy, strategy, and global trading - until the Kuok name commands respect from London to Kuala Lumpur.Episode 4: The Sugar King To control sugar from source to shelf, Robert ventures into Indonesia and strikes a deal with a powerful, but unpredictable, ally. But as politics sour, he must fight to hold onto the empire he's built before it slips away.Episode 5: Shangri-LaKuok bets on hospitality. The result? A new kind of empire, one made of glass, steel, and silence. But while others chase the West, Robert looks East.-Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.-Access expert analyst reports, perfectly summarised by Gen-AI with precision and no hallucinations. Support our productions by booking your free trial today.-Want to showcase your brand to listeners with a combined net worth of over $1 billion and a network of 100,000+ employees and industry contacts? Drop us an email: sales@1upmediapodcast.com-We're looking to grow our team! Support our productions by buying us a coffee.-Want to meet the team? Follow me here!-If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
My guest today is Jay Hoag. Jay is the co-founder of Technology Crossover Ventures, known as TCV, which pioneered the growth investing category and has backed legendary companies like Netflix, Spotify, and Expedia over three decades. Jay explains how macro factors like regulation have become unexpectedly central to technology investing. He offers his contrarian take on today's market, arguing that consumer internet represents significant opportunity while most investors chase SaaS and AI deals. We discuss investing in new technology versus commercialization, TCV's evolution from cold-calling to AI-powered sourcing of 11 million companies, and their three-person unanimous investment committee structure. Please enjoy my conversation with Jay Hoag. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp's mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. – This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. – This episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. AlphaSense has completely transformed the research process with cutting-edge AI technology and a vast collection of top-tier, reliable business content. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now at Alpha-Sense.com/Invest and experience firsthand how AlphaSense and Tegus help you make smarter decisions faster. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:05:18) Market Conditions and Investment Opportunities (00:06:57) Consumer Internet Businesses and AI (00:09:04) Technology Commercialization Challenges (00:11:30) Public vs. Private Market Dynamics (00:15:32) Growth Investing and Competitive Dynamics (00:22:34) History and Resilience of TCV (00:26:32) Understanding the Firm's Investment Lifecycle (00:27:06) Evolution of Sourcing Strategies (00:28:33) The Role of Data Intelligence in Sourcing (00:29:41) Internal Investment Process at TCV (00:34:31) Challenges and Strategies in Long-term Investments (00:41:15) Reflections on the Investment World (00:43:48) Personal Insights and Final Thoughts
The Kuok Group feeds cities, builds skylines, and reshapes borders. From sugar to shipping, hotels to high finance, it powers modern Asia in ways few truly understand.Robert Kuok sits quietly at the heart of this story, a man guided by discipline, driven by vision, and guarded in privacy.He didn't chase the spotlight. He chased scale. From the chaos of war-torn Malaya to the boardrooms of Beijing, Kuok built his empire with patience, precision, and a belief in long-term power over short-term profit.He never raised his voice. But when he moved, industries followed.This is the story of the Kuok Group — how a young man from Johor Bahru, Malaysia, rose from rice sacks and ration books to build Southeast Asia's largest sugar empire and, ultimately, to shape the future of China, one power move at a time.Episode 1: FoundationsJapanese bombs fall over Singapore. Sixteen-year-old Robert Kuok begins a long walk home. He is angry, disillusioned, but determined to change the world.Episode 2: Sugar RushRice built Kuok Brothers Ltd. But sugar? That's what will make them legends. When global prices spike and contracts fall apart, Robert learns the true cost of sweet ambition.Episode 3: Sugar CrashTo move beyond importing sugar, Robert sets his sights on building Malaysia's first refinery. But foreign partners try to box him in. In response, he rewrites the rules - mastering policy, strategy, and global trading - until the Kuok name commands respect from London to Kuala Lumpur.Episode 4: The Sugar King To control sugar from source to shelf, Robert ventures into Indonesia and strikes a deal with a powerful, but unpredictable, ally. But as politics sour, he must fight to hold onto the empire he's built before it slips away.Episode 5: Shangri-LaKuok bets on hospitality. The result? A new kind of empire, one made of glass, steel, and silence. But while others chase the West, Robert looks East.-Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.-Access expert analyst reports, perfectly summarised by Gen-AI with precision and no hallucinations. Support our productions by booking your free trial today.-Want to showcase your brand to listeners with a combined net worth of over $1 billion and a network of 100,000+ employees and industry contacts? Drop us an email: sales@1upmediapodcast.com-We're looking to grow our team! Support our productions by buying us a coffee.-Want to meet the team? Follow me here!-If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
My guest today is Dinakar Singh. Dinakar is the founder and CEO of Axon, the family office successor to TPG-Axon, which was a successful global long-short hedge fund. We wanted to share his story on Father's Day to honor the person and the dad that Dinakar is. He shares one of the most extraordinary stories at the intersection of finance and medicine I've ever encountered. This conversation explores the highest-stakes investment themes—timing, concentrated conviction, exceptional team building, and deploying resources toward outcomes that matter most. I will let him tell you his story. Please enjoy my conversation with Dinakar Singh. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp's mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. – This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. – This episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. AlphaSense has completely transformed the research process with cutting-edge AI technology and a vast collection of top-tier, reliable business content. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now at Alpha-Sense.com/Invest and experience firsthand how AlphaSense and Tegus help you make smarter decisions faster. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:06:17) The Diagnosis and Initial Reactions (00:07:29) Understanding SMA and the Scientific Challenge (00:09:15) The Drive to Fund Research and Find a Cure (00:14:10) Building a Virtual Company for Drug Development (00:19:02) Breakthroughs and the First Approved Drugs (00:24:16) Personal Reflections and the Impact of the Journey (00:40:25) Challenges in the Biotech Industry and Future Hopes (00:46:43) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done For Dinakar
“People are getting too short term. They're getting panicked by the developments taking place on tariffs and so forth... they don't realise it's often just a bargaining point.” That's the view of Mark Mobius, a pioneer in emerging markets investing and founder of Mobius Investments. Mobius says many investors are misreading the noise echoing around global markets. His advice? “Be patient and be willing to roll with the punches.” In this episode of The Rules of Investing, Livewire's James Marlay caught up with Mobius in New York to explore how he's navigating global uncertainty, the investing lessons from decades of travel and working in Asia, and why he believes India is shaping up to be the standout opportunity of the next decade. With a PhD from MIT and a track record that includes growing Templeton's Emerging Markets Fund from $100 million to $50 billion, Mobius has experienced the highs and lows of multiple market cycles and dislocations. _____________________ Thanks to our Sponsor AlphaSense This latest episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. See what AlphaSense can do for your investment research—visit alpha-sense.com/livewire to get started.
The Kuok Group feeds cities, builds skylines, and reshapes borders. From sugar to shipping, hotels to high finance, it powers modern Asia in ways few truly understand.Robert Kuok sits quietly at the heart of this story, a man guided by discipline, driven by vision, and guarded in privacy.He didn't chase the spotlight. He chased scale. From the chaos of war-torn Malaya to the boardrooms of Beijing, Kuok built his empire with patience, precision, and a belief in long-term power over short-term profit.He never raised his voice. But when he moved, industries followed.This is the story of the Kuok Group — how a young man from Johor Bahru, Malaysia, rose from rice sacks and ration books to build Southeast Asia's largest sugar empire and, ultimately, to shape the future of China, one power move at a time.Episode 1: FoundationsJapanese bombs fall over Singapore. Sixteen-year-old Robert Kuok begins a long walk home. He is angry, disillusioned, but determined to change the world.Episode 2: Sugar RushRice built Kuok Brothers Ltd. But sugar? That's what will make them legends. When global prices spike and contracts fall apart, Robert learns the true cost of sweet ambition.Episode 3: Sugar CrashTo move beyond importing sugar, Robert sets his sights on building Malaysia's first refinery. But foreign partners try to box him in. In response, he rewrites the rules - mastering policy, strategy, and global trading - until the Kuok name commands respect from London to Kuala Lumpur.Episode 4: The Sugar King To control sugar from source to shelf, Robert ventures into Indonesia and strikes a deal with a powerful, but unpredictable, ally. But as politics sour, he must fight to hold onto the empire he's built before it slips away.Episode 5: Shangri-LaKuok bets on hospitality. The result? A new kind of empire, one made of glass, steel, and silence. But while others chase the West, Robert looks East.-Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.-Access expert analyst reports, perfectly summarised by Gen-AI with precision and no hallucinations. Support our productions by booking your free trial today.-Want to showcase your brand to listeners with a combined net worth of over $1 billion and a network of 100,000+ employees and industry contacts? Drop us an email: sales@1upmediapodcast.com-We're looking to grow our team! Support our productions by buying us a coffee.-Want to meet the team? Follow me here!-If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
The Kuok Group feeds cities, builds skylines, and reshapes borders. From sugar to shipping, hotels to high finance, it powers modern Asia in ways few truly understand.Robert Kuok sits quietly at the heart of this story, a man guided by discipline, driven by vision, and guarded in privacy.He didn't chase the spotlight. He chased scale. From the chaos of war-torn Malaya to the boardrooms of Beijing, Kuok built his empire with patience, precision, and a belief in long-term power over short-term profit.He never raised his voice. But when he moved, industries followed.This is the story of the Kuok Group — how a young man from Johor Bahru, Malaysia, rose from rice sacks and ration books to build Southeast Asia's largest sugar empire and, ultimately, to shape the future of China, one power move at a time.Episode 1: FoundationsJapanese bombs fall over Singapore. Sixteen-year-old Robert Kuok begins a long walk home. He is angry, disillusioned, but determined to change the world.Episode 2: Sugar RushRice built Kuok Brothers Ltd. But sugar? That's what will make them legends. When global prices spike and contracts fall apart, Robert learns the true cost of sweet ambition.Episode 3: Sugar CrashTo move beyond importing sugar, Robert sets his sights on building Malaysia's first refinery. But foreign partners try to box him in. In response, he rewrites the rules - mastering policy, strategy, and global trading - until the Kuok name commands respect from London to Kuala Lumpur.Episode 4: The Sugar King To control sugar from source to shelf, Robert ventures into Indonesia and strikes a deal with a powerful, but unpredictable, ally. But as politics sour, he must fight to hold onto the empire he's built before it slips away.Episode 5: Shangri-LaKuok bets on hospitality. The result? A new kind of empire, one made of glass, steel, and silence. But while others chase the West, Robert looks East.-Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.-Access expert analyst reports, perfectly summarised by Gen-AI with precision and no hallucinations. Support our productions by booking your free trial today.-Want to showcase your brand to listeners with a combined net worth of over $1 billion and a network of 100,000+ employees and industry contacts? Drop us an email: sales@1upmediapodcast.com-We're looking to grow our team! Support our productions by buying us a coffee.-Want to meet the team? Follow me here!-If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
Ellerston Capital's fixed-income and multi-asset strategist Vimal Gor says the radical Trump presidency means the US Federal Reserve will be forced to return to quantitative easing later this year to cap bond yields and offset the nation's fiscal problems. In this podcast, Gor also details why he thinks this means shares, gold and bitcoin can rally later this year. He also argues why he thinks the Aussie dollar will jump versus the greenback on the back of radical shifts in markets that may be set to accelerate and impact every investor. _____________________ Thanks to our Sponsor AlphaSense This latest episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. See what AlphaSense can do for your investment research—visit alpha-sense.com/livewire to get started.
My guest today is John Zito. John is the Co-President of Apollo Global Management. He shares how they've quietly built one of the most important financial institutions of our time, originating over $250 billion annually. John's thesis on the convergence of private and public markets - and Apollo's positioning to capture 100% of client portfolios rather than just alternatives allocations - offers a fascinating glimpse into where institutional investing is heading. We discuss the cultural and strategic elements that drive John, Apollo's merger with Athene, the idea of artistry at scale, and the evolution of capital markets. Please enjoy my conversation with John Zito. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp's mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. – This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. – This episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. AlphaSense has completely transformed the research process with cutting-edge AI technology and a vast collection of top-tier, reliable business content. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now at Alpha-Sense.com/Invest and experience firsthand how AlphaSense and Tegus help you make smarter decisions faster. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:05:55) The Rise of Apollo and Credit Markets (00:08:05) Innovations in Asset Management (00:11:42) The Role of the US in Global Capital Markets (00:15:26) The Future of Asset Management and Investment Strategies (00:21:03) The Impact of Interest Rates on Investment (00:25:27) Apollo's Business Model and Growth (00:25:17) The Changing Landscape of Private Markets (00:46:03) Apollo's Culture and Vision (00:47:54) The Importance of Company Culture (00:52:52) The Future of Private and Public Markets (00:57:50) Building a Great Origination Platform (01:02:03) Exciting Deals and Personal Stories (01:14:47) The Role of AI and Future Opportunities (01:22:16) Maintaining Company Culture Amidst Change (01:24:06) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done For John
In this special episode of The Rules of Investing, veteran stockbroker and Marcus Today founder Marcus Padley joins Livewire's James Marlay for a wide-ranging conversation on two critical themes. First, Marcus takes aim at the industry's obsession with buy-and-hold, arguing that smart market timing isn't just possible - it's essential for managing risk and avoiding underperformance. Then, he fields Livewire reader questions on everything from gold and lithium to bond yields and WiseTech. It's bold, unfiltered, and classic Marcus. _____________________ Thanks to our Sponsor AlphaSense This latest episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. See what AlphaSense can do for your investment research—visit alpha-sense.com/livewire to get started.
My guest today is Graham Weaver. My guest today is Graham Weaver. Graham is the founder of Alpine Investors, a large private equity firm targeting an interesting market inefficiency. Alpine focuses on the thousands of $20 million revenue businesses whose baby boomer owners want to retire, but lack succession plans. Alpine buys companies and installs 28-year-old military veterans and top MBA graduates as CEOs, leveraging 25 years of intellectual property on how young executives can successfully run established businesses. Alpine's CEO-in-training program is now the most applied-to job at Harvard, Stanford, and Kellogg business schools. We discuss the past, present and future of their unique approach. Please enjoy my conversation with Graham Weaver. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp's mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. – This episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. AlphaSense has completely transformed the research process with cutting-edge AI technology and a vast collection of top-tier, reliable business content. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now at Alpha-Sense.com/Invest and experience firsthand how AlphaSense and Tegus help you make smarter decisions faster. – This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:05:13) The Journey to Private Equity (00:06:59) Early Influences and Personal Growth (00:09:54) The Power of Wrestling and Rowing (00:11:45) Choosing Your Path and Making Decisions (00:14:48) College Goals and Rowing Success (00:18:05) Lessons from Early Business Ventures (00:26:24) Founding Alpine and Early Challenges (00:34:46) Core Beliefs and Talent Development (00:39:07) Fun Board Meetings and Team Dynamics (00:40:42) Platform Building 101 (00:44:08) Talent and Training Programs (00:49:12) Employee and Customer Engagement (00:52:27) Financial Outcomes and Asymmetric Returns (00:55:52) Incentivizing Young CEOs (01:00:26) The Role of Emotional Intelligence (01:02:45) The Alpine CEO in Training Program (01:03:40) Teaching at Stanford and Influential Mentors (01:07:58) Helping Students Find Their Passion (01:10:22) Visualizing Your Future Self (01:11:19) Scalability of Coaching (01:12:15) Personal Growth Through Teaching (01:16:16) The Role of Executive Coaching (01:24:45) Lessons from a Bad Deal (01:31:50) Daily Routines and Success (01:36:13) The Future of Private Equity (01:35:24) Unleashing Heroes at Alpine (01:38:09) The Journey of Building Alpine (01:41:31) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done For Graham
Equity markets have bounced, but Andrew Mitchell from Ophir says the road ahead is tricky. Higher bond yields and policy risks point to slower growth. In this environment, companies that can grow through the cycle will stand out. In this episode of The Rules of Investing, Mitchell shares his views on equity markets, the dominance of US megacaps, and why he remains optimistic on small and mid-caps. He also unpacks the thesis behind a mission-critical tech stock flying under the radar, one he believes has the potential to become a rare ‘Rule of 40' standout. _____________________ Thanks to our Sponsor AlphaSense This latest episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. See what AlphaSense can do for your investment research—visit alpha-sense.com/livewire to get started.
My guest today is Gustav Söderström. Gustav is the Co-President, Chief Product Officer & Chief Technology Officer at Spotify. Gustav lets us behind the scenes on how Spotify thinks about the future of audio and video, and what leadership lessons he's learned from making mistakes and taking risks in a rapidly changing technological landscape. He shares fascinating insights on their synchronized team structure and how they have positioned themselves as "the R&D department" for the entire music industry. We discuss their integration of AI, their unique "bets board" process for allocating resources, and how they've evolved from a music service into a multimedia platform with over 650 million users. Please enjoy my conversation with Gustav Söderström. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp's mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. – This episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. AlphaSense has completely transformed the research process with cutting-edge AI technology and a vast collection of top-tier, reliable business content. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now at Alpha-Sense.com/Invest and experience firsthand how AlphaSense and Tegus help you make smarter decisions faster. – This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:05:27) Spotify's Journey Through Technological Shifts (00:06:28) The Impact of Generative AI on Consumer Products (00:09:36) AI in Coding and Productivity (00:11:11) Consumer Engagement and AI Playlisting (00:14:43) Strategic Frameworks and Decision-Making at Spotify (00:19:39) The Bets Process: Structured Innovation (00:31:11) The Future of AI and Business Models (00:44:31) The Future of AI and Inference Costs (00:46:21) The Concept of Computronium and Infinite Computing (00:47:02) David Deutsch and the Beginning of Infinity (00:48:55) The Power of Explanations and Human Understanding (00:54:03) Spotify's Free Tier and Consumer Needs (00:56:45) Spotify's Relationship with the Music Industry (01:03:03) The Rise of Podcasting and Audiobooks (01:15:45) Personal Interests and Continuous Learning (01:20:32) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done For Gustav
SoftBank's Vision Fund made history with its $100 billion war chest, backing game changing companies from Uber to TikTok. But Masa's ambition doesn't stop there. SoftBank is already looking ahead, aiming to shape the future of generative AI and its infrastructure.In this special bonus episode, we dive into the next decade of SoftBank's strategy. Specifically, how they're positioning themselves to dominate AI infrastructure, from massive data centers to edge computing. We break down the role of ARM, the rise of AI processing on the edge, and how AlphaSense insights can deepen your understanding of SoftBank's daring strategies.-Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.-Access expert analyst reports, perfectly summarised by Gen-AI with precision and no hallucinations. Support our productions by booking your free trial today.-Want to showcase your brand to listeners with a combined net worth of over $1 billion and a network of 100,000+ employees and industry contacts? Drop us an email: sales@1upmediapodcast.com-We're looking to grow our team! Support our productions by buying us a coffee.-Want to meet the team? Follow me here!-If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
My guests today are Rick Ruback and Royce Yudkoff. Rick and Royce are Harvard Business School professors who teach their students how to search for, acquire, and run small business directly after graduation. It has been almost a decade since our first conversation, and unlike many past interviews that have become outdated due to technology or market changes, the core principles they shared about entrepreneurship through acquisition remain remarkably relevant today. They explore fascinating developments in the search-fund ecosystem, including the bifurcation between funded searchers targeting larger companies and self-funded entrepreneurs finding success with smaller businesses. Rick and Royce share their accumulated wisdom on what makes a company worth buying, why the "magic is in the multiples," and how their students consistently achieve impressive returns through patient, value-oriented business acquisition. Please enjoy my conversation with Rick Ruback and Royce Yudkoff. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp's mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. – This episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. AlphaSense has completely transformed the research process with cutting-edge AI technology and a vast collection of top-tier, reliable business content. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now at Alpha-Sense.com/Invest and experience firsthand how AlphaSense and Tegus help you make smarter decisions faster. – This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:05:23) Changes in the Small Firm Acquisition Space (00:06:52) The Impact of SBA Loans on Acquisition Entrepreneurship (00:08:55) The Evolution of Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (00:10:09) Risk and Return in the Search Fund Model (00:13:38) The Role of Investors in Funded and Unfunded Searches (00:19:33) Criteria for a Good Acquisition Target (00:28:36) The Growing Popularity of Self-Funded Searches (00:43:21) Challenges and Red Flags in Small Firm Acquisitions (00:49:47) Exploring Margin Expansion and Growth (00:51:02) The Impact of Practical Teaching in Business Education (00:52:12) Keys to a Successful Business Class (00:53:30) The Role of Theory in Practical Business Education (00:55:29) Challenges and Rewards of Teaching Business (00:57:46) Capital Allocation in Small Businesses (01:00:50) Advice for Aspiring Business Searchers (01:03:45) Value Creation and Business Lifecycle (01:08:20) Deciding to Leave Private Equity (01:11:20) The Future of Higher Education in Business (01:16:06) Ongoing Relationships with Former Students (01:18:45) Favorite Business Cases to Teach (01:24:46) Encouraging More People to Pursue Business Ownership
SoftBank has backed some of the most game-changing startups of our time — Uber, Grab, TikTok — companies that reshaped how we move, eat, and connect.The man behind it is Masayoshi Son — a founder unlike any other. Bold, fearless, and sometimes reckless, Masa didn't just invest in companies, he devoured them. His empire stretched from Tokyo to Silicon Valley, built on billion-dollar bets, wild risk-taking, and the unshakeable belief that he could see the future before anyone else.But every empire comes at a price.This is the story of SoftBank — how one man from Japan took on the world's biggest tech giants, gambled billions, lost it all… and came back for more.Episode 1: Impress, Charm and DeceiveA young Masayoshi Son hustles his way through Silicon Valley — using every trick in the book...and outside it.Episode 2: The SoftBank MiracleBack in Japan, Masa builds SoftBank from nothing — surviving betrayal, bankruptcy, and even a terminal illness to become the king of Japan's software industry.Episode 3: Every Piece of ThemMasa goes global — buying tech magazines, trade fairs, Yahoo shares, and placing a life-changing bet on a then-unknown Chinese startup: Alibaba.Episode 4: Widening the NetAfter the Dot-Com Crash wipes out 96% of his wealth, Masa bets everything on broadband and mobile — taking on Japan's telecom giants and winning control of Vodafone Japan.Episode 5: WarchestDetermined to rule the future, Masa creates the $100 billion Vision Fund — a war chest so powerful it could turn founders into billionaires overnight — even if their companies were never built to last — all while setting his sights on Artificial Intelligence.-Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.-Access expert analyst reports, perfectly summarised by Gen-AI with precision and no hallucinations. Support our productions by booking your free trial today.-Want to showcase your brand to listeners with a combined net worth of over $1 billion and a network of 100,000+ employees and industry contacts? Drop us an email: sales@1upmediapodcast.com-We're looking to grow our team! Support our productions by buying us a coffee.-Want to meet the team? Follow me here!-If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
Invest Like the Best: Read the notes at at podcastnotes.org. Don't forget to subscribe for free to our newsletter, the top 10 ideas of the week, every Monday --------- My guest today is David Senra. David is the host of Founders podcast and a dear friend. This is our third time doing Invest Like the Best together and we have conversations like this one all the time. In today's episode, David distills wisdom from 400 entrepreneur biographies into a single word: focus. He reveals why exceptional builders like Todd Graves and James Dyson create billion-dollar empires through obsessive dedication to simple ideas—whether perfecting chicken fingers or designing vacuum cleaners—while rejecting conventional growth timelines and investor pressure. David challenges us all to find the one thing we'd pursue even without recognition or reward, or what I like to call your life's work. We discuss the concept of “anti-business,” raising capital as a founder, and decades-long commitment. Please enjoy this discussion with David Senra. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp's mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. – This episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. AlphaSense has completely transformed the research process with cutting-edge AI technology and a vast collection of top-tier, reliable business content. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now at Alpha-Sense.com/Invest and experience firsthand how AlphaSense and Tegus help you make smarter decisions faster. – This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:05:43) The Essence of Focus in Entrepreneurship (00:09:20) The Value of Long-Term Commitment (00:17:41) The Importance of Simplicity and Mastery (00:37:11) The Miracle of Entrepreneurship (00:44:56) James Dyson's Journey to Success (00:47:03) The Importance of Passion in Business (00:49:12) Critique of Modern Consumerism (00:52:18) The Value of Craftsmanship (00:56:36) The Drive for Excellence (01:04:06) The Importance of Hiring Top Talent (01:09:54) Creative Financing Strategies (01:19:35) Defining a Founder
My guest today is David Senra. David is the host of Founders podcast and a dear friend. This is our third time doing Invest Like the Best together and we have conversations like this one all the time. In today's episode, David distills wisdom from 400 entrepreneur biographies into a single word: focus. He reveals why exceptional builders like Todd Graves and James Dyson create billion-dollar empires through obsessive dedication to simple ideas—whether perfecting chicken fingers or designing vacuum cleaners—while rejecting conventional growth timelines and investor pressure. David challenges us all to find the one thing we'd pursue even without recognition or reward, or what I like to call your life's work. We discuss the concept of “anti-business,” raising capital as a founder, and decades-long commitment. Please enjoy this discussion with David Senra. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp's mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. – This episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. AlphaSense has completely transformed the research process with cutting-edge AI technology and a vast collection of top-tier, reliable business content. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now at Alpha-Sense.com/Invest and experience firsthand how AlphaSense and Tegus help you make smarter decisions faster. – This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:05:43) The Essence of Focus in Entrepreneurship (00:09:20) The Value of Long-Term Commitment (00:17:41) The Importance of Simplicity and Mastery (00:37:11) The Miracle of Entrepreneurship (00:44:56) James Dyson's Journey to Success (00:47:03) The Importance of Passion in Business (00:49:12) Critique of Modern Consumerism (00:52:18) The Value of Craftsmanship (00:56:36) The Drive for Excellence (01:04:06) The Importance of Hiring Top Talent (01:09:54) Creative Financing Strategies (01:19:35) Defining a Founder
SoftBank has backed some of the most game-changing startups of our time — Uber, Grab, TikTok — companies that reshaped how we move, eat, and connect.The man behind it is Masayoshi Son — a founder unlike any other. Bold, fearless, and sometimes reckless, Masa didn't just invest in companies, he devoured them. His empire stretched from Tokyo to Silicon Valley, built on billion-dollar bets, wild risk-taking, and the unshakeable belief that he could see the future before anyone else.But every empire comes at a price.This is the story of SoftBank — how one man from Japan took on the world's biggest tech giants, gambled billions, lost it all… and came back for more.Episode 1: Impress, Charm and DeceiveA young Masayoshi Son hustles his way through Silicon Valley — using every trick in the book...and outside it.Episode 2: The SoftBank MiracleBack in Japan, Masa builds SoftBank from nothing — surviving betrayal, bankruptcy, and even a terminal illness to become the king of Japan's software industry.Episode 3: Every Piece of ThemMasa goes global — buying tech magazines, trade fairs, Yahoo shares, and placing a life-changing bet on a then-unknown Chinese startup: Alibaba.Episode 4: Widening the NetAfter the Dot-Com Crash wipes out 96% of his wealth, Masa bets everything on broadband and mobile — taking on Japan's telecom giants and winning control of Vodafone Japan.Episode 5: WarchestDetermined to rule the future, Masa creates the $100 billion Vision Fund — a war chest so powerful it could turn founders into billionaires overnight — even if their companies were never built to last — all while setting his sights on Artificial Intelligence.-Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.-Access expert analyst reports, perfectly summarised by Gen-AI with precision and no hallucinations. Support our productions by booking your free trial today.-Want to showcase your brand to listeners with a combined net worth of over $1 billion and a network of 100,000+ employees and industry contacts? Drop us an email: sales@1upmediapodcast.com-We're looking to grow our team! Support our productions by buying us a coffee.-Want to meet the team? Follow me here!-If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
My guest today is Cliff Sosin. Cliff is the founder of CAS Investment Partners, a fund he started with $5 million in 2012 and has grown to $1.7 billion as of the last reported numbers at the end of 2024. At the time, CAS had only four positions. This conversation is different to our typical episodes. We start by talking about Cliff's investing philosophy but the bulk of this long discussion is a case study into his remarkable investment in Carvana. Cliff is one of the biggest investors in the business, which had a market cap over $60 billion in 2021, then fell 99%, survived, and now has a market cap approaching $50 billion again. While I hosted Carvana's CEO, Ernie Garcia, last year to get the inside perspective on managing through such turbulence, today we hear the investor's side of this extraordinary story. It is a singular episode and there are so many lessons in this rare opportunity to hear a major investor describe his decision-making process at every stage of the journey. Please enjoy my great conversation with Cliff Sosin. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp's mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. – This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. – This episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. AlphaSense has completely transformed the research process with cutting-edge AI technology and a vast collection of top-tier, reliable business content. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now at Alpha-Sense.com/Invest and experience firsthand how AlphaSense and Tegus help you make smarter decisions faster. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:00:32) Early Career and Discovering Investing (00:01:18) Journey Through Financial Firms (00:01:49) Starting the Firm and Initial Challenges (00:03:41) Investment Philosophy and Market Realities (00:05:07) Building the Firm and Investor Relations (00:07:23) Defining a Good Business (00:12:31) Contained vs. Uncontained Businesses (00:15:30) Mental Models and Market Insights (00:30:13) The Role of ESG in Investing (00:34:26) The Carvana Investment Story (00:41:01) The Complexity of Car Transactions (00:41:43) Carvana's Real Estate and Logistics Network (00:44:12) Reconditioning and Selling Cars (00:45:16) Carvana's Financing and Customer Service (00:46:43) Economies of Scale and Trust (00:49:40) Challenges and Management Insights (00:59:07) Operational Issues and Market Challenges (01:18:56) Questioning Carvana's Sales Strategy (01:19:17) The Role of Word of Mouth in Carvana's Growth (01:20:28) Identifying Early Adopters (01:21:00) The Impact of Market Conditions on Carvana (01:22:10) Carvana's Operational Challenges (01:23:10) Cutting Costs and Organizational Efficiency (01:27:19) The Apollo Deal and Debt Restructuring (01:28:23) Personal Reflections on Investment Decisions (01:34:21) The Psychological Toll of Investment (01:45:16) Future Investment Strategies and AI (01:49:48)The US Market and Investment Opportunities (01:54:51) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done For Cliff
SoftBank has backed some of the most game-changing startups of our time — Uber, Grab, TikTok — companies that reshaped how we move, eat, and connect.The man behind it is Masayoshi Son — a founder unlike any other. Bold, fearless, and sometimes reckless, Masa didn't just invest in companies, he devoured them. His empire stretched from Tokyo to Silicon Valley, built on billion-dollar bets, wild risk-taking, and the unshakeable belief that he could see the future before anyone else.But every empire comes at a price.This is the story of SoftBank — how one man from Japan took on the world's biggest tech giants, gambled billions, lost it all… and came back for more.Episode 1: Impress, Charm and DeceiveA young Masayoshi Son hustles his way through Silicon Valley — using every trick in the book...and outside it.Episode 2: The SoftBank MiracleBack in Japan, Masa builds SoftBank from nothing — surviving betrayal, bankruptcy, and even a terminal illness to become the king of Japan's software industry.Episode 3: Every Piece of ThemMasa goes global — buying tech magazines, trade fairs, Yahoo shares, and placing a life-changing bet on a then-unknown Chinese startup: Alibaba.Episode 4: Widening the NetAfter the Dot-Com Crash wipes out 96% of his wealth, Masa bets everything on broadband and mobile — taking on Japan's telecom giants and winning control of Vodafone Japan.Episode 5: WarchestDetermined to rule the future, Masa creates the $100 billion Vision Fund — a war chest so powerful it could turn founders into billionaires overnight — even if their companies were never built to last — all while setting his sights on Artificial Intelligence.-Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.-Access expert analyst reports, perfectly summarised by Gen-AI with precision and no hallucinations. Support our productions by booking your free trial today.-Want to showcase your brand to listeners with a combined net worth of over $1 billion and a network of 100,000+ employees and industry contacts? Drop us an email: sales@1upmediapodcast.com-We're looking to grow our team! Support our productions by buying us a coffee.-Want to meet the team? Follow me here!-If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
My guest today is Matt Huang, co-founder of Paradigm, a leading crypto investment firm with over $12 billion in assets under management. Before launching Paradigm in 2018 with Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam, Matt was a partner at Sequoia Capital, where he led many of the firm's crypto investments. It's widely reported that Michael Moritz called Matt “the only regrettable loss in Sequoia's history.” In our conversation, Matt shares his framework for navigating the often illegible frontier of crypto, how his early investment in ByteDance (now worth 10,000x his initial capital) shaped his approach to identifying exceptional founders, and why he believes so deeply in crypto's long-term potential. His firm, Paradigm, not only invests in many of the leading companies in the industry, it also builds open-source tools used by most of crypto. Matt has a rare blend of IQ and EQ that allows him to understand technical complexity, bring together unique talents, and ride out crypto's notorious volatility. Whether you're crypto-curious or crypto-skeptical, I think you'll find his perspective valuable. Please enjoy my great conversation with Matt Huang. Matt Huang's Profile in Colossus Review. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp's mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. – This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. – This episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. AlphaSense has completely transformed the research process with cutting-edge AI technology and a vast collection of top-tier, reliable business content. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now at Alpha-Sense.com/Invest and experience firsthand how AlphaSense and Tegus help you make smarter decisions faster. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:06:15) Matt Huang's Early Life and Career (00:08:13) College Years and Early Career (00:12:27) The Failed Startup and Lessons Learned (00:25:58) The Journey to Sequoia Capital (00:32:51) Discovering Bitcoin and Crypto (00:39:33) Founding Paradigm (00:45:40) Building a Unique Investment Team (00:46:37) The Role of Engineers and Researchers (00:48:03) Challenges and Volatility in Crypto (00:52:11) The FTX Investment and Its Aftermath (00:58:40) Crypto as a New Financial System (01:05:19) The Importance of Stablecoins (01:09:54) AI and Crypto: The Next Frontier (01:16:19) Personal Motivations and Mission (01:29:23) The Role of Regulation in Crypto (01:32:27) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done for Matt
Today's guest is Neil Mehta, founder of Greenoaks Capital. In 2012, aged 27, Neil left D.E. Shaw to start Greenoaks with his friend Benny Peretz. One of their first investments was in Coupang, a South Korean e-commerce company led by founder Bom Kim. Neil was so convinced of Coupang's potential that he invested 40% of their initial $50 million fund into the company—a bet that eventually returned about $8 billion. Over its first 13 years, Greenoaks has backed legendary companies like Figma, Wiz, Carvana, Stripe, Discord, Rippling, and Toast—generating over $13 billion in gross profits with a 33% net IRR. Henry Kravis, one of Neil's early investors, describes him as "extremely disciplined" with "exceptional timing" who has "gone against the tide many times." Greenoaks operates with remarkable concentration: just 55 core companies across nearly $15 billion in assets, managed by only nine investment professionals. Their approach reflects their singular pursuit: finding companies that will become a meaningful part of the S&P 500. In our wide-ranging conversation, Neil shares this mission along with his framework for identifying exceptional founders, his concept of "jaw-dropping customer experiences," and how his grandfather's gun shop in India shaped his appreciation for builders of all kinds. Please enjoy my excellent conversation with Neil Mehta. Neil Mehta's Profile in Colossus Review. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp's mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. – This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. – This episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. AlphaSense has completely transformed the research process with cutting-edge AI technology and a vast collection of top-tier, reliable business content. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now at Alpha-Sense.com/Invest and experience firsthand how AlphaSense and Tegus help you make smarter decisions faster. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:06:32) Connecting Craftsmanship to Career (00:07:45) The Concept of Jaw Dropping Customer Experience (JDCE) (00:09:48) Building a Successful Business: The Coupang Case Study (00:17:26) The Importance of Founders & Business Models (00:30:05) Greenoaks' Unique Approach to Venture Capital (00:37:54) A Memorable Encounter with Henry Kravis (00:40:52) Early Career and Lessons from Hong Kong (00:44:53) The Partnership with Benny (00:50:28) Navigating the Competitive Landscape (00:59:14) High Conviction Investments: TripActions, Rippling, and Carvana (01:07:00) Investment Strategy and Company Evaluation (01:13:23) Adventures in Emerging Markets (01:17:09) Challenges and Lessons Learned (01:26:16) Personal Values and Community Impact (01:32:16) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done For Neil
At 83 years old, Martha Stewart is still as relevant as ever, and she just released a new documentary to prove it. Martha takes us through the highs, lows, and reinventions of her iconic career.In this episode, we're diving into the world of Martha and the power of documentaries with our special guest, Amy Holtzman, Chief Marketing Officer at CHEQ. Together, we're exploring what B2B marketers can learn from bringing documentary-style storytelling into their marketing and the legacy Martha Stewart built. We're talking about how to build an authentic brand, own your unique style, and stay top of mind for decades.Because let's be real: who wouldn't want their brand to have Martha Stewart-level resilience?About our guest, Amy HoltzmanAmy Holtzman is Chief Marketing Officer at CHEQ. Amy brings 20 years of marketing experience to CHEQ, including tenure as CMO and head of marketing at Spring Health, AlphaSense, and Splash. She is also a founding member of Chief, a private network that connects and supports female leaders, and co-founder of NYC-based Women in Revenue Marketing. What B2B Companies Can Learn From Martha:Resilience builds a legacy. Martha Stewart's documentary doesn't shy away from the tough moments, and that's part of what makes her story so powerful. In business, as in life, setbacks are inevitable. Amy Holtzman puts it simply: “You gotta show up the next day… roll with the punches and figure out how you get through it.” Resilience and conviction aren't just admirable traits, they're essential for building a brand that lasts for decades.Own your style. Martha's perfectionism is part of her brand. She's unapologetically herself, and it's helped her stand out for decades. Amy encourages marketers to take a page from that approach. She explains, “ Martha's an unapologetic perfectionist… Martha owns it, and it's what made her successful. And I think you have to not necessarily own Martha's style, but you have to own your own style.” In B2B marketing, embracing your quirks and leaning into what makes you different is more powerful than playing it safe.Build trust through authenticity. Martha's documentary reminds us that connection comes from honesty. Her brand works because it's consistent and deeply personal. Amy says the same holds true in marketing, “As humans, we crave connection…I think people shy away from it and B2B a lot of times because they're worried… I think that's what we want. And we can also kind of sniff bulls*** a mile away.” Don't hide behind jargon or trends. The more human your brand feels, the more trust you'll build.Quotes*“ You're gonna get knocked down…But you gotta show up the next day. You have to kind of do it all in stride. If you wanna make it right and make a name for yourself and for your business, you have to just like roll with the punches and figure out how you get through it.”*“ You gotta own what makes you special and unique, right? Martha's an unapologetic perfectionist. She insists on things being her way. A lot of times like women can get negative feedback about that and Martha owns it, and it's what made her successful. And I think you have to not necessarily own Martha's style, but you have to own your own style. It's hard to change. You can adapt in certain situations, but you're not gonna change who you are. And I do think you've gotta own it. You gotta own your own unique style. And sometimes that's not what everybody loves, but it's also what makes you and also your brand special and unique.”*“ I feel like as humans we crave connection and look for commonalities, right? And I think people shy away from it, and B2B a lot of times, because they're worried. What if somebody doesn't like that thing or doesn't have the same values that I have? We need to think about what those things are that we share, but also, there's room to be ourselves and be authentic, like Martha, a bit more too. Because, as humans, I think that's what we want, right? And we can also kind of sniff bullsh** a mile away, right? When somebody's not who they say they are. So I think there's room for a bit more.”*“ I know we're probably all sick of like everything AI, but I actually think it's incredibly important to stay really up to speed and think about it beyond productivity.”Time Stamps[0:55] Amy Holtzman, Chief Marketing Officer at CHEQ[02:07] Why Martha, the Martha Stewart Documentary[02:40] The Role of CMO at CHEQ[05:09] Breaking Down Martha[14:22] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Martha[19:57] The Importance of Authentic Storytelling[25:27] Why You Should Be Documenting Brand Moments[32:36] CHEQ's Marketing Strategy[36:14] The Power in Reinventing and Not Replicating[42:22] The Future of AI in MarketingLinksConnect with Amy on LinkedInLearn more about CHEQAbout Remarkable!Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. In today's episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.
My guest today is Michael Ovitz. Michael is the legendary talent agent and Co-Founder of CAA or Creative Artists Agency and he is joining me on Invest Like the Best for a second time. Michael started CAA in 1975 and over the next 20 years, he built it into the world's most formidable talent agency, changing Hollywood forever. He shares insights into how he identifies exceptional people across diverse fields - from Hollywood directors like Steven Spielberg to tech founders like Alex Karp of Palantir and venture capitalists like Marc Andreessen. Michael is a force whose expertise extends beyond just people, as he has also become a master in creating institutional momentum, which you'll hear in his involvement with the MoMA, Gulfstream, and more. We discuss his "pilot's checklist" for evaluating talent, the importance of time as his most valuable resource, and why he believes maintaining excellence is critical in any field. Please enjoy my conversation with Michael Ovitz. Subscribe to Colossus Review. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp's mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Ramp is the fastest-growing FinTech company in history, and it's backed by more of my favorite past guests (at least 16 of them!) than probably any other company I'm aware of. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. – This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. I think this platform will become the standard for investment managers, and if you run an investing firm, I highly recommend you find time to speak with them. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. – This episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. AlphaSense has completely transformed the research process with cutting-edge AI technology and a vast collection of top-tier, reliable business content. Imagine completing your research five to ten times faster with search that delivers the most relevant results, helping you make high-conviction decisions with confidence. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now at Alpha-Sense.com/Invest and experience firsthand how AlphaSense and Tegus help you make smarter decisions faster. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:06:56) Spotting Talent and Building Institutions (00:08:01) The MoMA Story: Transforming an Art Institution (00:19:35) The Importance of Relationships and Time (00:24:32) Building Successful Boards and Teams (00:34:02) Insights on Leadership and Momentum (00:44:49) Building Blackstone and CAA (00:56:32) The Power of Momentum (00:57:25) Overcoming Fear of Failure (01:01:52) Strategic Partnerships and Global Influence (01:17:32) The Importance of Excellence (01:18:22) Mentorship and Legacy (01:34:00) The Future of Media and Technology (01:41:36) Pursuit of Happiness and Lifelong Learning
My guest today is Darren Farber. Darren is a Managing Partner of Albion River, a private direct investment firm focused on acquiring companies that produce highly technical Defense Products & Services. He is a Former special advisor to the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, a Former member of U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, and the list goes on and on. Darren is a wealth of knowledge in this space and someone I am grateful to have in the US corner. He shares his perspective on the changing role of the U.S. in global defense and how recent conflicts have shaped military technology and strategy. Darren explains his investment approach at Albion, focused on finding "one-of-one" suppliers and getting as close to the fundamental "molecules" as possible in defense technology. We discuss insights on evaluating the Taiwan situation, the lessons from Ukraine, how the defense budget is allocated, what investors can learn from defense primes, and why technological superiority remains America's greatest advantage. Please enjoy this discussion with Darren Farber. Subscribe to Colossus Review. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp's mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Ramp is the fastest-growing FinTech company in history, and it's backed by more of my favorite past guests (at least 16 of them!) than probably any other company I'm aware of. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. – This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. I think this platform will become the standard for investment managers, and if you run an investing firm, I highly recommend you find time to speak with them. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. – This episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. AlphaSense has completely transformed the research process with cutting-edge AI technology and a vast collection of top-tier, reliable business content. Imagine completing your research five to ten times faster with search that delivers the most relevant results, helping you make high-conviction decisions with confidence. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now at Alpha-Sense.com/Invest and experience firsthand how AlphaSense and Tegus help you make smarter decisions faster. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Introduction and Show Overview (00:06:23) The Changing Role of the US in Global Defense (00:09:23) Evaluating Defense Budgets and Spending (00:11:41) Commercial Technology in Defense (00:15:37) Challenges and Innovations in Defense Procurement (00:22:36) US Defense Strategy and Global Order (00:37:34) The Future of Warfare (00:42:13) Lessons from the Gaza Contingency (00:44:44) Challenges in Defense Venture Capital (00:47:36) The Importance of Responsible Parties in Defense (00:51:06) Industrial Capacity and Defense Investments (00:53:49) Lessons from US Defense Primes (00:59:48) Supply and Demand in Defense Markets (01:07:34) The Role of Net-Centric Warfare (01:10:33) Hopes and Fears for the Future of Kinetic Warfare (01:14:42) The Kindest Thing Anyone Ever Did For Darren
My guest today is Gili Raanan. Gili is the founder of Cyberstarts, a VC firm focused on cybersecurity and the world's first VC that is majorly backed by cyber entrepreneurs. Cyberstarts' $50 million dollar first fund exploded to close to $2 billion in just three years. Gili describes cybersecurity today as "the perfect storm" where global conflicts and AI advancements are creating unprecedented threats. He talks about Cyberstarts' "Sunrise" methodology, which uniquely identifies customer pain points before building solutions. We discuss a focus on finding resilient talent, overcoming personal adversity, the evolution of the cybersecurity landscape, and Google's recent acquisition of Wiz, as Cyberstarts was one of Wiz's earliest investors. Please enjoy my discussion with Gili Raanan. Subscribe to Colossus Review. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp's mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Ramp is the fastest-growing FinTech company in history, and it's backed by more of my favorite past guests (at least 16 of them!) than probably any other company I'm aware of. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. – This episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. AlphaSense has completely transformed the research process with cutting-edge AI technology and a vast collection of top-tier, reliable business content. Imagine completing your research five to ten times faster with search that delivers the most relevant results, helping you make high-conviction decisions with confidence. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now at Alpha-Sense.com/Invest and experience firsthand how AlphaSense and Tegus help you make smarter decisions faster. – This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. I think this platform will become the standard for investment managers, and if you run an investing firm, I highly recommend you find time to speak with them. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:06:52) AI's Impact on Cybersecurity (00:07:51) Offensive and Defensive Tactics (00:09:32) The Future of Cybersecurity (00:15:42) The First Fund: A Legendary Success (00:17:36) Building a Successful Cybersecurity Company (00:28:24) The Sunrise Methodology (00:31:58) Reversing the Startup Process (00:32:53) The Sunrise Methodology (00:33:17) Identifying Market Pain Points (00:34:57) The Importance of Customer Actions (00:36:58) From Conversations to Software Development (00:38:57) The Role of Simulations in Startup Success (00:40:12) Fundraising and Valuation Strategies (00:42:08) Pricing and Market Dynamics (00:46:16) The Value of Superpowers in Founders (00:50:10) Google's Acquisition of Wiz (01:07:24) Personal Resilience and Tragedy (01:10:30) Future of Cybersecurity and AI (01:12:25) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Done For Gili
My guest today is Alex Wiltschko. Alex is the founder and CEO of Osmo, a science and technology company giving computers a sense of smell. He set out on a mission to digitize our sense of smell and he describes how Osmo is teaching computers to both read and write scent. Alex was kind enough to walk me through the laboratory which you can watch in the video version of this interview on Youtube and Spotify, where he demonstrates their method to the madness. We discuss their first commercial application, Generation, which is revolutionizing the fragrance industry by dramatically accelerating the typically years-long process of custom scent creation. We discuss all of the potential business implications this technology unlocks, applications ranging from counterfeit detection to health monitoring, and creating a cutting-edge proprietary platform in a historically routine industry. Please enjoy my conversation with Alex Wiltschko. Subscribe to Colossus Review. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp's mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Ramp is the fastest-growing FinTech company in history, and it's backed by more of my favorite past guests (at least 16 of them!) than probably any other company I'm aware of. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. – This episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. AlphaSense has completely transformed the research process with cutting-edge AI technology and a vast collection of top-tier, reliable business content. Imagine completing your research five to ten times faster with search that delivers the most relevant results, helping you make high-conviction decisions with confidence. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now at Alpha-Sense.com/Invest and experience firsthand how AlphaSense and Tegus help you make smarter decisions faster. – This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. I think this platform will become the standard for investment managers, and if you run an investing firm, I highly recommend you find time to speak with them. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:04:25) Introduction to Plum 1.0 (00:06:20) Synthetic Chemistry & OI (00:07:09) Perfumer's Organ & Fragrance Creation (00:08:03) Launching Generation Fragrance House (00:09:15) The Fragrance Design Process (00:12:04) AI and Olfactory Intelligence (00:14:59) The GCMS Machine (00:22:08) The Scent Printer (00:26:47) The Journey of a Fragrance Enthusiast (00:30:47) The Unsolved Problem of Scent (00:32:45) Applying AI to the World of Scent (00:33:17) Validating AI Predictions with Double-Blind Trials (00:39:42) The Emotional Power of Scent (00:49:01) Challenges & Future Prospects (00:59:08) The Defining Moment: Digitizing Smell (01:00:41) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done For Alex
My guest today is Kelly Granat. Kelly is the Co-Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director at Lone Pine Capital, one of the most storied and successful hedge fund and investment firms of the last several decades. We explore how investing has evolved since Kelly joined the industry and she shares insights into Lone Pine maintaining its edge through deep fundamental research and a collaborative culture. We discuss what makes great businesses and great investments, how leadership can transform companies, and Kelly's perspective on evaluating management teams and identifying opportunities around corporate change that the market often misprices. Please enjoy my conversation with Kelly Granat. Subscribe to Colossus Review. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp's mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Ramp is the fastest-growing FinTech company in history, and it's backed by more of my favorite past guests (at least 16 of them!) than probably any other company I'm aware of. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. – This episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. AlphaSense has completely transformed the research process with cutting-edge AI technology and a vast collection of top-tier, reliable business content. Imagine completing your research five to ten times faster with search that delivers the most relevant results, helping you make high-conviction decisions with confidence. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now at Alpha-Sense.com/Invest and experience firsthand how AlphaSense and Tegus help you make smarter decisions faster. – This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. I think this platform will become the standard for investment managers, and if you run an investing firm, I highly recommend you find time to speak with them. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Learn About Ramp, Alphasense, & Ridgeline (00:06:09) Market Structure Evolution (00:08:39)The Impact of Passive Investing (00:10:21) Collaboration & Team Dynamics (00:13:48) Excitement in Periods of Extreme Change (00:14:21) The Role of Competition & Curiosity (00:22:00) Fundamental Research & Data Integration (00:27:34) Investment Philosophy (00:35:31) People-Centric Investing (00:42:24) Succession Planning (00:49:32) Facing the Pressure of Early Success (00:50:31) Burnout & Rediscovery (00:57:08) Learning from Industry Leaders (00:58:04) Evaluating Talent and Competition (01:11:29) Lessons in Investment (01:27:27) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done For Kelly
Devon Zuegel: How To Create A New Town - [Invest Like the Best, EP.413] My guest today is Devon Zuegel. Devon is the founder and president of the Esmerelda Institute, and she is creating a new town called Esmerelda in California wine country. Learning of Devon and her plan, I couldn't help but wonder why there aren't more people building new towns. She shares the origin story of her project Esmeralda, a modern reinvention of the Chautauqua community she cherished growing up, and we explore her fascinating work building communities and reimaging how we live together. We discuss how environments fundamentally shape human behavior, how cost of space impacts creativity, the financial challenges of town-building despite their potential for strong returns, and the plans in place for Esmerelda. Please enjoy this fascinating conversation with Devon Zuegel. Subscribe to Colossus Review. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp's mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Ramp is the fastest-growing FinTech company in history, and it's backed by more of my favorite past guests (at least 16 of them!) than probably any other company I'm aware of. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. – This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. I think this platform will become the standard for investment managers, and if you run an investing firm, I highly recommend you find time to speak with them. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. – This episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. AlphaSense has completely transformed the research process with cutting-edge AI technology and a vast collection of top-tier, reliable business content. Imagine completing your research five to ten times faster with search that delivers the most relevant results, helping you make high-conviction decisions with confidence. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now at Alpha-Sense.com/Invest and experience firsthand how AlphaSense and Tegus help you make smarter decisions faster. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Learn About Ramp, Ridgeline, & Alphasense (00:06:00) The Origin of Devon's Obsession with Places (00:08:07) Proximity and Cost of Space (00:10:02) The Chautauqua Inspiration (00:11:31) Building a New Town: Esmeralda (00:13:23) Urban Design and Street Importance (00:15:44) Community Values and Peer-to-Peer Learning (00:18:15) Edge Esmeralda: A Prototype Community (00:21:38) Challenges and Trust Building in Development (00:26:45) The Role of Cars in Urban Planning (00:31:10) Mortgages and Taxes: Shaping Communities (00:42:11) Devon's Journey: From Stanford Review to Esmeralda (00:43:41) Tools for Thought and Feedback Loops (00:46:33) Urban Design and Pop-Up Villages (00:50:06) Exploring Las Catalinas and Car-Free Living (00:52:31) Placemaking and Organic City Development (00:56:25) Frontier Camp and Creating Collaborative Spaces (01:02:39) Building New Towns: Financial and Infrastructure Challenges (01:12:05) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Done For Devon
My guest today is Chris Pedregal. Chris is the founder and CEO of Granola, an AI-powered notepad that transcribes your meetings and enhances your meeting notes. Chris shares fascinating insights on how humans have historically developed tools to extend our cognitive capabilities - from writing and mathematical notation to data visualization - and how AI represents the next frontier in this evolution. We explore competitive dynamics between model providers and application builders, and Chris shares his vision for AI tools that make us "more human and better humans" rather than replacing human altogether. Our conversation covers the product philosophy behind Granola, the challenges of building in the fast-moving AI space, and how small teams are creating outsized impact in this new paradigm. Please enjoy my conversation with Chris Pedregal. Subscribe to Colossus Review. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp's mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Ramp is the fastest-growing FinTech company in history, and it's backed by more of my favorite past guests (at least 16 of them!) than probably any other company I'm aware of. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. – This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. I think this platform will become the standard for investment managers, and if you run an investing firm, I highly recommend you find time to speak with them. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. – This episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. AlphaSense has completely transformed the research process with cutting-edge AI technology and a vast collection of top-tier, reliable business content. Imagine completing your research five to ten times faster with search that delivers the most relevant results, helping you make high-conviction decisions with confidence. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now at Alpha-Sense.com/Invest and experience firsthand how AlphaSense and Tegus help you make smarter decisions faster. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Learn About Ramp, Ridgeline, & AlphaSense (00:05:41) Historical Examples of Tools for Thought (00:06:55) The Impact of AI on Tools for Thought (00:09:08) Introducing Granola: AI-Powered Notetaking (00:10:10) Granola's Unique Approach to AI Notetaking (00:13:33) User Experiences and Future Vision (00:15:40) Privacy and Social Norms in AI Recording (00:20:47) Building Granola: Challenges and Innovations (00:34:55) AI Startups and Granola's Early Adoption (00:35:40) Unexpected Feedback from High-Profile CEOs (00:39:53) Building Better and Faster in a Competitive Space (00:42:09) The Future of AI-Powered Workspaces (00:54:00) Challenges and Opportunities in AI and Education (00:56:03) The Evolution of App Development (00:58:01) The Potential of Small Teams in Big Businesses
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