Podcast appearances and mentions of Bill Gurley

My guests this week are Peter Fenton and Victor Lazarte. Peter and Victor are both General Partners at Benchmark. Of the six equal partners at the storied venture firm, Peter is the longest serving and Victor is the newest, having spent the past decade founding and building Wildlife Studios into one of the biggest independent mobile gaming companies in the world. Peter has been a board member at Wildlife for the past four years and has a remarkable track record of tech investing over his two decades at Benchmark. In our discussion, we talk about the core motivators behind great entrepreneurs, Benchmark's unique operating philosophy, and what it's like to transition from builder to investor. Please enjoy this conversation with Peter Fenton and Victor Lazarte. Listen to Founders Podcast: #326 Anna Wintour  For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Stretch your research budget with flexible expert calls you can trust. At a fraction of the cost of traditional expert networks, Tegus customers pay only what an expert charges – with zero markups and no confusing call credits – netting an average 70% savings. Don't want to conduct a full hour call? Tegus offers the ability to schedule 30-minutes, an offer you won't find anywhere else. And they don't stop there. With white-glove custom sourcing for every project and robust compliance measures, including a dedicated 50+ analyst team that vets every call transcript, Tegus ensures your privacy and protection. As the industry innovator for qualitative insights, Tegus helps you find the right experts you need at a quality and speed that can't be matched. For a limited time, as a listener, you can trial Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick. ----- Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.  Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus Show Notes (00:04:10) - (First question) - Victor's early expectations after being at the company for just three months (00:05:39) - What Victor misses from the operating life (00:06:59) - Peter's opinion on what makes Benchmark a fascinating company (00:15:00) - Peter and Victor's perspective on the significance of the phrase “life's work” (00:24:19) - The influence of market tailwinds on success in investing (00:29:42) - How to keep founders' generative drive at peak levels (00:32:39) - Balancing aggression, desire and generative drive when building and operating a business (00:34:22) - Victor's approach to dealing with pleasure seeking as a successful operator  (00:38:29) - Why Benchmark intentionally raises funds at half the suggested amount (00:43:13) - Lessons learned from navigating challenging scenarios in venture capital  (00:46:27) - What excites Victor as he starts a new venture at Benchmark (00:48:19) - Why AI is more akin to the internet than crypto (00:52:41) - The significance of platform-based businesses in the contemporary landscape (00:57:45) - The impact tech giants exert on new entrants in the industry  (00:61:00) - Victor's opinion on what makes great games and great gaming businesses (01:13:44) - Where Peter and Victor feel they have areas to grow (01:19:48) - Perspectives on human progress (01:21:14) - The kindest thing that anyone has done for both Peter and Victor

Today's episode is a conversation with Lior Susan, the Founder of Eclipse Ventures, whose mission is to unlock solutions to age-old physical industry problems through the intersection of bits and atoms. Lior is Israeli, and served in Israel's special forces before founding Ecplise. The topic of conversation is one fellow investor's perspective of the terror attacks of October 7 and the path forward. I hope more than anything that collective action is in the direction of fewer people dying, and most importantly, zero innocent civilizations dying in Israel and in Gaza and Palestine. This is not a political show, and it won't become one. This is a conversation with a person deeply and personally affected by the Hamas terror attacks of October 7, who I believe to be a very good person who wants to be a part of change in the right direction for everyone good in and around Israel and Gaza, regardless of their background, religion, or anything else about them. Please enjoy my conversation with Lior Susan. Listen to Founders Podcast: #326 Anna Wintour For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors, and provider of Canalyst. Tired of calculating fully diluted shares outstanding? Access every publicly-reported data point and industry-specific KPI through their database of over 4,000 drivable global models hand-built by a team of sector-focused analysts, 35+ industry comp sheets, and Excel add-ins that let you use their industry-leading data in your own spreadsheets. Tegus' models automatically update each quarter, including hard-to-calculate KPIs like stock-based compensation and organic growth rates, empowering investors to bypass the friction of sourcing, building, and updating models. Make efficiency your competitive advantage and take back your time today. As a listener, you can trial Canalyst by Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick. ----- Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.  Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus Show Notes (00:02:50) - [First question] - Recounting Lior's thus far (00:08:22) - Insights on the global situation post-October 7th (00:13:30) - Delving into Israel's historical backdrop (00:18:40) - Analyzing the wave of protests on college campuses (00:22:22) - Sharing thoughts on Palestine (00:27:42) - Planning for the use of his time ahead (00:30:34) - Evaluating the current state of leadership in Israel (00:35:20) - Concerns for the welfare of innocent people (00:39:40) - Assessing technology's role in future conflicts (00:43:01) - Crafting pathways to effective globalization (00:47:20) - Identifying traits that contribute to investment success (00:54:10) - Envisioning constructive steps post-conflict (00:56:03) - Reflecting on the lessons from strong leadership (01:00:56) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for Lior

My guest today is Brad Jacobs. Brad's resumé is remarkable. He has founded seven companies, all of which are billion-dollar or multibillion-dollar businesses. He has done 500 M&A transactions and raised $30 billion dollars of debt and equity capital. Currently, he is the Executive Chairman of XPO, a commercial trucking company that he started in 2011 and has grown into one of the largest logistics businesses in the world. He has also written a book that will be out in January, titled “How to Make a Few Billion Dollars”. Brad's energy is infectious and our conversation unpacks his strategies for M&A, his propensity for speed, and methods for earning team buy-in. Please enjoy my conversation with Brad Jacobs. Listen to Founders Podcast For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Tired of running your own expert calls to get up to speed on a company? Tegus lets you ramp faster and find answers to critical questions more efficiently than any alternative method. The gold standard for research, the Tegus platform delivers unmatched access to timely, qualitative insights through the largest and most differentiated expert call transcript database. With over 60,000 transcripts spanning 22,000 public and private companies, investors can accelerate their fundamental research process by discovering highly-differentiated and reliable insights that can't be found anywhere else in the market. As a listener, drive your next investment thesis forward with Tegus for free at tegus.co/patrick. ----- Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.  Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus Show Notes (00:02:11) - (First question) - Identifying key factors in a market before investing (00:05:07) - Gleaning insights from early acquisition experiences (00:08:43) - Delving into the seller's mindset during a business sale (00:12:51) - Weighing pre-built against organic growth strategies in acquisitions (00:17:20) - Defining the elements of an ideal business (00:22:49) - Engaging constructively with Wall Street (00:24:36) - Discussing the substantial buyback of XPO shares (00:28:16) - Ambition as a recurring theme in entrepreneurial success (00:30:17) - Emphasizing the need to facilitate team agility (00:32:35) - Highlighting the joys of post-acquisition integration (00:36:09) - Drawing lessons from Ludwig Jesselson's principles (00:40:34) - Comparing the risks and rewards of early versus late adoption (00:44:09) - Reflecting on errors made in trend analysis (00:48:59) - Strategies for implementing new technologies in enterprises (00:51:59) - The significance of thought experiments in strategic decision-making (00:56:00) - Recalling transformative events from his early years (00: 57:22) - Outlining what makes a meeting 'electric' (01: 01:53) - Sharing experiences with exemplary leadership (01:05:02) - Strategies for maximizing team potential (01:07:37) - Deciding the right time to step away from a business (01:08:58) - Unveiling unexpected challenges in entrepreneurship (01:18:45) - Philosophies for leading a fulfilling life (01:21:04) - Finishing How To Make A Few Billion Dollars (01:22:53) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for Brad

Bill Gurley was one of Silicon Valley's smartest and most successful VCs. He recently gave a talk at the All-In Summit that was really two talks in one. The first part was railing against the consequences of regulatory capture on innovation and a second part, about the consequences of premature government regulation of AI and why the incumbents are all for it. He illustrated his talk with regulatory horror stories in the telecom market, electronic health records, and Covid antigen tests.

My guests this week are Elizabeth Zalman and Jerry Neumann. Jerry has been on this show two times before. He's an early-stage Venture Capitalist, an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship, and an excellent writer. Liz is a two-time founder, most recently co-founding StrongDM, in which Jerry was a seed investor. Together, they have written a somewhat contentious book called "Founder vs Investor" that lays bare the relationship at the core of most new businesses. They take specific moments in a start-up's life up to IPO and share their experiences on the friction that inevitably appears. In our conversation, we discuss the strong reaction to the book, the incentive problem at the root of the relationship, and explore best practices for other founders and VCs to follow. Please enjoy my conversation with Jerry Neumann and Liz Zalman. Listen to Founders Podcast For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Stretch your research budget with flexible expert calls you can trust. At a fraction of the cost of traditional expert networks, Tegus customers pay only what an expert charges – with zero markups and no confusing call credits – netting an average 70% savings. Don't want to conduct a full hour call? Tegus offers the ability to schedule 30-minutes, an offer you won't find anywhere else. And they don't stop there. With white-glove custom sourcing for every project and robust compliance measures, including a dedicated 50+ analyst team that vets every call transcript, Tegus ensures your privacy and protection. As the industry innovator for qualitative insights, Tegus helps you find the right experts you need at a quality and speed that can't be matched. For a limited time, as a listener, you can trial Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick. ----- Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.  Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus Show Notes: (00:04:02) - (first question) - The controversy surrounding Founder vs Investor: The Honest Truth About Venture Capital from Startup to IPO  (00:07:53) - Considering the idea of firing founders (00:10:44) - Navigating morally grey areas for founders and investors (00:11:57) - Understanding the role of the board and their power (00:15:05) - A PSA for founders (00:17:48) - Identifying where incentives are most broken (00:22:28) - Viewing founder friendliness as a temporary status (00:25:41) - Offering good advice during the fundraising process (00:32:41) - Ensuring delivery on promises as an investor (00:37:04) - Strategies for a long-term relationship between a founder and investor (00:41:44) - Structuring the ideal board meeting tactically (00:48:13) - Determining which investing terms matter most (00:51:18) - Managing the dynamic between a founder and an investor during company growth (00:56:44) - Establishing a sustainable, differentiated position (00:59:08) - Defining the distinction between a founder and an investor (01:00:18) - Reflecting on lessons from exiting a business (01:03:52) - Exploring the VC-to-VC relationship (01:08:01) - Plans following their book release (01:11:34) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for Elizabeth

Podcast: Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy (LS 67 · TOP 0.05% what is this?)Episode: Aswath Damodaran - Making Sense of the Market Pt. 2 - [Invest Like the Best, EP.349]Pub date: 2023-10-24Today's guest is Aswath Damodaran, who is joining us for a second time on Invest Like the Best. Aswath is a Professor of Finance at NYU's Stern School of Business and is often referred to as the Dean of Valuation for his clarity of thought on the subject. This conversation picks up where we left off 18 months ago and covers a wide range of topics from macro risks to Nvidia and the process of crafting a personal investment philosophy. Please enjoy this great discussion with Aswath Damodaran.Listen to Founders PodcastEpisode #311 James CameronFor the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.-----This episode is brought to you by Tegus Converge — the first virtual event centered on the world of investor research. When twin brothers Tom and Mike Elnick realized that the research process for investors was broken, they founded Tegus to fix it. Now the people behind the most trusted research platform are bringing institutional investors together to investigate the state — and the future — of fundamental research. On November 8th, join industry luminaries like IGSB Founder Reece Duca and Daniel Gross, AI Expert, Entrepreneur and Investor, to dig into the latest research trends and breakthrough technologies shaping the investment landscape. Register today at tegus.com/register.-----Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossusShow Notes (00:02:45) - (First question) - The general prevailing narrative in markets today(00:05:00) - The biggest business implications given the current market landscape  (00:06:45) - Why it's bad to have risky founders with cheap capital trying experiments(00:08:53) - The natural rate of interest and how it's priced (00:09:55) - His updated view and thoughts on what's currently driving inflation  (00:11:05) - What it's felt like valuing companies given rates being where they are(00:13:35) - Macro variables that most have his attention today(00:18:45) - Whether or not international equities will become a place of interest(00:21:53) - The unique absolute basis of NVIDIA's growth (00:23:25) - His take on the new wave of AI in a broad sense (00:29:15) - Trying to value AI companies without tangible business models(00:32:45) - The parts of his own valuation process that are beyond automation (00:34:20) - Thoughts on a natural end state equilibrium for active management  (00:35:55) - Commonalities between investors who beat the benchmark (00:38:35) - Episodes on his own path that lead him towards his investment philosophy (00:42:05) - How he goes about valuing non-traditional companies like sports franchises (00:46:45) - The world of entertainment and how he sees it as a business today (00:53:45) - The best business models he's ever seen (00:55:40) - What valuing Instacart taught him about online grocery shopping(00:58:55) - The most interesting company he valued over the last year(01:03:25) - How bank failures changed his thinking on our financial systems and banks as businesses writ large (01:06:15) - The changing attitude towards ESG investing (01:11:11) - Why there are still so many pools of capital that pursue an active strategy(01:11:06) - Being sick and tired of the conversation always revolving around central banks(01:15:53) - What he's most excited to look into over the coming year(01:17:53) - Major differences between a financial and an accounting balance sheet The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Colossus | Investing & Business Podcasts, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.

My guest today is Palmer Luckey. Palmer is the founder of Defense company Anduril Industries, which makes next-generation military technology for the US and its allies. Since bringing the company to life in 2017, Palmer and Anduril have disrupted the established order in the Defense industry. Prior to Anduril, Palmer founded Oculus VR, a virtual reality business that he sold to Facebook for $2 billion. Palmer is only in his early 30s, but he has already experienced more than most people will in a 40-year career. We talk about innovation, invention, differentiated thinking, and so much more. Please enjoy this great discussion with Palmer Luckey. Listen to Patrick's Business Breakdown with Anduril CEO. Listen to Founders Podcast For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors, and provider of Canalyst. Tired of calculating fully diluted shares outstanding? Access every publicly-reported data point and industry-specific KPI through their database of over 4,000 drivable global models hand-built by a team of sector-focused analysts, 35+ industry comp sheets, and Excel add-ins that let you use their industry-leading data in your own spreadsheets. Tegus' models automatically update each quarter, including hard-to-calculate KPIs like stock-based compensation and organic growth rates, empowering investors to bypass the friction of sourcing, building, and updating models. Make efficiency your competitive advantage and take back your time today. As a listener, you can trial Canalyst by Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick. ----- Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.  Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus Show Notes: (00:03:28) - The importance of synthetic long-chain hydrocarbon fuel (00:09:37) - Ranking America's potential for innovation (00:12:43) - Why there aren't more Thiel Fellowships (00:14:56) - The principles that motivate and drive him (00:18:21) - What it has been like working in the world of defense after the attack on Israel (00:20:34) - Surprising lessons learned when building a large company (00:24:02) - How to approach a new field initially (00:28:45) - Meeting other out-of-the-box thinkers (00:33:11) - Inventors working backward from existing systems versus forward from their ideals (00:34:51) - The most pressing issue in national security (00:41:01) - What matters most for America from a defense perspective (00:43:58) - How to determine which problems to prioritize (00:50:24) - Lessons learned from working with AI (00:57:21) - How Apple is shaping the future of VR (01:01:36) - Which videogame a prospective employee should excel at (01:04:06) - Why Oculus was so successful in marketing (01:11:13) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for Palmer

Today's guest is Aswath Damodaran, who is joining us for a second time on Invest Like the Best. Aswath is a Professor of Finance at NYU's Stern School of Business and is often referred to as the Dean of Valuation for his clarity of thought on the subject. This conversation picks up where we left off 18 months ago and covers a wide range of topics from macro risks to Nvidia and the process of crafting a personal investment philosophy. Please enjoy this great discussion with Aswath Damodaran. Listen to Founders Podcast For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus Converge — the first virtual event centered on the world of investor research. When twin brothers Tom and Mike Elnick realized that the research process for investors was broken, they founded Tegus to fix it. Now the people behind the most trusted research platform are bringing institutional investors together to investigate the state — and the future — of fundamental research. On November 8th, join industry luminaries like IGSB Founder Reece Duca and Daniel Gross, AI Expert, Entrepreneur and Investor, to dig into the latest research trends and breakthrough technologies shaping the investment landscape. Register today at tegus.com/register. ----- Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.  Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus Show Notes (00:01:30) - (First question) - The general prevailing narrative in markets today (00:03:45) - The biggest business implications given the current market landscape   (00:05:30) - Why it's bad to have risky founders with cheap capital trying experiments (00:07:38) - The natural rate of interest and how it's priced  (00:08:40) - His updated view and thoughts on what's currently driving inflation   (00:12:20) - Macro variables that most have his attention today (00:13:30) - The nature of the trouble that we're all in  (00:17:30) - Whether or not international equities will become a place of interest (00:20:38) - The unique absolute basis of NVIDIA's growth  (00:22:10) - His take on the new wave of AI in a broad sense  (00:28:00) - Trying to value AI companies without tangible business models (00:31:30) - The parts of his own valuation process that are beyond automation  (00:34:40) - Commonalities between investors who beat the benchmark  (00:37:20) - Episodes on his own path that lead him towards his investment philosophy  (00:40:50) - How he goes about valuing non-traditional companies like sports franchises  (00:45:30) - The world of entertainment and how he sees it as a business today  (00:52:30) - The best business models he's ever seen  (00:54:25) - What valuing Instacart taught him about online grocery shopping (00:57:40) - The most interesting company he valued over the last year (00:59:30) - A well known company he wouldn't bother valuing using his typical model (01:02:10) - How bank failures changed his thinking on our financial systems and banks as businesses writ large  (01:05:00) - The changing attitude towards ESG investing  (01:09:56) - Why there are still so many pools of capital that pursue an active strategy (01:10:51) - Being sick and tired of the conversation always revolving around central banks (01:14:38) - What he's most excited to look into over the coming year (01:16:38) - Major differences between a financial and an accounting balance sheet 

This Week in Startups is brought to you by… IntouchCX. Looking for ways to make your startup more efficient? IntouchCX has a ground-breaking suite of AI-powered tools for end-to-end optimization to give your business the edge it needs to thrive. Get started with your free consultation at http://intouchcx.com/twist Fount. Do you want access to the performance protocols that pro athletes and special ops use? With Fount, an elite military operator supercharges your focus, sleep, recovery, and longevity, all powered by your unique data. Want a true edge in work and life? Go to fount.bio/TWIST for $500 off. .Tech Domains has a new program called startups.tech, where you can get your startup featured on This Week in Startups. Go to startups.tech/jason to find out how! * Today's show: Sanctuary AI CEO Geordie Rose joins Jason for an incredible interview on the complexities of using AI to train robots (11:09), developing large behavior models (17:53), the 'lights out' moment in manufacturing (42:52), and much more! * Time stamps: (0:00) Sanctuary AI CEO Geordie Rose joins Jason (3:42) Sanctuary AI's approach to robotics and motivation behind creating humanoid robots (6:05) The human hand's integral role in AI-driven robot development: Planning, reasoning, and understanding the world (11:09) Moravec's paradox and the challenges of instilling perception in robots (16:40) InTouchCX - Get started with a free consultation at http://intouchcx.com/twist (17:53) The significance of "Micro-Policies" and developing large behavior models (22:59) Exploring human cognition and large behavior models (28:52) Fount - Get $500 off an executive health coach at https://fount.bio/twist (30:23) Sanctuary AI's Phoenix robot, robot training, and use of large language models (37:46) Robotics in automotive manufacturing (41:43) .Tech Domains - Apply to get your startup featured on This Week in Startups at https://startups.tech/jason (42:52) The"lights out' moment in manufacturing and the challenge of regulatory capture in AI (56:01) Humans' problem-solving nature and roots of technological fear * Check out Sanctuary AI: https://sanctuary.ai/ Follow Geordie: https://twitter.com/realgeordierose * Check out Bill Gurley's 2,851 Miles: https://youtu.be/F9cO3-MLHOM?feature=shared * Read LAUNCH Fund 4 Deal Memo: https://www.launch.co/fourApply for Funding: https://www.launch.co/apply Buy ANGEL: https://www.angelthebook.com Great recent interviews: Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland, PrayingForExits, Jenny Lefcourt Check out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis * Follow Jason: Twitter: https://twitter.com/jason Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jason LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis * Follow TWiST: Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin * Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.founder.university/podcast

Harry Stebbings is the Founder of 20VC, building the next great financial institution at the intersection of media and venture capital. 20VC has reached over 125M downloads in 100+ countries and has featured the likes of Doug Leone, Bill Gurley, Marc Benioff, Daniel Ek and more. On the investing side, Harry has raised over $400M and made investments in the likes of Pachama, Linear, TripleDot, Superhuman, AgentSync, Linktree, Sorare and more. In Today's Episode We Cover: Are LPs Open for Business: How has what LPs look for in new manager investments changed? What type of funds will be able to raise? Which will not be able to raise? What can managers do to significantly increase their chances of raising a new fund? 2. The Seed Investing Landscape: Harder Than Ever Why is seed pricing as high as ever? Why are multi-stage funds more active in seed than ever? How does this impact seed? How will seed change and evolve over the next 6-12 months? 3. Series A + B: The Best Place to be Investing Why is Series A the best risk/reward insertion point when investing today? How has the competition level at Series A and B changed? What do many people not see or know about this stage of the market today? 4. Is Growth Dead: Are Growth Deals Getting Done: What two core elements are needed if you want to raise a growth round today? How have growth round valuations been impacted over the last 12 months? To what extent do founders need to change their expectations on the price of rounds they will be able to get done today? 5. M&A and IPOs: Tough Times Ahead Why will we see continued low levels of activity in M&A markets? What acquisitions are we seeing take place? When will the IPO window crack open? Why were Klaviyo, Instacart and Arm not enough to open the windows?

My guests this week are the co-founders of Stripe, Patrick and John Collison. My conversation with John in 2020 is still one of our most popular. A key theme that emerged from that first discussion was John's boundless curiosity for all things business and this conversation continues that thread. We talk about setting a strategy and culture that attracts ambition, why the returns to sweating the details are high, and how they view Stripe's progress against their mission to increase the GDP of the internet. Please enjoy this great and wide-ranging discussion with John and Patrick Collison. Buy a ticket to Patrick and David Senra's live show this Thursday in NYC. Listen to Founders Podcast Founders Episode 311: James Cameron Subscribe to Colossus's New Show: Art of Investing For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors, and provider of Canalyst. Tired of calculating fully-diluted shares outstanding? Access every publicly-reported datapoint and industry-specific KPI through their database of over 4,000 drivable global models hand-built by a team of sector-focused analysts, 35+ industry comp sheets, and Excel add-ins that let you use their industry-leading data in your own spreadsheets. Tegus' models automatically update each quarter, including hard to calculate KPIs like stock-based compensation and organic growth rates, empowering investors to bypass the friction of sourcing, building and updating models. Make efficiency your competitive advantage and take back your time today. As a listener, you can trial Canalyst by Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick. ----- Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.  Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus Show Notes (00:03:16) - (First question) - Stripe's curiosity-driven growth fuels enduring success and expansion (00:08:34) - Why companies should resonate with founders' ideas but also have strong enduring cultures (00:012:27) - Stripe aims to reduce friction and expand global commerce by solving practical barriers (00:25:59) - Simplifying processes for startups and large companies to drive growth efficiently (00:29:11) - Analyzing the enduring stories of ancient companies (00:35:44) - Success in Hollywood and academia depends on unmeasurable vision and knowledge (00:40:11) - Stripe's ubiquity, self-serve nature, and collective care drive its unique status (00:43:16) - Success in tech is grounded in user-centricity, care, and connecting with customers (00:48:17) - Parental influence on becoming entrepreneurs is complex (00:50:21) - Adult perspective on parents, admiration for their work, and ongoing philanthropy (00:52:30) - Stripe's challenges include complexity due to diverse payment methods and global programmable accessibility (00:57:27) - Aiming for long-term durability, Stripe prioritizes beauty and craftsmanship in its pursuit (01:02:50) - The most memorable conversation they had between them (01:05:30) - Why the launch of Atlas was a defining moment in Stripe's history (01:06:35) - How their 25-year-old selves would react to what they are doing now (01:10:19) - The various ways in which they feel proud of each other (01:14:35) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for them

This Week in Startups is brought to you by… LinkedIn Marketing. To redeem a $100 LinkedIn ad credit and launch your first campaign, go to linkedin.com/thisweekinstartups Vanta. Compliance and security shouldn't be a deal-breaker for startups to win new business. Vanta makes it easy for companies to get a SOC 2 report fast. TWiST listeners can get $1,000 off for a limited time at vanta.com/twist CLA. Innovation takes balance. CLA's CPAs, consultants, and wealth advisors can help you get from startup to where you want to end up. Get started now at CLAconnect.com/tech * Today's show: Bill Gurley and Sunny Madra join Jason to discuss open-source AI vs. proprietary AI (1:12), friends and foes of open-source AI (5:42), and strategic choices companies make between open and closed approaches (9:48). Then, Sunny demos more AI tools (22:45), and much more! * Time stamps: (0:00) Sunny Madra joins Jason (1:12) Bill Gurley joins to break down open-source vs. proprietary AI (5:42) Friends and foes of open-source AI (8:17) LinkedIn Marketing - Get a $100 LinkedIn ad credit at https://linkedin.com/thisweekinstartups (9:48) Strategic choices companies make between open and closed approaches (21:37) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://vanta.com/twist (22:45) Sunny demos LLaVA: Large Language and Vision Assistant (29:56) CLA - Get started with CLA's CPAs, consultants, and wealth advisors now at https://claconnect.com/tech (31:00) Sunny breaks down parameter models (38:56) Companies manufacturing their own chips (42:26) Sunny demos Mistral AI (46:56) Jason and Sunny demo Meta AI on WhatsApp (50:44) FTX and the SBF trial * Follow Bill: https://twitter.com/bgurley Follow Sunny: https://twitter.com/sundeep * Check out LLaVA: https://llava-vl.github.io/ Check out Mistral: https://huggingface.co/spaces/Open-Orca/Mistral-7B-OpenOrca?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email * Read LAUNCH Fund 4 Deal Memo: https://www.launch.co/four Apply for Funding: https://www.launch.co/apply Buy ANGEL: https://www.angelthebook.com Great recent interviews: Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland, PrayingForExits, Jenny Lefcourt Check out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis * Follow Jason: Twitter: https://twitter.com/jason Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jason LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis * Follow TWiST: Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin * Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.founder.university/podcast

My guest this week is Strauss Zelnick, the CEO of leading game publisher Take-Two Interactive. Maybe most well-known for its hugely successful Grand Theft Auto game, Take-Two is a sophisticated, top-tier developer, publisher, and marketer of interactive entertainment that owns Rockstar Games and 2K. Strauss's passion for entertainment led him strong and fast into the industry as he worked his way from sales to CEO and transitioned from motion picture to gaming. Today we cover his approach to staying on the cutting edge of media development, unlocking talent and potential in those around you, and becoming the leader you were meant to be. His intensity and his standard for excellence come through clearly. Please enjoy my conversation with Strauss Zelnick. Subscribe to Colossus's New Show: Art of Investing Buy a ticket to Patrick and David Senra's live show. Listen to Founders Podcast For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus Converge — the first virtual event centered on the world of investor research. When twin brothers Tom and Mike Elnick realized that the research process for investors was broken, they founded Tegus to fix it. Now the people behind the most trusted research platform are bringing institutional investors together to investigate the state — and the future — of fundamental research. On November 8th, join industry luminaries like IGSB Founder Reece Duca and Daniel Gross, AI Expert, Entrepreneur and Investor, to dig into the latest research trends and breakthrough technologies shaping the investment landscape. Register today at tegus.com/register. ----- Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.  Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus Show Notes (00:03:39) - (First question) - Why the entertainment media sector is so interesting (00:05:08) - Key inflection points in the history of media (00:09:17) - The role of pure content in businesses today (00:10:32) - Requirements for being a successful media business operator (00:12:03) - Strategies for working effectively with creatives (00:16:13) - How to cultivate a conducive environment for creatives (00:25:54) - The allure of collaborating with Take-Two (00:30:09) - Strauss' journey to becoming the chairman and CEO of Take-Two (00:37:42) - Strategies for reducing costs in business (00:41:16) - Embracing diversity in the video game industry (00:43:41) - Identifying high-quality intellectual property (IP) (00:46:04) - The inspiration behind Strauss' book Becoming Ageless: The Four Secrets To Looking and Feeling Younger Than Ever (00:51:12) - Influential leaders for learning and growth (00:55:45) - The impact of technology and the rise of new platforms (00:57:00) - Common misconceptions about Take-Two (00:59:42) - Unique attributes of Take-Two projects (01:00:36) - Defining moments in the history of the business (01:04:19) - Anticipating the future direction of Take-Two (01:13:41) - Sources of motivation and inspiration (01:15:29) - The concept and value of a masterpiece (01:11:08) - Paramount values as a parent (01:11:38) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for Strauss

Bill Gurley's inspirational speech at the All-In Summit motivated me to record an episode focusing on the worldwide issue of regulatory capture. Tune in today to learn more about what regulatory capture is, the numerous industries that have been accused of facilitating it, and what it could mean for the future of financial services and Big Tech.  If you found value in this episode, I would really appreciate if you could leave a review! My mission is to help and support as many FinTech startups as possible, and when you leave a positive review, more people can find this podcast and help their companies! If you are on Apple, just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell me what your favorite part of the podcast is.    Today's episode: [00:38] The inspiration behind today's episode.  [01:55] Who Bill Gurley is.  [02:50] Understanding regulatory capture.  [03:35] Examples of how regulatory capture can occur.  [05:50] Why the pharmaceutical industry has been accused of regulatory capture.  [06:36] Other industries that have been accused of regulatory capture.  [07:29] Signs of regulatory capture in the financial industry.  [08:29] Bill's prediction about future relations between Big Tech and the government.  [09:53] Why I disagree with Bill's assessment of Coinbase.  [10:50] The importance of having open discussions about regulatory capture.    Show links: Watch Bill Gurley's speech here. Interested in FinTech compliance? - consider investing in the FinTech Compliance Self-Starter Package! I would love to invite you to sign up for my newsletter. If you are interested, please click here.

In the Feelings Check-In, Deana and Natasha unpack a news story from this past week, and then they share personal feelings about their lives and careers. Subscribe to the Boys Club newsletter here!  Boys Club is proudly supported by Kraken. Kraken is a crypto exchange for everyone.   First, they dive into a crypto news story of the week: Chase Bank's decision to ban crypto transactions in the UK. They unpack the broader implications of the Chase decision: Fraud concerns, JP Morgan's involvement in blockchain, and the UK's pro-crypto stance. They highlight Bill Gurley's talk on "regulatory capture" and its implications for business and innovation. In personal feelings, they discuss the complexities of supporting community-driven initiatives, especially those that might be controversial. Sharing the concept of the Blockchain Bachelor and the involvement of Martin Shkreli. Notes: Kelly Greer's Series B tweet Bill Gurley's talk on Regulatory Capture

My guests today are Jack Altman and Miles Grimshaw. Jack is the co-founder and CEO of Lattice, an HR software platform. Miles is a General Partner at Benchmark, an early investor and Board Director at Lattice, as well as a former guest on Invest Like the Best. Jack started Lattice in 2015 and has scaled it into a multi-billion-dollar business that already serves over 5,000 organizations. In our discussion, we look at all aspects of building and scaling a software product from both an investor and operator's perspective, which made this particularly fun to do. Please enjoy my conversation with Jack Altman and Miles Grimshaw. Listen to Founders Podcast For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Stretch your research budget with flexible expert calls you can trust. At a fraction of the cost of traditional expert networks, Tegus customers pay only what an expert charges – with zero markups and no confusing call credits – netting an average 70% savings. Don't want to conduct a full hour call? Tegus offers the ability to schedule 30-minutes, an offer you won't find anywhere else. And they don't stop there. With white-glove custom sourcing for every project and robust compliance measures, including a dedicated 50+ analyst team that vets every call transcript, Tegus ensures your privacy and protection. As the industry innovator for qualitative insights, Tegus helps you find the right experts you need at a quality and speed that can't be matched. For a limited time, as a listener, you can trial Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick. ----- Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.  Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus Show Notes (00:02:55) - (First question) - How Jack & Miles met at Y Combinator in 2015 (00:04:22) - Lattice found a niche in mid-market HR software (00:07:55) - Discovering Lattice's true market need (00:11:14) - Fear of stalling drove the need for business growth beyond initial product (00:12:06) - Deciding on multi-product focus over up-market expansion (00:17:01) - Prioritizing quality of usage over frequency for customer health scores (00:20:06) - Balancing customer health scores and actual needs (00:24:31) - Prioritized community by spotlighting HR voices (00:28:20) - Building community helps companies sell a vision or lifestyle (00:31:05) - Cultivating broad awareness instead of hard-selling (00:35:33) - Overcoming the culture of 'perfection' (00:37:22) - Flywheel effect makes suites efficient: lower go-to-market costs, more focus on product (00:41:06) - The challenges of juggling current needs and future demands (00:46:27) - Navigating disagreements and trust-building within a company (00:50:36) - Investors' roles extend beyond founders, focusing on their own goals and interests (00:51:52) - How transparency eases the founder-investor dance (00:55:16) - The changing employer-employee relationship (00:58:37) - Navigating growth from startup to public equity (01:05:43) - Lattice's ultimate aspiration (01:07:42) - Evaluating founders' authenticity (01:11:18) - What Jack & Miles are most embarrassed about, the most proud of, and the most excited for (01:14:30) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for Jack and Miles

Skippy has a bone to pick with Dave Ramsey. Doogles walks through an awesome talk that Bill Gurley gave at the All In conference. Skippy is amazed and encouraged by how much Singapore pays its government officials. Doogles sees danger in American's distrust of data and the state of the economy. The episode wraps with a paper about historical inflation shocks.Join the Skippy and Doogles fan club. You can also get more details about the show at skippydoogles.com, show notes on our Substack, and send comments or questions to skippydoogles@gmail.com.

Welcome to the Alfalfa Podcast

Episode 498: Shaan Puri (https://twitter.com/ShaanVP) and Sam Parr (https://twitter.com/theSamParr) talk about the coolest stuff they've seen this week—like why Nancy Pelosi may be out-investing Warren Buffet and how Cultural Tutor is winning Twitter by taking it more seriously than everybody else.  Want to see more MFM? Subscribe to our YouTube channel here. Want MFM Merch? Check out our store here. Want to see the best clips from MFM? Subscribe to our clips channel here. — Check Out Sam's Stuff: • Hampton - https://www.joinhampton.com/ • Ideation Bootcamp - https://www.ideationbootcamp.co/ • Copy That - https://copythat.com/ Check Out Shaan's Stuff: • Try Shepherd Out - https://www.supportshepherd.com/ • Shaan's Personal Assistant System - http://shaanpuri.com/remoteassistant • Power Writing Course - https://maven.com/generalist/writing • Small Boy Newsletter - https://smallboy.co/ • Daily Newsletter - https://www.shaanpuri.com/ — Show Notes: (0:00) Intro (2:00) Bill Gurley exposes the grift of regulation (7:00) Deion Sanders on “60 Minutes”  (14:00) CFO Secrets on negotiating like an M&A master (21:00) The Cultural Tutor's obsession with writing one tweet — Links: • Bill Gurley's All-In Talk - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9cO3-MLHOM • Autopilot: https://www.joinautopilot.com/ • Deion Sanders “60 Minutes” interview - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8PSWeRLGXs • Deion Sanders Jr's YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_n7zvkh3y3PLBIUA1lHkjw • The Score Takes Care of Itself - https://tinyurl.com/jtspe367 • CFO Secrets - "Uncovering The Mystery of Working Capital in M&A" - https://www.cfosecrets.io/p/working-capital-adjustment-peg-m-a • The Cultural Tutor on David Perell - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pBxikHRCXI • The Cultural Tutor twitter - https://twitter.com/culturaltutor • Vacation Sunscreen - https://www.vacation.inc/ — Past guests on My First Million include Rob Dyrdek, Hasan Minhaj, Balaji Srinivasan, Jake Paul, Dr. Andrew Huberman, Gary Vee, Lance Armstrong, Sophia Amoruso, Ariel Helwani, Ramit Sethi, Stanley Druckenmiller, Peter Diamandis, Dharmesh Shah, Brian Halligan, Marc Lore, Jason Calacanis, Andrew Wilkinson, Julian Shapiro, Kat Cole, Codie Sanchez, Nader Al-Naji, Steph Smith, Trung Phan, Nick Huber, Anthony Pompliano, Ben Askren, Ramon Van Meer, Brianne Kimmel, Andrew Gazdecki, Scott Belsky, Moiz Ali, Dan Held, Elaine Zelby, Michael Saylor, Ryan Begelman, Jack Butcher, Reed Duchscher, Tai Lopez, Harley Finkelstein, Alexa von Tobel, Noah Kagan, Nick Bare, Greg Isenberg, James Altucher, Randy Hetrick and more. — Other episodes you might enjoy: • #224 Rob Dyrdek - How Tracking Every Second of His Life Took Rob Drydek from 0 to $405M in Exits • #209 Gary Vaynerchuk - Why NFTS Are the Future • #178 Balaji Srinivasan - Balaji on How to Fix the Media, Cloud Cities & Crypto • #169 - How One Man Started 5, Billion Dollar Companies, Dan Gilbert's Empire, & Talking With Warren Buffett • ​​​​#218 - Why You Should Take a Think Week Like Bill Gates • Dave Portnoy vs The World, Extreme Body Monitoring, The Future of Apparel Retail, "How Much is Anthony Pompliano Worth?", and More • How Mr Beast Got 100M Views in Less Than 4 Days, The $25M Chrome Extension, and More

Market Proof Marketing · Ep 303: Things We Never Need To Say In The Industry Ever AgainIn this episode, Kevin Oakley,  is joined by Beth Russell and Julie Jarnagin! Kevin recently got back from a conference and shares his thoughts on the experience as well as the importance of understanding your audience. Together, they reflect on the uncomfortable challenge of change but agree that it's necessary and urge listeners to surround themselves with people who will be honest with you and genuinely help you through it. The team discusses things that never need to be said in the industry ever again!Story Time (11:24)Julie had a builder ask if video was “worth it?”It's Beth's birthday week and so she is reflecting over the change this last year.Kevin brings up things we never need to say in the industry ever again News (40:04)Will the Mortgage Rate Spread Narrow or Not? That is the Question (https://blog.firstam.com/economics/will-the-mortgage-rate-spread-narrow-or-not-that-is-the-question)1 in 10 Home Sellers Are Moving Because They're Being Called Back to the Office: Survey (https://www.redfin.com/news/moving-return-to-office-survey-2023/)Where Is the Housing Market Headed This Fall? (https://www.probuilder.com/where-housing-market-headed-fall)Higher mortgage rates continue to impact the housing markets (https://apple.news/AW-eEur1VTc-0uqCPW8w2UQ)Things we love / things we hate (53:31)Beth hates unpackingJulie is listening to a podcast called "The Dr. John Delony Show"Kevin is enjoying the “Compound and Friends” podcastQuestions? Comments? Email show@doyouconvert.com or call 404-369-2595 and we'll address them on the next episode. More insights, discussions, and opportunities can be found at Do You Convert All Access or on the Market Proof Marketing Facebook group.Subscribe on iTunesFollow on SpotifyListen On StitcherA weekly new home marketing podcast for home builders and developers. Each week Kevin Oakley, Andrew Peek, Jackie Lipinski, Julie Jarnagin, and other team members from Do You Convert will break down the headlines, share best practices and stories from the front line, and perform a deep dive on a relevant marketing topic. We're here to help you – not to sell you!Transcript:KevinHi, I'm here. This is six calls into the day Kevin!JulieThat's a lot.KevinMy favorite kind of days. But I'm here. We're going to do it. And I guess feedback. Our producer, I think it was maybe just her feedback, but she likes spicy Kevin.BethSo I think we all love spicy. Kevin's spicy and like trolling. Kevin Oh, I live for it.KevinYeah, I remember the 10,000 hour thing. You school this on?JulieI think.KevinSo I just got exposed at this conference. That's about nothing other than learning. And the people are all totally different is again, that realization of like, I'm old because I care about things that my 20 year old self would have been like. Why does that have what does it matter? Why are we thinking about, you know, what is space made of like it's empty space, you moron, move on.KevinBut I'm here. I'm listening to this guy talk about the units that make up space and how that defines time and thinking. How does this apply to what we do? And I can make connections. And it's it's weird. Just I remember was like going it's it's this 10,000 hour thing of how do I translate that to someone who only has 100 hours in in a way that's meaningful because, you know, like I was trying to download our team about one of my takeaways and then I'm like, this won't mean anything to some people.KevinLike though they will actually think, why did Kevin waste his time going to California to listen and learn about this? And so any time you're sharing, you have to understand your audience and and where they are. But it's it gets harder and some ways it gets easier. This is why now remember why I wanted to talk to you about this Julia is it's it's somewhat easier to process through the stuff like on the back burner of your brain, but it's even harder.KevinLike I'm finding myself pausing more often, like I have a small seizure and it's because I'm it's not because I don't understand the material. It's thinking like, how do I reframe this or filter it for this person who's been in our industry for a month?JulieYeah.KevinYeah. That gets incrementally harder, I think, at least for me.BethI mean, it's hard. I just had a call this week where I was like, I how? What did I just say? Because it was one of those challenging situations of like, how is and that's exactly what's happening to me. It was like there was a stop in my brain of like trying to filter out what was going on in my head and what was coming out of my mouth in a way that would be digestible to the person on the other line.BethAnd it probably was to them. But to me I was like, No, that I need to get back on a rhythm.BethBut that's where the storytelling comes in and I think y'all are both great at that. Even when you don't realize that you're pulling in a story or an example or something. So I see that, you know. Kevin, if we're sitting in on a call and you're pulling from something, some example you've heard or a story, so I think that's what you're trying to attach, the two things you're trying to attach the concept to whatever rolodex of stories and examples are in there somewhere to connect them.KevinYeah. Here's here's the most recent example of this that I still am processing a little bit, is working with a rather I mean, a very large homebuilding organization who wants to create a new set of dashboards on a quarterly basis to give to their leadership team about marketing and online sales and how it's going and they showed an example of an old one that they've been doing internally.KevinI think some other people were helping them and it was like 45 pages and we rebuilt one after much thinking and work. And it's nine pages, I think, or sorry, it's 11 pages. It's 11 pages, but the first four pages are just an illustration of the proverbial funnel illustrating at the state level, individual market level, etc., how everything is working.KevinLike all of the important metrics, the conversion ratios and visually how they all connect and then as I'm thinking about the audience that they're going to give this to and, and this is a presentation format too, I think it's important, understand. So they're like the person who used to do this, they hated their life for that entire day because when I was there trying to stand up and talk, they went through all 45, 50 pages and watched everyone's eyes glaze over or start looking at their phone or, you know, they and we interpret that sometimes as how those people are.KevinSo rude. How could they not? But to me it was more like, actually, you should probably never get past these first five pages that are funnel analysis with this audience. If you get to page whatever, and it's a 14 way breakdown of how their Google ads are performing, something's wrong because it's not it's not the level that a CEO CEOs should be at ever.BethYeah, yeah. They need something to anchor on to. And with that visualization visual visually.JulieThis.KevinJust makes me feel so good about myself. I'm sorry, you're not supposed to.BethThe word with the funnel.KevinThere's many words.JulieLike.BethOh, well, it's something they can anchor to because if you just start going through numbers, if they're trying to connect, they're just going to grab a random stat number and get stuck on that and you're going to get into a weird hole of questions that you may not want to be into. So that gives them a good first thing to hang on to as you're taking them through the journey.KevinWell, okay, I'm going to try to keep my brain and then we'll be we will move on to the real show here in a second. But one thing I through my brain is this is a bad idea. Like as a as a builder partner, they're going to hate this idea that I'm presenting of making the funnel the main part and then being able to break out why afterwards or during Q&A.;KevinBut just really focusing on on funnel analysis. And I kind of saw a little bit like, oh, what if they're not comfortable hanging out at that level for 20 minutes? What the leadership team, there's some people are like, hurry up and get to the part where like I'm in every day and I understand and I know that I know more than they do about it.KevinAnd so I feel comfortable presenting and talking and looking through versus staying high level with high level individuals sometimes can be intimidating. And so there is a little bit of storytelling and example giving that had to give them the confidence of you don't even have to know all the answers. You have to understand the relationships. But that's part of like this will work if they start getting excited and talking to each other about how come appointments are converting to sales in the same way as they were last quarter?KevinOr why do we think so? So is this it's this weird thing of am I just shortcutting the shortcut or is this really the most important anyway, that's.BethI think it's a matter of is the presentation as important as the dialog that occurs around it? You know, like if the presentation doesn't invoke an interesting dialog that can lead to change, then what is the point of the presentation in the first place? It's just another hour of someone else's time. This is why I love the fact that I'm married to my husband and I know that he is listening right now, so shout out might, but he does like he briefs for a living.BethHe briefs very important people for a living and he is phenomenal at his ability to take a very complex subject matter and articulate it in a way that not only gets people engaged and provokes conversation, at least this is what I get. I don't really know what he does. So this is just my perception of this.KevinIf he told you, he'd have to kill you, Yeah.BethThis is my perception of it. But it's fascinating. Watch and watching him talk about the art around the briefing. And it's just like us. Like it's the art around coaching. It's the art around speaking to high level individuals. It's there is an art about it, and you have to tailor what it is that you do to your audience in order to provoke conversation that will lead to change and it's fascinating how many people actually do that wrong.KevinYeah, senior leadership's perspective usually has. Why is this person telling me numbers that I can look at and see numbers?JulieYeah.KevinYou don't need to be presenting like a first grader at show and tell.BethYeah. And it's like, how many times do we hate going to conferences where people are just reading slides? Yeah, like it's you. You've got, you got to make a conversation out of it. And just like in home and home, buying and selling and in marketing for our builders, we have to create emotion during the process because emotion is oftentimes a trigger to everything else that follows.BethAnd so like the ability to do that with high level, you got to you got to like all somewhere to start that conversation.KevinYeah. And not be afraid of a little bit of.BethConflict.KevinConflicts. Right. Fact a lot of times as a marketer, you're that's why I keep going back to the example of Survivor. Like players who win Survivor sometimes are creating conflict artificially when there wasn't one or the amplifying conflict in another party sometimes. I mean it's it's it is such a good like like chess and poker good analogy. Okay a little palate cleanser before I start the show.KevinSean Carpenter texted me those. Sorry, Sean, you didn't give me permission to share it, but you texted me, so you should know better. He said It blew my mind today, listening to the podcast that Jenn wanted to be a vet when she was younger. I feel like this should be a like Red and Jerry Seinfeld voice. And so she ended up marrying her husband and now she still gets to hear Barkin all day at work.KevinDog emoji, laughing face Emoji. All right, let's get started.BethAnother thing that we like more as we get older, come you.KevinYeah. All right. I mean, I want to stand up, you know? All right. Welcome to marketers marketing the podcast from the industry leaders. How do you convert where we talk about the current and future state of marketing and online sales for builders and developers across the globe? We're not here to sell you. We're here to help you and to try and elevate the conversation.KevinIs there a topic you'd like us to cover or a question you'd like us to answer? We'll do it. Simply send an email to show at. Do you convert? Dot com. Welcome to episode 303. I'm Kevin O'Kelly. And with me today is Beth Russell and Julie Jernigan.JulieAnd so.BethI.KevinWe don't have to yeah, we keep talking about this, but there's nothing else to say. We already said it, so we just go right into story time. All right, Julie.JenOkay. I have a fun conversation with the builder this week, so she said, we have this great binder, high quality makes videos for us, but they're really expensive. And she said, we do. You know, that's kind of our company branding video as we do some community videos. But she was like, I want to do all these house tours and this and that, but they're so expensive and I don't have room in the budget.JenSo we had a really fun conversation around video and not just your very produced high quality video. The number one thing I would say, but this doesn't work for them is you need to learn internally how to do some of this video yourself and start doing it. But in this specific case, they are maxed out like their team just got smaller.JenThey all shift roles. They're all they're just doggy paddling, you know, trying to keep up with everything. So then we took it down to the level of finding multiple vendors for different things. So just like you might have a professional pay the big money for the main photo on your homepage, you can do the same thing with video.JenYou can take somebody who is fresh out of college or whatever to do your video. But what it all came back to is even that takes legwork. Like you're going to have to know. You can't just say, I want to do more videos, so we're going to do video if you are maxed out and everything else. So this whole conversation, that video and finding somebody else and that it may take a few people and you're going to have to be really specific at first about what you want it for and what it needs to look like and who's going to edit it and how they're going to know where to go.JenAnd you're going to have to see if that in your priorities of the thing. So it was funny too, because the owner happened to be on this meeting and he was just sitting there quietly. So there's a whole conversation. So it was just interesting because in the end it's still all I love video. I wrote a whole book on content.JenI think everybody needs more and better content, but in the end you only have so many hours, so many man hours and so much budget, and it's whether this is the time for that or if that needs to be on your 2024 plan and how you're going to set all that up. So it was a fun conversation to work through with them.KevinYeah, again, it's different perspectives, different levels, different insights, different priorities. But I think I'll intersperse some things that I took away. But but one of the people who spoke at a conference I went to is the CEO of Shopify, and he talked about how they created a tool that shows the cost of every meeting. So when you invite people, every time you invite more people to your meeting, it shows incremental cost to the organization.KevinWhen you see, you know, $9,000 for a 30 minute meeting, you have to justify in a summary, if you call the meeting, why it's worth that much after it happens. Anyway, a little extreme, you could argue. But then he also started talking about how they every year they just delete all reoccurring meetings. He's going to start just randomly deleting Slack channels.KevinAnd the idea here is if it needs to happen, it'll start again. But if not, you're just keeping things. And so just that idea of revisiting on a regular basis, why am I doing this thing? Could be video, could be Google ads, it could be anything. Why am I doing it? This is the reason that I started. So the reason why I should continue to.KevinI need to take a different spend. Should I be doing this at all? That whole, you know, stop doing list is as important as the to do list.JenWell, and on that level, it's really interesting because she has been there a while, but somebody else has been cut in the marketing director role and that person shifting out. So she's just adopting and she put that person was great at her job. Amazing. But it's somebody walking into something that's already existing. And so I think that's going to be a big job for her, is then figuring out what how.KevinThat's more fun. Let's just talk.JulieAbout that main event.KevinShould she go and start making changes quickly? What what would you both tell someone who's dropped in that position of like taking over for someone who's done a great job but is is no longer in that role?BethI think I mean, having just left somewhere and someone that I, I knew and worked with kind of walk into my position slightly, I think it's really interesting where it's kind of like a marriage of both where, you know, you want to go fast in terms of making your name and learn and get your hands dirty. But you don't want to make too many changes that are going to rock the boat because you might not know enough yet and go in the complete opposite direction.BethSo I think it takes that time, like Julie said, like taking that time to walk through the options and the realities of what is actually available when it came to video and what was realistic. Okay, I see a problem here. I see something that I could change. But at the end of the day, capacity wise, investment wise like this doesn't need to change right now.BethI can do this later. It's not like a necessity for me to go in and just like rip everything to shreds. Essentially. This is me being dramatic.KevinBut yeah, joining me. Other thoughts?JenYeah. No, I agree that there's definitely a time period for keeping it as is and seeing how things work and really not making too many dramatic changes. Right when you walk in unless she's she's been in a role in the department so there are probably think she's familiar with enough the brand new thing she's taking over. Yeah I think it's worth some observation time before making any huge changes which I don't think she is.JulieYeah. Listening to this.KevinThe first thing I always would tell someone is don't change anything for until you are certain you know what the issues are. And what I mean by that, one of the reasons you don't change anything is because it doesn't require any of your cognitive load. If you're maintaining it's a lot easier to maintain than it is to create or destroy.KevinMaybe it's easier to destroy than anything. But that's I know I get off topic, but you're just letting things flow and and observing because one of the things you have to understand quickly is that the scoreboard is not the only scoreboard. So there might be some internal scoreboard or dashboard or whatever that says leads are up, good sales are up, good.KevinBut it all depends on the person you're working for, and it's a combination of that scoreboard and that person's perspective of everything. I've worked for people as a marketing director who have said, you know, like, we don't need more leads. I don't want you doing anything to create more leads. Leads aren't our problem. Go solve this other thing.KevinAnd I'm like, I'm new here. But when they hired me, they told me my job was to create leads. So that's the risk, is you don't have street credibility for that position even if you've been in that organization. Everyone's looking to try to figure out, did they earn this title? Did they just get this title because other person laughs, What's going on?KevinAnd so you still need to do an analysis of both scoreboards and look for the easy win opportunities that cause the least disruption for others. Because that's how you prove value is. I just made everyone's life better and you had to do nothing different. Do that for as long as you can before you have to start getting in the middle of everything else.KevinSometimes you don't get lucky and like the thing that has to be blown up is the fact that I'm I'm laughing. As I say this, it's only been true a couple of times. You're like, We just have to fire all the salespeople and start over. And I can show you mathematically and in the CRM why that's true, that would be a really hard place to start, but that sometimes that is the case.KevinBut if not for as long as possible, get the easy wins that have big impact on other people's roles. All right, Beth, what do you got?BethWell, this week was my birthday week.KevinOh, happy birthday.JulieThanks.BethI'm doing all the sound effects today.JulieThis is great.JenYou should have worn your tiara today.BethI should have worn my tiara on my sash. That would. Except it ripped out my hair, which was not a pleasant experience. It's super pretty, though, so I really should have worn it. That would have been great. But yeah, I'm not typically one to reflect on my previous year. I'm just like, Oh, you know, another year, I'm another year older.BethIt's fine. But this year I was kind of it was somewhat unavoidable because it was on my birthday last year that it became abundantly clear that all the goals that I was working towards and the goals that I had set for myself in my professional career were not going to happen. I was I was not going to achieve them at my current place of work.BethAnd this realization was dramatically catastrophic to me, and it forced me to take off blinders that I didn't even know existed. And it forced me into a period of serious reflection in my life. That period that that lasted from probably anywhere between four and six months, where obviously a lot of changes happened because now I am here. But it's interesting because I was in the mindset at that time before all of this happened that no matter what, I was going to stay on this path, I had my goal, I was going to achieve it, and I had already given so much of myself in order to achieve what I had achieved that the idea ofBethleaving that was so incredibly uncomfortable to me that I had basically avoided any thought of change.JulieYes, fully.BethLike those blinders were were up. But now I was in it like I was forced into a stage where I had to be comfortable in the uncomfortable. And for me there was nothing more uncomfortable than the thought of leaving some place I loved and that I had dedicated my time to. And that had brought me so much joy.BethAnd I share this not just because, like for whatever reason, just to share it. I think it's because No, I know it's because that at one point in all of our lives, we we come to that place or to that crossroad where we have to get comfortable in the uncomfortable, whether it's in our personal life or our professional life.BethWe are at one point in our life going to come across something where we are forced to make a decision that we we never thought that we would make. And it is so incredibly uncomfortable for us. But the reality of it is that it's only through doing that are you able to make a change for the better. And what I learned during that period of my life was that change is okay and that it's important to not go through that alone.BethI had I had to make that decision a very personal and selfish decision. I had to make that and come to that on my own. But I leaned on the people around me that supported me and not just the people that were going to nod my head and nod their head and agree with me or go into a period of self-pity with me or like crawl into that ditch with me.BethBut people that were going to force me to want better for myself and forced me into change and and forced me to ask myself questions that I had I had been previously avoiding because they were so invested in my success and they wanted something better for me. So in saying that, I mean, you don't have to do it alone.BethLean on the people around you, find people that will challenge you and support you, find good mentors.JulieAnd.BethJust make that next change because I think this last year has been incredibly fulfilling for me. Incredibly, incredibly challenging. And I if you would have asked me this on my birthday last year about where I would be in my professional career, I don't think I would I would answer that. I'm a marketing coach. A do.JulieRight.BethAnd it's been fun and exciting. And I'm so happy. I'm so happy that I'm here.KevinWell, we are happy that you are here, but I skating part things that make me feel strange or uncomfortable, like self celebrating ourselves always makes you uncomfortable. Same thing. I mean, I remember the first time, not the first time. It was. It was the third year that Mike Lyon was like, Hey, Kevin, I think there's this thing and I think you could come work with me.KevinAnd I was like, at the time I was 32 years old, I was running to homebuilding divisions for NPR. I had stock options that were worth millions of dollars. And Mike's pitch was, take a 70% pay cut and come work with me and we'll see what happens.JulieAnd I was like.JenI have.KevinFour. I have four kids. My my wife just gave birth to our fourth. What? None of this makes sense. But again, I'm going to keep doing this for a while probably. But this conference that I went to, one of the speakers is the CEO and founder of, I think the second most profitable options trading firm of all time.KevinAnd she showed the slide like if you gave her $100 back in the eighties, you would have $3 million. Now, that's how much money her company has made for herself and her employees. And so now she started this nonprofit specifically trying to teach women how to play poker, because her argument is that women need to learn the skill sets of poker.KevinAnd to her, one of the most important skill sets is knowing that it's okay to take risk. That risk is mandatory. You you have your hand of cards. You've got to make a calculation and decision of what should I do or not do. But also sometimes you if you just fold every hand, you're never going to win. And her take as a woman was just that women are never taught to take risk.KevinAnd even in my own life, like I'm I'm definitely the Yeah, I'll just stay out of poker like just play super conservative, get that pot as big as you can and just like, hope you win by causing everyone else to die of boredom and just, like, irrationally go all in because they're just sick of sitting there like, that's that strategy.KevinBut so when I hear you talking about that story, I just to what I what I translate it to is part of it is chasing the goal that you had. And the other part is just saying like, that's too risky. But now on the other side, do you feel like it was as risky as it felt?BethNo, not at all. And I think, like I battle with the word risk slightly because I don't know if I necessarily felt like it was risky. I think perhaps a little bit it was like, okay, I just built all this. Like, am I willing to risk, like, completely altering everything I just worked for for seven years? Right? So I guess the other is there is a little bit of risk in there involved, but ultimately it came down to compromise.BethIt came down to how much of myself am I willing to compromise and what am I even living out? One of my mentors is bold. Eutelsat is also a very good friend of mine and he was the one that was like sat me down and he was like, What is your superpower and are you living it out right now?BethAnd we had like a two hour conversation actually at some after hours about what that meant. And like he just started ripping out those blinders that I had. And I think it was just that I had compromised a little bit of what my superpower was in order to fit the box of what other people needed.JulieAnd yeah.BethAnd it was it felt really good.KevinOn the psychiatrist psychiatrist couch together. So this is.JulieGreat.KevinI know you don't like the word risk, but what I think is probably happening is the fear of not getting to where you wanted to was causing you to put the blinders on in the first place.BethOh, yeah.KevinIf if if I don't put the blinders on, I'm not going to attain the level or position that I want to get to. And that's all I'm trying to say is, at the end of the day, the biggest risk that the speaker and I go back and talk to other people are look at my own life. It's like the biggest risk would have been not doing anything.KevinYeah, that's I always say that's the don't you're trying to sell someone the donut hole the cut out like not an actual small little piece of a donut but your sound the thing that doesn't exist and saying that's the problem so that's, that's the hard part about it. But taking risk is okay. And I, like any of my friends, personal friends who've been like, Hey, I'm thinking about starting my own business or doing my own thing.KevinMy answer is always do it always, because the risk is not like you're not going to die if your business dies, but you will know whether you actually want to run a business or not. You're capable or not going to do it. If death is not on the other side, it's worth trying. Now that also, like as an efficiency focused organization, which I would consider, do you convert like one of the ways I explain to people is we are an efficiency focused digital marketing organization trying to help builders get the best quality traffic for the least amount of money.KevinSo one of the things in there is like a lot of what we do is working and we might not be taking the risk for someone's money individually. So like builder A of 80 or a builder number one of 80, we might, based upon their resources and availability, might not be doing a lot of testing with them. But across all 80 builders, there's always different tests being done and that's a it's analysis of risk.KevinAnd I feel like I should just write a whole blog on maybe a series on risk because it's not talked about enough. And as a manager, we know we have to manage people. We know you have to manage a budget. Managing risk is not talked about enough or understood clearly enough and it's really, really important. It blindsides people more than missing a budget.BethYeah, I would agree. It really takes us even for this.JulieFascinating Hey online sales specialist, your D convert coach Jen Barkan here. Are you looking for guidance, structure and proven methods to help you set more appointments and create more sales than join online sales coach Jesse Suggs and myself, we are offering an intense two day virtual training experience, followed by eight weeks of training and coaching through our online sales academy.JulieThis fall. Jesse and I have been in your shoes and we teach from our direct experience and years of coaching online sales specialists just like you. This will be hands on and real world. No theory here if you're interested, don't miss this incredible opportunity to reserve your spot today by visiting d convert dot.com.KevinOC first story time. Just go the way Olivia reminded me that I want to talk about like things that we just keep repeating in our industry. And it's not really the thing. It's the it's the well, it is partly the thing. So one example would be and these are all things, by the way, I have said too, so it's not casting stones with glass houses, but I remember the very first presentation I gave at the Builders show and it PCBs.KevinI talked about a backpack on Amazon having more content than a home builders quick movement, home. That was 14, 15 years ago.KevinSo let's just get more creative. And this again, this is for for me as as well as everyone else. Let's get more creative with our examples. If we've heard an example 30 times in the last ten years as a as a presenter or someone making content, I think we should all push ourselves to keep looking for more and different examples.KevinAnd I'll give you one of mine that I've pushed, you know, so I've talked about pre-sell without fail and wrote the book and given all kinds of presentations and done it. And yet the audience and this is we keep repeating the same thing because we're like the audience hasn't heard enough and we know repetition is important. So we say it again and again, again.KevinBut I think my challenge is let's get more creative to try to find out if it's not just us. The presenter that's repeating the same thing. People have heard, but not actually finding a way to help them solve the problem. And that's why I use stories analogies is because my hope is that the person I'm telling that to can retell the story and get a similar outcome or help people's opinions or mindset change.KevinSo a lot of times builders on their on their home site maps or community descriptions are talking about, you know, faces one through 17 and all of them are on the map and they're on phase one, but they're showing everything. And so for me, the example is, you know, Apple just came out with the iPhone 15 and the 15 pro and someone tweeted immediately after, like, I'm on my way to Apple.com to order my iPhone 14.KevinCan't wait for it. It's like, no one does that. As soon as the phones announce, the only people buying the 14 are price conscious folks who probably can't afford or wouldn't buy a 15 anyway. But it would be as insane for Apple to put on their website iPhone. I mean, I can do it now. I can. I can project into the future the iPhone 17 coming September of 2025.KevinYou would never, ever, ever see that on Apple's website because you can't buy it yet. And certainly in the process of launch in neighborhood there's there's a period where you're going to put that community out there and you can't buy it because you're building that list. But Apple knows how long they need to build their list, and it's about 2 to 3 weeks from the time we say it's here to the time that you can go online and order it.KevinThey figure it out through probably millions of dollars and out. And, you know, tons of research that that's the only window they need to have. So you got to figure out what your window is. But you don't need to communicate years or decades in advance. You're going to have Homesite 2312 available at some point. So just let's get creative because if if the industry isn't solving that problem, we can go back to content around the backpack if we have to.KevinBut the more interesting question that I think our whole industry needs to start thinking about is what are the barriers? Because the barrier is not anyone I talked to. I don't know if you two are talking to people, but I haven't heard anyone say no, we've got enough content on all of our stuff, like I'm good with it or pictures are all awesome, our descriptions are great.KevinNo one's happy with the content they have. So what's the real problem? And we keep pointing the finger. This is going to get me excited. We keep pointing the finger at marketers and. If you're interacting with marketers on a regular basis, you know, the problem is not that the marketer doesn't want the content. Maybe, and this is why I'm so big on high mark as a potential solution for this in our industry.KevinYou know, this is it. Them and Mark and Beth are doing a presentation at the summit Higher understands that the reason we have crappy content is because people who aren't marketers are constantly changing the product with your regard and no care as to whether we have content just made content. There's just like this little hidden space in every home building company where for people who have no connection to consumers or marketers are coming up with all these new things and changing stuff all the time and like, yeah, just figure it out.KevinJust figure it out. Like that's the freaking problem. And using it addressed not how to hire a photographer. Did you know that you can get renderings that like for it's such baloney. That's not the problem. The problem is that there's these other morons changing things too often that no one's asking to be changed. Like if they're How often?KevinHow often do people redesign cars?JulieRight.KevinIt's usually on like a three year, 3 to 5 year thing, and there's little micro changes in between. They don't and they don't have 45 different cars available at Toyota to go buy for each. Kevin And then we're going to show Toyota's car car selection tool and they're like, this is amazing. Look what it can.JulieDo because there's only seven different.KevinCar types.JulieYeah.BethThere's like five is from.KevinThat's why when NPR bought Heartland and they we had 45 different floor plans and they said no, you can have 12. And after the initial freak out of that's not possible. We'll never sell another house again. Everyone's going to want something we don't have. I got so freaking excited as a marketer because thinking of of, okay, I'm going to defend my budget.KevinI'm going to keep that same amount of money. But now I can develop content around 12 floor plans instead of 45.JulieYeah.KevinIt was like Angels started singing. It was, This is going to be the most incredible thing ever.JulieMm hmm. Yeah. So look for.KevinLook for what's causing things not to change. Not just telling the people that it needs to change. Please.JenI literally just had this conversation with a builder yesterday, and you were not on the call because I asked them what is because they're overloaded? What is eating up your time right now? And that's what that's what it was. That's what I want is this.KevinFor people in a room somewhere making changes without talking to anyone?JenYes. And all they're doing is updating floorplans and rendering and all this. So it's just funny that you say that because I literally just had this conversation with someone yesterday.JulieYeah, well, and.KevinI mean, at Idol, they have collaborative teams that work on such things at Style Craft, where you were both they have collaborative teams. Yeah. Cross department teams that work on this things. Yeah. But so many builders I interact with, I'm like, who does this stuff?BethBut it was still a problem like.KevinSteve in accounting.JulieCommercial. Oh, okay.KevinSteph, thanks.BethThanks, Steve. No, I mean, it would still problem though. I mean, we had a huge group of us coming across, like you said, from all different departments coming together to make these decisions with the changes that were still happening so often that I had to just eventually put my foot down and saying, I'm not changing it until this is an issue or I have this many changes or whatever, or if we're making this many changes, I need this to be the process that we follow because there's just no way that as a singular person or in our case, two people, that we're going to be able to maintain content across 40 communities with 40 differentBethfloor plans, with 40 different variations of things happening, like that's just that is outside of the realm of reality.KevinAnd there are answers coming. And here now to do it better and differently, one from other industries, two from products like High arc. And this is I mean, again, if you're listening and you're coming to the summit, you're going to hear it. It's not like you're going to not hear this talk.JulieBut yeah.KevinThere are ways to get what we want and need.BethAnd there's ways to go about the changes better, which again, I don't want to say too much about because we'll talk about at the summit and I have a blog post that I finally wrote a blog post and Julie edited it, shout out Julie. That is about different ways that we can go about making changes that are planning, planning things out.BethBecause I don't think that as an industry we're doing it the most efficient way.KevinNo, no, not at all. All right. First up from the news, will the mortgage rate spread narrow or not? That is the question from first imdb.com And this. Remember, I went on a tirade about like if you're a marketer trying to ignore what interest rates are and how they are determined, all that stuff, it's time to go to school.KevinBy the way, that was my actual story. I got distracted. I didn't share my story time, but one of the notes that I wrote down was Bill Gurley, a prominent investor venture capitalist, said that the idea of professional research no longer exists for most people, meaning when your teacher in school assigns you to do a research project on, you know, the Pyramids of Giza, you either lie and makes things up or today use GPT, or you go and read books, watch documentaries like you can see in this information.KevinAnd yet the concept of professional research done outside of work hours is like, Are they paying me for news? I mean, I don't know, maybe you just want to find the answer or learn me because it's going to make you better, which will eventually pay you more because you are better. But it kind of goes along with this is a continuation of that rant from previous episode.KevinAnyway, so this is an example of me. So I, I see this article posted in my first reaction as I've spent 200 hours learning about mortgage rates and how that determined all the rest. I don't need to read anymore on this topic, but what the heck, I'm stuck for 2 hours on a plane that's not taking off. So I'm going to read the article.KevinAnd essentially what what the author argues is that one of the things that we're not thinking about that will keep rates higher for longer is the fact that rates being higher, where most people think they're like everyone's dating the rate, right? Everyone's waiting to refi. And one of the things that causes rates to be held higher is the belief that people are going to pay off their loans early.KevinSo if I'm buying a mortgage backed security that's supposed to be full of loans that are 7% for 30 years, what's the likelihood that those loans go for the entire 30 year period and aren't paid off early if rates go back down to five? Right. All those are gone. And so that risk of loans being that's a negative thing for an investor to have loans paid off early.KevinAnd because of that negativity, there's extra costs being that then raise the rate because of that thing. Like I had no idea that that was part of the calculation, but it makes sense now. The inverse is also true on a coaching call this morning and the builder said, Yeah, you know what? We've noticed that buy downs are becoming less expensive for builders or this builder in particular.KevinWhy would that be? Because the inverse is also true. That's why I love learning stuff. It gets me so frickin excited. The inverse is true. Why would a buy down be less expensive? Because what's the likelihood that, yes, I am going to charge the builder money to buy down the rate? What if now that customer is going to get a 4.75% loan?KevinWhat's the likelihood that they will carry that loan through to maturity? It's higher because if rates go down to six or five, they're not redoing that loan. So they were saying, you know, it still has three and a half, 4%, but it's used to be seven to buy that down. So it just never pays to continue doing professional research because it's just always insightful to me when I learn something new.KevinIt makes me excited.JenAnd this article is worth reading because I do not get quite as excited as Kevin on all of this. But this one, when I read it, it was it did lay things out in a way that it was like little light bulbs went off and helped explain it. So if you're also struggling to make sense of all of this, this is a good one to go and.JulieClick on and.KevinRead again because people will see something or say, Kevin's, you know, just a mad old man. No, I'm not saying you have to understand it. I'm saying stop trying to not understand it. That's all I'm saying. Like, keep trying to understand it. Don't just say huh.BethFind new ways to explain what's happening in the industry other than the backpack.KevinYeah. All right. From Redfin.com, one in ten home sellers who found this one, by the way, they deserve a price because this one love this one. One in ten home sellers are moving because they're being called back to the office. We haven't found this article.BethI'm looking, but.JulieI don't see I'm.KevinGoing to default to.JulieFriend. Thank you.KevinOkay. Good job, Olivia.KevinReturn to office. Mandates are forcing some people to choose between selling their home at a loss or losing their job and turn it into a rental. Potentially. Roughly 20% of surveyed sellers say they're moving due to safety, crime concerns, a desire to live somewhere more aligned with their social views and or lower taxes. But 10% said they're moving because they have to go back to the office.BethI mean, it goes back to I think it's an interesting, like granular data point of like because they specifically because they have to go back to the office, because we think about like relocation and things like that. And it says, oh, my work is moving me. But in this case, like, no, your work is forcing you to actually come in and now you need to live closer.BethIt kind of Did you see the Post from the New York Post article about the project by EIA in Montgomery County, Maryland? It almost makes me think about that a little bit because like they are doing a project that allows for lower income people to instead of doing that, the 10% or whatever, they increase it to 40% of lower income in this building.BethAnd they are trying to increase the amount of available housing in a safe area that allows for us a closer commute. And the example in the article of someone who lives in that building is an individual who's like, I think she was like a nurse or a educator or something like that. I'm sorry, I can't remember what my head but she because this became available to her, her commute cut down from a 45 minute commute to a ten minute commute.BethNow, for a little bit of perspective, even 45 minutes in the Montgomery County area. So anywhere around the greater D.C., Baltimore metropolitan area, 45 minutes is a win. So for her to be able to have 10 minutes of a win is is gigantic. And so these people that are are now trying to get to work and having to go to work every day and they're just trying to get closer.BethThey need to get closer. And it goes back to their need to move because their life is requiring them to.KevinYeah, remember, that's the fifth of the five days displacement that causes people to need to find a new home. And we're seeing this you know, we work with builders, I think, in 40 different states. And remember, if it's 10% in the survey that means in some markets it's lower. And in some markets it's higher. And one of the places they reference here is Boise, where two people work for the same employer.KevinIt sounds like to me it's Facebook or Meetup, but they're being told that they both have to come to the office three days a week or lose their jobs. They're probably gonna have to take $100,000 loss in their home in Boise And the home that they are going to end up buying in Seattle is going to be much smaller.KevinSo you just think about those markets. San Antonio is a relocation for remote work, heavy market. Boise was a big market for that. Northern Colorado. Some of these start to make sense. Now the question is, is this going to be it's going to be positive, you would think, for Seattle. And just because there's there's not still a lot available in Seattle from the from the used home market so for for prices in the market so people are being forced to move back to I think it's going to continue to push them higher.KevinYou know super interesting article. Thanks, Olivia, for finding that one. And you did this one I think from CNBC econ. Higher mortgage rates continue to impact the housing markets. Danielle hill, realtor.com chief economist this was you right, that found this one?BethNo, this is shout out, Becca.KevinOh, okay. Okay. Good job.JulieHere.KevinBut this is a video, so I don't know how to go into more of it.BethWe'll have to just embed the video into the show notes now.KevinWell, time out. We'll just pick a different article. So it's like we can't put articles that are videos and. Sorry, that was. I should have thought that one. But we got to we got to be able to talk about it. All right. Next up from Pro Builder AECOM, where is the housing market headed this fall with buyers and sellers glued to the sidelines of a high priced undersupplied housing market, experts weigh in on what's to come.KevinWhat's to come?BethMore of the same.JenThat's one thing. Those were kind of wild. You said, I don't think it's going to get any better, but I don't think it's going to get any worse because it can't get any worse. Number one, don't jinx us. Number two, we've seen it get worse. You know, we've seen it worse than this. So I was shocked by that vote.JenI thought that was a little.KevinYeah. And promote our links to Realtor.com or the full article is we'll put that link in the show notes. But remember, they're talking about the housing market, meaning residential in its entirety. So when they say I can't get much worse, they're talking about existing home, the number of existing home transactions that are occurring. Remember, prices are not bad.KevinIt's the number of homes that are are transacting that he's talking about being so bad.BethAnd guess who's still the bright spot?KevinYeah, I mean, what's the saying? I don't know if we can, but, like, tell this person in a room full of short people.JulieBecause.KevinLike, Yeah, I mean that's the thing that kind of it does affect my mental health a little bit. When people say, again, I'm talking to people not from our industry directly all the time who are like, Oh builders, man, this is just got to be like the best thing ever for them. They're loving now. There are we do have to, to working with who are having their best months ever.KevinYes but there are also a lot of builders who are, you know, eking by hitting their sales goals. Profitability is okay. But again, they're like, this is this is just infinitely harder than it used to be. And then going into the fourth quarter, it's like, oh, man, I really I'm not excited for what we're going to have to ride through here.KevinSo, yes, it is a bright spot in terms of, I would say availability of housing. Yes. So if you if you wiped builders off the map, there were no builders. The whole housing market would be you know, I think the kids say left.JulieLike.KevinSo homebuilders serve a really important purpose and we are there. But the costs of doing business for builders are not improving as fast as we wish they would, which means affordability is still a challenge.BethYeah, and while it's true that it remains market dependent, I think the builder to builder, it's also really interesting to watch. I don't know if you all have seen this, but we had a brief conversation of the doers versus the thinkers. And then there's the people that can think and do simultaneously, which is a magical little unicorn that everyone should have within their organization.BethBut it's a matter of like there's people that are in markets that are still doing well, but they just haven't gotten it right from the builder side because they're not sure how to take advantage of a market where they all where they are the tallest person in the room. They're not using the right messaging. They're not using the right messaging at the right phase of the funnel.BethThey're not getting creative in what they're doing. They're just riding the coattails. And then something blips and they're like.JulieOh.BethWhat do I do with my hands? And it's interesting.KevinYeah, And I love how it ends, actually. This is who is still buying homes today. The answer is you have to purchase a home. And I think Rob Hahn, who's another one of our speakers at this year's event, I think he coined the term the four D's, which were diamonds, death, diapers and divorce. I think we added the fifth D, which is displacement, which kind of talked about what the article terms of having to move back to a different physical location or move physical location.KevinThat's the only reason people are buying. It's not because that there's a red tag clearance sale going on. They're already in the market and that will potentially steal market share if you do that, right. But there's a lot more people being created by that activity. All right. Our favorites. Things we love and things we hate. Let's just rename it that next time.KevinOlivia. Things we love and things we hate. Anything is up for grabs. What do we got today?BethI hate unpacking.KevinAll unpacking. Okay, tell us more about that. Why do you have so much stuff that's you.JulieThat's a.BethGreat question. And we keep purging. Julie and I were just talking about how like one of the beauties of moving is the ability to like it's a forced spring cleaning. And so you, you get to purge like I am still throwing things away left and right. And we did that prior to moving. But you know, it is just can I just can like all the boxes magically just, you know, like Mary Poppins into their place because that would make my life really look a lot easier right now.KevinYeah. It's I love talking about it because we went we're now done with it. Yeah. The whole mental connection that you have to your house and the things that you have to start thinking about again that you stop thinking about at your old house. There's all this emotional energy that's spent, intellectual energy that's spent for moving. What's the physical?JulieYeah, yeah.KevinBlood sucking leech like reality of unpacks in cardboard boxes. Yeah, It's not a good combination. Okay, that's good. You can hate that. Julie, What about you?JenWell, this might be embarrassing. I don't know, but I've been listening to a new podcast, and it's John Delaney, and it's like the old school, like somebody calling in and asking for advice, like, Oh, my God. Like, yep. Or he's it's. That's what we should do, counselor. Guys, I'm like, I'm fast. It like I'm obsessed with it right now.KevinThat's what we should.JenI don't know if it's cringing or where people really. Why don't you listen? But I know I love in it I'm into it right now.BethMillennial need watched or listened to Love Line like let's be racy.JenIt's not racy like that. It is, but it's like just any kind of it gets like a little mini counseling session. And so that has what I've been listening to lately.KevinThere is a gentleman I can't remember his name, but it was on Redwood Studios, AM talk radio, and every day he would take like 3 hours of calls and he would play solitaire. So you'd hear him shuffle the card. Sometimes, like I've always answering people's questions, but every like nine out of ten answers or get a lawyer, he would call them questions and he would ask them on a question.KevinQuestions like, You know what need you need to do is get a lawyer. And this guy made a career off of telling people to go get legal advice. Now, is is.JenThis once more, go get a counselor like you need trauma counseling.KevinSo this is like real life crime podcasts. This is I haven't killed anyone yet, but I'm thinking about it.BethYeah, Yeah Yeah. Is it like a little touch of a Reddit thread? Am I the ahole?JenBecause, like, sometimes that's all I hold.JulieMm hmm. Yeah.KevinMine is a podcast recommendation that I got from another podcast that I listen to called a compound in France. It's a stock market, one most of you shouldn't probably listen to it, but acquired is the name of it and they are, let's see, 3 hours, 4 hours, two hour. They're really long podcasts on a single company kind of giving there.KevinWhat they do is they go and they read 8 to 10 books on a topic that interview people and then it looks like twice a month they do these three hour summaries in audio format. And it's I mean, it's it's all LVMH, the NFL, Nintendo.BethQualcomm, Marvel one or the.KevinAmazon, of course, Altimeter, Sony, Peloton, FDX, Standard Oil like that's a really old company. Sometimes they do multiple parts, but it's one of those podcasts where you don't. I don't feel compelled to listen to all of them. But if there is a company that I really think does something well or I use like my own life and I'm curious about the background, it's just a really great it's like in between an audio book and a podcast, typical podcast in length and complexity.JulieOh, that's fun.BethI'm already Google, right?KevinYeah, that'll do it. Wait. Oh, you have another one, Beth, you want to complain about? Can you have something positive?BethYeah. Seriously, I just love the. I hate this way. No, the positive of our houses. I'm so like, by the time you guys see me next, next week, Monday, I should be in my office, in my new house, and I'm obsessed with the color that we painted it. And it was a little bit of a risk going back to that word, Kevin But it's a ripe olive by Sherwin-Williams.BethIt's a deep, moody green, and my crown molding is painted it. My doors are painted it, my walls are painted it, my panel, it is the whole office is this deep, moody, green, and it has a vibe. And I'm.JulieObsessed.KevinSo you like cozy, like cave? Kind of like it's not going to be dark. No cream.BethBut yeah, it has. And it has has. The ceiling is white and the floors are white. Okay, So like, there's a balance, but I don't know, I just it gives that feeling of like an all leather bag.JulieYeah.KevinIt looks like you should be signing the docket. Like the Declaration of Independence. Yeah.BethBasically, I need a portrait of George Washington.JulieOn the wall.KevinNicole, I learned something from my son, Hayden. He's in fifth grade, so he has to do a report on a president.JulieMm hmm.KevinAnd you could be lying to me, so don't. Don't at me. He's. And he got second choice, I think, to pick any president you want to do. And he picked Grover Cleveland.JulieOkay, Now.KevinEither one of you know any interesting information about Grover Cleveland?JulieNo. Nope.KevinNo. Apparently, allegedly he is the only president to serve two terms that were nonconsecutive.JulieMm.KevinHe was both the 22nd and the 24th president of the United States and had an incredible mustache.BethHe did that. That is true.KevinOh, all right. That's actually it. We're done now. The show is over. Have a good week. We'll see you next time.JulieBye bye. The post Ep 303: Things We Never Need To Say In The Industry Ever Again appeared first on Online Sales and Marketing for Home Builders - DYC.

Bill Gurley asserts that Epic rigged the system and Social Media concurs. The Internet is ablaze with this narrative, unfortunately it's wrong. A little research will point out that Bill just glossed over the details and started knitting things together that don't go together. Today we explore.

My guest today is Michael Simanovsky. Mike is the Managing Partner of Conversant Capital, a real estate investment firm he founded in early 2020. Conversant aims to be the most flexible capital provider in real estate, investing across public and private markets as well as equities and credit. The firm will also incubate platforms where they see an opportunity to take advantage of a compelling theme that lacks existing business models for investment. We cover the most undersupplied part of the market, why he's building Conversant to be so flexible, and the surprising appeal of billboards. Please enjoy my conversation with Mike Simanovsky. Listen to Founders Podcast Join Colossus live in NYC with Patrick O'Shaughnessy and David Senra on Oct. 19. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors, and provider of Canalyst. Tired of calculating fully-diluted shares outstanding? Access every publicly-reported datapoint and industry-specific KPI through their database of over 4,000 drivable global models hand-built by a team of sector-focused analysts, 35+ industry comp sheets, and Excel add-ins that let you use their industry-leading data in your own spreadsheets. Tegus' models automatically update each quarter, including hard to calculate KPIs like stock-based compensation and organic growth rates, empowering investors to bypass the friction of sourcing, building and updating models. Make efficiency your competitive advantage and take back your time today. As a listener, you can trial Canalyst by Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick. ----- Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.  Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus Show Notes (00:03:32) (First question) - Real estate investing through the lens of the capital cycle (00:06:50) - The capital cycle in practice (00:12:07) - Using evaluation of supply to determine where you are in a capital cycle (00:13:16) - Why real estate drew Mike in  (00:15:35) - The quality of investors in real estate (00:16:41) - What the US market needs most (00:20:26) - The range of returns in real estate (00:23:01) - Insights that stand out (00:26:45) - Starting a new company vs. building a portfolio of assets (00:28:46) - Key trade-offs and choices when building a firm (00:31:10) - Where things go wrong (00:33:59) - Best investment decision he ever made (00:38:06) - Philosophy on CapEx (00:39:52) - Misconceptions about real estate investing  (00:41:31) - Cold storage real estate (00:43:13) - The most interesting corners of the real estate market (00:46:13) - AI and its impact on the future (00:48:30) - Common investor missteps  (00:50:51) - Three guests Mike would invite to a dinner party  (00:52:34) - The most impactful questions to ask a real estate investor (00:53:17) - A defining moment of his career (00:53:17) - The premise of the platform approach (00:56:20) - Possible opportunities and an understanding of the current landscape (01:03:38) - Lessons Mike learned from basketball coach John Wooden's philosophies  (01:04:30) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

Miles Grimshaw is a General Partner @ Benchmark, widely considered one of the best venture capital firms in history. Prior to joining the Benchmark Partnership, Miles was a General Partner @ Thrive Capital where he led investments in Airtable, Monzo, Lattice, Github, Segment, Slack and Benchling to name a few. In Today's Episode with Miles Grimshaw We Discuss: 1. Straight into VC From University: From Yale to Thrive How did Miles come to land a role with Josh Kushner and Thrive right out of Yale? What are 1-2 of his biggest lessons from working with Josh @ Thrive for 8 years? What does Miles know now that he wishes he had known when he started in venture? 2. The Pillars of Venture Capital: Sourcing, Selecting, Servicing: What does Miles believe are the 5 core pillars of successful venture capital? 1-5, what is his strongest and what is his weakest? Does Miles really believe that VCs add value today? What are the most clear ways that Miles have seen VCs destroy value in portfolio companies? 3. Investment Decision Making: From Github to Segment: What is the single most important question that Miles has to answer to say yes to an investment? How does Miles think about both market sizing risk and market timing risk? What have been Miles' biggest hits? What did he learn from making those investments? What have been Miles' biggest misses? What did he learn from missing Figma and Plaid? What have been 1-2 of Miles's biggest lessons so far from working with Bill Gurley and Peter Fenton? 4. AI: What Happens Next: Does Miles believe we are in an AI bubble today? How does he assess the landscape? Why does Miles believe that the "Co-Pilot" strategy is an incumbent strategy? Where does Miles believe the value will accrue; the application layer or the infrastructure layer? What does Miles mean when he says the future is in "selling the work and not the software"? What business model disruption and adoption disruption does Miles believe AI will enable? Why does Miles believe that the analogy of AI to the rise of mobile is wrong?

My guest today is David Senra, the creator and host of Founders Podcast. With an incredible appetite for biographies, David has delved into the lives of over three hundred entrepreneurs, extracting invaluable wisdom that he shares with his audience each week. Throughout the conversation, we discuss David's love of podcasts, and what can be gained from studying the lives of not just entrepreneurs, but of athletes and film directors alike. I hope you enjoy this conversation with David Senra. Listen to Founders Podcast Join Colossus live in NYC with Patrick O'Shaughnessy and David Senra on Oct. 19. Our first interview with David, Episode 292: Passion & Pain For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors. Tired of running your own expert calls to get up to speed on a company? Tegus lets you ramp faster and find answers to critical questions more efficiently than any alternative method. The gold standard for research, the Tegus platform delivers unmatched access to timely, qualitative insights through the largest and most differentiated expert call transcript database. With over 60,000 transcripts spanning 22,000 public and private companies, investors can accelerate their fundamental research process by discovering highly differentiated and reliable insights that can't be found anywhere else in the market. As a listener, drive your next investment thesis forward with Tegus for free at tegus.co/patrick. ----- Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.  Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus Show Notes (00:02:43) - (First question) - David's journey so far (00:05:13) - Why there are no negative surprises linked to his work (00:07:13) - Being bullish on podcasts (00:13:27) - The importance of storytelling to the entrepreneurial journey  (00:17:43) - The impulse of entrepreneurs who are world-builders  (00:23:03) - The universal trait of successful entrepreneurs  (00:27:43) - What David has learned from filmmakers  (00:31:23) - The dark side of the Type-A personality (00:35:13) - What he has learned from athletes (00:42:27) - The effects of early childhood on success (00:43:48) - Insights gained from conquerors  (00:49:33) - Ranking the importance he places on power, wealth, and fame (00:56:13) - The possibility of episodes on spiritual figures (01:02:17) - How Henry Ford created something bigger than himself (01:05:43) - His thoughts on ‘high agency' people (01:11:57) - Why David is not afraid to talk about anything publicly (01:16:27) - His favorite line from Game of Thrones

Instacart's new valuation of up to $9.3 billion is a massive down round from the $39 billion of a few years ago. Bill Gurley, a VC and early Uber investor, says that's a healthy reset: "I've lived through 3 different bubbles and bursts in this industry and unfortunately it's highly cyclical. It tends to go up slowly and crash immediately." He also talked startups in the IPO pipeline, whether there's an AI bubble, and more. 

Jim and Yonathan explore another Iconic Read (or in this case watch) as they break down Bill Gurley's filmed speech titled Running Down a Dream.TOPICS DISCUSSED IN TODAY'S EPISODE Who is Bill Gurley Being the most knowledgeable vs being the smartest Finding your passion and honing your craft Bobby Knight – Finding Mentors Bob Dylan – Being in the epicenter Danny Meyer – Taking Notes Sam Hinkie – Focus and Conviction Katrina Lake – Being a talent magnet  Creating 10x peer groups Resources: Running Down a Dream Above the Crowd Jim Huffman website Jim's Twitter GrowthHit The Growth Marketer's Playbook  Additional episodes you might enjoy:Startup Ideas by Paul Graham (#45)Nathan Barry: How to Bootstrap a Company to $30M in a Crowded Market (#41)How I Met My Biz Partner and Less Learned Hitting $2M ARR (#44)Ryan Hamilton on his Netflix special, touring with Jerry Seinfeld, & how to write a joke (#10)How We're Validating Startup Ideas (#51)

My guest today is Lee Ainslie, the founder of Maverick Capital. Lee started his investing career at Tiger Management where he worked for Julian Robertson. In 1993, he left to start Maverick and has built the firm into one of the top-performing hedge funds of the last 30 years. Lee doesn't speak in public often so this is a fascinating insight into what it takes to build an enduring investment business - both psychologically and operationally. Throughout the conversation, we flick between his lessons building Maverick, his perspective on the market, and what he's learned about the craft of investing. I hope you enjoy this great conversation with Lee Ainslie. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors. Tired of running your own expert calls to get up to speed on a company? Tegus lets you ramp faster and find answers to critical questions more efficiently than any alternative method. The gold standard for research, the Tegus platform delivers unmatched access to timely, qualitative insights through the largest and most differentiated expert call transcript database. With over 60,000 transcripts spanning 22,000 public and private companies, investors can accelerate their fundamental research process by discovering highly-differentiated and reliable insights that can't be found anywhere else in the market. As a listener, drive your next investment thesis forward with Tegus for free at tegus.co/patrick. ----- Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.  Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus Show Notes (00:03:00) - (First question) - Lee tells us about his relationship with Steve Mandel (00:04:29) - Why he thinks Steve gave him a hand into the role he excelled at (00:07:22) - The concept behind investment talent (00:13:08) - Steps he takes to hire the right individuals for his team (00:16:14) - Why he stepped out on his own to start Maverick Capital (00:18:77) - The hardest parts about launching the business itself (00:20:48) - What he thinks makes for a great investment or stock purchase (00:25:16) - How Maverick maintains its edge over other comparable firms (00:28:31) - Features of a business that get his attention in a unique way (00:32:03) - What he learned from Sol Price (00:33:50) - He explains portfolio construction and risk (00:38:21) - The difficult aspects of portfolio construction (00:42:04) - How zero interest rates affected the long short style of investing (00:47:22) - Positioning his team for success against other competitors  (00:50:32) - How private market activity can affect public market activity  (00:54:27) - Software companies and their strengths and weaknesses in the investment market (00:59:33) - Things he tells his team to watch for (01:04:10) - What Lee's learned about money (01:07:02) - The most important conversation he's had in Mavericks history  (01:12:38) - Advice for senior executives trying to pass on responsibilities to others (01:17:54) - What the next ten years for Maverick Capital look like  (01:20:42) - Things Lee and Warren Buffett disagree on (01:20:04) - Three active managers he would study  (01:24:11) - The components of a great investment pitch (01:25:08) - The hardest question anyone could ask him (01:28:48) - What he thinks is important having started Maverick Ventures  (01:31:32) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for Lee

(0:00) Bestie intros: Friedberg's bad haircut (1:17) Welcome BG^2! Biography recommendations and film talk (22:27) VC market update: State of Series A's (33:43) Dry powder misconceptions, marking incentives (48:57) IPO window starting to open, IPO down rounds, incentives to go public (1:03:17) Cyclical venture cycles, managing distributions, benchmarking VC performance vs public market (1:22:26) Tragic Maui wildfires, extreme temperatures (1:26:11) Macro picture: inflation cools, deflation risk? Follow the besties: https://twitter.com/chamath https://linktr.ee/calacanis https://twitter.com/DavidSacks https://twitter.com/friedberg https://twitter.com/altcap https://twitter.com/bgurley Follow the pod: https://twitter.com/theallinpod https://linktr.ee/allinpodcast Intro Music Credit: https://rb.gy/tppkzl https://twitter.com/yung_spielburg Intro Video Credit: https://twitter.com/TheZachEffect Referenced in the show: https://youtu.be/xmYekD6-PZ8 https://www.amazon.com/Setting-Table-Transforming-Hospitality-Business/dp/0060742755 https://www.amazon.com/Steve-Jobs-Walter-Isaacson/dp/147770146X https://www.amazon.com/Elon-Musk-Spanish-Walter-Isaacson/dp/B0CBTHK86N https://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Some-Companies-Others/dp/0066620996 https://www.amazon.com/Man-Arena-Selected-Writings-Roosevelt/dp/0765306700 https://www.amazon.com/Shoe-Dog-Memoir-Creator-Nike/dp/1501135910 https://www.amazon.com/Alexander-Hamilton-Ron-Chernow/dp/1594200092 https://www.amazon.com/Something-Autobiography-Vintage-Akira-Kurosawa/dp/B0C3D5NDJX https://www.amazon.com/Born-Standing-Up-Comics-Martin/dp/B017QUU3EO https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Memoir-Craft-Stephen-King/dp/1439193630 https://www.amazon.com/Autobiography-Malcolm-told-Alex-Haley/dp/0345379756 https://www.linkedin.com/posts/peterjameswalker_cartadata-seriesa-valuations-activity-7092542118803488768-vOcY https://www.theinformation.com/articles/venture-firms-still-writing-small-checks-despite-271-billion-in-dry-powder https://twitter.com/bgurley/status/1688605654188224512 https://finance.yahoo.com/chart/SN https://www.google.com/finance/quote/CAVA:NYSE https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/SRFM https://twitter.com/altcap/status/1686086247029055489 https://www.wsj.com/articles/university-endowments-mint-billions-in-golden-era-of-venture-capital-11632907802 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhy7JUinlu0 https://twitter.com/gokulr/status/1680006171149869056 https://www.statista.com/statistics/277501/venture-capital-amount-invested-in-the-united-states-since-1995 https://www.bls.gov/charts/consumer-price-index/consumer-price-index-by-category-line-chart.htm https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2023-08-10/disinflation-wave-the-bloomberg-open-americas-edition https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/09/business/china-economy-inflation.html https://twitter.com/KobeissiLetter/status/1689010884062904320

My guest today is Des Traynor. Des is the co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Intercom - a customer service solution that helps businesses answer product questions, offer instant support, and automate sales. The business was founded in 2011 and its products operate within 25,000 businesses, including the likes of Amazon, Lyft and Atlassian. Our conversation is roughly split in half. First, we talk about AI and how it's actually changing businesses like Intercom through products such as their OpenAI powered bot called Fin. We then talk about Des's views as an investor, which includes an answer about software that I'll remember for a long time. Please enjoy my conversation with Des Traynor. Listen to Founders Podcast Founders Episode 311: James Cameron For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors, and provider of Canalyst. Tired of calculating fully-diluted shares outstanding? Access every publicly-reported datapoint and industry-specific KPI through their database of over 4,000 drivable global models hand-built by a team of sector-focused analysts, 35+ industry comp sheets, and Excel add-ins that let you use their industry-leading data in your own spreadsheets. Tegus' models automatically update each quarter, including hard to calculate KPIs like stock-based compensation and organic growth rates, empowering investors to bypass the friction of sourcing, building and updating models. Make efficiency your competitive advantage and take back your time today. As a listener, you can trial Canalyst by Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick. ----- Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.  Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus Show Notes (00:03:42) - (First question) - Des's high level thoughts on Open AI and new technology (00:07:07) - Advanced AI tech for existing businesses versus start-ups ventures  (00:11:14) - Where Intercom falls on the spectrum of existing and new AI technology  (00:13:16) - Training AI to be tailored to specific fields of work (00:18:25) - The natural end point is for Intercom incorporating AI   (00:22:25) - Des's product philosophy behind this technology (00:24:03) - Choosing an AI provider that best suited his customer service industry needs (00:26:55) - The value comparison between using AI-led customer service versus human (00:29:18) - Why outsourcing automated data is not for everyone (00:31:15) - Des's advice for other companies beginning to integrate AI into their operations   (00:36:33) - What he is excited for as an investor in this area (00:37:50) - The most common discussions he's having about this technology (00:41:21) - The inherent risks of using AI models that are not 100% accurate  (00:45:10) - Des's evolution as an investor (00:48:25) - How Intercom solved it's AI execution problems (00:50:46) - Combating other companies that are trying to overtake the field  (00:53:44) - Counter arguments for using AI technology   (00:57:22) - His view on the best software out there (01:03:00) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him 

My guest today is Samo Burja. Samo is the founder of consulting firm, Bismark Analysis, and has dedicated his life's work to understanding why there has never been an immortal society. His research focuses on institutions, the founders behind them, how they rise and why they always fall in the end. As you'll hear, Samo has an encyclopedic grasp of history and his work has led him to some fascinating theories about human progress, the nature of exceptional founders, and the future of different societies across the world. Please enjoy my conversation with Samo Burja. Listen to Founders Podcast Founders Episode 311: James Cameron For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors. Tired of running your own expert calls to get up to speed on a company? Tegus lets you ramp faster and find answers to critical questions more efficiently than any alternative method. The gold standard for research, the Tegus platform delivers unmatched access to timely, qualitative insights through the largest and most differentiated expert call transcript database. With over 60,000 transcripts spanning 22,000 public and private companies, investors can accelerate their fundamental research process by discovering highly-differentiated and reliable insights that can't be found anywhere else in the market. As a listener, drive your next investment thesis forward with Tegus for free at tegus.co/patrick. ----- Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.  Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus Show Notes (00:02:52) - (First question) - The core thesis behind the Great Founder Theory (00:06:40) - Great ideas inevitably being discovered at some point in history  (00:08:45) - The historic implications of a global adoption of the Great Founder Theory (00:10:51) - The different possible directions of future trends (00:17:08) - Distinctions between great founders versus live players   (00:22:15) - Common misconceptions about what qualifies one as a great founder (00:24:38) - Noteworthy great founders in the United States (00:28:34) - Recurring observable traits and common themes of great founders   (00:31:29) - Using caution when projecting a mythic lens onto great founders  (00:37:53) - Social technology as the upstream effects of prior material technology (00:43:32) - Whether or not institutions play a role in propagating the work of great founders    (00:49:08) - The role of power and differences between owned and borrowed power   (00:56:51) - Additional ideas that play an outsized role in shaping the world  (01:01:09) - A differing worldview to his own that he finds interesting (01:04:53) - Whether or not capital allocators can benefit from the Great Founder Theory  (01:07:37) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

My guest today is Chris Paik, who is a General Partner at early-stage venture firm, Pace Capital. Before Pace, Chris spent eight years building and investing alongside last week's guest, Josh Kushner, at his firm Thrive Capital. During that time, he sat on the board of Twitch. Our conversation explores Chris' frameworks for investing, from atomic value swaps to business model product fit and the seven deadly sins. We also discuss different consumer trends like the rise of virtual YouTubers, Apple's Vision Pro, and why everyone graduates off YouTube. Please enjoy my conversation with Chris Paik. Founders Podcast Founders Episode 136 - Estee Lauder Founders Episode 288 - Ralph Lauren For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Stretch your research budget with flexible expert calls you can trust. At a fraction of the cost of traditional expert networks, Tegus customers pay only what an expert charges – with zero markups and no confusing call credits – netting an average 70% savings. Don't want to conduct a full hour call? Tegus offers the ability to schedule 30-minutes, an offer you won't find anywhere else. And they don't stop there. With white-glove custom sourcing for every project and robust compliance measures, including a dedicated 50+ analyst team that vets every call transcript, Tegus ensures your privacy and protection. As the industry innovator for qualitative insights, Tegus helps you find the right experts you need at a quality and speed that can't be matched. For a limited time, as a listener, you can trial Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick. ----- Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.  Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus Show Notes (00:03:00) - (First question) - The history of humanity as a data storage and transfer problem and how that relates to new kinds of computer interfaces (00:14:47) - Investing strategies; knowing when to invest in new technology (00:16:39) - Assessing the gray areas of a potential investment (00:22:13) - CodeMiko and VTubing (00:32:51) - An explanation of atomic value swap (00:39:55) - The 7 deadly sins and the degrees to which each sin is monetizable  (00:45:05) - Evaluating the people behind new technologies (00:50:03) - The Reddit Revolt - the current changes happening at Reddit   (00:53:09) - Business model alignment; the steps to take when determining a business' value capture mechanism  (01:03:52) - The investment decision that Chris is most proud of  (01:08:14) - The consumer investing landscape today (01:11:19) - Chris' methods for finding new content, technology and potential investments on the internet (01:14:06) - The fundamentals of value creation   (01:15:06) - The dark side of tech, how can it be more than just friction reduction (01:17:22) - Chris' opinion on why so many innovations come from the US (01:20:37) - Defining market places and how to start and grow a successful one (01:23:23) - Chris' thoughts on opportunities with bad business models (01:26:19) - A breakdown of Chris' analogy “Sculptors versus painters” (01:29:34) - The kindest thing that anyone has ever done for Chris

Brought to you by Eight Sleep's Pod Cover sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating, Secureframe automated security and privacy compliance platform, and AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement. Welcome to another episode of The Tim Ferriss Show, where it is usually my job to deconstruct world-class performers to tease out the routines, habits, et cetera that you can apply to your own lives. This is a special episode and a turning of the tables. This time, legendary investor Bill Gurley interviews me, and the recording is from earlier this year at SXSW in Austin, TX. The conversation explores some of my lessons learned and favorite findings over the last two decades in areas like entrepreneurship, tech, and podcasting. I throw in some favorite books and other spice to keep things interesting.Bill Gurley (@bgurley) has spent more than 20 years as a general partner at Benchmark. Before entering the venture-capital business, Bill spent four years on Wall Street as a top-ranked research analyst, including three years at Credit Suisse First Boston. Over his venture career, he has worked with such companies as GrubHub, Nextdoor, OpenTable, Stitch Fix, Uber, and Zillow.For more takeaways from his incredible investing career, you can find my interview with Bill at tim.blog/billgurley. As a side note, my 2007 SXSW speech that I mention in the interview was what started it all, in many senses. It's what put my first book, The 4-Hour Workweek, on the radar of influential bloggers and bigger media outlets, ultimately landing it on The New York Times Best Sellers list, where it stayed, more or less, for the next seven years. It's been a wild ride. You can hear that 2007 presentation at tim.blog/sxsw.One last thing: Hugh Forrest, if you're listening, thank you again for giving me a shot way back in the day! Please enjoy! *This episode is brought to you by Secureframe! Secureframe's industry-leading compliance automation platform, paired with their in-house compliance experts and former auditors, helps you get audit-ready in weeks, not months, so you can close more deals faster. Secureframe simplifies and streamlines the process of getting and staying compliant to the most rigorous global privacy and security standards. They help thousands of businesses achieve compliance with security and privacy frameworks including SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, PCI, and GDPR. Schedule a demo today at Secureframe.com, and tell them during the demo that Tim Ferriss sent you to unlock 10% off for your first year.*This episode is also brought to you by AG1! I get asked all the time, “If you could use only one supplement, what would it be?” My answer is usually AG1, my all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in The 4-Hour Body in 2010 and did not get paid to do so. I do my best with nutrient-dense meals, of course, but AG1 further covers my bases with vitamins, minerals, and whole-food-sourced micronutrients that support gut health and the immune system. Right now, you'll get their Vitamin D Liquid Formula free with your first subscription purchase—a vital nutrient for a strong immune system and strong bones. Visit DrinkAG1.com/Tim to claim this special offer today and receive the free Vitamin D Liquid Formula (and 5 free AG1 travel packs) with your first subscription purchase! That's up to a one-year supply of Vitamin D as added value when you try their delicious and comprehensive all-in-one daily greens product.*This episode is also brought to you by Eight Sleep! Eight Sleep's Pod Cover is the easiest and fastest way to sleep at the perfect temperature. It pairs dynamic cooling and heating with biometric tracking to offer the most advanced (and user-friendly) solution on the market. Simply add the Pod Cover to your current mattress and start sleeping as cool as 55°F or as hot as 110°F. It also splits your bed in half, so your partner can choose a totally different temperature.Go to EightSleep.com/Tim and save $250 on the Eight Sleep Pod Cover. Eight Sleep currently ships within the USA, Canada, the UK, select countries in the EU, and Australia.*For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsorsSign up for Tim's email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.Discover Tim's books: tim.blog/books.Follow Tim:Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss Instagram: instagram.com/timferrissYouTube: youtube.com/timferrissFacebook: facebook.com/timferriss LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferrissPast guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, Margaret Atwood, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Dr. Gabor Maté, Anne Lamott, Sarah Silverman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and many more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

My guest today is Dave Yuan. Dave is the Founder and Partner of Tidemark Capital, which he started in 2021 after 15 years as a General Partner at Technology Crossover Ventures. Dave has been investing in vertical market software as long as anyone I know and he currently sits on the board of two VMS businesses, Toast and Karbon. He is the perfect guest to deliver a primer on VMS, which is exactly what we do in this episode. Please enjoy my conversation with Dave Yuan. The Vertical SaaS Knowledge Project - Tidemark Capital Founders Podcast Founders Episode 136 - Estee Lauder Founders Episode 288 - Ralph Lauren For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.  ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Stretch your research budget with flexible expert calls you can trust. At a fraction of the cost of traditional expert networks, Tegus customers pay only what an expert charges – with zero markups and no confusing call credits – netting an average 70% savings. Don't want to conduct a full hour call? Tegus offers the ability to schedule 30-minutes, an offer you won't find anywhere else. And they don't stop there. With white-glove custom sourcing for every project and robust compliance measures, including a dedicated 50+ analyst team that vets every call transcript, Tegus ensures your privacy and protection. As the industry innovator for qualitative insights, Tegus helps you find the right experts you need at a quality and speed that can't be matched. For a limited time, as a listener, you can trial Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick. ----- Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.  Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more. Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus Show Notes (00:02:57) - (First question) - Vertical Market Software (VMS) offers unique business models and customer benefits (00:04:02) - Industry-specific software serving SMBs with tailored functionality (00:06:53) - Assess market based on TAM, competition, and growth dynamics (00:10:00) - Trust as a nuanced factor in evaluating market opportunities (00:11:59) - Leverage account-based marketing and local network effects for VMS solutions (00:14:22) - Vertical solutions offer tailored value and quick results for specific industries (00:16:21) - Disrupting legacy control points through integration and surrounding functionality (00:19:07) - Building demand is crucial for small merchants (00:21:31) - VMS entrepreneurs need operational experience and multi-product mindset (00:23:13) - Investors need to adapt to the specific growth stage and market dynamics (00:25:22) - Gross retention is driven by control points, individual-based retention, and distribution (00:29:43) - Multi-product vertical SaaS: Integrated solutions for efficiency and value (00:32:33) - Diverse offerings to serve merchants' needs in a multi-product approach (00:34:07) - FareHarbor's unique strategy led to success in the tour industry (00:38:43) - LA-based company revolutionized commercial casting with a free software tool (00:40:03) - Opportunities remain in VMS, with greenfield areas and specific markets (00:45:12) - Key valuation considerations for VMS businesses (00:47:27) - Time horizon is crucial for investing in VMS businesses (00:48:04) - Businesses worth studying in this category (00:51:12) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

My guest today is Kevin Kelly. Kevin co-founded Wired magazine and has published a number of seminal books and essays on technology over the past three decades. I have devoured everything Kevin has put out into the world and many of his ideas shape the way I live today. Our conversation explores media, family, money, his concept of the Technium, AI, and more but the central theme of this episode is that we should be as generous and unique as possible. You will hear us refer to his latest book, Excellent Advice for Living, throughout and I highly recommend reading it if you haven't already. Please enjoy this great conversation with Kevin Kelly. Founders Podcast Founders Episode 136 - Estee Lauder Founders Episode 288 - Ralph Lauren For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.  ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors, and provider of Canalyst. Tired of calculating fully-diluted shares outstanding? Access every publicly-reported datapoint and industry-specific KPI through their database of over 4,000 driveable global models handbuilt by a team of sector-focused analysts, 35+ industry comp sheets, and Excel add-ins that let you use their industry-leading data in your own spreadsheets. Tegus' models automatically update each quarter, including hard to calculate KPIs like stock-based compensation and organic growth rates, empowering investors to bypass the friction of sourcing, building and updating models. Make efficiency your competitive advantage and take back your time today. As a listener, you can trial Canalyst by Tegus for free by visitingtegus.co/patrick. ----- Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.  Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more. Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus Show Notes (00:03:05) - (First question) - Excellent Advice for Living - a journey towards authenticity (00:05:05) - Uncovering the essence of oneself is a lifelong journey of self-reflection (00:06:47) - What he would have done differently at 30 had he internalized this concept earlier (00:08:51) - The highest form of self-expression is being authentically unique and redefining success (00:11:05) - Conforming to others' definition of success and societal biases hinders progress (00:13:07) - Surrender and collaboration are both essential in becoming your authentic self (00:14:38) - Prototype your life to embrace imperfections and make ideas tangible (00:17:34) - Mastering cultural photography in Asia and developing a keen ability to spot trends (00:19:59) - Energy signatures reveal depth, breadth, discovery, and momentum  in events (00:22:02) - The reward for good work is more work (00:23:42) - Money is a tool for doing things, but beware its imprisoning burden (00:28:35) - Imagination can be cultivated and improved, often by challenging expectations (00:31:38) - Imaginative individuals include lateral thinkers who challenge norms (00:34:41) - Rites of passage and rituals provide stability and identity for children (00:38:15) - Mealtime without screens, family traditions, and cultivating a family identity (00:41:44) - An overview of “The three gates” (00:43:02) - Humans are naturally kind (00:47:23) - The Technium: an evolving ecosystem of interdependent tech and their tendencies (00:52:01) - Thoughts on AI (00:55:55) - Overestimating the existential threat of AI (00:57:38) - Idiosyncratic expression of creators (00:59:48) - Lessons learned about media (01:01:34) - Be the only, not the best. (01:05:09) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

My guest this week is Justin Mares. Justin is the founder of TrueMed and has previously founded three different health food brands that collectively do $100M+ in annual revenue.  Every time I speak with him, he makes me reflect on my own health and the state of our health more broadly. This conversation is no different. As Justin puts it, we're in a health crisis that could ultimately bankrupt our country. We talk about the inputs, incentives, and potential solutions related to that crisis, and then move into his experiences building and investing in consumer brands. We finish with a fascinating discussion on why it's more common to see repeat founders these days. Please enjoy my great conversation with Justin Mares. Founders Podcast Founders Episode 136 - Estee Lauder Founders Episode 288 - Ralph Lauren For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.  ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors. Stretch your research budget with flexible expert calls you can trust. At a fraction of the cost of traditional expert networks, Tegus customers pay only what an expert charges – with zero markups and no confusing call credits – netting an average 70% savings. Don't want to conduct a full hour call? Tegus offers the ability to schedule 30-minutes, an offer you won't find anywhere else. And they don't stop there. With white-glove custom sourcing for every project and robust compliance measures, including a dedicated 50+ analyst team that vets every call transcript, Tegus ensures your privacy and protection. As the industry innovator for qualitative insights, Tegus helps you find the right experts you need at a quality and speed that can't be matched. For a limited time, as a listener, you can trial Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick. ----- Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.  Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more. Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus Show Notes (00:03:06) - (First question) - Framing the overall problem of the US health system (00:04:12) - What it would take for America's health crisis to affect global competitiveness (00:11:05) - Important changes that have contributed to the decline of health in the US  (00:14:53) - Other system settings and incentives have contributed to America's health crisis (00:16:51) - Thoughts on Ozempic and attempts to engineer solutions for chronic disease (00:20:07) - Mental health decline, infertility, and other problems tied to the health crisis  (00:24:33) - When he first discovered this problem and became passionate about it (00:26:56) - The difficulties of building a health-centric bone broth company  (00:31:49) - Why no one has a built supply chain sourcing service to create scale economies (00:34:44) - Other companies he's built and other things he's doing to fight the problem  (00:40:15) - Going to market to simplify the HSA consumer experience  (00:43:04) - The world of water, environmental toxins and forever chemicals writ large (00:47:17) - The difficulty in avoiding forever chemicals in our everyday lives  (00:51:51) - How he searches for and decides on new businesses to start or invest in    (00:56:52) - The growing popularity and promise of psychedelic therapy  (00:58:48) - Personality traits of people who feel most at home in Edge City (01:01:36) - Strategies on sourcing and connecting with ambitious and talented people (01:06:56) - Childhood nutrition and the impact of their diets and health on society  (01:11:26) - Capital formation and creating new businesses in a systematic way (01:19:57) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him