Irish billionaire entrepreneur
POPULARITY
148 episodes with John Collison
12 episodes with John Collison
4 episodes with John Collison
4 episodes with John Collison
9 episodes with John Collison
4 episodes with John Collison
2 episodes with John Collison
2 episodes with John Collison
2 episodes with John Collison
2 episodes with John Collison
2 episodes with John Collison
2 episodes with John Collison
2 episodes with John Collison
2 episodes with John Collison
2 episodes with John Collison
13 episodes with John Collison
2 episodes with John Collison
6 episodes with John Collison
The Board of the Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition (YSTE) has announced that Stripe, the programmable financial services company with dual headquarters in Dublin and San Francisco, has been appointed as the new title sponsor of Ireland's most prestigious and well-loved STEM exhibition. Signing a 5-year agreement, Stripe assumes the role of title sponsor for YSTE from BT Ireland who, up until this year, was custodian, sponsor and organiser of the exhibition for the past twenty five years. Following a competitive selection process, Stripe secured the title sponsorship thanks to its shared passion with YSTE and commitment to promoting STEM education in Ireland - values exemplified by co-founder Patrick Collison, a former YSTE winner, and his brother John, who also won a category award at the exhibition. Stripe was also chosen for its clear vision for YSTE, its multi-year sponsorship commitment, and its ability to support the large volunteer force required for the delivery of an exhibition and event of this scale. Founded by Dr Tony Scott and Rev Dr Tom Burke in 1965, the exhibition is a staple in the academic, scientific and technological calendar every year, and attracts on average over 40,000 visitors, thus making it one of the biggest events of its kind both in Europe and worldwide. The winners of the Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition advance to participate in prestigious international events such as the European Union Contest for Young Scientists. Professor Pat Guiry, Chairperson of the Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition Board, said, "I would like to congratulate Stripe on their selection as the new title sponsor of the Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition. What really struck the Board was the level of commitment and passion Stripe displayed in wanting to honour the legacy and vision that Dr Tony Scott and Rev Dr Tom Burke created more than sixty years ago." "Collaborating with BT Ireland has been a true privilege for our Board and their dedication in shaping the exhibition into what it is today has been nothing short of inspiring. While they leave a remarkable legacy, we are confident that Stripe will be exceptional partners in the years ahead - not only given Stripe's global reputation as a leader in tech innovation, but also given its strong connection to YSTE through Patrick and John Collison, who are both past participants in the competition, with Patrick taking home the overall top prize in 2005." Patrick Collison, Co-founder and CEO of Stripe, also said, "YSTE is a special institution for me and John. It amplified our curiosity and reinforced our confidence at a critical juncture. We're honoured that Stripe has been selected to help preserve it for generations to come." Speaking about the appointment, Minister for Education, Helen McEntee TD, said, "The Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition has grown to become one of the most successful, and respected events focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in Europe, if not the world. The incredible legacy it has left to date is immeasurable and I have no doubt it will continue to inspire and promote STEM and innovation for many more years to come." "I would like to thank BT Ireland for delivering an exhibition of such a high standard for over 25 years. We look forward to continuing our strategic partnership with the YTSE and working with Stripe as they continue to empower students to embrace new ideas, foster curiosity and encourage a love of learning." Dr Tony Scott, Co-founder of the Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition, said, "We are delighted to welcome Stripe as a partner in shaping the next chapter of our exhibition. Their support ensures we can continue to inspire the next generation of scientists, technologists, engineers, and innovators. It's vital that we not only sustain the strong reputation and level of interest in the exhibition year-on-year, but continue to evolve and engage young inquiring minds in new an...
Krithika Shankarraman was the first marketing hire at OpenAI and Stripe and led marketing at Retool. At OpenAI, she established marketing foundations for ChatGPT for consumers and enterprises, as well as their developer API platform. While at Stripe, she spent over eight years building and scaling their marketing function from scratch. An engineer turned marketer, Krithika brings a uniquely analytical approach to marketing. She currently serves as Entrepreneur in Residence at Thrive Capital, where she helps portfolio companies on all things marketing.What you will learn:1. Why do most marketing playbooks often fail, and what's a better way?2. Which marketing lever should I pull first?3. Why is trying to be better than competitors usually a losing strategy?4. How do I craft positioning that actually converts?5. What makes messaging stick with developers, enterprises, and consumers?6. What pricing experiments actually move revenue?7. What is working at OpenAI really like?8. Why does consistency and quality matter more than speed?—Brought to you by:Eppo — Run reliable, impactful experimentsAirtable ProductCentral—Launch to new heights with a unified system for product developmentLinkedIn Ads—Reach professionals and drive results for your business—Where to find Krithika Shankarraman:• X: https://x.com/krithix• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krithix/• Website: https://krithix.com/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Krithika(04:22) Early marketing lessons from OpenAI(11:17) Diagnosing marketing needs(15:06) The DATE framework and why being cheaper is a race to the bottom(17:11) Marketing strategies at Retool(22:29) Insights from marketing at Stripe(32:33) The importance of consistent marketing communication(39:55) Criteria for hiring a marketing expert(41:43) “Capital M” vs. “lowercase m” marketing(43:05) ChatGPT vs. Claude: market dominance(45:31) The future of AI and its societal impact(47:09) Work-life balance(48:41) Transitioning to Thrive(52:35) Career advice for marketers(55:00) The importance of taste and creativity in the AI era(01:00:04) AI product pricing(01:03:21) AI tools in marketing(01:05:17) Failure corner(01:08:46) Lightning round and final thoughts—Referenced:• OpenAI: https://openai.com/• Stripe: https://stripe.com/• Retool: https://retool.com/• Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/• Sam Altman talks about his business model: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLnyjxgFxew• The art and science of pricing | Madhavan Ramanujam (Monetizing Innovation, Simon-Kucher): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-art-and-science-of-pricing-madhavan• Pricing your SaaS product: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/saas-pricing-strategy• Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/• Stripe Connect: https://stripe.com/connect• John Collison on X: https://x.com/collision• Patrick Collison on X: https://x.com/patrickc• Cristina Cordova on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristinajcordova/• Hackpad: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackpad• Building Wiz: the fastest-growing startup in history | Raaz Herzberg (CMO and VP Product Strategy): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-wiz-raaz-herzberg• Wiz: https://www.wiz.io/• Thrive Capital: https://thrivecap.com/• Brian Chesky's new playbook: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/brian-cheskys-contrarian-approach• Claude: https://claude.ai/new• ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com/• Lessons from scaling Stripe | Claire Hughes Johnson (former COO of Stripe): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/lessons-from-scaling-stripe-tactics• Databricks: https://www.databricks.com/• Everyone's an engineer now: Inside v0's mission to create a hundred million builders | Guillermo Rauch (founder and CEO of Vercel, creators of v0 and Next.js): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/everyones-an-engineer-now-guillermo-rauch• Tobi Lütke's leadership playbook: Playing infinite games, operating from first principles, and maximizing human potential (founder and CEO of Shopify): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/tobi-lutkes-leadership-playbook• OpenAI's CPO on how AI changes must-have skills, moats, coding, startup playbooks, more | Kevin Weil (CPO at OpenAI, ex-Instagram, Twitter): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/kevin-weil-open-ai• April Dunford on product positioning, segmentation, and optimizing your sales process: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/april-dunford-on-product-positioning• A step-by-step guide to crafting a sales pitch that wins | April Dunford (author of Obviously Awesome and Sales Pitch): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/a-step-by-step-guide-to-crafting• Severance on AppleTV+: https://tv.apple.com/us/show/severance/• Granola: https://www.granola.ai/• Some people think AI writing has a tell—the em dash. Writers disagree: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/04/09/ai-em-dash-writing-punctuation-chatgpt/—Recommended books:• Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning So Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It: https://www.amazon.com/Obviously-Awesome-Product-Positioning-Customers/dp/1999023005• Circe: https://www.amazon.com/Circe-Madeline-Miller/dp/0316556327/—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe
Founders ✓ Claim : Read the notes at at podcastnotes.org. Don't forget to subscribe for free to our newsletter, the top 10 ideas of the week, every Monday --------- What I learned from reading The Red Bull Story by Wolfgang Fürweger and Red Bull's Billionaire Maniac by Duff McDonald. ----Get access to the World's Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----Come and build in-person relationships at the Founders Only conference----(1:30) "In literal financial terms, our sports teams are not yet profitable, but in value terms, they are," he says. "The total editorial media value plus the media assets created around the teams are superior to pure advertising expenditures."(2:30) "It is a must to believe in one's product. If this were just a marketing gimmick, it would never work."(5:00) He doesn't place a premium on collecting friends or socializing: "I don't believe in 50 friends. I believe in a smaller number. Nor do I care about society events. It's the most senseless use of time. When I do go out, from time to time, it's just to convince myself again that I'm not missing a lot."(7:30) The most dangerous thing for a branded product is low interest. (Edwin Land: The test of an invention is the power of an inventor to push it through in the face of the staunch-not opposition, but indifference-in society. (Indifference is your enemy)(9:00) Nike, Adidas and Vans episodes:Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight. (Founders #186)Sneaker Wars: The Enemy Brothers Who Founded Adidas and Puma and The Family Feud That Forever Changed The Business of Sports by Barbara Smit. (Founders #109)Authentic: A Memoir by the Founder of Vans by Paul Van Doren. (Founders #216)(11:00) The lines between Red Bull, Red Bull athletes, and Red Bull events are blurry on purpose. To Mateschitz, it's just one big image campaign with many manifestations.(12:00) He has no plans to sell or take Red Bull public. "It's not a question of money. It's a question of fun. Can you imagine me in a shareholders' meeting?”(13:00) Red Bull's Billionaire Maniac https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-05-19/red-bulls-billionaire-maniac(16:00) He is universally described as a person with great charisma.(16:30) The Invisible Billionaire: Daniel Ludwig by Jerry Shields. (Founders 292)(17:00) He has a fierce desire for privacy. He buys a society magazine to make sure he never appears in it.(22:00) There is no market for Red Bull. We will create one.(24:00) Estée Lauder: A Success Story by Estée Lauder. (Founders #217)(30:00) the NEW Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charlie Munger. (Founders #329)(31:00) Gossip and malicious rumors are worth more than the most expensive publicity campaign in the world.” — Dior by Dior: The Autobiography of Christian Dior (Founders #331)(36:00) Control your costs and maintain financial discipline even when making record profits.(38:00) Cult brands have their own laws, otherwise they would not be cultish.(38:00) Red Bull is Dietrich Mateschitz and Dietrich Mateschitz is Red Bull.(38:00) Many companies outsource their marketing and advertising activity. Red Bull consistently took the opposite route: It outsourced production and distribution and takes care of sales and advertising itself.(40:00) Charlie Munger and John Collison on Invest Like The Best #355 Rolex: Timeless Excellence on Invest Like The Best (41:00) If you are making a physical product make it look different from its competitors from the start.(43:00) Everything is marketing.(45:00) Never do anything that compromises your survival.(46:00) He keeps his empire constantly in motion(46:00) All corporate projects like Formula 1, football, Air Race, and media serve the core business: the sale of the energy drink.(47:00) This is a battle for attention.(49:00) Red Bull owns their events. They never relinquish media rights to any event. They invest in making the content and then they give their content to other media distributors for free. A very clever way to multiply their advertising and marketing spend.(52:00) The Bugatti Story by L'Ebe Bugatti. (Founders #316)The Dream of Solomeo: My Life and the Idea of Humanistic Capitalism by Brunello Cucinelli. (Founders #289)(54:00) Why he moved Red Bull's headquarters to a little village on a lake: The aim was to create a more pleasant working atmosphere.(54:00) On why fitness is so important to him: “Everything that gives me pleasure in life is connected with a certain physical fitness and physical well-being. I like going to the mountain, I like skiing, I like sailing, I like riding a motorbike, I like fooling around - and everything is connected with a minimum of physical agility, motor skills, dexterity, strength, stamina. In order to enjoy it outdoors, I need the indoor program.”----Get access to the World's Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----Come and build in-person relationships at the Founders Only conference----“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested, so my poor wallet suffers.” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast ----Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ----“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast
Founders ✓ Claim What I learned from reading The Red Bull Story by Wolfgang Fürweger and Red Bull's Billionaire Maniac by Duff McDonald. ----Get access to the World's Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----Come and build in-person relationships at the Founders Only conference----(1:30) "In literal financial terms, our sports teams are not yet profitable, but in value terms, they are," he says. "The total editorial media value plus the media assets created around the teams are superior to pure advertising expenditures."(2:30) "It is a must to believe in one's product. If this were just a marketing gimmick, it would never work."(5:00) He doesn't place a premium on collecting friends or socializing: "I don't believe in 50 friends. I believe in a smaller number. Nor do I care about society events. It's the most senseless use of time. When I do go out, from time to time, it's just to convince myself again that I'm not missing a lot."(7:30) The most dangerous thing for a branded product is low interest. (Edwin Land: The test of an invention is the power of an inventor to push it through in the face of the staunch-not opposition, but indifference-in society. (Indifference is your enemy)(9:00) Nike, Adidas and Vans episodes:Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight. (Founders #186)Sneaker Wars: The Enemy Brothers Who Founded Adidas and Puma and The Family Feud That Forever Changed The Business of Sports by Barbara Smit. (Founders #109)Authentic: A Memoir by the Founder of Vans by Paul Van Doren. (Founders #216)(11:00) The lines between Red Bull, Red Bull athletes, and Red Bull events are blurry on purpose. To Mateschitz, it's just one big image campaign with many manifestations.(12:00) He has no plans to sell or take Red Bull public. "It's not a question of money. It's a question of fun. Can you imagine me in a shareholders' meeting?”(13:00) Red Bull's Billionaire Maniac https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-05-19/red-bulls-billionaire-maniac(16:00) He is universally described as a person with great charisma.(16:30) The Invisible Billionaire: Daniel Ludwig by Jerry Shields. (Founders 292)(17:00) He has a fierce desire for privacy. He buys a society magazine to make sure he never appears in it.(22:00) There is no market for Red Bull. We will create one.(24:00) Estée Lauder: A Success Story by Estée Lauder. (Founders #217)(30:00) the NEW Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charlie Munger. (Founders #329)(31:00) Gossip and malicious rumors are worth more than the most expensive publicity campaign in the world.” — Dior by Dior: The Autobiography of Christian Dior (Founders #331)(36:00) Control your costs and maintain financial discipline even when making record profits.(38:00) Cult brands have their own laws, otherwise they would not be cultish.(38:00) Red Bull is Dietrich Mateschitz and Dietrich Mateschitz is Red Bull.(38:00) Many companies outsource their marketing and advertising activity. Red Bull consistently took the opposite route: It outsourced production and distribution and takes care of sales and advertising itself.(40:00) Charlie Munger and John Collison on Invest Like The Best #355 Rolex: Timeless Excellence on Invest Like The Best (41:00) If you are making a physical product make it look different from its competitors from the start.(43:00) Everything is marketing.(45:00) Never do anything that compromises your survival.(46:00) He keeps his empire constantly in motion(46:00) All corporate projects like Formula 1, football, Air Race, and media serve the core business: the sale of the energy drink.(47:00) This is a battle for attention.(49:00) Red Bull owns their events. They never relinquish media rights to any event. They invest in making the content and then they give their content to other media distributors for free. A very clever way to multiply their advertising and marketing spend.(52:00) The Bugatti Story by L'Ebe Bugatti. (Founders #316)The Dream of Solomeo: My Life and the Idea of Humanistic Capitalism by Brunello Cucinelli. (Founders #289)(54:00) Why he moved Red Bull's headquarters to a little village on a lake: The aim was to create a more pleasant working atmosphere.(54:00) On why fitness is so important to him: “Everything that gives me pleasure in life is connected with a certain physical fitness and physical well-being. I like going to the mountain, I like skiing, I like sailing, I like riding a motorbike, I like fooling around - and everything is connected with a minimum of physical agility, motor skills, dexterity, strength, stamina. In order to enjoy it outdoors, I need the indoor program.”----Get access to the World's Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----Come and build in-person relationships at the Founders Only conference----“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested, so my poor wallet suffers.” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast ----Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ----“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast
Founders ✓ Claim What I learned from reading The Red Bull Story by Wolfgang Fürweger and Red Bull's Billionaire Maniac by Duff McDonald. ----Get access to the World's Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----Come and build in-person relationships at the Founders Only conference----(1:30) "In literal financial terms, our sports teams are not yet profitable, but in value terms, they are," he says. "The total editorial media value plus the media assets created around the teams are superior to pure advertising expenditures."(2:30) "It is a must to believe in one's product. If this were just a marketing gimmick, it would never work."(5:00) He doesn't place a premium on collecting friends or socializing: "I don't believe in 50 friends. I believe in a smaller number. Nor do I care about society events. It's the most senseless use of time. When I do go out, from time to time, it's just to convince myself again that I'm not missing a lot."(7:30) The most dangerous thing for a branded product is low interest. (Edwin Land: The test of an invention is the power of an inventor to push it through in the face of the staunch-not opposition, but indifference-in society. (Indifference is your enemy)(9:00) Nike, Adidas and Vans episodes:Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight. (Founders #186)Sneaker Wars: The Enemy Brothers Who Founded Adidas and Puma and The Family Feud That Forever Changed The Business of Sports by Barbara Smit. (Founders #109)Authentic: A Memoir by the Founder of Vans by Paul Van Doren. (Founders #216)(11:00) The lines between Red Bull, Red Bull athletes, and Red Bull events are blurry on purpose. To Mateschitz, it's just one big image campaign with many manifestations.(12:00) He has no plans to sell or take Red Bull public. "It's not a question of money. It's a question of fun. Can you imagine me in a shareholders' meeting?”(13:00) Red Bull's Billionaire Maniac https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-05-19/red-bulls-billionaire-maniac(16:00) He is universally described as a person with great charisma.(16:30) The Invisible Billionaire: Daniel Ludwig by Jerry Shields. (Founders 292)(17:00) He has a fierce desire for privacy. He buys a society magazine to make sure he never appears in it.(22:00) There is no market for Red Bull. We will create one.(24:00) Estée Lauder: A Success Story by Estée Lauder. (Founders #217)(30:00) the NEW Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charlie Munger. (Founders #329)(31:00) Gossip and malicious rumors are worth more than the most expensive publicity campaign in the world.” — Dior by Dior: The Autobiography of Christian Dior (Founders #331)(36:00) Control your costs and maintain financial discipline even when making record profits.(38:00) Cult brands have their own laws, otherwise they would not be cultish.(38:00) Red Bull is Dietrich Mateschitz and Dietrich Mateschitz is Red Bull.(38:00) Many companies outsource their marketing and advertising activity. Red Bull consistently took the opposite route: It outsourced production and distribution and takes care of sales and advertising itself.(40:00) Charlie Munger and John Collison on Invest Like The Best #355 Rolex: Timeless Excellence on Invest Like The Best (41:00) If you are making a physical product make it look different from its competitors from the start.(43:00) Everything is marketing.(45:00) Never do anything that compromises your survival.(46:00) He keeps his empire constantly in motion(46:00) All corporate projects like Formula 1, football, Air Race, and media serve the core business: the sale of the energy drink.(47:00) This is a battle for attention.(49:00) Red Bull owns their events. They never relinquish media rights to any event. They invest in making the content and then they give their content to other media distributors for free. A very clever way to multiply their advertising and marketing spend.(52:00) The Bugatti Story by L'Ebe Bugatti. (Founders #316)The Dream of Solomeo: My Life and the Idea of Humanistic Capitalism by Brunello Cucinelli. (Founders #289)(54:00) Why he moved Red Bull's headquarters to a little village on a lake: The aim was to create a more pleasant working atmosphere.(54:00) On why fitness is so important to him: “Everything that gives me pleasure in life is connected with a certain physical fitness and physical well-being. I like going to the mountain, I like skiing, I like sailing, I like riding a motorbike, I like fooling around - and everything is connected with a minimum of physical agility, motor skills, dexterity, strength, stamina. In order to enjoy it outdoors, I need the indoor program.”----Get access to the World's Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----Come and build in-person relationships at the Founders Only conference----“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested, so my poor wallet suffers.” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast ----Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ----“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast
Welcome to this classic episode. Classics are my favorite episodes from the past 10 years, published once a month. These are N of 1 conversations with N of 1 people. There aren't many people like Cyan Banister. Her life story is remarkable. She was homeless at a young age, dropped out of high school, and five years ago she suffered an extremely rare stroke. Yet, in spite of everything, she is one of the most optimistic and curious people you can hope to meet. Cyan is also one of the great angel investors of this era, having invested early in SpaceX, Uber, Postmates, and Deepmind to name a few winners. She became the first female investing partner at Peter Thiel's Founders Fund and now invests at Long Journey Ventures. Our conversation is as much about investing as it is about the essence of life and how connecting with that will help us in our professional pursuits. It is also full of awesome stories about people and companies like SpaceX and Bill Murray. Please enjoy this great conversation with Cyan Banister. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- 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 Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: [00:00:00] Welcome to Invest Like the Best [00:04:06] Contrarian Thinking in Investing [00:05:30] Joining Founders Fund and Learning from Peter Thiel [00:11:15] Investing in Companies that Change Lives [00:14:00] The Importance of Overcoming Adversity for Founders [00:16:02] Personal Journey and Choosing Hope [00:20:56] Embracing Curiosity and Wonder in the Face of Adversity [00:21:20] Reconnecting with Our Inner Child [00:24:46] The Interruption and Resumption of the Conversation [00:27:20] The Power of Intuition in Business Decisions [00:32:28] The Story Behind the Investment in Uber [00:38:46] Conclusion: Following the White Rabbit of Curiosity [00:39:08] Investing in Uber: The Beginning [00:41:50] The Impact of Success: Personal Wealth and Privacy [00:50:22] The Intersection of Spirituality and Investing [00:59:34] The Bill Murray Experience: A Lesson in Presence [01:09:54] The Violin Kid: A Tale of Curiosity and Generosity [01:12:43] The Evolution of Investing: A Personal Journey [01:16:34] The Philosophy of Giving: The Universe's Return [01:17:36] The Spirit of a Venture Firm: Founders Fund [01:23:09] The Power of Integral Family Systems [01:28:41] The Trillion Dollar Question: Disrupting Hollywood [01:36:05] The Future of Artistry: AI and Creativity [01:41:39] The Power of Kindness
Colin Sidoti is the Co-founder and CEO of Clerk, the best way to build authentication and user management.I loved this conversation, because Colin is currently in the arena building Clerk. It has not been easy, and he takes us inside some of the harder moments of the past six years.We hit on three main themes: authentication; lessons raising multiple hard Seed extensions in the early days, including a recap before the A, and the demo that got a16z to invest; and things AI and MCP.We also talk founding a company with his brother, building a compound startup, why components are the new APIs, and what he learned about audacious goals from John Collison @ StripeA big thank you to Reid Christian @ CRV, Paul Klein @ Browserbase, and Joseph Nelson @ Roboflow for helping brainstorm topics for Colin.Timestamps:(3:39) The best developer tool for authentication and user management(5:45) The easiest way to set up billing(7:13) Building a compound startup(9:15) Lesson on audacious goals from John Collison(12:40) Developer tools are now trusted category experts(13:47) How auth impacts billing, CRM, marketing, analytics(19:44) Why auth is always changing(25:40) Coming up with the idea for Clerk(29:24) What its like starting a company with your brother(30:58) Living in a basement during Clerks early days(35:33) Getting early users narrowing focus in South Park Commons(40:10) Fundraising lessons from struggling to raise(43:46) The trick that raised Clerk's first round from S28(45:09) Launching + the first Seed extension(50:15) Sequoia's feedback that improved conversion rates(52:22) Why a16xz led Clerk's 2nd Seed extension(58:11) How to do a recap before Series A(1:03:34) Changing Clerk's pitch to scare investors(1:08:56) Fundraising advice “Why partner alignment is all that matters”(1:11:42) Fast Series A and breaking 7%/week growth(1:16:32) Negotiating Clerk's Series B at the bar(1:22:15) Investors in the arena vs in their mansions(1:27:57) The three ways AI is changing authentication(1:31:21) Why AI agents all try to steal free AI credits(1:33:09) Remember to have fun(1:36:24) Building a better product to compete in a crowded marketReferencedTry Clerk: https://clerk.com/Jobs at Clerk: https://clerk.com/careersMartin Casado's tweet https://x.com/martin_casado/status/1558134697753841664Try Inngest: https://www.inngest.com/Follow ColinTwitter: https://x.com/tweetsbycolinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colin-sidoti-751a219Follow TurnerTwitter: https://twitter.com/TurnerNovakLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/turnernovakSubscribe to my newsletter to get every episode + the transcript in your inbox every week: https://www.thespl.it/
He observed our society from up close as an advertising man -- and then became an iconic storyteller on Twitter. Ramakrishna Desiraju aka Ramki joins Amit Varma in episode 415 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about his journey, and all that it taught him. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUNSEEN.IN.) Also check out: 1. Ramakrishna Desiraju aka Ramki on LinkedIn and Twitter. 2. Cartwheel Creative Consultancy. 3. Selected legendary threads by Ramki. 4. Ramki's commercial for Kotak Mahindra Bank featuring Ranveer Singh. 5. Celluloid Man -- Shivendra Singh Dungarpur. 6. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty -- James Thurber. 7. Mungerilal Ke Haseen Sapne -- Prakash Jha. 8. All We Imagine as Light -- Payal Kapadia. 9. Heere Ko Kya Pata -- SBI Life Insurance commercial by Prasoon Pandey. 10. The Prem Panicker Files — Episode 217 of The Seen and the Unseen. 11. Dead Poet's Society -- Peter Weir. 12. The Spectacular Life of Prahlad Kakar -- Episode 414 of The Seen and the Unseen. 13. Rumble Fish -- Francis Ford Coppola. 14. John Collison's tweet on the world being a museum of passion projects. 15. The Fisher King -- Terry Gilliam. 16. The Grand Central Station scene from The Fisher KIng. 17. The Wheel commercial with Govinda. 18. Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don't Make Sense -- Rory Sutherland. 19. Hausla Hai Toh Ho Jayega -- Kotak commercial. 20. Anora -- Sean Baker. 21. Dr Seuss, Roald Dahl and John le Carre on Amazon. 22. The Grapes of Wrath -- John Steinbeck. 23. Perfect Days -- Wim Wenders. 24. Dance Dance For the Halva Waala — Episode 294 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Jai Arjun Singh and Subrat Mohanty). 25. Chhannulal Mishra on Spotify and YouTube. Amit Varma and Ajay Shah have launched a new course called Life Lessons, which aims to be a launchpad towards learning essential life skills all of you need. For more details, and to sign up, click here. Amit and Ajay also bring out a weekly YouTube show, Everything is Everything. Have you watched it yet? You must! And have you read Amit's newsletter? Subscribe right away to The India Uncut Newsletter! It's free! Also check out Amit's online course, The Art of Clear Writing. Episode art: ‘Waves' by Simahina.
Eeke de Milliano is the Head of Global Product at Stripe, helping drive innovation and success in the company's product line. Before this role, she was Head of Product at Retool and co-founded Constellate. Eeke previously spent 6 years as Product Lead at Stripe, working with the company during their hyper-growth era. – In today's episode, we discuss: Eeke's wealth of experience as an executive leader The challenges companies face when hiring new executives Common hiring red flags and pitfalls Practical advice for measuring success Why learning your strengths is an underrated piece of the process – Referenced: ASML: https://www.asml.com/en Claire Hughes Johnson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-hughes-johnson-7058/ Constellate: https://constellate.team/ John Collison: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbcollison/ Mike Maples Jr.: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maples/ Patrick Collison: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickcollison/ Retool: https://retool.com/ Stripe: https://stripe.com/ Will Gaybrik: https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-gaybrick-5730347/ – Where to find Eeke: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eeke-de-milliano-3b05a629/ – Where to find Brett: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-berson-9986094/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/brettberson – Where to find First Round Capital: Website: https://firstround.com/ First Round Review: https://review.firstround.com/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/firstround YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FirstRoundCapital This podcast on all platforms: https://review.firstround.com/podcast – Timestamps: (00:00) Should you ‘buy or build' a leader (03:45) Why do executive hires fail so often? (09:35) Why the stakes are so high for leadership hires (12:26) The hardest document Eeke ever wrote (14:06) Two red flags in a new hire (17:27) An example of an outstanding leader (21:40) What creates dysfunctional exec relationships (22:38) The three steps towards hiring successful leaders (30:30) What you should know about outside hires (33:12) Eeke's advice for easing leadership transitions (42:06) How to notice success patterns (47:21) Why high-functioning executive teams are like parents (52:02) The most surprising lesson from Eeke's first stint at Stripe (55:11) The leadership data Eeke wishes we had
Invest Like the Best: Read the notes at at podcastnotes.org. Don't forget to subscribe for free to our newsletter, the top 10 ideas of the week, every Monday --------- Welcome to this classic episode. Classics are my favorite episodes from the past 10 years published once a month. These are N of one conversations with N of one people. There's nobody I've met quite like Doug Leone. Doug led one of the world's most successful venture firms, Sequoia, for over 25 years after he was given responsibility for the firm by its founder, Don Valentine, in 1996. Alongside Mike Moritz, the pair managed its expansion from a single $150m early-stage fund into an $85 billion global powerhouse. It was a privilege to sit down with Doug and learn from him. We talk about his tough start at Sequoia, get into the technicalities of great go-to-market motions, and survey his advice for other investors in the industry. A key theme that will stick with me from this conversation is Doug's insistence on keeping things simple and clear. I listen to this at least once a year. I hope you enjoy it. Subscribe to Colossus Review. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Passthrough. Passthrough streamlines subscription documents, KYC, and AML compliance, so you can focus on running your fund, not managing paperwork. New SEC Update 31 CFR hits investment firms in under a year, and managers are getting ready for it now. If you think basic OFAC screening is enough, think again. You'll need continuous monitoring of your investors and all their beneficial owners across multiple watchlists, plus a comprehensive anti money laundering program. Passthrough has already processed 50,000 LPs and built the complete solution. Don't risk SEC deficiency letters, fines, or regulatory enforcement. Visit passthrough.com to get compliant now. ----- 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 [00:00:00] Welcome to Invest Like the Best [00:05:21] What Don Valentine's heart was like [00:08:30] The most productive and unproductive parts of Don's toughness [00:12:55] Why it's so important to understand someone's core motivations [00:18:44] The most formative experiences he had prior to becoming an investor that impacted his investing the most [00:22:37] What venture looks like to him today relative to his prior career [00:28:37] Whether or not he'd go into venture today if he was in his late 20s [00:34:10] Helping companies circumnavigate mediocre positioning [00:39:15] How interacting with companies early on has changed over the ears [00:43:12] Whether or not new entrants into venture should build firms with enterprise value [00:48:14] Sussing out the killer gene in somebody [00:51:04] How successful people can instill the lessons learned from hardship into their children [00:54:30] Whether or not competitive advantage can be architected ahead of time when building a company [00:57:21] The early 2000s clawback at Sequoia and what navigating that period was like [01:01:06] What he's learned about picking the right LPs and partnering with them [01:04:18] Making sure that performance is on everyone's minds all the time [01:09:59] The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him
Invest Like the Best Key Takeaways Identify and invest in outliers: The best venture capital investors recognize outlier potential when they see it and have a curiosity to discover what makes the outlier tick and WHY they tick that way On being a VC or a founder: Inherent builders should be in the field – they should be building companies, not coaching other builders Debug problems as far upstream as possible; take the rocks out of the river so the water can flow as fast as possible Black magic is reserved for founders; every other area of the company-building process is mere mortal stuff Stewardship over ownership: The goal is to leave your creation in a better place for the next generation It is okay to choose the parallel tracked path of banking or consulting, and it is okay to take risks, but it is not okay to do one and spend your life thinking you did the other The most common mistake that investors make is doing something contrary to the best interests of the founder Traits of the best investment memos:(1) Clearly state the one or two strongest reasons to invest(2) Two to three pages max(3) Present clear data from the opposing side(4) argue why the investment should happen despite the opposing dataSuccess starts at the foundational layer: Great culture is downstream of getting the foundation right and fostering internal belief, which is all a firm needs to be successful Performance is the cultural component that matters mostRead the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgWelcome to this classic episode. Classics are my favorite episodes from the past 10 years published once a month. These are N of one conversations with N of one people. There's nobody I've met quite like Doug Leone. Doug led one of the world's most successful venture firms, Sequoia, for over 25 years after he was given responsibility for the firm by its founder, Don Valentine, in 1996. Alongside Mike Moritz, the pair managed its expansion from a single $150m early-stage fund into an $85 billion global powerhouse. It was a privilege to sit down with Doug and learn from him. We talk about his tough start at Sequoia, get into the technicalities of great go-to-market motions, and survey his advice for other investors in the industry. A key theme that will stick with me from this conversation is Doug's insistence on keeping things simple and clear. I listen to this at least once a year. I hope you enjoy it. Subscribe to Colossus Review. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Passthrough. Passthrough streamlines subscription documents, KYC, and AML compliance, so you can focus on running your fund, not managing paperwork. New SEC Update 31 CFR hits investment firms in under a year, and managers are getting ready for it now. If you think basic OFAC screening is enough, think again. You'll need continuous monitoring of your investors and all their beneficial owners across multiple watchlists, plus a comprehensive anti money laundering program. Passthrough has already processed 50,000 LPs and built the complete solution. Don't risk SEC deficiency letters, fines, or regulatory enforcement. Visit passthrough.com to get compliant now. ----- 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 [00:00:00] Welcome to Invest Like the Best [00:05:21] What Don Valentine's heart was like [00:08:30] The most productive and unproductive parts of Don's toughness [00:12:55] Why it's so important to understand someone's core motivations [00:18:44] The most formative experiences he had prior to becoming an investor that impacted his investing the most [00:22:37] What venture looks like to him today relative to his prior career [00:28:37] Whether or not he'd go into venture today if he was in his late 20s [00:34:10] Helping companies circumnavigate mediocre positioning [00:39:15] How interacting with companies early on has changed over the ears [00:43:12] Whether or not new entrants into venture should build firms with enterprise value [00:48:14] Sussing out the killer gene in somebody [00:51:04] How successful people can instill the lessons learned from hardship into their children [00:54:30] Whether or not competitive advantage can be architected ahead of time when building a company [00:57:21] The early 2000s clawback at Sequoia and what navigating that period was like [01:01:06] What he's learned about picking the right LPs and partnering with them [01:04:18] Making sure that performance is on everyone's minds all the time [01:09:59] The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him
Welcome to this classic episode. Classics are my favorite episodes from the past 10 years published once a month. These are N of one conversations with N of one people. There's nobody I've met quite like Doug Leone. Doug led one of the world's most successful venture firms, Sequoia, for over 25 years after he was given responsibility for the firm by its founder, Don Valentine, in 1996. Alongside Mike Moritz, the pair managed its expansion from a single $150m early-stage fund into an $85 billion global powerhouse. It was a privilege to sit down with Doug and learn from him. We talk about his tough start at Sequoia, get into the technicalities of great go-to-market motions, and survey his advice for other investors in the industry. A key theme that will stick with me from this conversation is Doug's insistence on keeping things simple and clear. I listen to this at least once a year. I hope you enjoy it. Subscribe to Colossus Review. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Passthrough. Passthrough streamlines subscription documents, KYC, and AML compliance, so you can focus on running your fund, not managing paperwork. New SEC Update 31 CFR hits investment firms in under a year, and managers are getting ready for it now. If you think basic OFAC screening is enough, think again. You'll need continuous monitoring of your investors and all their beneficial owners across multiple watchlists, plus a comprehensive anti money laundering program. Passthrough has already processed 50,000 LPs and built the complete solution. Don't risk SEC deficiency letters, fines, or regulatory enforcement. Visit passthrough.com to get compliant now. ----- 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 [00:00:00] Welcome to Invest Like the Best [00:05:21] What Don Valentine's heart was like [00:08:30] The most productive and unproductive parts of Don's toughness [00:12:55] Why it's so important to understand someone's core motivations [00:18:44] The most formative experiences he had prior to becoming an investor that impacted his investing the most [00:22:37] What venture looks like to him today relative to his prior career [00:28:37] Whether or not he'd go into venture today if he was in his late 20s [00:34:10] Helping companies circumnavigate mediocre positioning [00:39:15] How interacting with companies early on has changed over the ears [00:43:12] Whether or not new entrants into venture should build firms with enterprise value [00:48:14] Sussing out the killer gene in somebody [00:51:04] How successful people can instill the lessons learned from hardship into their children [00:54:30] Whether or not competitive advantage can be architected ahead of time when building a company [00:57:21] The early 2000s clawback at Sequoia and what navigating that period was like [01:01:06] What he's learned about picking the right LPs and partnering with them [01:04:18] Making sure that performance is on everyone's minds all the time [01:09:59] The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him
In a rare interview, Stripe CEO John Collison sits down with Andrew Ross Sorkin. At 15 years old, the payments company is worth $91.5 billion, but it's still private. In part, Stripe has avoided going public thanks to tender offers it periodically offers employees and shareholders. In its most recent tender offer, Stripe revealed $1.4 trillion in total payment volume in 2024, and Collison explains that AI, including OpenAI, Perplexity, and over 700 AI agents using Stripe have helped grow the company. In a special, extended conversation, Stripe CEO discusses the company's future, the utility of stablecoins, and the next era of AI innovation. John Collision - 06:32 In this episode:Andrew Ross Sorkin, @andrewrsorkinKatie Kramer, @Kramer_Katie
While Merryn and John enjoy a holiday break, we bring you an episode from our colleagues on the Money Stuff podcast team. Hosts Matt Levine and Katie Greifeld spoke earlier this year with John Collison, the co-founder and president of Stripe. Here is their conversation on the financial services business, why payments are hard, what's good about crypto, why IPOs don't matter and how to fly planes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Matt and Katie talk with their first guest, John Collison, the co-founder and president of Stripe, about the financial services business, why payments are hard, what's good about crypto, why IPOs don't matter and how to fly planes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This week, I talk with Brie Wolfson, someone whose reputation precedes her. She's the kind of person people rave about getting to work with. Brie was instrumental in bringing Stripe Press to life, partnering with John Collison and the Stripe team to build something truly special. After her time at Stripe, she moved to Figma before eventually facing burnout and needing a break. Brie has been open about her journey through depression, which we dive into during our conversation. Brie recently joined Colossus (founded by Patrick O'Shaughnessy) as Chief Marketing Officer. She also runs a consultancy called The Kool-Aid Factory (a truly brilliant name, I think), helping startups shape their company culture. Brie is empathetic, thoughtful, and relatable—traits that shine throughout this conversation. Let's get to it! In this episode: (00:00) - Intro (03:52) - Writing to one person: techniques and inspirations (06:57) - The role of writing in personal identity (09:59) - Navigating the AI landscape (12:21) - Turning down the noise: digital detox (17:03) - Paul Graham's ‘Founder Mode' essay (26:48) - The importance of taste and curation (35:06) - Brie's creative explosion in 2022 (37:12) - The writing process & self-editing (40:19) - Is the nature of writing online changing? (44:34) - Career docs and personal achievements (54:26) - Brie's essay on depression (56:51) - Navigating depression and loneliness (01:01:19) - The power of self-soothing (01:07:59) - The importance of setting boundaries (01:09:13) - On trusting others (01:12:03) - The impact of athletics (01:18:51) - Identity loss after sports (01:22:17) - On leaving Stripe (01:24:33) - Optimizing for good vibes (01:26:55) - Communicating your value (01:30:46) - What's next for Brie? (01:34:51) - Brie's beautiful future (01:39:38) - Who Brie is becoming Get full show notes and links at https://GoodWorkShow.com. Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@barrettabrooks.
John Collison cofounded of one of the most valuable private companies in the country: Stripe. Together, John and his brother Patrick took what seemed like a simple idea - making it frictionless for Internet companies to accept payments online - and built a fintech company that once fetched a $100 billion valuation. Though that valuation has fallen to a still-stratospheric $70 billion, Collison and his team are still expanding the company and its offerings - while continuing to shrug off the question of an IPO. In this episode of "The David Rubenstein Show: Peer to Peer Conversations," David sits down with John Collison, Cofounder and President of Stripe. This interview was recorded June 11 in New York.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
My guest today is Ric Elias. Ric is the CEO and co-founder of Red Ventures, which has a portfolio of fast-growing digital businesses like Lonely Planet, The Points Guy, Bankrate, and large investments in a variety of other businesses across industries. He began the business in 2000 and has grown it to now a global company with thousands of employees. Ric walks us through the early struggles that have led to what is now a flourishing investing platform, but mostly this episode is a masterclass on cultural values and philosophies that transcend mere financial gain. We discuss the difference between living good and well, the power of forgiveness, and compounding more than just your capital. Ric's story is one of resilience, humility, and grace. His story about being in the front row of the plane that Captain Sully landed in the Hudson is singular and very moving. Please enjoy my conversation with Ric Elias. Subscribe to Glue Guys! For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. I think this platform will become the standard for investment managers, and if you run an investing firm, I highly recommend you find time to speak with them. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. — This episode is brought to you by Alphasense. AlphaSense has completely transformed the research process with cutting-edge AI technology and a vast collection of top-tier, reliable business content. Imagine completing your research five to ten times faster with search that delivers the most relevant results, helping you make high-conviction decisions with confidence. AlphaSense provides access to over 300 million premium documents, including company filings, earnings reports, press releases, and more from public and private companies. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now at Alpha-Sense.com/Invest and experience firsthand how AlphaSense and Tegas help you make smarter decisions faster. ----- 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 Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:04:29) Understanding Red Ventures: Origin and Evolution (00:06:44) Early Challenges and Turning Points (00:10:15) Operational Success and Company Culture (00:16:10) Insights on Motivation and Growth (00:25:35) Reflections on Money and Personal Well-being (00:32:39) The Hudson River Plane Crash Experience (00:42:25) Reconnecting with Puerto Rico and New Ventures (00:47:10) Underdogs to Champions (00:49:56) Building Trust and Team Dynamics (00:52:19) Balancing Speed and Sustainability (00:56:05) The Role of Confidence and Courage (01:00:49) The Pursuit of Purpose Over Profit (01:06:39) Recruitment and Company Culture (01:11:20) Future of Business and AI (01:23:20) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done For Ric
This week's episode is special because it marks the launch of a new Colossus show: Glue Guys. My guests this week are the hosts of the new show, Shane Battier, Alex Smith, and Ravi Gupta. Shane, Ravi, and Alex's stories are remarkable. Each has been at the very top of their profession. Shane as an NCAA and NBA champion. Alex as the first pick in the NFL draft, 3 time-pro bowler, and 16-year NFL veteran. Ravi as a leader at KKR, and then as a critical leader turning around & building Instacart, and now as a partner at Sequoia. But those parts of their stories pale in comparison to the stories you'll hear on Glue Guys. Glue Guys is an unfolding manual for HOW to be a professional, a teammate, a leader, and even a friend and family member. In this episode of ILtB, we explore the general concept of glue guys—the people who are obsessed with helping the team win, whether they are the leader or newest member of the team. Please enjoy this conversation with Shane, Alex, and Ravi. Subscribe to Glue Guys! For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. I think this platform will become the standard for investment managers, and if you run an investing firm, I highly recommend you find time to speak with them. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. — This episode is brought to you by Tegus, where we're changing the game in investment research. Step away from outdated, inefficient methods and into the future with our platform, proudly hosting over 100,000 transcripts – with over 25,000 transcripts added just this year alone. Our platform grows eight times faster and adds twice as much monthly content as our competitors, putting us at the forefront of the industry. Plus, with 75% of private market transcripts available exclusively on Tegus, we offer insights you simply can't find elsewhere. See the difference a vast, quality-driven transcript library makes. Unlock your free trial at tegus.com/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 Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:05:06) Talent vs. Teamwork: A Business Perspective (00:06:56) Talent vs. Teamwork: A Sports Perspective (00:09:40) Personal Stories of Overcoming Adversity (00:12:50) The Importance of Trust and Mission Focus (00:21:09) Facing Rock Bottom and Rising Again (00:34:59) The Hardest Moments and Lessons Learned (00:42:39) Unsung Heroes of Special Teams (00:45:01) Mentorship and Team Dynamics (00:46:49) Lessons from Duke Basketball (00:49:25) Instacart and the All-In Mentality (00:51:52) Building Successful Teams (00:55:42) Family Legacy and Personal Sacrifice (01:05:02) Strength and Vulnerability in Leadership (01:10:36) The Urge to Dominate and Winning (01:14:41) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done For Alex
My guest today is Bret Taylor. His resume is absurd. He built google maps--famously rewriting the whole thing in a weekend. He was the CTO of Facebook in critical years. He founded Quip. He was the chair of the board at Twitter. He was the co-CEO of Salesforce...the incredible list goes on. Now, Bret is the co-founder of Sierra, a conversational AI platform for businesses, and he is the chairman of the board at OpenAI. We discuss the past, present, and future of AI agents: new programs that will begin doing incredible amounts of work for us humans in astonishing ways that are a thrill to talk about. Bret believes agents will become a meaningful part of the future and transform the ways in which we interact with technology. We discuss a strategic approach to AI integration, the different categories of agents and their scopes, and the essentials of craftsmanship. Please enjoy this discussion with Bret Taylor. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. I think this platform will become the standard for investment managers, and if you run an investing firm, I highly recommend you find time to speak with them. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. — This episode is brought to you by Tegus, where we're changing the game in investment research. Step away from outdated, inefficient methods and into the future with our platform, proudly hosting over 100,000 transcripts – with over 25,000 transcripts added just this year alone. Our platform grows eight times faster and adds twice as much monthly content as our competitors, putting us at the forefront of the industry. Plus, with 75% of private market transcripts available exclusively on Tegus, we offer insights you simply can't find elsewhere. See the difference a vast, quality-driven transcript library makes. Unlock your free trial at tegus.com/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 Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:04:27) The Dynamics of Small Teams in Software Development (00:05:46) Challenges of Large Teams and Bureaucracy (00:06:27) The Google Maps Legendary Rewrite Story (00:13:59) Introduction to AI Agents (00:16:48) Types of AI Agents and Their Applications (00:22:15) Building Robust AI Agents for Customer Experience (00:33:28) The Future of AI Agents and Customer Interaction (00:45:12) Impact of AI on Productivity and Inequality (00:51:05) Technological Evolution and Societal Changes (00:56:25) The Role of Multimodal Models in AI (00:57:19) The Future of Human-Computer Interaction (01:00:15) Building Companies in the AI Era (01:05:36) OpenAI's Unique Structure and Mission (01:11:22) Insights on Sales and Customer Success (01:20:06) Balancing Ambition and Personal Life (01:21:35) Preparing for the Agent Era (01:26:20) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done for Bret
My guest this week is Gavin Baker. Gavin is the managing partner and CIO of Atreides Management, and he has been on the show many times before. He is one of my favorite investors to talk to and this may be my favorite conversation with him. Gavin first started covering Nvidia as an investor at the turn of the millennium, making him the perfect guest to discuss all things AI and investing. There is so much detail in this discussion and I'm incredibly grateful to Gavin for sharing his wisdom with us again. Please enjoy this fantastic conversation with Gavin Baker. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp's mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Ramp is the fastest-growing FinTech company in history and it's backed by more of my favorite past guests (at least 16 of them!) than probably any other company I'm aware of. It's also notable that many best-in-class businesses use Ramp—companies like Airbnb, Anduril, and Shopify, as well as investors like Sequoia Capital and Vista Equity. They use Ramp to manage their spending, automate tedious financial processes, and reinvest saved dollars and hours into growth. At Colossus and Positive Sum, we use Ramp for exactly the same reason. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus, where we're changing the game in investment research. Step away from outdated, inefficient methods and into the future with our platform, proudly hosting over 100,000 transcripts – with over 25,000 transcripts added just this year alone. Our platform grows eight times faster and adds twice as much monthly content as our competitors, putting us at the forefront of the industry. Plus, with 75% of private market transcripts available exclusively on Tegus, we offer insights you simply can't find elsewhere. See the difference a vast, quality-driven transcript library makes. Unlock your free trial at tegus.com/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 Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:04:42) The Magnificent Seven and Tech Competition (00:06:29) Generative AI and Scaling Laws (00:08:36) Challenges in AI Infrastructure (00:15:02) The Future of AI and Data Centers (00:17:51) Efficiency in AI Models (00:35:14) Synthetic Data and AI Training (00:42:37) Inference and the Role of Smartphones (00:48:35) Investment Implications in AI (00:49:09) Opportunities for New Companies (00:51:20) Challenges at the Application Layer (00:52:25) AI's Impact on Advertising (00:53:40) AI ROI Debate (00:54:39) SaaS Metrics and AI Disruption (00:55:59) AI-First Application Companies (01:00:50) The Future of Robotics (01:14:01) Leadership in Tech Giants (01:24:05) The Evolution of Investing
Invest Like the Best Key Takeaways The keys to creating a business culture of excellence:Have a small number of people who are elite in their field Compensate them very wellEnsure that compensation and promotion are perfectly tied to performance Ruthlessly minimize bureaucracyCelebrate people who do big things with the fewest number of people possible“Mathematical superintelligence” is a more specific way to refer to artificial general intelligence (AGI) Mathematical superintelligence is an AI that solves math problems at a superior capability compared to the sum total of all humans on earth It will be able to solve any problem, but especially those that have a quantitative element or that require quantitative reasoningThe coming years and decades include a $100+ trillion wealth transfer from boomers to millennials; given the company's customer base, Robinhood is well-positioned to benefit from this wealth transferDe-emphasize the significance of the “number of people” managed; the desire to manage a larger number of people warps incentives and attracts empire builders instead of problem-solvers “Sometimes I just read the reviews of the Robinhood credit card app before bed.” – Vlad Tenev Advice for entrepreneurs: Imagine if Frank Slootman took over your company… What are the ten things that he would do? Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgMy guest today is Vlad Tenev. Vlad is the CEO and co-founder of Robinhood. It was such a treat to sit down with him and discuss the behind-the-scenes of a revolutionary business we all know well. He details Robinhood's journey to zero-cost trading and what it means to build a consumer-centric financial product. Vlad believes in finding the harmonies across mathematics and art and applies this lens to everything he builds. We discuss Robinhood's new credit card and more products on the horizon, the company's toughest moments, including the Gamestop episode, and the compelling future of AI in financial services. Please enjoy this conversation with Vlad Tenev. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. I think this platform will become the standard for investment managers, and if you run an investing firm, I highly recommend you find time to speak with them. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. This episode is brought to you by Tegus, where we're changing the game in investment research. Step away from outdated, inefficient methods and into the future with our platform, proudly hosting over 100,000 transcripts – with over 25,000 transcripts added just this year alone. Our platform grows eight times faster and adds twice as much monthly content as our competitors, putting us at the forefront of the industry. Plus, with 75% of private market transcripts available exclusively on Tegus, we offer insights you simply can't find elsewhere. See the difference a vast, quality-driven transcript library makes. Unlock your free trial at tegus.com/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 Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:03:56) The Next Frontier in AI: Reasoning and Logical Deductions (00:06:19) Challenges and Approaches in AI Development (00:09:08) Formal Mathematics and AI Integration (00:11:23) Practical Applications of Mathematical Superintelligence (00:17:30) Robinhood's Journey to Zero-Cost Trading (00:24:38) Building a Consumer-Friendly Trading Platform (00:28:52) Robinhood Gold and the Future of Financial Services (00:35:51) Understanding Robinhood's Business Model (00:42:34) Navigating the GameStop Crisis (00:49:17) Improving Customer Satisfaction (00:52:43) Reputation Repair (00:54:52) The Future of Financial Services (00:59:06) Crypto and AI in Finance (01:08:09) Building a High-Performance Culture (01:11:42) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done for Vlad
Today, we're replaying a conversation between John Collison and Charlie Munger that we first aired on 5 December 2023. Charlie said, “The best thing a human being can do is to help another human being know more.” He does just that in this interview. Please enjoy, and may Charlie Rest in Peace. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. I think this platform will become the standard for investment managers, and if you run an investing firm, I highly recommend you find time to speak with them. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. — This episode is brought to you by Tegus, where we're changing the game in investment research. Step away from outdated, inefficient methods and into the future with our platform, proudly hosting over 100,000 transcripts – with over 25,000 transcripts added just this year alone. Our platform grows eight times faster and adds twice as much monthly content as our competitors, putting us at the forefront of the industry. Plus, with 75% of private market transcripts available exclusively on Tegus, we offer insights you simply can't find elsewhere. See the difference a vast, quality-driven transcript library makes. Unlock your free trial at tegus.com/patrick. ----- Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus Show Notes (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:03:52) The fixation on evaluating business quality (00:05:58) Learning the big ideas across various disciplines (00:10:03) The issue of adverse selection in legal services (00:11:42) Societal solutions for the opioid crisis (00:17:34) Reasons for not investing in Amazon (00:20:38) Explaining Costco's model (00:29:08) Discussing the increasing challenges in investing (00:32:08) Ingredients for long-term success in business (00:33:18) Debating cryptocurrency (00:37:37) Offering guidance for navigating a potential recession (00:38:56) Reflecting on the state of American society (00:45:20) Sharing a passion for architecture (00:54:13) “Win-win” business (00:57:53) Countering arguments against capitalism (00:60:42) The origins of Poor Charlie's Almanack (01:05:14) Building a productive partnership (01:08:55) Opining on the SEC (01:12:22) Highlighting investment concerns (01:16:31) Reasons for optimism about China (01:32:14) The unique aspects of Berkshire Hathaway
My guest today is Vlad Tenev. Vlad is the CEO and co-founder of Robinhood. It was such a treat to sit down with him and discuss the behind-the-scenes of a revolutionary business we all know well. He details Robinhood's journey to zero-cost trading and what it means to build a consumer-centric financial product. Vlad believes in finding the harmonies across mathematics and art and applies this lens to everything he builds. We discuss Robinhood's new credit card and more products on the horizon, the company's toughest moments, including the Gamestop episode, and the compelling future of AI in financial services. Please enjoy this conversation with Vlad Tenev. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. I think this platform will become the standard for investment managers, and if you run an investing firm, I highly recommend you find time to speak with them. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. This episode is brought to you by Tegus, where we're changing the game in investment research. Step away from outdated, inefficient methods and into the future with our platform, proudly hosting over 100,000 transcripts – with over 25,000 transcripts added just this year alone. Our platform grows eight times faster and adds twice as much monthly content as our competitors, putting us at the forefront of the industry. Plus, with 75% of private market transcripts available exclusively on Tegus, we offer insights you simply can't find elsewhere. See the difference a vast, quality-driven transcript library makes. Unlock your free trial at tegus.com/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 Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:03:56) The Next Frontier in AI: Reasoning and Logical Deductions (00:06:19) Challenges and Approaches in AI Development (00:09:08) Formal Mathematics and AI Integration (00:11:23) Practical Applications of Mathematical Superintelligence (00:17:30) Robinhood's Journey to Zero-Cost Trading (00:24:38) Building a Consumer-Friendly Trading Platform (00:28:52) Robinhood Gold and the Future of Financial Services (00:35:51) Understanding Robinhood's Business Model (00:42:34) Navigating the GameStop Crisis (00:49:17) Improving Customer Satisfaction (00:52:43) Reputation Repair (00:54:52) The Future of Financial Services (00:59:06) Crypto and AI in Finance (01:08:09) Building a High-Performance Culture (01:11:42) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done for Vlad
My guest today is Sarah Guo. Sarah is the founder and CEO of Conviction, an early-stage venture capital firm built to serve AI companies. She started Conviction in 2022 after 9 years at Greylock because she believes AI is the most important technological advancement of our lifetime. In our conversation, Sarah discusses the challenges and rewards of leaving an established investing firm to start her own venture. She shares her unique perspective on the AI landscape and reveals her predictions for what we should expect on the AI frontier. Please enjoy this great conversation with the very impressive Sarah Guo. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. I think this platform will become the standard for investment managers, and if you run an investing firm, I highly recommend you find time to speak with them. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus, where we're changing the game in investment research. Step away from outdated, inefficient methods and into the future with our platform, proudly hosting over 100,000 transcripts – with over 25,000 transcripts added just this year alone. Our platform grows eight times faster and adds twice as much monthly content as our competitors, putting us at the forefront of the industry. Plus, with 75% of private market transcripts available exclusively on Tegus, we offer insights you simply can't find elsewhere. See the difference a vast, quality-driven transcript library makes. Unlock your free trial at tegus.com/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 Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Our Partners: Ridgeline and Tegus (00:03:30) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:04:30) Introduction & Recruiting in Venture Capital (00:05:06) Key Traits for Early-Stage Venture Capitalists (00:06:57) Lessons from Early Investments (00:07:47) The Journey of Building a Company (00:09:01) The Decision to Start Conviction (00:11:36) Launching Conviction and Initial Steps (00:13:43) First Investment at Conviction (00:14:00) Evaluating AI Application Companies (00:16:29) Challenges and Opportunities in AI Applications (00:23:57) Minimum Viable Quality in AI Products (00:33:19) Future of AI and Frontier Models (00:38:56) The Unpredictable Future of AI (00:40:16) The Importance of Efficiency in AI Models (00:44:28) The Business of AI: Costs and Margins (00:45:47) Infrastructure and Hardware Challenges (00:48:54) The Competitive Landscape of AI Chips (00:54:24) The Future of AI and Society (00:56:34) Opportunities and Innovations in AI (01:02:09) Concerns and Ethical Considerations (01:03:36) Debates and Research in AI (01:09:01) Personal Reflections and Closing Thoughts
My guest today is Hemant Taneja. Hemant is the CEO and Managing Director of General Catalyst, the global venture capital firm you'll hear us refer to as GC. GC has set out to build resiliency across critical industries worldwide. The firm leverages technology to retool sectors such as healthcare, energy, defense, and manufacturing and explores innovative capital structures to support founders and businesses. Hemant discusses how the firm is positioned to respond to the aftermath of crises, including the pandemic, wars, energy issues, and beyond. We also discuss the building of a category-defining healthcare company, Livongo and much more. Please enjoy this conversation with Hemant Taneja. 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 Ramp. Ramp's mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Ramp is the fastest growing FinTech company in history and it's backed by more of my favorite past guests (at least 16 of them!) than probably any other company I'm aware of. It's also notable that many best-in-class businesses use Ramp—companies like Airbnb, Anduril, and Shopify, as well as investors like Sequoia Capital and Vista Equity. They use Ramp to manage their spending, automate tedious financial processes, and reinvest saved dollars and hours into growth. At Colossus and Positive Sum, we use Ramp for exactly the same reason. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus, where we're changing the game in investment research. Step away from outdated, inefficient methods and into the future with our platform, proudly hosting over 100,000 transcripts – with over 25,000 transcripts added just this year alone. Our platform grows eight times faster and adds twice as much monthly content as our competitors, putting us at the forefront of the industry. Plus, with 75% of private market transcripts available exclusively on Tegus, we offer insights you simply can't find elsewhere. See the difference a vast, quality-driven transcript library makes. Unlock your free trial at tegus.com/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 Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Our Partners: Ramp and Tegus (00:03:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:03:57) Introducing Hemant Taneja and General Catalyst (00:04:17) Global Resilience and Innovation Post-Pandemic (00:05:56) Re-Globalization and Manufacturing (00:07:03) Building Livongo: A 20-Year Overnight Success (00:13:23) Aligning Incentives in Healthcare (00:15:40) Re-imagining the Investment Business (00:20:54) Evolution of General Catalyst (00:27:04) Succession and Trust in Asset Management (00:35:00) Founder-Centric Capital Goals (00:36:32) Balancing Growth and Liquidity (00:41:39) AI and Onshoring Productivity (00:47:10) Defense Investments and Ethics (00:50:11) Geopolitics and Regulation (00:53:16) Reflections on Leadership and Strategy (01:01:14) Hemant's Future Plans (01:02:55) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done for Him
Today, we are replaying what we call a forever episode, which are the few episodes of our show that we think will be as popular a decade from now as they are today. Every time I re-listen to this episode with David Senra, I leave wildly energized and wanting to share that feeling. So we are re-releasing it today for anyone who missed it the first time or hadn't yet discovered Invest Like the Best. David Senra has studied history's great founders and entrepreneurs in more depth than anyone I've ever met, and I'd wager more than anyone else alive. In this conversation, we cover many of the most common themes he's discovered studying hundreds of entrepreneurs like Estée Lauder, John Rockefeller, Enzo Ferrari, and Edwin Land. Please enjoy this great conversation with David Senra. 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, where we're changing the game in investment research. Step away from outdated, inefficient methods and into the future with our platform, proudly hosting over 100,000 transcripts – with over 25,000 transcripts added just this year alone. Our platform grows eight times faster and adds twice as much monthly content as our competitors, putting us at the forefront of the industry. Plus, with 75% of private market transcripts available exclusively on Tegus, we offer insights you simply can't find elsewhere. See the difference a vast, quality-driven transcript library makes. Unlock your free trial at tegus.com/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 Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes [00:00:00] Welcome to Invest Like the Best [00:03:01] First question - When he first fell in love with reading [00:07:01] What's rooted in his own history that's made him obsessive about studying history's great entrepreneurs and founders - Founders Podcast [00:10:34] The first time he connected with someone as a positive role model that he was reading about [00:13:45] How often obsession is apparent in the founders he's studied across hundreds of biographies [00:18:08] What is often behind obsession and how people listening can apply the lessons to their own lives [00:22:45] The dynamic and relationship between inspiration and perspiration [00:27:11] Commonalities between the layers of leadership and support underneath founders [00:31:52] Where else he's seen ego rear its head in good and bad ways [00:38:34] How often do great founders break the law or enter gray areas of it [00:41:22] The role constant learning and listening plays in success [00:45:12] Talking about how anything worth doing is worth doing to excess [00:52:18] Describing the soul of founders and businesses [00:58:39] What he's learned about all of these founders as it relates to marketing [01:04:38] A common story that process is often art [01:08:10] Who David's idols are in podcasting [01:14:55] Major aspects of people he's studied that haven't been discussed yet [01:19:55] The kindest thing anyone has ever done for David
Jeff Weinstein is a product lead at Stripe, where he helped grow their payment APIs to hundreds of billions in volume and transformed the way founders start companies into a few simple clicks with Atlas. Prior to Stripe, Jeff led several startups and sold companies to Groupon and Box. He's known for his customer obsession, craft, quality, and building beloved products businesses rely on. In our conversation, we discuss:• The power of customer obsession and how to operationalize it in the product development process• How to pick the right metrics and use them to drive impact• Techniques for getting things done at big companies• A group practice Jeff started to uplevel product craft, called Study Group• The story behind Stripe Atlas and its mission to increase entrepreneurship globally• Lessons from working with the founders of Stripe—Brought to you by:• Pendo—The all-in-one platform for product-led companies building breakthrough digital experiences• Cycle—Your feedback hub, on autopilot• Anvil—The fastest way to build software for documents—Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/creating-a-culture-of-excellence—Where to find Jeff Weinstein:• X: https://x.com/jeff_weinstein• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffwweinstein/• Email: jweinstein@gmail.com—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Jeff's background (10:16) The “go, go, go ASAP + optimistic, long-term compounding” approach(15:38) The importance of craft and quality(24:15) Effective customer communication strategies(28:57) The importance of speed in customer interactions (33:19) Narrowing your focus(36:53) Why you should pay attention only to paying-customer feedback(40:24) Practicing silence when communicating (45:33) The role of metrics in product success(54:08) Empowering teams with a single metric(58:23) Picking the right metric for your audience(01:05:10) The importance of metric hygiene(01:11:33) How Stripe uses “study groups” for product improvement(01:37:20) Stripe's Atlas: simplifying company formation(01:50:38) Automation and operational efficiency(01:55:13) Diversity and team building(02:03:09) Building new products within a large company(02:21:10) Lightning round—Referenced:• Atlas: https://stripe.com/atlas• Stripe: https://stripe.com/• SQL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQL• GitHub: https://github.com/• Linear: https://linear.app/• Figma: https://www.figma.com/• Jeff's tweet about Stripe's bug-finder program: https://x.com/jeff_weinstein/status/1777487507934040300• The “Collison installation”: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18400504• How we use friction logs to improve products at Stripe: https://dev.to/stripe/how-we-use-friction-logs-to-improve-products-at-stripe-i6p• Fidelity: https://www.fidelity.com/• 83(b) election: https://docs.stripe.com/atlas/83b-election• Jeff's tweet about Atlas's NPS score: https://x.com/jeff_weinstein/status/1788644576330469638• What is a Delaware corporation? Here's what makes this state so attractive to businesses: https://stripe.com/resources/more/what-is-a-delaware-corporation• Incorporating in Delaware explained: Why it's such a popular option for businesses: https://stripe.com/resources/more/incorporating-in-delaware-explained• 7 of Pixar's Best Storyboard Examples and the Stories Behind Them: https://boords.com/blog/7-of-pixars-best-storyboard-examples-and-the-stories-behind-them• Alex Kehayias on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexkehayias/• Patrick McKenzie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickmckenzie/• AngelList: https://www.angellist.com/• Dan Hightower on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danhighto/• Stripe Atlas perks partners: https://support.stripe.com/questions/stripe-atlas-perks-partners• Vision, conviction, and hype: How to build 0 to 1 inside a company | Mihika Kapoor (Product at Figma): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/vision-conviction-hype-mihika-kapoor• High Output Management: https://www.amazon.com/High-Output-Management-Andrew-Grove/dp/0679762884• Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace: https://www.amazon.com/Orbiting-Giant-Hairball-Corporate-Surviving/dp/0670879835• 7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy: https://www.amazon.com/7-Powers-Foundations-Business-Strategy/dp/0998116319• Business strategy with Hamilton Helmer (author of 7 Powers): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/business-strategy-with-hamilton-helmer• Box: https://www.box.com/• Patrick Collison on X: https://x.com/patrickc• How to with John Wilson on HBO: https://www.hbo.com/how-to-with-john-wilson• The Quiet Girl on Hulu: https://www.hulu.com/movie/the-quiet-girl-b50a4b8e-d3ff-4635-b806-5e7dbd292ca4• Raycast: https://www.raycast.com/• Quicksilver: https://qsapp.com/• Alfred: https://www.alfredapp.com/help/workflows/automations/• CleanShot: https://cleanshot.com/• John Collison on X: https://x.com/collision—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe
My guest today is Martin Casado. Martin is a partner at Andreessen Horowitz and first joined me on Invest Like the Best in 2022. So much has changed since then, and it was awesome to have Martin back to discuss all of the different implications of this AI revolution. Before joining a16z, Martin pioneered software-defined networking and co-founded Nicira, which was bought by VMware for $1.3 billion in 2012. He has studied, built, and invested in digital infrastructure his whole career which has primed him to go in-depth in this interview on the immense opportunities and challenges AI presents among creativity, policy-making, agentic systems, real-world data structures, and beyond. Please enjoy this conversation with Martin Casado. 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, where we're changing the game in investment research. Step away from outdated, inefficient methods and into the future with our platform, proudly hosting over 100,000 transcripts – with over 25,000 transcripts added just this year alone. Our platform grows eight times faster and adds twice as much monthly content as our competitors, putting us at the forefront of the industry. Plus, with 75% of private market transcripts available exclusively on Tegus, we offer insights you simply can't find elsewhere. See the difference a vast, quality-driven transcript library makes. Unlock your free trial at tegus.com/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 Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:01:48) The Future of AI and Creativity (00:03:11) Economic Implications of AI (00:04:33) AI's Impact on Content Creation (00:08:21) Challenges in AI and Robotics (00:12:16) Human Data and AI Training (00:20:30) Investing in AI and Robotics (00:26:00) Defensibility and Competition in AI (00:33:22) Regulatory Considerations (00:35:26) Internet Era Parallels and Security Concerns (00:40:25) Open Source vs. Closed Source in Tech (00:43:45) Market Annealing and Category Creation (00:46:13) Data and Hardware Innovations in AI (00:55:55) Agents and the Future of AI
My guest today is Modest Proposal, joining me for our third conversation and the first in a few years. Modest is anonymous online, but one of the more thoughtful investors I know, overseeing a large pool of capital in public and private markets. He offers insight into many different corners of today's landscape, covering AI's frontier models versus open-source models, overcapacity issues in transportation in our post-COVID world, the potential economic impact of GLP-1 drugs, and more. Please enjoy my conversation with Modest Proposal. 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, where we're changing the game in investment research. Step away from outdated, inefficient methods and into the future with our platform, proudly hosting over 100,000 transcripts – with over 25,000 transcripts added just this year alone. Our platform grows eight times faster and adds twice as much monthly content as our competitors, putting us at the forefront of the industry. Plus, with 75% of private market transcripts available exclusively on Tegus, we offer insights you simply can't find elsewhere. See the difference a vast, quality-driven transcript library makes. Unlock your free trial at tegus.com/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 Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:04:00) Comparison to Mid-2000s Commodity Markets (00:07:18) The Role of AI and Power Consumption (00:09:29) NVIDIA and the Future of AI Investment (00:13:10) Commercialization of AI and Market Dynamics (00:23:14) Public vs. Private Market Performance (00:28:03) Post-COVID Capital Cycles (00:30:32) Capital Expenditures and Post-COVID Market Distortions (00:31:47) Amazon's Capacity Expansion and Market Inflections (00:33:45) Challenges in Displacing Market Leaders (00:37:50) Behavioral Barriers in GLP-1 Adherence (00:39:58) Public vs. Private Market Allocations (00:45:08) International Equities and Japanese Market Potential (00:47:35) Market Structure and Trading Dynamics (00:53:22) AI Models and Future Market Implications
Jessica Livingston is a co-founder of Y Combinator, the first and most successful startup accelerator. Y Combinator has funded over 5,000 companies, 200 of which are now unicorns, including Airbnb, Dropbox, DoorDash, Stripe, Coinbase, and Reddit. Jessica played a crucial role in YC's early success, when she was nicknamed the “social radar” because of her uncanny ability to quickly evaluate people—an essential skill when investing in early-stage startups. She's also the host of the popular podcast The Social Radars, where she interviews billion-dollar-startup founders, and the author of the acclaimed book Founders at Work, which captures the origin stories of some of today's most interesting companies. In our conversation, we discuss:• How Jessica gained the affectionate title of the “social radar”• Why defensive founders are a red flag• How to develop your social radar• What she looks for in founders during YC interviews• How YC's early inexperience in angel investing led to the batch model• Her favorite stories from interviews with Airbnb, Rippling, and more• Lessons learned from hosting her own podcast• Much more—Brought to you by:• Enterpret—Transform customer feedback into product growth• Anvil—The fastest way to build software for documents• Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security—Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-social-radar-jessica-livingston—Where to find Jessica Livingston:• X: https://x.com/jesslivingston• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicalivingston1/• Podcast: https://www.thesocialradars.com/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Jessica's background(02:42) Thoughts on being under-recognized(07:52) Jessica's superpower: the social radar(15:11) Evaluating founders: key traits and red flags(21:00) The Airbnb story: a lesson in hustle and determination(25:57) A YC success story(28:26) The importance of earnestness(32:45) Confidence vs. defensiveness(34:43) Commitment and co-founder disputes(37:46) Relentless resourcefulness(40:00) Jessica's social radar: origins and insights(43:24) Honing her social radar skills(45:44) Conviction and scams: a Y Combinator story(46:50) The interview process: challenges and insights(48:20) Operationalizing founder evaluation(49:38) Advice for building social radar skills(52:08) The “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” quiz(55:19) Jessica's podcast: The Social Radars(01:00:34) Lessons from podcasting and interviewing(01:09:58) Lightning round—Referenced:• Paul Graham's post about Jessica: https://paulgraham.com/jessica.html• Paul Graham on X: https://x.com/paulg• Robert Tappan Morris: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Tappan_Morris• Trevor Blackwell on X: https://x.com/tlbtlbtlb• Y Combinator: https://www.ycombinator.com/• “The Founders” examines the rise and legend of PayPal: https://www.economist.com/culture/2022/02/19/the-founders-examines-the-rise-and-legend-of-paypal• Patrick Collison on X: https://x.com/patrickc• John Collison on X: https://x.com/collision• Brian Chesky on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianchesky/• Nate Blecharczyk on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blecharczyk/• Joe Gebbia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jgebbia/• Airbnb's CEO says a $40 cereal box changed the course of the multibillion-dollar company: https://fortune.com/2023/04/19/airbnb-ceo-cereal-box-investors-changed-everything-billion-dollar-company/• Parker Conrad on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/parkerconrad/• Zenefits: https://connect.trinet.com/hr-platform• Goat: https://www.goat.com/• Eddy Lu on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eddylu/• Drew Houston on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewhouston/• Arash Ferdowsi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arashferdowsi/• Lessons from 1,000+ YC startups: Resilience, tar pit ideas, pivoting, more | Dalton Caldwell (Y Combinator, Managing Director): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/lessons-from-1000-yc-startups•Bitcoin launderer pleads guilty, admits to massive Bitfinex hack: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/03/new-york-man-admits-being-original-bitfinex-hacker-during-guilty-plea-in-dc-to-bitcoin-money-laundering.html• Paul Graham's tweet with the facial recognition test: https://x.com/paulg/status/1782875262855663691• SmartLess podcast: https://www.smartless.com• Jason Bateman on X: https://x.com/batemanjason• Will Arnett on X: https://x.com/arnettwill• Sean Hayes on X: https://x.com/seanhayes• The Social Radars with Tony Xu, Co-Founder & CEO of DoorDash: https://www.ycombinator.com/library/Ja-tony-xu-co-founder-ceo-of-doordash• The Social Radars with Brian Chesky: https://www.ycombinator.com/library/JW-brian-chesky-co-founder-ceo-of-airbnb• The Social Radars with Patrick and John Collison: https://www.ycombinator.com/library/Kx-patrick-john-collison-co-founders-of-stripe• The Social Radars with Brian Armstrong: https://www.ycombinator.com/library/K3-brian-armstrong-co-founder-and-ceo-of-coinbase• The Social Radars with Emmett Shear: https://www.ycombinator.com/library/KM-emmett-shear-co-founder-of-twitch• The Social Radars with Paul Graham: https://www.ycombinator.com/library/JV-paul-graham-co-founder-of-y-combinator-and-viaweb• The Social Radars with Adora Cheung: https://www.ycombinator.com/library/L0-adora-cheung-co-founder-of-homejoy-instalab• Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days: https://www.amazon.com/Founders-Work-Stories-Startups-Early/dp/1430210788• Startup School: https://www.startupschool.org/• The Social Radars with Parker Conrad: https://www.ycombinator.com/library/Ky-parker-conrad-founder-of-zenefits-rippling• Rippling: https://www.rippling.com/• Carry on, Jeeves: https://www.amazon.com/Carry-Jeeves-Dover-Thrift-Editions/dp/0486848957• Very Good, Jeeves: https://www.amazon.com/Very-Good-Jeeves-Wooster-Book-ebook/dp/B0051GST06• Right Ho, Jeeves: https://www.amazon.com/Right-Ho-Jeeves-P-Wodehouse-ebook/dp/B083FFDNHN/• Life: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Keith-Richards-ebook/dp/B003UBTX72/• My Name Is Barbra: https://www.amazon.com/My-Name-Barbra-Streisand/dp/0525429522• Clarkson's Farm on Prime: https://www.amazon.com/Clarksons-Farm-Season-1/dp/B095RHJ52R• Schitt's Creek on Hulu: https://www.hulu.com/series/schitts-creek-a2e7a946-9652-48a8-884b-3ea7ea4de273• Yellowstone on Peacock: https://www.peacocktv.com/stream-tv/yellowstone• Sam Altman on X: https://x.com/sama• Justin Kan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinkan/• Alexis Ohanian on X: https://x.com/alexisohanian• Steve Huffman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shuffman56/• Breaking News: Condé Nast/Wired Acquires Reddit: https://techcrunch.com/2006/10/31/breaking-news-conde-nastwired-acquires-reddit/• Charles River Venture: https://www.crv.com/—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe
My guest today is Robert Greene, author of many books but perhaps most famous for his books "48 Laws of Power" and "Mastery." He has spent his life studying why people behave like they do and why some go on to build great things. I love his idea of finding your life's purpose, which we explore in detail. Please enjoy my conversation with Robert Greene. 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, where we're changing the game in investment research. Step away from outdated, inefficient methods and into the future with our platform, proudly hosting over 100,000 transcripts – with over 25,000 transcripts added just this year alone. Our platform grows eight times faster and adds twice as much monthly content as our competitors, putting us at the forefront of the industry. Plus, with 75% of private market transcripts available exclusively on Tegus, we offer insights you simply can't find elsewhere. See the difference a vast, quality-driven transcript library makes. Unlock your free trial at tegus.com/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 Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:03:17) First Question - Exploring Reality and Human Behavior (00:07:41) The Concept of Masks and Social Roles (00:10:47) The Sublime and Social Conventions (00:13:48) Writing 'The 48 Laws of Power' (00:16:38) Defining and Understanding Power (00:18:01) Historical Figures and Adaptation (00:23:59) Modern Applications of Power Laws (00:31:57) The Boldness of Deception (00:32:54) Exploring Good and Evil (00:35:56) The Art of Seduction and AI (00:38:31) Defining Mastery (00:42:44) Discovering Your Life's Task (00:51:53) The Power of Observation (00:59:56) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done for Robert
My guest today is Pat Grady, a longtime growth investor at Sequoia and one of the firms senior leaders. Pat has been a part of a long list of legendary investments, ranging from Snowflake, Zoom, ServiceNow, Qualtrics, Okta, Hubspot, Notion, and OpenAI, among many others. There aren't many investors who reference as well at Pat, both inside and outside of his firm. We talk about investing, building an investing firm, and building enduring companies. Please enjoy this great conversation with Pat Grady. 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, where we're changing the game in investment research. Step away from outdated, inefficient methods and into the future with our platform, proudly hosting over 100,000 transcripts – with over 25,000 transcripts added just this year alone. Our platform grows eight times faster and adds twice as much monthly content as our competitors, putting us at the forefront of the industry. Plus, with 75% of private market transcripts available exclusively on Tegus, we offer insights you simply can't find elsewhere. See the difference a vast, quality-driven transcript library makes. Unlock your free trial at tegus.com/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 Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:05:48) Doug Leone's Leadership and Changes (00:06:54) Creating Internal Pressure and Structure (00:10:46) Sequoia's Team Values and Family Influence (00:13:40) Assessing Founders and Investments (00:20:28) Winning Competitive Investments (00:24:45) Pat's Early Career at Sequoia (00:29:38) Memo Writing and Investment Criteria (00:35:20) Evaluating Companies Through Three Business Criteria (00:40:15) Building Sustainable Competitive Advantage (00:47:48) Turning Bad Numbers into Good Investments (00:51:20) The AI Frontier: Market and People (01:01:13) Harvey: The AI Legal Assistant (01:05:33) Sequoia's Platform Strategy (01:17:16) The Importance of Teamwork and Performance (01:26:07) Legendary Potential: Relentless Application of Force (01:28:37) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done for Pat
My guest today is Frank Blake. Frank is the former chairman and CEO of Home Depot. I recently interviewed Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone and became fascinated by the business's impressive lineup of leaders through the decades. Frank led the company from 2007 to 2014 and shares how he carried on the legacy of Ken and the others, upholding their culture of an inverted hierarchy and producing seven consecutive years of growth for the largest home improvement retailer in America. We discuss his hyper focus on solving their customer's problems before their own, investing time into the employee experience, and his intentionality with how he is perceived as a leader. Please enjoy this discussion with Frank Blake. 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, where we're changing the game in investment research. Step away from outdated, inefficient methods and into the future with our platform, proudly hosting over 100,000 transcripts – with over 25,000 transcripts added just this year alone. Our platform grows eight times faster and adds twice as much monthly content as our competitors, putting us at the forefront of the industry. Plus, with 75% of private market transcripts available exclusively on Tegus, we offer insights you simply can't find elsewhere. See the difference a vast, quality-driven transcript library makes. Unlock your free trial at tegus.com/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 Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:04:37) The Inverted Pyramid Leadership Model (00:08:38) Communication and Listening in Leadership (00:15:19) Lessons from Legacies of Great Home Depot Leaders (00:27:02) Frank's Personal Leadership Journey (00:33:32) Reagan's Leadership Style and Influence (00:37:26) Key Responsibilities of a CEO (00:40:27) Delta's Leadership During COVID-19 (00:46:45) Financial Strategies in Asset-Intensive Industries (00:47:27) Home Depot's Strategic Shift (00:53:33) Competitive Dynamics with Lowe's (00:55:36) Building an Effective Board (00:58:16) The Impact of Home Depot on Employees' Lives (01:01:52) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done for Frank
My guest today is Adam Sandow. Adam is the chairman and CEO of SANDOW Companies and the executive chairman and founder of Material Bank. He has built an entire ecosystem of businesses and brands that have brought him into the game of media, materials, and beyond. From creating the beauty product subscription model to getting magazines in the hands of billionaires to transforming the design industry with overnight access to samples, when Adam starts a business he writes his own rulebook. We discuss the founding stories of his most interesting companies, his obsession with targeting pain points, and his philosophies for when to go all in and betting on himself. Please enjoy this great discussion with Adam Sandow. 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, where we're changing the game in investment research. Step away from outdated, inefficient methods and into the future with our platform, proudly hosting over 100,000 transcripts – with over 25,000 transcripts added just this year alone. Our platform grows eight times faster and adds twice as much monthly content as our competitors, putting us at the forefront of the industry. Plus, with 75% of private market transcripts available exclusively on Tegus, we offer insights you simply can't find elsewhere. See the difference a vast, quality-driven transcript library makes. Unlock your free trial at tegus.com/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 Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:04:12) Building a Media Empire (00:06:01) The Birth of the Beauty Subscription Model (00:09:56) Revolutionizing Magazine Circulation (00:14:46) The Contrarian Approach to Media (00:16:08) The Origin of MediaJet (00:18:35) The Future of Print and Digital Media (00:27:25) The Genesis of Material Bank (00:35:23) Building a Compelling Model for Manufacturers (00:37:26) Innovative Logistics and Partnership with FedEx (00:40:32) The Importance of High-Quality Content (00:43:49) Building and Buying Media Properties (00:46:01) Creating Unique Value Propositions (00:54:22) The Role of Print in the Digital Age (00:58:41) Nurturing an Ecosystem of Businesses (01:03:37) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done for Adam
My guest today is Howie Liu. Howie is the co-founder and CEO of Airtable, a no-code app platform that allows teams to build on top of their shared data and create productive workflows. The business began in 2013 and now has use cases built out for over 300,000 organizations. As Airtable begins to integrate AI and the latest LLMs into its product, Howie has maintained a focus on an intuitive building experience, allowing anyone to build out their workflow within minutes or hours. We discuss the future of the platform in the era of AI, his perspective on horizontal versus vertical software solutions, and his crucial moments as a leader in building a critical component to the advancement of productivity. Please enjoy this discussion with Howie Liu. 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, where we're changing the game in investment research. Step away from outdated, inefficient methods and into the future with our platform, proudly hosting over 100,000 transcripts – with over 25,000 transcripts added just this year alone. Our platform grows eight times faster and adds twice as much monthly content as our competitors, putting us at the forefront of the industry. Plus, with 75% of private market transcripts available exclusively on Tegus, we offer insights you simply can't find elsewhere. See the difference a vast, quality-driven transcript library makes. Unlock your free trial at tegus.com/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 Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:06:49) Exploring Horizontal vs. Vertical Software in the AI Era (00:11:00) The Future of Customized Applications (00:15:28) Perspectives on AI's Future and Enterprise Adoption (00:18:13) The Evolution of LLMs and Their Impact on Software Development (00:23:33) Harnessing AI for Business Transformation and Innovation (00:27:28) Reflecting on Airtable's Founding and Evolution (00:33:23) Airtable's Approach to Customer Engagement and Innovation (00:39:59) The Impact of AI on Platform Versatility and Market Penetration (00:46:00) Achieving Product-Market Fit and Initial Monetization (00:50:23) Scaling Up and Securing the First Unicorn Round (00:51:52) Rapid Growth and Organizational Scaling Challenges (00:55:00) Reflecting on Tough Decisions in the Business (01:02:55) The Role of Capital Allocation in Expanding Airtable (01:06:55) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done For Howie
My guest today is Mark Groden. Mark is the Founder and CEO of Skyryse, a company on a mission to make general aviation as safe as commercial aviation and change the future of flying. As you may know, helicopter accidents are far more likely than airplane accidents, and Skyryse is revolutionizing helicopter flight through a safer and simpler universal flying system. Mark is the quintessential example of somebody doing their life's work and I have no doubt you will come to that conclusion for yourself after listening to his story. He's determined, through Skyryse, to drive aviation deaths down to zero, and we discuss all of the details, big and small, that have laid the groundwork for realizing this dream. Please enjoy this conversation with Mark Groden. 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, where we're changing the game in investment research. Step away from outdated, inefficient methods and into the future with our platform, proudly hosting over 100,000 transcripts – with over 25,000 transcripts added just this year alone. Our platform grows eight times faster and adds twice as much monthly content as our competitors, putting us at the forefront of the industry. Plus, with 75% of private market transcripts available exclusively on Tegus, we offer insights you simply can't find elsewhere. See the difference a vast, quality-driven transcript library makes. Unlock your free trial at tegus.com/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 Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:03:53) From Childhood Fascination to Professional Pursuit (00:05:47) Understanding General Aviation vs. Commercial Aviation (00:07:05) The Safety Gap in General Aviation (00:10:27) The Evolution of Aircraft Technology and Safety (00:16:20) The Mechanic of Flying a Helicopter (00:21:40) Justifying the Existing Dangers of Helicopter Flight (00:24:45) The Future of Flying Cars and Urban Air Mobility (00:27:23) Economies of Scale in Aviation and the Path Forward (00:35:26) The Evolution of Autonomous Flight (00:37:58) The Promise of SkyOS: Revolutionizing Flight with AI (00:42:04) Piloting the Future: How Automation Empowers Pilots (00:45:43) Exploring the Business of Flight and Future Innovations (00:51:08) What Is Holding Back The Future of Flying (00:57:08) Mission-Driven Innovation: A Personal Journey (01:00:46) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done For Mark
My guest today is Dev Ittycheria. Dev is the CEO of MongoDB, the developer data platform with tens of thousands of customers in 100 different countries. He joined the company as CEO in 2014, taking it public in 2017, and is now approaching a decade of leading MongoDB to become a go-to choice for the most sophisticated organizations around the world. We discuss Dev's philosophy for constructing an exceptional enterprise sales organization, why he feels a leader must be incredibly judgemental to drive excellence, and how he plans to guide MongoDB through another technological transition. Please enjoy this conversation with Dev Ittycheria. 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 only investment research platform built for the investor. With traditional research vendors, the diligence process is slow, fragmented, and expensive. That leaves investors competing on how well they can aggregate data — not on their unique ability to analyze insights and make great investment decisions. Tegus offers an end-to-end platform with all the data you need to get up to speed on a company or market: up-to-the-minute financials, customizable models, management and culture checks, and, of course, our vast and growing library of expert call transcripts. Tegus is changing the world of expert research. Learn more and get your free trial at tegus.com/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 Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:03:39) A CEO's Perspective Of The AI Revolution (00:05:50) The Evolution of Apps From Trivial to Transformative (00:08:12) MongoDB's Journey From Startup to AI Era (00:10:03) Building a Modern Database Company: MongoDB's Story (00:13:19) The Long-Term Vision for MongoDB (00:15:51) Dev's Formative Experiences as a Tech CEO (00:19:18) The Art of Enterprise Sales (00:25:28) The Development of Dev as a Leader (00:29:01) Getting the Most Out of Your Talent (00:33:17) Managing a Multi-Product, Multi-Channel Enterprise (00:37:29) Dev's Recruiting Philosophy (00:43:12) The Role of Leadership and Mentorship in Career Growth (00:46:08) Dev's Deepest Worry With MongoDB (00:49:35) Personal Investment Philosophy and Identifying Potential (00:53:52) The Art of Leadership: Accountability and Development (00:57:50) Learning from Legends: Andy Grove's Management Insights (01:02:54) The Power in MongoDB's Business (01:06:13) Up Next for Dev and MongoDB (01:08:34) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done For Dev
My guest today is Nico Wittenborn. Nico is the founder of Adjacent, a venture firm that looks for what he describes as the “adjacent possible” for their next investment. Nico has zoned in on the consumer subscription market as his ideal candidate, making early investments in Calm App, Photoroom, and Oura Ring. Nico does virtually all steps of the investing process on his own as he believes this allows him to be as close to finding the truth as possible. We discuss sharpening your intuition, evaluating the subscription business model, and exploring the adjacent possible. Please enjoy this conversation with Nico Wittenborn. 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 only investment research platform built for the investor. With traditional research vendors, the diligence process is slow, fragmented, and expensive. That leaves investors competing on how well they can aggregate data — not on their unique ability to analyze insights and make great investment decisions. Tegus offers an end-to-end platform with all the data you need to get up to speed on a company or market: up-to-the-minute financials, customizable models, management and culture checks, and, of course, our vast and growing library of expert call transcripts. Tegus is changing the world of expert research. Learn more and get your free trial at tegus.com/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 Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:03:30) Intuition in Investment Decisions (00:05:08) The Philosophy of Adjacency in Venture Capital (00:12:51) Exploring Consumer Subscription Models (00:18:16) Common Mistakes In Subscription Pricing (00:22:41) Errors in Product Roll-Out Strategy (00:28:50) The Sucess of BirdBuddy (00:33:45) What It Means To Be a Great Product (00:38:21) Solo Investing vs. Being Part of a Big Firm (00:43:12) Building On Your Own Experience As a Founder (00:44:49) The Rise of Individual Investors and Their Impact (00:50:52) The Strategic Advantage of Staying Small in Venture Capital (00:52:02) Deep Dive into Founder Questions and Consumer Subscription Insights (00:54:09) Leveraging AI and Technological Advances for Growth (00:59:13) Exploring Future Investments and Market Opportunities (01:05:13) Areas to Explore On The Value Curve For Consumer Subscription (01:12:32) Advice For Those Interest In Nico's Path (01:20:10) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done for Nico
My guest this week is Marc Lasry. Marc is a pioneer of distressed debt investing and the CEO of Avenue Capital Group, which he co-founded with his sister in 1995. Avenue manages $13 billion today. More recently, Marc and Avenue have become active investors in sport. He owned the Milwaukee Bucks when they won the NBA championship in 2021, and has since made investments in sports as diverse as sailing and bull-riding. In our discussion, we talk about his journey building a big investing firm, the evolution of distressed investing, and the opportunities in sport today. Marc shares some great stories throughout about travelling with President Clinton, winning the NBA championship, and raising his first fund. Please enjoy this great conversation with Marc Lasry. 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 only investment research platform built for fundamental investors. Whether you're trying to get up to speed on a new market or keep tabs on a portfolio company, Tegus is the end-to-end investment research platform you need. With Tegus, you can quickly understand a company's business model, drivers, benchmarks, and management quality. To monitor an entire market, download our pre-built financial models — or update your own with the latest data using Tegus' new Excel Add-In. Tegus gives you all of this and more, all bundled into a single software license. Find out why 95% of the top 20 global private equity firms are Tegus customers. Learn more and get your free trial at tegus.com/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 Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like The Best (00:03:40) Marc Lasry's Early Confidence and Competence (00:06:03) Distressed Credit Evolution and the Allure of Sports Investing (00:08:15) The Milwaukee Bucks: A Championship and Investment Success Story (00:14:54) Exploring New Frontiers: Bull Riding and Women's NCA (00:18:33) Venturing into Sailing with Larry Ellison's League (00:22:27) The Economics of Sports Team Ownership (00:25:19) The Vast Universe of Sports-Related Investment Opportunities (00:29:36) The Evolution of Distressed Investing (00:34:05 The Common Thread Through Marc's Business Endeavors (00:40:24) Marc's Most Memorable Investment (Not Including The Bucks) (00:43:40) The Dynamics of Working with Family in Business (00:45:32) Finding Happiness and Perspective Amid Financial Success (00:51:03) Diving into the World of NBA Owners (00:55:19) Exploring New Ventures: Sports, Real Estate, and Beyond (00:59:03) The Art of Deal-Making and Navigating Risks (01:06:10) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done for Marc
My guests today are Bill Gurley and Michael Mauboussin. Bill is a General Partner at Benchmark, and Michael is the Head of Consilient Research for Counterpoint Global. While they are longtime friends with one another, I'd never heard them appear somewhere together so it was a real treat to be able to do this with the two of them. They are two of the leading minds in their fields, and we combined their decades of expertise into one wide-ranging conversation. We discuss the different kinds of increasing returns to scale, the issue of regulatory capture, AI, and hardware. Please enjoy this great conversation with Bill Gurley and Michael Mauboussin. 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 only investment research platform built for the investor. With traditional research vendors, the diligence process is slow, fragmented, and expensive. That leaves investors competing on how well they can aggregate data — not on their unique ability to analyze insights and make great investment decisions. Tegus offers an end-to-end platform with all the data you need to get up to speed on a company or market: up-to-the-minute financials, customizable models, management and culture checks, and, of course, our vast and growing library of expert call transcripts. Tegus is changing the world of expert research. Learn more and get your free trial at tegus.com/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 Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:03:38) Dissecting the Dynamics of AI, LLMs, and Market Disruption (00:05:06) The World of AI Investments and Market Trends (00:08:13) Integration of New Technologies in Business (00:15:27) The Power of Increasing Returns and Strategic Investments (00:22:26) Unpacking the Role of Intangibles in Scaling and Innovation (00:28:54) Transformative Potential of Open Source and Idea Recombination (00:34:42) The Complex Landscape of Regulation and Innovation (00:43:17) Today's Venture Capital Ecosystem (00:47:08) Impact of Fewer IPOs and Private Market Dynamics (00:50:38) Capital Allocation in Zero Interest Rate Environments (00:54:44) The Evolution of Venture Capital and High-Stakes Investment Games (00:57:21) Exploring New Frontiers: AI, Energy, and Physical World Innovations (01:01:14) The Power of Learning by Doing (01:17:49) Working with Genius (01:26:47) The Value of Teaching, Writing, and Sharing Knowledge
Dalton Caldwell is Managing Director and Group Partner at Y Combinator. Prior to YC, he was the co-founder and CEO of imeem (acquired by MySpace in 2009) and the co-founder and CEO of App.net. During his time at YC, he's advised more than 35 YC unicorns, including DoorDash, Amplitude, Webflow, and Retool, and has worked across 21 different YC batches. He's also racked up more than 6,500 office hours with founders. In our conversation, we discuss:• Why founders need to adopt the mindset “Just don't die”• The most common reason startups fail• When to pivot, and characteristics of a good pivot• The concept of “tar pit ideas” and examples of bad startup ideas• Why investors say no to startups• The importance of market size in investment decisions• The pitfalls of founders over-delegating• Effective ways to talk to customers• 20 ideas Dalton is looking to fund—Brought to you by:• Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments• Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security• Coda—The all-in-one collaborative workspace—Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/lessons-from-1000-yc-startups—Where to find Dalton Caldwell:• X: https://twitter.com/daltonc• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daltoncaldwell/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Dalton's background(04:41) The value of simple advice(07:04) Dalton's advice: “Just don't die”(08:39) Knowing when to stop(11:45) Deciding to pivot(14:26) Characteristics of a good pivot(17:53) Knowing when to pivot(19:03) Zip's journey and finding a market(21:22) Why Dalton says to “Move towards the mountains and the desert”(23:45) Tar pit ideas(26:49) Understanding why investors say no(29:14) The importance of market size(32:16) Avoiding over-delegation and hiring senior people too early(36:43) Why startups fail(40:30) Effectively talking to customers(45:17) Examples of startups hustling to talk to customers(48:01) Patterns of successful startups(52:05) YC's Request for Startups(55:37) Early days of Silicon Valley(01:05:33) Contrarian corner: growth hacking for early startups(01:09:28) Failure corner(01:11:15) Closing thoughts(01:12:22) Lightning round—Referenced:• Y Combinator: https://www.ycombinator.com/• Tiger Woods's website: https://tigerwoods.com/• Co-Founder Mistakes That Kill Companies & How to Avoid Them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlfjs_eEEzs• Daniel Alberson's LinkedIn post about Y Combinator: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/alberson_i-left-my-dream-job-as-a-product-manager-activity-7089677882431533056-jJ9H• Companies in Y Combinator W17 Batch: https://www.ycdb.co/batch/w17• Brex: https://www.brex.com/• Retool: https://retool.com/• Segment: https://segment.com/• Mixpanel: https://mixpanel.com/• Whatnot: https://www.whatnot.com/• Andreessen Horowitz: https://a16z.com/• Airbnb's CEO says a $40 cereal box changed the course of the multibillion-dollar company: https://fortune.com/2023/04/19/airbnb-ceo-cereal-box-investors-changed-everything-billion-dollar-company/• Rujul Zaparde on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rujulz/• Zip: https://ziphq.com/• Lu Cheng on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lu-cheng-973b7830/• Avoid these tempting startup tar pit ideas: https://www.ycombinator.com/library/Ij-avoid-these-tempting-startup-tarpit-ideas• Airbnb acquires Localmind to create crowdsourced advice about neighborhoods: https://skift.com/2012/12/13/airbnb-acquires-localmind-to-create-crowdsourced-advice-about-neighborhoods/• Foursquare: https://foursquare.com/• Razorpay: https://razorpay.com/• Total Addressable Market: https://www.productplan.com/glossary/total-addressable-market/• Lenny Bogdonoff on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rememberlenny/• Milk Video: https://milkvideo.com/• Lessons from working with 600+ YC startups | Gustaf Alströmer (Y Combinator, Airbnb): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/lessons-from-working-with-600-yc-startups-gustaf-alstromer-y-combinator-airbnb/• How the most successful B2B startups came up with their original idea: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-the-most-successful-b2b-startups• Collison installation: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18400504• Stripe: https://stripe.com/• Patrick Collison on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickcollison/• John Collison on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbcollison/• Tony Xu on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xutony/• Grant LaFontaine on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grantlafontaine/• Ryan Petersen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rpetersen/• Lessons on building product sense, navigating AI, optimizing the first mile, and making it through the messy middle | Scott Belsky (Adobe, Behance): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/lessons-on-building-product-sense-navigating-ai-optimizing-the-first-mile-and-making-it-through-t/• YC's latest Request for Startups: https://www.ycombinator.com/blog/ycs-latest-request-for-startups• ERPs: https://www.ycombinator.com/rfs#new-enterprise-resource-planning-software• Commercial open source companies: https://www.ycombinator.com/rfs#commercial-open-source-companies• New space companies: https://www.ycombinator.com/rfs#new-space-companies• A way to end cancer: https://www.ycombinator.com/rfs#a-way-to-end-cancer• Spatial computing: https://www.ycombinator.com/rfs#spatial-computing• New defense technology: https://www.ycombinator.com/rfs#new-defense-technology• Bringing manufacturing back to America: https://www.ycombinator.com/rfs#bring-manufacturing-back-to-america• Better enterprise glue: https://www.ycombinator.com/rfs#better-enterprise-glue• Small fine-tuned models, as an alternative to giant generic ones: https://www.ycombinator.com/rfs#small-finetuned-models-as-an-alternative-to-giant-generic-ones• Reid Hoffman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reidhoffman/• Sam Altman on X: https://twitter.com/sama• Sean Parker on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/parkersean/• Owen Van Natta on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/owen-van-natta-444a7/• iMeme: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/imeme-generator/id1560021364• Marc Andreessen on X: https://twitter.com/pmarca• Picplz 1, Instagram 0 as VC firm Andreessen Horowitz chooses photo app rival: https://www.reuters.com/article/idUS2587232395/• Gustaf Alstromer—How to Get Users and Grow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9ikpoF2GH0• Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In: https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Yes-Negotiating-Agreement-Without/dp/0143118757• Founding Sales: The Early Stage Go-to-Market Handbook: https://www.amazon.com/Founding-Sales-Go-Market-Handbook-ebook/dp/B08PMK17Z1• Founder-led sales | Pete Kazanjy (Founding Sales, Atrium): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/founder-led-sales-pete-kazanjy-founding-sales-atrium/• The Sopranos on HBO: https://www.hbo.com/the-sopranos• The Wire on HBO: https://www.hbo.com/the-wire• Columbo on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/Columbo-Season-1/dp/B008SA89HA• Oura ring: https://ouraring.com/• Apple watch: https://www.apple.com/watch/• SiPhox: https://siphoxhealth.com/• Dalton & Michael on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQ-uHSnFig5Nd98Sc9I-kkc0ZWe8peRMC• How Future Billionaires Get Sh*t Done: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ephzgxgOjR0• The Student's Guide to Becoming a Successful Startup Founder: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5KCB2p6SB8—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe
My guest today is Tim Ferriss. Tim is a writer, podcaster, and investor. He has written five best-selling books, has been an early-stage investor in Facebook, Uber, Shopify, & other household names, and is the host of one of the biggest podcasts in the world. He started The Tim Ferriss Show as an experiment in April 2014 and has deconstructed world-class performers ever since. Last year, his show crossed 1 billion downloads. Together, we deconstruct his podcast and approach to life. We talk about the art of interviewing, the business behind his podcast, and what motivates Tim to keep teaching through his writing and podcast. Please enjoy this great conversation with Tim Ferriss. Check Out Invest America 2024 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 only investment research platform built for the investor. With traditional research vendors, the diligence process is slow, fragmented, and expensive. That leaves investors competing on how well they can aggregate data — not on their unique ability to analyze insights and make great investment decisions. Tegus offers an end-to-end platform with all the data you need to get up to speed on a company or market: up-to-the-minute financials, customizable models, management and culture checks, and, of course, our vast and growing library of expert call transcripts. Tegus is changing the world of expert research. Learn more and get your free trial at tegus.com/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 Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:03:32) The Evolution of Podcasting with Tim Ferriss (00:09:56) Crafting Meaningful Conversations (00:13:26) What Makes Tim Feel The Most Alive (00:24:06) Who Tim Considers To Be His Mentors (00:29:06) The Ingredients Of A World Class Performance (00:31:06) The Business Side of Podcasting (00:43:15) Identifying Emerging Trends (00:50:12) Lessons From Building a Small, Efficient Team (00:52:32) The Power of Constraints in Personal and Professional Growth (00:53:10) Innovating Against the Grain (Anti-Video Experiment) (00:54:54) Navigating Fame, Money, and Power (01:02:00) The Impact of Sharing Difficult Stories (01:06:18) Meta-Learning: A Framework for Fast, Effective Learning (01:12:32) Reflecting on a Decade of Podcasting & What's In Store (01:24:41) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done For Tim
My guest today is Ken Langone. Ken is a legendary American businessman best known for his co-founding of Home Depot. He is also a former director of the New York Stock Exchange and a passionate philanthropist. He shares with us a lifetime's worth of wisdom, building Home Depot into a powerhouse and prioritizing his employees above all else. He says he still “bleeds orange” to this day. You'll hear as he recounts his business endeavors, his strict belief in keeping your word, and his true pride in his country, which he knows to be the land of opportunity. We discuss his work with Ross Perot, the idea of an upside-down hierarchy, and the power of loyalty. For anyone who may find it easier to follow along, we have a transcript of the episode on joincolossus.com. Please enjoy this conversation with Ken Langone. 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 go-to destination for bold investing. The investment research platform trusted by 95% of the top 20 global private equity firms just got even better. Building on their solid reputation for expert insights, Tegus has expanded to become the first true all-in-one research platform. The new Tegus makes diligence faster, easier, and more convenient than ever before. Your Tegus license gives you access to over 70,000 expert transcripts, more than 4,000 fully drivable financial models, and exclusive datasets like company management checks, industry KPIs, hard-to-find non-GAAP data, and more. Tegus is the fastest way to learn about a public or private company and the most cost-effective way to conduct investment research — now all under one roof. Learn more and get your free trial at tegus.com/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 Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:004:00) The Unforgettable Pitch to Ross Perot (00:08:37) Winning Over Perot with Honesty and Insight (00:16:08) The Art of Negotiation and Trust (00:19:31) Loyalty, Integrity, and the Power of Keeping Your Word (00:23:51) Home Depot's Culture of Service and Empowerment (00:29:16) Frank's Authentic Leadership and Its Impact (00:31:00) Transforming NYU Medical Center (00:33:45) Ken's Investment Philosophy: Long Hold Only (00:39:56) The Power of Resilience in Business (00:45:37) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done For Ken
My guest today is Robin Dunbar. Robin is a biological anthropologist, evolutionary psychologist, and specialist in primate behavior. He is the man behind Dunbar's number, a theory about the number of stable relationships we can maintain at once. Robin unravels the thread of research that led him to Dunbar's number and describes how this plays into every single person's layers of human connection. It was fascinating to hear how his findings on social circles have implications for optimally structuring businesses and organizations, as well as the idea of homophily, all of which Robin thoughtfully explains. It was a treat to get to explore these topics with Robin Dunbar himself so please enjoy this great conversation. Listen to Founders Podcast For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the only investment research platform built for fundamental investors. Whether you're trying to get up to speed on a new market or keep tabs on a portfolio company, Tegus is the end-to-end investment research platform you need. With Tegus, you can quickly understand a company's business model, drivers, benchmarks, and management quality. To monitor an entire market, download our pre-built financial models — or update your own with the latest data using Tegus' new Excel Add-In. Tegus gives you all of this and more, all bundled into a single software license. Find out why 95% of the top 20 global private equity firms are Tegus customers. Learn more and get your free trial at tegus.com/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 Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:04:39) The Journey to Discovering Dunbar's Number (00:07:28) Exploring the Layers of Human Connection (00:12:27) The Significance of the 1.5 Layer in Social Circles (00:16:55) Surprising Insights from Social Network Studies (00:20:40) Applying Dunbar's Number to Organizational Structures (00:27:51) The Science of Social Bonding in Primates and Humans (00:33:23) Unlocking the Endorphin System Without Physical Touch (00:34:10) The Power of Laughter, Singing, and Storytelling in Group Bonding (00:36:00) The Limitations of Digital Interactions for Building Relationships (00:39:51) Reviving Social Clubs and Activities for Workplace Bonding (00:44:40) The Importance of Homophily in Friendships and Social Networks (00:50:40) Challenges and Solutions for Overcoming Loneliness and Building Trust (00:53:45) The Impact of Technology, Religion, and Mental Health on Social Connections (00:61:47) Reflecting on Time as a Fundamental Aspect of Social Dynamics
My guest today is Sean Feeney. Sean is the co-founder of Grovehouse Hospitality Group and the owner of Lilia and Misi, two of New York City's most sought-after restaurants. He left his job in Trading to chase down a dream with Michelin star chef Missy Robbins. Sean leveraged his finance background to write his own rulebook for the restaurant industry, crafting several establishments that now boast several thousand people on the waitlist any given night. His story is as entertaining as it is inspiring. As we go step by step through his business endeavors, he points out all of the times he was told “it's just always been done this way” and how that revealed to him where he could innovate. Sean's restaurants are the perfect example of building a business into the fabric of a community, collaborating with other brands in authentic ways, and staying true to yourself along the way. Please enjoy this awesome conversation with Sean Feeney. Listen to Founders Podcast Join Positive Sum as a Research Analyst 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 only investment research platform built for the investor. With traditional research vendors, the diligence process is slow, fragmented, and expensive. That leaves investors competing on how well they can aggregate data — not on their unique ability to analyze insights and make great investment decisions. Tegus offers an end-to-end platform with all the data you need to get up to speed on a company or market: up-to-the-minute financials, customizable models, management and culture checks, and, of course, our vast and growing library of expert call transcripts. Tegus is changing the world of expert research. Learn more and get your free trial at tegus.com/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 Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:03:58) First Question - A Chance Encounter with a Michelin-Starred Chef (00:08:52) The Birth of a Culinary Partnership (00:12:49) Embracing the Genius Within (00:16:41) Innovative Approaches to the Restaurant Business (00:24:53) Creating Demand: The Art of Exclusivity (00:28:49) Learning from the Best: Insights from Kith's Success (00:34:21) Defining Exceptional Hospitality (00:44:20) The Power of Customer Relationships in Hospitality (00:52:31) Unlocking Team Potential (00:53:33) The Philosophy of the Perfect Turn (00:54:05) Balancing Art, Commerce, and Satisfaction (00:56:13) The Impact of Authentic Experiences and Brands (01:03:24) The Evolution of a Hospitality Brand (01:06:38) Community Engagement and the Power of Simplicity (01:24:40) Creative Responses and Business Lessons Learned (01:36:05) Lessons From Working In The Restaurant Industry (01:43:01) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done For Sean
My guest today is Dave Fontenot, founder of HF0. Born out of Dave's experiences in monasteries across the world, HF0 is a twelve-week residency for repeat founders to supercharge their next venture. For 12 weeks, 10 teams of engineers relocate to HF0's house in San Francisco. During the residency, everything is taken care of so their sole focus is coding and building. It's one of the most interesting incubators I have come across and we discuss the model and its monastic origins in detail. Please enjoy this conversation with Dave Fontenot. Become a Research Analyst at Positive Sum Listen to Founders Podcast For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the only investment research platform built for the investor. With traditional research vendors, the diligence process is slow, fragmented, and expensive. That leaves investors competing on how well they can aggregate data — not on their unique ability to analyze insights and make great investment decisions. Tegus offers an end-to-end platform with all the data you need to get up to speed on a company or market: up-to-the-minute financials, customizable models, management and culture checks, and, of course, our vast and growing library of expert call transcripts. Tegus is changing the world of expert research. Learn more and get your free trial at tegus.com/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 Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:04:05) First Question - Dave's Journey to Meditation and Monastic Life (00:07:25) From Monastery to Coding: Finding Flow in Programming (00:08:32) Creating Spaces for Uninterrupted Creativity: The Birth of HF0 (00:20:24) A Day in the Life at HF0 (00:25:15) Why 12 Weeks? The Philosophy Behind the Duration (00:27:14) Selecting the Brilliant Minds for HF0 (00:31:43) The Thin Line Between Visionary and Crazy (00:34:39) Creating Space to Meditate (00:37:24) The Economic Model Behind HF0 (00:41:36) Building Successful Residencies (00:44:48) Expanding the Residency Model to Universities (00:52:52) Understanding Engineers and Hackers (01:02:01) The Kindest Thing Anyone's Ever Done For Dave
My guest today is Anne-Marie Peterson. Anne-Marie is an equity portfolio manager at Capital Group, a storied investment firm managing 2.5 trillion dollars and getting ready to celebrate its centennial anniversary. Anne-Marie is a seasoned investor, approaching three decades in the industry, with nearly 20 of those years being with Capital. She has become an expert in retail and restaurants and shares her proven strategies in those sectors over her career. We discuss her people-first approach, simplicity as criteria for investment, and the idea that the best retailers are cults. Please enjoy this great discussion with Anne-Marie Peterson. 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 go-to destination for bold investing. The investment research platform trusted by 95% of the top 20 global private equity firms just got even better. Building on their solid reputation for expert insights, Tegus has expanded to become the first true all-in-one research platform. The new Tegus makes diligence faster, easier, and more convenient than ever before. Your Tegus license gives you access to over 70,000 expert transcripts, more than 4,000 fully drivable financial models, and exclusive datasets like company management checks, industry KPIs, hard-to-find non-GAAP data, and more. Tegus is the fastest way to learn about a public or private company and the most cost-effective way to conduct investment research — now all under one roof. Learn more and get your free trial at tegus.com/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 Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:04:06) First Question - Understanding Capital Group's Investment Approach (00:05:43) The Importance of Teamwork and Culture in Investment Firms (00:07:38) The Role of Analysts in Investment Decisions (00:12:24) The Art of Running Effective Meetings with Company Management (00:18:12) Exploring the Dominance of Big Tech Companies (00:19:13) The Common Thread Amongst Great Retailing Companies (00:30:49) Comparing The Growth in The Tech Market to That of Healthcare (00:34:14) The Rise of Pharma and its Potential Opportunities (00:36:56) Power Dynamics in the Tech Industry (00:38:11) The Idea of Power in Investing (00:46:21) Unique Challenges and Opportunities in the Restaurant Industry (00:48:35) The Positive Signal of Enduring Companies (00:54:54) The Importance of Gratitude and Kindness in Professional Growth (00:58:40) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done for Anne-Marie
My guest today is Aravind Srinivas. He is the founder and CEO of Perplexity, a startup that he describes as an “answer engine” built from scratch with AI. Aravind has set out for perplexity to become the most powerful answer engine backed by up-to-date sources. He helps me pick the technology apart, describing the behind the scenes of what it takes to build Perplexity to reach its potential and compete alongside the likes of Google and OpenAI. Our conversation goes deep into programming this type of infrastructure, the competition around latency, and constructing a business model around deep learning. There is so much on this horizon, so please enjoy my conversation with Aravind Srinivas. 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 only investment research platform built for fundamental investors. How hard do you work to get the insights you need to make a great investment decision? How many hours do you spend digging through public records and expert transcripts, or manually updating complex models? Investors should compete on their ability to analyze investments, not how well they aggregate data. That's why Tegus offers a unified, end-to-end research platform that combines robust qualitative content sets, up-to-date financial data, management and culture checks, and more — all in the same easy-to-use, streamlined user experience. 95% of the top 20 global private equity firms use Tegus. Shouldn't you? Learn more and get your free trial at tegus.com/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 Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:04:08) First Question - Redefining 'Great' in Search (00:07:16) The Mechanics of Perplexity (00:10:59) The Evolution of Perplexity From Wrapper to Robust Infrastructure (00:13:19) The Future of Large Language Models (LLMs) (00:22:39) Aravind's Strategy For Constructing The Business Model (00:28:16) The Process of Building an Index for a Search Engine (00:35:55) The Impact of Scaling and Data Quality on AI Models (00:40:00) Bottlenecks in AI Development (00:47:06) The Talent Landscape in AI (00:57:59) The Vision for the Future of Search (01:00:19) Importance of Execution in AI Startups
My guest today is Ali Hamed. Ali was first on Invest Like the Best six years ago. He was 26 at the time and four years into building his investing firm, CoVenture. Both then and now, Ali is an example of what's possible when you think creatively. Six years later, CoVenture now manages two-and-a-half billion dollars, and Ali continues to find alpha in esoteric places. We talk about YouTube catalogs, creative opportunities in real estate, and how venture investing helps them get better at credit. We also talk about his lessons from building an investment firm and what it's been like to work with Michael Ovitz. Please enjoy this great conversation with Ali Hamed. Listen to Ali host a Business Breakdowns on Spotter 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 only investment research platform built for fundamental investors. Whether you're trying to get up to speed on a new market or keep tabs on a portfolio company, Tegus is the end-to-end investment research platform you need. With Tegus, you can quickly understand a company's business model, drivers, benchmarks, and management quality. To monitor an entire market, download our pre-built financial models — or update your own with the latest data using Tegus' new Excel Add-In. Tegus gives you all of this and more, all bundled into a single software license. Find out why 95% of the top 20 global private equity firms are Tegus customers. Learn more and get your free trial at tegus.com/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 Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:03:11) First Question - The Journey of Building an Investment Firm (00:15:08) The Influence of Time and Scale on Asset Classes (00:22:39) The Power and Potential of YouTube's Asset Class (00:27:33) The Future of Real Estate and Housing Supply (00:30:15) The Challenges of Investing in Platform Economies (00:36:44) The Pitfalls of Capital Formation in Asset Management (00:45:17) The Evolution of Venture Portfolio (00:51:14) The Approach to AI and Other Emerging Technologies (00:54:42) The Mispricing in Private Credit (00:58:46) Building the People Side of the Business (01:04:21) The Challenges and Opportunities in Valuation (01:19:40) The Impact of Michael Ovitz on CoVenture (01:23:11) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done For Him
© 2020-2025 Ivy Podcast Discovery LLC
