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

Listen to Founders Podcast
Founders Episode 311: James Cameron

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

-----

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

-----

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

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

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes
(00:03:22) - (First question) - His fascination with Robber Barons
(00:04:49) - He explains the style of investing he has built at Walleye Capital   
(00:08:51) - The importance of scale and what it means for firms like this 
(00:13:01) - A breakdown of the component parts of a 15% return structure
(00:16:56) - His advice to new portfolio managers trying to succeed with long/short investments
(00:21:23) - His reaction to an efficient market hypothesis   
(00:27:33) - He tells us what happens above the individual manager level
(00:29:42) - The universe of talented people behind the business
(00:35:26) - The backstory of Walleye Capital and why he chose Minnesota    
(00:42:37) - He discusses the felt experience of being at Walleye versus other firms 
(00:47:25) - Whether he identifies more as an entrepreneur systems builder or as an investor
(00:50:04) - What he says about the half life of successful quantitative strategies  
(00:54:03) - A breakdown of style allocations and the percentage of managers within each 
(00:56:30) - How he determines how much leverage to use and how to be great at applying it 
(00:59:59) - How the firm handles tough investment periods
(01:02:34) - How he knew Citadel wasn’t taking down gross during the GameStop short
(01:03:51) - What he looks for when hiring a portfolio manager
(01:06:37) - His philosophy on performance and how he blends that into his firms culture 
(01:09:21) - Inspiration he’s taken from the All Blacks team
(01:11:25) - Addition aspects of the firm he believes are important
(01:13:46) - Historical finance pioneers that inspire him 
(01:16:07) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

Will England - A Primer on Multi-Strategy Hedge Funds

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

Listen to Founders Podcast
Founders Episode 311: James Cameron

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

-----

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

-----

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

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

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

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes	
(00:03:42) - (First question) - Des's high level thoughts on Open AI and new technology
(00:07:07) - Advanced AI tech for existing businesses versus start-ups ventures 
(00:11:14) - Where Intercom falls on the spectrum of existing and new AI technology 
(00:13:16) - Training AI to be tailored to specific fields of work
(00:18:25) - The natural end point is for Intercom incorporating AI  
(00:22:25) - Des's product philosophy behind this technology
(00:24:03) - Choosing an AI provider that best suited his customer service industry needs
(00:26:55) - The value comparison between using AI-led customer service versus human
(00:29:18) - Why outsourcing automated data is not for everyone
(00:31:15) - Des's advice for other companies beginning to integrate AI into their operations  
(00:36:33) - What he is excited for as an investor in this area
(00:37:50) - The most common discussions he’s having about this technology
(00:41:21) - The inherent risks of using AI models that are not 100% accurate 
(00:45:10) - Des's evolution as an investor
(00:48:25) - How Intercom solved it’s AI execution problems
(00:50:46) - Combating other companies that are trying to overtake the field 
(00:53:44) - Counter arguments for using AI technology  
(00:57:22) - His view on the best software out there
(01:03:00) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him 

Des Traynor - Real Talk about AI and Software

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

Founders Podcast
Founders Episode 136 - Estee Lauder
Founders Episode 288 - Ralph Lauren

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

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

-----

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

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

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

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes
(00:03:00) - (First question) - The history of humanity as a data storage and transfer problem and how that relates to new kinds of computer interfaces
(00:14:47) - Investing strategies; knowing when to invest in new technology
(00:16:39) - Assessing the gray areas of a potential investment
(00:22:13) - CodeMiko and VTubing
(00:32:51) - An explanation of atomic value swap
(00:39:55) - The 7 deadly sins and the degrees to which each sin is monetizable 
(00:45:05) - Evaluating the people behind new technologies
(00:50:03) - The Reddit Revolt - the current changes happening at Reddit  
(00:53:09) - Business model alignment; the steps to take when determining a business’ value capture mechanism 
(01:03:52) - The investment decision that Chris is most proud of 
(01:08:14) - The consumer investing landscape today
(01:11:19) - Chris’ methods for finding new content, technology and potential investments on the internet
(01:14:06) - The fundamentals of value creation  
(01:15:06) - The dark side of tech, how can it be more than just friction reduction
(01:17:22) - Chris’ opinion on why so many innovations come from the US
(01:20:37) - Defining market places and how to start and grow a successful one
(01:23:23) - Chris’ thoughts on opportunities with bad business models
(01:26:19) - A breakdown of Chris’ analogy “Sculptors versus painters”
(01:29:34) - The kindest thing that anyone has ever done for Chris

Chris Paik - Venture Investing Frameworks

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

Founders Podcast
Founders Episode 136 - Estee Lauder
Founders Episode 288 - Ralph Lauren

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

-----

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

-----

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

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes
(00:03:14) - (First question) - Why do this podcast
(00:06:14) - The development of taste and quality 
(00:10:20) - CS Lewis tweet; The Inner Ring
(00:11:53) - Founders being heroes and motivating quietly from the background
(00:16:14) - Overview the founding story of Oscar Health
(00:21:30) - Is a big business different from a small one
(00:23:18) - Learning to identify good problems and creating a business to solve it 
(00:25:43) - The birth story of Thrive Capital 
(00:30:14) - Lessons learned from creating the first three Thrive funds
(00:33:35) - Industry wide competition today and models for building a firm in general 
(00:37:44) - Talent, recruiting and seeing potential in younger generations of people
(00:45:40) - Investments he made during the early foundation of Thrive that had significant impact 
(00:49:12) - His analogy for investing in early versus late stage
(00:54:22) - The current macro environment
(00:57:52) - Giving AI companies computing power instead of money
(00:58:57) - Why he sold small stakes of Thrive 
(01:03:10) - His philosophy on what makes a good product
(01:05:20) - What he thinks about the models like Mobile and Cloud 
(01:08:10) - His absence from crypto and why he refrained during the boom in 2021
(01:10:33) - Thoughts about the opportunity set in FinTech today writ large
(01:12:04) - Other potential opportunity sets beyond what’s already been discussed
(01:13:39) - Lessons learned from his time spent with Marc Andreessen, Stan Druckenmiller, Henry Kravis, and David Geffen
(01:21:59) - Balancing magnitudes of capital between investment funds 
(01:23:32) - Why founders choose Thrive
(01:29:15) - Vision as a key ingredient for founders
(01:32:19) - His view of the investment industry in the world today writ large 
(01:40:19) - Other investment firms he would invest in
(01:42:48) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

Josh Kushner - Building Thrive Capital

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

Founders Podcast
Founders Episode 136 - Estee Lauder
Founders Episode 288 - Ralph Lauren

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

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

-----

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

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes
(00:03:15) - (First question) - What defines the nature of a perfect business in his mind
(00:05:21) - Key characteristics he’d look for in a perfect investment
(00:09:58) - Coordination problems that excite him
(00:14:02) - Raising funds and ghostship companies 
(00:16:17) - Examples of a special situations transaction in private markets 
(00:18:55) - Building up a sourcing mechanism
(00:22:18) - The biggest mistakes he’s seen in buying and selling companies 
(00:25:42) - Refining the underwriting process
(00:28:57) - Thoughts about minimum rates of return and multiples on capital for the investments he makes 
(00:30:44) - Being lazy enough to wait for good deals on enduring businesses 
(00:33:32) - Why people do things they don’t like 
(00:35:47) - Whether or not he feels like he knows what he wants in life
(00:40:48) - Invest Like The Best - Kevin Kelly; The reward for good work is more work 
(00:42:58) - Hiring CEOs
(00:44:54) - Really good respective returns in low risk companies and why those opportunities continue to persist   
(00:47:05) - Tactics for negotiating with and sourcing CEOs  
(00:50:37) - Binaries - pre and post fall
(00:55:58) - Being hard to kill
(00:59:15) - His favorite interview question 
(01:06:07) - Having an audience is incredibly underpriced 
(01:10:13) - What else is significantly underpriced
(01:12:14) - Things he feels are overpriced today writ large
(01:15:54) - Criticisms of the cult of learning
(01:20:21) - The one call that everyone needs to make 
(01:27:18) - Meeting your heroes and having mentors 
(01:30:48) - Notable differences between the business environments of Canada and the US
(01:33:13) - Lessons learned from people he admires and models for seeing the world 
(01:35:35) - Views he holds that would make people scratch their heads
(01:40:02) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him 

Jeremy Giffon - Special Situations in Private Markets

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

Founders Podcast
Founders Episode 136 - Estee Lauder
Founders Episode 288 - Ralph Lauren

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

-----

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

-----

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

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

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes
(00:03:06) - (First question) - Framing the overall problem of the US health system
(00:04:12) - What it would take for America’s health crisis to affect global competitiveness
(00:11:05) - Important changes that have contributed to the decline of health in the US 
(00:14:53) - Other system settings and incentives have contributed to America’s health crisis
(00:16:51) - Thoughts on Ozempic and attempts to engineer solutions for chronic disease
(00:20:07) - Mental health decline, infertility, and other problems tied to the health crisis 
(00:24:33) - When he first discovered this problem and became passionate about it
(00:26:56) - The difficulties of building a health-centric bone broth company 
(00:31:49) - Why no one has a built supply chain sourcing service to create scale economies
(00:34:44) - Other companies he’s built and other things he’s doing to fight the problem 
(00:40:15) - Going to market to simplify the HSA consumer experience 
(00:43:04) - The world of water, environmental toxins and forever chemicals writ large
(00:47:17) - The difficulty in avoiding forever chemicals in our everyday lives 
(00:51:51) - How he searches for and decides on new businesses to start or invest in   
(00:56:52) - The growing popularity and promise of psychedelic therapy 
(00:58:48) - Personality traits of people who feel most at home in Edge City
(01:01:36) - Strategies on sourcing and connecting with ambitious and talented people
(01:06:56) - Childhood nutrition and the impact of their diets and health on society 
(01:11:26) - Capital formation and creating new businesses in a systematic way
(01:19:57) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him 

Justin Mares - The US Health Crisis

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

Founders Podcast
Founders Episode 136 - Estee Lauder
Founders Episode 288 - Ralph Lauren

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

-----

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

-----

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

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

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

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes
(00:03:07) - (First question) - Comparing the investing themes of the ‘10s to the ‘20s
(00:04:59) - The skillset differences between investing in equity versus credit 
(00:06:28) - Why Carvana’s stock plummeted and thoughts on the destruction of value
(00:07:33) - General overview of credit cycles and what they are  
(00:15:42) - Opportunities come from knowing the names well enough 
(00:19:17) - Making substantial decisions in a matter of minutes as a credit investor 
(00:22:23) - How he thinks about the evolution of sourcing alpha in credit markets
(00:27:37) - Why so many institutional capital pools have fewer credit managers  
(00:31:08) - His childhood and the unique aspects of it that set him apart
(00:37:28) - Lessons learned early on about running an investment firm
(00:43:34) - The role imagination plays in credit investing
(00:46:35) - How weekly breakfasts lead to an investing partnership
(00:50:51) - What Tracy Fenton has done for Diameter
(00:53:05) - Things that should change about investing firms writ large
(00:57:09) - Calling balls and strikes and how his team learns and works together
(00:59:37) - Why he’s motivated more by failure than success
(01:00:54) - Where he finds the most joy in his investing process
(01:04:07) - Non-negotiable attributes he’d look for when investing in other GPs
(01:05:22) - New variables that have his attention in the current market
(01:08:27) - What feels like unfinished business to him
(01:09:43) - His reaction to everything going on today in real estate
(01:10:52) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

Scott Goodwin - Know The Names

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

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

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

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

—--

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

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

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

Show Notes
[00:03:01] - [First question] - His favorite Rolex watch ever
[00:04:24] - What makes the Rolex Daytona such a special watch 
[00:07:19] - The job-to-be-done for high-end watches beyond just telling them the time
[00:12:18] - The strategy behind marketing luxury products: The Luxury Strategy
[00:14:34] - An overview of the Rolex business
[00:19:38] - The history of Rolex 
[00:38:45] - Their genius in marketing and distribution 
[00:41:55] - How they make decisions and what others can learn from them
[00:47:14] - The financials of Rolex and other luxury watch brands
[00:49:02} - Most important business lessons others can learn from Rolex
[00:52:54] - Other luxury brands worth studying 
[00:57:26] - Negative lessons gleaned from Rolex

Rolex: Timeless Excellence

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

Founders Podcast
Founders Episode 136 - Estee Lauder
Founders Episode 288 - Ralph Lauren

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

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Show Notes
(00:03:00) - (First question) - His view of the state of private credit in capital markets
(00:06:56) - The notion of ball washing and why it’s important to understand 
(00:09:04) - What the worst-case domino effects of ball washing could be 
(00:12:21) - Arriving at a place where JP Morgan could borrow so much at the fund level
(00:14:20) - Lessons learned from the worst trade he made 
(00:16:53) - What could happen in the world of private credit in the next few years and how the bigger players tend to benefit 
(00:19:29) - Thoughts on the world of venture capital right now  
(00:21:13) - The time he was at the peak of his power as an investor
(00:24:03) - From being new at something to incredibly successful seemingly overnight
(00:26:42) - What kinds of alpha he believes exists and which ones he’s skeptical about
(00:29:30) - Thoughts on income share agreements 
(00:31:24) - Why there aren’t more initiatives for new talent to trade their student loans for future earnings 
(00:33:13) - The power of EQ over IQ and why it’s important for investor success
(00:35:49) - Whether or not now is a good time to get into the field of capital markets
(00:37:54) - Key tenants to know when learning credit investing specifically 
(00:40:09) - Things people misunderstand about the power of volatility 
(00:42:39) - Ways he managed to stretch his own imagination effectively  
(00:48:06) - The natural inclination to be short volatility 
(00:49:24) - Incorporating long volatility into his portfolio and life  
(00:52:20) - Thoughts on synergy in relationships  
(00:55:48) - Other interesting lessons learned from sports
(00:57:50) - The roles of the multiple coaches that sit in for an NBA team
(00:59:42) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

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