Invest Like the Best

Brian Armstrong – The Future of Crypto - [Invest Like the Best, EP.186]

Aug 11, 202001:03:33Tap to summarize

My guest this week is Brian Armstrong, the co-founder and CEO of Coinbase. The topic of our conversation is the future of cryptocurrency and decentralized finance. Its been a while since I checked in on the world of crypto and while prices are still below the 2017 highs, there’s been a ton of additional work and infrastructure laid. We discuss the major events of the past decade and what might happen in the 2020s. Perhaps most interesting, we cover the potential benefits of a modernized financial system, which Coinbase hopes to help usher in. As I’m trying to do more in conversation with CEOs, we also discuss the lessons he’s learned building a business. Please enjoy my conversation with Brian Armstrong. This week’s episode is sponsored by Bottomless. Bottomless is a smart coffee subscription which automatically re-orders coffee for you based on your consumption habits. Bottomless is offering one month and your second bag of coffee for free at bottomless.com/patrick. For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club and new email newsletter called “Inside the Episode” at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag Show Notes (2:23) – (First question) – Most important developments in cryptocurrencies (3:00) - What happened in crypto over the last decade (3:01) – What will happen to cryptocurrency in the 2020s (4:01) – Long term vision for Coinbase (6:57) – Why should we be aiming towards an open financial system (11:41) – How crypto improves the movement of money (14:22) – Creating sound money and currencies (16:21) – Why economic freedom is an important variable in what he’s trying to do (19:44) - How economic freedom can happen with various regulators around the world and in different countries (22:49) – How Coinbase attracted its first users (26:33) – The December 2017 madness of cryptocurrencies (29:50) – How he thinks about recruiting teams and motivating them to be productive (33:40) – Mistakes with people he’s learned from (34:56) – Steering a product roadmap and creating a successful business (37:17) – What do the non-Bitcoin currencies offer that Bitcoin doesn’t (41:19) – Innovation in cryptocurrency that excites him: DeFi (43:40) – Interesting geographic locations and their impact on crypto (45:29) – How his thoughts on company building has changed over the years (46:47) – Battling any loss of confidence as a founder (51:01) – Improving decision making as a leader (53:54) – Aspects of the job that he loves the most today (56:25) – Largest impediments to mass adoption of crypto (58:25) – His curiosity for scientific research and bioengineering (59:19) – Advice that helped him that he would offer others (1:01:38) – Kindest thing anyone has done for him Learn More For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club and new email newsletter called “Inside the Episode” at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag

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Matt Ball - The Future of Media: Movies, the Metaverse, and More - [Invest Like the Best, EP.185]

Aug 4, 202001:46:34Tap to summarize

My guest today, Matthew Ball, is a long time coming. He’s the former head of strategy at Amazon Studies, an investor, and probably my favorite business essayist writing today.

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Kat Cole – How to Operate: Lessons in Brand, Distribution, and Leadership - [Invest Like the Best, EP.184]

Jul 28, 202001:17:33Tap to summarize

My guest today is Kat Cole, the COO and president of North America for Focus Brands, which owns famous companies like Cinnabon, Carvel, Jamba, and more. Kat’s story and career trajectory are remarkable, as are the lessons she’s picked up along the way which she shares with us all in this conversation. We discuss negotiation, distribution, brand building, brand extension strategies, and leadership. I always enjoy having a true operator on the show, so I was very excited to discover Kat and her thinking. Please enjoy this great conversation. This week’s episode is sponsored by Bottomless. Bottomless is a smart coffee subscription which automatically re-orders coffee for you based on your consumption habits. Bottomless is offering one month and your second bag of coffee for free at bottomless.com/patrick. For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club and new email newsletter called “Inside the Episode” at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag Show Notes (2:13) – (First question) – Her call to prayer (2:16) – Kat Cole on Pomp’s podcast (5:20) – Her positivity lens (7:59) – Applying that positivity lens in business (13:34) – How to show positivity in early interactions with someone (17:37) – Overview of Kat’s career (21:03) – Lessons learned building brands (27:11) – Changing relevance or differentiation within a brand (32:34) – Keeping a brands dominant position in people’s minds (36:00) – The power of franchising and shared commitment (40:50) – How her experience makes her a better investor (42:55) – Lessons around distribution (46:24) – Effectively negotiating and getting your fair share in a partnership (52:49) – Attributes of a brand that get Kat most excited (56:34) – Transferring her brand lessons to software and tech companies (59:09) – Biggest lessons in leadership she’s learned (1:04:13) – Checking In: the power of intention, reflection, and action to be your best and help others do the same (1:05:18) – Most effective questions in her check-ins (1:06:29) – Personal check-ins vs professional check-ins (1:10:44) – Balancing gratitude and ambition (1:14:37) – The kindest thing anyone has done for Kat Learn More For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club and new email newsletter called “Inside the Episode” at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag

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Eric Vishria – The Past, Present, and Future of SaaS and Software - [Invest Like the Best, EP.183]

Jul 21, 202001:05:43Tap to summarize

My guest this week is Eric Vishria, a general partner at Benchmark Capital. Eric joined Benchmark after spending the first part of his career as an operator and CEO. The topic of our conversation is the past, present, and future of software businesses. We begin by explaining why public software companies trade at such incredibly high multiples today. We then explore the several different generations of these businesses and why the future remains so bright for companies building software as their primary product. I’d go one step further and suggest that the information in this episode is even more valuable for non-software businesses and investors, because its crucial to understand the impact that these products will have on the overall business landscape. COVID has accelerated the long-running transition to digital across the corporate world, and Eric serves as the perfect guide. Let’s dive in. This week’s episode is sponsored by Bottomless. Bottomless is a smart coffee subscription which automatically re-orders coffee for you based on your consumption habits. Bottomless is offering one month and your second bag of coffee for free at bottomless.com/patrick. For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club and new email newsletter called “Inside the Episode” at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag Show Notes (2:29) – (First question) – His take on public markets, and specifically as it relates to SaaS businesses (4:04) – Why these companies trade so high (7:53) – Peter Zeihan Podcast Episode (11:19) – The competitive frontier in the digital markets (14:02) – The API competitive frontier (14:22) – Chetan Puttagunta Podcast Episode (18:36) – Every Company is Becoming a Software Company (20:10) – John Collison Podcast Episode (22:54) – Charging in an API business model (24:09) – Describing the different generations of SaaS, starting with Gen 1 (28:15) – Gen 2 SaaS businesses (31:52) – Being an investor in SaaS (36:55) – Gen 3 and importance of traditional SaaS companies to get into API (38:06) – Other problems software can solve (44:19) – Why more money isn’t going into SaaS (46:48) – Lessons from the investment universe and how it could apply to SaaS (47:26) – The Hierarchy of Marketplaces — Introduction and Level 1 - Sarah Taval (51:49) – Lessons about scaling (57:51) – Cross customer strategy (1:00:01) – Energy and Civilization: A History (1:01:28) – Qualities of an interesting investor (1:03:52) – Kindest thing anyone has done for him Learn More For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club and new email newsletter called “Inside the Episode” at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub. Follow Patrick on Twitter at <a href= "http://twitter.com/patrick_oshag

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Turner Novak – The Past, Present, and Future of Consumer Social Companies - [Invest Like the Best, EP.182]

Jul 14, 202001:00:41Tap to summarize

My guest this week is Turner Novak, a partner at Gelt VC. Many of the largest companies in the world today are consumer social companies, so Turner and I discuss the past, present, and future of those businesses. When executed right, they are often the fastest-growing companies in history, and the rise of TikTok and some other companies we discuss makes it clear that there may always be more room at the top. The network effects that support these companies make them unique beasts to analyze, and Turner’s writing has been among my favorite content on the topic. Please enjoy our detailed conversation on this important are of public and private markets. This week’s episode is sponsored by Bottomless. Bottomless is a smart coffee subscription which automatically re-orders coffee for you based on your consumption habits. Bottomless is offering one month and your second bag of coffee for free at bottomless.com/patrick. For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club and new email newsletter called “Inside the Episode” at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag Show Notes (2:18) – (First question) – History of consumer social companies (3:28 – The importance of quality growth over rate of growth (4:43) – Importance of friends and identity in a social network (6:21) – Major markers he analyzes in new social networks (7:59) – The meteoric rise of TikTok and how it compares to other social networks (8:08) – The Rise of TikTok and Understanding Its Parent Company, ByteDance (13:38) – How TikTok deals with user friction (17:28) – Why TikTok copies is a waste (21:08) – Advising companies to build a media arm in this environment (24:18) – Business models beyond advertising for social networks (30:44) – His thoughts on Pinduoduo and the opportunity for a similar company in the US (37:36) – What Snapchat is doing (43:51) – How social eCommerce could be a competitor to an Amazon (46:31) – His review of Zynn (46:36) - Attack of the Clones: TikTok’s Rival Kuaishou Lands in the US (52:22) – The geopolitical battle of social networks (53:36) – Creating social commerce companies (54:27) – Fantasy draft portfolio (59:18) – Kindest thing anyone has done for him Learn More For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club and new email newsletter called “Inside the Episode” at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag

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Charlie Songhurst – Lessons from Investing in 483 Companies - [Invest Like the Best, EP.181]

Jul 7, 202001:06:34Tap to summarize

My guest this week is Charlie Songhurst, the former head of strategy at Microsoft and a prolific investor, having personally invested in nearly 500 companies throughout his career. I met Charlie at an event hosted in New York and you can tell within one minute of meeting him that his mind is sparkling with ideas and curiosity. Its no wonder he’s been among the most commonly requested guests when I asked several top investors and CEOs who I should have on the show. We discuss the lessons he’s learned about business, investing, and people from such a large sample size of companies. I won’t reveal any more here, I highly recommend you just listen to Charlie and learn. Let’s dive in. For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club and new email newsletter called “Inside the Episode” at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag Show Notes (1:25) – (First question) – Stack ranking the vices of power, money and fame (2:41) – Memorable response to the stack ranking question (3:13) – Best scenario to explore this stack ranking concept (3:55) – Other ways to rank founders (4:44) – Quick look at this career (5:16) – Time at Microsoft (6:03) – Features he looks for in startups (10:55) – Managing the declining curve of productivity (14:55) – Why founders are often unique people (14:57) – Jeff Gramm Podcast Episode (15:04) – Aliens, Jedi & Cults (19;43) – How early entrepreneurs need to make recruitment a serious part of their work (23:06) – How successful founders win the best candidates (25:27) – The East Coast vs. West Coast investment strategies (30:40) – When it’s time to bring in quantitative factors into early stage investing (34:36) – The markers that pop up in companies that hit (37:22) – Boring but successful investments (39:28) – Investor aesthetics (41:29) – Characteristics of investors that he believes are important to success (42:57) – Impacts of Covid and some of the permanent changes that have happened as a result (47:49) – Investing opportunities in the local community (49:13) – His take on cryptocurrencies (53:47) – Most mis valued asset in the world (55:16) – Investing opportunities in Europe (57:34) – Make up of his 483 investments (57:58) – Matt Clifford Podcast Episode (59:17) – Curation as a skill (1:01:54) – Timing and startup success (1:05:11) – Kindest thing anyone has done for him Learn More For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club and new email newsletter called “Inside the Episode” at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag

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Blake Robbins – Investing in Gaming - [Invest Like the Best, EP.180]

Jun 30, 202000:56:18Tap to summarize

My guest today is Blake Robbins, a partner at Ludlow Ventures. We talk about all things video games, including the major companies in the industry, how games monetize, how in-game economies work, how e-sports has evolved, and much more. This is a fast-growing segment of consumer attention and interest, I believe we are in the very early days of gaming going mainstream. I also have a favor to ask. My team and I have built a small survey for Invest Like the Best listeners and if you’ve enjoyed the podcast, I’d deeply appreciate it if you took 5 minutes to fill it out at investorfieldguide.com/survey. It will help shape the future direction of the show, which I intend to keep improving in the years to come. Thank you, and now please enjoy my conversation with Blake Robbins. For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club and new email newsletter called “Inside the Episode” at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag Show Notes (1:35) – (First question) – Overview of the gaming industry and how folks may get involved as an investor (3:46) – Some of the biggest players in the space (5:30) – The monetization methods of these gams (9:22) – How do these games respond to real currencies (14:49) – The landscape of e-sports/e-gaming as a whole (19:57) – His involvement with 100 Thieves (25:52) – The media landscape and the role of influencers (29:05) – When he invests and what the opportunities are out there (33:07) – The engines behind a lot of this; Unity and Unreal (34:58) – Other investors that get this trend (37:43) – Other interesting areas of investment for him, including the creator economy (41:25) – Opportunities to build out and invest in the infrastructure of the creator economy (45:37) – Infrastructure opportunities that need to be built (48:08) – Advice for younger professionals (49:04) – Investment allocation he is most proud of (50:08) – A unique skill he couldn’t teach or train in others (52:27) – Something in gaming he doesn’t understand or wants to learn more about (54:08) – The kindest thing anyone has done for Blake Learn More For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club and new email newsletter called “Inside the Episode” at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag

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Brad Gerstner – Public and Private Investing - [Invest Like the Best, EP.179]

Jun 23, 202001:09:05Tap to summarize

My guest today is Brad Gerstner, the founder and CIO of Altimeter Capital, a multi-billion dollar technology-focused investment firm. Brad and his team are known for a deep expertise in internet-enabled businesses, including Expedia, Facebook, Uber, and many more. We discuss the evolution of opportunity in this style of investing, including the important shift to private investing, where so much of the value creation now happens. I won’t soon forget our discussion of consumer intent on the internet and how it has shifted, the role that essentialism plays in Brad’s business and life, and the rise of the Chinese internet giants like Bytedance. Please enjoy this great conversation with Brad Gerstner. This episode is brought to you by the MIT investment management company (MITIMCO) Reach out or learn more: Email: partner@mitimco.org Website: https://mitimco.org/partner/ MITIMCo 10 year Letter: https://mitimco.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/MITIMCo-Alumni-Letter.pdf MITIMCo brochure: https://mitimco.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/MITIMCo-Brochure_web_2018-12-05.pdf For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag Show Notes (2:32) – (First question) – Overall investment philosophy at Altimeter (5:12) – Most interesting thing in the landscape today (11:16) – Disrupting the tech giants moving forward (13:56) – The investing opportunity in the backend of the internet (16:42) – His take on old line businesses and how technology could shift his view on them (18:56) – Lessons from company founders whose platforms rely on consumer discovery (21:32) – Running his business on essentialism (21:40) – Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less (26:11) – Tactical applications of essentialism (29:46) – Applying essentialism outside of business (31:16) – What travel has taught him about business (33:43) – What we should know about the Chinese internet market (37:11) – The emergence of bite sized transactions across the web (39:22) – Bite sized work (42:43) – How early on can you figure out what company would win a vertical (45:36) – What problem space would he tackle today (48:49) – Collaborating in the private markets (57:27) – Pricing businesses as a key component of his investment choices (1:02:47) – Fascination with life sciences and software (1:04:12) – What about the future excites him (1:06:48) – Kindest thing anyone has done f

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John Collison – Growing the Internet Economy - [Invest Like the Best, EP.178]

Jun 16, 202001:21:24Tap to summarize

My guest today is John Collison, the Co-Founder of the digital payments company Stripe. Stripe’s mission is to increase the GDP of the internet, a lofty and deeply interesting pursuit. John is clearly a voracious learner across business and investing, which you’ll hear instantly. He started Stripe with his brother Patrick when he was just 19 years old, and has grown it to, at last valuation, a $36B business. In our conversation, we discuss conglomerates, the internet economy, the power of writing, and why board members are like Pokémon characters, each with different powers. It’s a lively and wide-ranging conversation with one of the entrepreneurs I’ve most enjoyed speaking with. Please enjoy. For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag Show Notes (1:30) – (First question) – Interest in industrial conglomerates (9:10) – Their thinking on acquisitions vs starting new companies (11:42) – How the payment landscape looked when Stripe was started (15:55) – View on the internet economy (20:09) – Exciting possibilities for the future of the internet economy (22:11) – The forces of size vs speed among startups (26:53) – Driving reasons why employees choose Stripe starting with clear communication (28:55) – Tips for better internal communications (30:09) – The importance of rigor in Stripe’s corporate culture (32:15) – Investors and investing styles that are most intriguing to him (36:02) – Teaching vs experiencing business lessons (37:56) – Lessons from going to market with new ideas (50:58) – Allowing teams to explore new ideas at Stripe (44:11) – Best startup companies to study to understand the history of this space (44:52) – Softwar: An Intimate Portrait of Larry Ellison and Oracle (48:18) – Cable Cowboy: John Malone and the Rise of the Modern Cable Business (48:43) – Infrastructures of internet businesses that are missing (52:03) – Does general accounting practices need to change to capture the true value of a company like Stripe (1:01:53) – Shared playbooks in Silicon Valley (1:02:02) – The transition to the no code movement (1:08:22) – Other businesses that pique his interest outside of software (1:10:21) – Future trends that excite him (1:11:10) – First memory when he felt like he was participating in the tech economy (1:12:46 – The role of board members (1:15:48) – Kindest thing anyone has done for him (1:18:49) – Advice for young people Learn More For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag

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Jeremy Grantham – An Uncertain Crisis - [Invest Like the Best, EP.177]

Jun 9, 202001:07:58Tap to summarize

My guest today is Jeremy Grantham. Jeremy is the co-founder and chief investment strategist of Grantham, Mayo, & van Otterloo (aka GMO). GMO, which manages more than $60B for clients, was a firm that helped educate me early in my investing career. They’ve long published thought-provoking research, most of which came from Grantham himself. He is regarded as a highly knowledgeable investor in various stock, bond, and commodity markets, but is particularly noted for his prediction of various bubbles. In this conversation we discuss the current crisis, which he calls the fourth major event of his long and storied career as an investor. As he says, this one is the most uncertain. We also discuss unique topics like commodity-based companies, and how opportunity often lies between fields of expertise. Please enjoy our conversation. For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag Show Notes (1:37) – (First question) – What keeps him going in investing (2:54) – Changing approaches to managing money over the decades (7:27) – Their investment forecast for major allocations and how that has evolved (10:06) – How to markets compete with FAANG stocks (16:06) – More opportunity for active investors and where (30:55) – How he talks to clients about major stock market events (34:09) – His interest in natural resources/commodities (47:07) – Long term argument for the three natural resources: oil, metals, and food (47:10) – An Investment Only A Mother Could Love: The Tactical Case (52:01) – Specific case for particular metals (56:46) – Areas in the future that excite him or that he wants to learn more about (1:03:42) – Advice for people interested in investing (1:05:15) – Kindest thing anyone has done for Jeremy Learn More For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag

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All episodes

Brian Armstrong – The Future of Crypto - [Invest Like the Best, EP.186]

Matt Ball - The Future of Media: Movies, the Metaverse, and More - [Invest Like the Best, EP.185]

Kat Cole – How to Operate: Lessons in Brand, Distribution, and Leadership - [Invest Like the Best, EP.184]

Eric Vishria – The Past, Present, and Future of SaaS and Software - [Invest Like the Best, EP.183]

Turner Novak – The Past, Present, and Future of Consumer Social Companies - [Invest Like the Best, EP.182]

Charlie Songhurst – Lessons from Investing in 483 Companies - [Invest Like the Best, EP.181]

Blake Robbins – Investing in Gaming - [Invest Like the Best, EP.180]

Brad Gerstner – Public and Private Investing - [Invest Like the Best, EP.179]

John Collison – Growing the Internet Economy - [Invest Like the Best, EP.178]

Jeremy Grantham – An Uncertain Crisis - [Invest Like the Best, EP.177]