Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy

“Inside General Atlantic” with Martín Escobari (EP. 449) – November 25, 2025

Overview

This episode features Martín Escobari, co-President and Head of Global Growth Equity at General Atlantic, in a dynamic conversation with Patrick O'Shaughnessy. The discussion explores General Atlantic’s unique history and approach, global investment perspectives (particularly outside the U.S.), lessons learned from investing through market cycles and bubbles, and Martín’s personal story—from turbulent Bolivia to leading one of the world's premier growth equity firms. The episode is packed with insights on investing frameworks, building enduring organizations, the power of partnership, and the importance of curiosity, mentorship, and “educated intuition”.

1. Martín’s Origin Story & Lessons from 3G ([05:13]–[11:57])

• Break-Into-Brazil Story:

  • Martín narrates how persistence (and boldness) got him a job at the top Brazilian private equity firm 3G, despite not speaking Portuguese and initial rejection. He met his future wife (his Portuguese teacher) through this process.
  • Quote: "That night, I show up to the dinner... I just want to listen to you because I find you interesting." – Martín ([05:55])

• Early Lessons from 3G Founders:

  • Spear-fishing Analogy: Successful investing is about waiting for the big, generational opportunities—"every four or five years there's a once-in-a-generation opportunity that you have to be ready and willing to move quickly to capture." ([11:57])
  • Details value creation at Brahma, emphasizes patience and targeted aggression.

2. Pattern Recognition & Operating at Light Speed ([14:30]–[17:32])

• Experience as an Operator:
  • In dotcom, Martín realized that “you can do seven years of work in one year” in times of distortion and bubbles. Moving with urgency during rare windows is critical. ([14:56])
  • Quote: "Elon Musk says, do your 10 year plan and try to get it done in one year… In the dotcom [era], it felt like the world was on steroids." – Martín ([14:32])

3. The Present Bubble, AI, and General Atlantic's Approach ([16:01]–[19:04])

• AI’s Unique Cycle:

  • Martín compares current technological hype with past cycles, noting that the transformative potential is real, but fortunes can be both made and lost.
  • General Atlantic has been “incredibly aggressive at deploying AI in the portfolio” with 1/3 of 500 annual projects being AI-related. ([17:32])
  • Highlights rapid B2B adoption: “Anthropic revenues and Cogent went from $200 million to $4 billion in 12 months. In B2B, that kind of growth has not happened ever." ([17:32])

• Risk Management & Loss Ratios:

  • General Atlantic’s risk management results in a 4% loss ratio on capital, compared to industry norms of 20–40%.
  • “I have 95% of my net worth in that product and I sleep well at night.” – Martín ([20:08])

4. General Atlantic’s Unique DNA & Founding Ethos ([20:08]–[27:26])

• Chuck Feeney’s Legacy & Purpose:

  • “The purpose of wealth is to improve the human condition now, not tomorrow, now… My dream is my last check will bounce. I want to die a poor man.” ([20:21])
  • All proceeds were allocated to philanthropic causes; this spirit shapes General Atlantic to this day.

• Firm Structure & Culture:

  • Partnership ethos: “Sometimes we’re accused of being dolphins in a sea of sharks. And I’d love to be a dolphin. Who wants to be a shark?” ([23:11])
  • No region-locked funds: Global single P&L prevents forced deployments in unattractive markets.
  • Evergreen hybrid structure: Allows institutional investors to enter any time, smoothing fundraising cycles ([24:10]).
  • Compensation is fully pooled and shared—promoting true partnership and collaboration: “It’s a meritocracy in that to be in this community… we all have to be effective…” ([25:56])

5. Fundraising, Geography, and Diversification ([28:21]–[33:13])

• Fundraising Lessons:

  • Fundraising is perpetual; onboarding is lengthy and complex versus the industry’s binge/sprint model.
  • Persuasion equals desire minus fear: “Most humans go from FOMO to fear… you can only fundraise when things are very expensive, because that's when everyone’s on FOMO.” ([28:35])
  • Uses local families as LPs for both capital and granular market insight ([28:56]).

• Case for Global Diversification:

  • U.S. equities at extreme valuation premium; risks are historically high: “The US has never been this expensive… Total debt to GDP is 125%... higher than it was after WW2.” ([31:30])
  • Emerging and international markets offer far cheaper entry points and strong growth.

6. Insights on China & Entrepreneurial Drive ([33:13]–[36:50])

• China’s Innovation:
  • Martín remains optimistic about China, highlighting a new uptick in deal-making and the entrepreneurial drive stemming from generational trauma (Cultural Revolution). ([33:16])
  • Memorable quote: “There’s a level of drive and work ethic that probably matches the refugees of World War II... but this applies to 98% of the entrepreneurs.” ([34:13])

7. Personal History, Trauma, and Risk ([35:29]–[39:12])

• How Trauma Shapes Investors:
  • Martín’s family history (Jewish refugees, Bolivian revolution, hyperinflation) deeply influences his risk-calibration and resilience.
  • “I grew up in Bolivia in the 80s and that was chaos… 35,000% inflation.” ([36:52])
  • Links the drive of top entrepreneurs and investors to foundational traumas (“Pain is pain. And if you understand the trauma, you can relate and empathize… it is such a wonderful engine of transformation.” [38:22])
  • On managing emotion and stress: “Managing one's emotions productively requires either therapy, writing a journal, or meditating. You should do two of the three.” ([38:54])

8. Investment Framework: Gut, Checklist, and Heart ([39:12]–[44:42])

• Intuition vs. Checklist:

  • Martín describes his investment decision process blending a rigorous checklist with “educated intuition.”
  • “Turns out the checklists work... But after I do the appraisal, I close it and I close my eyes and see how I feel and I go with my gut. The framework I use... is the combination....” ([41:13])
  • “In matters of the heart, forget the checklist. But I don’t think the three of them come together in the investment profession.” ([44:25])

• Investment Examples:

  • Invested in XP (now Brazil’s premier investing platform), EdTech in the Brazilian northeast, and online fraud prevention, all with massive real-world impact.

9. General Atlantic Leadership: Learning from Bill Ford ([44:42]–[46:17])

• Bill Ford’s Influence:
  • Bill Ford “has an incredible ability to see around corners and be visionary in making bets before they’re obvious.”
  • Recognized for helping maintain the firm’s heart and culture.

10. On Seniority, Plasticity & Mentorship ([46:17]–[48:53])

• Evolving Role:
  • As you progress, “the hardest thing when you’re young is developing patience… when you’re older, you have more range…”
  • On brain plasticity: “I refuse to think like an old man. My mind still plays, I still wonder, I'm still in awe.” ([47:33])
  • Maintaining humor and perspective: "Even when confronted with worst perfect storm... I start laughing and say, what are the odds..." ([48:29])

11. The Current AI/Tech Bubble & Advice for Young Investors ([48:53]–[51:43])

• Bubble Analysis:
  • AI’s capex-to-revenue and funding sources differ from past bubbles; “It’s really profitable companies [funding innovation]… I think it’s got more legs... It’s not junk bond speculators or thin margin telecom companies.” ([50:38])
  • Advice: “If you’re in your 20s or early 30s, go work at AI because you’re going to live through dog years… compressed learning… it only happens once every 20 years. So don’t miss that opportunity.” ([49:16])

12. Market Outlook and Political Drift ([51:43]–[53:19])

• Near-Term Optimism:
  • “I do think the IPO markets are opening up... Emerging markets which were dead for the last four years are lighting up… I’m generally optimistic.” ([51:48])
  • But “the real issue... is that prosperity needed to be shared for it to be electable... now we’re forced to choose between nationalist leaders and socialists... We need a center position of shared prosperity.” ([52:52])

13. Risk, Uncertainty & Spear Fishing ([53:19]–[54:16])

• Distinguishes quantitative risk from “pure uncertainty.”
  • “What you can’t do is just shut down and say, this is too rash, too unpredictable. You just have to engage... until you see something before others and you strike for the fish.” ([54:16])

14. Learning, Competition, and “Power Alleys” ([54:16]–[57:00])

• Learning Modus:
  • “Talk to young people, surf TikTok, try different apps, go to places where there are no old people and you don’t care…” ([54:29])
• Industry Competition:
  • “Unfortunately we compete against 19,000 GPs... There’s more GPs than McDonald’s in the U.S.... The industry is consolidating.” ([55:06])
  • GA’s edge: brand, operational support, sector specialization (“16 power alleys,” e.g., AI apps, digital payments, etc.).

15. Investing Outside the U.S.: Risks & References ([57:00]–[59:43])

• Unique Challenges:
  • “There’s a lot more volatility. The frequency of surprises is much higher. We’re also low trust cultures...” ([57:16])
  • How to reference check: Use local LP families for candid assessments; be specific about fit and role when hiring.

16. Developing Investors & Firm Culture ([59:43]–[62:39])

• Apprenticeship Model:

  • “Pairing [junior investors] up with different people, different skills, different styles is super important.” ([60:06])
  • Predicting IC questions to mentally “learn by osmosis.”

• Open Investment Committees:

  • GA’s ICs are open to all investment professionals – "every Tuesday, 190 people sign up... just questions and it's beautiful." ([61:39])
  • “IC robot” votes on all deals, outperforming humans on backtests, but “someone who's been trained in the past is very good at the past.” ([62:18])

17. Key Diligence Questions & Option Value ([62:47]–[64:23])

• Martín’s Go-To Diligence Focus:
  • Founder motivations, true competitive advantage, exploring positive and negative "tails," and right-tail (option) value:
    • "If you look at the distribution of our returns, 10% of our best deals ... produce 50% of the return ... all are better than the upside case in our memos because good things happened we did not see coming." ([63:58])

18. Growth Equity Today: A Golden Window ([64:58]–[66:02])

• Current Opportunity:
  • “Best window into growth equity since 2009... everything's on sale... valuations are half or 40% discount. It feels incredibly attractive.” ([65:25])

19. Unfinished Business, Mentoring & Giving Back ([66:02]–[69:18])

• Mentorship Approach:

  • "My strategy... I have to hurt them... for the mentoring to be impactful... it's like crash therapy... But it works.” ([68:02])
  • On getting to the root of someone's needs: "The most powerful way to start a conversation... is silence. You tell me, what do you want to talk about?" ([69:18])
  • What question to ask: “What’s the most important question you need the answer to from the universe?”

• Future Ambitions:

  • Mentoring, fixing higher education, particularly in the U.S. ("I want to help in higher education in the US... I think we lost our way...")

20. Memorable Closing Thought ([69:39])

• Kindest Act:
  • “Daniela taught me how to love… Being loved by her and learning how to love back and then learning from her how to love our daughters… She’s so smart. And loving me can sometimes be very hard.” ([69:39])

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “Every four or five years there’s a once in a generation opportunity that you have to be ready and be willing to move quickly to capture.” – Martín ([11:57])
• “Don’t miss that opportunity... compressed learning that only happens once every 20 years… If you have a young mind today, go work in AI because it’s going to be so much fun.” – Martín ([49:16])
• “Sometimes we’re accused of being dolphins in a sea of sharks… Dolphins have a much better life.” – Martín ([23:11])
• “If you want to make money, you do the opposite. You buy at the bottom, you sell at the top.” – Martín ([24:12])
• “There’s more GPs than McDonald’s in the United States…” ([55:06])
• “The purpose of wealth is to improve the human condition now, not tomorrow, now.” – Martín quoting Chuck Feeney ([20:21])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [05:13] – Martín’s “break into Brazil” and lessons from 3G.
• [14:30] – “Seven years in one”: operating tempo during bubbles.
• [16:01] – Approach to the current AI bubble.
• [20:08] – The legacy and DNA of General Atlantic.
• [28:21] – Fundraising perpetual motion and dealing with FOMO/fear.
• [31:30] – U.S. exceptionalism valuations and global opportunity.
• [33:13] – Views on China’s entrepreneurs.
• [36:50] – Family trauma, risk calibration, and emotional tools.
• [41:13] – The interplay of gut and checklist.
• [49:16] – Advice: work in AI now—“compressed learning.”
• [54:16] – Embracing unpredictability and “engaging with the fog.”
• [62:18] – GA’s open IC and the “IC robot.”
• [65:25] – Growth equity: “best window since 2009.”
• [68:02] – Crash therapy as mentoring.
• [69:39] – The kindest act: learning how to love.

Summary

This episode is both a masterclass in global growth investing and a deeply personal journey. Martín Escobari blends hard-won investing wisdom (power of patience, scenario planning, understanding real risk, capturing right-tail options) with unique insights on firm-building, partnership, and culture. The conversation is laced with memorable stories, sharp quips, and actionable principles related to capital allocation, mentorship, and the ongoing AI investment wave.

Whether you’re an investor, entrepreneur, or strategist, Martín’s nuanced advice on navigating cycles, “waiting for the big fish,” investing with both head and gut, and balancing ambition with perspective delivers a rich and engaging listen—and a practical roadmap for building lasting value.