Patrick O'Shaughnessy's Blog, page 17
October 24, 2017
Ladder: The Fitness Marketplace, w/ Brett Maloley – [Invest Like the Best, EP.60]
This week’s episode is part of an experiment and so requires a longer than normal introduction.
I’ve come to view this podcast as a learning tool, a means to understand a new topic in a short window of time. One of those areas is venture capital and startups—an area that one year ago was completely foreign to me. I think the best way to learn is aggressive immersion in a topic along with some consequences, what we often call some skin in the game. Accordingly, this is a conversation with the founder of a startup in which I am an investor.
I say this in full disclosure because I believe in being very transparent with you, but also obviously want this business to do well. Part of the reason I invested was because I thought I could affect the outcome of the business personally, in part by exposing the model and ideas to you all. I deeply respect your opinions and collective breadth of knowledge, and welcome thoughts you have on this topic.
The founder is Brett Maloley and his company is called Ladder. Ladder represents an overlap of many topics we’ve explore together over the last year. We’ve talked about venture capital, health and wellbeing, the difficultly of fundraising and power law outcomes in startups. We also spent an entire episode, with Alex Moazed, talking about the business model that Ladder is pursing: what Alex calls platform business model and what my favorite technology writer Ben Thompson calls the Aggregator model.
Alex wrote the book Modern Monopolies about this model, which describes how companies like Uber, Airbnb, and others serve clients. Platform companies sit at the intersection between consumers and producers in a given category, helping make life easier, cheaper, and/or better for consumers and more profitable and flexible for producers. But the value creation itself is about the facilitating the exchange of value more efficiently than it is about actually creating the underlying product. Airbnb, for example, doesn’t own real estate (the value in this case), but they unlock the potential of real estate owned by others. Same for Uber which, so far, doesn’t own cars.
As Alex explained to me in our discussion, a key sign of a market which might benefit from a platform company is some form of latent, untapped supply. Which brings me back to Ladder. The company is being built to unlock latent potential in fitness and potentially other types of coaching. Personal trainers work 11 hours a day but have 4 hours of downtime. That is the untapped supply. Ladder will allow two key things: much cheaper access to a real fitness coach for consumers who don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars a month in the current format, and a way for trainers with lots of free time to both get new customers and to better engage with their existing customers. Think of it almost like Opentable—which started as a way for restaurants to better manage their reservations, but turned into a liquid market for consumers to make reservations.
The reason this is so interesting, I think, is the enormous size of the commercial fitness industry and the fact that it hasn’t changed for a long time. I love people who have an almost bizarre level of knowledge in a niche field, and Brett certainly fits that bill. He grew up with the industry, his mentors and relatives having literally build the commercial fitness industry, what we think of today as gyms and personal training. He knows how this legacy model works and ticks, the flaws and benefits of different business models, and why the future might be different, with a much larger percent of the population using a fitness coach, and maybe other types of coaches, in categories like nutrition and health.
To see the app in action and get paired with a coach, Brett kindly set up a promo code of sorts like you often hear on other podcasts. If you search for “ladder coach” in the app store, download the app, and then use the promo code ILTB (as in, invest like the best) you’ll get 50% off the service forever. I don’t get any cut of that at all. Brett and his team are data heads, and their main goal early in this company’s life is to generate data on the relationships between consumers and their new coaches to figure out what works best for both groups to constantly improve the service, so the early adopters among you get a permanent discount.
Now this will be obvious, but nothing about what I do personally is investment advice—it should not be mimicked. Like my investment in bitcoin, this investment represents a small part of my portfolio, and as always I think the majority of anyone’s portfolio should be balanced and well-priced. I do not expect that I have any skill at selecting startups, as probably very few people do. But I know that having some skin in the game means you learn differently: more efficiently, and faster. I hope you enjoy this collective experiment, which is largely the result of what I’ve learned from past guests and from all of your support which helps me meet those great people in the first place. Let’s dive in to my conversation with the founder of Ladder, Brett Maloley, who starts by describing how he got his start in the fitness world.
For comprehensive show notes on this episode go to http://investorfieldguide.com/ladder
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
To get involved with Project Frontier, head to InvestorFieldGuide.com/frontier.
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
5:25 – (First question) – Brett describes his history in the fitness industry
10:04 – Realized he could fix the commercial fitness industry by changing it
12:46 – Explain how Ladder works
14:14 – What does the ratio of digital to in-person coaching need to be in order to be effective coaching
17:12 – Explaining the platform business model as a whole and how to scale these types of business
22:15 – Origin of health clubs
24:01 – Current state of the health fitness space through some key stats
26:44 – What happened where gyms were able to start charging a lot less for memberships
30:20 – How Ladder is going to attract customers in the beginning
36:10 – How to drive engagement
37:46 – The opportunity for coaches on the platform
40:28 – How will ladder ensure the quality of coaches on the platform remains high
42:41 – Exploring the value of the data
45:32 – How will Ladder work with gyms in the scope of how a new business can take advantage of existing businesses
48:58 – Comparing Ladder to crossfit and what is not sustainable about
53:14 – Difference between a franchise model vs a license model
55:12 – Strategy for building an audience
59:56 – Competitors to this business
1:03:39 – Brett’s thoughts on brand broadly speaking and how he’s worked to shape Ladder’s brand
1:05:00 – Best individual experience of the platform so far
October 17, 2017
Grand Theft Life, With Tim Urban – [Invest Like the Best, EP.59]
This week’s conversation is about artificial intelligence and interplanetary travel. Its about content creation, thinking from first principles, and death progress units. Its about brain machine interfaces and why it is crucial that you be a chef and not a cook.
My guest is Tim Urban, along with his business partner Andrew Finn. Tim is the most entertaining writer I’ve come across in years, who explains complicated and interesting topics to his millions of dedicated readers on the website “Wait, But Why.” As an example, Tim’s last post on Elon Musk’s neuralink venture is 40,000 words long, roughly the length of a short book. It explains almost all of human progress and our potential future using drawings and cartoons. Its impossible to stop reading.
While this conversation is wildly entertaining, it is also chock full of metaphors and lessons that will be useful to anyone doing creative work or building a company. I hope this leaves you as energized as it left me. I called this episode Grand Theft Life because that is the name that Tim and Andrew give to their worldview, which I think will change the way you behave, too. Please enjoy my conversation with Tim Urban.
For comprehensive show notes on this episode go to http://investorfieldguide.com/urban
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
To get involved with Project Frontier, head to InvestorFieldGuide.com/frontier.
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
Books Referenced
Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies
Links Referenced
The Cook and the Chef: Musk’s Secret Sauce
Neuralink and the Brain’s Magical Future
YouTube Channel Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
Show Notes
1:50 – (First question) – Explaining his concept of planets 1, 2, 3 and 4 and understanding the human colossus
5:46 – Tim’s favorite idea of the human knowledge compounding
7:52 – Die Progress Units (DPU)
9:45 – Different stages of AI and the positives and negatives of each stage
14;04 – What happens when AI gains breadth and general intelligence
16:23 – The idea of a cook vs a chef and how Tim had the chance to interview Elon Musk
17:48 – Why you should reason from first principles instead of reasoning by analogies
25:19 – Why it’s possible to turn a cook into a chef
30:08 – Why being a chef is the safer route in a world with AI and what Tim has changed in himself as to why.
31:22 – Looking at the discovery process
34:39 – Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies\
40:01 – Being the person who creates the metaphor vs being the people who simply using them
43:41 – YouTube Channel Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
44:54 – Most fun that Tim has had researching a topic
46:08 – Musk model for attaining your goals
53:43 – Why not caring what people think is one of the world’s best superpowers, grand theft life
56:50 – Neuralink – what is it and how did Tim come to research it
1:02:38 – Elon Musk’s concerns about AI
1:14:28 – What then if the Neuralink concept works out
1:18:02 – Kindest thing anyone has done for Tim
October 10, 2017
Hash Power – Ep. 3 – Funding, Forking, and Our Creative Future
Welcome to the final episode of Hash Power, an audio documentary that explores the world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies. This concluding episode is about how blockchains may shape our future, allowing unique methods of fundraising, and experimentation through forking. Episodes 1 and 2, on understanding blockchains and cryptocurrency investing, are also available now.
PRESENTED BY
October 3, 2017
Hash Power – Ep.2 – Cryptocurrency Investing
In episode two of Hash Power, we spend time with the leading investors in the field. Like any frenzied asset class, there are countless cryptocurrency hedge funds popping up everywhere. But founders from three of the original firms—Polychain, Metastable, and BlockTower Capital—are our primary guides this week. Episode one, on understanding blockchain technology, is available here.
PRESENTED BY
A big part of my goal with this episode is to introduce you to the players who are shaping the investment ecosystem, and how the investing ecosystem—with exchanges, trading, and weird custody problems—works in action. Collectively our guests run hundreds of millions of dollars, likely now approaching a billion dollars, in pure play cryptocurrency investment strategies. While we do explore some examples of how to think about individual tokens, these are not investment recommendations. Rather, this is an introduction to the various stages of cryptocurrency invest—from early white papers to full fledged liquid tokens—and the strategies and skillsets being deployed by the pure play investors.
This experiment has led to many relationships within the field, which is growing fast. If you are a full-stack generalist engineer looking to work for well-funded companies developing decentralized apps, email me at hashpowerdocumentary@gmail.com. Please write [Developer] in the subject line, and include a link to your Github account, please also include a short summary of your skills. You do not need previous experience with blockchains, but a couple of pluses are: Experience with React, Redux, Swift and Objective-C, Commits to a top open source project, or an open source project on GitHub with 25+ stars. Remote work is fine.
September 26, 2017
Hash Power – A Documentary on Blockchains & Cryptocurrencies
Welcome Hash Power, an audio documentary that explores the world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies with leaders in the field including Naval Ravikant, Olaf Carlson-Wee, Fred Ehrsam, Ari Paul, Juan Benet, Muneeb Ali, Peter Van Valkenburgh, Jeremiah Lowin, Jameson Lopp, Jordan Cooper, Josh Seims, & Charlie Noyes.
PRESENTED BY
Hash Power is meant to be an introduction, but really, it is an invitation to explore this emerging world on your own. In the coming weeks, we will cover the technology, the power of decentralization, Bitcoin, Ethereum, ICOs, cryptography, and hashing. We will spend time with the leading active hedge fund managers in the field, and with outside investors who are both optimistic and skeptical. Episode one covers the big picture, and answers the question: what is blockchain and why might it significantly affect our world?
If you enjoy what follows, you’ll still be very early in understanding this field. Most don’t. So help me spread it like wildfire, because the more people that understand blockchain, the better its impact might become. Welcome to Hash Power.
This experiment has led to many relationships within the field, which is growing fast. If you are a full-stack generalist engineer looking to work for well-funded companies developing decentralized apps, email me at hashpowerdocumentary@gmail.com. Please write [Developer] in the subject line, and include a link to your Github account, please also include a short summary of your skills. You do not need previous experience with blockchains, but a couple of pluses are: Experience with React, Redux, Swift and Objective-C, Commits to a top open source project, or an open source project on GitHub with 25+ stars. Remote work is fine.
Books Referenced
The Sovereign Individual: Mastering the Transition to the Information Age
Links Referenced
Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System
The BitCoin Model for Crowdfunding
Show Notes
0:05 – Introduction
CHAPTER 1 – Understanding the Concept of Blockchain (2:42)
3:46 – Jeremiah Lowin explains how blockchain is like a database
4:34 – Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System
5:01 – Owning a digital asset
6:31 – Naval Ravikant, CEO of Angelist on how blockchains can help to create personal networks and organize humans
10:16 – How blockchains represent a way to coordinate global activity through tokens
12:47 – New coins popping up around data storage and utility needs like solar panels
14:13 – Permission vs permissionless networks
15:53 – Protocols and the introduction of scarcity
17:26 – Keeping track of scarcity and the introduction of tokens
18:05 – Societal structures and how blockchains will change them again
18:08 – The Sovereign Individual: Mastering the Transition to the Information Age
21:10 – The role of blockchains in the informational age and the rise of more individual sovereignty
22:46 – Fred Ehrsam, co-founder of Coinbase, on the increasing shift to digital worlds led by incentive structures
CHAPTER 2 – Blockchain Technology (27:05)
28:32 – Reddit User jav_rddt
30:04 – SHA-256 Calculator
31:08 – Charlie Noyes, Pantera Capital, explains how SHA-256 was developed and what make its so special
35:03 – How miners create new blocks and the incentives to do so
39:38 – The nonce field
42:53 – The incentives that exist for miners and the arms race to build more powerful systems to mine
44:50 – The development of mining pools
46:03 – Ethereum, the “spiritual successor” to bitcoin
47:49 – How the Ether network is an ecosystem in which other tokens can sit
50:15 – Naval Ravikant on alternative coins or tokens
50:50 – The BitCoin Model for Crowdfunding
51:10 – How the protocol creators are the ones getting wealthy
52:08 – Fat Protocols
52:43 – Blockchain as an experiment in distributed government
54:10 – How cryptocurrency is more than just technology, it’s a movement
54:23 – Nostalgia for the Absolute
57:01 – #cryptotwitter
1:00:07 – Peter Jubber, of Fidelity, on how huge institutions, like theirs, are getting into the cryptocurrency game
1:03:34 –The notion of cooperation in an open source project or protocol
1:04:39 – Olaf Carlson-Wee, first employee at Coinbase and the founder of Polychain, on the early excitement for cryptocurrency
Hash Power – Ep. 1 – Understanding Blockchains
Welcome to the first episode of Hash Power, an audio documentary that explores the world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies with leaders in the field including Naval Ravikant, Olaf Carlson-Wee, Fred Ehrsam, & Ari Paul.
PRESENTED BY
Hash Power is meant to be an introduction, but really, it is an invitation to explore this emerging world on your own. In the coming weeks, we will cover the technology, the power of decentralization, Bitcoin, Ethereum, ICOs, cryptography, and hashing. We will spend time with the leading active hedge fund managers in the field, and with outside investors who are both optimistic and skeptical. Episode one covers the big picture, and answers the question: what is blockchain and why might it significantly affect our world?
If you enjoy what follows, you’ll still be very early in understanding this field. Most don’t. So help me spread it like wildfire, because the more people that understand blockchain, the better its impact might become. Please enjoy episode one, and stay tuned next week for episode 2, which explores investing in cryptocurrencies. Welcome to Hash Power.
This experiment has led to many relationships within the field, which is growing fast. If you are a full-stack generalist engineer looking to work for well-funded companies developing decentralized apps, email me at hashpowerdocumentary@gmail.com. Please write [Developer] in the subject line, and include a link to your Github account, please also include a short summary of your skills. You do not need previous experience with blockchains, but a couple of pluses are: Experience with React, Redux, Swift and Objective-C, Commits to a top open source project, or an open source project on GitHub with 25+ stars. Remote work is fine.
Books Referenced
The Sovereign Individual: Mastering the Transition to the Information Age
Links Referenced
Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System
The BitCoin Model for Crowdfunding
Show Notes
0:05 – Introduction
CHAPTER 1 – Understanding the Concept of Blockchain (2:42)
3:46 – Jeremiah Lowin explains how blockchain is like a database
4:34 – Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System
5:01 – Owning a digital asset
6:31 – Naval Ravikant, CEO of Angelist on how blockchains can help to create personal networks and organize humans
10:16 – How blockchains represent a way to coordinate global activity through tokens
12:47 – New coins popping up around data storage and utility needs like solar panels
14:13 – Permission vs permissionless networks
15:53 – Protocols and the introduction of scarcity
17:26 – Keeping track of scarcity and the introduction of tokens
18:05 – Societal structures and how blockchains will change them again
18:08 – The Sovereign Individual: Mastering the Transition to the Information Age
21:10 – The role of blockchains in the informational age and the rise of more individual sovereignty
22:46 – Fred Ehrsam, co-founder of Coinbase, on the increasing shift to digital worlds led by incentive structures
CHAPTER 2 – Blockchain Technology (27:05)
28:32 – Reddit User jav_rddt
30:04 – SHA-256 Calculator
31:08 – Charlie Noyes, Pantera Capital, explains how SHA-256 was developed and what make its so special
35:03 – How miners create new blocks and the incentives to do so
39:38 – The nonce field
42:53 – The incentives that exist for miners and the arms race to build more powerful systems to mine
44:50 – The development of mining pools
46:03 – Ethereum, the “spiritual successor” to bitcoin
47:49 – How the Ether network is an ecosystem in which other tokens can sit
50:15 – Naval Ravikant on alternative coins or tokens
50:50 – The BitCoin Model for Crowdfunding
51:10 – How the protocol creators are the ones getting wealthy
52:08 – Fat Protocols
52:43 – Blockchain as an experiment in distributed government
54:10 – How cryptocurrency is more than just technology, it’s a movement
54:23 – Nostalgia for the Absolute
57:01 – #cryptotwitter
1:00:07 – Peter Jubber, of Fidelity, on how huge institutions, like theirs, are getting into the cryptocurrency game
1:03:34 –The notion of cooperation in an open source project or protocol
1:04:39 – Olaf Carlson-Wee, first employee at Coinbase and the founder of Polychain, on the early excitement for cryptocurrency
September 19, 2017
Tech Investing Outside of Silicon Valley, w/ David Tisch – [Invest Like the Best, EP.55]
My guest this week is David Tisch, who was instrumental in building and fostering venture capital investing in New York City. If you liked my conversation with Jerry Neumann–who, incidentally, introduced me to David–you are going to love this one.
David was a co-founder at tech stars, New York’s answer to Silicon Valley’s famous tech incubator Y Combinator. He now runs the Box Group, a prominent seed stage venture capital firm, which has looked at thousands of startups and invested in more than 200.
We explore tech investing outside of Silicon Valley, the tech accelerator model, the evolution of early stage investing, and why the best companies may start coming out of non-traditional venture hubs.
David does a great job of explaining how things have changed for technology startups and why certain strategies–especially those for acquiring customers–won’t work nearly as well in the future.
I learned a lot during this hour, and I think you will too. Please enjoy.
Show Notes
2:16 – (First question) – Looking at David’s motivation and role in building up the venture capital tech investment scene in New York
6:14 – What David did to further the mission of fostering tech startups in New York, namely his work with TechStars
10:11 – What is Y Combinator and how does that differ from Tech Stars
13:02 – What is the procedure for getting into a startup incubator
17:08 – Most memorable applications
19:12 – What is the boot camp/incubator experience like
20:34 – What should future incubators be focused on to help develop the right ideas
23:46 – What aspects of the business should a start up be focused on in the beginning
26:46 – What got David interested in investing
28:47 – The challenges of launching new tech today and the colonization of identity
32:04 – Exploring David’s investing strategy
35:45 – Finding the consumer facing companies that can scale and provide a return for venture capitalists
38:03 – The problem of scaling up for start ups
39:20 – What business models does David prefer when making venture investments
40:53 – What’s important to look at when investing in other sectors, starting with Fintech
44:41 – Where does David think we are in the venture capital cycle
49:37 – How much does the exit strategy play into the initial seed investment
50:18 – David’s thinking on the portfolio of companies when picking an investment
52:48 – David’s biggest sin of omission
53:56 – Common personality traits among potential founders
55:24 – Is storytelling relevant for startups focused on the enterprise side of the business
56:07 – David’s story to convince founders to work with him
57:51 – biggest mistakes that David has seen
1:01:47 – What does it mean for our health that are time has become completely consumed by technology
1:03:58 – What trend has David most excited looking forward
1:06:44 – Kindest thing anyone has done for David
September 18, 2017
March for the Fallen
On Saturday, a group of 60 finance types followed Wes Gray’s lead to hike 28 miles in remembrance of fallen members of the military. Wes and a few others even did it with a 35-pound ruck in tow. In front of the barracks you see below (our sleeping quarters the night before the hike), Wes told us: “this is not a place you are going to die,” which was reassuring.
We all slept like shit in anticipation, but I’ve always enjoyed those sleepless nights before a challenge. To sleep always feels to me like missing out on part of the fun. At 2am, the mind races in anticipation, and you feel alive. We were ready early the next morning:
500 people marched. Many family members marched in memory of those they had lost. Many active duty military members marched with full packs and full gear, and it was hot as hell. Many carried flags, never letting them touch the ground. There we no complaints.
Here are photos of the fallen, most of whom looked tragically young. At every mile marker, one of their pictures was posted as motivation and as a reminder. In the blink of an eye, my son will look as old as some of these soldiers.
As the day went on, a small group coalesced and we all marched together for the rest of the day. With strangers, we talked about our childhoods, the kindnesses that we’d seen and experienced, and when we last cried. Someone told us about his wife asking about their daughter, who had just been delivered. “She’s perfect,” was his answer.
How odd is it that I know a few of those people that I met Saturday better than people I see all the time?
The experience highlighted the power of novelty, vulnerability (physical and mental), and appreciation. Screw steak dinners. If it means an experience like this march, give me full foot blisters anytime.
Start some tradition like this on your own, even if it is just two of you the first year. Do something really hard and use it as a chance to appreciate life, family, and the various kindnesses (sacrificial or otherwise) happening everywhere.
In emails to me, Wes will often sign “Semper Fi” or just “s/f.” Semper Fidelis means “always faithful.” Faithful to what? It is a good question for each of us to ponder and answer, and then live accordingly.
September 12, 2017
Finding Companies That Break the Rules, w/ David Gardner – [Invest Like the Best, EP.54]
The investment strategy discussed in this week’s episode is diametrically opposed to my own value tendencies, but it still one that has done exceptionally well.
My guest is David Gardner, co-founder of the Motley Fool. He is unique in that he is both a pure investor–a true stock junkie–and an entrepreneur. His energy is remarkable. His positive vibes are something to behold. You’ll hear it over audio, but it’s ever more palpable in person.
Our conversation is about finding companies which are breaking rules in the right way and reshaping industries. David’s goal is to find these companies early in and hold them forever.
If you love investing, you are going to love this regardless of your prior beliefs. Please enjoy my conversation with David Gardner on rule breakers.
Books Referenced
The New Penguin Dictionary of Modern Quotations
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
The Motley Fool Investment Guide: How The Fool Beats Wall Street’s Wise Men And How You Can Too
The Motley Fools Rule Breakers Rule Makers : The Foolish Guide To Picking Stocks
Links Referenced
“I had a lover’s quarrel with the world” by Robert Frost
Invest Like the Best episod with Morgan Housel
Don’t Be a Dip: The 1 Thing You Need to Know About Buying on Dips
Show Notes
2:03 – (First question) – Among the experiments that David has run in his podcast, which one has he enjoyed the most
3:42 – A deep dive into the rule breaker mentality that David uses
3:52 – How his model may mimic venture capital early stage investing
7:22 – What helps you to not sell a rule breaker amid big drawdowns.
7:33 – Totally Absorbed
8:32 – FANG stocks
12:25 – List of criteria in picking rule breaker stocks…starting with top dogs and first movers
19:34 – Second criteria…visionary leadership and the traits David looks for in a leader
22:02 – Henry Cloud (author)
22:58 – “I had a lover’s quarrel with the world” by Robert Frost
24:07 – Smart backing as part of that second criteria
26:16 – Third criteria – competitive advantage and moats
30:50 – Looking at the development of the Motley Fool brand and business
32:47 – The New Penguin Dictionary of Modern Quotations
32:49 – As You Like it (Shakespeare)
39:29 – Looking at David’s writing and how it has evolved over the years
40:36 – Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
41:31 – The Motley Fool Investment Guide: How The Fool Beats Wall Street’s Wise Men And How You Can Too
42:43 – Invest Like the Best episod with Morgan Housel
42:45 – The Wisdom of Crowds
43:33 – Back to criteria, the fourth one, price momentum
45:47 – Don’t Be a Dip: The 1 Thing You Need to Know About Buying on Dips
50:03 – Last criteria, something being overvalued and weigh that against the idea of whether a product or service is important based on whether people would miss it
52:10 – The Motley Fools Rule Breakers Rule Makers : The Foolish Guide To Picking Stocks
1:01:21 – Looking at David’s process for finding a stock and analyzing it
1:07:38 – The importance of taking these criteria in concert and how you can see the power of overvaluation
1:10:39 – Board Game Agricola
1:10:54 – Boardgamegeek.com
1:14:38 – Kindest thing anyone has done for David
September 7, 2017
Factors, Dividends, and Angel Investing, w/ Meb Faber – [Invest Like the Best, EP.53]
My guest this week is Meb Faber, who started a podcast similar to this one right before mine and was a big reason I was open to the idea in the first place. Meb is a quantitative researcher whose firm Cambria has been behind many interesting investment strategies that break the Wall Street mold. We talk investing factors, dividends, angel investing, podcasts and more. This was a fun catch up with a close friend in the industry who has been in a leader in using data to explore the best active strategies in a variety of asset classes. Please enjoy our conversation, which begins with a factor draft.
Books Referenced
Dr. Tatiana’s Sex Advice to All Creation: The Definitive Guide to the Evolutionary Biology of Sex
Links Referenced
Update on the Valuation Metric Horserace: 2011-2015
Jason Calacanis on Meb Faber Show
Brent BeShore episode of Invest Like the Best
Team Ritholtz episode of Invest Like the Best
Show Notes
1:55 – (First question) – Drafting quant factors
4:10 – Update on the Valuation Metric Horserace: 2011-2015
10:25 – Most interesting thing Meb’s learned over the past year
14:05 – Jason Calacanis on Meb Faber Show
14:49 – Brent BeShore episode of Invest Like the Best
16:10 – What is Meb’s process for investing in private companies
18:35 – What part of the fintech landscape would Meb be most excited about
26:50 – What has been working well on the business front for Meb
30:34 – Looking at investor behavior and changing fee structures
35:54 – What has Meb enjoyed most about doing a podcast
36:26 – Team Ritholtz episode of Invest Like the Best
40:55 – A list of guests that meb would like to have on
41:27 – Dr. Tatiana’s Sex Advice to All Creation: The Definitive Guide to the Evolutionary Biology of Sex
43:19 – If Meb couldn’t work in this business, what would he do
45:02 – Same question for Patrick
47:28 – Kindest thing anyone has done for Meb
