Their stint in the private equity business—in which firms buy and sell entire companies over the counter—led them to believe that private stock markets might be more efficient than public ones. “In private transactions,” said Charlie, “you usually have an advisor on both sides that’s sophisticated. You don’t have people who just fundamentally don’t know what something’s worth. In public markets you have people focused on quarterly earnings rather than the business franchise. You have people doing things for all sorts of insane reasons.”
