How They Invest: Tactics and Tools of the World's Best Investors

“When we're looking at single founders, there probably is one variable that rises a little bit and that we spent a great deal of time thinking about which is, are they an attractor? Can they attract the things they need to be successful?” – Ben Savage Explore the episode notes. Search and down a transcript and find links to related books, interviews, lectures, and more: outlieracademy.com/33. Chapters (00:00:00) – Introduction (00:01:38) – Ben’s background and experience before Clocktower Group (00:04:34) – Ben’s learnings from the culture at Bridgewater Associates (00:16:10) – Clocktower Group and investing at the macro level (00:28:22) – Investing in human capital (00:35:47) – Focusing on fintech investing (00:39:39) – How fintech will save the world (00:47:53) – Why Clocktower does not invest in crypto (00:56:16) – Choosing not to lead deals gives Clocktower an edge Watch and listen. Watch this episode on YouTube Find this episode in your favorite podcast app Get new episodes delivered via email Brought to you by HVMN. With Ketone-IQ, fuel your best anytime with a boost of awesome-feeling energy and clarity. Unlock the power of nature's superfuel—no fasting or keto diet required. Advertise with Outliers and reach our global community Disclosures: https://www.outlieracademy.com/legal/disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“The most important thing is that technology evolves, but people don't. That's the biggest lesson of history—humans don't change.” – Simon Mikhailovich Explore the episode notes. Search and down a transcript and find links to related books, interviews, lectures, and more: outlieracademy.com/25. Chapters (00:00:00) – Introduction (00:01:32 – Simon’s thoughts on gold’s role in the current financial market (00:08:37– Why gold is important at this moment in time (00:15:48 – Cycles of financial euphoria (00:20:33 – The three ways to get out of debt (00:26:31 – Why holding physical gold is different and better than savings in other forms (00:32:12 – Gold is the ultimate insurance for bad financial outcomes (00:38:42 – Gold vs. other precious metals, and how gold is nature’s Bitcoin (00:46:42 – Gold has no impairment risk or counterparty risk, and making money vs. preserving wealth (00:59:01 – How Simon has maintained an outlier point of view over time About Bullion Reserve. The Bullion Reserve enables investors to hold physical gold in secure locations all around the world. Watch and listen. Watch this episode on YouTube Find this episode in your favorite podcast app Get new episodes delivered via email Brought to you by HVMN. With Ketone-IQ, fuel your best anytime with a boost of awesome-feeling energy and clarity. Unlock the power of nature's superfuel—no fasting or keto diet required. Advertise with Outliers and reach our global community Disclosures: https://www.outlieracademy.com/legal/disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“What are you spending your nights and weekends on and is there a way for you to make that your job? Because that's the stuff that you're really into.” – Ben Blumenrose We’re joined by Ben Blumenrose, Designer Fund’s Co-Founder and Managing Partner. We cover the Designer Fund algorithm, the core qualities of great startups, and how designers can add value as investors. Explore the episode notes. Search and down a transcript and find links to related books, interviews, lectures, and more: outlieracademy.com/131. Chapters (00:00:00) – Introduction (00:02:39) – The genesis of Designer Fund (00:22:31) – Demystifying design (00:28:28) – Traits of designer founders (00:35:02) – Sweat the details that matter (00:39:23) – The Designer Fund algorithm (00:44:23 – Balancing skepticism and optimism in investing (00:48:47) – Core qualities of great startups (00:50:32) – How designers can add value as investors About Ben Blumenfeld and Designer Fund. Ben Blumenrose is Co-director and Managing Partner of Designer Fund, which is an early stage venture capital firm that backs founders that both recognize the power of design and are committed to getting design right from day one. Designer Fund was founded by Ben Blumenrose and Enrique Allen in 2012 after the two met at a program put on by Stanford's D school, where students use design to develop their own creative potential. When Ben and Enrique founded Designer Fund, there were few companies in Silicon Valley outside of Apple that understood the power of design to build incredible products, create a category defining brand, and ultimately forge an enduring company. There were also no other venture capitalists with a pure design background. And yet, over the last decade Designer Fund has built an incredible venture firm. They've produced top quartile returns for their investors, beating out almost all of their peers in the market, and we're early investors in a wave of design-centric companies that have defined the last 10 years, including Stripe and Gusto. Watch and listen. Watch this episode on YouTube Find this episode in your favorite podcast app Get new episodes delivered via email Brought to you by HVMN. With Ketone-IQ, fuel your best anytime with a boost of awesome-feeling energy and clarity. Unlock the power of nature's superfuel—no fasting or keto diet required. Advertise with Outliers and reach our global community Disclosures: https://www.outlieracademy.com/legal/disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“What are you spending your nights and weekends on and is there a way for you to make that your job? Because that's the stuff that you're really into.” – Ben Blumenrose We’re joined by Ben Blumenrose, Designer Fund’s Co-Founder and Managing Partner. We cover the Designer Fund algorithm, the core qualities of great startups, and how designers can add value as investors. Explore the episode notes. Search and down a transcript and find links to related books, interviews, lectures, and more: outlieracademy.com/131. Chapters (00:00:00) – Introduction (00:02:39) – The genesis of Designer Fund (00:22:31) – Demystifying design (00:28:28) – Traits of designer founders (00:35:02) – Sweat the details that matter (00:39:23) – The Designer Fund algorithm (00:44:23 – Balancing skepticism and optimism in investing (00:48:47) – Core qualities of great startups (00:50:32) – How designers can add value as investors About Ben Blumenfeld and Designer Fund. Ben Blumenrose is Co-director and Managing Partner of Designer Fund, which is an early stage venture capital firm that backs founders that both recognize the power of design and are committed to getting design right from day one. Designer Fund was founded by Ben Blumenrose and Enrique Allen in 2012 after the two met at a program put on by Stanford's D school, where students use design to develop their own creative potential. When Ben and Enrique founded Designer Fund, there were few companies in Silicon Valley outside of Apple that understood the power of design to build incredible products, create a category defining brand, and ultimately forge an enduring company. There were also no other venture capitalists with a pure design background. And yet, over the last decade Designer Fund has built an incredible venture firm. They've produced top quartile returns for their investors, beating out almost all of their peers in the market, and we're early investors in a wave of design-centric companies that have defined the last 10 years, including Stripe and Gusto. Watch and listen. Watch this episode on YouTube Find this episode in your favorite podcast app Get new episodes delivered via email Brought to you by HVMN. With Ketone-IQ, fuel your best anytime with a boost of awesome-feeling energy and clarity. Unlock the power of nature's superfuel—no fasting or keto diet required. Advertise with Outliers and reach our global community Disclosures: https://www.outlieracademy.com/legal/disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Every company is its own work of art, and the founder is the artist.” – James Currier We explore network effects and investing in network effect businesses. We’re joined by James Currier, co-founder and general partner of NfX. We cover virality vs. network effects, tweaking rules and systems to take advantage of network effects, and network effects as a business strategy. Explore the episode notes. Search and down a transcript and find links to related books, interviews, lectures, and more: outlieracademy.com/57. Chapters (00:00:00) – Introduction (00:01:58) – James’ background and journey to NfX (00:07:50) – Defining network effects and why they are so powerful (00:11:20) – Virality vs. network effects (00:14:46) – Examples of businesses with network effects (00:24:57) – Tweaking rules and systems to take advantage of network effects (00:31:07) – Networks effects as a business strategy (00:33:58) – Investing in network effects businesses (00:40:26) – Advice for founders About NfX The name NfX is actually short for Network Effects, and James with his founding partner, Pete Flint, founded NfX after seeing the power of network effects, partially by doing research that confirms that 70% of all unicorns are companies with proven network effects driving their businesses. While NFX has become one of the world's leading thinkers on network effects, having published incredibly salient posts from 13 different network effects and counting, where they've now identified 16 different types of network effects, to their very popular self-help article titled Your Life is Driven by Network Effects, and their strategy is clearly working. Watch and listen. Watch this episode on YouTube Find this episode in your favorite podcast app Get new episodes delivered via email Brought to you by HVMN. With Ketone-IQ, fuel your best anytime with a boost of awesome-feeling energy and clarity. Unlock the power of nature's superfuel—no fasting or keto diet required. Advertise with Outliers and reach our global community Disclosures: https://www.outlieracademy.com/legal/disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Great founders never stop recruiting.” — Dave Eisenberg We explore investing in the future of retail and real estate technology. We’re joined by Dave Eisenberg, Founding Partner of Zigg Capital. We cover considerations when creating the cap table, investing in talent, and the future of physical retail. Chapters (00:00:00) – Introduction (00:01:35) – Dave’s background and founding Zigg Capital (00:12:40) – Lessons about the Chief of Staff role (00:18:24) – A long-term view of early investments (00:23:50) – Investing in talent (00:27:24) – Considerations when creating the cap table (00:30:42) – Innovations in technology for real estate, retail, and healthcare (00:44:52) – The future of physical retail (00:50:26) – Investing in automation About Zigg Capital. Zigg Capital has raised over $350 million to invest in early-stage technology companies focused on real estate. Their portfolio includes incredible companies, from vertically integrated players like Procore to new retail concepts like CAMP. Watch and listen. Watch this episode on YouTube Find this episode in your favorite podcast app Get new episodes delivered via email Brought to you by HVMN. With Ketone-IQ, fuel your best anytime with a boost of awesome-feeling energy and clarity. Unlock the power of nature's superfuel—no fasting or keto diet required. Advertise with Outliers and reach our global community Disclosures: https://www.outlieracademy.com/legal/disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the latest episode of Outlier Investors, we decode how Contrary is building an entirely new type of VC firm — one that invests in people before they even start their first company. Learn how Contrary finds the world’s best talent and gets the conviction to invest before they even start a company. To date, Contrary has raised more than $100M and has invested in Ramp, Anduril, DoorDash, and Replit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the latest episode of Outlier Investors, we decode how Susa Ventures is building the next great seed-stage venture capital firm. Learn about Susa’s playbook for finding the best seed-stage companies, discovering their focus areas and industries, creating their investing algorithm, approaching due diligence, thinking about pro rata follow-on investments, and more. To date, Susa Ventures has raised more than $600M and has invested in companies including Stedi, Flexport, and Robinhood. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Episode #129, Robert Cantwell, Founder & Portfolio Manager of Compound Kings joins us as part of our Outlier Investors series. We discuss the biggest lessons that Robert has learned as an investor and portfolio manager, the top positions in the fund today, and the future of active management. “The investment management business actually looks a lot more like every other business, where there's products, there's marketing, and there's distribution, and you have to be outstanding at all three of those things in order to succeed in this business.” – Robert Cantwell EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/compound-kings-robert-cantwell FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/compound-kings-robert-cantwell-transcript CHAPTERS This episode is our definitive guide to building an ETF business. In it we cover: (00:02:23) – Introduction (00:04:53) – Defining a compounder (growth, profitability, high ROIC) (00:06:22) – Investing in challenging markets (00:14:26) – Robert’s thoughts on the rise of active management (00:17:28) – Why so much money is still in mutual funds (00:19:33) – Thematic ETFs and where they can go wrong (00:39:05) – Why investing in public markets is so challenging (00:46:09) – Top three positions in Compound Kings today: Meta, ServiceNow, and Adyen (01:05:35) – What it’s like to build an ETF business ABOUT COMPOUND KINGS Robert Cantwell is the Founder of Upholdings and Portfolio Manager of Compound Kings, which is an exchange-traded fund focused on investing in companies often called compounders. Compounders are typically profitable, growing, and generate very high returns on invest capital (ROIC). This is an incredible interview with a true pioneer in the actively managed ETF space. In it, we look back at the top three positions in Compound Kings when Robert and I sat down in early 2021, which feels like a world away, to review the performance of Alibaba, Meta, then Facebook and Berkshire Hathaway. Robert shares the three biggest learnings from the last 18 months including: why you always have to be learning new industries; why you should add a quant to your investment team; and why knowing the people running public companies matters a lot. Robert also walks through his team's thesis on the three largest positions in the fund today, which include Meta, ServiceNow and Adyen. This section of the interview is fantastic so skip ahead and don't miss it if you're short on time. And finally, Robert shares what it's like to build an ETF business scale assets under management and why running an investment business is very similar to an enterprise software business. 💌 FREE NEWSLETTER https://www.outlieracademy.com/newsletter 🎙 LISTEN ON iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/outlier-academy/id1523851182 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/58edVNgqaPNaCSGSxM6pef?si=88f37a5d20434775 Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1523851182 ABOUT OUTLIER ACADEMY Learn timeless lessons on work and life from iconic founders, world-renown investors, and bestselling authors. Outlier Academy is the forever school for those chasing greatness. Past guests include Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash, Scott Belsky of Benchmark and Adobe, Joey Krug of Pantera Capital, Mark Sisson of Primal Kitchen, Luke Gromen of The Forest for the Trees, and Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK. Website: https://www.outlieracademy.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/outlieracademy ABOUT DANIEL SCRIVNER Outlier Academy is hosted by Daniel Scrivner. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has led design teams at Square and Apple, turned around a $3M+ ARR SaaS business, and invested in more than 100 companies. He launched Outlier Academy in 2020 to learn from the world’s best founders, investors, authors, and peak performance experts. Website: https://www.danielscrivner.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/danielscrivner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen to one of our favorite moments from tomorrow’s Spotlight episode featuring Compound Kings with Robert Cantwell. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Episode #120, we explore reinventing a well-established venture capital firm. We’re joined by Steve Vassallo, General Partner at Foundation Capital. We cover Minimum Awesome Product, the prepared mind vs. open mind, and learnings from tearing down and rebuilding an investment firm. “The best product matters, but it is not what defines a generationally important company.” – Steve Vassallo EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/foundation-capital-steve-vassallo FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/foundation-capital-steve-vassallo-transcript CHAPTERS This episode is our definitive guide to reinventing a venture capital firm. In it we cover: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:02:39 – From electro mechanical engineering to product design 00:06:22 – Interdisciplinary innovation and missionary misfits 00:10:24 – How investing snuck into Steve’s career 00:15:33 – Working at the intersection of building and investing 00:19:24 – A 15-year window into the investment world 00:24:45 – Tearing down and rebuilding an investment firm 00:39:04 – Identifying a firm’s turning point 00:41:21 – Going down the rabbit hole of crypto and enticing investors to follow 00:51:35 – The prepared mind vs. open mind 00:54:44 – Building the best product matters, but it doesn’t guarantee success 00:57:56 – The Minimum Awesome Product and evolving product-market fit 01:02:07 – Advice for new founders ABOUT FOUNDATION CAPITAL Steve Vassallo is General Partner at Foundation Capital and author of "The Way to Design." In this episode, we explore what it's like to reinvent a venture capital firm. Foundation Capital was founded in 1995, 27 years ago by Bill Elmore, Catherine Gold, and Jim Anderson. One of the foundation's early claims to fame was that it was one of the first investors in Netflix back in the early 2000s. This episode is our definitive guide to reinventing a venture capital firm. In it, we cover Steve's early years bringing design, product, and engineering together at IDEO, and what that taught him about building successful products and companies, the early warning signs he saw that made it clear Foundation Capital needed to be reinvented, how Foundation rediscovered who they were and who they wanted to be as a team, how they changed the way they operated and made investment decisions to giving partners more latitude to invest in the ideas they thought could be massive companies in the years to come, how they began making crypto investments, which led to massive wins in Solana and Brave by making small bets and winning over LP support as the wins added up. 💌 FREE NEWSLETTER https://www.outlieracademy.com/newsletter 🎙 LISTEN ON iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/outlier-academy/id1523851182 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/58edVNgqaPNaCSGSxM6pef?si=88f37a5d20434775 Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1523851182 ABOUT OUTLIER ACADEMY Learn timeless lessons on work and life from iconic founders, world-renown investors, and bestselling authors. Outlier Academy is the forever school for those chasing greatness. Past guests include Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash, Scott Belsky of Benchmark and Adobe, Joey Krug of Pantera Capital, Mark Sisson of Primal Kitchen, Luke Gromen of The Forest for the Trees, and Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK. Website: https://www.outlieracademy.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/outlieracademy ABOUT DANIEL SCRIVNER Outlier Academy is hosted by Daniel Scrivner. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has led design teams at Square and Apple, turned around a $3M+ ARR SaaS business, and invested in more than 100 companies. He launched Outlier Academy in 2020 to learn from the world’s best founders, investors, authors, and peak performance experts. Website: https://www.danielscrivner.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/danielscrivner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen to one of our favorite moments from tomorrow’s Spotlight episode featuring Foundation Capital with Steve Vassallo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Episode #104, we explore emerging markets and the great pendulum shift. We’re joined by Howie Schwab, Lead Portfolio Manager for Emerging Markets Growth at Driehaus. We cover the lure of emerging markets, a behavioral focus on investing, and the impact of shifting voting demographics. “I think it's true everywhere, but data shows it's particularly true in emerging markets, which is that the persistence of risk is generally higher than the persistence of return.” – Howie Schwab EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/driehaus-capital-investing-emerging-markets-howie-schwab-spotlight-show-notes FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/driehaus-capital-investing-emerging-markets-howie-schwab-spotlight-transcript CHAPTERS This episode is our definitive guide to emerging markets and the great pendulum shift. In it we cover: (00:00:00) – Introduction (00:02:20) – Howie’s background and work at Driehaus Capital (00:06:52) – The lure of emerging markets (00:12:20) – A behavioral focus in investing (00:19:30) – Seeing patterns and avoiding fraud (00:24:12) – Researching and publishing market analysis (00:43:21) – The state of financial assets today (00:49:41) – The future and financial repression (00:56:42) – The shift in voting demographics and its economic impact (01:02:14) – Advice for investors ABOUT DRIEHAUS Howie Schwab manages more than five billion in emerging market growth for Driehaus, which is based in Chicago, and it's where Howie has worked for the last 20 years. At Driehaus, Howie is the lead portfolio manager for the Emerging Markets Growth, and he's a portfolio manager for the Emerging Markets Small Cap Equity and Emerging Markets Opportunity Strategies. I've learned an enormous amount from Howie, both as an investor and a macro thinker, since I first met him, and I am beyond thrilled to have him on the show to share what he's learned managing many of the world's best performing emerging market funds over the last 20 years. 💌 FREE NEWSLETTER https://www.outlieracademy.com/newsletter 🎙 LISTEN ON iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/outlier-academy/id1523851182 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/58edVNgqaPNaCSGSxM6pef?si=88f37a5d20434775 Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1523851182 ABOUT OUTLIER ACADEMY Learn timeless lessons on work and life from iconic founders, world-renown investors, and bestselling authors. Outlier Academy is the forever school for those chasing greatness. Past guests include Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash, Scott Belsky of Benchmark and Adobe, Joey Krug of Pantera Capital, Mark Sisson of Primal Kitchen, Luke Gromen of The Forest for the Trees, and Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK. Website: https://www.outlieracademy.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/outlieracademy ABOUT DANIEL SCRIVNER Outlier Academy is hosted by Daniel Scrivner. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has led design teams at Square and Apple, turned around a $3M+ ARR SaaS business, and invested in more than 100 companies. He launched Outlier Academy in 2020 to learn from the world’s best founders, investors, authors, and peak performance experts. Website: https://www.danielscrivner.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/danielscrivner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen to one of our favorite moments from tomorrow’s Spotlight episode featuring Driehaus Capital with Howie Schwa Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Episode #102, we explore the super angel on speed, small teams, product management, and the S.P.A.D.E. decision framework. We’re joined by prolific angel investor Gokul Rajaram. We cover the product analyst role, and focusing on controllable inputs, and editing vs. managing a product. “The best product leaders coach people across the company, not just in their team, and help develop them into the future leaders of the company.” – Gokul Rajaram EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/angel-investor-speed-small-teams-product-management-decision-making-gokul-rajaram-spotlight-show-notes FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/angel-investor-speed-small-teams-product-management-decision-making-gokul-rajaram-spotlight-transcript CHAPTERS This episode is our definitive guide to product management in small, speedy teams. In it we cover: (00:00:00) – Introduction (00:02:26) – Gokul’s background in product management (00:06:58) – Applying a computer science background to product management (00:10:26) – What great product vision looks like (00:16:32) – The product analyst role (00:23:11) – Focusing on controllable inputs (00:26:07) – Experiment design (00:34:54) – Editing vs. managing a product (00:42:50) – S.P.A.D.E. decision making (00:55:18) – Speed in product creation ABOUT GOKUL RAJARAM Gokul Rajaram is part of a new wave of solo capitalists, like Elad Gil and Lachy Groom, that play an outsized role in funding and helping many of the world's best startups. As Gokul says in this interview, his goal is for every founder he backs to say that he's the most helpful investor on the cap table. And if there is another thing that Gokul is known for, it's his expertise around product management and decision making, including the Spade framework he created at Square for making transparent decisions at the highest levels. Spade is now used by many of the world's best startups for large, important, and strategic decisions that need to be made transparently so the whole company understands why the decision was made. 💌 FREE NEWSLETTER https://www.outlieracademy.com/newsletter 🎙 LISTEN ON iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/outlier-academy/id1523851182 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/58edVNgqaPNaCSGSxM6pef?si=88f37a5d20434775 Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1523851182 ABOUT OUTLIER ACADEMY Learn timeless lessons on work and life from iconic founders, world-renown investors, and bestselling authors. Outlier Academy is the forever school for those chasing greatness. Past guests include Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash, Scott Belsky of Benchmark and Adobe, Joey Krug of Pantera Capital, Mark Sisson of Primal Kitchen, Luke Gromen of The Forest for the Trees, and Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK. Website: https://www.outlieracademy.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/outlieracademy ABOUT DANIEL SCRIVNER Outlier Academy is hosted by Daniel Scrivner. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has led design teams at Square and Apple, turned around a $3M+ ARR SaaS business, and invested in more than 100 companies. He launched Outlier Academy in 2020 to learn from the world’s best founders, investors, authors, and peak performance experts. Website: https://www.danielscrivner.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/danielscrivner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen to one of our favorite moments from tomorrow’s Spotlight episode featuring Gokul Rajaram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We explore inflation, retail investors, precious metals, and Bitcoin. We’re joined by Luke Gromen, Founder of The Forest for the Trees. We cover Luke’s perspectives on inflation, investing in alternative assets, and interpreting investment data. “My sense of where we are is... we're basically in the first bursting global sovereign debt bubble in 100 years.” – Luke Gromen EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/perspectives-data-analysis-inflation-fftt-luke-gromen-ig-show-notes FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/perspectives-data-analysis-inflation-fftt-luke-gromen-ig-transcript CHAPTERS This episode is our definitive guide to inflation, retail investors, precious metals, and Bitcoin. In it we cover: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:02:02 – Luke's experience as an analyst at investment research firms 00:09:37 – Interpreting and presenting investment data 00:12:05 – How Luke started The Forest for the Trees 00:17:22 – Luke's take on the current financial climate 00:20:34 – The importance of owning assets in today's climate 00:23:58 – Perspectives on inflation 00:41:15 – Investing in alternative assets 00:50:54 – Gold and Bitcoin 00:54:53 – Recommended books and resources ABOUT THE FOREST FOR THE TREES Luke Gromen publishes a weekly macro research report read by institutional and individual investors alike, called Tree Rings. And he's also the author of Mr. X Interviews volume one and two. After working as an analyst for 20 plus years, Luke founded the Forest for The Trees in 2014. Luke is known as one of today's best macroeconomic thinkers. His view is that as data becomes increasingly commoditized, free thinking becomes priceless. And that's exactly why I wanted to have him on the show. After an incredibly tumultuous 2021, I wanted to sit down with Luke to get his thoughts on the last year, the road ahead, and some of the toughest challenges we're facing today, from a multi decade high in inflation to shifts in how we collectively think about money. 💌 FREE NEWSLETTER https://www.outlieracademy.com/newsletter 🎙 LISTEN ON iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/outlier-academy/id1523851182 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/58edVNgqaPNaCSGSxM6pef?si=88f37a5d20434775 Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1523851182 ABOUT OUTLIER ACADEMY Learn timeless lessons on work and life from iconic founders, world-renown investors, and bestselling authors. Outlier Academy is the forever school for those chasing greatness. Past guests include Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash, Scott Belsky of Benchmark and Adobe, Joey Krug of Pantera Capital, Mark Sisson of Primal Kitchen, Luke Gromen of The Forest for the Trees, and Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK. Website: https://www.outlieracademy.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/outlieracademy ABOUT DANIEL SCRIVNER Outlier Academy is hosted by Daniel Scrivner. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has led design teams at Square and Apple, turned around a $3M+ ARR SaaS business, and invested in more than 100 companies. He launched Outlier Academy in 2020 to learn from the world’s best founders, investors, authors, and peak performance experts. Website: https://www.danielscrivner.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/danielscrivner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We explore why and how to invest in gold. We’re joined by Simon Mikhailovich, Co-Founder of The Bullion Reserve. We cover cycles of financial euphoria, the three ways to get out of debt, and whether people should invest in gold ETFs. “The most important thing is that technology evolves, but people don't. That's the biggest lesson of history—humans don't change.” – Simon Mikhailovich EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/simon-mikhailovich-outliers-show-notes FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/simon-mikhailovich-outliers-transcript CHAPTERS This episode is our definitive guide to why and how to invest in gold. In it we cover: (00:00:00) – Introduction (00:01:32) – Simon’s thoughts on gold’s role in the current financial market (00:08:37) – Why gold is important at this moment in time (00:15:48) – Cycles of financial euphoria (00:20:33) – The three ways to get out of debt (00:26:31) – Why holding physical gold is different and better than savings in other forms (00:32:12) – Gold is the ultimate insurance for bad financial outcomes (00:38:42) – Gold vs. other precious metals, and how gold is nature’s Bitcoin (00:46:42) – Gold has no impairment risk or counterparty risk, and making money vs. preserving wealth (00:59:01) – How Simon has maintained an outlier point of view over time ABOUT THE BULLION RESERVE The Bullion Reserve enables investors to hold physical gold in secure locations all around the world. 💌 FREE NEWSLETTER https://www.outlieracademy.com/newsletter 🎙 LISTEN ON iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/outlier-academy/id1523851182 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/58edVNgqaPNaCSGSxM6pef?si=88f37a5d20434775 Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1523851182 ABOUT OUTLIER ACADEMY Learn timeless lessons on work and life from iconic founders, world-renown investors, and bestselling authors. Outlier Academy is the forever school for those chasing greatness. Past guests include Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash, Scott Belsky of Benchmark and Adobe, Joey Krug of Pantera Capital, Mark Sisson of Primal Kitchen, Luke Gromen of The Forest for the Trees, and Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK. Website: https://www.outlieracademy.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/outlieracademy ABOUT DANIEL SCRIVNER Outlier Academy is hosted by Daniel Scrivner. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has led design teams at Square and Apple, turned around a $3M+ ARR SaaS business, and invested in more than 100 companies. He launched Outlier Academy in 2020 to learn from the world’s best founders, investors, authors, and peak performance experts. Website: https://www.danielscrivner.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/danielscrivner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We explore investing in buy-and-build compounders in public markets. We’re joined by Dan Roller, Founder and CIO of Maran Capital. We cover how building investment knowledge is like training for the Ironman, the value vs. growth debate, and investing in SPACs. “What you need to do, I think, is constantly update your thesis as you go, which can allow for longer holding periods, because things do change. And at the same time, I go into investments with a multi-year horizon—but my thesis might be disproven fairly quickly.” – Dan Roller EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/dan-roller-outliers-show-notes FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/dan-roller-outliers-transcript CHAPTERS This episode is our definitive guide to investing in buy-and-build compounders in public markets. In it we cover: (00:00:00) – Introduction (00:01:50) – MOI Global and Dan’s start in the investment world (00:11:20) – The formation of Maran Capital (00:14:59) – Choosing your hunting ground and creating structural advantages (00:21:21) – Researching and choosing companies to invest in (00:28:27) – How building investment knowledge is like training for the Ironman (00:32:17) – Examples and basics of buy-and-build companies (00:41:04) – How buy-and-build can go wrong (00:51:40) – The value vs. growth debate (00:54:57) – Investing in SPACs (00:58:06) – Thesis drift and mental models (01:02:21) – Resources for learning about investing ABOUT MARAN CAPITAL Dan Roller is Founder and CIO of Maran Capital Management, a boutique, values-driven investment manager that I've been following intently for the last few years. I love the way that Dan sees the world, and I never miss reading one of his investor letters. In this episode, we go deep on how becoming a better investor is similar to training for an Ironman competition, why Dan focuses on what he calls buy and build companies and some of his favorite historic and recent examples there, his approach to investing in special situations and what defines a good or bad opportunity. I get his thoughts on SPACs and why he sees some interesting opportunities in the world today. Dan is a remarkable investor. Before he founded Maran Capital management in 2015, he worked as an analyst for over a decade at firms like Credit Suisse First Boston, Impala Asset Management, Avesta Capital Advisors, and Scopus Asset Management. 💌 FREE NEWSLETTER https://www.outlieracademy.com/newsletter 🎙 LISTEN ON iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/outlier-academy/id1523851182 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/58edVNgqaPNaCSGSxM6pef?si=88f37a5d20434775 Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1523851182 ABOUT OUTLIER ACADEMY Learn timeless lessons on work and life from iconic founders, world-renown investors, and bestselling authors. Outlier Academy is the forever school for those chasing greatness. Past guests include Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash, Scott Belsky of Benchmark and Adobe, Joey Krug of Pantera Capital, Mark Sisson of Primal Kitchen, Luke Gromen of The Forest for the Trees, and Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK. Website: https://www.outlieracademy.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/outlieracademy ABOUT DANIEL SCRIVNER Outlier Academy is hosted by Daniel Scrivner. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has led design teams at Square and Apple, turned around a $3M+ ARR SaaS business, and invested in more than 100 companies. He launched Outlier Academy in 2020 to learn from the world’s best founders, investors, authors, and peak performance experts. Website: https://www.danielscrivner.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/danielscrivner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We explore managing $1.8 billion in wealth, investment philosophy, and teaching kids about money. We’re joined by Brandon Johnson, CEO of JFG Wealth. We cover keys to successful family wealth management, the spectrum of risk and returns, and diversification and recency bias. “Once we have a starting point and a target, we can start to evaluate, do we turn left, do we turn right? How do we measure success? Then that dynamic process never stops." – Brandon Johnson EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/brandon-johnson-outliers-show-notes FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/brandon-johnson-outliers-transcript CHAPTERS This episode is our definitive guide to investment philosophy and wealth management. In it we cover: (00:00:00) – Introduction (00:02:27) – History of the Johnson Financial Group (00:10:19) – Brandon’s path to wealth management (00:14:39) – What is a family office? (00:23:16) – Keys to successful family wealth management (00:38:08) – Teaching kids about saving, investing, and giving back (00:48:05) – JFG’s process for working with new families (01:01:13) – The spectrum of risk and returns (01:09:40) – Diversification and recency bias (01:17:10) – Defining success ABOUT JFG MULTI-FAMILY OFFICE Brandon Johnson is the CEO of JFG Wealth, where Brandon and his team manage over $1.8 billion for ultra high net worth families across the United States. Before taking a hard left turn into the world of investing, Brandon first trained as a chef at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute in Paris. He also serves on the board of trustees for the University of Denver and the Children's Hospital of Colorado. 💌 FREE NEWSLETTER https://www.outlieracademy.com/newsletter 🎙 LISTEN ON iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/outlier-academy/id1523851182 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/58edVNgqaPNaCSGSxM6pef?si=88f37a5d20434775 Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1523851182 ABOUT OUTLIER ACADEMY Learn timeless lessons on work and life from iconic founders, world-renown investors, and bestselling authors. Outlier Academy is the forever school for those chasing greatness. Past guests include Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash, Scott Belsky of Benchmark and Adobe, Joey Krug of Pantera Capital, Mark Sisson of Primal Kitchen, Luke Gromen of The Forest for the Trees, and Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK. Website: https://www.outlieracademy.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/outlieracademy ABOUT DANIEL SCRIVNER Outlier Academy is hosted by Daniel Scrivner. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has led design teams at Square and Apple, turned around a $3M+ ARR SaaS business, and invested in more than 100 companies. He launched Outlier Academy in 2020 to learn from the world’s best founders, investors, authors, and peak performance experts. Website: https://www.danielscrivner.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/danielscrivner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices