Venture Desktop Brett.Bivens
-
- Business
Venture Desktop is a weekly video and audio letter exploring key threads that I am picking up on the ground as I think about, invest in, and work with companies that are shaping the rapidly changing world that we live in.
venturedesktop.substack.com
-
🎧 Spotify's New Customer
I co-wrote this essay (and created the accompanying audio recording) with Sid Jha, who just celebrated the one year anniversary of his great newsletter, Sunday Snapshots.
You can read the full essay here or come discuss with us on Twitter.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit venturedesktop.substack.com -
🎧 Patient Innovation, Co-opetition, and Competitive Advantage
Why Spotify is a bellwether for broader shifts in economic power and consumer demand
You can access the full text of this audio essay here - https://venturedesktop.substack.com/
* Subscribe to Venture Desktop on Spotify
* Subscribe to Venture Desktop on Apple Music
I would also love to discuss this audio essay with you in this thread on Twitter.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit venturedesktop.substack.com -
🎧 The Merits of Bottoms Up Investing
Seth Klarman, Benchmark, and seeing the present clearly
Benchmark has set the standard in the VC world for more than two decades. This audio essay is a deep dive on why.
* Seth Klarman & the perils of thesis driven investing
* Uber as the ultimate bottoms up investment
* “Liquidity Quality” in an increasing returns world
You can access the full text of this audio essay here and you can access all of the links and images from this audio essay here.
* Subscribe to Venture Desktop on Spotify
* Subscribe to Venture Desktop on Apple Music
I would also love to discuss this audio essay with you in this thread on Twitter.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit venturedesktop.substack.com -
🎧 Episode 4 - Trend Following in Consumer Wellness
Welcome back to Venture Desktop!
This is the audio version of Episode 4, Trend Following in Consumer Wellness.
You can find the full Substack post about the episode here or check out “Mission Control” for the episode where you will find the accompanying essay, be able to access all of the links from the episode, and watch the interactive video.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit venturedesktop.substack.com -
🎧 Episode 3 — Consumer SaaS
In this episode of Venture Desktop, we are exploring the Consumer Subscription business model — or Consumer SaaS — how consumer demand shaped the growth of the market to date, what investment and company creation opportunities look like going forward, and how the capital stack will mature to support the vast range of companies in the market.
If you want to stay up to date, come find me on Twitter @brettbivens or head to venturedesktop.substack.com to subscribe to the newsletter.
Consumer Subscription Software Insights — GP Bullhound
Revenue Multiples in Consumer Tech — Blossom Street Capital
The Case for Growth — Dave Bujnowski (h/t Paul Barnes)
GP Bullhound...again
Bootstrapping to "step function metrics" — Dave Ambrose
Kayla Itsines’ Sweat app will rake in $77 million this year — TechCrunch
Calm — Raise small, get profitable
Calm — Controlling your own destiny
The At-Home Fitness Roll-up
Match Group and Segmentation — Brian Norgard
Match Business Overview
Spotify Expansion
Thoma Bravo
Rereadables
The Internet Subscription Startup is Winning — Tom Tunguz
Mass Saas — Zal Bilimoria
Consumer Subscription Software — Nicolas Wittenborn
The continuous rise of SaaS in the consumer space — Angela Tran
Relistenables
Allen Chen (Fitbod) — Growth Metrics that Matter
Holger Seim (CEO, Blinkist) — SaaS Open Mic
Rebecca Kaden, Nikhil Basu Trivedi, and Jonathan Yoni Regev on Consumer Defensibility — Venture Stories
Retweetables
Kate Clark on VSCO
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit venturedesktop.substack.com -
🎧 Episode 2 — The Rise of Creator Led Media Companies
In this episode of Venture Desktop, we are looking at a topic that is quite foundational to how we should think about economic growth and progress as we look to the future. And that is the rise of Creator Led Media Companies — which, to give a definition is a business (large or small), that is is first and foremost built around the creative skillset of an individual or a small team.
For more on all of the links discussed in the episode and to stay up to date on new episodes, head to venturedesktop.substack.com or come find me on Twitter @brettbivens.
The links we go through in the episode can be found here.
Creative Compounding
HBR — The Bannister Effect
John Cochrane — Free Solo and Economic Growth
Ben Cohen — The NBA's Youtube Generation
Jayson Tatum on learning from NBA players on Youtube
Overtime
Overtime's Dan Porter on Recode Media
Anthony Edwards Dunk
David Perrell and Samo Burja on The North Star Podcast
Balaji Srinivasan — Adobe for Influencers
Li Jin — The Passion Economy and the Future of Work
The Professionalizing Creator Class
Come for the tool, stay for the network
Retweetables / Relistenables / Rereadables
Rereadables — The Future of Workers / Mercedes Bent + My Hope for the Future of Work Jomayra Herrera
Relistenables — Emily Weiss, Glossier
Retweetables — Dave Ambrose on Podcasting
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit venturedesktop.substack.com