How To Build A Billion Dollar Hedge Fund From Scratch | Dan Rasmussen

Dan Rasmussen has built his firm Verdad Capital into a billion-dollar asset manager on the back of one core activity, producing high quality research. Since Verdad’s inception in 2014, they have produced almost 500 pieces of research that they publish on their website weekly and distribute both on Twitter and to their large email list of readers. This research serves two functions. It’s both the backbone of the strategies employed at this highly quantitative firm, and a point of connection with existing and potential investors. In this interview with Max Wiethe, Rasmussen discusses how he’s used research to showcase his authentic self and build an audience that provides enumerable benefits. They also discuss the compliance process for publishing research, how he has built out his team and Verdad’s internship program, and why he takes a more SaaS approach to product market fit.

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Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

03:43 The Value of Research and Verdad’s First Big Thesis

10:27 The SaaS Approach Product Market Fit

20:26 Investing in Human Capital

24:21 The Research and Publishing Process

28:41 Research as Brand Building

33:06 Compliance and Misconceptions About Public Statements

41:35 Authenticity and Investor Archetypes

46:07 Making Mistakes

49:45 Being Early on PE