449 episodes

Conversations with the best investors and business leaders in the world. We explore their ideas, methods, and stories to help you better invest your time and money. Hear stock market and boardroom insights you can't find anywhere else. If you're a professional investor, CEO, entrepreneur, or business strategist, this is for you. Explore all our episodes and learn more at https://www.joincolossus.com

Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy Colossus

    • Business
    • 4.7 • 2.1K Ratings

Conversations with the best investors and business leaders in the world. We explore their ideas, methods, and stories to help you better invest your time and money. Hear stock market and boardroom insights you can't find anywhere else. If you're a professional investor, CEO, entrepreneur, or business strategist, this is for you. Explore all our episodes and learn more at https://www.joincolossus.com

    Anne-Marie Peterson - The Capital System

    Anne-Marie Peterson - The Capital System

    My guest today is Anne-Marie Peterson. Anne-Marie is an equity portfolio manager at Capital Group, a storied investment firm managing 2.5 trillion dollars and getting ready to celebrate its centennial anniversary. Anne-Marie is a seasoned investor, approaching three decades in the industry, with nearly 20 of those years being with Capital. She has become an expert in retail and restaurants and shares her proven strategies in those sectors over her career. We discuss her people-first approach, simplicity as criteria for investment, and the idea that the best retailers are cults. Please enjoy this great discussion with Anne-Marie Peterson.

    Listen to Founders Podcast
    For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.
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    This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the go-to destination for bold investing. The investment research platform trusted by 95% of the top 20 global private equity firms just got even better. Building on their solid reputation for expert insights, Tegus has expanded to become the first true all-in-one research platform. The new Tegus makes diligence faster, easier, and more convenient than ever before. Your Tegus license gives you access to over 70,000 expert transcripts, more than 4,000 fully drivable financial models, and exclusive datasets like company management checks, industry KPIs, hard-to-find non-GAAP data, and more. Tegus is the fastest way to learn about a public or private company and the most cost-effective way to conduct investment research — now all under one roof. Learn more and get your free trial at tegus.com/patrick.
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    Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. 
    Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.
    Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.
    Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus
    Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com).

    Show Notes:
    (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best
    (00:04:06) First Question - Understanding Capital Group's Investment Approach
    (00:05:43) The Importance of Teamwork and Culture in Investment Firms
    (00:07:38) The Role of Analysts in Investment Decisions
    (00:12:24) The Art of Running Effective Meetings with Company Management
    (00:18:12) Exploring the Dominance of Big Tech Companies
    (00:19:13) The Common Thread Amongst Great Retailing Companies
    (00:30:49) Comparing The Growth in The Tech Market to That of Healthcare
    (00:34:14) The Rise of Pharma and its Potential Opportunities
    (00:36:56) Power Dynamics in the Tech Industry
    (00:38:11) The Idea of Power in Investing
    (00:46:21) Unique Challenges and Opportunities in the Restaurant Industry
    (00:48:35) The Positive Signal of Enduring Companies
    (00:54:54) The Importance of Gratitude and Kindness in Professional Growth
    (00:58:40) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done for Anne-Marie

    • 57 min
    Aravind Srinivas - Building An Answer Engine

    Aravind Srinivas - Building An Answer Engine

    My guest today is Aravind Srinivas. He is the founder and CEO of Perplexity, a startup that he describes as an “answer engine” built from scratch with AI. Aravind has set out for perplexity to become the most powerful answer engine backed by up-to-date sources. He helps me pick the technology apart, describing the behind the scenes of what it takes to build Perplexity to reach its potential and compete alongside the likes of Google and OpenAI. Our conversation goes deep into programming this type of infrastructure, the competition around latency, and constructing a business model around deep learning. There is so much on this horizon, so please enjoy my conversation with Aravind Srinivas. 

    Listen to Founders Podcast
    For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.
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    This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the only investment research platform built for fundamental investors. How hard do you work to get the insights you need to make a great investment decision? How many hours do you spend digging through public records and expert transcripts, or manually updating complex models? Investors should compete on their ability to analyze investments, not how well they aggregate data. That’s why Tegus offers a unified, end-to-end research platform that combines robust qualitative content sets, up-to-date financial data, management and culture checks, and more — all in the same easy-to-use, streamlined user experience. 95% of the top 20 global private equity firms use Tegus. Shouldn’t you? Learn more and get your free trial at tegus.com/patrick.
    -----
    Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. 
    Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.
    Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.
    Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus
    Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com).

    Show Notes:
    (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best 
    (00:04:08) First Question - Redefining 'Great' in Search
    (00:07:16) The Mechanics of Perplexity
    (00:10:59) The Evolution of Perplexity From Wrapper to Robust Infrastructure
    (00:13:19) The Future of Large Language Models (LLMs)
    (00:22:39) Aravind's Strategy For Constructing The Business Model
    (00:28:16) The Process of Building an Index for a Search Engine
    (00:35:55) The Impact of Scaling and Data Quality on AI Models
    (00:40:00) Bottlenecks in AI Development
    (00:47:06) The Talent Landscape in AI
    (00:57:59) The Vision for the Future of Search
    (01:00:19) Importance of Execution in AI Startups

    • 1 hr 9 min
    Ali Hamed - Building an Investment Firm

    Ali Hamed - Building an Investment Firm

    My guest today is Ali Hamed. Ali was first on Invest Like the Best six years ago. He was 26 at the time and four years into building his investing firm, CoVenture. Both then and now, Ali is an example of what’s possible when you think creatively. Six years later, CoVenture now manages two-and-a-half billion dollars, and Ali continues to find alpha in esoteric places.
    We talk about YouTube catalogs, creative opportunities in real estate, and how venture investing helps them get better at credit. We also talk about his lessons from building an investment firm and what it’s been like to work with Michael Ovitz. Please enjoy this great conversation with Ali Hamed.

    Listen to Ali host a Business Breakdowns on Spotter
    Listen to Founders Podcast

    For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.
    -----
    This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the only investment research platform built for fundamental investors. Whether you’re trying to get up to speed on a new market or keep tabs on a portfolio company, Tegus is the end-to-end investment research platform you need. With Tegus, you can quickly understand a company's business model, drivers, benchmarks, and management quality. To monitor an entire market, download our pre-built financial models — or update your own with the latest data using Tegus’ new Excel Add-In. Tegus gives you all of this and more, all bundled into a single software license. Find out why 95% of the top 20 global private equity firms are Tegus customers. Learn more and get your free trial at tegus.com/patrick.
    -----
    Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. 
    Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.
    Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.
    Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus
    Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com).

    Show Notes:
    (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best
    (00:03:11) First Question - The Journey of Building an Investment Firm
    (00:15:08) The Influence of Time and Scale on Asset Classes
    (00:22:39) The Power and Potential of YouTube's Asset Class
    (00:27:33) The Future of Real Estate and Housing Supply
    (00:30:15) The Challenges of Investing in Platform Economies
    (00:36:44) The Pitfalls of Capital Formation in Asset Management
    (00:45:17) The Evolution of Venture Portfolio
    (00:51:14) The Approach to AI and Other Emerging Technologies
    (00:54:42) The Mispricing in Private Credit
    (00:58:46) Building the People Side of the Business
    (01:04:21) The Challenges and Opportunities in Valuation
    (01:19:40) The Impact of Michael Ovitz on CoVenture
    (01:23:11) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done For Him

    • 1 hr 29 min
    Cyan Banister - Investing for a Higher Purpose

    Cyan Banister - Investing for a Higher Purpose

    My guest today is Cyan Banister. Cyan’s life story is remarkable. She was homeless at a young age, dropped out of high school, and five years ago she suffered an extremely rare stroke. Yet, in spite of everything, she is one of the most optimistic and curious people you can hope to meet. Cyan is also one of the great angel investors of this era, having invested early in SpaceX, Uber, Postmates, and Deepmind to name a few winners. She became the first female investing partner at Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund and now invests at Long Journey Ventures.
    Our conversation is as much about investing as it is about the essence of life and how connecting with that will help us in our professional pursuits. It is also full of awesome stories about people and companies like SpaceX and Bill Murray. Please enjoy this great conversation with Cyan Banister.

    Listen to Founders Podcast
    For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.
    -----
    This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the only investment research platform built for the investor. With traditional research vendors, the diligence process is slow, fragmented, and expensive. That leaves investors competing on how well they can aggregate data — not on their unique ability to analyze insights and make great investment decisions. Tegus offers an end-to-end platform with all the data you need to get up to speed on a company or market: up-to-the-minute financials, customizable models, management and culture checks, and, of course, our vast and growing library of expert call transcripts. Tegus is changing the world of expert research. Learn more and get your free trial at tegus.com/patrick.
    -----
    Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. 
    Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.
    Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.
    Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus
    Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com).

    Show Notes:
    (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best
    (00:04:03) First question - Spirituality as an Investable Category
    (00:06:51) Journey to Founders Fund
    (00:12:13) Overcoming Adversity and Embracing Optimism
    (00:14:28) The Power of Authenticity and Curiosity
    (00:25:28) The Skill of Feeling in Business
    (00:30:26) Investing in Uber
    (00:36:18) The Changing Dynamics of Early-Stage Investment
    (00:39:07) The Philosophy of 'Set it and Forget It'
    (00:42:24) The SpaceX Story: A Leap of Faith
    (00:48:02) Cyan’s Spiritual Awakening
    (00:61:34) Her Story of the Violin Kid
    (01:05:36) The Art of Trusting Your Gut in Business
    (01:07:47) The Spirit of Founders Fund and the Future of Venture Firms
    (01:15:16) What She Would Do With 1 Trillion Dollars
    (01:24:05) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done For Cyan

    • 1 hr 25 min
    Danny Meyer - The Power of Hospitality

    Danny Meyer - The Power of Hospitality

    Today, we're replaying my conversation with Danny Meyer. He is the founder and CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group, which comprises some of the most acclaimed restaurants in New York, like Gramercy Tavern and Union Square Café. Danny is also the founder and chairman of Shake Shack, which began in NYC but is now a publicly traded company with hundreds of locations worldwide.
    Our conversation focuses on how great hospitality leads to a great business, regardless of what sector it's in. We discuss why hospitality is the starting point for Danny’s business philosophy, why first impressions matter, Danny’s concept of ABCD - always be connecting dots, how to scale hospitality, and how to build a business with essentialism and soul. Please enjoy this conversation with Danny Meyer.

    Listen to Founders Podcast
    For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.
    -----
    This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors. Tired of running your own expert calls to get up to speed on a company? Tegus lets you ramp faster and find answers to critical questions more efficiently than any alternative method. The gold standard for research, the Tegus platform delivers unmatched access to timely, qualitative insights through the largest and most differentiated expert call transcript database. With over 60,000 transcripts spanning 22,000 public and private companies, investors can accelerate their fundamental research process by discovering highly-differentiated and reliable insights that can’t be found anywhere else in the market. As a listener, drive your next investment thesis forward with Tegus for free at tegus.co/patrick.
    -----
    Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. 
    Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.
    Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.
    Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus
    Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com).

    Show Notes:
    (00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best
    (03:41) First question – Danny’s experience as a tour guide in Italy
    (08:17) Why hospitality is the center of business focus
    (08:19) Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business
    (11:50) Early lessons at creating an environment of hospitality 
    (15:17) His strategy ABCD and learning from a trout fisherman relate and relate to hospitality
    (20:45) Scaling hospitality 
    (24:56) What kind of people make a hospitality business work
    (29:34) How to be an effective leader
    (33:00) Handling mistakes well in the role of hospitality 
    (36:28) Creating the spark in the early part of entrepreneurial ventures
    (40:32) When its time to start something new vs expand something you are already doing
    (45:52) The excellence reflex and an example of this in his career
    (50:25) Kindest thing anyone has done for him

    • 49 min
    Chuck Akre - The Three Legged Stool

    Chuck Akre - The Three Legged Stool

    Today, we're running a replay of my 2019 conversation with legendary investor Chuck Akre. Chuck founded Akre Capital Management in 1989, which now manages approximately $14B dollars. We discuss his investing style and his “three-legged stool” for evaluating companies. Please enjoy this great conversation.

    Listen to Founders Podcast
    For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.
    -----
    This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors, and provider of Canalyst. Tired of calculating fully diluted shares outstanding? Access every publicly-reported data point and industry-specific KPI through their database of over 4,000 drivable global models hand-built by a team of sector-focused analysts, 35+ industry comp sheets, and Excel add-ins that let you use their industry-leading data in your own spreadsheets. Tegus’ models automatically update each quarter, including hard-to-calculate KPIs like stock-based compensation and organic growth rates, empowering investors to bypass the friction of sourcing, building, and updating models. Make efficiency your competitive advantage and take back your time today. As a listener, you can trial Canalyst by Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick.
    -----
    Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. 
    Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.
    Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.
    Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus
    Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com).

    Show Notes:
    [00:00:00] Welcome to Invest Like the Best
    [00:01:06] First Question – Advantage of being in Middleburg, Virginia
    [00:02:11] What a day looks like for Chuck
    [00:03:06] Why imagination is more important than knowledge
    [00:03:38] Difference between curiosity and imagination
    [00:04:38] The origins of the Nirvana Three-Legged Stool concept
    [00:10:14] First leg of the stool, extraordinary business and ROE’s with a focus on Bandag
    [00:14:36] How his evaluations of value have changed over the last 10-15 years
    [00:16:10] A look at recent businesses that he’s bought and why they are interesting
    [00:19:56] Why they keep things simple
    [00:21:35] Second leg of the stool, the people involved and characteristics of managers he has invested in
    [00:23:20] Role of capital allocation in the people he focuses on
    [00:29:34] Third leg of the stool, reinvestment
    [00:21:09] How does he think about diversifying across an investment area
    [00:33:32] Great businesses wrapped in a bad balance sheet
    [00:37:35] What would cause him to sell
    [00:38:52] What does he look for in people
    [00:43:27] How curiosity has impacted his interest in land conservation
    [00:43:51] Advice for investors, especially younger ones
    [00:46:14] Kindest thing anyone has done for him

    • 48 min

Customer Reviews

4.7 out of 5
2.1K Ratings

2.1K Ratings

Sargon1193 ,

Excellent

I thoroughly enjoyed the David Einhorn and Chuck Akre episodes.

Frankieg33 ,

Best Investing Podcast out there hosted by one of the best interviewers out there

Patrick filled a niche in the investing podcast world. He is able to talk broadly about investing with his guests through extremely knowledgeable framework of investing. He has had some fantastic guests on. There is much more to take away from this podcast that just investing themes. I am very excited to see who else Patrick is able to bring on and interview. I would vote for longer interviews, but understandable that the guests he brings on are time constrained.

holdwhitepeopleaccoutable ,

1,400 vs. 11,000 and counting we are not surprised by your stance

How disappointing to have a man literally spew anti Muslim retrioc within the first 13min. “There is nothing there but death” speaking about countries with history and generations how dehumanizing and utterly disgusting

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