Today’s episode is the finale of our season on Asurion, the world’s leading tech care company with more than 300 million customers. In an interview with legendary long-time director, Irv Grousbeck, we discuss Irv’s path to investing in Asurion, his stewardship across several cohorts of PE ownership, and compare Asurion to Irv’s previous power law experience at Continental Cable.

Learn more and dive into our research at⁠ ⁠50xpodcast.com⁠⁠

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page⁠⁠ here.⁠⁠

—-

This episode is brought to you by⁠⁠⁠ Ramp⁠⁠⁠. Ramp’s mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Go to⁠⁠⁠ Ramp.com/invest⁠⁠⁠ to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus.

—

This episode is brought to you by ⁠Oberle⁠. Oberle is a specialty insurance brokerage providing insurance services to search funds, independent sponsors, family offices, and private equity firms.

Oberle supports its clients with a comprehensive insurance due diligence covering a wide range of items, including commercial insurance, Employee Benefits, key person life insurance, and reps and warranty coverage. Additionally, Oberle has a thriving personal lines practice, designed for entrepreneurs seeking a higher-level service and expertise when it comes to insuring one’s home, vehicles, and valuables.

If you’re interested in connecting with the Oberle team:  ⁠https://oberle-risk.com/50x⁠

—-

50X is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of 50X, visit⁠⁠ joincolossus.com/episodes⁠⁠.

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (⁠⁠https://thepodcastconsultant.com⁠⁠).

Follow us on Twitter: @50Xpodcast | @joincolossus

Show Notes

(00:00:00) Welcome to 50X

(00:01:19) Sponsorship: Ramp

(00:02:36) Sponsorship: Oberle

(00:04:08) Irv Grousbeck Introduction

(00:06:53) Irv’s Background with Continental Cablevision

(00:12:39) Meeting Kevin and Jim

(00:16:52) Investing in Road Rescue

(00:23:06) Early Success: Hold or Sell — Pivotal Moment?

(00:27:30) TA Investment

(00:30:29) Building the Team

(00:35:49) Capital Allocation in the Search Fund Period

(00:38:53) The Lock/line Acquisition

(00:45:07) 2007 Equity Recap

(00:47:22) Board Dynamics

(00:52:23) Irv’s Asurion Investment

(00:53:43) Lessons in Management

(00:55:28) Comparing Continental and Asurion