Today, we are breaking down Applied Intuition. Our guests are co-founders <a href="https://x.com/qasar">Qasar Younis</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterwludwig">Peter Ludwig</a>, who started the company in 2017 with a mission to make a billion machines intelligent.
The simplest way to understand Applied Intuition is that it builds the brains for machines, and the tools other companies use to build those brains. 
If a manufacturer wants its tractor, truck, or mining vehicle to drive itself, it can buy the intelligence from Applied Intuition or use its platform to develop its own. The analogy the founders use is Nvidia. 
Just as Nvidia sells chips into everyone else's machines, Applied Intuition sells intelligence into everyone else's machines, across automotive, defense, mining, agriculture, and robotics, without building any single machine itself.
We discuss why the most important companies of the next 25 years will all be physical AI companies, Dana, their new agentic platform for developing and deploying these systems, and how the company raised a billion dollars without spending any of it.
Please enjoy this Breakdown of Applied Intuition.
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ <a href="https://colossus.com/episode/applied-intuition/">here</a>.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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This episode is brought to you by<a href="http://www.portraitanalytics.ai/">⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Portrait Analytics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a> - your centralized resource for AI-powered idea generation, thesis monitoring, and personalized report building. Built by buy-side investors, for investment professionals. We work in the background, helping surface stock ideas and thesis signposts to help you monetize every insight. In short, we help you understand the story behind the stock chart, and get to "go, or no-go" 10x faster than before.
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-----
Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by <a href="https://thepodcastconsultant.com/">The Podcast Consultant</a>.
Timestamps
(00:00:00) Welcome to Business Breakdowns
(00:02:16) Intro: Applied Intuition
(00:03:26) State of the Physical AI Market
(00:07:19) Why Physical AI Will Be Bigger Than Digital AI
(00:09:14) What Applied Intuition Builds & Sells
(00:12:36) Staying Flexible Across Technologies & Verticals
(00:13:16) Founding Story & Strategic Choices
(00:17:10) Evolution of the Business: Tools → OS → Autonomy Stack
(00:20:59) Introducing Dana: The Agentic Platform
(00:23:40) Building Dana: Customer Demand vs. Vision
(00:24:51) Why Applied Intuition Is Uniquely Positioned to Build Dana
(00:28:29) The Cross-Vertical Data Flywheel
(00:33:25) Rate Limiters to Physical AI Adoption
(00:35:41) Business Model & Revenue
(00:37:06) Customer Base & Global Reach
(00:39:22) Competitive Landscape
(00:44:21) Capital Allocation & Financial Strategy
(00:47:15) The Future of Physical AI

Today, we are breaking down Applied Intuition. Our guests are co-founders Qasar Younis and Peter Ludwig, who started the company in 2017 with a mission to make a billion machines intelligent. The simplest way to understand Applied Intuition is that it builds the brains for machines, and the tools other companies use to build those brains. If a manufacturer wants its tractor, truck, or mining vehicle to drive itself, it can buy the intelligence from Applied Intuition or use its platform to develop its own. The analogy the founders use is Nvidia. Just as Nvidia sells chips into everyone else's machines, Applied Intuition sells intelligence into everyone else's machines, across automotive, defense, mining, agriculture, and robotics, without building any single machine itself. We discuss why the most important companies of the next 25 years will all be physical AI companies, Dana, their new agentic platform for developing and deploying these systems, and how the company raised a billion dollars without spending any of it. Please enjoy this Breakdown of Applied Intuition. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ here.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ----- Become a Colossus member to get our quarterly print magazine and private audio experience, including exclusive profiles and early access to select episodes. Subscribe at ⁠colossus.com/subscribe⁠. ----- This episode is brought to you by⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Portrait Analytics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - your centralized resource for AI-powered idea generation, thesis monitoring, and personalized report building. Built by buy-side investors, for investment professionals. We work in the background, helping surface stock ideas and thesis signposts to help you monetize every insight. In short, we help you understand the story behind the stock chart, and get to "go, or no-go" 10x faster than before. Sign-up for a free trial today at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠portraitresearch.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ----- 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. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant. Timestamps (00:00:00) Welcome to Business Breakdowns (00:02:16) Intro: Applied Intuition (00:03:26) State of the Physical AI Market (00:07:19) Why Physical AI Will Be Bigger Than Digital AI (00:09:14) What Applied Intuition Builds & Sells (00:12:36) Staying Flexible Across Technologies & Verticals (00:13:16) Founding Story & Strategic Choices (00:17:10) Evolution of the Business: Tools → OS → Autonomy Stack (00:20:59) Introducing Dana: The Agentic Platform (00:23:40) Building Dana: Customer Demand vs. Vision (00:24:51) Why Applied Intuition Is Uniquely Positioned to Build Dana (00:28:29) The Cross-Vertical Data Flywheel (00:33:25) Rate Limiters to Physical AI Adoption (00:35:41) Business Model & Revenue (00:37:06) Customer Base & Global Reach (00:39:22) Competitive Landscape (00:44:21) Capital Allocation & Financial Strategy (00:47:15) The Future of Physical AI

Today, we are breaking down Applied Intuition. Our guests are co-founders <a href="https://x.com/qasar" rel="noopener noreferrer">Qasar Younis</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterwludwig" rel="noopener noreferrer">Peter Ludwig</a>, who started the company in 2017 with a mission to make a billion machines intelligent.
The simplest way to understand Applied Intuition is that it builds the brains for machines, and the tools other companies use to build those brains. 
If a manufacturer wants its tractor, truck, or mining vehicle to drive itself, it can buy the intelligence from Applied Intuition or use its platform to develop its own. The analogy the founders use is Nvidia. 
Just as Nvidia sells chips into everyone else's machines, Applied Intuition sells intelligence into everyone else's machines, across automotive, defense, mining, agriculture, and robotics, without building any single machine itself.
We discuss why the most important companies of the next 25 years will all be physical AI companies, Dana, their new agentic platform for developing and deploying these systems, and how the company raised a billion dollars without spending any of it.
Please enjoy this Breakdown of Applied Intuition.
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ <a href="https://colossus.com/episode/applied-intuition/" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
-----
Become a Colossus member to get our quarterly print magazine and private audio experience, including exclusive profiles and early access to select episodes. Subscribe at<a href="http://colossus.com/subscribe" rel="noopener noreferrer"> ⁠</a><a href="http://colossus.com/subscribe%E2%81%A0" rel="noopener noreferrer">colossus.com/subscribe⁠</a>.
-----
This episode is brought to you by<a href="http://www.portraitanalytics.ai/" rel="noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Portrait Analytics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a> - your centralized resource for AI-powered idea generation, thesis monitoring, and personalized report building. Built by buy-side investors, for investment professionals. We work in the background, helping surface stock ideas and thesis signposts to help you monetize every insight. In short, we help you understand the story behind the stock chart, and get to "go, or no-go" 10x faster than before.
Sign-up for a free trial today at <a href="http://portraitresearch.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠portraitresearch.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a>
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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 <a href="https://colossus.com/#subscribe-popup?options=newsletter" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>.
-----
Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by <a href="https://thepodcastconsultant.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Podcast Consultant</a>.
Timestamps
(00:00:00) Welcome to Business Breakdowns
(00:02:16) Intro: Applied Intuition
(00:03:26) State of the Physical AI Market
(00:07:19) Why Physical AI Will Be Bigger Than Digital AI
(00:09:14) What Applied Intuition Builds &amp; Sells
(00:12:36) Staying Flexible Across Technologies &amp; Verticals
(00:13:16) Founding Story &amp; Strategic Choices
(00:17:10) Evolution of the Business: Tools → OS → Autonomy Stack
(00:20:59) Introducing Dana: The Agentic Platform
(00:23:40) Building Dana: Customer Demand vs. Vision
(00:24:51) Why Applied Intuition Is Uniquely Positioned to Build Dana
(00:28:29) The Cross-Vertical Data Flywheel
(00:33:25) Rate Limiters to Physical AI Adoption
(00:35:41) Business Model &amp; Revenue
(00:37:06) Customer Base &amp; Global Reach
(00:39:22) Competitive Landscape
(00:44:21) Capital Allocation &amp; Financial Strategy
(00:47:15) The Future of Physical AI

Applied Intuition: A Billion Intelligent Machines - [Business Breakdowns, EP.248]

Today, we are breaking down Toast, a name we have covered <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/00zsPpiRg8eHYE8C2JX4Xj">before</a> but are revisiting because the story has changed enough to be worth telling again. Most listeners will have tapped a Toast terminal without thinking much about the business behind it. 
Our guest is<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-barrett-13105845/"> Sean Barrett</a>, founder, managing partner, and chief investment officer of Counter Global, who holds Toast as one of his largest positions and walks us through how a restaurant point of sale company became the operating system that runs the restaurant.
He argues that Toast is best understood as the operating system for the restaurant rather than a payments terminal with software attached, and that the business grows as fast and as profitably as it does because the company spent years building purpose-built hardware, a multi-tenant software platform, and a sales force on the ground before it moved into new markets across grocery, enterprise, hospitality, and international. 
We also discuss why a business winning roughly half of new restaurant openings in the United States still trades at a multiple that looks closer to a mature company than a category killer.
Please enjoy this Breakdown of Toast.
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ <a href="https://colossus.com/episode/sticky-saas/">here</a>.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
-----
Become a Colossus member to get our quarterly print magazine and private audio experience, including exclusive profiles and early access to select episodes. Subscribe at<a href="http://colossus.com/subscribe"> ⁠</a><a href="http://colossus.com/subscribe%E2%81%A0">colossus.com/subscribe⁠</a>.
-----
This episode is brought to you by<a href="http://www.portraitanalytics.ai/">⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Portrait Analytics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a> - your centralized resource for AI-powered idea generation, thesis monitoring, and personalized report building. Built by buy-side investors, for investment professionals. We work in the background, helping surface stock ideas and thesis signposts to help you monetize every insight. In short, we help you understand the story behind the stock chart, and get to "go, or no-go" 10x faster than before.
Sign-up for a free trial today at <a href="http://portraitresearch.com">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠portraitresearch.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a>
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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 <a href="https://colossus.com/#subscribe-popup?options=newsletter">here</a>.
-----
Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (<a href="https://thepodcastconsultant.com/">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://thepodcastconsultant.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a>).
Timestamps
(00:00:00) Welcome to Business Breakdowns
(00:03:19) Toast Business Overview & Financials
(00:06:31) Recurring vs. Reoccurring Gross Profit
(00:07:39) Nuance on Revenue Semantics
(00:10:05) Transformation from 2020 to Today
(00:11:51) Full Product Offering Overview
(00:14:13) Revenue Model — Recurring vs. Transaction-Based
(00:16:08) Net Take Rate
(00:17:22) Software Side of Revenue
(00:18:49) Hardware & SaaSpocalypse Connection
(00:22:31) AI Offering & What They're Shipping
(00:27:01) Impact of 8% Revenue Uplift for Restaurants
(00:27:12) Competitive Landscape
(00:32:44) Switching & Churn Dynamics
(00:34:52) Competitive Advantage & Moat
(00:37:43) Management Team & Culture
(00:39:57) $10B Gross Profit TAM & Runway
(00:44:01) Valuation Approach
(00:45:53) Key Risks
(00:48:32) Key Lessons

Today, we are breaking down Toast, a name we have covered before but are revisiting because the story has changed enough to be worth telling again. Most listeners will have tapped a Toast terminal without thinking much about the business behind it. Our guest is Sean Barrett, founder, managing partner, and chief investment officer of Counter Global, who holds Toast as one of his largest positions and walks us through how a restaurant point of sale company became the operating system that runs the restaurant. He argues that Toast is best understood as the operating system for the restaurant rather than a payments terminal with software attached, and that the business grows as fast and as profitably as it does because the company spent years building purpose-built hardware, a multi-tenant software platform, and a sales force on the ground before it moved into new markets across grocery, enterprise, hospitality, and international. We also discuss why a business winning roughly half of new restaurant openings in the United States still trades at a multiple that looks closer to a mature company than a category killer. Please enjoy this Breakdown of Toast. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ here.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ----- Become a Colossus member to get our quarterly print magazine and private audio experience, including exclusive profiles and early access to select episodes. Subscribe at ⁠colossus.com/subscribe⁠. ----- This episode is brought to you by⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Portrait Analytics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - your centralized resource for AI-powered idea generation, thesis monitoring, and personalized report building. Built by buy-side investors, for investment professionals. We work in the background, helping surface stock ideas and thesis signposts to help you monetize every insight. In short, we help you understand the story behind the stock chart, and get to "go, or no-go" 10x faster than before. Sign-up for a free trial today at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠portraitresearch.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ----- 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. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://thepodcastconsultant.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). Timestamps (00:00:00) Welcome to Business Breakdowns (00:03:19) Toast Business Overview & Financials (00:06:31) Recurring vs. Reoccurring Gross Profit (00:07:39) Nuance on Revenue Semantics (00:10:05) Transformation from 2020 to Today (00:11:51) Full Product Offering Overview (00:14:13) Revenue Model — Recurring vs. Transaction-Based (00:16:08) Net Take Rate (00:17:22) Software Side of Revenue (00:18:49) Hardware & SaaSpocalypse Connection (00:22:31) AI Offering & What They're Shipping (00:27:01) Impact of 8% Revenue Uplift for Restaurants (00:27:12) Competitive Landscape (00:32:44) Switching & Churn Dynamics (00:34:52) Competitive Advantage & Moat (00:37:43) Management Team & Culture (00:39:57) $10B Gross Profit TAM & Runway (00:44:01) Valuation Approach (00:45:53) Key Risks (00:48:32) Key Lessons

Today, we are breaking down Toast, a name we have covered <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/00zsPpiRg8eHYE8C2JX4Xj" rel="noopener noreferrer">before</a> but are revisiting because the story has changed enough to be worth telling again. Most listeners will have tapped a Toast terminal without thinking much about the business behind it.&nbsp;
Our guest is<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-barrett-13105845/" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Sean Barrett</a>, founder, managing partner, and chief investment officer of Counter Global, who holds Toast as one of his largest positions and walks us through how a restaurant point of sale company became the operating system that runs the restaurant.
He argues that Toast is best understood as the operating system for the restaurant rather than a payments terminal with software attached, and that the business grows as fast and as profitably as it does because the company spent years building purpose-built hardware, a multi-tenant software platform, and a sales force on the ground before it moved into new markets across grocery, enterprise, hospitality, and international.&nbsp;
We also discuss why a business winning roughly half of new restaurant openings in the United States still trades at a multiple that looks closer to a mature company than a category killer.
Please enjoy this Breakdown of Toast.
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ <a href="https://colossus.com/episode/sticky-saas/" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
-----
Become a Colossus member to get our quarterly print magazine and private audio experience, including exclusive profiles and early access to select episodes. Subscribe at<a href="http://colossus.com/subscribe" rel="noopener noreferrer"> ⁠</a><a href="http://colossus.com/subscribe%E2%81%A0" rel="noopener noreferrer">colossus.com/subscribe⁠</a>.
-----
This episode is brought to you by<a href="http://www.portraitanalytics.ai/" rel="noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Portrait Analytics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a> - your centralized resource for AI-powered idea generation, thesis monitoring, and personalized report building. Built by buy-side investors, for investment professionals. We work in the background, helping surface stock ideas and thesis signposts to help you monetize every insight. In short, we help you understand the story behind the stock chart, and get to "go, or no-go" 10x faster than before.
Sign-up for a free trial today at <a href="http://portraitresearch.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠portraitresearch.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a>
-----
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 <a href="https://colossus.com/#subscribe-popup?options=newsletter" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>.
-----
Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (<a href="https://thepodcastconsultant.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://thepodcastconsultant.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a>).
Timestamps
(00:00:00) Welcome to Business Breakdowns
(00:03:19) Toast Business Overview &amp; Financials
(00:06:31) Recurring vs. Reoccurring Gross Profit
(00:07:39) Nuance on Revenue Semantics
(00:10:05) Transformation from 2020 to Today
(00:11:51) Full Product Offering Overview
(00:14:13) Revenue Model — Recurring vs. Transaction-Based
(00:16:08) Net Take Rate
(00:17:22) Software Side of Revenue
(00:18:49) Hardware &amp; SaaSpocalypse Connection
(00:22:31) AI Offering &amp; What They're Shipping
(00:27:01) Impact of 8% Revenue Uplift for Restaurants
(00:27:12) Competitive Landscape
(00:32:44) Switching &amp; Churn Dynamics
(00:34:52) Competitive Advantage &amp; Moat
(00:37:43) Management Team &amp; Culture
(00:39:57) $10B Gross Profit TAM &amp; Runway
(00:44:01) Valuation Approach
(00:45:53) Key Risks
(00:48:32) Key Lessons

Toast: Sticky SaaS - [Business Breakdowns, EP.247]

Today, we are breaking down Auto1, and this is an interesting episode because we are tackling a business that most US listeners will not be familiar with, even though it resembles names they already know well. 
Our guest is <a href="https://au.linkedin.com/in/harrisonmoot">Harrison Moot</a>, co-founder and CIO of Sandstone, who walks us through Europe's largest vertically integrated online marketplace for used cars. Auto1 is often shorthanded as the Carvana of Europe, and the comparison directionally fits, but the differences are what make the company worth understanding on its own terms.
The core of the conversation is how Harrison frames the company. He argues that Auto1 is best understood as a pan-European clearing house for used vehicles rather than a dealer with a website, and that the model only works because the company built its consumer sourcing engine and its wholesale dealer liquidity for nearly a decade before ever launching the consumer retail business. 
Owning the sourcing, logistics, refurbishment, and financing stack across thirty fragmented national markets gives Auto1 a pricing and routing advantage that local dealers and asset-light classifieds cannot replicate.
Please enjoy this Breakdown of Auto1.
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ <a href="https://colossus.com/episode/auto1-eused-car-marketplace/">here</a>.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
-----
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-----
This episode is brought to you by<a href="http://www.portraitanalytics.ai/">⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Portrait Analytics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a> - your centralized resource for AI-powered idea generation, thesis monitoring, and personalized report building. Built by buy-side investors, for investment professionals. We work in the background, helping surface stock ideas and thesis signposts to help you monetize every insight. In short, we help you understand the story behind the stock chart, and get to "go, or no-go" 10x faster than before.
Sign-up for a free trial today at <a href="http://portraitresearch.com">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠portraitresearch.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a>
-----
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 <a href="https://colossus.com/#subscribe-popup?options=newsletter">here</a>.
-----
Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (<a href="https://thepodcastconsultant.com/">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://thepodcastconsultant.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a>).
Timestamps
(00:00:00) Welcome to Business Breakdowns
(00:03:35) Auto1 Business Overview 
(00:07:06) European Market & C2B Model 
(00:12:31) Founding Story & Sequencing 
(00:16:39) Why Cazoo Failed 
(00:16:42) Cazoo vs. Auto1 Approach 
(00:18:29) How a Transaction Works 
(00:22:11) Dealer Buying Patterns 
(00:25:49) Retail vs. Wholesale 
(00:26:18) Consumer Financing & ABS 
(00:27:57) ABS Lowers Funding Costs 
(00:28:16) Unit Economics by Segment 
(00:32:37) Network Effects & Data Moat 
(00:37:35) Path to Margin Expansion 
(00:42:23) Balance Sheet & Working Capital 
(00:44:40) Four Growth Levers 
(00:48:27) Dealers: Customers Not Competitors 
(00:53:17) Four Key Business Risks 
(00:54:12) Inventory Risk & Mitigants 
(00:58:32) Valuation Framework & Multiples 
(01:03:14) Vertical Integration & Capital Cycles

Today, we are breaking down Auto1, and this is an interesting episode because we are tackling a business that most US listeners will not be familiar with, even though it resembles names they already know well. Our guest is Harrison Moot, co-founder and CIO of Sandstone, who walks us through Europe's largest vertically integrated online marketplace for used cars. Auto1 is often shorthanded as the Carvana of Europe, and the comparison directionally fits, but the differences are what make the company worth understanding on its own terms. The core of the conversation is how Harrison frames the company. He argues that Auto1 is best understood as a pan-European clearing house for used vehicles rather than a dealer with a website, and that the model only works because the company built its consumer sourcing engine and its wholesale dealer liquidity for nearly a decade before ever launching the consumer retail business. Owning the sourcing, logistics, refurbishment, and financing stack across thirty fragmented national markets gives Auto1 a pricing and routing advantage that local dealers and asset-light classifieds cannot replicate. Please enjoy this Breakdown of Auto1. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ here.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ----- Become a Colossus member to get our quarterly print magazine and private audio experience, including exclusive profiles and early access to select episodes. Subscribe at ⁠colossus.com/subscribe⁠. ----- This episode is brought to you by⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Portrait Analytics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - your centralized resource for AI-powered idea generation, thesis monitoring, and personalized report building. Built by buy-side investors, for investment professionals. We work in the background, helping surface stock ideas and thesis signposts to help you monetize every insight. In short, we help you understand the story behind the stock chart, and get to "go, or no-go" 10x faster than before. Sign-up for a free trial today at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠portraitresearch.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ----- 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. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://thepodcastconsultant.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). Timestamps (00:00:00) Welcome to Business Breakdowns (00:03:35) Auto1 Business Overview (00:07:06) European Market & C2B Model (00:12:31) Founding Story & Sequencing (00:16:39) Why Cazoo Failed (00:16:42) Cazoo vs. Auto1 Approach (00:18:29) How a Transaction Works (00:22:11) Dealer Buying Patterns (00:25:49) Retail vs. Wholesale (00:26:18) Consumer Financing & ABS (00:27:57) ABS Lowers Funding Costs (00:28:16) Unit Economics by Segment (00:32:37) Network Effects & Data Moat (00:37:35) Path to Margin Expansion (00:42:23) Balance Sheet & Working Capital (00:44:40) Four Growth Levers (00:48:27) Dealers: Customers Not Competitors (00:53:17) Four Key Business Risks (00:54:12) Inventory Risk & Mitigants (00:58:32) Valuation Framework & Multiples (01:03:14) Vertical Integration & Capital Cycles

Today, we are breaking down Auto1, and this is an interesting episode because we are tackling a business that most US listeners will not be familiar with, even though it resembles names they already know well. 
Our guest is <a href="https://au.linkedin.com/in/harrisonmoot" rel="noopener noreferrer">Harrison Moot</a>, co-founder and CIO of Sandstone, who walks us through Europe's largest vertically integrated online marketplace for used cars. Auto1 is often shorthanded as the Carvana of Europe, and the comparison directionally fits, but the differences are what make the company worth understanding on its own terms.
The core of the conversation is how Harrison frames the company. He argues that Auto1 is best understood as a pan-European clearing house for used vehicles rather than a dealer with a website, and that the model only works because the company built its consumer sourcing engine and its wholesale dealer liquidity for nearly a decade before ever launching the consumer retail business. 
Owning the sourcing, logistics, refurbishment, and financing stack across thirty fragmented national markets gives Auto1 a pricing and routing advantage that local dealers and asset-light classifieds cannot replicate.
Please enjoy this Breakdown of Auto1.
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ <a href="https://colossus.com/episode/auto1-eused-car-marketplace/" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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Become a Colossus member to get our quarterly print magazine and private audio experience, including exclusive profiles and early access to select episodes. Subscribe at<a href="http://colossus.com/subscribe" rel="noopener noreferrer"> ⁠</a><a href="http://colossus.com/subscribe%E2%81%A0" rel="noopener noreferrer">colossus.com/subscribe⁠</a>.
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This episode is brought to you by<a href="http://www.portraitanalytics.ai/" rel="noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Portrait Analytics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a> - your centralized resource for AI-powered idea generation, thesis monitoring, and personalized report building. Built by buy-side investors, for investment professionals. We work in the background, helping surface stock ideas and thesis signposts to help you monetize every insight. In short, we help you understand the story behind the stock chart, and get to "go, or no-go" 10x faster than before.
Sign-up for a free trial today at <a href="http://portraitresearch.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠portraitresearch.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a>
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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 <a href="https://colossus.com/#subscribe-popup?options=newsletter" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>.
-----
Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (<a href="https://thepodcastconsultant.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://thepodcastconsultant.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a>).
Timestamps
(00:00:00) Welcome to Business Breakdowns
(00:03:35) Auto1 Business Overview&nbsp;
(00:07:06) European Market &amp; C2B Model&nbsp;
(00:12:31) Founding Story &amp; Sequencing&nbsp;
(00:16:39) Why Cazoo Failed&nbsp;
(00:16:42) Cazoo vs. Auto1 Approach&nbsp;
(00:18:29) How a Transaction Works&nbsp;
(00:22:11) Dealer Buying Patterns&nbsp;
(00:25:49) Retail vs. Wholesale&nbsp;
(00:26:18) Consumer Financing &amp; ABS&nbsp;
(00:27:57) ABS Lowers Funding Costs&nbsp;
(00:28:16) Unit Economics by Segment&nbsp;
(00:32:37) Network Effects &amp; Data Moat&nbsp;
(00:37:35) Path to Margin Expansion&nbsp;
(00:42:23) Balance Sheet &amp; Working Capital&nbsp;
(00:44:40) Four Growth Levers&nbsp;
(00:48:27) Dealers: Customers Not Competitors&nbsp;
(00:53:17) Four Key Business Risks&nbsp;
(00:54:12) Inventory Risk &amp; Mitigants&nbsp;
(00:58:32) Valuation Framework &amp; Multiples&nbsp;
(01:03:14) Vertical Integration &amp; Capital Cycles

Auto1: EU-sed Car Marketplace - [Business Breakdowns, EP.246]

This is Matt Reustle. Today we are breaking down Duolingo, the learning app built on language learning that is increasingly expanding into other territories like math and music. Founder Luis von Ahn is constantly looking for ways to make this accessible and free to use for people all around the world while simultaneously finding reasonable ways to monetize and create a profitable, longer-term business. Duolingo has adjusted its business model over time to ensure that this can happen.My guest is Thaiha Nguyen from Baillie Gifford. You should assume that most of our guests own the businesses that they are covering on business breakdowns, but it's important to mention here that Thaiha works for Baillie Gifford's Positive Change Strategy. They invest not only for returns but also for the impact on society. Thaiha and I cover the fascinating founder story behind Duolingo, how Duolingo has succeeded in a largely offline market, how they've approached monetization, and how they plan to expand from here. Please enjoy this breakdown of Duolingo. Interested in hiring from the Colossus Community?<a href="https://joincolossus.com/recruiting"> Click here</a>.For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page <a href="https://joincolossus.com/episodes/63378406/nguyen-duolingo-free-speech">here.</a>-----This episode is brought to you by <a href="https://public.com/">Public</a>. A High-Yield Cash Account is a secondary brokerage account with Public Investing, member FINRA/SIPC. Funds from this account are automatically deposited into partner banks where they earn a variable interest and are eligible for FDIC insurance. Neither Public Investing nor any of its affiliates is a bank. US only. Learn more at <a href="http://public.com/disclosures/high-yield-account">public.com/disclosures/high-yield-account</a>. This episode is brought to you by<a href="https://www.tegus.com/free-trial?utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=investwiththebest&utm_campaign=tegus_investwiththebest"> Tegus</a>, 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<a href="https://www.tegus.com/free-trial?utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=investwiththebest&utm_campaign=tegus_investwiththebest"> tegus.com/patrick</a>.-----Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit<a href="https://www.joincolossus.com/episodes"> joincolossus.com/episodes</a>.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<a href="https://www.joincolossus.com/newsletter"> here</a>.Follow us on Twitter:<a href="https://twitter.com/JoinColossus"> @JoinColossus</a> |<a href="https://twitter.com/patrick_oshag"> @patrick_oshag</a> |<a href="https://twitter.com/zbfuss"> @zbfuss</a> |<a href="https://twitter.com/ReustleMatt"> @ReustleMatt</a> |<a href="https://twitter.com/domcooke"> @domcooke</a>Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (<a href="https://thepodcastconsultant.com/">https://thepodcastconsultant.com</a>). Show Notes(00:00:00) Welcome to Business Breakdowns(00:05:09) The Fascinating Founder Story of Duolingo(00:11:42) Exploring the Language Learning Market and Duolingo's Impact(00:25:26) The Evolution From Translation Service to EdTech Leader(00:28:04) How Duolingo Became a Freemium Giant(00:32:17) Understanding Duolingo's Diverse User Base(00:34:03) Why People Choose Paid Subscriptions Over Free Options(00:36:54) Duolingo's Certification and Assessment Business(00:39:57) Leveraging AI for Personalized Learning Experiences(00:43:06) Exploring Duolingo's Financial Health and Growth Strategy(00:46:37) The Future of Educational Offerings Beyond Language Learning(00:48:20) Duolingo in the Classroom(00:54:50) Navigating the Risks and Opportunities in EdTech(00:57:58) Key Lessons from Duolingo

This is Matt Reustle. Today we are breaking down Duolingo, the learning app built on language learning that is increasingly expanding into other territories like math and music. Founder Luis von Ahn is constantly looking for ways to make this accessible and free to use for people all around the world while simultaneously finding reasonable ways to monetize and create a profitable, longer-term business. Duolingo has adjusted its business model over time to ensure that this can happen. My guest is Thaiha Nguyen from Baillie Gifford. You should assume that most of our guests own the businesses that they are covering on business breakdowns, but it's important to mention here that Thaiha works for Baillie Gifford's Positive Change Strategy. They invest not only for returns but also for the impact on society. Thaiha and I cover the fascinating founder story behind Duolingo, how Duolingo has succeeded in a largely offline market, how they've approached monetization, and how they plan to expand from here. Please enjoy this breakdown of Duolingo. Interested in hiring from the Colossus Community? Click here. 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 Public. A High-Yield Cash Account is a secondary brokerage account with Public Investing, member FINRA/SIPC. Funds from this account are automatically deposited into partner banks where they earn a variable interest and are eligible for FDIC insurance. Neither Public Investing nor any of its affiliates is a bank. US only. Learn more at public.com/disclosures/high-yield-account. 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. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. 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: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt | @domcooke Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes (00:00:00) Welcome to Business Breakdowns (00:05:09) The Fascinating Founder Story of Duolingo (00:11:42) Exploring the Language Learning Market and Duolingo's Impact (00:25:26) The Evolution From Translation Service to EdTech Leader (00:28:04) How Duolingo Became a Freemium Giant (00:32:17) Understanding Duolingo's Diverse User Base (00:34:03) Why People Choose Paid Subscriptions Over Free Options (00:36:54) Duolingo's Certification and Assessment Business (00:39:57) Leveraging AI for Personalized Learning Experiences (00:43:06) Exploring Duolingo's Financial Health and Growth Strategy (00:46:37) The Future of Educational Offerings Beyond Language Learning (00:48:20) Duolingo in the Classroom (00:54:50) Navigating the Risks and Opportunities in EdTech (00:57:58) Key Lessons from Duolingo

This is Matt Reustle. Today we are breaking down Duolingo, the learning app built on language learning that is increasingly expanding into other territories like math and music. Founder Luis von Ahn is constantly looking for ways to make this accessible and free to use for people all around the world while simultaneously finding reasonable ways to monetize and create a profitable, longer-term business. Duolingo has adjusted its business model over time to ensure that this can happen.My guest is Thaiha Nguyen from Baillie Gifford. You should assume that most of our guests own the businesses that they are covering on business breakdowns, but it's important to mention here that Thaiha works for Baillie Gifford's Positive Change Strategy. They invest not only for returns but also for the impact on society.&nbsp;Thaiha and I cover the fascinating founder story behind Duolingo, how Duolingo has succeeded in a largely offline market, how they've approached monetization, and how they plan to expand from here. Please enjoy this breakdown of Duolingo. Interested in hiring from the Colossus Community?<a href="https://joincolossus.com/recruiting" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Click here</a>.For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page <a href="https://joincolossus.com/episodes/63378406/nguyen-duolingo-free-speech" rel="noopener noreferrer">here.</a>-----This episode is brought to you by <a href="https://public.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Public</a>. A High-Yield Cash Account is a secondary brokerage account with Public Investing, member FINRA/SIPC. Funds from this account are automatically deposited into partner banks where they earn a variable interest and are eligible for FDIC insurance. Neither Public Investing nor any of its affiliates is a bank. US only. Learn more at&nbsp;<a href="http://public.com/disclosures/high-yield-account" rel="noopener noreferrer">public.com/disclosures/high-yield-account</a>. This episode is brought to you by<a href="https://www.tegus.com/free-trial?utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=investwiththebest&amp;utm_campaign=tegus_investwiththebest" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Tegus</a>, 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<a href="https://www.tegus.com/free-trial?utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=investwiththebest&amp;utm_campaign=tegus_investwiththebest" rel="noopener noreferrer"> tegus.com/patrick</a>.-----Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit<a href="https://www.joincolossus.com/episodes" rel="noopener noreferrer"> joincolossus.com/episodes</a>.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<a href="https://www.joincolossus.com/newsletter" rel="noopener noreferrer"> here</a>.Follow us on Twitter:<a href="https://twitter.com/JoinColossus" rel="noopener noreferrer"> @JoinColossus</a> |<a href="https://twitter.com/patrick_oshag" rel="noopener noreferrer"> @patrick_oshag</a> |<a href="https://twitter.com/zbfuss" rel="noopener noreferrer"> @zbfuss</a> |<a href="https://twitter.com/ReustleMatt" rel="noopener noreferrer"> @ReustleMatt</a> |<a href="https://twitter.com/domcooke" rel="noopener noreferrer"> @domcooke</a>Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (<a href="https://thepodcastconsultant.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://thepodcastconsultant.com</a>). Show Notes(00:00:00) Welcome to Business Breakdowns(00:05:09) The Fascinating Founder Story of Duolingo(00:11:42) Exploring the Language Learning Market and Duolingo's Impact(00:25:26) The Evolution From Translation Service to EdTech Leader(00:28:04) How Duolingo Became a Freemium Giant(00:32:17) Understanding Duolingo's Diverse User Base(00:34:03) Why People Choose Paid Subscriptions Over Free Options(00:36:54) Duolingo's Certification and Assessment Business(00:39:57) Leveraging AI for Personalized Learning Experiences(00:43:06) Exploring Duolingo's Financial Health and Growth Strategy(00:46:37) The Future of Educational Offerings Beyond Language Learning(00:48:20) Duolingo in the Classroom(00:54:50) Navigating the Risks and Opportunities in EdTech(00:57:58) Key Lessons from Duolingo

Duolingo: Free Speech - [Business Breakdowns, EP.157]

This is Matt Reustle. Today we venture into the world of HVAC to break down Trane Technologies. Now, it's not often that I come across an industrial company with a $50 billion market cap that I just hadn't heard of. So when our guest today, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-larson-cfa-82a7958a/">Brett Larson</a>, investor at NZS Capital, suggested Trane, it was as easy of a 'yes' as they come.Brett and I cover the long corporate history of Trane, the dynamics that separate residential HVAC from commercial HVAC, and how Trane has helped create this unique consolidated industry. You may never look at your thermostat the same after this episode. Please enjoy this breakdown of Trane Technologies. -----This episode is brought to you by<a href="https://www.tegus.com/free-trial?utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=investwiththebest&utm_campaign=tegus_investwiththebest"> Tegus,</a> the modern research platform for leading investors. Stretch your research budget with flexible expert calls you can trust. At a fraction of the cost of traditional expert networks, Tegus customers pay only what an expert charges – with zero markups and no confusing call credits – netting an average 70% savings. Don’t want to conduct a full hour call? Tegus offers the ability to schedule 30-minutes, an offer you won’t find anywhere else. And they don’t stop there. With white-glove custom sourcing for every project and robust compliance measures, including a dedicated 50+ analyst team that vets every call transcript, Tegus ensures your privacy and protection. As the industry innovator for qualitative insights, Tegus helps you find the right experts you need at a quality and speed that can’t be matched. For a limited time, as a listener, you can trial Tegus for free by visiting<a href="https://www.tegus.com/free-trial?utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=investwiththebest&utm_campaign=tegus_investwiththebest"> tegus.co/patrick</a>.----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit<a href="https://www.joincolossus.com/episodes"> joincolossus.com/episodes</a>.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<a href="https://www.joincolossus.com/newsletter"> here</a>.Follow us on Twitter:<a href="https://twitter.com/JoinColossus"> @JoinColossus</a> |<a href="https://twitter.com/patrick_oshag"> @patrick_oshag</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/zbfuss"> @zbfuss</a> |<a href="https://twitter.com/ReustleMatt"> @ReustleMatt</a> |<a href="https://twitter.com/domcooke"> @domcooke</a>Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (<a href="https://thepodcastconsultant.com/">https://thepodcastconsultant.com</a>). Show Notes:(00:00:00) Welcome to Business Breakdowns(00:01:59) Brett tells us what<a href="https://www.trane.com/index.html"> Trane</a> is (00:02:34) The companies corporate history and how it became Trane(00:04:05) Overall size of the commercial market (00:05:18) He explains the go to market sales strategy (00:09:20) An additional breakdown of business cost(00:10:55) Revenue received from Trane software(00:14:53) Trane’s market share in the residential space(00:15:52) Differentiated products available on the commercial side(00:17:17) Included commercial software components(00:19:15) Average life cycle for commercial units  (00:21:19) Demand on commercial and residential sides of the market(00:25:31) The cyclicality of the business and how revenue has trended over time   (00:27:35) A look at share gains and industry consolidation over recent years(00:31:09) How the management team is viewed by the industry(00:34:46) Key contributions from MNA and future consolidation    (00:37:02) Data center demand for HVAC units(00:39:40) Transport refrigerators key role in the industry market  (00:41:02) Risks associated with the business(00:43:30) What he’s learned from studying Trane

This is Matt Reustle. Today we venture into the world of HVAC to break down Trane Technologies. Now, it's not often that I come across an industrial company with a $50 billion market cap that I just hadn't heard of. So when our guest today, Brett Larson, investor at NZS Capital, suggested Trane, it was as easy of a 'yes' as they come. Brett and I cover the long corporate history of Trane, the dynamics that separate residential HVAC from commercial HVAC, and how Trane has helped create this unique consolidated industry. You may never look at your thermostat the same after this episode. Please enjoy this breakdown of Trane Technologies. ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Stretch your research budget with flexible expert calls you can trust. At a fraction of the cost of traditional expert networks, Tegus customers pay only what an expert charges – with zero markups and no confusing call credits – netting an average 70% savings. Don’t want to conduct a full hour call? Tegus offers the ability to schedule 30-minutes, an offer you won’t find anywhere else. And they don’t stop there. With white-glove custom sourcing for every project and robust compliance measures, including a dedicated 50+ analyst team that vets every call transcript, Tegus ensures your privacy and protection. As the industry innovator for qualitative insights, Tegus helps you find the right experts you need at a quality and speed that can’t be matched. For a limited time, as a listener, you can trial Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. 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: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt | @domcooke Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Business Breakdowns (00:01:59) Brett tells us what Trane is (00:02:34) The companies corporate history and how it became Trane (00:04:05) Overall size of the commercial market (00:05:18) He explains the go to market sales strategy (00:09:20) An additional breakdown of business cost (00:10:55) Revenue received from Trane software (00:14:53) Trane’s market share in the residential space (00:15:52) Differentiated products available on the commercial side (00:17:17) Included commercial software components (00:19:15) Average life cycle for commercial units (00:21:19) Demand on commercial and residential sides of the market (00:25:31) The cyclicality of the business and how revenue has trended over time (00:27:35) A look at share gains and industry consolidation over recent years (00:31:09) How the management team is viewed by the industry (00:34:46) Key contributions from MNA and future consolidation (00:37:02) Data center demand for HVAC units (00:39:40) Transport refrigerators key role in the industry market (00:41:02) Risks associated with the business (00:43:30) What he’s learned from studying Trane

This is Matt Reustle. Today we venture into the world of HVAC to break down Trane Technologies. Now, it's not often that I come across an industrial company with a $50 billion market cap that I just hadn't heard of. So when our guest today, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-larson-cfa-82a7958a/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Brett Larson</a>, investor at NZS Capital, suggested Trane, it was as easy of a 'yes' as they come.Brett and I cover the long corporate history of Trane, the dynamics that separate residential HVAC from commercial HVAC, and how Trane has helped create this unique consolidated industry.&nbsp;You may never look at your thermostat the same after this episode.&nbsp;Please enjoy this breakdown of Trane Technologies. -----This episode is brought to you by<a href="https://www.tegus.com/free-trial?utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=investwiththebest&amp;utm_campaign=tegus_investwiththebest" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Tegus,</a> the modern research platform for leading investors. Stretch your research budget with flexible expert calls you can trust. At a fraction of the cost of traditional expert networks, Tegus customers pay only what an expert charges – with zero markups and no confusing call credits – netting an average 70% savings. Don’t want to conduct a full hour call? Tegus offers the ability to schedule 30-minutes, an offer you won’t find anywhere else. And they don’t stop there. With white-glove custom sourcing for every project and robust compliance measures, including a dedicated 50+ analyst team that vets every call transcript, Tegus ensures your privacy and protection. As the industry innovator for qualitative insights, Tegus helps you find the right experts you need at a quality and speed that can’t be matched. For a limited time, as a listener, you can trial Tegus for free by visiting<a href="https://www.tegus.com/free-trial?utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=investwiththebest&amp;utm_campaign=tegus_investwiththebest" rel="noopener noreferrer"> tegus.co/patrick</a>.----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit<a href="https://www.joincolossus.com/episodes" rel="noopener noreferrer"> joincolossus.com/episodes</a>.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<a href="https://www.joincolossus.com/newsletter" rel="noopener noreferrer"> here</a>.Follow us on Twitter:<a href="https://twitter.com/JoinColossus" rel="noopener noreferrer"> @JoinColossus</a> |<a href="https://twitter.com/patrick_oshag" rel="noopener noreferrer"> @patrick_oshag</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/zbfuss" rel="noopener noreferrer"> @zbfuss</a> |<a href="https://twitter.com/ReustleMatt" rel="noopener noreferrer"> @ReustleMatt</a> |<a href="https://twitter.com/domcooke" rel="noopener noreferrer"> @domcooke</a>Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (<a href="https://thepodcastconsultant.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://thepodcastconsultant.com</a>). Show Notes:(00:00:00) Welcome to Business Breakdowns(00:01:59) Brett tells us what<a href="https://www.trane.com/index.html" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Trane</a> is&nbsp;(00:02:34) The companies corporate history and how it became Trane(00:04:05) Overall size of the commercial market&nbsp;(00:05:18) He explains the go to market sales strategy&nbsp;(00:09:20) An additional breakdown of business cost(00:10:55) Revenue received from Trane software(00:14:53) Trane’s market share in the residential space(00:15:52) Differentiated products available on the commercial side(00:17:17) Included commercial software components(00:19:15) Average life cycle for commercial units&nbsp;&nbsp;(00:21:19) Demand on commercial and residential sides of the market(00:25:31) The cyclicality of the business and how revenue has trended over time&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(00:27:35) A look at share gains and industry consolidation over recent years(00:31:09) How the management team is viewed by the industry(00:34:46) Key contributions from MNA and future consolidation&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(00:37:02) Data center demand for HVAC units(00:39:40) Transport refrigerators key role in the industry market&nbsp;&nbsp;(00:41:02) Risks associated with the business(00:43:30) What he’s learned from studying Trane

Trane Technologies: Hot and Cold - [Business Breakdowns, EP.144]

Business Breakdowns is a series of conversations with investors and operators diving deep into a single business. For each business, we explore its history, its business model, its competitive advantages, and what makes it tick. Learn more and stay up to date at <a href="http://www.joincolossus.com">joincolossus.com</a>

Business Breakdowns is a series of conversations with investors and operators diving deep into a single business. For each business, we explore its history, its business model, its competitive advantages, and what makes it tick. Learn more and stay up to date at joincolossus.com

Business Breakdowns is a series of conversations with investors and operators diving deep into a single business. For each business, we explore its history, its business model, its competitive advantages, and what makes it tick. Learn more and stay up to date at <a href="http://www.joincolossus.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">joincolossus.com</a>

Welcome to Business Breakdowns

Learn how companies work from the people who know them best. Each episode dissects a single business - from its origins and model to its financials and competitive edge. Join hosts Matt Reustle and Zack Fuss as they uncover the lessons behind every success story. Learn more at www.joincolossus.com.

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