Today my guest is John Kim. John is one of the world's top and most prolific fundraisers. 

He was chief client officer at General Catalyst, where he helped raise many of the firm's flagship funds. He is now chairman and president of corporate development at Lila Sciences, a company building scientific superintelligence, where he has helped raise several hundred million dollars. 

He is also the author of The Tao of Fundraising. 

This conversation is really a guide on how to raise money from someone who has done it at the highest level. We talk about why persuasion equals desire minus fear, the difference between belief and trust, the laws of fundraising, and how to build the consensus that moves big pools of capital. 

Please enjoy my conversation with John Kim.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, 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.

-----

⁠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.

-----

Trusted by thousands of businesses, ⁠Vanta⁠ continuously monitors your security posture and streamlines audits so you can win enterprise deals and build customer trust without the traditional overhead. Invest Like the Best listeners get a special offer of $1,000 off Vanta when you go to ⁠vanta.com/invest⁠. 

-----

WorkOS⁠ is the infrastructure B2B and AI-native companies use to sell to enterprise. It covers everything enterprise security requires: SSO, SCIM, RBAC, Audit Logs, AI governance, and more. Trusted by 2,000+ fast-growing companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Cursor, and Vercel.

-----

Rogo is the AI platform for finance. They're building agents for Wall Street that are trained to understand how bankers and investors actually do work: from diligence and modeling, to turning analysis into deliverables. To learn more, visit rogo.ai/invest.

-----

⁠Ridgeline⁠ has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Visit⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ridgeline.ai⁠.

-----

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.

Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like The Best

(00:02:02) Introduction of John Kim

(00:02:39) Money Moves at the Speed of Trust

(00:05:06) How to Start a Fundraising Campaign

(00:08:03) Persuasion Equals Desire Minus Fear

(00:12:20) How to Raise a Few Billion Dollars

(00:15:58) The Benchmark Story

(00:18:36) The Law of Differentiation

(00:24:13) Law of Tradeoffs and Law of Pipeline

(00:27:52) The Karpman Drama Triangle

(00:30:42) Oprah Winfrey

(00:33:49) Most Common Fundraising Mistakes

(00:38:35) Secretary of State

(00:45:40) The Inner Game

(00:47:38) The Kindest Thing

My guest today is Jeremy Giffon.  Jeremy has been on the show before as one of our most popular guests, and this conversation is every bit as enjoyable as the first.

Over the last 18 months, Jeremy has had hundreds of conversations with founders and with the capital behind their companies. I don't know many investors with such a high rep count in the most interesting corners of private markets, so I asked him what he has learned.

We talk about what those lessons mean for founders and investors, why everyone has become subservient to the poster class, the hidden intellectual history behind Silicon Valley and much more.

Please enjoy my conversation with my friend, Jeremy Giffon.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, 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.

-----

⁠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.

-----

Trusted by thousands of businesses, ⁠Vanta⁠ continuously monitors your security posture and streamlines audits so you can win enterprise deals and build customer trust without the traditional overhead. Invest Like the Best listeners get a special offer of $1,000 off Vanta when you go to ⁠vanta.com/invest⁠. 

-----

WorkOS⁠ is the infrastructure B2B and AI-native companies use to sell to enterprise. It covers everything enterprise security requires: SSO, SCIM, RBAC, Audit Logs, AI governance, and more. Trusted by 2,000+ fast-growing companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Cursor, and Vercel.

-----

Rogo is the AI platform for finance. They're building agents for Wall Street that are trained to understand how bankers and investors actually do work: from diligence and modeling, to turning analysis into deliverables. To learn more, visit rogo.ai/invest.

-----

⁠Ridgeline⁠ has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Visit⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ridgeline.ai⁠.

-----

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.

Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like The Best

(00:02:02) Jeremy Giffon

(00:02:34) Lessons from 18 Months of Founder Conversations

(00:07:01) The Billion-Dollar PDF

(00:08:13) The Unifeed & Rise of the Timeline

(00:17:02) Power Law & Breakout Content

(00:18:48) AI Algorithms Driving Content

(00:20:38) Timeline-Native White House

(00:21:09) Traits of Great Posters

(00:25:27) Peak Guy & the Billionaire Priest Class

(00:32:13) Billionaires Now Defer to Posters

(00:34:52) Freedom vs. Relevance

(00:38:53) AI & White-Collar Job Displacement

(00:40:53) Stewarding Your Gifts as Moral Duty

(00:43:18) Next Wave of Finance: Equity-First Firms

(00:53:26) East Coast vs. West Coast Finance

(00:55:34) Beating the Market Is Not That Hard

(01:00:40) SPV Feudalism & Allocation

(01:02:10) Egregious SPV Fee Structures

(01:04:50) Simplicity vs. Complexity in Investing

(01:07:15) Hiring: Attracting Differentiated Talent

(01:11:00) Silicon Valley's Hidden Intellectual Traditions

My guests today are Gavin Uberti and Rob Wachen, the founders of Etched. 

A few years ago, when they set out to build a better AI chip than the largest companies in the world, almost everyone I called told me it could not be done. They have since done it, taping out a working chip on their first attempt and becoming the first hardware company founded after ChatGPT to do so.

They already have more than a billion dollars of customer demand for their first product, and have raised eight hundred million dollars to build it. 

Etched builds chips and systems designed to run AI models faster and at lower cost. They started the company in 2023, and that product is a complete rack for inference, the chip along with the boards, the power delivery, the interconnects, and the manufacturing to produce it all.

We talk about the technical bets behind their architecture, how they hired industry legends and paired them with elite 22 year-olds, and why they believe inference will become one of the largest markets in the world.

I think you will find the story of what they have built hard to forget.

Please enjoy my conversation with Gavin and Rob.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, 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.

-----

⁠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.

-----

Trusted by thousands of businesses, ⁠Vanta⁠ continuously monitors your security posture and streamlines audits so you can win enterprise deals and build customer trust without the traditional overhead. Invest Like the Best listeners get a special offer of $1,000 off Vanta when you go to ⁠vanta.com/invest⁠. 

-----

WorkOS⁠ is the infrastructure B2B and AI-native companies use to sell to enterprise. It covers everything enterprise security requires: SSO, SCIM, RBAC, Audit Logs, AI governance, and more. Trusted by 2,000+ fast-growing companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Cursor, and Vercel.

-----

Rogo is the AI platform for finance. They're building agents for Wall Street that are trained to understand how bankers and investors actually do work: from diligence and modeling, to turning analysis into deliverables. To learn more, visit rogo.ai/invest.

-----

⁠Ridgeline⁠ has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Visit⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ridgelineapps.com⁠.

-----

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.

Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like The Best

(00:02:07) Gavin Uberti and Rob Wachen

(00:03:54) Two 21-Year-Olds Taking on NVIDIA

(00:07:52) The Two Technical Bets Behind Their Architecture

(00:14:15) Why Inference Becomes the Biggest Market

(00:20:23) Rob and Gavin's Origins Stories

(00:28:38) How They Recruit Industry Legends

(00:36:30) Moving a Dozen Engineers to Bangalore for Six Months

(00:38:01) Speed Wins

(00:43:58) Getting More Concurrency Out of Every Megawatt

(00:52:44) Vertical Integration

(00:57:43) Hardest Obstacles to Overcome

(01:01:09) Raising The Largest AI Chip Series A Ever

(01:06:29) TSMC

(01:13:20) Designing Gen 2 for Gigawatt-Scale Production

(01:16:42) Why Machines Don't Think Like People

(01:20:03) A Year of Compute Compressed Into a Month

(01:23:44) The Trillion-Dollar Data Center

(01:26:19) The Kindest Thing

My guest today is Vlad Barbalat, the Chief Investment Officer of Liberty Mutual Investments, the $120 billion investment platform that sits within one of the largest insurance companies in the world. 

Vlad grew up in Soviet Moldova, came to America in 1990, and built a career that eventually led him to one of the most distinctive capital allocator seats anywhere in finance. 

Today we talk about how the mutual insurance structure creates a unique investment platform, what Liberty looks for in a new deal or partner, and what it means to build a career and a life in a country that gave you opportunities you never would have had anywhere else. 

Please enjoy my conversation with Vlad Barbalat.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, 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.

-----

⁠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.

-----

Trusted by thousands of businesses, ⁠Vanta⁠ continuously monitors your security posture and streamlines audits so you can win enterprise deals and build customer trust without the traditional overhead. Invest Like the Best listeners get a special offer of $1,000 off Vanta when you go to ⁠vanta.com/invest⁠. 

-----

WorkOS⁠ is the infrastructure B2B and AI-native companies use to sell to enterprise. It covers everything enterprise security requires: SSO, SCIM, RBAC, Audit Logs, AI governance, and more. Trusted by 2,000+ fast-growing companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Cursor, and Vercel.

-----

Rogo is the AI platform for finance. They're building agents for Wall Street that are trained to understand how bankers and investors actually do work: from diligence and modeling, to turning analysis into deliverables. To learn more, visit rogo.ai/invest.

-----

⁠Ridgeline⁠ has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Visit⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ridgeline.ai⁠.

-----

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like The Best

(00:00:53) Vlad Barbalat

(00:01:28) The Most Interesting Seat in the Market

(00:05:53) Breaking Down the $120B

(00:10:41) How the Portfolio Is Constructed

(00:11:00) The House View

(00:13:49) What Liberty Looks for in a GP

(00:16:32) Why Not Just Buy Bonds

(00:18:30) Benefits of the Mutual Structure

(00:23:40) The Luxury of the American Citizen Through Immigrant Eyes

(00:30:26) How Immigration Shaped His Worldview

(00:32:45) Direct Deals vs. GP Allocations

(00:35:23) Branded Capital

(00:39:07) Geopolitics & Investing

(00:43:48) AI's Impact on Investing

(00:46:22) The Valuation Debate

(00:50:47) Public vs. Private Markets

(00:53:53) Lessons from Goldman

(00:54:41) Why Excellence Matters

(00:57:30) Managing Permanent Capital

(01:03:54) The Kindest Thing 

My guest today is Kareem Amin, co-founder and CEO of Clay. Clay has become one of the fastest-growing software companies of the last few years, valued at over four billion dollars. It helps companies find their best customers and reach them at scale.

But this conversation is about a lot more than Clay. Kareem is one of the most original thinkers I know. 

We talk about the statues he keeps at the center of how he runs Clay — truth, justice, and courage — and what those words demand of him in practice. We talk about risk, ambition, and what he learned about both on a ten-day silent meditation retreat. 

I've had a lot of conversations with Kareem over the years. This is one I'll remember. Please enjoy this unique conversation with Kareem Amin.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, 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.

-----

⁠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.

-----

Trusted by thousands of businesses, ⁠Vanta⁠ continuously monitors your security posture and streamlines audits so you can win enterprise deals and build customer trust without the traditional overhead. Invest Like the Best listeners get a special offer of $1,000 off Vanta when you go to ⁠vanta.com/invest⁠. 

-----

WorkOS⁠ is the infrastructure B2B and AI-native companies use to sell to enterprise. It covers everything enterprise security requires: SSO, SCIM, RBAC, Audit Logs, AI governance, and more. Trusted by 2,000+ fast-growing companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Cursor, and Vercel.

-----

Rogo is the AI platform for finance. They're building agents for Wall Street that are trained to understand how bankers and investors actually do work: from diligence and modeling, to turning analysis into deliverables. To learn more, visit rogo.ai/invest.

-----

⁠Ridgeline⁠ has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Visit⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ridgelineapps.com⁠.

-----

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

Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like The Best

(00:02:29) Kareem Amin

(00:03:07) Clay's Origin

(00:10:50) Truth, Courage and Justice

(00:16:09) Adulation

(00:18:28) Risk, Courage & Self-Respect

(00:21:14) Jony Ive & Steve Jobs

(00:21:42) Role of Introspection

(00:23:08) Lack to Wholeness

(00:27:27) The Day Five Insight

(00:29:57) Running a Startup Unusually

(00:34:41) Learning from Magicians

(00:36:27) Music's Role in Your Life

(00:39:38) Making People Feel Something New

(00:41:20) Vision in Company Building

(00:44:29) Wealth & What It's Taught You

(00:47:40) All Problems Are Communication Problems

(00:52:14) Death Doula & Scaling

(00:55:06) The Kindest Thing

My guest today is Alex Sacerdote, founder of Whale Rock Capital Management. 

Whale Rock is a technology focused investment firm that manages more than $17 billion across hedge fund, long only, and hybrid strategies. Over the past three years it has been one of the best performing hedge funds, compounding at roughly 44 percent a year.

Alex invests through a single lens that he has refined over twenty years. He looks for technology S-curves, durable competitive advantages, and underappreciated earnings power. 

This conversation is a tour through how he applies that framework right now. We start with his highest conviction position, which is Anthropic, and use it to work through the entire AI stack from chips to models to applications. 

Please enjoy my conversation with Alex Sacerdote.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, 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.

-----

⁠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.

-----

Trusted by thousands of businesses, ⁠Vanta⁠ continuously monitors your security posture and streamlines audits so you can win enterprise deals and build customer trust without the traditional overhead. Invest Like the Best listeners get a special offer of $1,000 off Vanta when you go to ⁠vanta.com/invest⁠. 

-----

WorkOS⁠ is the infrastructure B2B and AI-native companies use to sell to enterprise. It covers everything enterprise security requires: SSO, SCIM, RBAC, Audit Logs, AI governance, and more. Trusted by 2,000+ fast-growing companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Cursor, and Vercel.

-----

Rogo is the AI platform for finance. They're building agents for Wall Street that are trained to understand how bankers and investors actually do work: from diligence and modeling, to turning analysis into deliverables. To learn more, visit rogo.ai/invest.

-----

⁠Ridgeline⁠ has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Visit⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ridgelineapps.com⁠.

-----

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

Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like The Best

(00:02:29) Alex Sacerdote

(00:03:08) Anthropic: Highest Conviction Position

(00:13:23) Investing in Private Markets at Scale

(00:19:08) S-Curves: The Full Framework

(00:25:08) When to Buy Tech Companies

(00:30:20) Identifying the Leader from the Pack

(00:34:04) Anthropic & OpenAI's Competitive Moats

(00:37:31) AI's Threat to Enterprise Software

(00:43:18) Network Effects in the Agent Era

(00:44:22) The Hardware Renaissance: Chips & Infrastructure

(00:53:56) Why So Few Investors Get This Right

(00:55:36) Key Risks to the AI Bull Case

(00:57:47) The Application Layer

(00:59:40) How AI Is Changing Research at WhaleRock

(01:02:53) The Role of Investor Networks & Idea Sharing

(01:03:40) Building a Multi-Product Firm

(01:07:58) WhaleRock as a Learning Machine

(01:09:15) The Kindest Thing

My guest today is Dara Khosrowshahi, the CEO of Uber. Before Uber, Dara ran Expedia for thirteen years. We start with why he took this job in 2017, and a big part of that story is Daniel Ek, who told him that life is not about happiness, it is about impact.

We talk about what the chaos felt like on day one, and how his family leaving Iran when he was nine shaped the way he handles pressure today. 

We spend most of our time on autonomous vehicles and Uber's role as the demand aggregator in a world of physical AI. Dara explains why Uber is a supply-led company, what it will take to win, and why he expects many winners in AVs rather than one. 

We also discuss Uber's $10 billion in free cash flow, the push toward a single app for everything, and what he has learned from Allen & Co, Barry Diller and Reed Hastings.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, 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.

-----

⁠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.

-----

Trusted by thousands of businesses, ⁠Vanta⁠ continuously monitors your security posture and streamlines audits so you can win enterprise deals and build customer trust without the traditional overhead. Invest Like the Best listeners get a special offer of $1,000 off Vanta when you go to ⁠vanta.com/invest⁠. 

-----

WorkOS⁠ is the infrastructure B2B and AI-native companies use to sell to enterprise. It covers everything enterprise security requires: SSO, SCIM, RBAC, Audit Logs, AI governance, and more. Trusted by 2,000+ fast-growing companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Cursor, and Vercel.

-----

Rogo is the AI platform for finance. They're building agents for Wall Street that are trained to understand how bankers and investors actually do work: from diligence and modeling, to turning analysis into deliverables. To learn more, visit rogo.ai/invest.

-----

⁠Ridgeline⁠ has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Visit⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ridgelineapps.com⁠.

-----

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

Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like The Best

(00:02:29) Intro to Dara Khosrowshahi

(00:03:37) How Daniel Ek Convinced Dara to Take the Uber Job

(00:06:54) Bringing Order to Chaos

(00:09:20) Managing Stress as a Leader

(00:11:22) The Chip on His Shoulder

(00:12:53) Parenting Lessons

(00:17:01) Mandate for AI Adoption

(00:21:21) Uber's Role in Physical AI

(00:22:48) Winning the AV Demand Race

(00:27:41) Partnering vs. Competing with Waymo

(00:32:05) AV Success Unlocks New Markets

(00:35:09) Why Drones Haven't Arrived Yet

(00:36:27) Regional AV Rollout Differences

(00:37:35) Uber Eats International Winning Formula

(00:39:44) Key to Aggregating Supply Well

(00:44:34) Adding Hotels to Uber Platform

(00:50:46) Lessons in Marketing at Scale

(00:52:59) Apps vs. AI Agents in Seven Years

(00:54:08) What Dara Learned from Barry Diller

(00:56:52) What Dara Learned from Allen & Co

(01:00:09) Buybacks vs. Growth Investing

(01:04:17) Lessons from Reed Hastings

(01:05:49) The Kindest Thing

My guest today is Dan Loeb, the founder and CEO of Third Point. 

Dan started Third Point in 1995 with a few million dollars, and today the firm manages over 24 billion across equities, corporate and structured credit, venture, and insurance. 

He is best known for his activist work at companies like Sotheby's, Sony, and Yahoo, and for the public letters he has written to boards over the years.

What I find most interesting about Dan is how much his approach has evolved across thirty years. 

He came up as a credit and event-driven investor at Warburg Pincus and Jefferies, built Third Point, then layered in quality investing, thematic technology investing, and now a very large credit business that sits alongside the hedge fund.

We cover how he thinks about the AI stack and the companies inside it he believes matter most, the difference between good and bad governance, what FTX taught him about due diligence, the Sony and Sotheby's stories, and the power of writing.

Please enjoy my conversation with Dan Loeb.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, 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.

-----

⁠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.

-----

Trusted by thousands of businesses, ⁠Vanta⁠ continuously monitors your security posture and streamlines audits so you can win enterprise deals and build customer trust without the traditional overhead. Invest Like the Best listeners get a special offer of $1,000 off Vanta when you go to ⁠vanta.com/invest⁠. 

-----

WorkOS⁠ is the infrastructure B2B and AI-native companies use to sell to enterprise. It covers everything enterprise security requires: SSO, SCIM, RBAC, Audit Logs, AI governance, and more. Trusted by 2,000+ fast-growing companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Cursor, and Vercel.

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Rogo is the AI platform for finance. They're building agents for Wall Street that are trained to understand how bankers and investors actually do work: from diligence and modeling, to turning analysis into deliverables. To learn more, visit rogo.ai/invest.

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⁠Ridgeline⁠ has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Visit⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ridgelineapps.com⁠.

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

Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like The Best

(00:02:29) Dan Loeb

(00:03:21) Mental Models Information Overload

(00:06:50) Dan's Identity as an Investor

(00:11:24) The End of Classic Event-Driven Investing

(00:13:52) Evolving Strategy Over 30 Years

(00:17:48) Return Opportunities in Today's Market

(00:21:12) Sources of Alpha for Fundamental Investors

(00:22:10) Good vs. Bad Governance

(00:26:17) Writing as an Investing Tool

(00:27:29) The Sotheby's Story

(00:30:04) Activism Opportunities Today

(00:31:03) Third Point's Evolution to 60% Credit

(00:36:10) Dan as Sole Portfolio Manager

(00:38:09) Value Investor Perspective on Today's Market

(00:39:23) Investing Outside the US

(00:40:33) The Sony Activism Story

(00:43:59) Lessons from 30 Years of Investing

(00:46:26) Danaher and Operational Excellence

(00:48:48) Building the Insurance Liability Business

(00:51:19) The FTX Story

(00:53:07) Leading a Team Through Uncertainty

(00:54:29) Where Third Point Is Most Contrarian

(00:56:22) What Makes a Great Analyst Today

(00:58:12) The Next 10 Years

(01:00:24) The Kindest Thing

My guest today is Darren Farber, and this is his second appearance on the show.

Darren is a Managing Partner of Albion River, a defense-focused investment firm and he previously served as a special advisor to the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense.

We recorded this conversation in the middle of the Iranian contingency, and we spent most of our time on what winning actually means in a theater like Iran.

We discuss why magazine depth matters for the American industrial base, lessons from Ukraine, and what the rise of neo-prime defense companies will require from Congress.

Please enjoy my second conversation with Darren Farber.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, 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.

-----

⁠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.

-----

Trusted by thousands of businesses, ⁠Vanta⁠ continuously monitors your security posture and streamlines audits so you can win enterprise deals and build customer trust without the traditional overhead. Invest Like the Best listeners get a special offer of $1,000 off Vanta when you go to ⁠vanta.com/invest⁠. 

-----

WorkOS⁠ is the infrastructure B2B and AI-native companies use to sell to enterprise. It covers everything enterprise security requires: SSO, SCIM, RBAC, Audit Logs, AI governance, and more. Trusted by 2,000+ fast-growing companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Cursor, and Vercel.

-----

Rogo is the AI platform for finance. They're building agents for Wall Street that are trained to understand how bankers and investors actually do work: from diligence and modeling, to turning analysis into deliverables. To learn more, visit rogo.ai/invest.

-----

⁠Ridgeline⁠ has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Visit⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ridgelineapps.com⁠.

-----

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

Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like The Best

(00:02:29) Darren Farber Intro

(00:02:59) Defining What Winning Looks Like in Iran

(00:12:16) The Strait of Hormuz

(00:13:27) Eisenhower vs. Taylor: Two Military Doctrines Explained

(00:17:12) US Military Readiness vs. the Pentagon Era

(00:20:05) America's Magazine Depth

(00:21:36) China's Vulnerability

(00:25:28) Trading Freedom for Security

(00:27:31) Today's Industrial Base

(00:29:30) Lessons from the Ukraine War

(00:31:11) Impact of Iran Conflict on Taiwan Risk

(00:33:02) What Neo-Prime Defense Companies Need to Succeed

(00:39:53) Can We Win Without Full Regime Change in Iran?

(00:45:46) AI's Impact on Modern Warfare

My guest today is Gavin Baker, founding partner and CIO of Atreides Management, and this is our sixth conversation.

The central theme is watts and wafers, the two physical constraints that in Gavin's view will dictate the next phase of AI.

On power, he thinks the near-term shortage starts to ease in 2027 and 2028 as new sources of energy come online, and that orbital compute solves it in the long term.

On wafers, he explains what is different this time from the dotcom bubble and why TSMC’s capacity decisions may be the single most important variable to watch.

We also discuss Elon’s Terrafab, the disaggregation of GPUs, the role of new chip companies, and whether the economic value of AI will keep accruing to frontier models.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, 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.

-----

⁠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.

-----

Trusted by thousands of businesses, ⁠Vanta⁠ continuously monitors your security posture and streamlines audits so you can win enterprise deals and build customer trust without the traditional overhead. Invest Like the Best listeners get a special offer of $1,000 off Vanta when you go to ⁠vanta.com/invest⁠. 

-----

WorkOS⁠ is the infrastructure B2B and AI-native companies use to sell to enterprise. It covers everything enterprise security requires: SSO, SCIM, RBAC, Audit Logs, AI governance, and more. Trusted by 2,000+ fast-growing companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Cursor, and Vercel.

-----

Rogo is the AI platform for finance. They're building agents for Wall Street that are trained to understand how bankers and investors actually do work: from diligence and modeling, to turning analysis into deliverables. To learn more, visit rogo.ai/invest.

-----

⁠Ridgeline⁠ has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Visit⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ridgelineapps.com⁠.

-----

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

Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like The Best

(00:02:29) Gavin Baker Intro

(00:03:32) Anthropic's Record ARR Growth

(00:11:49) Should OpenAI and Anthropic Raise at a Much Higher Valuation?

(00:13:23) How Elon Preserves Investor Trust

(00:14:00) Watts & Wafers

(00:15:45) Data Centers in Space Explained

(00:20:51) Orbital Compute’s Impact on Terrestrial Data Centers

(00:26:24) TSMC Supply Discipline & Bubble Risk

(00:30:50) Demand for Frontier Tokens & The Bitter Lesson

(00:35:33) Continual Learning & Memory

(00:40:01) New Chip Companies & Startups

(00:42:49) Prefill vs. Decode Disaggregation

(00:48:40) AI-Native Founders: Different & Hard

(00:51:27) Token Path & Application Layer

(00:56:13) How Gavin Uses AI in Atreides

(01:00:06) Signs of a Diversity Breakdown

(01:05:42) Google, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft

(01:11:42) Broader Knock-On Effects of AI