Podcast Notes Playlist: Business

• “Do one thing and do it better than anyone else.” – Todd Graves 
• A winning idea can work for decades: Don’t think that you need to have a new idea every six months to be successful
• Combine extreme patience with an extreme intolerance for slowness 
• If you love what you are doing, then you will never stop doing it – and therefore, you will never interrupt the compounding effects of your efforts 
• Make mistakes fast, but fix them even faster 
• Make your people feel appreciated; constantly communicate your appreciation for them 
• Corporate America makes financial decisions, not personal ones; this creates an opportunity for founder-led businesses that have more skin in the game 
• You should be in a rush to get to your last business: “I’m not really interested in your first business. I’m interested in your last business.” – David Senra 
• Lock in with a singular focus and do that thing better than anybody else; if you try to be all things for all people, then you are not anything to anybody 
• Do not listen to “experts”; listen to your gut and intuition 
• Limit the amount of details to perfect, then make every detail perfect 
• “Never ever give up, and be fanatical. You’ve got to be fanatical. Nothing ever happens unless someone pursues a vision fanatically.” – Todd Graves  

Todd Graves is one of my favorite living entrepreneurs. He's a great example of Charlie Munger's maxim: Find a simple idea and take it seriously. Todd wanted to create a quick service restaurant that only focused on quality chicken finger meals and nothing else. Everyone told him that couldn't possibly work. The college paper that described the idea that would turn into Raising Canes got the lowest grade in the class. Banks wouldn't loan him any money —but nothing could stop Todd from living out his "chicken finger dream." He worked 95 hour weeks as a boilermaker, risked his life on a commercial fishing boat off the coast of Alaska, and scrounged up startup money from his bookie and a guy named Wild Bill. Todd made every mistake in the book, over leveraged himself, almost lost everything and yet he refused to give up or sell out. Today he has over 800 locations, 50,000 employees, and owns 90% of a business that's worth at least $10 billion. Todd's maxim is "Do one thing and do it better than anyone else." 

Sources: 

Trading Secrets: Raising Cane’s founder Todd Graves reveals his path to building the wildly popular restaurant

Theo Von: Raising Cane’s Founder Todd Graves

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Ramp gives you everything you need to control spend, watch your costs, and optimize your financial operations —all on a single platform. Make history's greatest entrepreneurs proud by going to Ramp and learning how they can help your business control your costs and save more. 

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Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work.  Get access to Founders Notes here. 

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Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work.  Get access to Founders Notes here. 

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“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth

Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

• “I wanted to get involved in the campaign because I was so alarmed with what the Biden administration was doing with the debt and deficit.” – Scott Bessent 
  • The US was headed for a European-style economic malaise in which the rich get richer and the everyday person gets left behind 
  • The Biden administration’s economic policies were not only unfair to the everyday American but also unstable and damaging to the American dream 
• The key aspects of the American Dream: Home ownership, financial security, some level of comfort, Purpose in your work, The ability to support your family, and optionality so that you do not have to work multiple jobs to make ends meet

• In the post-World War II period, 90% of children ended up earning more than their parents; today, that figure is around 50% 

(0:00) Chamath and Friedberg describe their adventures in DC and welcome Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent!

(2:12) Scott's background, what drew him to equities, the role of macro investors

(7:22) The legendary trade that broke the Bank of England in 1992, and how it relates to Main Street vs Wall Street today

(21:30) Scott explains the Trump Administration's economic strategy

(32:45) How this administration plans to de-regulate the economy, Fed relationship, re-financing debt

(42:06) DOGE, DC grifts, shakeup at the IRS

(50:51) Re-engineering social security through the US SWF, how energy factors in

(1:00:02) Surprises, fixing affordability, thoughts on President Trump

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• At the heart, Donald Trump is a deal-maker and a fighter who constantly demands attention
• “Good publicity is preferable to bad, but from a bottom-line perspective, bad publicity is sometimes better than no publicity at all. Controversy, in short, sells. I’m not sure that’s a good thing – and in truth, it probably says something perverse about the culture that we live in. But I’m a businessman.” – Donald Trump 
• Do not be afraid of failure: Everything you want in life is on the other side of willing to be cringe 
• Trump views the world in terms of deals; he does not like the idea of defending another country without getting something in return 
• Every deal needs its thrill: Some say he won’t do a deal unless there is something “extra” to it, a moral larceny to it – he is not satisfied by only generating profits 
• Understanding his motivations helps make sense of his actions: he pursues things for the exposure those pursuits generate – the prestige, the credibility, the visibility, the recognition  
• “One thing I’ve learned about the press is that they’re always hungry for a good story, and the more sensational the better. It’s in the nature of the job, and I understand that.” – Donald Trump 
• The Art of the Deal: “I don’t do it for the money. I’ve got enough, much more than I’ll ever need. I do it to do it. Deals are my art form. Other people paint beautifully on canvas or write wonderful poetry. I like making deals, preferably big deals. That’s how I get my kicks.” – Donald Trump 

Donald Trump: real estate mogul, master marketer, and the most polarizing figure of our time. How did he go from a brash young developer in Manhattan to the most powerful man in the world? In this episode of How to Take Over the World, we break down the strategies, mindset, and raw ambition that fueled his rise.

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00:00 - Introduction: The Farce and Reality of Donald Trump

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• Check out the episode page

I’ve learned as much from reading biographies as from interviewing amazing people. That’s why we’re starting 'Lessons from Outliers.'

Every other week, we'll study an outlier who did remarkable work. From industrialists who reimagined commerce to the irreverent personalities who challenged the foundations of their fields, we'll explore what they did and how they did it. We can learn something from everyone.  

Whether you're building a business, leading a team, or trying to understand how great companies rise and fall, Timothy Eaton's story offers timeless lessons about innovation, trust, and the true price of success. You'll learn why even the mightiest empires can crumble when they forget the principles that built them and why success—no matter how massive—must be earned and re-earned daily. 

(01:55) Introduction

This podcast is for information purposes only and draws primarily from two excellent books: ‘The Eatons: The Rise and Fall of Canada's Royal Family’ by Rod McQueen, which chronicles the Eaton family history and the company’s journey from beginning to end, and ‘Timothy Eaton and the Rise of His Department Store’ by Joy L. Santiuk, which focuses on the founder’s life.

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• The best investors get excited during periods of extreme change 
• Key traits for being a successful investor: Be (1) wildly competitive and (2) incredibly curious
• Collaboration is key: Once an investment research team grows beyond 20 people, silos form and collaboration decreases  
• Design your organization in a way that encourages dialogue, debate, information sharing, and people to push one another 
• Traits of a Perfect Business
  • 1. Incredible leadership 
  • 2. Really strong unit economics 
  • 3. A solid moat around the business 
  • 4. Excellent value proposition to the customer 
  • 5. The ability to grow organically without investing meaningful capital 
  • 6. A huge runway for growth that can last for many years without being disrupted 
• The optimal portfolio should consist of several things that you are excited about and that have idiosyncratic drivers 
• Certain market backdrops are conducive for different investing styles: Certain investors play a different game from everyone else and there are certain investors who play the popular game best
• Hire self-aware and curious people who love to learn
  • Bonus points if they competed in sports at a high level; these people understand hard work, failure, disappointment, and achievement   
• Do not fall victim to paralysis by analysis: Recognize that there is always the opportunity to learn more, but know when you have enough information to make a decision 
• Investing is a pattern-matching business and the gap between winners and losers is widening 
• How to live a rewarding life: Figure out who in your life matters to you, figure out what matters to them, and then show up for them in all the ways that matter to them  

My guest today is Kelly Granat. Kelly is the Co-Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director at Lone Pine Capital, one of the most storied and successful hedge fund and investment firms of the last several decades. We explore how investing has evolved since Kelly joined the industry and she shares insights into Lone Pine maintaining its edge through deep fundamental research and a collaborative culture. We discuss what makes great businesses and great investments, how leadership can transform companies, and Kelly’s perspective on evaluating management teams and identifying opportunities around corporate change that the market often misprices. Please enjoy my conversation with Kelly Granat.

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• Best Michael Ovitz quotes: 
  • “Insecurity and ambition make a powerful cocktail.” 
  • “I didn’t want to be standard in any way.”
  • “I would have been much happier if I hadn’t been so determined to appear all-knowing and invulnerable.”
  • “Everyone stopped. I didn’t stop.” 
• Lew Wasserman’s five rules that created his Hollywood empire 
  • 1. Tend to the client 
  • 2. Dress appropriately 
  • 3. Never divulge information about the firm 
  • 4. Do your homework 
  • 5. Never leave the office without returning every single phone call 
• Michael Ovitz’s founding principle for CAA
  • 1. All founding members get even equity 
  • 2. Get big fast 
  • 3. Share all clients and serve them as a group; no turf wars and no silos 
  • 4. Tell the truth 
  • 5. Create opportunities instead of waiting around for them 
• Belief comes before ability: “I believe that nobody wants to be treated just as they are. People want to feel encouraged to become more than what they are, to become the best versions of themselves.” 
• CAA poached talent by assumption: The firm behaved as if the talent was already their client, then made their dreams happen before ever even signing them

• Do the job before you are hired

At the core of Michael Ovitz's success is his relentless work ethic and commitment to mastering his craft. 50 years ago he founded Creative Artists Agency. CAA starts out as just five young guys in a run down office and eventually becomes the most powerful agency in the world. Ovitz's autobiography explains how that happened. As the Wall Street Journal wrote: When the history of Hollywood is written, few people will have played a larger role than Michael Ovitz. 

This episode is what I learned from reading (for the 2nd time!) Who Is Michael Ovitz?: The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of the Most Powerful Man in Hollywood by Michael Ovitz. 

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Ramp gives you everything you need to control spend, watch your costs, and optimize your financial operations —all on a single platform. Make history's greatest entrepreneurs proud by going to Ramp and learning how they can help your business control your costs and save more. 

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Vesto: All of your company's financial accounts in one view. Connect and control all of your business bank accounts from one dashboard. Go to Vesto and schedule a demo with the founder Ben. Tell him David sent you. 

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Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work.  Get access to Founders Notes here. 

----

Join my free email newsletter to get my top 10 highlights from every book

----

Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work.  Get access to Founders Notes here. 

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“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth

Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

• “Gold, on some level, is a hedge – an insurance policy – against the existing system, as it has been allowed to evolve over the last 50 years.” – Luke Gromen 
• Gold serves as an anchor to reality: Establishment powers do not want gold to come back into the system because it is easier to run fiscal deficits without it 
• Throughout history, the first thing that autocrats tend to do once they seize power is remove the convertibility of their currency to gold
  • You are a free person as long as you can convert your currency into gold, but when you can no longer do that, your vote does not matter 
• “Permit me to issue and control the money of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws.” – Mayer Amschel Rothschild 
  • Throughout history, the first thing that autocrats tend to do once they seize power is remove the convertibility of their currency to gold 
• “It has become clear that the status quo dollar system has become an acute national security threat to the United States on two fronts.” – Luke Gromen
  • The US cannot make weapons fast enough to credibly defend itself or its allies 
  • The debt has gotten so high that it has become its threat to national security
  • Dollar Dutch Disease has weakened America and hurt the everyday American  
• The US borrows money from China to build weapons (which require Chinese components) to face China  – this is not a great geopolitical strategy considering China is the biggest adversary of the United States 
• The debt creates the problem: Introducing deflationary forces, such as an AI productivity boom or an energy breakthrough, to a debt-based system can cause it to implode  
• JD Vance has specifically said that the dollar’s reserve currency status may not be a good thing for the United States
• “At some point, Bitcoin might compete with [gold], but that’s far down the road.” – Luke Gromen  

More gold is being shipped quietly between countries right now than at any time in history. Why? Because we’re getting a new global financial system. Luke Gromen explains.

(00:00) Gold Is Still Critical to Our Economy

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• Identify and invest in outliers: The best venture capital investors recognize outlier potential when they see it and have a curiosity to discover what makes the outlier tick and WHY they tick that way 
• On being a VC or a founder: Inherent builders should be in the field – they should be building companies, not coaching other builders 
• Debug problems as far upstream as possible; take the rocks out of the river so the water can flow as fast as possible  
• Black magic is reserved for founders; every other area of the company-building process is mere mortal stuff 
• Stewardship over ownership: The goal is to leave your creation in a better place for the next generation 
• It is okay to choose the parallel tracked path of banking or consulting, and it is okay to take risks, but it is not okay to do one and spend your life thinking you did the other 
• The most common mistake that investors make is doing something contrary to the best interests of the founder 
• Traits of the best investment memos:
  • (1) Clearly state the one or two strongest reasons to invest
  • (2) Two to three pages max
  • (3) Present clear data from the opposing side
  • (4) argue why the investment should happen despite the opposing data
• Success starts at the foundational layer: Great culture is downstream of getting the foundation right and fostering internal belief, which is all a firm needs to be successful 
• Performance is the cultural component that matters most

Welcome to this classic episode. Classics are my favorite episodes from the past 10 years published once a month. These are N of one conversations with N of one people. There's nobody I've met quite like Doug Leone.

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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. 

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

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Show Notes

• Check out the episode page

Satya Nadella on:

Why he doesn’t believe in AGI but does believe in 10% economic growth;

Microsoft’s new topological qubit breakthrough and gaming world models;

Whether Office commoditizes LLMs or the other way around.

Watch on Youtube; listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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Timestamps

(0:00:00) - Intro

(0:05:04) - AI won't be winner-take-all

(0:15:18) - World economy growing by 10%

(0:21:39) - Decreasing price of intelligence

(0:30:19) - Quantum breakthrough

(0:42:51) - How Muse will change gaming

(0:49:51) - Legal barriers to AI

(0:55:46) - Getting AGI safety right

(1:04:59) - 34 years at Microsoft

(1:10:46) - Does Satya Nadella believe in AGI?

• World-class founders are the scarce resource: Every investor is chasing after the 5-10-15 founders a year that have a non-zero probability of rearranging the planet to their will
• You either have a superpower, or you don’t; you need to be in the top 1% on some dimension or you have no chance of creating the next Nvidia 
• Identify a crack in the world where things are volatile or in transition, and build solutions that address those opportunistic gaps  
• How to attract talent: Embrace and foster strong cultural principles that can differentiate your company from other companies – and be sure that those principles are authentic 
• The framework for understanding when to promote comes down to whether an employee’s growth rate is outpacing the growth of the company  
• Knowing how much capital to raise: Identify the two or three inflection points that will make the startup successful, then work backward from those and calculate the capital needed to reach each of them 
• The biggest mistake that founders make is that they don’t do reference checks on investors 
• Most MBA-esque wisdom is bad: People default to hiring because they want to manage people; new teams get created but nothing new gets done – this creates complacency and makes it challenging to tell the good employees from the bad ones
• The job of the CEO is to clarify and simplify the company’s initiatives, then strategically allocate resources against those goals – all done in the interest of ensuring a consistent voice 
• It is the CEO’s responsibility to disseminate as much high-signal information as possible so that everybody has the same context; doing this increases the probability that more people will naturally arrive at the correct decision 
• Making the decision and deciding that you are going to be successful is more important than the option value of waiting 
• Focus on inputs not outputs: People within your organization won’t take sufficient risks if the perception is that results are the only thing that matters 
• Challenge yourself: “You either want to write something worth reading, or do something worth writing about.” – Ben Franklin 

Keith Rabois is a Managing Partner at Khosla Ventures and the CEO of OpenStore, which acquires small direct-to-consumer businesses. Keith co-founded Opendoor and led the first institutional investments in DoorDash and Affirm. He has early stakes in YouTube, Palantir, Lyft, Airbnb, Eventbrite, and Wish, and also led investments in Faire, Ramp, Trade Republic, and Stripe. He’s regarded as one of the greatest early stage investors.

Keith began his career in the industry as a senior executive at PayPal and subsequently served in influential roles at LinkedIn and as chief operating officer of Square. As a board member, Keith guided Yelp and Xoom from inception to IPO, and served on the board of Reddit from 2012-2018.

0:00 - Intro1:56 - Great Founders and the Bottleneck to Innovation4:35 - Vertical Integration6:24 - The Hollywood Model of Startups7:41 - The “Why Now?” in Company-Building9:50 - Multi-Product Companies10:58 - Iteration and Pivots12:52 - Picking Co-Founders14:51 - Identifying Mispriced Talent17:20 - Attracting Talent20:57 - Assessing Talent24:02 - Doing References25:56 - Closing Hires28:28 - Thinking 6 Months Ahead31:36 - How Long Should You Interview For?33:28 - Creating a Monopoly on Talent35:44 - Raising Capital37:40 - Screening Investors41:21 - Building a Board44:11 - Triaging and Identifying Problems47:59 - Writing vs Editing and Consistent Voice49:34 - Creating Transparency50:50 - Barrels and Ammunition54:55 - Task-Relevant Maturity56:40 - On Delegating59:21 - Measuring Inputs vs Outputs1:02:58 - Underrated Metrics

1:05:22 - What Should More People Be Thinking About?

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