Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy

Latest Episodes:

Matthew Ball - A Manual to The Metaverse - [Invest Like the Best, EP.286] Jul 19, 2022

Show notes

My guest today is Matthew Ball. Matt is an investor, the former head of strategy at Amazon studios, and one of the brightest minds in the media industry. Through his essays and now his book, which launches today, Matt has established himself as the foremost authority on the Metaverse, which has stormed into the public eye since I first had him on the show two years ago. The Metaverse is the focus of our discussion and I hope you enjoy this encyclopedic tour through all of its details as much as I did.

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

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This episode is brought to you by Canalyst. Canalyst is the leading destination for public company data and analysis. If you're a professional equity investor and haven't talked to Canalyst recently, you should give them a shout. Learn more and try Canalyst for yourself at canalyst.com/Patrick.

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Today's episode is brought to you by Brex. Brex is the integrated financial platform trusted by the world's most innovative entrepreneurs and fastest-growing companies. With Brex, you can move money fast for instant impact with high-limit corporate cards, payments, venture debt, and spend management software all in one place. Ready to accelerate your business? Learn more at brex.com/best.

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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, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Show Notes

[00:02:37] - [First question] - Which most represents the Metaverse: Minecraft, Ready Player One, Fortnite, or Facebook’s Horizon

[00:05:58] - Facebook trying to own the concept of the Metaverse by changing their name

[00:09:22] - Defining what the Metaverse is and a good working definition of it

[00:11:33] - The state of the engines behind 3D output and the history of them

[00:16:32] - The role IP played in bootstrapping the first Metaverses

[00:18:32] - Where the ability to create digital environments will lead, and what Unreal 7 could look like compared to Unreal 5 today

[00:21:03] - Natural limits of the Metaverse compared to real-world experiences

[00:24:16] - Other sensory inputs that will need to be improved for digital immersion

[00:26:59] - Why the initial excitement of trying something like Oculus wears off over time, both for casual gamers and those excited about this new frontier

[00:31:40] - Changes in technology and new projects that have him most excited that will empower the digital infrastructure for Metaverses

[00:37:14] - What interoperability means and why it has its own chapter in his book

[00:31:52] - How Roblox connects with Fortnite and how far down we need to go to build a bridge between digital worlds

[00:46:13] - What will drive commerce in the Metaverse and the possibility for a singular currency standard

[00:51:35] - Considering the demand for the Metaverse and whether or not it will be a constraint on adoption and success

[00:57:37] - What the modern equivalent of a lemonade stand will be in the Metaverse

[00:59:58] - The lower adoption rates for more participatory media consumption[01:03:19] - Potential pitfalls and the dark side of the metaverse

[01:06:14] - Who the categorical winners of the Metaverse might be

[01:14:15] - The top things he would suggest exploring to best understand the Metaverse

TransDigm: Foundations with Nick Howley [50X, EP.1] Jul 14, 2022

Show notes

Today we are dropping a special episode in the Invest Like the Best feed. You will hear the first episode of 50X – a new series from Will Thorndike and the team at Compounding Labs, in partnership with Colossus. Will’s book, The Outsiders, is one of the best business and investing books you will find. Now you will hear him continuing his work in the hosting chair as he looks in detail at investments that have appreciated at least 50-fold.

First up is TransDigm, an aerospace components manufacturer that has returned over 1,750X since its inception nearly three decades earlier. In this episode, Will is joined by Nick Howley, TransDigm’s long-time CEO and Chairman. Make sure to subscribe to 50X in your preferred podcast player.

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

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This episode is brought to you by Tegus. The team at Tegus has built a full company intelligence platform aimed at streamlining the investment research process. In preparation for the 50X series, we actively used Tegus to gain qualitative insights beyond traditional reported data. To learn more and enjoy a free trial, visit tegus.co/50x.

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50X is a podcast that dissects the anatomy of extraordinary long-term investments. The show is hosted by Will Thorndike and the team at Compounding Labs, and brought to you in partnership with Colossus.

In each episode of 50X, we look in detail at an investment that has appreciated at least 50-fold. From the seat of the professional investor and occasionally the CEO, we explore its origins, evolution, and eventual outcome, studying key themes around long-term value creation ranging from operations, capital allocation, and culture to pivotal buy and sell decisions. To enhance the quality and depth of our interviews, we rigorously study each asset in advance, diving into all available public and private resources.

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

Show Notes

[00:00:00] – 50X Introduction

[00:02:00] – Sponsorship: Tegus

[00:07:04] – Episode Introduction

[00:09:05] – Nick’s Background pre-TransDigm

[00:11:56] – Original Acquisition from Imo Industries in 1993

[00:15:33] – Thesis and Performance under Kelso & Co.’s Ownership

[00:18:42] – Genesis of Three Key Value Drivers: Price, Productivity, and New Business

[00:21:07] – Building the Management Team

[00:24:05] – Early Lessons on Value Drivers

[00:27:53] – Capital Allocation under Kelso & Co.

[00:28:51] – Sale to Odyssey Investment Partners in 1998

[00:30:26] – Strategy under Odyssey’s Ownership

[00:31:51] – Early Acquisitions and Integration Playbook

[00:37:26] – Early External Crises

[00:41:13] – Snapshot at Conclusion of Odyssey’s Ownership in 2003

[00:43:19] – Building a Decentralized Culture

[00:46:23] – Differentiated Approach to Compensation

[00:52:12] – Sale to Warburg Pincus in 2003

[00:55:51] – Shift to Inorganic Growth under Warburg’s Ownership

[00:58:08] – Evolution of M&A Process

[01:05:37] – Post-Acquisition Expectations and Post-Mortem Process

[01:09:48] – Divesting Acquired Assets to Maintain Focus

[01:11:29] – Embedding Value-Generative Culture via Hiring and Training

[01:13:54] – Quarterly Product Line Reviews

[01:20:43] – Recap of Private Investment Returns and Snapshot pre-IPO

Alice Bentinck - Building a Start-Up Machine - [Invest Like the Best, EP.285] Jul 12, 2022

Show notes

My guest today is Alice Bentinck, co-founder of Entrepreneur First. Entrepreneur First, or EF, invests pre-company by systematizing the way that talented individuals find co-founders, develop ideas, and scale into companies. They’re an incubator of teams and ideas on a mission to create impactful companies that, without their help, wouldn’t exist. I first spoke with Alice’s co-founder, Matt Clifford, over two years ago and have been fascinated with EF’s model of investing ever since. Please enjoy my conversation with Alice Bentinck.

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

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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.

Show Notes

[00:02:33] - [First question] - Overview of what Entrepreneur First is today

[00:05:57] - How she identifies the people to bring into each cohort and convince them to quit their job to join EF for eight weeks

[00:10:10] - Categories of the main types of people who join the EF program

[00:12:32] - What she’s learned about negative screening at the first stage of recruits

[00:14:07] - Positive signals she looks for in early admissions

[00:17:46] - What the program itself feels like as a participant

[00:21:29] - Reasons partners tend to fail and whether or not EF advises equity splits between founders

[00:24:49] - How important the idea is that the team will be working on

[00:28:04] - Exercises she enjoys doing with the new cohorts around social norms

[00:30:38] - How the experience looks physically in each city

[00:32:57] - Categories of data collected as the cohorts unfold and making investment decisions

[00:36:46] - Ways the companies mature after EF and what kinds of investors fund the next stage of their startups

[00:40:55] - Why aren’t there ten EF style initiatives or organizations

[00:44:26] - Motivations for the change in their holding company structure

[00:46:48] - The love of product and ideas she’s playing with right now

[00:51:49] - Cities she has her eye on that EF is not a participant in today and criteria that makes a city desirable for EF

[00:54:03] - A piece of software that EF could benefit from that doesn’t exist yet

[00:55:30] - The keys to her harmonious relationship with her co-founder Matt

[00:59:01] - National and international impediments that directly impact company building

[01:01:36] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for her

Jess Lee - Designing Investment Products - [Invest Like the Best, EP.284] Jul 05, 2022

Show notes

My guest today is Jess Lee. Jess is a partner at Sequoia Capital as well as their Chief Product Officer. Before becoming an investor, Jess co-founded fashion app, Polyvore, and was an early product manager for Google Maps. Most recently, she founded All Raise, a non-profit that is changing the gender balance in tech. Our discussion ranges from Burning Man to Marvel to Sequoia’s mobile app and I hope that Jess’s passion for delighting users rubs off on you. Please enjoy my conversation with Jess Lee.

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

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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.

Show Notes

[00:02:35] - [First question] - Why more investment firms don’t have a product mindset

[00:05:22] - How to approach building a productized version of capital

[00:08:00] - Ways Ampersand measures success and judging their own performance

[00:08:49] - Driving reasons that Sequoia wins deals beyond their brand name

[00:10:28] - How her work as CPO at Sequoia has changed her investing approach

[00:12:28] - Everything she’s learned about community and its relevance to business

[00:17:48] - What the gold standards are for studying strongly built communities

[00:19:42] - What it is about Comic-Con that works so well from a community standard

[00:21:18] - The role that scarcity plays in communities writ large

[00:23:10] - Product mindset and customer obsession

[00:24:33] - Knowing when it’s okay to begin expanding

[00:28:12] - Rates of change in her investment progress and dollars going to female founders

[00:29:36] - Systemic bias and what’s driving a lack of funds towards female founders

[00:32:26] - How she applies community building lessons to All Raise

[00:33:20] - The internal learning culture in Sequoia that others could adopt and benefit from

[00:37:01] - Which Marvel superheroes her Sequoia partners would be

[00:39:05] - Seeds of motivation for Arc and what it is

[00:44:31] - The best ways she’s seen companies manage and support human capital

[00:45:36] - Biggest mistakes made when managing human capital

[00:46:42] - What working on Google Maps taught her about product development

[00:48:42] - Someone she admires and has learned the most from in All Raise

[00:50:02] - Measuring success at Sequoia over the next ten years

[00:52:20] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for her

[00:53:42] - What it was that made the people who believed in her take a chance on her

[00:55:03] - Things in pop culture today that most has her attention

Kenneth Stanley - Greatness Without Goals - [Invest Like the Best, EP.283] Jun 28, 2022

Show notes

My guest today is Ken Stanley. Ken is a Professor in Computer Science and a pioneer in the field of neuroevolution. He is also the co-author of a book called, Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned, which details a provocative idea that setting big, audacious goals can reduce the odds of achieving something great. We discuss that revelation in detail and how to apply it in our day-to-day lives. Please enjoy this great discussion with Ken Stanley.

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

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This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus streamlines the investment research process so you can get up to speed and find answers to critical questions on companies faster and more efficiently. The Tegus platform surfaces the hard-to-get qualitative insights, gives instant access to critical public financial data through BamSEC, and helps you set up customized expert calls. It’s all done on a single, modern SaaS platform that offers 360-degree insight into any public or private company. As a listener, you can take Tegus for a free test drive by visiting tegus.co/patrick. And until 2023 every Tegus license comes with complimentary access to BamSec by Tegus.

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Today's episode is brought to you by Brex, the integrated financial platform trusted by the world's most innovative entrepreneurs and fastest-growing companies. With Brex, you can move money fast for instant impact with high-limit corporate cards, payments, venture debt, and spend management software all in one place. Ready to accelerate your business? Learn more at brex.com/best.

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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.

Show Notes

[00:02:36] - [First question] - The best way to change the world is to stop trying to change it

[00:06:26] - The kinds of goals his work addresses and the ones it doesn’t

[00:08:46] - Almost no prerequisite to any major invention was invented with that major invention in mind

[00:14:04] - Picbreeder

[00:17:21] - How looking for specific results often makes arriving at them a longer process

[00:24:00] - The importance of the individual in a web of invention and disruption

[00:28:30] - How generations progressed in Picbreeder when consensus mechanisms were inserted into the process

[00:31:24] - Examples of stepping stones that were invented that became something even greater

[00:36:02] - What his research means for how we should conduct ourselves writ large

[00:44:17] - Thoughts on necessity being the mother of all invention

[00:50:08] - The ways that society is arranged is psychologically toxic

[00:55:14] - The role that constraints play in creative output and outcomes in general; Brett Victor - Inventing on Principle

[01:01:10] - What the constraints are that he sets for himself in AI development

[01:04:44] - To know what’s new you need to know what’s not new

[01:06:47] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

[01:08:28] - How he would allocate resources to create more innovation in the world

Lydia Jett - Investing in E-commerce - [Invest Like the Best, EP.282] Jun 21, 2022

Show notes

My guest today is Lydia Jett, Managing Partner of SoftBank Investment Advisers. Lydia leads the team’s consumer, internet, and e-commerce investments and has worked with many of the most significant consumer platforms in the world, including as a board member of Coupang and Flipkart. We cover all aspects of e-commerce and explore Lydia’s evolution as an investor alongside Masa Son at SoftBank. Please enjoy my conversation with Lydia Jett.

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

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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.

Show Notes

[00:02:34] - [First question] - What curiosity thread she’s been pulling on thus far in her career

[00:05:17] - The biggest felt differences doing things one way for a decade and changing now

[00:07:08] - Learning about tailwinds and what the predominant ones are that exist today

[00:10:44] - Competitive frontiers that exist today in e-commerce

[00:12:14] - What drives companies that grow faster than their competitors

[00:13:15] - What areas the world’s most innovative e-commerce companies are focused on

[00:16:38] - Unique characteristics that they select for in ecommerce CEOs and founders

[00:19:03] - Upside down approaches to e-commerce that aren’t common in America yet

[00:23:05] - Lessons learned about business models that don’t work in e-commerce

[00:27:47] - What western investors should know about Coupang

[00:30:12] - Everything she’s learned about vertical integration

[00:33:01] - Everything she’s learned and cares about in regards to margins

[00:37:17] - The most extreme version of efficiency gain she’s seen deployed

[00:41:27] - The role the size of assets plays at SoftBank

[00:47:42] - Focusing on efficiency and smart allocation first before trying to scale

[00:50:33] - Companies as products that investors buy and defining what great looks like

[00:53:16] - The danger of premature optimization around a set of KPIs

[00:55:46] - How important the specific founder is for their given e-commerce company

[00:58:18] - Why e-commerce companies tend to start from a worse place than offline ones

[00:59:45] - Ways that she’s changed from working alongside Masayoshi Son for a year

[01:03:31] - Who comes most to mind as a great investor

[01:05:23] - The kindest thing that anyone has ever done for her

Josh Wolfe & Chris Power - Factories of the Future - [Invest Like the Best, EP.281] Jun 14, 2022

Show notes

My guests today are Josh Wolfe and Chris Power. Josh will be a familiar voice to many of you and is the co-founder and General Partner of Lux Capital. Chris is the founder and CEO of advanced manufacturing start-up, Hadrian. Most of our discussion centers on the need to modernize the factories that supply our space and defense industries. But given the current market environment, we also talk about capital conditions and the responsibility to build products that really matter. Please enjoy this conversation with Josh Wolfe and Chris Power.

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

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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.

Show Notes

[00:02:40] - [First question] - An overview of the precision manufacturing industry writ large

[00:08:28] - Why the manufacturing sector has so many great investment opportunities

[00:12:58] - Anduril Breakdown; What Hadrian in its final form will unlock for manufacturing

[00:16:08] - What the demand side looks like for manufacturers in its current state today

[00:18:29] - How the nature of demand will shift for this style of manufacturing in the future

[00:22:51] - Important rare earth materials, supply chain constraints, and the revival of commodities

[00:27:55] - The key set of jobs being done by mom and pop shops that could be innovated on and done within a Hadrian factory

[00:30:35] - What is going on inside of a Hadrian factory and how they will evolve over time

[00:32:10] - Prosecuting diligence on someone's ability to execute on their behalf

[00:37:14] - The PhD arrogance trap and how a Hadrian machine will be better in five years from now

[00:48:08] - Breadth of ability versus focus and selling parts to buyers early on

[00:50:42] - Lessons learned and advice for understanding the focus problem

[00:56:39] - Fat startup vs. lean startups and making the hardest irreversible decision during Hadrian’s early days

[00:58:31] - Enduring more schlep work than less being a good signal

[00:59:06] - Chris’ thoughts on the future of Hadrian and defining the exciting and scary edges of the spectrum of outcomes

[01:03:36] - Josh’s thoughts on the future of Hadrian and defining the exciting and scary edges of the spectrum of outcomes

[01:07:22] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for Chris

Martin Casado - The Past, Present, and Future of Digital Infrastructure - [Invest Like the Best, EP.280] Jun 07, 2022

Show notes

My guest today is Martin Casado. Martin is a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz where he focuses on digital infrastructure. Before joining a16z, Martin pioneered software-defined networking and co-founded Nicira, which was bought by VMware for $1.3 billion in 2012. Martin has studied, built, and invested in digital infrastructure his whole career and is the perfect person to discuss the most interesting aspects of the industry. Please enjoy this great conversation with Martin Casado.

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

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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.

Show Notes

[00:02:43] - [First question] - The state of the digital infrastructure industry today

[00:04:02] - The major stages and eras of cloud technology

[00:06:30] - Overview of Dropbox’s story and the two major trends at the time of its emergence

[00:10:12] - Lost margin and lost market cap from big users of the public cloud

[00:12:14] - Whether or not there is a headwind coming for public cloud providers

[00:17:33] - How entrepreneurs might go after the biggest public cloud providers

[00:19:37] - His view on API first companies and granular monetizable units in growing markets

[00:23:20] - Developer facing tools and what works well when going to market

[00:27:12] - The difference between a front-end and back-end developer and what is changing in their responsibilities

[00:28:45] - What he looks for as an investor when he’s processing a new API first company

[00:30:31] - Common redflags and disqualifying observations for an API first company

[00:36:35] - Frank Slootman Episode; Snowflake’s offering for their users, their explosive growth, and primitives in their sector

[00:39:06] - The history of digital security and potential opportunities as an investor

[00:40:19] - How digital infrastructure intersects with the real world and hardware world

[00:43:33] - How to screen out people for their potential to deliver transformative technology

[00:47:45] - Things he’s most intrigued about by cryptocurrencies as an infrastructure person

[00:52:49] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

Aswath Damodaran - Making Sense of the Market - [Invest Like the Best, EP. 279] May 31, 2022

Show notes

My guest today is Aswath Damodaran, a Professor of Finance at NYU’s Stern School of Business. Aswath is one of the clearest teachers of investing and finance in our industry and through his blog, books, and YouTube has open-sourced his wisdom for decades. This conversation is a masterclass of key investing concepts. We discuss inflation, narratives, disruption, the evolution of alpha and edge, and his thoughts on ESG. Please enjoy this great conversation with Aswath Damodaran.

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

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This episode is brought to you by Brex. Brex is the integrated financial platform trusted by the world's most innovative entrepreneurs and fastest-growing companies. With Brex, you can move money fast for instant impact with high-limit corporate cards, payments, venture debt, and spend management software all in one place. Ready to accelerate your business? Learn more at brex.com/best.

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

Show Notes

[00:02:43] - [First question] - How he thinks about inflation as a now dominant force

[00:04:33] - Why inflation is so important across the spectrum

[00:09:02] - Big lessons from other periods of historically high inflation writ large

[00:10:45] - Reasons why equities as an asset class struggle in high inflation environments

[00:15:21] - The relationship betweens goods versus services in times of high inflation

[00:16:59] - Broader economic implications especially for income inequality

[00:19:03] - The Fed taking inflation seriously now when they didn’t and thoughts on the policy response to today’s situation

[00:21:05] - How smart companies are defensively adjusting to inflation

[00:27:46] - The importance of a capital allocation skill-set for executive team members

[00:29:32] - Further historic lessons and how he’s being defensive against inflation

[00:33:09] - Lessons learned about Amazon valuing them every year since their inception

[00:42:25] - Whenever he sees Thanos in the Avengers he thinks of Amazon

[00:44:51] - Thoughts on Facebook, Apple and Microsoft

[00:48:26] - The evolution of edge and the search for alpha

[00:54:37] - Whether or not there’s utility in studying other investors

[00:57:16] - Skill versus luck and the most common valuation mistakes he’s made

[00:59:09] - Assuming long-term growth rates and changing company life cycles

[01:02:02] - Momentum and Value investing in today’s market

[01:07:24] - Differences between interest rates and discount rates in regards to inflation

[01:12:00] - How today’s market affects early stage equity investment

[01:14:36] - The growing popularity of ESG and his seemingly contrarian view on it

[01:24:03] - Nature of disruption as a force and companies that are protected from it

[01:28:24] - Assigning a disruption risk premium when valuing companies

[01:32:52] - What he makes of Elon Musk buying Twitter

[01:34:24] - Other major topics he has a divergent view on

[01:38:37] - Narrative And Numbers; The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

[01:38:55] - Teaching with a goal of changing mindsets

Anduril: Building the Future of Defense - [Business Breakdowns, EP. 59] May 26, 2022

Show notes

Today, we are running a special episode of Business Breakdowns. With geopolitics playing an increasingly important role in society again, this episode with Anduril’s CEO offers an inside look at the state of the defense industry and how it is changing. If you enjoy this episode, subscribe to Business Breakdowns on your preferred podcast player, where you’ll find past episodes on Block, Goldman Sachs, AutoZone and many others.

Today, we are breaking down Anduril. Anduril builds high tech defense systems for the US Department of Defense and its allies. Crucially, it does so with speed that emanates from Silicon Valley. Founded in 2017 by Palmer Luckey, who previously built and sold Oculus to Facebook, Anduril has achieved the rare feat of challenging the established order in the defense industry.

To break down Anduril, I’m joined by the company’s CEO and co-founder, Brian Schimpf. We discuss the history of the defense industry, how Anduril’s business is counter positioned against the legacy cost-plus model, and what Brian has learned about selling to the DoD. Please enjoy this breakdown of Anduril.

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

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This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the new digital hub for market intelligence. The Tegus platform empowers Investors and Corporate Development teams to invest smarter by pairing best-in-class technology with the highest quality user-generated content and data. Find out why a majority of the top firms are using Tegus on a daily basis. If you're ready to go deeper on any company and you appreciate the value of primary research, head to tegus.co/breakdowns for a free trial.

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This episode is brought to you by Daloopa. Daloopa streamlines a major pain point for investors. By capturing all of a company's KPIs and adjusted financials into their database - Daloopa makes it easy to quickly update your models for what matters. Daloopa uses AI to find every KPI disclosed - from charts, to text, and even from footnotes of investor presentations. Daloopa updates these KPIs and data points in your existing Excel models in one click, regardless of your source or format. Test Daloopa for free at daloopa.com/Patrick.

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Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Show Notes

[00:02:52] - [First question] - The history of defense technology and the technological and competitive landscape when he set out to build Anduril

[00:08:22] - What the early experience was like when approaching the government and finding an early adopter

[00:12:44] - Necessity being the mother of invention when it came to developing drones

[00:16:37] - What it’s like to develop hardware and software products at the same time

[00:24:44] - The state of military technology and military conflict today writ large

[00:31:10] - Are we heading to a future where warfare is mostly machine against machine?

[00:33:34] - Comparing the ghost drone system to predator drones

[00:38:40] - Guiding principles as a firm and deciding on their product roadmap

[00:43:25] - An overview of their product lineup and what they’ve built so far

[00:51:56] - Most difficult decisions he’s had to make through Anduril’s history

[00:53:51] - How he overcame Anduril’s lowest points and biggest challenges

[00:58:38] - Thoughts on effectively compounding hardware innovation

[01:02:23] - A moment he’s most proud of and regrets most in Anduril’s history

[01:04:20] - Lessons learned from observing Palantir and SpaceX

[01:08:37] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

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Invest Like the Best with Patrick O’Shaughnessy

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