Legendary investor Sam Zell is the chairman of Equity Group Investments, a private investment firm he founded more than 50 years ago. Sam has a storied track record of turning around troubled companies and assets, leading industry consolidations, and bringing companies to the public markets. His current investments canvass logistics, health care, manufacturing, energy, and real estate. Sam was recognized five years ago by Forbes as one of the 100 Greatest Living Business Minds, and he?s still going strong.

Our conversation covers Sam?s childhood background, early entrepreneurial efforts, formation of his investment strategy, and comfort being a contrarian. We then turn to Sam?s thoughts on team development, evaluating people, real estate, generational businesses, emerging markets, and opportunities for the future.

Learn More  Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn  Subscribe to the mailing list  Access Transcript with Premium Membership 

Leigh Drogen is the General Partner and CIO of Starkiller Capital, a quantitative asset manager in the digital asset space. Leigh came to the crypto world after experience at a quantitative hedge fund, as an early employee at StockTwits, and as the founder of Estimize, a buyside-driven earning estimate platform that today is one of the largest in the world.

Our conversation covers Leigh?s background and lessons on markets from both a retail and institutional lens. We discuss Estimize, insights into hedge funds, and his shift to crypto. We then dig into the investment process at Starkiller, the nuances of fundamental modeling in crypto, and managing risk. We close with Leigh?s perspective on what?s to come for crypto and hedge funds.

Learn More? Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn? Subscribe to the mailing list? Access Transcript with Premium Membership?

Chris Voss is the founder of the Black Swan Group, where he works with individuals, teams, and companies in the art of negotiation. Chris is the author of best seller ?Never Split the Difference? and learned his trade in his 24 years in the FBI, during which he served as the FBI?s lead international kidnapping negotiator, the lead Crisis Negotiator for the NYC Division, and as a member of the NYC Joint Terrorist Task Force.

Our conversation covers techniques in listening and conversation that evolve from Chris? deep understanding of human nature, including setting the stage, mirroring, labeling, decision fatigue, ?no? oriented questions, and overcoming fear. We then turn to preparing for a negotiation, reconciling negatives, and positive demeanor.

 

Learn More? Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn? Subscribe to the mailing list? Access Transcript with Premium Membership?

I?m excited to share that Matt Spielman, my friend of 25 years, a member of my personal Board of Directors, and my executive coach, released his first book earlier this week. It?s entitled: Inflection Points, How to Work and Live with Purpose, and Matt gave me the honor of writing the foreward to the book.
In an effort to help him spread the word, we?ve replayed my conversation with Matt from last year in the feed. Have a listen, and hop on Amazon to grab a copy.

 

Learn More  Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn  Subscribe to the mailing list  Access Transcript with Premium Membership 

Billy Libby is the co-founder of Upper90, a firm that invests in a hybrid of debt and equity in early stage technology companies to help founders scale efficiently. Billy partnered with Jason Finger, the founder of Seamless, to address a capital structure inefficiency in the venture world. Upper90 has deployed a $1 billion of capital for an LP base of more than 300 entrepreneurs.

Our conversation covers Billy?s background in electronic trading, formation of an investment club that brought together quantitative investors and tech founders, and the evolution of that club into Upper90.  We discuss Upper90s approach to investing in tech start-ups, use of data to find lendable opportunities, sourcing and diligence of deals, and lots of examples along the way.

Learn More? Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn? Subscribe to the mailing list? Access Transcript with Premium Membership?

John Barber is the Managing Partner of Cohesive Capital, a $1 billion private equity firm founded in 2010 to focus exclusively on private and growth equity co-investments. Cohesive executes its strategy without investing in funds and without paying a carry to sponsors. Our conversation covers John?s early career in investment banking, the evolution of the industry, and the launch of Cohesive Capital. We dive into Cohesive?s investment philosophy, deal structure, sourcing, and team. We then discuss his advice for other co-investors, and opportunities and risks in today?s market.

Learn More? Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn? Subscribe to the mailing list? Access Transcript with Premium Membership?

Larry Kochard is the CIO at Makena Capital Management, a $20 billion OCIO formed by senior executives from the Stanford Management Company in 2005. Larry joined Makena in 2018, following a storied career serving as CEO and CIO of University of Virginia Investment Management Company, as the first CIO at Georgetown University, and as Managing Director of Equity and Hedge Fund Investments for the Virginia Retirement System. He was an early guest on Capital Allocators discussing his path, and that conversation is replayed in the feed.

This time around we discuss Larry?s transition to Makena, the differences between leading endowments and an OCIO, and his perspective on specialist versus generalist teams. We then dive into different investment opportunities across crossover funds, hedge funds, co-investments, REITs, venture capital, emerging markets, real assets, and crypto. We close with Larry?s take on market risks, opportunities, and managing his team.

Learn More? Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn? Subscribe to the mailing list? Access Transcript with Premium Membership?

Larry Kochard is the CEO and CIO of the University of Virginia Investment Management Company (UVIMCO), where he provides leadership, connectivity to the University, and responsibility for the University's $8.5 billion long-term investment pool.  Before joining UVIMCO in 2011, he served as Georgetown University's first in-house CIO. Prior to that, he was Managing Director of Equity and Hedge Fund investments for the Virginia Retirement System.  From 1997-2004, Larry was an adjunct, and later full-time, professor at Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce.  He spent his formative professional years in debt capital markets at Goldman Sachs, and corporate finance at Fannie Mae and DuPont. Larry received his B.A. in Economics from William & Mary, an MBA from the University of Rochester, and an MA and PhD in Economics from the University of Virginia.

Our conversation covers tricky issues involving the internal management of portfolios alongside external manager allocations, UVIMCO?s five core principals, and the consideration of absolute and relative metrics in asset allocation and performance. Our deep dive on UVIMCO's core principals and asset allocation provides an inside look at the subtleties required to maintain seemingly simple tenants. I?m quite sure everyone that touches the University of Virginia will come away thrilled that Larry is the steward of their capital.

Learn More? Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn? Subscribe to the mailing list? Access Transcript with Premium Membership?

Sahil Bloom is one of most dynamic up and coming creators in the financial community. He spent a decade in investment banking and private equity before turning to writing prolific threads about finance and frameworks to have a more fulfilling life and career. He?s amassed over a half a million followers on Twitter in just the last two years, writes a blog called The Curiosity Chronicle, started a podcast, and recently launched a seed stage venture fund called SRB Ventures.
Our conversation covers Sahil?s upbringing, his career in private equity, developing his own edge, and transitioning from the corporate world to life as a creator. We then discuss his favorite frameworks and how they apply to investing, including mentorship, goal setting, luck, and paradoxes of life. We close with the details of his recent fund launch, audience engagement, and how he manages his time.

Learn More? Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn? Subscribe to the mailing list? Access Transcript with Premium Membership?

On today?s Manager Meeting, Paula Volent interviews Steve Drobny. Paula is a legend in the endowment world and recent guest on Capital Allocators who is now serving as the CIO for Rockefeller University?s $2.5 billion endowment after spending twenty years at the helm of Bowdoin College?s endowment. Steve is the Founder and Managing Partner of Clocktower Group, an alternative asset management platform whose activities include seeding and investing in global macro hedge funds, fintech venture capital, China-focused seeding, climate change venture capital, and macro research. Their conversation covers the changing global landscape, geopolitics, China, fintech, Latin America, and ESG. Steve also shares his candid, contrarian opinion of the endowment model.

Learn More? Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn? Subscribe to the mailing list? Access Transcript with Premium Membership?

Greg Dowling is the CIO and Head of Research at Fund Evaluation Group (FEG) ? a mid-market investment consultant with $80 billion in discretionary and non-discretionary assets under advisement. Greg oversees the day-to-day management of the research team and chairs the firm's investment policy committee that oversees all manager hire and fire decisions.

Our conversation covers Greg?s background and introduction to FEG, the evolution of institutional consultants, FEG?s business today, and its unique advantages. We dive into how FEG supports its clients with portfolio management, manager selection and inventory management, due diligence including qualitative scoring and culture assessment, and working with Investment Committees. We then get Greg?s opinion on different market dynamics including private equity, venture capital, crossover funds, hedge funds, and what he refers to as ?weird ideas.? We close with the evolution of the investment process post-COVID, Greg?s involvement with his alma mater the University of Cincinnati, and the coveted FEG Hockey Classic.

Learn More? Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn? Subscribe to the mailing list? Access Transcript with Premium Membership?

Louis-Vincent Gave is the Founding Partner and CEO of GaveKal, one of the world's leading independent providers of macro research, and GaveKal Capital, a manager of $2.7 billion in assets. Louis launched GaveKal alongside his father in 2000 and has become a go-to source for creative research on global economics and asset allocation, particularly in China. He recently penned CYA as a Guiding Principle, dissecting the consequences of Western government responses to Russia?s invasion of Ukraine. He joined me to discuss the key takeaways. Our conversation starts with Louis? background and founding of GaveKal, and turns to the potential second order impacts of freezing reserves, seizing oligarch assets, end of Swiss neutrality, energy prices, and military spending. We close discussing how the situation may affect China.

Learn More? Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn? Subscribe to the mailing list? Access Transcript with Premium Membership?

On today?s manager meeting, I interview Andrew Milgram, a Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Marblegate Asset Management.  Marblegate is a $2.3 billion alternative investment manager founded in 2008 that focuses on middle-market distressed credit opportunities and special situations. The firm takes a direct sourcing approach, and works closely with portfolio companies to create value and drive positive business transformations for sustainable results.

Our conversation covers Andrew?s very early beginnings in investing, his experience on the sell-side, transition to the buyside, and launching of Marblegate. We discuss the nuances of investing in the middle-market, valuation, sourcing, due diligence, liquidity, and portfolio construction. We then dive into two headline examples of Marblegate successes, Education Management Corporation and New York Taxi medallions. We close with Andrew?s views on the state of distressed investing today and his involvement with the Boy Scouts of America.

Learn More? Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn? Subscribe to the mailing list? Access Transcript with Premium Membership?

Tom Lenehan is the CIO at the Wallace Foundation, where he oversees $2 billion for the New York City-based Foundation whose mission is to foster equity and improvements in learning and enrichment for young people. Tom is only the second CIO in Wallace?s history, having taken over the helm in January 2021. Before joining Wallace, he served as deputy CIO of Rockefeller University under longtime CIO Amy Falls and appeared as the 4th guest on Capital Allocators back in 2017. That replay is available in the feed and offers a fantastic comparison in Tom?s perspectives on as a deputy compared to a CIO.

Our conversation this time dives into his transition, managing a team and a portfolio during COVID, and how Tom has approached asset allocation of a new pool of capital. We discuss his key priorities for the portfolio, and his perspectives on China, venture capital, private equity, hedge funds, inflation, cash, and crypto. We close with Tom?s approach to building and working with his team, governance, and future risks.

 

Learn More? Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn? Subscribe to the mailing list? Access Transcript with Premium Membership?

Tom Lenehan is the Deputy Chief Investment Officer of The Rockefeller University, where he helps lead the management of the University?s $2B endowment.  Rockefeller University is a unique duck ? with a focused mission of improving the understanding of life for the benefit of humanity.  Founded in 1901, it was the first institution in the country devoted exclusively to biomedical research.


Learn More? Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn? Subscribe to the mailing list? Access Transcript with Premium Membership?  

Sebastian Mallaby is the Paul A. Volcker senior fellow for international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations, a contributing columnist for The Washington Post, two-time Pulitzer Prize Finalist, and New York Times best selling author. His most recent book, The Power Law: Venture Capital and the Making of the New Future, chronicles the history of the industry, and his key takeaways serve as the perfect conclusion to our mini-series.

Our conversation starts with his career as a writer and how he approaches writing books. We then dive into the origins of the venture industry, foundations of early-stage investing, and critical success factors. We dissect different ownership structures, the importance of mentorship, competition, the current pace of capital deployment, and venture capital abroad. We close discussion the industry?s gender gap, challenges to future success, and thoughts on Sebastian?s next project.

 

Learn More  Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn  Subscribe to the mailing list  Access Transcript with Premium Membership 

Steve Papa has been part of reimagining the technology landscape for twenty years. He was the Founder and CEO of Endeca, an enterprise software company that Oracle acquired for $1.1 billion in 2011. After that, he invested in and became a founding Partner of six technology companies, including the lead investor in Toast.

Our conversation covers Steve?s path into technology and entrepreneurship, the story of Endeca, and his subsequent venture investments. Along the way, we touch on both lessons from his businesses and the intersection of those businesses with venture capital.

Learn More  Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn  Subscribe to the mailing list  Access Transcript with Premium Membership  

Kathy Xu is the Founding Partner of Capital Today, a $2.5 billion firm that is one of the top venture capitalists in China. Capital Today strives to help small and mid-sized companies become the leading brands in China. Over the years, some of their winners include JD.com, Mei Tuan, VIP Shop, and Ctrip.
Our conversation covers Kathy?s upbringing in China, early professional career in venture, and start as an entrepreneur. We discuss her vision for Capital Today, the three ways they help entrepreneurs, sourcing ideas, working with companies, attractive investments, benefits of the firm?s evergreen fund structure, impact of government action on companies, and desirable characteristics in founders and industries. Lastly, we touch on competition in the venture landscape in China.

Learn More  Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn  Subscribe to the mailing list  Access Transcript with Premium Membership  

On today?s Manager Meeting, Greg Dowling interviews Chris Heller. Greg is the Co-CIO and Head of Research for Fund Evaluation Group, an institutional OCIO and investment consultant with $83 billion in assets under advisement. Chris is Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner at Cordillera Investment Partners, a $1.2 billion alternative investment fund that invests in niche, non-correlated assets, or what Chris calls weird stuff, like whiskey aging, boat marinas, spectrum, and water rights. Their conversation covers Chris?s background and the founding of Cordillera, the evolution of alternative assets and alternative alternatives, sourcing new opportunities, conducting due diligence, measuring risk, portfolio construction, and exit strategy.

Learn More  Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn  Subscribe to the mailing list  Access Transcript with Premium Membership  

Renata Quintini and Roseanne Wincek are the Co-Founders and Managing Partners of Renegade Partners, a venture capital firm they launched in 2019 after each experienced life inside top-notch venture firms ? Renata at Felicis and Lux and Rosanne at Canaan Partners and IVP.  They raised a first fund of $100 million to focus on the ?Supercritical Stage? of a company?s development.
Our conversation discusses the dynamics of a venture capital spinout and the nuances of a stage-focused strategy. First, we dive into their backgrounds, lessons learned from their experience, forming a partnership and strategy together, and going to market. Then, we discuss Renegade?s investment process across sourcing, filtering, winning deals, and working with companies. We close with perspectives on the competitive landscape, battle for talent, and areas of growth internally, including the application of our mutual friend Annie Duke?s decision 
theories to the practice of venture investing.

Learn More  Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn  Subscribe to the mailing list  Access Transcript with Premium Membership  

Today?s show is a special Sponsor Insight from Aumni, highlighting their growing business for venture capitalists, operators, and LPs. Aumni helps private capital investors track and analyze individual deal terms, while providing comprehensive financial and legal insights across portfolios and the broader venture market.
I sat down with Kelsey Chase, the Founder and President at Aumni, to discuss his background as a lawyer and the creation of Aumni, how Aumni analyzes transaction data, and use-cases of this data for investors and operators. We also discuss Aumni?s recent series B round, trends in venture arising from Aumni?s database, and where Kelsey plans to take the company from here.
We are incredibly grateful to Aumni for sponsoring our Venture is Eating the Investment World mini-series, and we are eager to highlight their value to the venture and investment community.

Learn More  Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn  Subscribe to the mailing list  Access Transcript with Premium Membership  

Arjun Sethi is Co-founder and CEO of Tribe Capital, a $1.3B venture capital fund built by engineers and scientists to focus on using product and data science to engineer N-of-1 companies and investments. Arjun was an entrepreneur who founded and sold two businesses and became an active angel investor before turning to venture capital.
Our conversation covers Arjun?s upbringings in an immigrant family, his early endeavors as an entrepreneur, success as an angel investor, and different way of looking at venture investing. We then turn to his experience implementing this hypothesis at Social Capital and at Tribe, including using data science to identify product growth, qualitative factors, decision making, and working with portfolio companies.

Learn More  Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn  Subscribe to the mailing list  Access Transcript with Premium Membership  

James Aitken is the Founder of Aitken Advisors, a one-man macroeconomic consultancy based in Wimbledon, England that works with approximately one hundred of the most influential pools of capital in the world. He has been a repeat guest on the show, sharing his deep understanding of the inner workings of the financial system. Our first conversation from back in 2018 including his background and process, is replayed in the feed, and the rest of the episodes are available on the website.

This time around, our conversation covers James? perspective on the unfolding situation in Ukraine and its implications on markets. We discuss the shift in risk tolerance, friction in the plumbing of the financial system, interaction of energy markets and ESG, inflation and interest rates, reserve currencies and crypto, and his most important takeaways.

Learn More  Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn  Subscribe to the mailing list  Access Transcript with Premium Membership  

Australian James Aitken is the Founder and Managing Partner of Aitken Advisors, a one-man macroeconomic consultancy based in Wimbledon, England that works with approximately one hundred of the most influential pools of capital in the world. James started his career in 1992 as a foreign exchange trader, moved to London in May 1999, and in March 2002 joined the infamous AIG Financial Products team in London.

In August 2006 he joined UBS, where he deployed his knowledge of the inner workings of the financial system to help his institutional investor clients successfully navigate their portfolios through 2007 and 2008. At the urging of his clients, James established his own firm in June 2009.

Our conversation covers James' perspective on the Global Financial Crisis from his seat at its epicenter, the Eurozone crisis in 2011, subsequent process-driven opportunities in Greece, views on Central Banks in the US, China, & Europe, some brief observations on India, positioning for the current environment, and what makes a great macro manager.

 

Learn More  Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn  Subscribe to the mailing list  Access Transcript with Premium Membership   

 

Show Notes

3:03 ? The start of his career at AIG Financial Products

7:19 ? Move to UBS

            9:03 ? Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

10:42 ? Sell off of 2006

13:12 ? Leaving UBS to go off on his own

24:22 ? What makes a great manager

27:55 ? What is he seeing in the markets today, especially the US Fed

33:09 ? MIDROLL

34:08 ? What happens when bond rates normalize

46:36 ? China

56:50 - Japan

59:10 ? Europe

1:05:28 ? Risk in the asset markets

1:08:49 ? Advice to allocators

1:11;05 ? Why people should be focused on India

1:16:39 ? How he spends his time

1:20:56 ? Closing Questions

Annie Lamont is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Oak HC/FT, a $3.3 billion venture capital firm investing across stages in tech-enable companies in healthcare and financial services.  Annie is a legend in the industry.  Across her 40 years in venture capital, she has been featured on the Forbes Midas List, the Top 100 Venture Capitalist rankings, and received the Healthcare Private Equity Association?s lifetime achievement award.

Our conversation covers Annie?s beginnings in venture capital, inflection points in the industry, lessons learned, and spinning out to start her own firm. We then turn to her investment process, evaluating CEOs, competitive environment, and opportunities in healthcare and fintech. We close with her perspective on women in the industry and her unique experience as the First Lady of the State of Connecticut.

 

Learn More
Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn
Subscribe to the mailing list
Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Occasionally, an event takes place that causes investors to reassess risk. Russian?s actions in Ukraine last week could be a tipping point for one of those events.

In a divergence from our normal show, I reached out to Marko Papic to see what we could learn.

Marko is the Chief Strategist at Clocktower Group, where he provides research on geopolitics, macroeconomics, and markets. He is a past guest on the show, and that conversation is replayed in the feed.

Our conversation tackles the implication of the events in the Ukraine on geopolitics and markets over time. We cover Russia, the U.S., oil, China, and answers to the most pressing questions his clients are asking in response to last week?s event.

Learn More  Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn  Subscribe to the mailing list  Access Transcript with Premium Membership   

Marko Papic is the Chief Strategist at Clocktower Group, where he provides research on geopolitics, macroeconomics, and markets. Marko recently published Geopolitical Alpha: An Investment Framework for Predicting the Future, an imminently readable book with colorful examples of political analysis. Marko?s approach is akin to Moneyball for politics, challenging the orthodoxy of how others traditionally make investment decisions.

Our conversation covers Marko?s upbringing, the flaws of most political analysis, and his constraints-based framework. We then turn to the obvious political topic at hand ? next week?s U.S. Presidential election. We discuss his views of different possible outcomes on the U.S. equity market, rates, tech stocks, China, private equity, ESG, Europe, and emerging markets.

 

Learn More  Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn  Subscribe to the mailing list  Access Transcript with Premium Membership   

Josh Wolfe is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Lux Capital, a $4 billion venture capital firm that invests in solutions to the most vexing puzzles of our time. Josh described his background and Lux?s approach back in 2018 on the show and that conversation is replayed in the feed.

This time around, we dive into Josh?s cautious perspective on the venture landscape and how it impacts Lux?s investment process. We then turn to updates on companies we last discussed and a handful of ?directional arrows of progress,? including smell, deception and detection, the tech of science, infrastructure for the metaverse, crypto, elemental power, space, and Africa.

Learn More  Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn  Subscribe to the mailing list  Access Transcript with Premium Membership   

Josh Wolfe is the co-founder of Lux Capital, a $1.5 billion venture capital firm formed to support scientists and entrepreneurs who pursue counter-conventional solutions to the most vexing puzzles of our time. Josh?s innovative thought process across his activities offers frameworks and insights applicable across the spectrum of investing.


Our conversation covers Josh?s early passion for science and finance, building a competitive advantage in venture capital from scratch, sourcing ideas, conducting due diligence, making investment decisions, constructing portfolios, making exits, learning from mistakes, navigating a challenging private equity environment, posting on Twitter, active vs. passive management, dinner table conversation, and life lessons.


Learn More  Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn  Subscribe to the mailing list  Access Transcript with Premium Membership  

My guest on the 7th episode of Venture is Eating the Investment World is Joelle Kayden, the Founder and Managing Partner of Accolade Partners, a $3.6 billion venture fund of funds that invests across early stage, growth, blockchain, and empowerment strategies and one of the most respected firms in the business.

Our conversation covers Joelle?s nearly two decades in technology investment banking, the launch of Accolade into the dot.com bubble, and its evolution over twenty years. We then discuss her perspectives on the four ways to win in venture capital, assessing culture, adding value as an LP, portfolio construction, re-upping decisions, and investing in the current environment.

Learn More
Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn
Subscribe to the mailing list
Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Aydin Senkut is the Founder and Managing Partner of Felicis Ventures, a $2 billion early stage venture firm that invests in founders building iconic companies that transcend geographic and industry boundaries. Its success has placed Aydin on the Forbes Midas List for the past 8 years.

Our conversation covers Aydin?s early exposure to entrepreneurship and international business, experience as the first international product manager at Google, and transition into angel investing and founding Felicis. We discuss his investment philosophy, proactive sourcing, and doing whatever it takes to join the cap table and support founders. We close with Aydin?s perspective on competition in the venture capital industry.

 

Learn More
Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn
Subscribe to the mailing list
Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Ali Hamed is the Founder of CoVenture a $2 billion investor across the capital stack of technology start-ups reinventing the economy of the future. Ali first appeared on the show three years ago when CoVenture?s assets were around $100 million. That conversation is replayed in the feed.

Our second conversation starts with an update on CoVenture?s growth and dives into Crossbeam Venture Partners, CoVenture?s venture business. We discuss Crossbeam?s sweet spot, sourcing, due diligence, deal dynamics, ownership, and decision-making for follow-on rounds. We then turn to examples in fintech and platforms, and close with how CoVenture?s taste for novel assets fits into the venture ecosystem.

Learn More
Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn
Subscribe to the mailing list
Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Ali Hamed is the co-founder of CoVenture and Managing Partner of the CoVenture VC Fund.  CoVenture is an innovative company that identifies and invests in novel assets formed by the intersection of technology and finance. The firm manages an early stage venture capital fund, direct lending fund, and crypto asset index fund, with each taking a creative twist on its market.

Our conversation starts with Ali?s entrepreneurial path to the creation of CoVenture, and covers examples of previously unpriced investment opportunities, including produce receivables, employee payroll loans, AirBnB accounts, and loans against employee stock options. We walk through the world of crypto assets and the state of the venture capital industry. Ali?s fresh lens on the world offers a fascinating perspective on every aspect of early stage investing.

If I didn?t say it in advance, you?ll be astounded to hear that Ali is only 26 years old.  He?s one to watch for the long-term.

 

Learn More
Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn
Subscribe to the mailing list
Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Fabrice Grinda is an entrepreneur, angel investor, and founder of FJ Labs, a venture capital firm that backs a diversified portfolio of startups in marketplace businesses. The firm takes a founder-friendly, non-institutional approach, employing heuristics to formulate quick decisions.

Our conversation covers Fabrice?s path as a serial entrepreneur and lessons learned building and investing in marketplaces. We discuss FJ Lab?s unique investment process focused on four investment heuristics and expeditious decision making. We then turn to its position in the venture ecosystem and investable themes in the coming years.

Learn More
Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn
Subscribe to the mailing list
Access Transcript with Premium Membership

On today?s Manager Meeting, Greg Dowling interviews Florian Bartunek. Greg is the Co-CIO and Head of Research for Fund Evaluation Group, an institutional OCIO and investment consultant with $83 billion in assets under advisement.

Florian is the founding partner and CIO of Constellation Asset Management, a long-only asset manager focused on Brazil with approximately $3 billion in AUM. Florian founded Constellation in 1999 alongside Jorge Paulo Lemann and 3G and brought in Steve Mandel?s Lone Pine Capital as a partner in 2007.

Their conversation starts with Florian?s career in investment management, his passion for reading, and an overview of Brazil?s business environment and equity market. They then turn to Constellation?s investment philosophy, team, portfolio construction, and investment examples. Lastly, Florian discussed opportunities and risks in Brazil, and his prediction for Brazil in the next World Cup.

Learn More
Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn
Subscribe to the mailing list
Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Sean O?Sullivan is the founder of SOSV, a $1 billion global venture capital firm that seeds 150 companies a year through start-up development programs that support entrepreneurs across hardware, bioengineering, China, mobile apps, and the blockchain.

Sean has pretty much done it all. He grew up on welfare, found his way to technology in the 1970s, and started his first company in his early 20s. That company, called MapInfo, was the original street map technology well before the days of the internet. Sean formed more companies and began angel investing with the proceeds. Along the way, he created twenty patents for ride sharing, coined the term cloud computing, appeared in Ireland?s version of Shark Tank, and formed a series of start-up development programs to support early-stage entrepreneurs.

Our conversation covers Sean?s path to entrepreneurship and investing, accelerator strategy, sourcing ideas, working with entrepreneurs, preparing businesses to exit SOSV?s programs, investing in follow-on rounds, drivers of success, and positioning in the venture ecosystem.

Learn More
Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn
Subscribe to the mailing list
Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Chris Douvos is the Founder and Managing Director of Ahoy Capital, where he invests in early-stage venture funds and co-invests alongside his managers. Chris has been a fixture in venture capital for nearly two decades and was an early guest on the show back in 2017. That replay is posted in the feed.

Our conversation offers an LP perspective on the venture landscape, covering the current environment, range of players in the early stage, and how Chris is navigating the landscape.

Learn More
Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn
Subscribe to the mailing list
Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Chris Douvos is Managing Director at Venture Investment Associates, a fund that invests $1B in commitments to venture capital funds. Chris is responsible for the management of relationships with the funds? managers and the identification and development of new manager relationships. He is the author of an entertaining blog about venture capital entitled SuperLP ? Adventures in Investing, available at SuperLP.com.

Prior to joining VIA, Chris spent seven years co-heading the private equity program at The Investment Fund For Foundations, or TIFF. In this role, he was responsible for another $1 billion in new capital commitments. Before joining TIFF, Chris worked on Princeton University?s endowment team. He started his career as a strategy consultant at Monitor Company. He is a graduate of Yale University and the Yale School of Management.

Our conversation starts with Chris? path to venture capital, through strategy consulting, investment banking and an endowment investment office. We talk about perception and reality in venture investing, exciting areas of future innovation, and the nuts and bolts of research, portfolio construction and decision making when running a portfolio of venture funds.

When Chris pulls off his suit, the red undershirt of the Super LP remains. He?s a charismatic guy with great insight into how the venture capital game is played and draws many parallels from venture to investing in general.

 

Learn More
Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn
Subscribe to the mailing list
Access Transcript with Premium Membership

David Rosenthal and Ben Gilbert are venture capitalists and hosts of the Acquired podcast. Acquired is one of my favorite shows. In it, David and Ben tell stories of great companies in technology with thorough research and a fun, engaging style.
 
Our conversation kicks off the mini-series with their respective backgrounds in venture, the creation of Acquired, and their research process for show. We then dive into the origins of the cottage venture capital industry, inflection point after the tech bubble, rise of an abundance of capital, firms investing across stages, the competitive response of others, the mass introduction of angel investors, businesses staying private for longer, and the potential for crypto to change the game once more.
 
Whenever we?re set with this (or when you tell me to), I?ll send the next 5 episodes along.

Learn More
Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn
Subscribe to the mailing list
Access Transcript with Premium Membership

On today?s Manager Meeting, Eric Upin interviews Jamie Montgomery. Eric is the Co-founder of Point Olema Capital, a private investments office serving multigenerational families. He previously served as the CIO of Makena Capital Management, CIO at Stanford Management Company, and the interim CIO at Washington University in St. Louis, where he remains Executive Board Chair. Jamie is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of March Capital, a $1 billion Santa Monica-based venture and growth equity firm that invests in AI, cyber, fintech, data infrastructure and gaming.

Before they get going, Eric and I discuss his history with Jamie and his frameworks for thinking about investing in March and its positioning in a venture portfolio.

Learn More
Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn
Subscribe to the mailing list
Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Our second annual review is an audio version of my annual letter to you. After the annual review, stay tuned for a rundown of the top shows of 2021.

Learn More
Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn
Subscribe to the mailing list
Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Chamath Palihapitiya is the founder and CEO of Social Capital, where he invests in private businesses, public markets, and experiments with that objective of compounding capital at high rates so that he can advance humanity by solving the world?s hardest problems. Chamath previously was an early employee at Facebook, a prolific angel investor, and co-founder of the venture capital business that was the first version of Social Capital. He?s been in the press of late for raising and deploying a series of large SPACs and for his outspoken views.

Our conversation covers Chamath?s path to Facebook and Social Capital, his period of self-discovery, and the resulting Social Capital 2.0 to express his views of the world. From there, we dive into SC Emerging Managers, Social Capital?s newest program to back managers from diverse backgrounds. Lastly, we circle back to the purpose of Social Capital and how Chamath gets it all done.

 

Learn More

Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn

Subscribe to the mailing list

Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Barry Sternlicht is Chairman, CEO, and Founder of Starwood Capital Group, a $95 billion real estate investment firm with 4,000 employees and 16 offices worldwide. Barry has invested nearly $200 billion across every major real estate asset class around the world. The list of related real estate companies he?s created, results, and associated accolades are extensive and truly impressive. Our conversation covers Barry?s beginnings as an entrepreneur and real estate investor with some great stories along the way. We then turn to the current opportunity set across real estate asset classes and geographies and close with his approach to managing his own capital through his family office, SPACS, and experience during the pandemic.

 

Learn More

Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn

Subscribe to the mailing list

Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Katy Milkman, the James G. Dinan Professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, host of Choiceology, Charles Schwab?s popular podcast on behavioral economics, the co-founder and co-director alongside Angela Duckworth of the Behavior Change for Good Initiative, and most recently, the author of How to Change: The Science of Getting From Where You are to Where You Want to Be.

 

Our conversation covers Katy?s path to studying change and her new book, which is framed around identifying obstacles to change and using scientific principles to get past those obstacles. We outline the eight obstacles in the book and dive in on the challenges of getting started, confidence, conformity, procrastination, laziness, and making changes last. Along the way, we touch on some applications of her research to investing and to her own life.

 

Learn More

Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn

Subscribe to the mailing list

Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Yen Liow is the founder and Managing Partner of Aravt Global, a fundamental global equity firm based in New York that manages long-short and long only products. Yen founded Aravt after a long stint at famed family office Ziff Brothers Investments, where he was part of the team that managed a market, neutral long-short hedge fund in a culture of framework thinking and continuous improvement.   Our conversation covers Yen?s background, experience at ZBI, and lessons about process, competitive edge, and training. We then turn to his application of those lessons to Aravt Global. We discuss three right tail strategies for long positions, the challenges in owning compounders, the art of short selling, portfolio construction, game selection, drivers of success, and challenges going forward.   For those lovers of learning about the nuance of public equity investment strategies, you?re in for a real treat.   Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

My guest on the first episode of Private Equity Masters is John Toomey, one of two members of the Executive Management Committee at HarbourVest Partners. For more than thirty years, HarbourVest has invested across all parts of the private equity spectrum - in funds, secondaries, and direct co-invests. Today, it oversees over $75 billion of assets and canvasses the world. 

 

Our conversation discusses the early days of private equity investing, evolution of strategies across primaries, co-invests, and secondaries, international expansion, best practices of managers, the next wave of growth opportunities, and risks in the space.

 

John has a unique perch at the top of the industry and offers a wonderful perspective to kick off the mini-series.

 

Learn More

Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn

Subscribe to the mailing list

Access Transcript with Premium Membership

On today's manager meeting, Nat Fraser interviews Justin Fishner-Wolfson. Nat is an Executive Director at Agility, a $15 billion outsourced CIO firm serving 42 endowments, foundations, family offices and corporations. Justin is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of 137 Ventures, a $2 billion growth-stage venture firm with a differentiated approach to sourcing deals. 137 provides customized liquidity solutions directly to founders, investors, and early employees of private technology companies. Before they get started, Nat and I discuss his diligence process, success of 137's structure, and the evolution of the market.

Learn More
Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn
Subscribe to the mailing list
Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Paul Black and Mike Trigg from WCM Investment Management are both past guests on the show who have taken an investment philosophy focused on culture and moat trajectory to turn a once struggling boutique into a $100 billion powerhouse.

Paul came on the show a few years ago when WCM had quietly grown to $25 billion in assets, and Mike joined a year ago to dive into their research process. Their colleague Mike Tian shared another perspective earlier this year when he described applying WCM?s moat trajectory discipline to investing in China.
In this continued exploration of WCM, we start with the truly unique facts about the firm?s rebirth a decade ago and turn to key features of its success, including embracing change, the importance of culture - alongside some characteristics of toxic cultures, hiring practices, telling the truth, integrating new team members, managing turnover, and transitioning leadership to the next generation.

Learn More
Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn
Subscribe to the mailing list
Access Transcript with Premium Membership

You may remember my popular first meeting from a few years ago with Paul Black of WCM, then a $25 billion asset manager in Laguna Beach, CA. Since then, WCM has gone up and to the right in every way, they sold a minority piece of the business to Natixis, continue to put big numbers on the board, and have grown to north of $66 billion, defying the fade of active management outflows.

My guest on today?s show is Mike Trigg, a partner and portfolio manager of WCM?s Focused International Growth strategy that comprises the majority of the firm?s assets. We discuss Mike?s background, arrival at WCM in 2005, near implosion of the firm shortly thereafter, and the rising of the international strategy from those ashes. We then dive in deeper to the core tenants of WCM?s approach, discussing how the firm analyzes widening moats and cultures tied to competitive advantage. Lastly, we talk about how WCM?s growth has impacted the firm.


Learn More
Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn
Subscribe to the mailing list
Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Paul Black is Co-CEO and portfolio manager at WCM Investment Management, a $26 billion manager of global equities that he joined when it was a $200 million boutique in 1989.  With so much of the institutional world, including my own training, focused on value investing, I was pleasantly surprised to learn about a large, high performing growth stock manager located in a non-descript building in Laguna Beach, California.


Our conversation starts with Paul?s trial-by-fire entry into the business and turns to growth stock investing, including defining a great growth company, searching for widening moats, assessing a culture tied to competitive advantage, creating a positive culture, learning from mistakes, identifying tailwinds, and protecting the downside.


Paul embodies the principals he preaches and offers some tasty food for thought.


Learn More
Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn
Subscribe to the mailing list
Access Transcript with Premium Membership