Private Equity, Venture Capital, and the Future of Money Management

This podcast is sponsored by:

The CFA Institute. The CFA Institute is the global association of investment professionals, whose mission is to lead the investment profession by promoting the highest standards of ethics, education, and professional excellence for the ultimate benefit of society. CFA Institute serves a global community of investment professionals working to build in an investment industry where investor's interests come first, financial markets function at their best, and economies grow. The Chartered Financial Analyst credential is the most respected and recognized investment management designation in the world. The views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily represent the views of the CFA Institute.

[00.02:18] – (first question) – Brent is asked to paint a picture of the private company market and what are some key features of it

[00.04:50] – What does the diligence look like when you get down to examining companies that could be a potential investment target

[00.09:50] – Exploring whether certain moats are more attractive to Brent vs others

[00.12:28] – Can moats be developed ahead of time or do you stumble into them

[00.14:53] – How do you turn around a company and develop huge growth, like a 90% growth rate.

[00.17:14] – It’s hard to run a company

[00.18:40] – Cleaning out the entrenched aspects of a business

[00.22:36] – Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

[00.23:25] – What is good and what makes no sense about the way private equity operates

[00.31:29] – What about venture capital, from the perspective that runs venture funds, wants to start a venture fund, and from entrepreneurs seeking venture capital.

[00.39:13] – Why being skilled in relationships is such an important trait, in venture capital, and almost anything

[00.40:13] – Wrong and right reasons to get into venture capital

[00.40:50] – Shift to personal brand and the right time to focus on developing it.

[00.47:04] – How branding impacts our expectations from a company

[00.52:30] – When people are pursuing personal brand at the wrong time or for the wrong reason

[00.55:03] – Monetization of and worth of a brand

[00.57:20] – The discovery of Warren Buffet’s brand.

[00.58:46] – Circle back to the top LP investors in venture capital funds

[01:04:47] – Looking at some of Brent’s results and how they compare to the alternative options in investing today

[01:19:24] – The impact of companies being acquired at what could be exaggerated multiples of their value

[01:22:50] – Looking at Brent’s process of learning outside of books and acquiring businesses

[01:24:50] – The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America’s Banana King

[01:25:18] – An example of an adjustment that Brent has made based on a lesson he’s learned in the past year

[01:29:45] – Understanding the importance of empathy and really listening to people

[01:30:03] – Eric Maddox podcast episode

[01:31:05] – Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World

[01:33:45] – Looking at other notable experiences for Brent over the last year

[01:36:00] – Brent is asked whether his growth strategy would be better if he looked outward at landing more deals, or if he should go upward and focus on larger deals

[01:39:24] – Companies are just messy people and it’s about finding the least messy people at the top

[01:42:58] – Two keys to finding the right deals, ability to scale and ability to withstand lumpiness

[01:46:02] – Exploring the problems within the capital raising system

[01:51:23] – Brent is asked about his recent experience with Charlie Munger