The Darkest Night: Lessons from Battle and Value Investing

[00:02:23] – (First Question) – A quick overview of Mike’s career leading up to his time at Columbia

[00:03:43] – What led him down the path of value investing at Columbia

[00:05:57] – The focus and goal of the firm

[00:07:12] – Where the name of the firm, Sententia, comes from

[00:08:04] – His experience in the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) program and lessons learned from it

[00:13:14] – How much grit is innate vs can be learned

[00:14:59] – What the actual job was in BUD/S

[00:17:33] – Difference between the broader SEAL community and being part of the more exclusive development group

[00:19:03] – The team dynamic within the SEALs

[00:21:18] – The sacrifice that SEALs make with the story of Adam Brown as an example

[00:24:35] – Waiting for darkness before deployment

[00:27:23] – How do you know when to violate your best practices for a risk

[00:29:26] – A look at three pictures in his office and why they are meaningful

[00:31:36] – Lessons that would be useful to other people

[00:33:17] – How is Mike’s skillset applied to the investing world

[00:39:24] – Factors that would be seen as good alignment in businesses

[00:40:18] – How to view the profiles of other investors in these small businesses

[00:41:46] – Examples of “smoke and fire” - markers of an attractive investment

[00:43:42] – Other investors that he has learned the most from and what those lessons were

[00:44:54] – Importance of balance sheets in value investing

[00:47:33] – Is value investment oversaturated

[00:50:28] – Market blind spots that are attractive to Mike

[00:52:03] – What point in Mike’s career has he felt the most alive

[00:53:14] – Any other lessons Mike would want to share

[00:55:12] – Kindest thing anyone has done for Mike