Business Breakdowns

Learn how companies work from the people who know them best. We do deep research and interview industry veterans, investment professionals, and business leaders to explain the inner workings of public stocks and private businesses. Every business has lessons and Breakdowns is here to highlight them.

Matt Reustle, Zack Fuss Hosts Matt Reustle, Zack Fuss

Matt is the CEO of Colossus. Zack is the Chief Investment Officer of Shoni Holdings, a single family office.

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Business Breakdowns

Ep.198

2024 Anecdotes to Remember

Matt Reustle is the host of Business Breakdowns. We look back at the highlights from 2024's breakdowns and pick out the best lessons on building a culture, pivoting to a new business model, capital allocation, and more.

12.27.2024

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Business Breakdowns

Ep.197

Filterbuy: Fresh Air

David Heacock is the founder and CEO of Filterbuy. We cover the challenges of setting up a manufacturing process from scratch, the importance of a founder getting their hands dirty, and the economics of a direct-to-consumer model versus third-party logistics.

12.27.2024

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Business Breakdowns

Ep.196

Inditex: Fast Fashion

Alistair Wittet is a Founding Partner at Aecus Partners. We cover how Inditex differentiates itself from its fast fashion peers by being more adaptable to trends, its ability to consistently deliver industry-leading gross margins and free cash flow, and the idea that a business model is more durable than a brand.

12.18.2024

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Business Breakdowns

Ep.195

Alternative Lending in Real Estate

Josh Zegen is the Managing Principal of Madison Realty Capital. We cover the basics of financing a commercial real estate project, the structural changes in the industry since COVID, and the impact of rates, volatility and tariffs on demand for loans.

12.11.2024

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Business Breakdowns

Ep.194

SpaceX: Rocket Ship

Luke Ward is an Investment Manager at Baillie Gifford. We cover the costs and components behind a SpaceX rocket launch, how Starlink became both a consumer darling and the economic engine of the business, and the many new business lines that spaceflight might unlock in the future.

12.04.2024

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Business Breakdowns

Ep.193

Investing in Venture Secondaries

Ravi Viswanathan is the founder and Managing Partner of NewView Capital. We cover the mechanics behind a successful venture secondaries transaction and why they're mostly bespoke, the structural factors underpinning the growth of this market, and how deals are shaped by the relationships and differing motivations between the various players in the industry.

11.27.2024

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Business Breakdowns

Ep.192

Informa: Where Industries Meet

Nick Shenton is a Fund Manager at Artemis Investment Management. We cover the trade show business model and how it recovered from the impacts of COVID, the advantages of operating in a capital-light manner, how Informa is navigating the shift to digital publishing, and the parallels between its capital allocation strategy and that of LVMH.

11.27.2024

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Business Breakdowns

Ep.191

Fastenal: A Nuts & Bolts Success Story

Delian Entchev is a portfolio manager at Aoris Investment Management. We cover how Fastenal made its culture a point of difference by giving employees autonomy and ownership, how its innovative inventory management techniques help keep companies like Amazon running smoothly, and the story behind the "industrial vending machine" and other technology that shapes the typical customer experience.

11.13.2024

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Business Breakdowns

Ep.190

Demographics Driving Real Estate

Fernando De Leon is the founder of Leon Capital. We cover which demographic factors make a region an attractive opportunity to invest in, how nearshoring and global trade flows affect local real estate markets, and what we can expect the future of real estate to look like in an age dominated by data centers and clean energy.

11.06.2024

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Business Breakdowns

Ep.189

Merck & Co: Blockbuster Drugs

Ashwin Varma is a medical student at UT Health San Antonio. We cover Merck's early history and how it became a juggernaut under the leadership of Ray Vogelos, what makes its Keytruda cancer treatment drug so unique, and the lessons about drug development and biotech investing that can be learned from its success.

10.30.2024

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