Circle of Competence Issue #123
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Three things can not hide for long: the Moon, the Sun and the Truth." - Buddha
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
This week, I'm asking my subscribers one simple favor: forward my newsletter to one friend who you think would enjoy a curated mix of weekly articles on tech, investing, real estate, economics, history, in addition to the occasional podcast conversation with world-class investors and entrepreneurs.
Episode #10 - Michael Girdley, Chairman of Dura Software
My latest podcast interview is a conversation with Michael Girdley, Chairman of Dura Software, where we discuss:
- Search funds (and Michael's advice to business school grads)
- Dura's holding company model
- What conditions are required for a GREAT startup investment
- venture-backed software companies vs. stable software companies
- Michael's playbook for running small software businesses
- Michael's thoughts on how covid-19 is changing M&A and business in general
Show links:
- Michael Girdley's personal website
- Michael Girdley's Small Business Playbook
- Michael Girdley's Twitter account
- Mark Leonard's Constellation Software Letters to Shareholders
- Charlie Munger's Psychology of Human Misjudgement
**If you have a niche software business that you are looking to sell, feel free to reach out to Michael - he's under contract for 3 businesses currently and ready to do more deals.
I also recently recorded episodes with Brent Beshore and Mohnish Pabrai and am looking forward to releasing these conversations in the coming weeks. If you have guests that you think I should reach out to, feel free to drop me a note or connect me!
LINKS
Investing
How the quality of shareholders impact returns (Larry Cunningham)
Amp it up! (Frank Slootman, h/t Permanent Equity)
This preferred has an 8% yield from a John Malone controlled company (Barron's)
Lessons learned on long-term investors (Harrison Stoneham)
Technology
A deepdive on Uber (MBI Deep Dives)
#132: Chris Sacca on Shark Tank, Building Your Business, and Startup Mistakes (Tim Ferris Podcast, h/t Randy M.)
Orlando Bravo rides software deals to heights of private-equity industry (Wall Street Journal)
Snowflake before it was obvious (Peter Wagner)
Huang’s Law is the new moore’s law, and explains why Nvidia wants Arm (Wall Street Journal)
Real Estate
OpenDoor is ready to go public - but is its balance sheet? (The Real Deal)
Grant Cardone's firm accused of misleading investors (The Real Deal)
The importance of yield within the energy sector (Ned Davis Research)
Politics, Economics, History
Mapping a world of cities (Levanthalmap.org)
Modern Monetary Theory explained (Absolute Return Partners)