Blogs and podcasts am checking out

  1. When to Dig a Moat - Not Boring by Packy McCormick

TL;DR - this is quite an interesting article on moats. Essentially tells startups to think about moats as early as possible. And cautions why founded must not rely on uncertainty of any sector before building moats because once a product is out there, there will be more folks ideating and thinking about how to better it - and it is always better to put as much distance as possible from competitors.

  1. Choosing a Discount Rate

Discount rates are crucial for estimating fair market value and potential returns. For most investors, DCFs are a research tool rather than a precise valuation method, helping to assess the plausibility of returns based on fundamental assumptions. The key takeaway is that while DCFs are valuable for understanding potential returns and testing investment hypotheses, the precision of the valuation may not always be crucial, and the process of analysis is more important. Cue podcasts of Aswath Damodaran - https://podcasts.apple.com/se/podcast/aswath-damodaran-making-sense-of-the-market/id1154105909?i=1000564650213

  1. 384 | Peter Turchin: Elites, Counter-Elites, and the Path to Political Disintegration - The Realignment

@Bhuvan shared this last week and this was quite a nice listen. Speaks of how inequality manifests itself into conflicts and what can be some things that can help these situations, mostly in the context of US. But applies to any country.

  1. Courage Required - HumbleDollar

[ChatGPT Summary]
The article reflects on past market sentiments and contrasts them with the current investor enthusiasm for stocks. It discusses the market sentiment in the late 1970s, where many believed that equities were dead due to a decade-long dismal stretch in the stock market and high inflation. Investors favored investments like gold, real estate, and diamonds, shunning stocks as mere “paper assets.” The article emphasizes the importance of considering historical data and estimating expected future returns when evaluating investment options. It cautions against being unduly influenced by recent short-term returns and highlights the difficulty of buying at market bottoms due to human empathy, uncertainty about the true bottom, and alarming narratives that accompany market declines. The author encourages long-term and disciplined investing, holding safe assets to provide courage during turbulent times. Ultimately, the article advises investors to adhere to the math of investing and manage emotions with patience, cash, and courage.

  1. The End of an Experiment - by Marc Rubinstein

A nice read on why Hedge Funds don’t go public - basically states how loss of control over decision making becomes a burden that crushes these funds that go public. :slight_smile:

A few other quick reads

  1. High Expectations

  2. https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/VC-zombie-funds-consolidation

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  1. WTF Happened In 2023? - Not Boring by Packy McCormick

The what happened in 1971 is quite famous for how trends reversed and various economic sectors performed. And we wont know if eventually there could be a website about what happened in 2023, but this piece makes a case for it. Optimism is always overblown anyway, so please take this with a pinch of salt. :slight_smile:

  1. Why Demographics Matter to Investors

Never really thought about inflation from a demographics sense in this way.

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This was a really nice summary of Plaid’s journey. :slight_smile:

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https://www.oaktreecapital.com/insights/memo/fewer-losers-or-more-winners