I love a good small business turned mega success story. Copart is just that. Willis Johnson started the business in the 80s by buying his first junkyard for $75,000. The company grew by pursuing a lucrative rollup strategy that scaled to the $30bn behemoth that it is today. Let’s take […]
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NOTE: this was a past issue of my weekly newsletter, Friday Gems. Join my free mailing list so you don’t miss out on future issues. Today’s gem is this quote from Phil Fisher’s book, Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits, on scuttlebutt research. I read this book over a decade ago […]
NOTE: this was a past issue of my weekly newsletter, Friday Gems. Join my free mailing list so you don’t miss out on future issues. Today’s gem is this chart showing the cumulative returns that SoftBank’s ~$130bn Vision Funds have generated (112bn JPY = $840m). $840m is roughly 0.6% cumulative […]
NOTE: this was a past issue of my weekly newsletter, Friday Gems. Join my free mailing list so you don’t miss out on future issues. Today’s gem is this chart showing the level of return and length of time required to achieve a 100 bagger ($10,000 –> $1,000,000). This chart […]
NOTE: this was a past issue of my weekly newsletter, Friday Gems. Join my free mailing list so you don’t miss out on future issues. Today’s gems are these podcast interview excerpts with Nick Howley, CEO of TransDigm (a niche aircraft component manufacturer). I know what you’re thinking…. another Transdigm […]
I’ve been fascinated with TransDigm for a little while now. I recently listened to a podcast episode with the CEO, Nick Howley, which I thoroughly enjoyed. In fact, it might be one of the best podcast episodes I’ve listened to in a long time. A few key themes really stood […]
NOTE: this was a past issue of my weekly newsletter, Friday Gems. Join my free mailing list so you don’t miss out on future issues. Today’s gem is this chart which ranks 5 types of moats by their performance (based on a study of 1500+ businesses). Which of these moats […]
NOTE: this was a past issue of my weekly newsletter, Friday Gems. Join my free mailing list so you don’t miss out on future issues. Today’s gem is this article snippet on how Canadian billionaire Jim Pattison has had the same Administrative Assistant for 60+ years. Long-term business relationships like […]
NOTE: this was a past issue of my weekly newsletter, Friday Gems. Join my free mailing list so you don’t miss out on future issues. Today’s gem is this chart illustrating key figures for See’s Candies in the 12 years following the company being acquired by Berkshire Hathaway. Warren Buffett […]
NOTE: this was a past issue of my weekly newsletter, Friday Gems. Join my free mailing list so you don’t miss out on future issues. Today’s gem is this excerpt from the book Junk To Gold where the founder of Copart (Willis Johnson) is explaining his auto salvage & auction […]
As an investor, there’s one key thing that I look for when deciding whether to invest in a business – pricing power. Let me break down why I’m obsessed with it and how to assess if a business has it. What is Pricing Power The textbook definition of pricing power […]
NOTE: this was a past issue of my weekly newsletter, Friday Gems. Join my free mailing list so you don’t miss out on future issues. Today’s gem is this Globe article on medical practice roll-ups happening in Canada right now. It’s a great summary of the various players involved, and what they’ve […]
NOTE: this was a past issue of my weekly newsletter, Friday Gems. Join my free mailing list so you don’t miss out on future issues. Today’s gem is this image that depicts a distributor’s value add. My eCommerce business works with several different distributors. When I first came across distributors, […]
NOTE: this was a past issue of my weekly newsletter, Friday Gems. Join my free mailing list so you don’t miss out on future issues. Today’s gem is this chart detailing how capital was allocated for Berkshire Hathaway from 1964 to 1969 (from the book Capital Allocation by Jacob McDonough). […]
This record bull market ushered in an unprecedented period of growth for many businesses. Ultra-low interest rates have given way to the “growth at all cost” mentality. But the tides are changing; the market is turning and interest rates are rising. Given this, it’s the perfect time to discuss the […]
I know what you’re thinking. “Not another clickbait-titled Berkshire Hathaway post“. I promise there are some practical tips and tactics for business owners, allocators, and operators in this post, so bear with me! Here’s how you can turn your small business into a mini Berkshire Hathaway. Berkshire Hathaway Background Berkshire […]
I’m excited to announce the launch of Atlasview Equity, my new investment firm. I wanted to take some time to discuss how it came about, what the strategy is and what the future holds. Let’s dive in. Background Although I’m sharing that Atlasview Equity is a “new firm“, the reality […]
Understanding the capex requirements of a business is essential to investors since it helps to determine whether an asset offers an attractive rate of return. Capex is commonly misunderstood when it comes to software businesses, so I’ve decided to break it down and also share what I look for when […]
It’s that time of year again when I update my reading list and reflect on the best books I read in the past year. I read a lot of great books in 2021, making it hard to narrow it down to just 3. By sharing what I enjoyed most about […]
A few years ago I read Ed Thorp’s book and became fascinated with card counting in blackjack. Unfortunately, I was 20 years too late, as I quickly learned most casinos have protocols in place to stop “advantage players”. But the experience taught me some interesting lessons, one in particular, regarding […]