Colossus Weekly reflects on 2024 by sharing 65 insights from conversations with founders, investors, and leaders. Highlights include launching new initiatives like Glue Guys and Colossus Review, and memorable quotes from influential figures. The insights cover themes of work ethic, investment strategies, leadership, and market dynamics, offering both tactical and philosophical perspectives on building and investing in successful companies. Entities: Colossus Weekly, Patek Philippe, Fastenal, Glue Guys, Modest Proposal, CNX Resources, SpaceX, Rakuten, Winmark, InterDigital, Vulcan Materials, HEICO, 3i, Rolex, Cintas People: Andrew Meister, Michael Jordan, David Ogilvy, Michael Ovitz, Napoleon, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Katie Koch, Jay Bilas, Oliver Thomas, Sean Feeney, Oprah, Ken Langone, Tim Ferriss, Dev Ittycheria, Tobi Lütke, Steve Jobs, Robin Dunbar, Matt Perelman, Alex Sloane, Ric Elias, Bret Taylor, Adam Sandow, Bill Gurley, Dave Fontenot, Cyan Banister, Dietrich Mateschitz, Pat Grady, Gabe Whaley, Robert Kierlin, Morgan Housel, Haruki Murakami, Nick Sleep, Eric Serrano, Ali Hamed, Mitch Rales, Monty Moncrief, Ronnie Fieg, Armen Panossian, Marc Lasry, Aravind Srinivas, Alex Telford, Gavin Baker, Hans Wilsdorf, George Lucas, Matt Reustle, Michael Mauboussin Tags: Leadership and Management, Investment Strategies, Market Dynamics, Innovation and Entrepreneurship ---------------------------------------- From: Colossus Weekly Sent: Sunday, December 29, 2024 12:17:08 PM (UTC-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada) To: Andrew Meister Subject: 65 Insights from 2024 | Colossus Weekly 12.29.2024 THIS YEAR, WE PUBLISHED 237 CONVERSATIONS WITH (AND ABOUT) EXTRAORDINARY FOUNDERS, INVESTORS AND LEADERS. ALONG THE WAY, WE LAUNCHED GLUE GUYS, REFRESHED OUR BRAND, AND INTRODUCED A PRINT PUBLICATION—COLOSSUS REVIEW. AS WE CLOSE OUT 2024, WE'VE COLLECTED 65 IDEAS THAT ARE STILL REVERBERATING LONG AFTER WE HEARD THEM. SOME ARE TACTICAL, OTHERS PHILOSOPHICAL, BUT EACH CAPTURES SOMETHING ESSENTIAL ABOUT BUILDING OR INVESTING IN GREAT COMPANIES. Thank you for your support, and here’s to 2025. 2024 HIGHLIGHTS 1. "WORK ETHIC ELIMINATES FEAR." Michael Jordan 2. "ONLY DEAD FISH GO WITH THE FLOW." David Ogilvy 3. "SCALE IS INFORMATION, INFORMATION IS KNOWLEDGE, AND KNOWLEDGE IS POWER." Michael Ovitz 4. "ALL GREAT EVENTS HANG BY A SINGLE THREAD. THE CLEVER MAN TAKES ADVANTAGE OF EVERYTHING AND NEGLECTS NOTHING THAT MAY GIVE HIM SOME ADDED OPPORTUNITY. THE LESS CLEVER MAN, BY NEGLECTING ONE THING, SOMETIMES MISSES EVERYTHING." Napoleon 5. "GENTLEMEN, YOU HAVE UNDERTAKEN TO CHEAT ME. I WON'T SUE YOU FOR THE LAW IS TOO SLOW. I'LL RUIN YOU. YOURS TRULY, CORNELIUS VANDERBILT." Vanderbilt 6. "ROLEX WATCHES ARE SOLD TO PEOPLE WHO CLIMB MOUNTAINS. PATEK PHILIPPE WATCHES ARE SOLD TO PEOPLE WHO OWN MOUNTAINS." Patek Philippe 7. "AS AN INVESTOR, ONLY TWO STATES EXIST: YOU'RE EITHER HUMBLE OR ABOUT TO GET RUN OVER. THAT'S IT." Katie Koch 8. "RELENTLESS IS REALLY HARD TO COMPETE WITH." Jay Bilas 9. "YOU WON'T CONQUER THE OCEANS IF YOU STAY WITHIN SIGHT OF THE SHORE." Oliver Thomas 10. "THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT IS THE ONE THAT'S LEFT OUT." Sean Feeney 11. "FIND WHAT FEEDS YOUR PASSION. ALIGN YOUR PERSONALITY WITH YOUR PURPOSE. NOW NO-ONE CAN TOUCH YOU." Oprah 12. "LIFE AND BUSINESS IS A REPEAT GAME." Ken Langone 13. "I DON'T WAIT FOR THINGS TO CROSS MY DESK. I GO OUT AND LOOK FOR THEM. I MADE 250 CALLS A DAY." Michael Ovitz 14. "PATEK PHILIPPE'S GREATEST COMPETITION ISN'T ROLEX. IT'S PATEK PHILIPPE FROM THE PAST." Patek Philippe 15. "WE HAVE EVOLVED TO WALK AND MAKE STUFF. IF YOU DON'T DO THOSE THINGS, PROBLEMS TEND TO SURFACE." Tim Ferriss 16. "PEOPLE PERFORM TO THE DEGREE OF INSPECTION, NOT EXPECTATION." Dev Ittycheria 17. "THE BEST LEADERS ARE EXOTHERMIC. EVERY ATOM JIGGLES FASTER AROUND THEM. THERE IS NO CHANCE FOR STASIS." Tobi Lütke 18. "EVEN TODAY, THE CEO AND CFO SLEEP IN THE SAME ROOM WHEN THEY TRAVEL. IT SENDS A MESSAGE FROM THE TOP DOWN THAT YOU SHOULD ACT AS AN OWNER OF THIS BUSINESS." Fastenal 19. "WHEN MOST PEOPLE GIVE PRESENTATIONS, THEY TRY TO SQUEEZE TWO MEGABYTES OF DATA INTO A PIPE THAT CARRIES 128 KILOBYTES." Steve Jobs 20. "THE BEST PREDICTOR OF YOUR MENTAL AND PHYSICAL WELL-BEING, EVEN HOW LONG YOU WILL LIVE, IS THE QUALITY OF YOUR FIVE CLOSEST FRIENDS." Robin Dunbar 21. "WE GOT A LETTER IN THE MAIL FROM KFC REJECTING US AS FRANCHISEES. THEY SAID WE HAD NO MONEY, NO EXPERIENCE, AND WERE TOO YOUNG. OTHER THAN THAT, THEY LOVED US." Matt Perelman & Alex Sloane 22. "HOW MANY DAYS OF YOUR LIFE DO YOU HAVE A SENSE OF CALM, PEACEFULNESS, PURPOSE, AND ARE IN A GOOD PLACE? TO ME, THAT'S WHAT REALLY MATTERS AND THE PURSUIT OF MORE ROBS YOU OF THAT. YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU." Ric Elias 23. "EVERYTHING IS A CHOICE. I TRY TO NOT LET THE WORLD HAPPEN TO ME. IT'S TAKEN A LONG TIME TO GET GOOD AT SAYING NO, AND IT STILL FEELS PAINFUL, BUT I'VE GOTTEN BETTER AT IT." Bret Taylor 24. "I WILL NEVER BUILD A PURELY DIGITAL BUSINESS. THEY'RE TOO HARD. YOUR FAILURE RATE IS ASTRONOMICAL. I LIKE THINGS THAT ARE MESSY AND COMPLICATED BECAUSE THE AVERAGE PERSON CAN'T TOLERATE THE PAIN. I LIKE THAT BARRIER." Adam Sandow 25. "IT'S TOO EASY TO BE COOL AND HEDGE YOUR BETS, BUT TRUE GREATNESS REQUIRES BEING ALL IN." Glue Guys 26. "THERE ARE TWO ERROR TYPES IN VENTURE CAPITAL BUT ONLY ONE OF THEM MATTERS—MISSING THE BIG ONE IS THE WHOLE GAME." Bill Gurley 27. "VENTURE CAPITAL IS LIKE TAKING THE BEST OLYMPIC ATHLETES, GIVING THEM MONEY, AND SAYING 'SEE YOU AT THE OLYMPICS.' THAT'S CRAZY." Dave Fontenot 28. "IF PEOPLE COME AT YOU WITH ANYTHING BUT LOVE, REMEMBER, IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU." Cyan Banister 29. "MARKETING IS OUR CORE COMPETENCY. WE'RE GOING TO OUTSOURCE EVERYTHING ELSE. RED BULL HAS NO PRODUCTION FACILITIES OR WAREHOUSES." Dietrich Mateschitz 30. "THE MARKET DETERMINES HOW BIG THE COMPANY CAN GET, AND THE PEOPLE DETERMINE HOW BIG THE COMPANY WILL GET." Pat Grady 31. "RULES ARE OPPORTUNITIES, NOT CONSTRAINTS." Gabe Whaley 32. "AS A LEADER, IF YOU'RE NOT SPENDING 90% OF YOUR TIME TEACHING, YOU'RE NOT DOING YOUR JOB. A BUSINESS ACHIEVES LONG-TERM SUCCESS BY CONTINUOUSLY REPLENISHING LEADERS INSIDE THE ORGANIZATION." Robert Kierlin 33. "ONCE YOU ACCEPT AND EMBRACE THAT YOU'RE NOT PERFECTLY RATIONAL, THAT YOU ARE A LITTLE INSECURE, THAT YOU DO HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF AN EGO, THEN YOU CAN MANAGE DECISIONS AROUND THAT REALITY RATHER THAN PRETENDING THEY DON'T EXIST." Morgan Housel 34. "IF YOU DON'T STOP REPEATING A MANTRA, YOU WON'T SURVIVE." Haruki Murakami 35. "THERE ARE ONLY TWO REASONS COMPANIES BEHAVE WELL: BECAUSE THEY WANT TO AND BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO. OUR PREFERENCE IS TO INVEST IN THOSE THAT WANT TO." Nick Sleep 36. "I LEARNED THIS FROM SCHWARZMAN. PEOPLE DON'T GIVE MONEY TO THE INVESTORS THEY THINK ARE GOING TO MAKE THE MOST MONEY, THEY ALLOCATE TO PEOPLE THEY LIKE." Eric Serrano 37. "MOST INVESTORS ARE MORE WILLING TO PAY A LOT OF MONEY FOR SOMETHING WITH NO PROBLEMS THAN TO PAY THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF MONEY FOR SOMETHING WITH PROBLEMS." Ali Hamed 38. "IF YOU WANT TO GET TO THE PROMISED LAND, WHICH IS 100X ON YOUR INVESTMENT, YOU NEED 20 TO 30 YEARS TO DO IT. AND IF YOU CAN'T GET TO 10X IN 10 YEARS, YOU HAVE NO CHANCE TO GET TO 100X IN 20 TO 30 YEARS." Mitch Rales 39. "THE WILLINGNESS OF MARKETS TO CONTINUALLY PUT MULTIPLES ON TEMPORARY SURPLUSES IS A CONSTANT SOURCE OF CONFUSION." Modest Proposal 40. "NATURAL GAS IS THIS INCREDIBLY VERSATILE LITTLE MOLECULE... IF YOU SHUT THIS OFF OVERNIGHT, WE'RE GOING TO BE FIGHTING THE NEXT WAR WITH STICKS AND STONES VERY QUICKLY." CNX Resources 41. "THE TROUBLE WITH THIS BUSINESS IS THAT EVERYBODY EXPECTS TO FIND OIL ON THE SURFACE. IF IT WERE NEAR THE TOP, THERE WOULDN'T BE ANY TRICK TO IT. YOU'VE GOT TO DRILL DEEP FOR OIL. THERE'S ESSENTIALLY AN INEXHAUSTIBLE SUPPLY OF PEOPLE WHO WANT TO GET THE MOST FOR DOING THE LEAST, AND SO IN MY OWN LIFE, I WANT TO GET THE MOST BY DOING THE MOST." Monty Moncrief 42. "A PERSON CAN HAVE THE GREATEST IDEA IN THE WORLD BUT IF THEY CAN'T CONVINCE ENOUGH OTHER PEOPLE, IT DOESN'T MATTER." Steve Jobs 43. "EVERY GREAT CREATOR IS SHARING THEIR DNA AND EXPERIENCES WITH THE WORLD. SOME SPREAD IT THROUGH ART, SOME THROUGH MUSIC. FOR ME, IT'S THROUGH PRODUCT." Ronnie Fieg 44. "THE FIRST ROCKET THAT WENT INTO ORBIT COST $1 MILLION PER KILOGRAM. WE'RE NOW TALKING ABOUT A ROCKET THAT MIGHT BE COMMERCIALLY ACTIVE IN FIVE YEARS, WHICH WILL COST $10 PER KILOGRAM. THAT'S THE SAME PRICE THE POST OFFICE CHARGES. THINK OF WHAT IS POSSIBLE IF SPACE LAUNCHES ARE AS COST-COMPETITIVE AS THE POST OFFICE." SpaceX 45. "EVERY TIME PUBLIC MARKETS AND REGULATION FAIL TO PROVIDE AN ADEQUATE SOLUTION, PRIVATE MARKETS STEP IN." Armen Panossian 46. "THE DIRTY SECRET ABOUT OWNING A SPORTS TEAM IS YOU GO INTO IT ASSUMING YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE MONEY AND THEN YOU FIND OUT THAT IF YOU WANT TO WIN, YOU'VE GOT TO SPEND ALL THE MONEY." Marc Lasry 47. "JAPAN TODAY IS BASICALLY WHAT THE U.S. MARKET WAS IN THE 1980S." Japan Activism 48. "MY FIVE-WORD BUSINESS BOOK FOR JAPANESE INTERNET ENTREPRENEURS IS: PLEASE DON'T GO TO AMERICA." Rakuten 49. "WHERE DO YOU WANT ME TO SPEND MY TIME AS CEO; ON A CONFERENCE CALL WITH ANALYSTS OR FINDING THE NEXT MARKET? I'VE NEVER MET A SHAREHOLDER WHO DOESN'T WANT ME TO SPEND MY TIME ON THE BUSINESS. SO WE DON'T DO A LOT OF IR AND NO ANALYST CALLS." Winmark 50. "YOU TALK ABOUT THE ECONOMY, YOU CAN WRITE, YOU CAN HAVE BEAUTIFUL CHARTS, YOU CAN WAX AWAY POETICALLY, YOU CAN STUDY STUFF AND POST ON TWITTER...IF YOU DON'T PUT CAPITAL AT RISK, I DON'T CARE. IT JUST DOESN'T MATTER." Eric Golden 51. "INTERDIGITAL'S TECHNOLOGY HAS BEEN LICENSED TO MORE THAN 7 BILLION DEVICES OVER THE LAST DECADE. FOR EVERY IPHONE THAT'S SOLD, THEY GET 60 CENTS." InterDigital 52. "VULCAN HAS 400 QUARRIES ACROSS 22 STATES. THAT GIVES THEM ABOUT 16 BILLION TONS OF AGGREGATE RESERVES, OR 60 YEARS WORTH OF SUPPLY." Vulcan Materials 53. "I TRIED TO HIRE A VERY SENIOR RESEARCHER FROM META. THEY SAID, COME BACK TO ME WHEN YOU HAVE 10,000 H100 GPUS. THAT WOULD COST BILLIONS OF DOLLARS AND TAKE 5-10 YEARS TO GET FROM NVIDIA." Aravind Srinivas 54. "SINCE THE MENDELSONS TOOK OVER HEICO IN 1990, SALES HAVE COMPOUNDED ANNUALLY AT 15%, NET INCOME AT 18%, AND THAT'S DRIVEN A 21% ANNUAL RETURN IN THE SHARE PRICE. NOT TOO SHABBY." HEICO 31. "RULES ARE OPPORTUNITIES, NOT CONSTRAINTS." Gabe Whaley 55. "ACCOUNTING FOR THE COST OF FAILURES AND INFLATION, THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY NOW SPENDS ABOUT $2.5 BILLION PER APPROVED DRUG, COMPARED TO $40 MILLION (IN TODAY'S DOLLARS) IN 1953." Alex Telford 56. "PATEK PHILIPPE SELLS AROUND 70,000 WATCHES ANNUALLY AND EARNS ABOUT $1.2 BILLION. BUT, INTERESTINGLY, THE SECONDARY MARKET FOR PATEK WATCHES DOES ABOUT $8 BILLION IN TURNOVER EACH YEAR." Patek Philippe 57. "IN 2011, 3I INVESTED ~£106 MILLION INTO DISCOUNT RETAILER, ACTION. IT HAS SINCE RECEIVED BACK £2.9 BILLION, OR 25 TIMES WHAT IT PUT IN, AND THE VALUE OF ITS INVESTMENT TODAY IS £14 BILLION, A RETURN OF OVER 100 TIMES THE ORIGINAL INVESTMENT." 3i 58. "IF THE WORLD WANTS TO KEEP THE OLYMPICS, THE MOST RATIONAL WAY TO DO IT IS TO HAVE ONE DESIGNATED SITE TO HOST THE SUMMER GAMES EVERY FOUR YEARS AND ANOTHER TO HOST THE WINTER GAMES SO WE DON'T HAVE TO REBUILD THE ENTIRE OLYMPIC INFRASTRUCTURE EVERY TIME." The Olympics 59. "CHASE COLEMAN HAD A REALLY INTERESTING STATISTIC. HE SAID CHATGPT, WHICH LAUNCHED IN 2022, WAS TO AI AS NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR WAS TO THE INTERNET IN 1994. LESS THAN 1% OF CURRENT GLOBAL INTERNET MARKET CAP WAS FOUNDED IN THE 2 YEARS AFTER NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR CAME OUT." Gavin Baker 60. "HANS' VISION IS STILL BEING EXECUTED AT ROLEX ON A DAILY BASIS DESPITE THE FACT THAT HE PASSED AWAY MORE THAN HALF A CENTURY AGO. HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN YOU THINK OF THAT BUILD A WORLD-CLASS BUSINESS AND 50 YEARS AFTER THEY PASS AWAY, THE COMPANY KEEPS GOING AS IF THEY WERE STILL RUNNING IT?" Hans Wilsdorf, Rolex 61. "IT'S A LITERAL RAGS TO RICHES STORY, FOUNDED BY CIRCUS PERFORMERS IN THE GREAT DEPRESSION AS A RAG CLEANING BUSINESS. TODAY IT IS AMERICA'S LARGEST UNIFORM RENTAL BUSINESS AND ITS GROWTH, PROFITABILITY, AND SHAREHOLDER RETURNS ARE AMONG THE HIGHEST IN THE S&P 500 OVER VIRTUALLY ANY TIME PERIOD." Cintas 62. "I WAS NOT WILLING TO LISTEN TO OTHER PEOPLE'S IDEAS. I WANTED EVERYTHING TO BE MY WAY. I FOUGHT FOR MANY YEARS TO MAKE SURE NO ONE COULD TELL ME WHAT TO DO." George Lucas 63. "EVERY ADVANCE IN THE COMPLEXITY OF THE ECONOMY PUTS AN ADDED PREMIUM UPON SUPERIOR ABILITY." The Lessons of History 64. "EVERYBODY JUST ASSUMES YOU WANT TO BE PART OF A GROWING MARKET, BUT THERE ARE DIFFERENT WAYS TO GO ABOUT IT. JUST LOOK AT AMETEK, TRANSDIGM, HEICO, MOTOROLA, OR AXON." Matt Reustle 65. "IF YOU TAKE THE TOP FIVE ENERGY COMPANIES IN THE WORLD AND THE TOP FIVE TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES, THE TECH NAMES ARE SPENDING TWICE AS MUCH ON CAPEX TODAY." Michael Mauboussin Unsubscribe · Preferences © Colossus, LLC Somewhere, Greenwich, CT 06830

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