Tag Archives: Financial Strategy

Investing Errors Come From Psychology, Not Information — Charlie Munger (2 of 2)

“A latticework of mental models” describes ways that Charlie Munger sees intelligence and wisdom. Mental models describe more than simple IQ, or Intelligence Quotient. Munger Avoids Investing Errors by Many Mental Models Munger believes a wise person is best served by 80 to 90 mental… Continue reading

Bootstrap Companies Succeed Without Big Venture Capital

Five out of six of the fastest growing companies in the US grow with capital from sources other than traditional venture capital.  How about the banks? Talked to an entrepreneurial banker lately? Didn’t think so. Bootstrap companies are creative in finding capital, often out of simple… Continue reading

Founder-Led Companies Return Three Times S&P 500 Average

A study in 2016 from Bain & Company shows that over the past 15 years “founder-led companies deliver shareholder returns that are three times higher than those of other S&P 500 companies.” Therefore, we at Greybull Stewardship focus on those founder-led, or founder-involved, companies. We… Continue reading

The Business Cycle Also Rises – Hard-Earned Wisdom of Business Cycles

A business cycle increase the degree of difficulty in managing a business.  Watching (and experiencing) some unconnected sectors undergoing big cycles right now has me thinking about cycles.  Here are some big ones currently: a) Silicon Valley start-up valuations declining after a 7-8 year boom,… Continue reading

Diverse Fundraising Market Requires More Filtering than Ever

Private company fundraising is becoming more diverse, robust, and complicated by the day.  This is good news for private companies, but not without some downsides. When unique (and often better) doesn’t fit traditional fundraising A core hypothesis of my investment fund, Greybull Stewardship, is that there… Continue reading

Angel Investing Not As Prevalent nor Effective As You May Think

Angel investing has reached a new level of interest by the general public because start-ups are doing well and there are new ways to be an angel (AngelList, crowdfunding, etc.).  The New York Times recently published an article about the pros and cons of angel… Continue reading

Portfolio Churn — Enemy of Investment Returns

Churn destroys investment return.  Strangely, traditional private equity builds itself to churn.  Churn reduces investment returns for several reasons such as transaction costs, business disruption, and the difference in tax rates between ordinary income and capital gains.  This last difference is the easiest to quantify as… Continue reading

Simple Strategy Lessons: Better before cheaper. Revenue before costs.

Sometimes the best ideas and best advice are the most simple. When I read the following article a while back, I loved it. And believed it. And continue to believe it. Michael Raynor and Mumtaz Ahmed from Deloitte Consulting performed a study that began with 25,000 companies… Continue reading

Companies and Founders Deserve Better Financing Options

Business financing and capital raising are full of contradictions.  The world is awash in capital, but the availability of capital to businesses is often binary.  For some, too much capital is stalking them.  For others, the switch to turn on capital flow remains hidden.  Size… Continue reading

Resilient Companies Balance Continuity with Shock Absorption

Time can be an overlooked element in business.  Time can be an enemy, and time can be a friend.  Understanding the impact of time on your business separates the best business minds from the rest.  Time affects the pace of change for components of your business, your… Continue reading