Joys of Compounding

Today’s teacher is renowned historian Patrick Griffin. Patrick is the former chair of the Department of History at the University of Notre Dame. In 2021, he was named the Harold Vivian Harmsworth Visiting Professor of American History at the University of Oxford, perhaps the highest honor an American historian can receive.  He joined us to explore “The Lessons of History” by Will and Ariel Durant, a book that has been repeatedly recommended to us over the years by some of the world's most compelling investors, leaders, thinkers, and builders. To quote the late great Charlie Munger, who was also a student of Durant, “There is no better teacher than history in determining the future.” This 100-page book is a masterful distillation of Durant's 11-volume 10,000-plus page magnum opus, “The Story of Civilization.” Whether you're looking to develop better pattern recognition in your work, or perhaps more existentially how to begin to even think about how and what to paint on this precious canvas that we call a human life. We hope you enjoy this class on “The Lessons of History” with the esteemed Patrick Griffin. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by EightSleep, the temperature-controlled mattress cover that heats or cools your mattress to transform your sleep. The Pod 4 Ultra is the new gold standard in intelligent sleep systems. It can be added to your current mattress like a fitted sheet and is been clinically proven to give you up to an hour more quality of sleep every night. The cooling capability can cool your side of the bed to 20 degrees below room temperature, all managed by the pod's autopilot feature, which adjusts the temperature throughout the night. This holiday season go to eightsleep.com/breakdowns and use code JOYS for up to $600 off the Pod 4 Ultra when bundled.  ----- Joys of Compounding is a property of Pine Grove Studios in collaboration with Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Joys of Compounding, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.  Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Follow us on Twitter: @Buhrman_Rick | @PaulBuser | @JoinColossus Show Notes (00:00:00) Welcome to the Joys of Compounding (00:01:17) The Importance of History (00:04:14) The Historian's Toolkit (00:07:17) Will Durant's Journey (00:09:18) Lessons from 'The Lessons of History' (00:23:08) Human Nature and History (00:34:29) The Role of Economy in History (00:38:01) The American Revolution in Context (00:38:20) The Irony of National Exceptionalism (00:39:00) Revolutions and National Belonging (00:42:17) Geography and the Age of Revolution (00:43:50) Human Ingenuity and Overcoming Geography (00:45:53) The Role of Common People in History (00:47:12) The Immigrant Experience and Personal Reflections (00:50:49) Yankee Sullivan: A Prizefighter's Tale (00:55:55) Boxing as a Metaphor for Human Nature (00:58:49) The Inevitability of War (01:03:10) The Concept of Progress (01:07:14) The Power of Compounding in History

Today's teacher is Rich Wong, general partner at renowned venture firm Accel. Rich is a very special investor and leader, and he spent many years as an operator prior to his time in VC. What was going to be a short stint as a venture operating partner nearly 20 years ago turned into a defining pivot for Rich. He not only quickly reached the top of the venture profession but also became the go-to investor for many luminary companies, such as Atlassian, UiPath, AdMob, Checkr, Rovio, Service Channel, and many many more.  His range of interests spans beyond venture, and he's very involved in many of the leading university-based poverty alleviation labs. It's always a treasure for us to find someone who integrates so many facets of life in service of others. Please enjoy our class with Rich Wong. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by EightSleep, the temperature-controlled mattress cover that heats or cools your mattress to transform your sleep. The Pod 4 Ultra is the new gold standard in intelligent sleep systems. It can be added to your current mattress like a fitted sheet and is been clinically proven to give you up to an hour more quality of sleep every night. The cooling capability can cool your side of the bed to 20 degrees below room temperature, all managed by the pod's autopilot feature, which adjusts the temperature throughout the night. Go to eightsleep.com/joys for $350 off.  ----- Joys of Compounding is a property of Pine Grove Studios in collaboration with Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Joys of Compounding, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.  Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Follow us on Twitter: @Buhrman_Rick | @PaulBuser | @JoinColossus Show Notes (00:00:00) Welcome to the Joys of Compounding (00:04:41) The Atlassian Chase Story (00:07:41) Bootstrapping and Venture Capital (00:18:10) Excel's Founding and Evolution (00:22:14) Rich Wong's Early Influences (00:24:42) Becoming an Accidental Venture Capitalist (00:31:39) Excel's Team Dynamics and Investment Strategies (00:38:28) The Evolution of Mobility and AI (00:39:58) Bottom-Up Innovation and Defense Technology (00:41:25) AI's Role in Incumbents vs. Startups (00:44:53) Service Channel Case Study (00:47:58) Capital Efficiency and Indigestion (00:51:04) The Role of Grit and Overfunding (00:55:29) Venture Capital Ecosystem and Returns (01:04:03) Public Policy and Poverty Solutions (01:11:43) Balancing Career and Personal Life (01:15:37) How Rich Wants His Life To Be Measured

Today's teacher is Ravi Gupta, a partner at renowned venture firm Sequoia Capital. Ravi has had a fascinating and meandering career on his way to becoming a VC, from consulting at McKinsey to private equity at KKR to operations at Instacart as both CFO and COO. All along the way, Ravi was gathering and cultivating a unique set of skills that's equipped him to now identify and support some of the most daring founders striving to build legendary companies. Ravi's life and career are teeming with trials, successes, and applicable lessons for all of us. He's such a thoughtful and deep thinker, and I'd encourage you to check out his personal site, RKG.blog, for more of his musings. We hope you enjoy class with the ever-joyful Ravi Gupta. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by EightSleep, the temperature-controlled mattress cover that heats or cools your mattress to transform your sleep. The Pod 4 Ultra is the new gold standard in intelligent sleep systems. It can be added to your current mattress like a fitted sheet and is been clinically proven to give you up to an hour more quality of sleep every night. The cooling capability can cool your side of the bed to 20 degrees below room temperature, all managed by the pod's autopilot feature, which adjusts the temperature throughout the night. Go to eightsleep.com/joys for $350 off.  ----- Joys of Compounding is a property of Pine Grove Studios in collaboration with Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Joys of Compounding, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.  Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Follow us on Twitter: @Buhrman_Rick | @PaulBuser | @JoinColossus Show Notes (00:00:00) Welcome to Joys of Compounding (00:05:00) Aspirations and Career Beginnings (00:07:21) The Impact of Indian Heritage (00:12:53) The Notre Dame vs. Duke Rivalry (00:20:51) Lessons from Coach K and Leadership (00:24:18) From McKinsey to KKR (00:44:33) Learning and Humility in Private Equity (00:47:09) Finding Purpose Through Family (00:49:42) Motivation and Desperation at Instacart (00:56:04) The Role of a Supportive Leader (00:58:24) The Instacart Turnaround (01:04:41) Lessons from Sequoia and Venture Capital (01:23:57) Measuring Life by Relationships

We are back with a summer special and to celebrate, we have a cast of teachers joining us. In this episode, you’ll hear from the Mount Rushmore of business podcasters–Patrick O’Shaughnessy, David Senra, and Acquired’s David and Ben–as well as two of our favorite entrepreneurs. We’ll also reflect on what we’ve learned from our guests, from hosting the show, and discuss what’s next for this podclass of ours. Wherever you’re spending the summer, we hope you enjoy this episode! For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- Art of Investing is a property of Pine Grove Studios in collaboration with Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Art of Investing, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.  Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Follow us on Twitter: @ArtofInvest | @Buhrman_Rick | @PaulBuser | @JoinColossus Show Notes (00:00:00) Welcome to Art of Investing (00:00:56) Rick & Paul reflecting on season 1 of AOI and their summer (00:06:31) The spirit of shinise: Lessons from long-lived Japanese companies (00:14:44) Patrick O’Shaughnessy, Invest Like the Best & Colossus (00:40:10) Julian Flannery, Summus Global (01:08:08) Rick & Paul discussing key lessons from their guests (01:14:01) David & Ben, Acquired (01:41:43) David Senra, Founders (02:09:31) Rick & Paul recapping more of their guests (02:26:41) Nick Cromydas, Hunt Club (02:45:50) What to expect from season 2