Cucinelli, Picasso, and Disney | Colossus Weekly

Best of the Week

How to Do Great Work (Article | 58 mins)

Paul Graham did it again. A must read.

Pair with: David Senra’s selection of the most valuable lessons from Paul Graham’s essays.

Amateurs Obsess Over Tools, Pros Over Mastery (Article | 5 mins)

A good reminder that “expertise is gained through deliberate, consistent practice and a deep understanding of the fundamentals.” Not lists of the latest AI tools that will 10x your productivity overnight.

Pair with: Our conversation with Michael Mayer on improving your information diet.

Documenting the Creator Economy (Podcast | 65 mins)

The relationship between platforms and creators is complicated. This conversation highlights how creators should protect themselves in a shifting landscape.

Pair with: Our conversation with Daniel Ek on enabling creators within the audio space

Making Media - Om Malik

Guest: Om Malik – technology journalist and investor

Legendary tech journalist Om Malik reflects on his seminal conversation with the King of Cashmere and other lessons from his glittering career. Filled with lessons on business, media and life that we will remember for a lifetime.

Pair with: Brunello Cucinelli – On my Om (Article | 30 mins)

Businessman turned philosopher Brunello Cucinelli shares his unique views on business and life in this rare interview. This is an extraordinary conversation that emphasizes balance, human connection and dignity.

Making Media is brought to you by Scribe. Scribe is the magic behind Colossus transcripts. One of the best decisions we made at Colossus was transcribing all of our audio into a searchable transcript library. We had been using another provider up until the summer of 2022 but we were constantly having issues with accuracy if our audio was just the slightest bit impaired. Whether it's training sessions, internal Q&As, or for media purposes, the value of transcripts is huge. And we are not alone. Scribe is the transcription service that powers all of S&P Global - like CapIQ - and the client list includes our friends at Tegus. Go to joincolossus.com/scribe to unlock 150 minutes of free transcription and test their capabilities

Founders - Pablo Picasso and Walt Disney

Episode 310: Pablo Picasso and Walt Disney: Creators

A clash of creators. David brings to life this fabled comparison by Paul Johnson of two of the greatest artists of the 20th century. A fascinating episode that pays tribute to their lasting influence.

Founders is brought to you by Tiny. Tiny is the easiest way to sell your business. For over a decade, Tiny has partnered with founders to give them quick, straightforward exits that protect their team and culture and keep their businesses operating for the long term. If you’re interested in your dream exit, talk to Tiny today.

 Invest Like the Best - Dave Yuan

Guest: David Yuan – founder of Tidemark Capital

Dave has invested in vertical market software for as long as anyone we know. He explains his fascination with the space, the hallmarks of great VMS entrepreneurs, and takes us through a number of case studies to illuminate the nuances you need to know as an investor.

Pair with: The Paths To Multi-Product (Article| 15 mins)

In this blog post, Dave outlines how software companies can become multi-product businesses and explores the pros and cons of the most well-trodden paths.

Invest Like the Best is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors. Tired of running your own expert calls to get up to speed on a company? Tegus is the gold standard for research, delivering unmatched access to timely, qualitative insights through the largest and most differentiated expert call transcript database. With over 60,000 transcripts spanning 22,000 public and private companies, investors can accelerate their fundamental research process by discovering highly-differentiated and reliable insights that can’t be found anywhere else in the market. As a listener, drive your next investment thesis forward with Tegus for free at tegus.co/patrick.

Business Breakdowns - Applied Materials

Guest: Dylan Patel – author and Chief Analyst of Semi Analysis

Our exploration of the semiconductor industry continues with this analysis of Applied Materials, the biggest manufacturer of chipmaking equipment in the world. Learn how its business model differs from ASML and why a concentrated customer base is no bad thing.

Pair with: What Exactly is AI & Why Should We Care? A Layman’s Exploration (Video | 65 mins)

Hear more from Dylan as he discusses generative AI, autonomous vehicles, the role of GPUs, and the impact of AI on commerce and society at large.

Business Breakdowns is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors, and provider of Canalyst. Tired of calculating fully-diluted shares outstanding? Access every publicly-reported datapoint and industry-specific KPI through their database of over 4,000 driveable global models handbuilt by a team of sector-focused analysts, 35+ industry comp sheets, and Excel add-ins that let you use their industry-leading data in your own spreadsheets. Tegus’ models automatically update each quarter, including hard-to-calculate KPIs like stock-based compensation and organic growth rates, empowering investors to bypass the friction of sourcing, building and updating models. As a listener, you can trial Canalyst by Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

Breakdowns Research

Read our research on Applied’s history, business model, and position in the semiconductor industry. Prepared ahead of Zack’s conversation with Dylan.

Thanks to John Rodriguez, Erick Mokaya, and Jefferson Rumanyika for their help and research this week.

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