Katie Potts founded Herald Investment Management and has managed the Herald Investment Trust since 1994, generating strong returns by investing in smaller companies across the telecom, multimedia and technology sectors. We discuss Katie's evolution as an investor, the differences between the UK and US markets, and the importance of being a patient and long-term provider of primary capital. We also explore the benefits of meeting lots of companies and running winners in a diversified portfolio.
Show notes:
[1:13] Katie discusses founding Herald and how she came to focus on smaller companies
[2:55] The importance of having the right structure
[4:06] Katie’s evolution as an investor
[6:51] How technology has changed and the benefits of renting processing power
[10:48] Differences between the UK and US market
[12:10] A shortage of long-term capital in the UK
[15:10] The current investment environment
[18:33] Common investment pitfalls
[19:39] Risk management
[20:35] Running winners whilst spreading your bets
[22:04] The benefits of meeting a lot of companies
[24:45] Accounting for stock based compensation
[25:49] Diverging from the script and taking a long term view
[26:53] Judging the quality of people
[28:06] Being a provider of primary capital and the advantages of small cap companies over larger ones
[30:09] The importance of patience
[30:59] Avoiding the most popular IPOs
[32:33] There are always winners and losers in the tech sector
[33:06] The big trends over the next decade
[34:00] Be interested and enjoy it
