Key IC questions: founder motives and tails

My guest today is Martín Escobari. Martín is Co-President and Head of Global Growth Equity at General Atlantic.

We talk about General Atlantic’s unique founding story and how its long-term structure, including permanent capital, a single P&L, and partnership culture, allows it to invest differently than other growth equity firms. We discuss the firm’s global perspective and particularly why the premium on U.S. equities is creating compelling opportunities across international and emerging markets.

Martín has spent his career investing through bubbles, market cycles, and technological shifts. He shares his investing framework for balancing intuition with analysis, his approach to “spearfishing” for once-in-a-decade opportunities, and why he believes this is the best window for growth equity since 2009.

Martín also reflects on his incredible personal story. He talks about growing up in turbulent Bolivia, and the role of curiosity and optimism in sustaining a long investing career.

Martín’s infectious energy and genuine love for investing made this conversation both insightful and a lot of fun.

Please enjoy my great conversation with Martín Escobari.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Show Notes:

(00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best

(00:05:00) The Bold Move That Landed a Job

(00:07:16) The Art of Spearfishing in Business

(00:11:55) Navigating the Dotcom Bubble

(00:15:18) Investing Through the AI “Bubble”

(00:20:06) General Atlantic Founding Story

(00:23:04) General Atlantic's Unique Investing Strategy

(00:28:20) Lessons on Fundraising

(00:30:48) Global Diversification and Market Insights

(00:33:12) Understanding Chinese Entrepreneurs

(00:35:27) Personal and Generational Traumas

(00:39:10) Characteristics of a GA Investment and Martín’s “Educated Intuition"

(00:43:55) Proud Investment Achievements

(00:44:41) Lessons from CEO Bill Ford

(00:46:15) Changes in Investing with Experience

(00:48:52) Current Market and Future Predictions

(00:54:55) Growth Equity’s Competitive Landscape

(00:56:59) How to Invest Outside the US

(00:59:44) How to Develop Investing Talent

(01:01:50) Inside the Investment Committee Process

(01:04:56) Why Growth Equity is Attractive Today

(01:05:58) Martín’s Unfinished Business and Mentoring

(01:09:33) The Kindest Thing