Career Reflections, Becoming a Great Investor and Investing in Businesses that Change the World with Ex Goldman Sachs Partner and Co-Founder of Beckon Capital, Phil Moffitt
Mar 9, 2021
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Former partner at Goldman Sachs, Phil Moffitt, discusses his journey to Wall Street, his study of psychology, and co-founding Beckon Capital with a focus on 'impact 3.0'. He shares advice for future leaders and addresses the challenges of investing in small businesses. The podcast also explores the evolving concept of impact in business and the importance of measuring and verifying impact.
Beckon Capital aims to bridge the funding gap for small businesses and promote impact investing by incorporating impact considerations into decision-making processes.
Beckon Capital takes a generalist investment approach, leveraging technology and a strong team to streamline the investment process and evaluate potential opportunities across diverse sectors.
Deep dives
The mission of Beck and Capital
Beck and Capital's mission is to make capital available to smaller businesses that have been starved of funding. They aim to bridge the gap between traditional lending institutions and small businesses by using technology and an online platform to attract and evaluate potential opportunities. Their vision is to provide capital to businesses that are not impact-naive, helping them understand and manage their impact on both financial and social levels.
The importance of understanding impact
Beck and Capital believes that impact and profitability can coexist. They embrace impact 3.0, where businesses incorporate impact considerations into their decision-making processes, leading to increased resilience and sustainability. By identifying and managing externalities and measuring impact, businesses can actually drive profitability through their impact initiatives. Beck and Capital encourages businesses to go from being impact-naive to becoming impact-adept, and they aim to broaden the understanding and application of impact investing.
The investment approach of Beck and Capital
Beck and Capital takes a generalist investment approach, investing in a diverse range of businesses across various sectors. They have a strong team with skills in financial analysis, modeling, and market evaluation. Their investment decisions are driven by a deep understanding of the competitive landscape, industry trends, and financial analysis. They also utilize technology to streamline the investment process and provide a scalable platform for onboarding and evaluating potential opportunities.
Advice for the youth and next-gen professionals
One piece of advice shared by the speaker is to avoid complacency and not let oneself become mentally or emotionally stagnant. It's important to remain open-minded, willing to adapt, and constantly challenge one's own ideas and beliefs. The speaker also encourages younger individuals to pursue activities and hobbies that bring them joy and fulfillment, and not to neglect personal development outside of their careers. Additionally, the speaker emphasizes the value of doing something one enjoys rather than simply pursuing what is expected or perceived as prestigious.
Phil Moffitt was a partner at Goldman Sachs for 20 years before starting the impact investment firm, Beckon Capital. In this episode we discussed Phil’s upbringing and his journey to the biggest prize on Wall Street. We then dived deep into his study of psychology and his reasons for co-founding Beckon Capital and the firms philosophy, diving deep into 'impact 3.0'. We finished off discussing his advice for future leaders and as always finished off with a quick fire round of questions