Starting his own investment firm at a younger age than most, William Heard learned the importance of listening while carving his own path in the equity investing space.

William Heard is the founder, CEO, and CIO of Heard Capital. His investing approach is propelled by the skills he obtained through his upbringing in Milwaukee, WI and his experiences in finance—such as actively listening, always having a plan for what can go wrong with an investment before initiating a position, and analyzing a management team’s “Say-to-Do” Ratio.

In this episode, William explains why investors should never dilute their best ideas. William also explains how focusing on debates, rather than screens, leads Heard Capital to its investment ideas, and discusses the firm’s dedicated process to help remove confirmation bias and see through the fog.

“I know that every day is going to be different,” says William, “Our investment process begins with listening and making sense of your environment, knowing what's real and what's not, and then supporting the decisions made with a unit-based fact pattern.”

William Heard earned his degree in Finance and Real Estate from Marquette University’s College of Business Administration, where he founded the University’s Applied Investment Management Program. William currently serves on the Leadership Council for a Better Chicago, the City Year Chicago Board of Directors, and actively participates in OneGoal: a local organization dedicated to creating opportunities for today’s youth and low-income population.