Will Thorndike

Will Thorndike, co-founder of Compounding Labs and author of 'The Outsiders,' shares his wisdom on long-term value creation and capital allocation. He discusses how the modern search fund model empowers early career CEOs to achieve substantial growth. Thorndike highlights the significance of great leadership, resource allocation, and organizational design for enduring success. He also delves into the evolving investment landscape, emphasizing the importance of mentorship and community support for new entrepreneurs navigating succession challenges.

Will Thorndike, author of 'The Outsiders' and founder of Compounding Labs, dives into the power of long holding periods in investments. He shares insights from his new project, the '50X' podcast, emphasizing the traits of businesses that achieve high compound returns over decades. Thorndike discusses navigating revenue quality, customer churn, and capital efficiency in long-term investments. He highlights strategic insights on capital allocation, recurring revenue models, and the importance of strong company culture in fostering sustainable growth, even amid market uncertainties.

This week’s guest is Will Thorndike, an author and investor whose book The Outsiders is an all-time favorite of mine. Our conversation is in two parts. First, we dive deep into the lessons of his 8-year research project studying CEOs who were master capital allocators. These CEOs include Henry Singleton, John Malone, Tom Murphy, Katherine Graham, and Warren Buffett. We discuss how these CEOs tended to be contrarians on topics like dividends, buybacks, acquisitions, and the use of debt. As we go through each of the tools in the capital allocators toolkit, you’ll hear several useful lessons for running or evaluating a business. In the second part, we cover Will’s career in private equity. Will founded and continues to run Housatonic Partners, investing in buyouts, recaps, and search funds. Will has been one of the most active search fund investors for decades, and given how much time I’ve spent in past episodes on the searchers or operators in the micro-cap, permanent equity space, it was great to get the perspective of an experienced LP. As always, we also take time to survey the dangers and opportunities in today’s private equity market. For comprehensive show notes on this episode go to http://investorfieldguide.com/thorndike For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag

Join Will Thorndike, author of 'The Outsiders' and a savvy private equity investor, as he delves into the secrets of successful outsider CEOs. He shares his journey of interviewing these elusive leaders and discusses how their capital allocation strategies can inform modern businesses. The conversation tackles the evolution of metrics like EBITDA in today’s tech landscape and highlights the importance of effective communication during mergers. Thorndike also reveals innovative approaches and ethical considerations in the pharmaceutical industry, enriching the insights on leadership and performance.

Will Thorndike, a private equity investor and author of 'The Outsiders,' shares insights into his unique investment journey and the formative experiences that shaped his approach. He discusses the challenges and rewards of board leadership in public companies while diving into the exceptional traits of outstanding CEOs who prioritize pragmatic leadership. Thorndike emphasizes the crucial role of capital allocation strategies and effective communication in assessing CEO effectiveness, shedding light on what sets high-performing leaders apart in the business world.