Value Hive Podcast

This episode is brought to you by TIKR. Join the free beta today at TIKR.com/hive.  This week we chat with Brad Hathaway, managing partner of Far View Capital. Far View Capital invests around the globe on the hunt for special situations. Brad graduated from Yale University with a Political Science degree and quickly found his way to the hedge fund/private equity world.  After honing his skills, Brad set off to start Far View Capital Management (website here). I loved this conversation. You can tell Brad bleeds Investing, business and continual learning.  Here's the show outline:  [4:08] When Brad's Investment Passion Clicked [11:56] Taking The Leap & Starting Far View Capital  [17:04] Personal Psychology As A Differentiator  [23:20] Examples of Early Wins & Early Losses [31:05] Keyword-Based Searching To Find Ideas [38:10] Understanding The Few Key Variables [47:43] The Value of Depth vs. Breadth [53:45] Arrogance vs. Humility  [70:10] Why Is This Being Sold?  [77:54] Global Spin-offs Are Great Hunting Grounds [81:11] US Frameworks on Non-US Companies [90:36] How Brad Likes To Short [95:10] Spending Time Away From Screens [104:05] Who Can Find Brad Hathaway on Twitter! [105:25] Closing Questions Big thanks again to Brad for coming on the show!  Also, check out Broadview's Investor letter (and reference to Samurai scoring) here. If you find Brad's Twitter handle please email me brandon@macro-ops.com for verification. I will personally send you the book You Can Be A Stock Market Genius.  Make sure to check out Far View Capital's website here. 

This episode is brought to you by TIKR. Join the free beta today at TIKR.com/hive Today's guest is Jeremy Raper. Jeremy runs RaperCapital.com and recently launched a premium investment research service.  Jeremy looks at public markets through the eyes of a credit analyst. This gives him a unique perception on markets, companies and capital structure situations. He's not afraid to invest all along the capital structure, and often writes about unique long/short bond opportunities.  Before launching his premium research service, Jeremy worked over a decade on both the buy and sell side research departments. He even spent time in Japan doing equity/credit analysis.  During our chat we talk about Jeremy's investment process, the edges gained while living/working in Japan, how he finds ideas and how he thinks about valuation/risk.  Here's the podcast outline:  [1:10] - Lessons From Playing Tennis [3:00] How Jeremy Got Started In Markets [6:15] Lessons From The Buy & Sell Side [8:35] Jeremy's First Taste in Credit Instruments [26:00] Jeremy's Four Pillars of Investing [32:12] Portfolio Construction and Allocation [35:24] How To Extract Value From Net Nets [39:51] The Pendulum of Shareholder vs. Customer Focus [43:42] Returns ON Capital vs. Return OF Capital  [56:00] How To Avoid Value Traps [60:00] Sustainable Free Cash Flow Definitions [69:00] Jeremy's Three Buckets of Idea  [74:28] How To Prioritize New Investment Ideas [80:00] Kill Your Ideas Quickly [84:33] If The Price Is Right, Look Deeper (CLMT) [93:18] Real-Time Example of Credit Analysis (361 Degrees) [105:46] Finding The Main Drivers of an Investment [108:19] Raper Capital Premium -- What To Expect  [118:28] Closing Questions If you want to learn more about Jeremy's research, head over to his site RaperCapital.com. Also make sure to follow him on Twitter @puppyeh1

Michael Girdley is a dynamic entrepreneur and founder of several startups, including Dura Software. He dives into his early fascination with tech and his unique journey from a family fireworks business to the coding bootcamp, CodeUp. Girdley shares insights on the challenges of delayed business feedback and the importance of customer loyalty in investing. He also critiques traditional investment strategies, advocating for a focus on hyper-niche software companies that offer essential solutions. Throughout, he emphasizes the need for adaptability and strong relationships in business.

This episode is brought to you by TIKR. Join the free beta today at TIKR.com/hive Can't believe we've made it 25 episodes!  We couldn't have done it without our AMAZING followers and guests. I know everyone likes to say that, but it's true. You, our listeners don't download episodes to hear my endless drivel. And you, our guests, don't come on the show without knowing your voice will be heard.  We're creating a tremendous flywheel and we're just getting started! This week we feature our conversation with Kirk Du Plessis, founder of OptionAlpha.com.  Kirk started OptionAlpha.com as a personal blog to track his option trading education. From there, he's turned the site into the resource for options education. OptionAlpha has over 200K email subscribers and they're doing really cool things in the coming years (which we talk about).  Our conversation covers all things options, personal life, successes, struggles and finding what works for you.  Here's the outline:  [1:54] Who is Kirk Du Plessis [5:30] What Kirk Learned From His Days as a REIT Analyst [10:32] Kirk’s First Taste of Options Trading [15:30] How Kirk Started OptionAlpha.com [16:35] Screw Emails, Just Make Some Content [21:00] How Kirk’s Strategy Has Changed Over The Years [30:46] Getting Into The Nitty Gritty of Options Trading [31:21] The Biggest Misconceptions About Options Trading [38:39] What COVID Has Done To The Options Market [49:00] Don’t Fight The Losses [53:20] Using Options To Create Insurance Float [58:00] Soup-to-Nuts Example of Creating Float [74:00] Finding Your Sweet Spot [79:00] Integrating OptionAlpha with Brokers [87:00] How To Automate Options Trading [96:00] Closing Questions If you like what we're doing, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts.  Also, make sure to follow Kirk and OptionAlpha on Twitter!

I'm thrilled to bring you Episode 24, my chat with Harris Kupperman (aka Kuppy) of Praetorian Capital. Kuppy is known for his views on all things tankers and shipping stocks.  But he's more than that. Way more than that. Our conversation dives deep into Kuppy's overall investment philosophy, how he stumbled upon investing, his love for travel and some crazy adventure stories.  If you're looking for the latest opinion on tankers, this isn't your podcast. But if you're looking for actionable, timeless investment thought and wisdom, you're in the right place.  Here's the podcast outline:  [0:00 - 4:00] Kuppy's First Dip in The Stock Market [5:00 - 10:00] Charts and Value Investing [11:00 - 20:00] Downside Protection & Why People Love Cheap [25:00 - 32:00] An Example of Kuppy's Investment Process [33:00 - 39:00] How Kuppy Thinks About Valuation [40:00 - 46:00] Breathe-Right Example [47:00 - 50:00] Cap-Ex Disguises Earnings Power [51:00 - 54:00] Operating Leverage  [55:00 - 58:00] Kuppy's Ideal Investment Situations [60:00 - 65:00] The Importance of Gut Feeling [66:00 - 76:00] Investing in Frontier Markets [77:00 - end] Kuppy's Travel Adventures If you like what we're doing, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Also, if you want to learn more about Kuppy, check him out on Twitter @hkuppy

Today's guest is Bill Brewster. Bill is the founder and portfolio manager of Sullimar Capital Group.  I'm excited to share our conversation as Bill's quickly becoming one of my favorite investment thinkers. I found him on Twitter, and after following his tweets and blog, I reached out asking him to come on the show.  During the conversation, we talk baseball, Charlie Munger, airlines and travel and everything in between.  Here's the timeline:  [0:00 - 6:00] Who is Bill Brewster? [7:00 - 10:00] How Bill's Investment Style Has Changed [11:00 - 19:00] Thinking About CEO Pay  [20:00 - 27:00] The Power of Surviving [28:00 - 37:00] Lessons From Bill's Mistakes [38:00 - 44:00] RH & Bill's Investment Process [46:00 - 55:00] How Bill Thinks About Valuation [56:00 - 60:00] Capital Accounts Blog Post [61:00 - 72:00] Incremental Free Cash Flow & Industry Analysis [73:00 - End] Airline Industries & What Bill Would Tell Young Investors Make sure you follow Bill on Twitter. His handle is @BillBrewsterSCG You can also follow his blog at https://sullimarcapital.group/

Episode 22 is live! This week we've got George Livadas on the show. George is the founder and portfolio manager of Upslope Capital. George graduated with a Russian degree, but found his way into investment banking at Citigroup. He worked in IB covering the brokerage and can producer industries (to name a couple).  George loves investing, but he didn't start out like many traditional value investors. He didn't read Buffett's letter, he didn't read Graham's doctrine. He developed a passion for investing by learning about business.  George founded Upslope Capital to invest his own way -- a differentiated way. George employs a long and short strategy at Upslope. He prefers to hunt in the mid-cap space for ideas, and has a soft-spot for boring, unloved businesses.  Here's what we cover in the conversation:  [0:00 - 5:00] Who is George Livadas [6:00 - 11:00] What Works For George in Investing [12:00 - 17:00] Why Mid-Caps & The Power of Simplicity  [18:00 - 22:00] What Makes A Good Investment?  [23:00 - 30:00] From Idea Generation To Investment  [31:00 - 42:00] George's Investment Process  [43:00 - 49:00] George's Thoughts on Shorting [50:00 - 55:00] Corporate Governance & COKE [56:00 - 60:00] Knowing Yourself & Being Wrong [63:00 - End] Concluding Questions If you want to learn more about George, check out these links:  Upslope Capital Website: https://www.upslopecapital.com/ George Livadas Twitter: https://twitter.com/UpslopeCapital Also, if you're interested in the McKinsey Book on Valuation: https://amzn.to/2VTqHcK

Excited to share Episode 21 with y'all!  What better time to have a turnaround expert on the show, right?  Jeff Sands is a 3x winner of the Turnaround Of The Year award (2017-2019), and he's got a good shot at 2020. He spent his early career working in his family business. When outside pressures rattled the company, Jeff realized two things: a) the importance of cash and b) that nobody taught him how to manage this crisis.  Jeff's passion is turning around troubled businesses, and he's one of the best in the world at it.  During our chat, we discuss:  [0:00 - 9:00] Introduction and Background [10:00 - 13:00] Why Stubbornness Is Death in Turnarounds [14:00-20:00] Jeff's Tools For Turnarounds [21:00-27:00] Why Jeff Doesn't Look at The P&L [28:00-30:00] First Steps in Any Turnaround [31:00-34:00] How To Coach A Bank [35:00-41:00] Founding Dorset Partners [42:00-56:00] Real World Turnaround Examples [57:00-59:00] How To Identify A Core Business [60:00-66:00] Jeff's Failures in Turnarounds [67:00-69:00] How To Spot Failed Turnarounds in Public Companies [70:00-end] Concluding Questions If you want to learn more about Jeff (and his book), check out these links:  Jeff's Twitter Jeff's Book Dorset Partners website If you like what we're doing, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts.  

We've made it to a huge milestone: 20 podcast episodes.  We couldn't have done it without you, our listener base. Y'all keep the lights on and help spread the word about what we're doing. For our 20th episode, we chat with Brent Beshore, CEO and Founder of Permanent Equity.  We're living in unprecedented times. COVID-19 is wreaking havoc on our day-to-day lives. It's shutting down businesses and entire economies. We don't know when we'll return to "normal". And when we do, we don't know what that new "normal" will look like.  In this episode I ask Brent to flesh out some of his latest essay pieces on mental models, cutting expenses and the new normal for life and business.  Here's the podcast timeline:  [0:00 - 6:00] Introduction [7:00 - 18:00] Cutting Fat, Muscle and Bone [20:00 - 30:00] Intricate Challenges Small Businesses Face [35:00 - 42:00] Capitalism & Eminent Domain [43:00 - 47:00] Permanent Equity's Safe Harbor [57:00 - 59:00] The Benefits of In-Person Meetings [60:00 - 65:00] The V-Bottom Reversal is Dead [66:00 - 70:00] Faith & Getting Back To What Matters [71:00 - End] How Brent Structures His Day If you like what we're doing with the podcast, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts.  Also, check out our free, weekly investing newsletter. We deliver actionable value investing content straight to your inbox. Every Wednesday. For Free. Forever. 

Episode 19 is here! I'm excited to bring y'all my conversation with Alex (aka, The Science of Hitting). Alex is a both a writer and investor. When he's not thinking about which businesses to buy, he's writing about them on GuruFocus.  Alex has over 600 blog posts on GuruFocus to date, a feat few others can claim. I've enjoyed Alex's content for years and getting the chance to chat with him about investing was a blast.  Here's what we cover:  [0:00 - 6:00] Introduction [7:00 - 14:00] Quality vs. Price [15:00 - 23:00] TSOH's Investment Process (Soup to nuts) [24:00 - 40:00] Can you pay too much for a quality business? [42:00 - 57:00] Lessons Learned From 600+ Blog Posts [60:07 - 70:00] Charles Schwab (SCHW) and Match (MTCH) [71:00 - end] Short-term volatility and closing questions I had a blast recording this podcast. I learned a ton and I know you will too.  Do yourself a favor and follow TSOH on Twitter @TSOH_Investing. You can also check out his articles on GuruFocus here.  Also, if you love the podcast, consider subscribing to our free, weekly value investing newsletter: The Value Hive.