"Company Breakdowns"

In this episode of Company Breakdowns, host Lorenzo Bertolini sit down with Gary Leff, aviation expert and writer of View from the Wing. Gary shares invaluable insights on Delta Airlines' 100-year transformation from a crop dusting operation to America's premium carrier. The conversation explores how Delta disrupted the traditional airline model through strategic airport slot acquisitions, turning maintenance into a profit center, and building an exceptional loyalty program that generates billions in high-margin revenue. They discuss how Delta created lasting competitive advantages in one of travel's most challenging industries.—📰 Be notified early when Turpentine's drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclusiveaccess 🙏 Help shape our show by taking our quick listener survey at https://bit.ly/TurpentinePulse —SPONSOR: NETSUITE | SAFEBASEOver 41,000 businesses trust NetSuite by Oracle, the #1 cloud ERP, to future-proof their operations. Whether you're earning millions or hundreds of millions, NetSuite empowers you to tackle challenges and seize opportunities. Download the free CFO's guide to AI and machine learning at https://netsuite.com/zen.Ready to save time and close deals faster? Inbound security reviews shouldn’t slow down your team or your sales cycle. Leading companies use SafeBase to eliminate up to 98% of inbound security questionnaires, automate workflows, and accelerate pipeline. Go to safebase.io/podcastRECOMMENDED PODCAST:Check out Modern Relationships, where Erik Torenberg interviews tech power couples and leading thinkers to explore how ambitious people actually make partnerships work. Founders Fund's Delian Asparouhov and researcher Nadia Asparouhova kick off the series with an unfiltered conversation about their relationship evolution.Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1786227593Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5hJzs0gDg6lRT6r10mdpVgYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ModernRelationshipsPod--LINKS:View from the Wing: https://viewfromthewing.com/--X:@lozo_the_bozo (Lorenzo)@garyleff (Gary)@turpentinemedia (Turpentine)--HIGHLIGHTS:Delta's Strategic Advantages Airport Infrastructure: Secured valuable slots and gates in capacity-constrained airports Made strategic deals with US Airways for LaGuardia slots, trading their DC slots plus cash Methodically built their New York presence through various deals, including taking United's JFK slots Created a moat through infrastructure that competitors can't easily replicate Maintenance Excellence: Transformed maintenance from a cost center to a profit center Does maintenance work for other carriers Uses older aircraft efficiently and maintains them well, saving capital costs Employee Relations: Pays employees better than competitors despite being largely non-union Outsources more than competitors to control costs Brand and Premium Positioning: Successfully sells first-class seats (87% occupied by paying customers including upgrades) Effectively uses data and personalized pricing Has built a strong presence in high-spending markets like New York and LA Loyalty Program and Revenue Diversification SkyMiles generates approximately $7 billion in revenue with 39% operating margins Loyalty program was valued high enough that Delta raised $6.5-10 billion in debt against it during the pandemic Using free inflight internet to drive loyalty program enrollment and credit card marketing International Strategy Owns stakes in airlines worldwide: Virgin Atlantic (49%), Korean Air, Air France, China Eastern Strategic global presence provides growth opportunities beyond the mature US market Future Outlook Potential disruption from new aircraft technologies (electric, vertical takeoff) Possibility of new revenue streams like inflight gambling Success will depend largely on the regulatory environment

In this engaging discussion, Eric Glyman, CEO of Ramp, shares his journey as a second-time founder in the fast-paced SaaS landscape. He delves into the transition from first to second-time entrepreneurship, emphasizing lessons learned and the importance of hiring the right talent. The conversation reveals how Ramp disrupted the corporate card industry by focusing on helping companies save money. Glyman also highlights the rise of New York as a tech hub post-COVID, showcasing its emerging innovation and talent pool.

William McDougall, an expert in engineering and technology consulting, shares fascinating insights into Hims & Hers' innovative business model. They discuss how the company disrupts traditional healthcare through a direct-to-consumer approach and its use of technology to streamline services. From subscription models to telehealth transformations, McDougall highlights the challenges and opportunities in the healthcare landscape. The conversation sheds light on effective marketing strategies and the importance of cost-effective solutions for better patient access.

Erik Bernhardsson, founder and CEO of Modal Labs, shares insights on scaling a cloud service that offers serverless GPU solutions essential for AI and machine learning. He discusses innovative resource management strategies to optimize costs and enhance developer experiences. Erik dives into the challenges of creating a custom runtime and keeping pace with traffic demands. He also reflects on his tech journey, shaped by his experiences at Spotify, and emphasizes the importance of intuitive onboarding and fostering skilled hires in a competitive market.

In this episode, Erik Torenberg chats with Tomasz Tunguz about Databricks, AI impact, data catalogs, and future data trends. They discuss Databricks' growth, competition, AI development, unstructured data handling, and strategic business decisions. The conversation also covers the importance of data control, AI workload support, market dynamics, and potential growth of AI companies like Databricks in the public market.

Today we're diving into Quilter, which just raised a $10M Series A, to get a deeper understanding of venture capital's investments into AI-assisted hard tech problems. Eric Vishria, General Partner at Benchmark, and Sergiy Nesterenko, Founder and CEO of Quilter, join Nathan Labenz to discuss Quilter's groundbreaking use of reinforcement learning to automate integrated circuit board designs. They delve into the importance of thinking beyond 'co-pilots' to fully automated AI solutions, and explore the balance of research and engineering in the AI space.🔥 Apply to join over 400 founders and Execs in the Turpentine Network: https://hmplogxqz0y.typeform.com/to/JCkphVqj--RECOMMENDED PODCAST:🎙️ This Won't Last - Eavesdrop on Keith Rabois, Kevin Ryan, Logan Bartlett, and Zach Weinberg's monthly backchannel. They unpack their hottest takes on the future of tech, business, venture, investing, and politics.Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1765665937Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2HwSNeVLL1MXy0RjFPyOSzYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWontLastpodcast--SPONSOR: BABBEL | BRAVE🌐 Ready to achieve your 2024 goals? Start learning a new language with Babbel. Enjoy app lessons, live classes, and podcasts designed for real-world conversations. Get up to 60% off at Babbel.com/torenberg🚀 The tech world turns to the Brave browser for a private ad platform that respects user privacy. Brave Ads offers first-party targeting, and it’s been cookieless since day one. Join the future of advertising at https://brave.com/ads. Mention “Turpentine” when signing up for a 25% discount on your first campaign.--LINKS:https://www.quilter.ai/https://benchmark.com/The Cognitive Revolution podcast: https://www.cognitiverevolution.ai/--TIMESTAMPS:(00:30) Introduction (01:07) Eric's Investment Thesis(03:00) The "AI and Done" Approach(06:50) Diverging from Large Language Models(09:15) The "Idea Maze" Framework(11:54) Disruptive Innovation(12:47) Sponsor: Brave | Babbel(15:09) Exploring the Data Landscape(16:18) Data Limitations and Reinforcement Learning(18:00) Overcoming the Sparse Reward Problem(19:10) Human Heuristics and Intermediate Rewards(21:06) Extrapolation vs. Interpolation(24:37) Trusting the Reward Signal in Circuit Board Design(25:46) Physics as an Unambiguous Oracle(27:05) User-Defined Search Depthbility to adjust the search depth and iteration of the system, enabling flexibility based on design complexity and optimization goals.(29:39) Compute Allocation(31:47) Different Physics Simulation Techniques(33:31) The Diffusion Model Approach(36:00) Advantages of Reinforcement Learning(38:00) Timeline and Bottlenecks(39:37) Unsolvable Problems and Gradual Progress(41:58) The Future of Circuit Board Design(43:29) Benchmark Portfolio(45:00) Challenges and Opportunities in Each Category(51:00) The Gap Between Research and Engineering(53:00) Call for Startups(54:06) Wrap

Writer-investor Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg discuss AI's impact on education, Stripe's unbundling strategy, 24-hour markets, Meta's AI involvement, TikTok's data practices, and revenue diversification. They delve into personalized learning, homeschooling, ad-supported models, and the evolving AI landscape.

Former Twilio CFO Lee Kirkpatrick discusses the IPO journey, strategic pricing, navigating the IPO process, qualities of a great CFO, lessons in ego management, and amusing anecdotes on company expense culture in this insightful podcast.

In this episode of 'Company Breakdowns', Drew Cohen from Speedwell Research joins Erik to delve into the intricacies of Copart's business, a leading tech company in the salvage vehicle marketplace. Dive into Copart's impressive financial performance, including high ROIC, consistent growth, and a strong balance sheet.🔥 Apply to join over 400 founders and Execs in the Turpentine Network: https://hmplogxqz0y.typeform.com/to/JCkphVqjSubscribe to this season of Company Breakdowns for analysis of Reddit, Databricks, and more! Subscribe to Company Breakdowns' newsletter: https://company-breakdowns.beehiiv.com/Company Breakdowns is a part of the Turpentine podcast network. Learn more: www.turpentine.co--RECOMMENDED PODCAST:🎙️ Second Opinion - A new podcast for health-tech insiders from Christina Farr of the Second Opinion newsletter. Join Christina Farr, Luba Greenwood, and Ash Zenooz every week as they challenge industry experts with tough questions about the best bets in health-tech.Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1759267211Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A8NwQE976s32zdBbZw6bv--RECOMMENDED PODCAST: TURPENTINE VCInvestor Erik Torenberg interviews partners at the top VCs in the world to learn their approach to the art and science of building a successful venture firm.Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1701006772Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Yb8ErLRnyoAqn4Y6NegTx--SPONSOR:The tech world turns to the Brave browser for a private ad platform that respects user privacy. Brave Ads offers first-party targeting, and it’s been cookieless since day one. Join the future of advertising at https://brave.com/ads. Mention “Turpentine” when signing up for a 25% discount on your first campaign.--LINKS:Newsletter: https://www.speedwellmemos.com/The Synopsis Podcast:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3lGqHRKHd7t5LIpKc8f7Li--FOLLOW ON X:@eriktorenberg (Erik)@Speedwell_LLC@turpentinemedia (Turpentine)--TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Intro (00:28) Drew Cohen and Speedwell Research(03:03) Unpacking Copart's Business Model and Market Position(06:58) The Founding Story of Copart and Its Evolution(14:59) Strategic Growth and Capital Allocation at Copart(17:11) Sponsor: Brave(20:38) Aligning Business Models with Incentives for Success(26:08) Coping with Catastrophes: Copart's Operational Excellence(29:48) Diversification Beyond North America and Salvage(32:18) International Expansion: Challenges and Opportunities(39:04) The Complexities of Entering the Salvage Vehicle Market(43:33) The Future of Copart in the Age of Autonomous Vehicles(46:53) Financial Insights and Copart's Business Model(49:59) Weighing the Bull and Bear Cases for Copart(55:40) Final Thoughts and the Price Valuation Discussion(57:01) Wrap

Alex Clayton, Partner at Meritech Capital, discusses Klaviyo's journey to market leader with $700 million ARR. Topics include Klaviyo's business model, strategic position in Shopify ecosystem, investment perspectives, growth potential, software business metrics, market penetration, PLG vs. sales-led growth strategies in tech.