We’re joined by Eric Markowitz, Head of Research at Worm Capital, to explore Worm Theory, the Worm Algorithm, and investing in disruptive technology. We go deep on being an optimistic and open-minded investor, time horizons, thinking in decades, and constructing a survivable portfolio.“I think we're just optimists. I think that we believe that technology and the culture that we live in will actually improve over time, that there will be more efficiencies across the market, that our lives will improve, that there can be some really great opportunities for wealth creation.” – Eric MarkowitzEPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED)https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/worm-capital-investing-in-technology-and-disruption-eric-markowitz-spotlight-show-notes FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPThttps://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/worm-capital-investing-in-technology-and-disruption-eric-markowitz-spotlight-transcript CHAPTERSThis episode is our definitive guide to Worm Theory and investing in disruptive technology. In it we cover: (00:00:00) – Introduction (00:03:30) – Worm Capital’s focus on technology, innovation, and disruption (00:07:43) – Investing in the customer value proposition as it stands (00:16:19) – The Worm algorithm for investing (00:21:22) – Being an optimistic and open-minded investor (00:26:01) – Time horizons and thinking in decades (00:32:50) – Conviction and concentration (00:42:39) – Constructing a survivable portfolio (00:52:22) – Worm theory (01:02:00) – Investing in Tesla ABOUT WORM CAPITALWorm Capital runs a concentrated long only strategy and invests in technology, innovation and disruption. They hold a concentrated portfolio of between five and 10 positions that today includes Shopify, Spotify, Tesla, Airbnb, Amazon, and NextEra Energy. Since inception, Worm has compounded their investors capital at over 31% per year, while the S&P 500 has delivered just over 15% over the same period. Worm Capital has a unique approach to investing, which they call the Worm Algorithm and Worm Theory to understand how they've generated such incredible returns over the last decade.💌 FREE NEWSLETTERhttps://www.outlieracademy.com/newsletter🎙 LISTEN ONiTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/outlier-academy/id1523851182Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/58edVNgqaPNaCSGSxM6pef?si=88f37a5d20434775Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1523851182ABOUT OUTLIER ACADEMYLearn timeless lessons on work and life from iconic founders, world-renown investors, and bestselling authors. Outlier Academy is the forever school for those chasing greatness. Past guests include Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash, Scott Belsky of Benchmark and Adobe, Joey Krug of Pantera Capital, Mark Sisson of Primal Kitchen, Luke Gromen of The Forest for the Trees, and Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK.Website: https://www.outlieracademy.comTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/outlieracademyABOUT DANIEL SCRIVNEROutlier Academy is hosted by Daniel Scrivner. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has led design teams at Square and Apple, turned around a $3M+ ARR SaaS business, and invested in more than 100 companies. He launched Outlier Academy in 2020 to learn from the world’s best founders, investors, authors, and peak performance experts.Website: https://www.danielscrivner.comTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/danielscrivner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Worm is one of my favorite hedge funds. I've been reading their quarterly reports for years. They run a concentrated long only strategy and invest in technology, innovation and disruption. They hold a concentrated portfolio of between five and 10 positions that today includes Shopify, Spotify, Tesla, Airbnb, Amazon, and NextEra Energy. Since inception, Worm has compounded their investors capital at over 31% per year, while the S&P 500 has delivered just over 15% over the same period.I sat down with Eric Markowitz, Worm's Head of Research, to dive into Worm's unique approach to investing which they call the Worm Algorithm and Worm Theory to understand how they've generated such incredible returns over the last decade. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eric Markowitz shares his journey from being an award-winning journalist to the Director of Research at Worm Capital—leading all of the research that informs Worm’s concentrated, long-only, technological disruption investment focus. Eric shares why investing is all about making good calculated bets, the important of slowing down the research process, how he avoids making behavioral mistakes, and so much more.“I think the lesson learned is there’s so much value to patience in this business. That just slowing down not only the research process, but the actual allocation and trading process, is immensely valuable. Some of the greatest investors just do nothing, right? That is such a hard thing to conceptualize—especially in a culture that values action and values doing things. Most of the time, really the best answer is to do nothing.” — Eric MarkowitzEPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED)https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/eric-markowitz-worm-capital-playbook-show-notes FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPThttps://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/eric-markowitz-worm-capital-playbook-transcript CHAPTERS (00:00:00) - Introduction (00:01:56) – Eric’s Path from Journalist to Director of Research (00:07:57) – Why Investing is About Making Good Calculated Bets (00:09:47) – Worm’s Two-Step Research Process (00:13:21) – The Importance of Slowing Down the Research Process (00:15:36) – Guardrails and Keeping Bad Information Out of the Research Process (00:19:48) – Worm’s Behavioral Advantages in Investing (00:23:44) – Eric’s Recent Obsessions: The Future of Robotics (00:26:54) – Eric Markowitz’s Favorite Books ABOUT ERIC MARKOWITZEric Markowitz is the Director of Research at Worm Capital. Worm runs a concentrated long-only strategy and invests in technological disruption. They call themselves "value investors focused on the future” and are drawn toward messy, complicated sectors of the market that are difficult to understand—and even more difficult to accurately price.Before joining Worm Capital, Eric worked as an award-winning investigative business journalist and wrote from Inc., The New Yorker, and Newsweek. As the Director of Research, Eric leads all of Worm’s research efforts including mapping out new industries, understanding new technologies, and breaking down investment targets to understand the inputs and outputs that drive their business.Twitter | Worm Capital | The Nightcrawler💌 FREE NEWSLETTERhttps://www.outlieracademy.com/newsletter🎙 LISTEN ONiTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/outlier-academy/id1523851182Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/58edVNgqaPNaCSGSxM6pef?si=88f37a5d20434775Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1523851182ABOUT OUTLIER ACADEMYLearn timeless lessons on work and life from iconic founders, world-renown investors, and bestselling authors. Outlier Academy is the forever school for those chasing greatness. Past guests include Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash, Scott Belsky of Benchmark and Adobe, Joey Krug of Pantera Capital, Mark Sisson of Primal Kitchen, Luke Gromen of The Forest for the Trees, and Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK.Website: https://www.outlieracademy.comTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/outlieracademyABOUT DANIEL SCRIVNEROutlier Academy is hosted by Daniel Scrivner. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has led design teams at Square and Apple, turned around a $3M+ ARR SaaS business, and invested in more than 100 companies. He launched Outlier Academy in 2020 to learn from the world’s best founders, investors, authors, and peak performance experts.Website: https://www.danielscrivner.comTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/danielscrivner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In tomorrow's 20 Minute Playbook, we sit down with Worm Capital's Head of Research, Eric Markowitz. We cover everything from Worm's two-step research process to Eric's favorite books, as well as the tiny habit that's had the biggest positive on his life and the advice he'd give his younger self if he could go back in time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joey Cofone, Founder & CEO of the much loved “tools for thinkers” company Baronfig, joins me on Outlier Book Club to decode his new book, The Laws of Creativity. We cover why creativity isn’t magic, how creators across history from Albert Einstein to Grace Hopper and Bruce Lee wielded creativity to reach incredible heights, practical ways to hone your creativity, a framework for generating ideas, Joey’s process for writing the book, and so much more.“At this point in my career, I have art directed over 100 products from a rough idea into consumer’s hands. I’ve collaborated with incredible creators like James Clear and Roxane Gay. There came a point where it was very obvious how it all worked and fit together—because I was always interested not just in what I was doing but how I was doing it.” — Joey CofoneEPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED)https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/laws-of-creativity-joey-cofone  FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPThttps://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/laws-of-creativity-joey-cofone-transcript   CHAPTERS (00:00:00) - Introduction (00:01:49) - Origin Story of The Laws of Creativity (00:06:39) - Distilling Down the Laws of Creativity (00:08:17) - What Creativity Is and Why It Isn’t Magic (00:18:17) - On Zeno’s Paradox and Choosing to Finish (00:22:58) - The Laws of Mindset, Action, and Greatness (00:25:57) - Joey’s Favorite Law: The Law of Competition (00:29:55) - The Law of Precision (00:33:00) - The Law of The Muse (00:36:06) - On Borrowing vs Stealing Ideas (00:39:42) - The Law of Simplicity (00:42:56) - The Law of Good Enough (00:46:51) - Joey’s Process for Writing the Book (00:55:54) - Knowing When the Book Was Done (01:02:07) - The Highs and Lows of Creating Baronfig (01:04:54) - Creativity vs Business (01:08:21) - Baronfig: The Idea Company ABOUT THE BOOKIn his book The Laws of Creativity, Joey debunks why creativity isn’t magic and shares what it is, how it works, and how you can harness it in your everyday life. Learn how to unlock your originality and awaken your creative genius with Joey Cofone—award-winning designer and Founder & CEO of the much loved “Tools for Thinkers'' brand Baronfig.Each of the 39 Laws of Creativity are illustrated with inspiring, enlightening, and surprising stories of iconic creators across history—including Albert Einstein, Serena Williams, Martin Luther King Jr., Harry Houdini, Grace Hopper, Bruce Lee, and many more. Joey breaks down how these titans of history wielded creativity to reach incredible heights.“Drawing on decades of experience, Joey Cofone has distilled the elements of creativity into an excellent, easy-to-use guide. The Laws of Creativity provides a roadmap for unleashing the creative force inside you.” — James Clear, Author of Atomic Habits💌 FREE NEWSLETTERhttps://www.outlieracademy.com/newsletter🎙 LISTEN ONiTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/outlier-academy/id1523851182Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/58edVNgqaPNaCSGSxM6pef?si=88f37a5d20434775Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1523851182 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen to one of our favorite moments from tomorrow’s profile episode featuring Joey Cofone, author of The Laws of Creativity Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joey Cofone shares the lessons he’s learned as an award-winning designer, the Founder & CEO of Baronfig, and the author of The Laws of Creativity, including why he’s fascinated with the juxtaposition between skill and renown, how he worked with James Clear to design the Clear Habit Journal, why experimentation is Baronfig’s most important value, how rock bottom taught him how to take risks, and so much more.“There’s a stereotype of creatives, which is that they’re just flying by the seat of their pants. I’m here to tell you that it’s absolutely not true. We need to separate that from what creativity is. We need to decouple this ridiculous stereotype so that more people can blossom creatively.” — Joey CofoneEPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED)https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/joey-cofone-playbook   FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPThttps://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/joey-cofone-playbook-transcript    CHAPTERS (00:00:00) - Introduction (00:01:08) - Wrestling with Skill vs Renown (00:02:57) - Why People Would Be Surprised at Joey Cofone’s Daily Discipline (00:04:04) - Why Joey Cofone Has Been Tracking His Habits for 13 Years (00:05:21) - Joey Cofone’s Favorite Baronfig Products (00:07:23) - How Joey Cofone and James Clear Designed the Clear Habit Journal (00:10:46) - The Laws of Creativity by Joey Cofone in 90 Seconds (00:12:51) - How Rock Bottom Taught Joey Cofone How to Take Risks (00:16:07) - Why the Most Important Value at Baronfig is Experimentation (00:22:08) - Joey Shares His Favorite Books Including Radical Candor and The Phantom Tollbooth (00:23:47) - Joey Cofone’s Favorite Advice From His Barber and Malcom Gladwell (00:26:11) - How Joey Cofone Learns From Failure at Baronfig ABOUT THE GUESTJoey Cofone is the Founder & CEO of Baronfig and an award-winning designer and entrepreneur. His work has been featured in Fast Company, Bloomberg, New York Magazine, Bon Appétit, Quartz, Mashable, Gizmodo, and Print, among others. Joey was named a New Visual Artist and, separately, Wunderkind designer by Print magazine.He strives to make work that appeals to curious minds—work that’s beautiful, smart, and communicative. He believes that design is the least of a designer’s worries, that story is at the heart of all tasks, and jumping off cliffs is the only way to grow.💌 FREE NEWSLETTERhttps://www.outlieracademy.com/newsletter🎙 LISTEN ONiTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/outlier-academy/id1523851182Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/58edVNgqaPNaCSGSxM6pef?si=88f37a5d20434775Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1523851182ABOUT OUTLIER ACADEMYLearn timeless lessons on work and life from iconic founders, world-renown investors, and bestselling authors. Outlier Academy is the forever school for those chasing greatness. Past guests include Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash, Scott Belsky of Benchmark and Adobe, Joey Krug of Pantera Capital, Mark Sisson of Primal Kitchen, Luke Gromen of The Forest for the Trees, and Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK.Website: https://www.outlieracademy.comTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/outlieracademyABOUT DANIEL SCRIVNEROutlier Academy is hosted by Daniel Scrivner. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has led design teams at Square and Apple, turned around a $3M+ ARR SaaS business, and invested in more than 100 companies. He launched Outlier Academy in 2020 to learn from the world’s best founders, investors, authors, and peak performance experts.Website: https://www.danielscrivner.comTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/danielscrivner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen to one of our favorite moments from tomorrow’s 20 Minute Playbook episode featuring Joey Cofone of Baronfig. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to another edition of Cheat Sheet by Outlier Academy. Where each week we compress 6+ hours of research and interviews into 3 big ideas that you can read in 5 minutes.This week we profiled one of the internet’s most-read writers (100M+ views), Nicolas Cole, and his latest book Snow Leopard: How Legendary Writers Create a Category of One with co-authors Eddy Yoon and Christopher Lochhead.Read the newsletter companion to this episode:https://www.cheatsheetnewsletter.com/p/category-creation-and-avoiding-competitionHere are the 3 big ideas in this week's Cheat Sheet:Competition is for losers, avoid it at all costs.How Eight Sleep created the Sleep Fitness category.How to find and create your own category of one.Sign up for the Cheat Sheet newsletter:https://www.cheatsheetnewsletter.comListen, watch, or explore more of this week’s Outlier Academy episodes:20 MINUTE PLAYBOOKNicolas Cole, Co-Founder of Category Pirates and Ship 30 for 30 | Favorite Books and Writing Tools, Enduring Boring Things, and Why Great Writing Changes the ReaderListen Now | Watch Now | Episode Guide | TranscriptBOOK CLUBSnow Leopard: How Legendary Writers Create a Category Of One | Nicolas Cole, Author and Co-Founder of Category PiratesListen Now | Watch Now | Episode Guide | Transcript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nicolas Cole shares the lessons he’s learned as one of the internet’s most-read writers, including why he’s fascinated with reverse engineering written work—from James Patterson novels to Twitter threads—into templates writers can use, why all great writing changes the reader, why his superpower is his ability to endure boring things for longer than others, and so much more.“Writers without niches are starving artists. Because again, they’re just competing in these massive competitions. Writers with niches are category kings.” — Nicolas ColeEPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED)https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/snow-leopard-nicolas-cole FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPThttps://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/snow-leopard-nicolas-cole-transcript  CHAPTERS (00:00:00) - Introduction (00:07:37) - Service Businesses, Linear vs Infinite Scaling, and Picking a Bag of Problems (00:10:02) - Ship 30 for 30 and Finding Your Niche (00:17:01) - The Origin Story of Category Pirates and Snow Leopard (00:20:13) - Category Creation, Competition, and Being Different vs Better (00:28:48) - Content-Free Content and Blinding Glimpses of the Obvious (00:35:34) - The Content Pyramid: Levels One, Two, and Three (00:49:44) - The Content Pyramid: Level Four (Making Non-Obvious Connections) (00:55:32) - Debunking Common Myths About Writing and Category Creation (01:04:10) - The Difference Between More Views and More Dollars (01:11:37) - What is Category Creation? (01:14:27) - How to Create a Category: Weird Problem + Weird Solution ABOUT THE BOOKSnow Leopard: How Legendary Writers Create A Category Of One by Category Pirates (Nicolas Cole, Christopher Lochhead, and Eddie Yoon) shares why all legendary writers who stand the test of time create a category of one. In decades past, David Ogilvy, Gary Halbert, Leo Burnett, Gary Bencivenga, Al Ries & Jack Trout, and many more master communicators have all written about the psychology behind how messages spread. Snow Leopard builds on their work with dozens of new insights and frameworks, and brings category creation and design into the digital age.💌 FREE NEWSLETTERhttps://www.outlieracademy.com/newsletter🎙 LISTEN ONiTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/outlier-academy/id1523851182Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/58edVNgqaPNaCSGSxM6pef?si=88f37a5d20434775Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1523851182ABOUT OUTLIER ACADEMYLearn timeless lessons on work and life from iconic founders, world-renown investors, and bestselling authors. Outlier Academy is the forever school for those chasing greatness. Past Nicolas Coles include Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash, Scott Belsky of Benchmark and Adobe, Joey Krug of Pantera Capital, Mark Sisson of Primal Kitchen, Luke Gromen of The Forest for the Trees, and Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK.Website: https://www.outlieracademy.comTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/outlieracademyABOUT DANIEL SCRIVNEROutlier Academy is hosted by Daniel Scrivner. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has led design teams at Square and Apple, turned around a $3M+ ARR SaaS business, and invested in more than 100 companies. He launched Outlier Academy in 2020 to learn from the world’s best founders, investors, authors, and peak performance experts.Website: https://www.danielscrivner.comTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/danielscrivner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices