The 7investing Podcast

The advertising industry is continuously evolving. From billboards to newspapers, from radios to television, and from desktops to Smartphones, technology has been changing the way that companies appeal to prospective consumers for decades. And efficiency has always been at the very heart of advertising. Businesses are looking to grow their top line at the most optimal return on investment possible. The internet introduced new ways for companies to maximize that ROI of their ad spend. Search engines like Google (Nasdaq: GOOGL) and social networks like Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) have become massive platforms with billions of users. Together, they accounted for nearly 70% of the $370 billion the world spent on digital advertising last year. But these walled gardens have their limitations, and there's a fast-growing ad tech industry that is leveraging technology to provide new ways to connect advertisers with content publishers. It's growing quickly, yet it is still highly fragmented and is undergoing a wave of consolidation. How should growth-style investors, intrigued by the rapid pace of innovation in this gargantuan market, get exposure to the changes taking shape in this digital advertising space? To help us answer that question, 7investing founder and CEO Simon Erickson recently spoke with PubMatic co-founder and CEO Rajeev Goel. PubMatic is a publicly-traded company based in San Francisco, whose mission is to fuel the potential of internet content creators. It trades with the ticker "PUBM." In this exclusive interview with 7investing, Rajeev describes two of the most important innovations that have taken place in digital advertising during the past 15 years. The first was real-time bidding, which transformed the ad industry's transactions from static interactions to instantaneous online auctions. The second was a transition from desktop to mobile, which brought ads into apps and required them to be placed in different ways. But importantly, Rajeev also believes there is a third important innovation taking shape in the digital ad industry today: the intense focus on consumer privacy. Several companies are transitioning away from third-party cookies, and consumers are demanding for prompts to opt-in before their data is tracked or shared. Rajeev believes this trend could unlock a new wave of opportunities. Content publishers are increasingly looking to programmatic as a convenient and highly profitable way to generate revenue. As one of the clear innovators in the ad tech space, PubMatic is developing creative strategies to gain market share and to differentiate itself from competitors. This interview is a must-watch for any forward-thinking investors interested in the future of advertising! Publicly-traded companies mentioned in this interview include Adobe (Nasdaq: ADBE), Alphabet (Nasdaq: GOOGL), Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY), IPG (NYSE: IPG), NewsCorp (Nasdaq: NWS), Proctor and Gamble, PubMatic, The Trade Desk (Nasdaq: TTD), Zynga. 7investing's advisors or its guests may have positions in the companies mentioned.

It's been a long and winding road for synthetic biology. The first wave of publicly-traded companies emerged in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Many were founded on the promise of engineering microbes to produce renewable fuels, which could ease supply constraints and price volatility. It's easy to forget now, but before fracking came along the world was legitimately worried about Peak Oil. Unfortunately, all efforts to manufacture cost-competitive microbial fuels crashed and burned. The technical obstacles were too great. The economics simply weren't there. Although a few companies pivoted, many closed their doors for good. But that was hardly the end of synthetic biology. Advances in the last decade have set the stage for a second wave of companies to launch onto the public markets. Better funded, more specialized, and equipped with a deeper understanding of biology, many of these companies appear better positioned to navigate the road ahead. For example, DNA synthesis leader Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ: TWST) went public a few years ago, whereas the vertically-integrated industrial biotech Zymergen (NASDAQ: ZY) went public months ago. Ginkgo Bioworks, seeking to become the Amazon Web Services of biology, is expected to go public in the coming months through a record-setting SPAC. The company will grab $2.5 billion in cash, a $15 billion valuation, and the highly-coveted stock ticker $DNA -- last wielded by Genentech -- in the process. Investors shouldn't expect a smooth ride ahead. Similar obstacles that stunted the first wave, namely economics and manufacturing scale-up, remain unresolved. It appears many Wall Street analysts have absolutely no idea how to think about this emerging space. Then again, many investors are probably wondering, what the heck is synthetic biology anyway? Considering synthetic biology will slowly creep into industries not typically associated with biology -- from digital data storage using DNA to manufacturing metallic nanoparticles for next-generation batteries -- investors will need new frameworks to understand the challenges and opportunities ahead. To introduce investors to the space and discuss some of the leading publicly-traded companies in it, 7investing Lead Advisor Maxx Chatsko nerded out with one of the godfathers of synthetic biology, Stanford University bioengineering professor Drew Endy. Professor Endy's goals are to enable civilization-scale flourishing and a renewal of liberal democracy. He helped launch new undergraduate majors in bioengineering at both MIT and Stanford, and also the iGEM competition, a global genetic-engineering “Olympics” enabling thousands of students annually. His past students now lead companies like Ginkgo Bioworks and Octant. He is married to Christina Smolke, CEO of Antheia, the essential medicine company. Endy served on the US National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB), the Committee on Science, Technology, & Law (CSTL), and the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Board (DIB). He currently serves on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Smallpox Advisory Committee and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Synthetic Biology Task Force. Esquire magazine recognized Drew as one of the 75 most influential people of the 21st century.

Every 7investing lead advisor has a different method for evaluating companies. Some use a more technical style while others have a mixed approach that also involves personal experience. We all value different metrics in different ways and on this episode of “7investing Now,” Dan Kline and Maxx Chatsko will share how they pick the companies they invest in personally and how they find their monthly pick for 7investing members. Welcome to 7investing. We are here to empower you to invest in your future! We publish our 7 best ideas in the stock market to our subscribers for just $49 per month or $399 per year. Start your journey toward's financial independence: https://www.7investing.com/subscribe Stop by our website to level-up your investing education:  https://www.7investing.com Follow us on Social Media ► https://www.facebook.com/7investing/ ► https://twitter.com/7investing ► https://instagram.com/7investing

The pandemic has changed some Americans’ minds about where they want to live. That has sent more people from big cities to smaller towns. Will this mean a resurgence for small-town Americans -- and what might that mean for investors. Dan Kine and Matt Cochrane will cover what’s happening and give you three companies poised to benefit from this population shift. Welcome to 7investing. We are here to empower you to invest in your future! We publish our 7 best ideas in the stock market to our subscribers for just $49 per month or $399 per year. Start your journey toward's financial independence: https://www.7investing.com/subscribe Stop by our website to level-up your investing education:  https://www.7investing.com Follow us on Social Media ► https://www.facebook.com/7investing/ ► https://twitter.com/7investing ► https://instagram.com/7investing

Anirban Mahanti sat down with Mayur Thaker, a Senior Relationship Manager at Zacks Investment Research, to chat about hypergrowth investing. This conversation is all about investing in rapidly growing companies with huge addressable markets. As investors, we need a framework to study these options: how do we evaluate the investment opportunities in businesses at the bleeding edge of their respective domains? So, grab a coffee (or any other favorite drink!), and let's learn about hypergrowth investing. In this wide-ranging conversation, Mayur describes his investment journey. He started out when he was only 13-years old, investing a portion of his dad's portfolio. He won the lottery with the dot-com boom and then saw it all crumble.  And as a young adult working at Zacks, he experienced how the GFC was unraveling the very industry he was working in. We hear how his experience made him the investor he is today. A significant portion of the conversation is devoted to Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA), where Mayur addresses the following topics: What is the high-level investment case for Tesla? Why should investors care? There are many bear cases for Tesla, including the historically low-margin and capital-intensive nature of manufacturing, reliance on regulatory credits, and impending competition. Mayur explains why many of these issues are irrelevant to the Tesla investment case as things stand today. What metrics should investors focus on when evaluating Tesla and why? What is the future of Tesla's energy business? What is a reasonable estimate of Tesla's fair value? And for those who want to explore beyond Tesla, we have you covered. Mayur outlines his thesis for two potential multibaggers -- Square (NYSE:SQ) and Beyond Meat (Nasdaq: BYND). Finally, we close, by putting it all together. Specifically, Mayur lays out his hypergrowth investment framework. I (Anirban here) identify closely with his methodology. I think it works well for patient, long-term focussed investors. Don’t miss this masterclass in hypergrowth investing. Trust me, this marathon conversation is well worth your time!

Our very first 7investing principle is that investing is personal. We believe no one knows your investing style, risk tolerance, or future goals better than you do. As such, the "right" way to invest and the "best" stocks in the market will necessarily be different for each individual.   But many people still feel like they don't understand the stock market or that investing is a game that's rigged against them. And while financial literacy is certainly improving every year, there's still a lot of work to be done.   7investing founder and CEO Simon Erickson recently reached out to two ambitious leaders who share the same mission of empowering others to become better investors. Kelsey Willock is the author of Not Your Boyfriend's Investment Advice, which encourages women to be more actively involved in financial decisions. Alan Soclof is the founder and CEO of Cruising Altitude, which aims to empower the Generation Z demographic to invest with a long-term horizon.   In this exclusive interview with 7investing, Kelsey and Alan chat with Simon about what prompted them to become entrepreneurs to improve the world's financial literacy and investing acumen. Kelsey describes how women are different investors than men and shares her thoughts about inflation and cryptocurrencies, while Alan describes the mentality of younger investors and draws comparisons between investing and sports.   In the final segment, both Kelsey and Alan share their personal investing approach and advice for younger investors.   Publicly-traded companies mentioned in this interview include Callaway Golf (NYSE: ELY) and Viacom (Nasdaq: VIAC). 7investing's advisors or its guests may have positions in the companies mentioned.

Internet security has gotten a lot more scrutiny after the Colonial Pipeline attack caused gas supply disruptions in parts of the United States. That’s only one of a few recent attacks which has caused more companies to to turn to Zscaler as well as other internet security solutions for help. Anirban Mahanti joins Dan Kline to break down Zscaler’s results and to discuss the rest of the internet security industry. He also takes a deep look at Ford’s electric vehicle plans and casts some doubt on the company’s long-term survival. Welcome to 7investing. We are here to empower you to invest in your future! We publish our 7 best ideas in the stock market to our subscribers for just $49 per month or $399 per year. Start your journey toward's financial independence: https://www.7investing.com/subscribe Stop by our website to level-up your investing education:  https://www.7investing.com Follow us on Social Media ► https://www.facebook.com/7investing/ ► https://twitter.com/7investing ► https://instagram.com/7investing

Barry Kirk helps companies build customer loyalty programs,. In his position as a principal at Chapman & Co. he helps businesses deliver growth by showing them how to build a strong customer connection. He’s a strong advocate of the idea that “consumers are human beings first,” and that idea helps him work with companies to deliver “customer experiences that leverage behavior science, behavioral data analysis, persuasive design, and gamification,” according to his company bio. Kirk works with not just company leadership, but also employees, and customers. His efforts focus not just on building relationships with existing customers but also on building bonds with high potential customers -- people who should be loyal customers who are too focused on competitors. In a freewheeling discussion that looks at what many companies are wrong when it comes to how they treat consumers, Kirk sat down 7investing Lead Advisor Dan Kline. Kirk breaks down what drives customer loyalty and why so many companies get it wrong. He also explains how building a strong customer loyalty program can disrupt industries and details why it’s so hard for many businesses to fix their customer service problems. Welcome to 7investing. We are here to empower you to invest in your future! We publish our 7 best ideas in the stock market to our subscribers for just $49 per month or $399 per year. Start your journey toward's financial independence: https://www.7investing.com/subscribe Stop by our website to level-up your investing education:  https://www.7investing.com Follow us on Social Media ► https://www.facebook.com/7investing/ ► https://twitter.com/7investing ► https://instagram.com/7investing

Robinhood has been all over the news as a stock platform used largely by younger traders -- people new to the market who maybe don’t really understand what they’re doing. It’s a platform that does bring buying stocks to a new audience but it’s also one that encourages inexperienced investors to do things that could be dangerous like buying on margin and using options. We’ll also kick the show off with a special announcement from 7investing CEO Simon Erickson. Welcome to 7investing. We are here to empower you to invest in your future! We publish our 7 best ideas in the stock market to our subscribers for just $49 per month or $399 per year. Start your journey toward's financial independence: https://www.7investing.com/subscribe Stop by our website to level-up your investing education:  https://www.7investing.com Follow us on Social Media ► https://www.facebook.com/7investing/ ► https://twitter.com/7investing ► https://instagram.com/7investing

The stock market doesn’t have to be hard but it’s easy to make mistakes. People listen to the wrong advice, believe in things that just aren’t true, or fall into all sorts of traps. Steve Symington joins Dan Kline on 7investing Now to help you avoid some of the worst investing mistakes that are made every day. In addition, we’ll look at the big Virgin Galactic news and talk with David VanAmbrug about the state of the travel industry. Welcome to 7investing. We are here to empower you to invest in your future! We publish our 7 best ideas in the stock market to our subscribers for just $49 per month or $399 per year. Start your journey toward's financial independence: https://www.7investing.com/subscribe Stop by our website to level-up your investing education:  https://www.7investing.com Follow us on Social Media ► https://www.facebook.com/7investing/ ► https://twitter.com/7investing ► https://instagram.com/7investing