Offshore
Photo
Finding Compounders
A must read
An Honest Reflection after Two years since the Funds Inception
From Peninsula Capital https://t.co/9q4f1AcNdb
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A must read
An Honest Reflection after Two years since the Funds Inception
From Peninsula Capital https://t.co/9q4f1AcNdb
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Offshore
Video
Startup Archive
Instacart founder Apoorva Mehta on doing things that don’t scale
“Y Combinator encourages startups to do things that don’t scale. I find that this is one of the biggest competitive advantages that a startup has over a larger company… The idea is that once your product has demand, you can figure out how to scale your product.”
Apoorva explains how in the early days of Instacart customers could place orders even if there weren’t shoppers online to fulfill those orders.
“Of course, this meant that I would drop everything I was doing and fulfill the order myself.”
They also ran into the issue that Trader Joe’s didn’t have an API or website with catalog of the items in the store. So the team literally went to their local Trader Joe’s, bought one of every single item, took it back to their office, photographed every single item, and manually entered it in the Instacart catalog.
“Using the same unscalable techniques, we added Whole Foods, Costco and many other stores, and we realized we had the best product in the market.”
Having the best product on the market allowed Instacart to quickly expand to 10 cities and maintain 10% week over week growth for 20 weeks. This traction would allow Instacart to raise more money, hire more people, and then make everything scalable.
Video source: @ycombinator (2014)
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Instacart founder Apoorva Mehta on doing things that don’t scale
“Y Combinator encourages startups to do things that don’t scale. I find that this is one of the biggest competitive advantages that a startup has over a larger company… The idea is that once your product has demand, you can figure out how to scale your product.”
Apoorva explains how in the early days of Instacart customers could place orders even if there weren’t shoppers online to fulfill those orders.
“Of course, this meant that I would drop everything I was doing and fulfill the order myself.”
They also ran into the issue that Trader Joe’s didn’t have an API or website with catalog of the items in the store. So the team literally went to their local Trader Joe’s, bought one of every single item, took it back to their office, photographed every single item, and manually entered it in the Instacart catalog.
“Using the same unscalable techniques, we added Whole Foods, Costco and many other stores, and we realized we had the best product in the market.”
Having the best product on the market allowed Instacart to quickly expand to 10 cities and maintain 10% week over week growth for 20 weeks. This traction would allow Instacart to raise more money, hire more people, and then make everything scalable.
Video source: @ycombinator (2014)
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Offshore
Photo
Stock Analysis Compilation
Baron Focused Growth Fund on IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. $IDXX US
Thesis: IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. is expected to achieve accelerated growth and strong financial performance due to the pandemic-driven increase in pet ownership, improved foot traffic, and its significant pricing power.
(Extract from their Q4 letter)
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Baron Focused Growth Fund on IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. $IDXX US
Thesis: IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. is expected to achieve accelerated growth and strong financial performance due to the pandemic-driven increase in pet ownership, improved foot traffic, and its significant pricing power.
(Extract from their Q4 letter)
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Offshore
Photo
Finding Compounders
Chuck Akre’s Value Investor Insight Article: Return on Investment https://t.co/GLu8jxbD59
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Chuck Akre’s Value Investor Insight Article: Return on Investment https://t.co/GLu8jxbD59
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Offshore
Photo
Finding Compounders
Ted Weschler’s statement on his IRA. Ted grew his IRA, which he converted to a Roth IRA in 2012, from $70 000 to $264.4 million
“The investing success of this account has been a function of careful stock selection, exceptional luck and a multi decade time period” https://t.co/PVHghRkL7A
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Ted Weschler’s statement on his IRA. Ted grew his IRA, which he converted to a Roth IRA in 2012, from $70 000 to $264.4 million
“The investing success of this account has been a function of careful stock selection, exceptional luck and a multi decade time period” https://t.co/PVHghRkL7A
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Offshore
Photo
Stock Analysis Compilation
Baron Health Care Fund on Insmed Incorporated $INSM US
Thesis: Insmed Incorporated is expected to generate over $8 billion in peak sales from its lead drugs, including Brensocatib, which shows promise for treating non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis.
(Extract from their Q4 letter)
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Baron Health Care Fund on Insmed Incorporated $INSM US
Thesis: Insmed Incorporated is expected to generate over $8 billion in peak sales from its lead drugs, including Brensocatib, which shows promise for treating non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis.
(Extract from their Q4 letter)
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Investing visuals
I don’t get the $GRAB fuzz.
Let me tell you a story, based on firsthand experiences from my girlfriend. A must-read for anyone interested in $GRAB 👇
1 -- $UBER vs. $GRAB: The Rise of $GRAB 🚀
My girlfriend loves traveling and spent time in Indonesia in 2016. Back then, $UBER dominated the market.
Fast forward to 2023 -- she visited again, and $GRAB had taken over. Here’s why she found it compelling:
“Super easy to use, it was basically everywhere with high availability.”
“They had a lot of scooters, which is the main form of transport there. $UBER didn’t have that.”
“It was crazy cheap, so everyone was using it back then.”
Sounds great for $GRAB, right?
2 -- But hold on… 🤔
So I asked: “What if $UBER returned with the same offerings at lower costs?”
Her response:
“I would just pick $UBER, easy choice. But they should have high availability as well.”
She also added: “If $UBER wants a strong foothold, they should incentivize the drivers.”
Interesting right? Let's dive in a little deeper.
3 -- Did you know... 💡
That $UBER actually holds a 27.5% stake in $GRAB? So what happened here?
$UBER played the game masterfully.
When $GRAB started gaining market share (2015–2017), $UBER shifted strategy. Instead of fighting to win at all costs, they focused on expanding their global dominance.
The result?
• $UBER contained $GRAB within its Asia bubble
• Meanwhile, $UBER expanded globally
Fast forward to today:
• $UBER is the dominant global player
• $GRAB is still stuck in its Asia bubble
And the best part? If $GRAB wins in Asia, $UBER wins too, thanks to its 27.5% stake.
4 -- The Investor POV 🔎
When I invest, I look for sustainable competitive advantages. Something that truly differentiates a business.
With $GRAB, I don’t see what sets it apart besides pricing. That’s the core of its growth story.
Let’s talk numbers:
• $UBER: $6.9B LTM free cash flow
• $GRAB: $0.5B LTM free cash flow
If $UBER wanted to crush $GRAB by undercutting prices, incentivizing drivers, and ensuring high scooter availability, what could $GRAB do to stop them?
Of course, they won’t - given their 27.5% stake - but if they wanted to, they absolutely could.
$GRAB feels very fragile, not to mention the limited global expansion options. $UBER already has a dominant global presence. How will $GRAB ever compete on a larger scale?
4 -- Conclusion (TL;DR) 🧐
$GRAB might do well in Asia, but that's solely because $UBER ALLOWS them to.
The question is: What makes you think $GRAB can actually compete with $UBER, especially given their global dominance and scale? Why would you prefer $GRAB over $UBER?
I haven’t found the answer to that (yet).
tweet
I don’t get the $GRAB fuzz.
Let me tell you a story, based on firsthand experiences from my girlfriend. A must-read for anyone interested in $GRAB 👇
1 -- $UBER vs. $GRAB: The Rise of $GRAB 🚀
My girlfriend loves traveling and spent time in Indonesia in 2016. Back then, $UBER dominated the market.
Fast forward to 2023 -- she visited again, and $GRAB had taken over. Here’s why she found it compelling:
“Super easy to use, it was basically everywhere with high availability.”
“They had a lot of scooters, which is the main form of transport there. $UBER didn’t have that.”
“It was crazy cheap, so everyone was using it back then.”
Sounds great for $GRAB, right?
2 -- But hold on… 🤔
So I asked: “What if $UBER returned with the same offerings at lower costs?”
Her response:
“I would just pick $UBER, easy choice. But they should have high availability as well.”
She also added: “If $UBER wants a strong foothold, they should incentivize the drivers.”
Interesting right? Let's dive in a little deeper.
3 -- Did you know... 💡
That $UBER actually holds a 27.5% stake in $GRAB? So what happened here?
$UBER played the game masterfully.
When $GRAB started gaining market share (2015–2017), $UBER shifted strategy. Instead of fighting to win at all costs, they focused on expanding their global dominance.
The result?
• $UBER contained $GRAB within its Asia bubble
• Meanwhile, $UBER expanded globally
Fast forward to today:
• $UBER is the dominant global player
• $GRAB is still stuck in its Asia bubble
And the best part? If $GRAB wins in Asia, $UBER wins too, thanks to its 27.5% stake.
4 -- The Investor POV 🔎
When I invest, I look for sustainable competitive advantages. Something that truly differentiates a business.
With $GRAB, I don’t see what sets it apart besides pricing. That’s the core of its growth story.
Let’s talk numbers:
• $UBER: $6.9B LTM free cash flow
• $GRAB: $0.5B LTM free cash flow
If $UBER wanted to crush $GRAB by undercutting prices, incentivizing drivers, and ensuring high scooter availability, what could $GRAB do to stop them?
Of course, they won’t - given their 27.5% stake - but if they wanted to, they absolutely could.
$GRAB feels very fragile, not to mention the limited global expansion options. $UBER already has a dominant global presence. How will $GRAB ever compete on a larger scale?
4 -- Conclusion (TL;DR) 🧐
$GRAB might do well in Asia, but that's solely because $UBER ALLOWS them to.
The question is: What makes you think $GRAB can actually compete with $UBER, especially given their global dominance and scale? Why would you prefer $GRAB over $UBER?
I haven’t found the answer to that (yet).
tweet