Business Breakdowns

Today we are covering the world of fast fashion. If you don't know the name Inditex, you certainly know Zara, the core business inside Inditex. My guest, Alistair Wittet, recently launched Aecus Partners, an equity boutique specializing in European and global equities, and has followed Inditex for decades.  He gets into how the company pivoted its business over the years from the initial store expansion, the e-commerce evolution, and what has allowed Inditex to succeed where other fast fashion peers have struggled. There are so many interesting themes here: success in no-growth industries, the power of thoughtful vertical integration, decentralized decision-making, and corporate pivots. Please enjoy this Breakdown of Inditex. Founders Podcast - #372 Amancio Ortega For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Public: Invest in stocks, bonds, options, crypto, and more in one place. A Bond Account is a self-directed brokerage account with Public Investing, member FINRA/SIPC. Deposits into this account are used to purchase 10 investment-grade and high-yield bonds. The [6.7%] yield is the average annualized yield to maturity (YTM) across all ten bonds in the Bond Account, before fees, as of [9/05/2024]. A bond’s yield is a function of its market price, which can fluctuate; therefore a bond’s YTM is “locked in” when the bond is purchased. Your yield at time of purchase may be different from the yield shown here. The “locked in” YTM is not guaranteed; you may receive less than the YTM of the bonds in the Bond Account if you sell any of the bonds before maturity, or if the issuer calls or defaults on the bond. Public Investing charges a markup on each bond trade. See our Fee Schedule. Bond Accounts are not recommendations of individual bonds or default allocations. The bonds in the Bond Account have not been selected based on your needs or risk profile. You should evaluate each bond before investing in a Bond Account. The bonds in your Bond Account will not be rebalanced and allocations will not be updated, except for Corporate Actions. – This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. I think this platform will become the standard for investment managers, and if you run an investing firm, I highly recommend you find time to speak with them. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes (00:00:00) Welcome to Business Breakdowns (00:06:52) Overview of Inditex and Zara (00:09:46) The Fast Fashion Model (00:14:27) Origins and Expansion of Inditex (00:17:22) Navigating Financial Crises and E-commerce (00:22:30) Supply Chain and Inventory Management (00:24:32) Revenue and Growth Dynamics (00:29:48) Margin and Cost Structure (00:35:35) Inditex's Financial Management Strategies (00:36:20) Impact of COVID-19 on Inditex's Margins (00:37:13) Free Cash Flow and Inventory Management (00:39:43) Competitive Landscape: H&M and Shein (00:42:57) The Role of Culture in Inditex's Success (00:54:51) Sustainability and ESG Concerns (00:58:43) Investment Insights and Risks (01:00:40) Key Lessons from Inditex

Today we are breaking down commercial real estate lending with Josh Zegen, co-founder and managing principal of Madison Realty Capital.  Josh and his team at Madison launched in 2004 and evolved from a hard money lender when there really was no alternative industry called commercial real estate lending. They've developed into a single-source capital provider today with more than $21 billion in AUM. Josh gets into great detail here about how it's not an all-or-nothing story when it comes to real estate. We covered some of the basics on construction loans, the life cycle of capital, and new developments. Then, we get into some of the current market dynamics, post-COVID interest rates, post-SVB, and much, much more.  Please enjoy this Breakdown of commercial real estate lending. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Public: Invest in stocks, bonds, options, crypto, and more in one place. A Bond Account is a self-directed brokerage account with Public Investing, member FINRA/SIPC. Deposits into this account are used to purchase 10 investment-grade and high-yield bonds. The [6.7%] yield is the average annualized yield to maturity (YTM) across all ten bonds in the Bond Account, before fees, as of [9/05/2024]. A bond’s yield is a function of its market price, which can fluctuate; therefore a bond’s YTM is “locked in” when the bond is purchased. Your yield at time of purchase may be different from the yield shown here. The “locked in” YTM is not guaranteed; you may receive less than the YTM of the bonds in the Bond Account if you sell any of the bonds before maturity, or if the issuer calls or defaults on the bond. Public Investing charges a markup on each bond trade. See our Fee Schedule. Bond Accounts are not recommendations of individual bonds or default allocations. The bonds in the Bond Account have not been selected based on your needs or risk profile. You should evaluate each bond before investing in a Bond Account. The bonds in your Bond Account will not be rebalanced and allocations will not be updated, except for Corporate Actions. – This episode is brought to you by EightSleep, the temperature-controlled mattress cover that heats or cools your mattress to transform your sleep. The Pod 4 Ultra is the new gold standard in intelligent sleep systems. It can be added to your current mattress like a fitted sheet and is been clinically proven to give you up to an hour more quality of sleep every night. The cooling capability can cool your side of the bed to 20 degrees below room temperature, all managed by the pod's autopilot feature, which adjusts the temperature throughout the night. This holiday season go to eightsleep.com/breakdowns and use code JOYS for up to $600 off the Pod 4 Ultra when bundled.  ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes (00:00:00) Welcome to Business Breakdowns (00:05:22) Starting Madison Realty Capital (00:06:44) Evolution of the Lending Market (00:10:08) Construction Lending Dynamics (00:15:36) Risk Management and Portfolio Strategy (00:18:49) Leveraging Private Credit (00:30:31) Portfolio Management and Challenges (00:33:32) COVID-19's Impact on Real Estate Projects (00:34:49) Strategies for Loan Workouts (00:37:38) Post-COVID Market Dynamics (00:39:45) Opportunities in Loan Purchases (00:42:53) Sector-Specific Real Estate Insights (00:49:27) Impact of Work Schedules on Real Estate (00:51:22) Interest Rates and Market Impact (00:55:45) Future Opportunities and Market Trends

Today we are breaking down SpaceX. Luke Ward from Baillie Gifford was the perfect match for this episode, as he and his team first invested in SpaceX in 2018. We cover the story of SpaceX and its scientific magic, but we really key in on the business model. We focus on the cost curve of launches, separating manufacturing from reusability. Luke gets into how Starlink represents a key component in making the Starship program and the broader economic model click. We then use our intellectually honest galaxy brains to imagine what the space economy could look like in the future and Luke is very open and honest about the risks and rewards with such a capital-intensive mission.  Please enjoy this Breakdown on SpaceX. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Public: Invest in stocks, bonds, options, crypto, and more in one place. A Bond Account is a self-directed brokerage account with Public Investing, member FINRA/SIPC. Deposits into this account are used to purchase 10 investment-grade and high-yield bonds. The [6.7%] yield is the average annualized yield to maturity (YTM) across all ten bonds in the Bond Account, before fees, as of [9/05/2024]. A bond’s yield is a function of its market price, which can fluctuate; therefore a bond’s YTM is “locked in” when the bond is purchased. Your yield at time of purchase may be different from the yield shown here. The “locked in” YTM is not guaranteed; you may receive less than the YTM of the bonds in the Bond Account if you sell any of the bonds before maturity, or if the issuer calls or defaults on the bond. Public Investing charges a markup on each bond trade. See our Fee Schedule. Bond Accounts are not recommendations of individual bonds or default allocations. The bonds in the Bond Account have not been selected based on your needs or risk profile. You should evaluate each bond before investing in a Bond Account. The bonds in your Bond Account will not be rebalanced and allocations will not be updated, except for Corporate Actions. – This episode is brought to you by EightSleep, the temperature-controlled mattress cover that heats or cools your mattress to transform your sleep. The Pod 4 Ultra is the new gold standard in intelligent sleep systems. It can be added to your current mattress like a fitted sheet and is been clinically proven to give you up to an hour more quality of sleep every night. The cooling capability can cool your side of the bed to 20 degrees below room temperature, all managed by the pod's autopilot feature, which adjusts the temperature throughout the night. This holiday season go to eightsleep.com/breakdowns and use code JOYS for up to $600 off the Pod 4 Ultra when bundled.  ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes (00:00:00) Welcome to Business Breakdowns (00:05:53) SpaceX: A Blend of Business and Technology Innovation (00:06:30) Baillie Gifford's Investment Journey with SpaceX (00:09:53) Challenges and Innovations in Space Launch Costs (00:11:24) The Rise of Private Space Companies (00:15:23) SpaceX's Reusability and Cost Efficiency (00:18:25) Starship: The Future of Space Travel (00:26:05) Starlink: Revolutionizing Satellite Internet (00:32:01) The Potential of Space-Based Manufacturing (00:36:31) Competitive Advantage of Starship (00:37:19) Management and Culture at SpaceX (00:39:55) Government and Commercial Markets (00:40:45) Starlink's Future and Connectivity (00:44:11) SpaceX's Long-Term Vision (00:51:11) Regulatory and Launch Challenges (00:54:49) Valuation and Investment Insights (01:02:23) Lessons from SpaceX

Today, we are covering the increasingly thematic market of venture secondaries. My guest is Ravi Viswanathan, founder and managing partner of NewView Capital.  We cover some of the basics around these transactions because so much of private markets are bespoke. And while Ravi confirmed that the bespoke nature makes each individual secondary deal unique, there are consistencies in terms of how they approach the opportunity.  We discuss the various players in the market and their motivations for buying and selling, whether they are VC sellers, founders, employee sellers, or VC buyers. Ravi lays out the structural dynamics that are likely to make this a larger market well into the future. Please enjoy this Breakdown of venture secondaries.  For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by EightSleep, the temperature-controlled mattress cover that heats or cools your mattress to transform your sleep. The Pod 4 Ultra is the new gold standard in intelligent sleep systems. It can be added to your current mattress like a fitted sheet and is been clinically proven to give you up to an hour more quality of sleep every night. The cooling capability can cool your side of the bed to 20 degrees below room temperature, all managed by the pod's autopilot feature, which adjusts the temperature throughout the night. This holiday season go to eightsleep.com/breakdowns and use code JOYS for up to $600 off the Pod 4 Ultra when bundled.  — This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. I think this platform will become the standard for investment managers, and if you run an investing firm, I highly recommend you find time to speak with them. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes (00:00:00) Introduction to Secondary Transactions in Private Markets (00:08:43) Understanding the Basics of Secondary Transactions (00:10:28) Evolution and Growth of Venture Secondaries (00:13:12) Impact of Market Dynamics on Secondary Transactions (00:15:20) Pricing and Valuation in Secondary Markets (00:18:47) Challenges and Strategies in Secondary Transactions (00:28:25) Market Trends and Future Outlook (00:33:30) Venture Sponsor to Sponsor Transactions (00:34:05) Buyer Mentality and Exit Strategies (00:35:39) IPO Market and Valuation Trends (00:38:09) Focus on Growth and Profitability (00:40:04) Strategic Exits and Market Dynamics (00:49:48) Risk Dynamics and Market Competition (00:55:44) Key Lessons and Future of Venture Capital