Grit Equity blog

Grit Equity Blog

[gritequity]

#Magico

    INT. DANBURY F.C.I. - GEORGE'S CELL - NIGHT

      Lights out.  Diego and George lay in their cots.  George is

    tired.  Diego is not.

                   DIEGO

         George?  Hey, George?  I listen to what

         you say to the class today about the

         smuggling.  You are a magico, ah?

      George doesn't respond.

                   DIEGO (CONT'D)

         I never believed you were a murderer.  I

         knew.  I knew you are a magico.  I have

         seen it in you.  It's in your spirit.

                   GEORGE

         I'm tired, Diego.  Go to bed.

                   DIEGO

         You like to make the boundaries

         disappear.  It's not only the money, is

         it, George?  The adventure is part of

         the victory.  It's the thrill, ah?

                   GEORGE

         Good night.

                   DIEGO

         In my country, I am a magico.  A man

         with a dream.  A man on the rise.  To

         take nothing and make it something,

         okay?  I have failed my dream, but I

         will accomplish.  That is why I am in

         your country.  Yes, I lose my freedom.

         But they do not take my dream.  Do you

         have a dream, George?

                   GEORGE

         I would if I could get some sleep.

                   DIEGO

         Yes, you have a dream.  And maybe you

         accomplish your dream.  But yet you

         failed.  Why?

                   GEORGE

         Because I got caught.

                   DIEGO

         No, my brother.

                   GEORGE

         Because they caught me?

                   DIEGO

         You failed because you had the wrong

         dream.

[gritequity]

Steve Jobs: Secrets of Life

Life changing insights before the black turtle neck days.  

[gritequity]

Seeking A Fortune Through Search Funds

Normally, investors look for promising companies to invest in. With search funds, they invest in promising people. Investors back "searchers" by covering their pay while they hunt for companies.

[boston]

Romney’s tax returns open a window on the wealthy

- The long-awaited release of Mitt Romney’s tax returns yesterday showed how he continues to make tens of millions from investments more than a decade after he left his private equity business.

[aiblog-blog]

AI takes seat on investment company’s board of directors

A press release from Aging Analytics UK, a company that conducts research on biotechnology and regenerative medicine, made two announcements this morning: first, that they’ve launched an new AI tool called VITAL (Validating Investment Tool for Advancing Life Sciences); and second, that they’ve licensed VITAL to Hong Kong V.C. firm Deep Knowledge Ventures, where the tool will become an “equal member of its Board of Directors.”

VITAL uses machine learning to predict which life science companies will make for successful investments, the press release explains.

A lot of stock trading is already done by algorithms so an AI helping to make investments is not something new. However, it looks like VITAL does more than crunching financial data, as stated on the company’s web site:

Our company uses innovative analytic tools to connect huge amounts of complex data on diseases, treatments, costs and outcomes. 

Relying on a large pool of information, as well as on insights from billions of financial transactions pertaining to biotechnology and regenerative medicine, Aging Analytics’ databases drive results for hundreds of clients globally. 

It tracks every bit of available data on these companies, including their financials, personnel, and coverage in the media.  Our company also covers all venture investments in biotechnology and regenerative medicine over the last 30 years for which the information is available.

Sources: Aging Analytics, Beta Beat and Engadget

[gritequity]

JetBlue Chairman Talks Search Funds, Investing, And Why Startups Need Leaders | TechCrunch

I invested in Bonobos because I thought Brian Spaly and Andy Dunn were terrific young entrepreneurs and high-quality human beings — not because I was an expert in selling men’s clothing online. The same thing is true of Asurion and Jim Ellis and Kevin Taweel and of David Neeleman, founder of JetBlue and Avion Azul. All of them were not just terrific entrepreneurs, but great people. Trammell Crow, my mentor, used to say, ‘You can’t do good business with bad people.’ Character matters.

[gritequity]

The result:

Grit Equity is a search fund driven by the belief that meaningful relationships play a central role in the success of a company. Our purpose is to invest in, and increase the worth of a company. We do this by creating and cultivating meaningful relationships and recognizing that all stakeholders are people first. As a result, we forge trust, build a shared sense of purpose, and generate profit for long-term success.

[gritequity]

Dr. Byrnes helps companies quickly determine which parts of the business are worth expanding and which parts drain resources. Then he shows how to implement effective and sustainable change to improve the bottom line.

Ran across this book while working on Pat Tank.  We applied the customer mapping technique in developing strategic initiatives. 

[gritequity]

Search Fund resources via the Harvard Business School, entrepreneurship.

[gritequity]

Does Teaching Kids To Get 'Gritty' Help Them Get Ahead? It's become the new buzz phrase in education: "Got grit?" Listen to the story by NPR's by Tovia Smith: link to article and audio.

Photo by Tovia Smith/NPR

[gritequity]

Simon Sinek: If You Don't Understand People, You Don't Understand Business — Via 99U, Insights on making ideas happen by Behance. also see Simon Sinek: Leadership Is Not a Rank, It's a Decision and Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action via TED.

“Simon Sinek is an optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together.” We recommend his book, Start With Why, and are currently reading Leaders Eat Last.

[gritequity]

Zeynep Ton is “adjunct associate professor at MIT Sloan School of Management”. We linked to her and her work via Adam Davidson's article for NYT titled: Thinking Outside the (Big) Box.

“ In [her book] The Good Jobs Strategy, Zeynep Ton, a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, makes the compelling case that even in low-cost settings, leaving employees behind—with bad jobs—is a choice, not a necessity.”

[gritequity]

January 13, 2014: A Toast Story by John Gravois via Pacific Standard. 

“How did toast become the latest artisanal food craze? Ask a trivial question, get a profound, heartbreaking answer.”

Photo by Jeff Singer

[gritequity]

December 31, 2013 — Thinking Outside the (Big) Box, by Adam Davidson, via New York Times.com.

Deep thoughts this week:

Big retailers classify workers as a “cost.”

But they can be a major source of profit.

If stores understood this, they’d make a lot more money.

Illustration by Kelsey Dake

[gritequity]

A search Fund Primer via the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Center for Entrepreneurial Studies.

[gritequity]

Angela Lee Duckworth believes the key to success is Grit. TED website. More about Angela at The Duckworth Lab University of Pennsylvania.