En el hilo turras de hoy, y después de la descarga de la semana...


People think my job is explaining our investments to LPs.
That's a common misconception, because in reality my job is raising capital.
Last week, I took a group of prospective investors to dinner.
High net worth individuals, very sophisticated investors.
We went to a steakhouse. Private dining room. $400 bottles of Cabernet.
I did my spiel: "Lower-middle-market businesses with mission-critical, non-discretionary revenue streams and significant operational value creation potential."
They nodded thoughtfully.
(We own a plumbing company in Ohio)
Someone asked how we make money.
I explained our proprietary six-pillar value creation framework.
One pillar is raising prices. Another is buying more plumbing companies.
I don't remember the other four, but they didn't care because the analyst I brought with me had a really short dress on.
At some point, they asked about returns.
"Fund II has generated a 24% gross IRR."
"That's incredible! How much cash have investors received?"
"Well, we're still in the value creation phase."
(Fund II is nine years old, but we didn't get into those details)
I explained that we're evaluating several strategic liquidity solutions, including a GP-led continuation vehicle.
"What's that?"
"We sell our most promising assets to a new vehicle, allowing existing investors to crystallize value while maintaining exposure to future upside."
"So you sell the companies to yourselves?"
"Not exactly. There's an independent fairness opinion."
The waiter brought another bottle, which distracted everyone.
There was one accountant in the group, of course he asked about our fees.
"Standard institutional economics. Two and twenty, with an eight percent preferred return, subject to a European waterfall and catch-up provisions."
Silent nods.
I changed the subject to our operating partners. One used to work at McKinsey. Very impressive guy.
He visits our plumbing company twice a year.
By dessert, the surgeon in the group was asking about minimum commitments.
"$250,000. Although we're nearly fully subscribed."
(We're not even close)
He committed $750,000 on the spot.
I sent him a 186-page subscription package the next morning. He signed everything.
Didn't ask a single question about the waterfall.
I love working with doctors.
Highly intelligent people. Excellent incomes. Very little time to read documents.
Next week, I'm hosting a private dinner for twelve dentists.
Fund III hasn't returned any capital yet. But our pipeline has never been stronger.
I'm up for promotion."
Si tratas un deal como una transacción, te diga lo que te diga el Excel, la operación morirá en la oficina del notario antes de ser firmada.

1. The best way to raise the price of something is to say that you would never sell it.
2. The competitive drive of self-made billionaires does not go into remission once they've made a fortune.
3. You can be so successful selling to the masters of the universe that you *become* one.
4. Art is just money on walls.
5. Genius is easy to understand.
6. Genius has the fewest moving parts.
7. Genius lies in ignoring the unimportant.
8. No shareholders. No one to answer to. Retention of complete control.
9. You can sell things that aren’t for sale.
10. Read biographies. There’s always a blueprint. Gagosian read every biography of Joseph Duveen. Duveen was the art dealer to the Robber Barons. Gagosian is that today.
11. Self-reflection is how you lose your edge. A shark keeps swimming.
12. Disinhibition can be a superpower.
13. A cold call can change your life because relationships run everything.
14. Don’t forget that relationships run everything.
15. Bluntness is appealing to busy people.
16. What is the establishment of an existing industry ignoring? The answer is an opportunity hiding in plain sight.
17. Expanding a market is the first step to owning it.
18. Find information asymmetries. Don’t tell other people about them. Not even your lover.
19. Earned secrets produce treasure maps.
20. Be default aggressive and never forget that everything is for sale.
21. A sharp eye for who matters is the skill of an industrialist.
22. Industrialists build large financial empires.
23. You can build a billion dollar business without formal meetings, protocol, bureaucracy, and hierarchy.
24. Sales solves everything.
25. Make 100 calls a day.
26. If you love what you do the only exit strategy is death.
27. Hire a scholar. More companies should hire the Samwell Tarly of their industry.
28. Don’t allow other people to burnish their ethics on your hide.
29. Go to where your customers are. Gagosian opened a gallery at a private jet airport.
30. Be as liquid as the day is long. You can buy things at a heavy discount in recessions.
31. Money flows fast when the customer believes the opportunity is fleeting.
32. Pricing is guesswork.
33. There is always somebody somewhere making a lot of money. Find them. Sell to them.
34. Five hundred years ago people were complaining money ruined art. They say the same thing today.
Episode 325 Larry Gagosian (Billionaire Art Dealer) is available in every podcast app now!

Por el camino logró alcanzar la irrelevancia.
Gracias a Dios todavía hay gente como @rorysutherland que lo entiende y defiende la bandera:







