Matthew Giampetroni
@matthewgiampetroni
Venture Capitalist at Velvet Sea Ventures
Matthew Giampetroni
“It’s frightening to think that you might not know something, but more frightening to think that, by and large, the world is run by people who have faith that they know exactly what’s going on.” -Amos Tversky
Howard Marks • Attention Required! | Cloudflare
On Bullshit
The document discusses the nature and prevalence of bullshit, distinguishing it from lying and exploring its connection to skepticism and the pursuit of personal sincerity.
www2.csudh.eduPeople buying premium or even super-premium like to justify every dollar by a return on investment. Premium means pay more, get more in functional benefits. Luxury is elsewhere: it signals the capacity of the buyer to transcend needs, functions, or objective benefits.
Punch Card Investor • LVMH and the Luxury Strategy
“What is the right amount of capital (and the right number of people) to have in this business in order to support the strategy that will create the most wealth?”182 The answer is based on the future and does not rule out reducing net investment when appropriate.
Dan Callahan • Capital Allocation
For the bullshitter, however, all these bets are off: he is neither on the side of the true nor on the side of the false. His eye is not on the facts at all, as the eyes of the honest man and of the liar are, except insofar as they may be pertinent to his interest in getting away with what he says. He does not care whether the things he says
... See moreHarry Frankfurt • On Bullshit
Wealth is the fundamental thing. Wealth is stuff we want: food, clothes, houses, cars, gadgets, travel to interesting places, and so on. You can have wealth without having money.
Paul Graham • How to Make Wealth
M&A is by far the largest source of redistribution of corporate resources among the capital allocation alternatives. M&A deals in 2021 totaled nearly $2.6 trillion, or 13.5 percent of sales. The chart shows that M&A tends to be cyclical. Early movers tend to do better than companies that buy later in the cycle.
Dan Callahan • Capital Allocation
In the very early-stages of a company, especially during a fundraise, narratives rule everything and pseudosecrets are the dominant way to build a narrative.
Michael Dempsey • Narratives & Pseudosecrets
Capital allocation should support a company’s strategic goals. Capital allocation should start with an assessment and approval of strategies and then determine which projects support the strategies.