Review of Dr Jonathan Knee’s book “The Platform Delusion: Who Wins and Who Loses in the Age of Tech Titans”
If you are investing in tech companies you should read “The Platform Delusion”. You might disagree with some of the arguments made in the book but you will also find that the core proposition of the book – that the competitive position of the FAANG stocks (and companies similar to them elsewhere in the world) […]
Getting Stronger With Every Covid Wave
As we now have six quarters of reported financials since the pandemic began, we are getting a clearer picture of the impact of Covid induced disruptions on lenders. Despite the severe second Covid wave, the increase in GNPAs i.e. net slippages for KCP lenders such as HDFC Bank, Kotak Bank and Bajaj Finance during the […]
Will Chatbots replace the art of human conversation?
The rise of artificial intelligence has raised concerns that as computers get smarter they will replace humans in most activities. However, this piece shows that is still a long way off. It focuses on the field of chatbots – an automated helpdesk of sorts that otherwise would have been manned by a human being typically […]
The Worrisome Rise of NFTs
Mostly one would have brushed aside the NFT mania as yet another bubble humanity has created and will eventually burst in its natural course. Except for two differences – first, in support of NFT, there are some genuinely useful applications of NFTs and the second, a shortcoming – the energy intensity of NFTs. Hence this […]
Howard Marks’ Memo – Selling Out
We began 2021 with perhaps one of Howard Marks’ most remarkable memos – Something of Value, where the great man showed why humility is the hallmark of a successful investor by acknowledging the shift in what value investing means i.e, it is simply not about low multiples. We start this year with another remarkable piece by the […]
The Locker Room
In this superb guest post for the Collaborative Fund, Ted Lamade explains – using examples from sports and business – why teams with less talented players often triumph over teams comprised of superstars. The first interesting point that Ted makes – and you should pay close attention to this if you are, like many of […]
The Alternative to Closing Schools
Last week, we learnt that the municipal corporation in Mumbai has ordered schools to remain closed for another six weeks which means that by the time schools reopen in Mumbai – which most parents are hoping will be March 2023 – it will be two years since our kids last went to school. Obviously, Mumbai’s […]
How Little Champs Become Consistent Compounders
A basic takeaway of cashflow based valuation is that a longer a company generates healthy free cash flow (FCF) growth, the higher its intrinsic value. Our longevity framework helps in assessing, using objective parameters, how long a company is likely to sustain healthy growth in FCF. For younger companies like the Little Champs, after a […]
Diamonds in the Dust
When we look back on 2021, most of us look back with a feeling of gloom. The devastating second wave of Covid-19 was a physical as well as an emotional drain on the country. However, in spite of this, there were many positives to celebrate – what senior journalist and author TN Ninan calls, “Diamonds […]
Are video games really addictive?
Many of us parents with teenage children often worry about how much time is ok for our kids to be on video games. The Chinese government recently issued a diktat “restricting the under-18s to an hour of gaming a day, on only three nights a week”. But even if we were to take a liberal […]
The end of the pandemic will not be televised
Just when we thought we had put the pandemic behind and begun to get on with our lives, Omicron has put the question back on everybody’s mind as to when will all this finally end? This research paper in the BMJ attempts to throw some light by studying past pandemics and juxtaposing the current context […]
First Principles: The Building blocks of True Knowledge
Many of us struggle to learn new things after a certain age or deal with complex systems outside of our core domain. Often the reason for that is we tend to box ourselves with information that has been handed out to us without questioning the fundamental basis. On the other hand, most successful innovators or […]
For more content on our strategy, visit the archives GO TO ARCHIVES