The three acts of entrepreneurship that accelerated India’s start-up ecosystem
India is going through a bull market of sorts for entrepreneurship with one of the most vibrant start-up ecosystems. Indian start-ups are likely to end the year raising over Rs 2lakh crore in capital. Of course, the easy liquidity has helped capital flow freely but this op-ed cites three factors whose convergence has created the […]
Meet the Kidd Who Goes Toe to Toe with Warren Buffett
A couple of years ago, our colleague Tej Shah wrote a blog What comes first – Strategy or Structure? arguing why strategy should dictate structure and not the other way around like in majority of large organisations. At Marcellus, our endeavour is to find the few companies who retain the fluidity in their structure to let the strategy […]
What meerkats could teach a troubled Uber
In our newsletters, blogs and 3L&3S, we have attempted to understand and bring to light the power of network effects, both at the economy level and for individual businesses. At the economy level, India is experiencing the benefit of networking through the expansion of its highway network, financial inclusion and the even more rapid penetration of telecom. […]
A lack of chargers could stall the electric-vehicle revolution
Few industries as large as the global automobile industry have been through the sort of disruption electric vehicles (EVs) have brought upon the industry. Rapid gains in battery technology have made EVs affordable and practical. Governments across the world have made commitments to put an end to polluting internal combustion engine (ICE) based vehicles in […]
Book review “Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life” by Luke Burgis
Over the past couple of years we have highlighted the powerful ideas of the French philosopher Rene Girard who created the idea of ‘mimesis’ (see our June 2019 blog: https://marcellus.in/blogs/marcellus-things-hidden-since-the-foundation-of-the-world/) and his most famous student, Peter Thiel: “In 1978, Rene Girard published a remarkable book called “Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World”….Girard’s hypothesis unfolds sequentially:1. […]
My favourite investment writing of 2021
Before we set up Marcellus’ shopfront three years ago, we studied the work that the wealth managers at Ritholtz had done in the United States. We learnt a lot from them and became avid readers of their blogs. This blog from their stable is worth reading in its entirety as it contains various pieces that […]
Learning from Global Financials – Part-2: The Evolution of Financial Services
In this newsletter we discuss the evolution of the Financial Services sector in the US and UK and in that context, highlight the implications for Indian investors. Between 1990-2020, the weight of Financial Services stocks in the S&P500 index has increased from 7% to 11%. However, a closer look at the composition of Financial Services […]
The Disrespect
Investing is no rocket science. It rarely requires superior technical skills to succeed. It is more behavioural. This essay by Josh Brown at his rantful best reminds us of one such behavioural skill – how to deal with people with views opposing your own. Especially in an increasingly polarised world amplified by social media, it […]
Ralf Rangnick – The Three Cs
The last three UEFA Champions League Titles have all been won by teams with German coaches – two of them being English clubs. Liverpool coached by the now legendary Jurgen Klopp and Chelsea’s surprise win this year helped by Thomas Tuchel. They are now joined in the English Premier League by Ralf Rangnick as Manchester […]
Sequoia Productive Capital
A few weeks ago, the 3L&3S featured a podcast with Sequoia partner Roelof Botha on its decision to change their fund structures from finite lives to perpetual structures. Ben Thompson, the brilliant analyst focusing on everything to do with technology comes up with a more strategic explanation for this move. He draws upon Carlota Perez’s book “Technological Revolutions […]
The ‘Tesla-financial complex’: how carmaker gained influence over the markets
Tesla has been a game changing force in more than obvious ways. It is a trillion dollar company no doubt but as this piece by Robin Wigglesworth in the FT shows, it punches even way above that when it comes to its influence in the market. Take for instance, the hyperactivity in Tesla options – […]
Chancellor: Investors unprepared for carbon crunch
This long piece Edward Chancellor reframes the clean energy debate in a new, and unfortunately more worrying, way. Chancellor begins with what is now familiar territory for the most of us: “Over the past 250 years, the abundant use of coal, and later oil and natural gas, has spurred industrialisation, lifted living standards, and increased […]
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