Invest Like the Best with Patrick O’Shaughnessy
Business:Investing
My guest today is Samo Burja. Samo is the founder of consulting firm, Bismark Analysis, and has dedicated his life’s work to understanding why there has never been an immortal society. His research focuses on institutions, the founders behind them, how they rise and why they always fall in the end. As you’ll hear, Samo has an encyclopedic grasp of history and his work has led him to some fascinating theories about human progress, the nature of exceptional founders, and the future of different societies across the world. Please enjoy my conversation with Samo Burja.
Listen to Founders Podcast
Founders Episode 311: James Cameron
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.
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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.
Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.
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Show Notes
(00:02:52) - (First question) - The core thesis behind the Great Founder Theory
(00:06:40) - Great ideas inevitably being discovered at some point in history
(00:08:45) - The historic implications of a global adoption of the Great Founder Theory
(00:10:51) - The different possible directions of future trends
(00:17:08) - Distinctions between great founders versus live players
(00:22:15) - Common misconceptions about what qualifies one as a great founder
(00:24:38) - Noteworthy great founders in the United States
(00:28:34) - Recurring observable traits and common themes of great founders
(00:31:29) - Using caution when projecting a mythic lens onto great founders
(00:37:53) - Social technology as the upstream effects of prior material technology
(00:43:32) - Whether or not institutions play a role in propagating the work of great founders
(00:49:08) - The role of power and differences between owned and borrowed power
(00:56:51) - Additional ideas that play an outsized role in shaping the world
(01:01:09) - A differing worldview to his own that he finds interesting
(01:04:53) - Whether or not capital allocators can benefit from the Great Founder Theory
(01:07:37) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him
Niraj Shah - Developing Every Skill - [Invest Like the Best, EP. 252]
Bored Ape Yacht Club - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP. 1]
Will Marshall - Indexing the Earth - [Invest Like the Best, EP. 251]
Roelof Botha - Sequoia’s Crucible Moment - [Invest Like the Best, EP. 250]
Sarah Friar - Building the Local Graph - [Invest Like the Best, EP. 249]
Universal Music Group: The Gatekeepers of Music - [Business Breakdowns, EP. 32]
Alex Rampell - Investing in Operating Systems - [Invest Like the Best, EP. 248]
Sam Bankman-Fried - Creating a Perfect Market - [Invest Like the Best, EP. 247]
Nick Neuman - Becoming Your Own Bank - [Invest Like the Best, EP. 246]
Devin Finzer - An Everything Store for Digital Assets - [Founder’s Field Guide, EP. 53]
Jenny Lefcourt - The Go-to-Market Motion - [Invest Like the Best, EP. 245]
Dave Girouard - Making Better Loans - [Founder’s Field Guide, EP. 52]
Jay Hoag - Calibrating Market Adoption - [Invest Like the Best, EP. 244]
Gina Bianchini - Helping Creators Build Communities - [Founder’s Field Guide, EP. 51]
David Fialkow - Paint Outside the Lines - [Invest Like the Best, EP. 243]
Justin Waldron - The Future of Social Gaming - [Founder’s Field Guide, EP. 50]
Daniel Ek - Enabling Creators Everywhere - [Invest Like the Best, EP. 242]
Gabby Dizon - Mapping the Metaverse Economy - [Founder’s Field Guide, EP. 49]
Scott Malpass - Building a Great Endowment - [Invest Like the Best, EP. 241]
Mike Maples, Jr. - A Playbook for Startups - [Founder’s Field Guide, EP. 48]
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