This is Matt Reustle. Today we are breaking down Live Oak Bank. Our guest is Stephen Vafier, the Founder of Storri Labs Capital Partners. Live Oak is a bank that received a charter right before the financial crisis. It does not have the a 100+ year histories of many of the banks that we know so well today, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and the other too-big-to-f ... Show More
Mar 20
Apollo: Connoisseurs of Complexity - [Business Breakdowns, REPLAY]
This episode was originally recorded in March 2025. Today, we are breaking down the global alternative asset manager, Apollo. I reflected on my personal experiences with Apollo for this episode, and there's a saying that hard work can beat talent when talent doesn't work hard. W ... Show More
1h 14m
Feb 2022
Joey Levin - Building an Anti-Conglomerate - [Invest Like the Best, EP. 264]
My guest today is IAC’s CEO, Joey Levin. IAC is a unique business in that it’s a holding company which builds world-class digital businesses. Since Barry Diller created IAC over two decades ago, it has produced 11 public companies, including Match Group, Expedia, and Live Nation. ... Show More
1h 11m
Jan 2022
Geoffrey Moore - Building Gorilla Businesses - [Invest Like the Best, EP. 261]
My guest today is the renowned tech author, consultant, and venture partner at Wildcat Ventures, Geoffrey Moore. Geoffrey has spent his career focused on the dynamics surrounding disruptive innovations and his book, Crossing the Chasm, has become a canonical work for young busine ... Show More
1h 17m
Jul 2023
Josh Kushner - Building Thrive Capital - [Invest Like the Best, EP.337]
My guest today is Josh Kushner, founder and managing partner of venture firm, Thrive Capital. Josh started Thrive in 2010 and launched its first institutional fund in 2011. That first institutional fund was $40 million and, in it, Thrive led Warby Parker’s Series A, invested in I ... Show More
1h 48m
Oct 2022
Jason Droege - Building Uber Eats - [Invest Like the Best, EP.300]
My guest today is Jason Droege, a venture partner at Benchmark. Jason’s had a long entrepreneurial career, which most recently culminated in building and leading Uber Eats. He joined Uber in 2014 with a blank piece of paper to grow the business beyond ride sharing. Within six yea ... Show More
1h 6m
Nov 2023
Brad Jacobs - Think Big and Move Fast - [Invest Like the Best, EP.352]
My guest today is Brad Jacobs. Brad’s resumé is remarkable. He has founded seven companies, all of which are billion-dollar or multibillion-dollar businesses. He has done 500 M&A transactions and raised $30 billion dollars of debt and equity capital. Currently, he is the Executiv ... Show More
1h 26m
Jan 2024
Erik Serrano - Investing in Investment Firms - [Invest Like the Best, EP.358]
My guest today is Erik Serrano. Erik is the CEO of Stable Asset Management, which he started 14 years ago in his early 20s and has scaled to over $3 billion in AUM. Unusually, Stable’s strategy focuses on other investing firms. They look to back the Blackstone's of tomorrow and p ... Show More
1h 27m