Sunday, September 1, 2019

Today we have an episode with a few stock pitches, an episode on how we can make better forecasts, and an episode all about human nature.

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Business

• ***Must Listen*** Off the Chain: Jason Williams, Co-Founder & Partner at Morgan Creek Digital: From a 9 Figure Startup Exit To Mining Bitcoin With Car Tires. Willams has a fascinating background and is currently a Partner at Morgan Creek Digital. He began his career by dropping out of school to open an urgent care center, which now has 123 locations and was at one point the largest acquirer of Blockbuster locations when Blockbuster began going out of business. He then became the CEO of a tire disposal/energy company and, after he later connected with Anthony Pompliano (the podcast’s host), decided to use the energy created when disposing tires to mine cryprocurrency. He also touches on how he founded Morgan Creek Digital, the experience of surviving a plane crash, and consulting with the Feds on bitcoin. [August 28, 2019–2 hours, 32 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Overcast | Breaker | Website Link

Williams’ Book Suggestions: 1) The Road Less Traveled, Timeless Edition: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth and 2) The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

• Recode Decode: Gro Intelligence CEO Sara Menker on ag-tech and the future of farming. This episode is a great example of how the impact of technology is being felt in all industries. It’s with a former oil and gas trader at Morgan Stanley who is now the CEO of Gro Intelligence, which uses big data and predictive analytics to help agricultural businesses make more efficient decisions. She explains how farmers are using data to help their business, the issues her team faces in gathering and analyzing data, and the impact of geopolitics and the current U.S./China trade war. [August 28, 2019–59 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Overcast | Breaker
• We Study Billionaires: TIP257: Investing in Small Cap Companies w/ Eric Cinnamond. This was a fun and quick episode with a few stock pitches. Cinnamond pitches three stocks, all of which have a $170 million market cap: 1) Natural Gas Services ($NGS), which is a fiscally responsible energy company 2) Gencor Industries ($GENC), which is a market leader in asphalt plant equipment, and 3) Crimson Wine Group ($CWGL), a winery with a lot of acreage in California that he views as a real estate play. [August 24, 2019–34 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Overcast | Breaker | Website Link

The Rest

• ***Must Listen*** Odd Lots: How to Forecast the Future. This episode applies to everyone — whether you’re an investor, coach, or an executive. They speak with the guy on forecasting: Philip Tetlock, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of a fantastic book, Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction. He explains some findings from his years of research: most of us are overconfident, too slow to change our minds when we receive new information, and too quick to make our minds up initially. He also explains the importance of using base rates and other nuances to make better forecasts. [August 26, 2019–39 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Overcast | Breaker | Website Link
• Talks at Google: Ep55 — Robert Greene: “The Laws of Human Nature.” This is a great talk on human nature and how it’s woven throughout everything, from financial bubbles to managing Fortune 500 companies. Greene is the best-selling author of multiple books, including his newest: The Laws of Human Nature. He explains the impact our emotions have on our decisions, the idea that we are all a narcissist to some extent and need to instead become more empathetic, the idea that we overrate our own abilities (as mentioned above about forecasting), how different generations are intertwined and how he thinks the millennial generation fits within society. At the 1:01:30 mark, a Q&A session begins. [August 27, 2019–1 hour, 24 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Overcast | Breaker | Website Link
• Planet Money: #936: The Modal American. This was a good episode on statistical analysis and difficulties in conducting it. The idea of the episode is that articles that refer to the “average American” are ridiculous and they want to find out what the modal American is. They explain their process, issues that occurred while performing their analysis, and what the result is: a 39–54 married male who lives in the suburbs, didn’t earn a bachelor’s degree, and earns $75,000-$165,000 per year. Some of the this is surprising, including the fact that it’s a male when there are more females in the U.S., and they explain why that is. [August 29, 2019–29 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Overcast | Breaker | Website Link