9/52: VALUEx 2026
#CapitalAtRisk
The 2010s was the decade of the Entrepreneur.
The 2020s will be the decade of the Investor.
“I’m trying to manage myself, not just my portfolio”
VALUEx #3
Last month I was in Klosters, Switzerland for the VALUEx conference, my third time there.
As there’s a meet-up this evening for VALUEx London folks I wanted to share a little more about what VALUEx is and why I, as a seed-stage startup investor, go along.
VALUEx is a private gathering of value investors1 who share investment ideas about companies that they think & hope will compound over decades. The format is simple: Time to ski (or in my case get coffee) in the morning then presentations during the afternoon & evening and then conversations over dinner.
I’m grateful to Guy Spier for creating this community. My friend Sithan Kanna (he of HDIT fame — see ‘In other news’ in this post) — sent me Guy’s ‘Talk at Google’ on 5th October 2014. You can watch that talk here; I have many, many times. I bought ‘The Education of a Value Investor’ in December 2014, first wrote to Guy in 2015, met and had dinner with him in 2018, and attended my first VALUEx in 2024. Each time I return, I learn more2.
Why go?
As a seed-stage venture capital investor I’m backing founders at the very beginning, and I’m not investing for what they’ll do in the next 12 months or so, or even by the next funding round. I’m investing for the long-term into companies that will compound for decades.
The investors at VALUEx are looking at exactly those types of companies but at a much later stage. They’re studying publicly traded companies with enduring competitive advantages, exceptional management teams, and the ability to compound capital over many years.
Exactly the kind the of companies I want my portfolio to grow into.
My secret wish
One day, someone will present an investment idea at VALUEx and it’ll be one of my portfolio companies, and they won’t know I backed it at seed. They’ll just know it’s a great business that’s compounding beautifully.
But, shhh, don’t tell anyone 🤐
In other news
🇬🇧 For the VALUEx London meet-up this evening, if you’re an investor keen on meeting the Warren Buffett types hit reply and let me know.
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Important: None of these posts are investment advice. If you are thinking about investing you should seek the advice of a suitably qualified independent advisor.
#CapitalAtRisk
Warren Buffett types, so public market investors who love ‘wonderful companies at fair prices’ (as Charlie Munger said).
And I’d like to think that Guy and some of the others have learned from me too…!