Four functions (ecosystem control within ShawSpring)
- Protect and grow capital
- Be present and available for partners
- Create a company where teammates could build a satisfying, long-term career (the only IP we really have is our human capital)
- Add value to our managers (managers excited to see ShawSpring show up as a shareholder)
Core developed concepts
- Ecosystem control
- Vertical integration
- Cognitive referents
- Scaled aggregation / marketplaces
Keep costs low to have as long a runway as possible. This is both for fund runway (i.e. don’t buy fancy offices) and partner runway (i.e. provide such a great value proposition that it would be ludicrous to leave the partnership).
With larger budget now, commission field studies with input from managers (e.g. eat costs that managers would otherwise bear if they fielded the study).
Makes a point to spend the management fee down every year, mostly on R&D. Has never taken a salary.
RV: always been skeptical of scalability of research and investing ... if there was any economy of scale then the largest investment houses would have the best track records. We seem to see dis-economies of scale in research — smaller is often an advantage.
Would have done differently? Wouldn’t have felt as much pressure to raise capital.
Developing mental model infrastructure at the very beginning would have been more useful.
“High NPS business” — clients and management teams talk about SS.
Must maximize return on time and effort spent. The singular principle that should guide every decision.
RV: target self-selection. Put values out there (e.g. public letters)...people will find you and will be the right people because your values will be why they reach out to you.