🧗 Our Investing Journey (#1): The Process
A few ideas about where the future might take me
Hey guys, thank you so much for subscribing to my Substack! I can’t believe I got so many incredible human beings to read and engage with my last post. I know most of you are here for the investment commentary, but I think I’m going to start using this platform to share ideas that have to do with my process and my journey as both an investor and a lifelong student.
Like many nights before, I happen to be writing to myself at 2 a.m. with no real target in mind. Whenever I’m feeling down, empty, or alone, my mind tends to wander off in search of something new and exciting. I guess we all have those moments where we question our existence and drift off into the many possibilities of the future. But tonight is not one of those nights. Tonight I am feeling energized and cannot sleep because I’ve been hard at work. Somehow, I’m working an M&A analyst job and still managing to spend quality time in the evenings and weekends, building up my small empire.
Right now, I’m dealing with two projects. I’m working on launching a search fund accelerator and bootstrapping a nano-cap public equities long-only fund. I’ll start with the easier one.
The nano-cap fund is more of an opportunistic endeavor than it is a full-time job.
What do you mean it’s not a full-time job? Isn’t stock picking like the most competitive game in the world? Why would finding companies not be a full-time thing by itself? And what’s with the multitasking?
All of these are valid points. To me, the fund is about capitalizing on work done in the past. You see, I’ve been diving deep into businesses for more than half a decade now, and there are a few executable ideas that I would like to deploy but don’t really have the capital to do so. True, it can be a full-time gig, but after all investing is about building up conviction, making a bet, and most importantly it is about playing the waiting game. In the words of the late Charlie Munger:
The big money is not in the buying and the selling, but in the waiting.
-Charles T. Munger
So I’m jumping into this adventure with a few friends. These people - who trust me enough to hand over part (in some cases most) of their wealth - are going to be part of something great. I just know it.
On the flip side, I’m dedicating most of my “spare” time to investigating the world of search funds. Through a combination of podcasts, YouTube channels, Substacks, and one-on-one expert interviews, I am deciphering the key elements that make for a successful entrepreneurship through acquisition program. Hopefully, my associates and I will structure the idea and turn them into deals.
For the first time in my life, I feel absorbed entirely by my work. I can’t seem to do anything without ideas about improving processes popping into my mind. I think that’s a good sign, but who knows, I might just be a little crazy.
Expect more posts about these two projects soon. In the meantime, feel free to send over your recommendations and/or useful material. I’m happy to receive both words of encouragement and criticism, so don’t hold back ;D (but please make it constructive)
I’ll see you around,
A. Yela