Chai with Pabrai

Mental Models for Running Startups and Businesses, SXSW 2026 on March 16, 2026

Mental Models for Running Startups and Businesses, SXSW 2026 on March 16, 2026. (00:00:00) - Introduction (00:00:28) - Charlie Munger's mental models (00:01:52) - Model 1: The Bedrock model: Take a simple idea and take it seriously (00:02:31) - Model 2: Truth vs. Trust; David Hawkins: Power vs. Force (00:05:43) - Costco (00:07:56) - Model 3: Your deepest desire is your destiny (00:09:40) - Model 4: Heads I win; Tails I don't lose much; Jeff Bezos (00:10:36) - How to start a business without capital (00:12:44) - Model 5: Be a shameless cloner; Sam Walton & Walmart and Bill Gates & Microsoft (00:14:49) - Model 6: Use hacks to improve yourself; Be a harsh grader (00:16:02) - Model 7: Hire slow fire fast (00:16:53) - Model 8: Incentives are more powerful than you think (00:17:51) - Model 10: Pursue quality intensely; Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance by Robert Pirsig (00:18:50) - Model 11: Focus on durable moats (00:19:16) - Model 12: The purpose of business is not to make money (00:19:45) - Model 13: Outsourcing smaller tasks (00:20:39) - The latticework of mental models; Listen to your customer (00:24:07) - Focus on taking larger market share (00:25:19) - Model 14: Go all-in on no-brainers; Founders Podcast, Business Breakdowns & Acquired podcasts (00:28:54) - Book recommendations: Poor Charlie's Almanack, Influence & Excellent Advice for Living (00:29:27) - Duan Yongping: Fast is slow (00:30:56) - Lifetime ban at a casino in Vegas; Blackjack (00:33:09) - Exponential effect of implementing the models together (00:34:24) - Benefit of mental models to non-venture backed businesses (00:35:12) - El Cortez casino in Las Vegas; Blackjack (00:41:49) - Mental models for creative professionals; Seinfeld's Is This Anything? The contents of this website are for educational and entertainment purposes only, and do not purport to be, and are not intended to be, financial, legal, accounting, tax or investment advice. Investments or strategies that are discussed may not be suitable for you, do not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs and are not intended to provide investment advice or recommendations appropriate for you. Before making any investment or trade, consider whether it is suitable for you and consider seeking advice from your own financial or investment adviser. Thumbnail Photo credit: Nick Piacente

Mohnish Pabrai's Q&A session with Dakshana scholars at JNV Pune, Maharashtra, India on December 25, 2025

Mohnish Pabrai's Q&A session with Dakshana scholars at JNV Pune, Maharashtra, India on December 25, 2025 (00:00:00) – Introduction (00:01:09) - Charlie's mental models: Take a simple idea and take it seriously (00:03:13) - Be a Karam Yogi (00:07:12) - Focus at improving human lives: Narayana Healthcare Systems (00:10:52) - Purpose over profit always wins (00:13:47) - Inner scorecard beats outer approval (00:16:06) - Cloning: Anand Kumar and Super 30 (00:19:56) - Learn to build from zero: The Origin and Evolution of New Businesses (00:23:02) - The Founders Podcast (00:28:40) - Singular focus: Dronacharya & Arjuna - eye of the bird (00:32:18) - Your Deepest Desire Is Destiny (00:34:10) - Adversity is part of life 00:36:30) – Toastmasters (00:37:46) - Usain Bolt from Jamaica; Illustrated Weekly of India: Khushwant Singh (00:44:00) - Take a decision and move forward (00:45:18) - Be the change you wish to see (00:47:03) - Principles create advantage in life; The Founders Podcast (00:50:12) - Focus on relevant things in life (00:56:35) - Rule of 72 (01:00:04) - The wealth creation paradox The contents of this audio are for educational and entertainment purposes only, and do not purport to be, and are not intended to be financial, legal, accounting, tax, or investment advice. Investments or strategies that are discussed may not be suitable for you, do not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation, or needs, and are not intended to provide investment advice or recommendations appropriate for you. Before making any investment or trade, consider whether it is suitable for you and consider seeking advice from your own financial or investment adviser.

Mohnish Pabrai's Q&A Session with Dakshana Scholars at Dakshana Valley, Pune on December 26, 2025

Mohnish Pabrai's Q&A Session with Dakshana Scholars at Dakshana Valley, Pune, Maharashtra, India on December 26, 2025. (00:00:00) - Introduction (00:00:37) - Breaking the question pattern (00:03:22) - Overcoming hardships through learning; YouTube & Muskan Soni (00:05:41) - Mental models - take a simple idea and take it seriously; Lyndon Johnson (00:09:57) - Upanishads - Your deepest desire is your destiny (00:13:43) - Belief comes before capability; Elon Musk & the reuse of rockets (00:18:18) - Dakshana: Cloned from Anand Kumar's Super 30 (00:30:47) - Robert Caro's books on Lyndon Johnson (00:37:44) - Be a harsh grader while choosing your circle (00:40:46) - Mistakes are a blessing (00:44:04) - Attraction towards the opposite gender is natural (00:47:30) - World changes if you have a burning desire (00:48:21) - Karam Yogi: You cannot make money if you want to make money (00:51:16) – Google The contents of this podcast are for educational and entertainment purposes only, and do not purport to be, and are not intended to be financial, legal, accounting, tax, or investment advice. Investments or strategies that are discussed may not be suitable for you, do not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation, or needs, and are not intended to provide investment advice or recommendations appropriate for you. Before making any investment or trade, consider whether it is suitable for you and consider seeking advice from your own financial or investment adviser.

Mohnish Pabrai's Interview at the Investor's Podcast on April 25, 2023

Mohnish Pabrai's Interview at the Investor's Podcast on April 25, 2023 (00:00:00) - Introduction (00:00:54) - Poor Charlie's Almanack; handling biases (00:02:55) - Investing in Turkey (00:06:12) - Circle the wagons (00:08:54) - Nifty 50 in 1970's (00:11:51) - Rakesh Jhunjhunwala (00:13:57) - Naspers (00:19:09) - Shinoken; share buybacks (00:24:08) - How has my investing changed over the years (00:26:07) - Stock based compensation (00:29:17) - Constellation: Mark Leonard (00:36:43) - Handling investment mistakes (00:40:32) - The importance of truth (00:45:55) - Being open to discuss finances The contents of this website are for educational and entertainment purposes only, and do not purport to be, and are not intended to be, financial, legal, accounting, tax or investment advice. Investments or strategies that are discussed may not be suitable for you, do not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs and are not intended to provide investment advice or recommendations appropriate for you. Before making any investment or trade, consider whether it is suitable for you and consider seeking advice from your own financial or investment adviser. The interview host is an investor in Pabrai Funds and therefore has a financial interest in the funds' performance, which creates a potential conflict of interest. The host was not compensated for this interview. The views expressed are those of the host and Mohnish Pabrai and do not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to invest.

Mohnish Pabrai's Session at The Investor's Podcast on April 1, 2024

Mohnish Pabrai's Session at The Investor's Podcast on April 1, 2024 (00:00:00) - Introduction (00:01:44) - TransTech (00:03:39) - Managing other people's money (00:08:54) - My journey in investing (00:11:51) - The happiness equation (00:17:12) - Learnings from Buffett; Be a harsh grader (00:22:06) - The importance of truth and candor (00:24:06) - Bridge vs. Poker (00:28:59) - Infinite games (00:30:56) - McDonalds (00:34:02) - Boeing (00:36:12) - Processing information from books (00:40:24) - Pabrai Fund's track record (00:45:25) - The game of investing (00:49:20) - The Dakshana Foundation; Philanthropy The contents of this website are for educational and entertainment purposes only, and do not purport to be, and are not intended to be, financial, legal, accounting, tax or investment advice. Investments or strategies that are discussed may not be suitable for you, do not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs and are not intended to provide investment advice or recommendations appropriate for you. Before making any investment or trade, consider whether it is suitable for you and consider seeking advice from your own financial or investment adviser. The interview host is an investor in Pabrai Funds and therefore has a financial interest in the funds' performance, which creates a potential conflict of interest. The host was not compensated for this interview. The views expressed are those of the host and Mohnish Pabrai and do not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to invest.