#425 The Merchant Bankers

#426 How Obsession Built Christopher Nolan

Obsession is the engine of Nolan’s career. This episode examines Christopher Nolan’s life, working methods, and philosophy through The Nolan Variations [https://amzn.to/4wnsLcP]by Tom Shone. Made possible by: Ramp: ⁠⁠⁠https://ramp.com⁠⁠⁠ [https://ramp.com⁠⁠⁠%20] Applovin: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.applovin.com⁠ [⁠⁠⁠https://www.applovin.com⁠] Vanta: ⁠⁠⁠https://vanta.com/founders⁠ [⁠⁠⁠https://vanta.com/founders⁠] ⁠Add your email here⁠ and I will send you my top 10 quotes from every episode: https://davidsenra.substack.com [https://davidsenra.substack.com]

#425 The Merchant Bankers

This episode discusses Joseph Wechsberg’s 1966 book, The Merchant Bankers [https://amzn.to/4waaTlz]. Rather than recounting the histories of families like the Rothschilds, Barings, Hambros, Warburgs, and Lehman Brothers, I wanted to extract the principles they shared. Merchant banking is fascinating. It's a very distinctive form of entrepreneurship. There is an old-school way of doing business that appeals to me. The merchant bankers’ profiled in this book have a combination of: * personal honor * speed of action * clear thinking * independent judgment * seamless webs of deserved trust * discretion * and willingness to make unconventional decisions. The founder of every merchant banking dynasty was a merchant before he was merchant banker. Once they discovered financing transactions was more profitable than physically trading goods, their real products became credit, judgment, information, advice, access, and—above all—trust. Their greatest asset was not money. Their greatest asset was their reputation. Made possible by: Ramp: ⁠⁠https://ramp.com [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqblkyVUFhU1NVYy1jcnBfaFVvLWlkb0hJZ0M0QXxBQ3Jtc0trY29XY2J3dU52WlotX3FDa19zdUxvSUhycmk0ZFQzbjRnbHdkLWs4dDY0UlNrR0RkZzNpMjJhNkVzeHNZUnhaSG1LYUN0X3FOUmdCOXRHUVhkSW5LUU5FZkRRVE1mY2tIVlZlQlVqd2J3bGxlUmZLTQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Framp.com%2F&v=b9tB9Q1XOM0]⁠⁠  Applovin: ⁠⁠https://www.applovin.com [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbVptVmk2TFRkcGVDSjNNWG90QzVtVUxMMkdkd3xBQ3Jtc0ttR0pGSllMUUVuR1YtT04xTmVCdlJTNGZQcU1BMC1KWmo2VUIxd3lIVHIzSkNYQlVUbW9TMWtSYkRWRGdyVlA5RkVsWHlqZUNtRkxTRF9wQklLeUJzU3kwZ1ZEN0FndmQzUm5Idzk1ai0tRkU2TWFLMA&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.applovin.com%2F&v=b9tB9Q1XOM0] Vanta: ⁠⁠https://vanta.com/founders [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbFRHWGdUeGlqc1luSUduVWJyUXVMX2I5eWdYQXxBQ3Jtc0tuTVNiMmxSa0dwVWNQNmVLMG1NNjFaZXBYY0VRczhHRHJxNWZtUDJEQ3dHaHZMVkZkZjF3QTlHMWZGMXhyV0JYV2M2Vjd0VmU2Y29fLTd4V1ZhTEd5bXF3QTc3UjA1cmctRW5ScTd6eTRyQTFaNUdMcw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fvanta.com%2Ffounders&v=b9tB9Q1XOM0] Add your email here [https://davidsenra.substack.com/subscribe] and I will send you my top 10 quotes from every episode.

#424 Peter Thiel on How to Build a Creative Monopoly

What I learned from reading Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future [https://amzn.to/4yhebFh] by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters (for the 3rd or 4th time) Made possible by:  * Ramp: ⁠https://ramp.com⁠ [https://www.ramp.com/]  * Applovin: ⁠https://www.applovin.com/⁠  [https://www.applovin.com/] * Vanta: ⁠https://vanta.com/founders [https://vanta.com/founders]

#423 Soichiro Honda

What I learned from reading Honda: The Man and His Machines [https://amzn.to/4xUdH7R] by Sol Sanders. Made possible by: * Ramp: ⁠https://ramp.com⁠ [https://www.ramp.com]  * Applovin: ⁠https://www.applovin.com/⁠  [https://www.applovin.com/] * Vanta: ⁠https://vanta.com/founders [https://vanta.com/founders]

#422 Joseph Pulitzer

What I learned from reading Pulitzer: A Life in Politics, Print, and Power [https://amzn.to/3SflkWd] by James McGrath Morris. Made possible by: Ramp: ⁠https://ramp.com⁠ [https://www.ramp.com] Applovin: ⁠https://www.applovin.com/⁠ [https://www.applovin.com/] Vanta: ⁠https://vanta.com/founders [https://vanta.com/founders]