Ronnie Fieg - Building Kith

**Patrick O'Shaughnessy** (0:00)
On December 4th, I'll be hosting a panel discussion with Chris Akerson, Alphasense's VP of Product, and Divya Narendra, CEO of SumZero, for a discussion on AI's impact on investing. As an investor, I'm always on the lookout for tools that can truly transform the way that we work as a business. Alphasense has completely transformed the research process with cutting edge AI technology and a vast collection of top tier reliable business content. Since I started using it, it's been a game changer for my market research at Positive Sum. I now rely on Alphasense daily to uncover insights and make smarter decisions. With the recent acquisition of Tegas, Alphasense continues to be a best-in-class research platform, delivering even more powerful tools to help users make informed decisions faster. What truly sets Alphasense apart is its cutting edge AI. Imagine completing your research five to ten times faster with search that delivers the most relevant results, helping you make high conviction decisions with confidence. Alphasense provides access to over 300 million premium documents including company filings, earnings reports, press releases, and more from public and private companies. You can even upload and manage your own proprietary documents for seamless integration. With over 10,000 premium content sources and top broker research from firms like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, Alphasense gives you the tools to make high conviction decisions with confidence. You can sign up for a panel discussion by the link in our show notes or head to alphasense.com/invest. Two fun facts about our newest sponsorship partner, Ramp. First, they are the fastest growing fintech company in history, reaching a level of revenue in five years that I can't quote exactly, but is eyebrow raising. Second, they are backed by more of my favorite past guests, at least 16 of them when I counted, than probably any other company that I'm aware of. A list that includes Ravi Gupta at Sequoia, Josh Kushner at Thrive, Keith Raboi at Founders Fund and Coastal Ventures, Patrick and John Collison, Michael Ovitz, Brad Gerstner, the list goes on and on. These facts demand the question, why? Having been personally obsessed with the great businesses through history, one clear lesson is that the best of them are run by disciplined operators. These operators manage costs with incredible detail and they are constantly thinking about how they can reinvest every dollar and every hour back into their business. This is RAMP's mission, to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. First on expenses, the average American business has a profit margin of 7.7%. This means saving 1% on costs is the equivalent of making 13% more revenue. The average RAMP customer is able to save 5% on their expenses each year. Of course, every entrepreneur is looking for ways to grow revenue by 50%. They should just as seriously seek to save 5% on their expenses. Second, on time, unnecessary complexity is why most finance teams spend 80% of their time doing operational work and only about 20% of their time on strategic work. RAMP makes spend management very simple by handling your company's expenses, travel, bill payments, vendor relationships, and even accounting. It's notable that some of the best in class businesses today, companies like Airbnb, Andrel, and Shopify, and investors like Sequoia Capital and Vista Equity are all using RAMP to manage their spend. They use it to spend less, they use it to automate tedious financial processes, and they use it to reinvest saved dollars and hours into growth. At both Colossus and Positive Sum, my business is, we've used RAMP for years now for these exact reasons. Go to ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. That's ramp.com/invest.
Hello and welcome everyone. I'm Patrick O'Shaughnessy and this is Invest Like the Best. This show is an open-ended exploration of markets, ideas, stories and strategies that will help you better invest both your time and your money. Invest Like the Best is part of the Colossus family of podcasts and you can access all our podcasts including edited transcripts, show notes and other resources to keep learning at joincolossus.com.

**SPEAKER_2** (3:51)
Patrick O'Shaughnessy is the CEO of Positive Sum. All opinions expressed by Patrick and podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of Positive Sum. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions. Clients of Positive Sum may maintain positions in the securities discussed in this podcast. To learn more, visit PSUMVC.

**Patrick O'Shaughnessy** (4:20)
My guest is Ronnie Fieg, founder and CEO of Kith. At age 13, Ronnie started working at David Z, an iconic New York shoe store where he sold Timberland boots to Jay Z and Wallabies to Wu-Tang Clan. He worked his way up from the stockroom and earned his first collaboration in 2007 when he worked with Asics on a new line of their Gel-Lyte 3s. That collection sold out in a day after being featured in The Wall Street Journal, catching the attention of Adidas' president and launching Ronnie's reputation as a cultural touchstone. In 2011, he founded Kith, which has become one of the most influential brands in footwear, fashion and culture. The business sells a unique curation of products that include Nike sneakers, Armani suits, Versace robes, watches, cars and even $10 ice creams. Our conversation is one of the best examples of life's work that I've ever recorded. It explores how Ronnie's pure love of product has shaped everything from a campaign with Jerry Seinfeld to his creative direction for the New York Knicks. Please enjoy this excellent conversation with Ronnie Fieg.