Tobi Lütke - Building Islands of Innovation

**Patrick O'Shaughnessy** (0:00)
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 Ram'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 Ram 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, Anduril, 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, save dollars and hours into growth. At both Colossus and Positive Sum, my businesses, 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.
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. 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 10 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. Here's the best part. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now. Just head to alphasense.com/invest, and experience firsthand how Alphasense and Tegas help you make smarter decisions faster. Trust me, once you try, you'll see why it is an essential tool for market research.
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** (3:55)
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** (4:24)
My guest today is Tobi Lütke, the co-founder and CEO of Shopify. I've spoken to Tobi on this podcast twice before, first in 2020 and then again in 2022 Needless to say, a lot has changed both about the world and about Shopify since we last spoke and we start by talking about the biggest change of all, AI. But I'll remember this conversation for the next set of ideas that we discuss. Tobi's very unique take on the very popular concept of founder mode, raising the temperature of an organization and the importance of building on an island that's distinct from the mainstream. Tobi embodies the concept of life's work that I believe so much in and this episode is a shining example of it. Tobi, along with nine other leaders we believe are doing their life's work, will also be featured in the first issue of an upcoming print publication we've been working on. If you're interested in hearing first when pre-orders go on sale, head to joincolossus.com/print.