![Business Breakdowns - A Primer on Space: The Final Frontier - [Business Breakdowns, EP. 19]](https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/episode_images/2b7abe0cbb8ba184b2c7f1136acfc04f7d9f1bcce75230074c97847963ebae8f.avif)
A Primer on Space: The Final Frontier - [Business Breakdowns, EP. 19]
07/28/21 • 55 min
1 Listener
Today, we will be covering the endlessly fascinating market of Space. While we typically focus on an individual company for Business Breakdowns, we thought an industry primer was the best approach for this expanding market. With Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos directing so much energy to the promise of space, it is impossible not to dream about what lies ahead. To cover this endless topic, I’ll be joined by a previous guest, Tren Griffin. While Tren’s full-time job is a director at Microsoft, his experience with satellites and endless curiosity make him ideal for this conversation. We cover how our ground economy is enabled by space today, what excites him most about the space to space opportunities in the future, and how space compares to other network foundations. I hope you enjoy this great space primer with Tren Griffin.
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.
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Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, Inc. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.
Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.
Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss
Show Notes
[00:02:19] - [First question] - The current size and scope of the space economy
[00:04:42] - Important historic milestones that helped us get to where we are today
[00:12:33] - The varying levels of orbit and what they unlock for technology
[00:19:22] - How expensive launches were and what they are now with SpaceX and Starship
[00:22:08] - Overview of the Starlink project and using it to recoup infrastructural setup costs
[00:27:32] - Whether or not launch will ever become more than just a commodity
[00:31:01] - Different types of satellites and earth-orbiting technology
[00:34:23] - Thoughts on in-space manufacturing as an emerging industry
[00:35:33] - Future colonization of the moon, Mars, and humanity leaving the Earth
[00:38:19] - The importance of dreaming big to inspire those around you
[00:42:36] - Potential reasons why space may not become a new frontier
[00:44:41] - Politics and the militarization side of open space
[00:47:19] - Legalities and the need for a space treaty
[00:49:41] - Whether or not humans will be living on the moon by 2035
[00:51:03] - What the benefits will be of a colony on Mars if we can establish one on the moon
Today, we will be covering the endlessly fascinating market of Space. While we typically focus on an individual company for Business Breakdowns, we thought an industry primer was the best approach for this expanding market. With Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos directing so much energy to the promise of space, it is impossible not to dream about what lies ahead. To cover this endless topic, I’ll be joined by a previous guest, Tren Griffin. While Tren’s full-time job is a director at Microsoft, his experience with satellites and endless curiosity make him ideal for this conversation. We cover how our ground economy is enabled by space today, what excites him most about the space to space opportunities in the future, and how space compares to other network foundations. I hope you enjoy this great space primer with Tren Griffin.
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.
-----
Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, Inc. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.
Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.
Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss
Show Notes
[00:02:19] - [First question] - The current size and scope of the space economy
[00:04:42] - Important historic milestones that helped us get to where we are today
[00:12:33] - The varying levels of orbit and what they unlock for technology
[00:19:22] - How expensive launches were and what they are now with SpaceX and Starship
[00:22:08] - Overview of the Starlink project and using it to recoup infrastructural setup costs
[00:27:32] - Whether or not launch will ever become more than just a commodity
[00:31:01] - Different types of satellites and earth-orbiting technology
[00:34:23] - Thoughts on in-space manufacturing as an emerging industry
[00:35:33] - Future colonization of the moon, Mars, and humanity leaving the Earth
[00:38:19] - The importance of dreaming big to inspire those around you
[00:42:36] - Potential reasons why space may not become a new frontier
[00:44:41] - Politics and the militarization side of open space
[00:47:19] - Legalities and the need for a space treaty
[00:49:41] - Whether or not humans will be living on the moon by 2035
[00:51:03] - What the benefits will be of a colony on Mars if we can establish one on the moon
Previous Episode
![undefined - Petco: Capturing the Pet Economy - [Business Breakdowns, EP. 18]](https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/episode_images/37b1136b236af370e611cfc344a6dce5ef4eae82df98ea6ebdd4d1b56825cb47.avif)
Petco: Capturing the Pet Economy - [Business Breakdowns, EP. 18]
Today, we will be breaking down pet care giant, Petco. Founded in 1965 as a mail-order business, Petco has evolved into a one-stop-shop pet care solution across its nearly 1,500 locations.
To help break down Petco, I am joined by Greg Kamstra, current CEO of pet care provider, Riverdog and former private equity investor. We will discuss how Petco evolved into its current big-box model, how pet care store economics differ from grocery economics, and what impact e-commerce has had on the industry. It’s always fascinating to learn about secular growth stories, and the pet care industry falls into that category. I hope you enjoy this breakdown of Petco.
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.
-----
Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, Inc. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.
Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.
Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss
Show Notes
[00:02:19] - [First question] - What is Petco?
[00:03:06] - How much of their business is solely eCommerce
[00:03:40] - The scale of the market today and what that space looks like
[00:05:24] - Pet ownership in the US and how much it’s grown over the decades
[00:06:28] - The spend-per-pet metric and how it continues to grow
[00:06:49] - Sales channels for Petco and the big players in this industry
[00:07:31] - When and how Petco started and unique insights that led to starting the business
[00:09:09] - Unit economics for specialty brands versus generic brands
[00:09:42] - General thoughts on the economics of Petco
[00:11:03] - Viewing their revenue and customer base through the lens of a single-store
[00:13:15] - How they drive same-store sales growth and customer frequency
[00:16:22] - The ways they’ve invested in services to incentivize return customers
[00:18:13] - Conventional retail strategies and how they’ve performed for Petco
[00:20:42] - Ways they are trying to compete with their eCommerce competitors
[00:23:50] - What their eCommerce growth could look like over the next few years
[00:25:20] - Early days of a mobile app and working on their digital-first footprint
[00:26:18] - How good of a deal Chewy was for Petsmart
[00:27:48] - Other big deals Petco has made and why they’ve mattered
[00:28:52] - Unique private equity aspects of Petco
[00:31:07] - What happened to their business during the pandemic and what trends might be here to stay
[00:32:03] - How many non-pet owners became pet owners because of COVID-19
[00:33:11] - Reasons why their market cap could double in the next five to ten years
[00:34:19] - Reasons why their market cap could be cut in half over the coming years
[00:35:10] - Lessons for builders when studying Petco’s story
[00:37:14] - Lessons for investors when studying Petco’s story
Next Episode
![undefined - Blackstone: Beyond Buyouts - [Business Breakdowns, EP. 20]](https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/episode_images/1ccbf1f1c5d960614bd9906bbf3fa60f7f6505d7faed71b0ac7acfece19e777d.avif)
Blackstone: Beyond Buyouts - [Business Breakdowns, EP. 20]
Today, we will be diving into Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager. Founded in 1985 as a boutique M&A advisory business with $400,000 of seed capital. The firm now manages over $600 billion across private equity, real estate, credit, and hedge fund strategies. In this breakdown, we will start by discussing Blackstone’s business model and how it has taken advantage of a structural tailwind in the form of low bond yields. Then, we’ll dive into the different ways Blackstone earns money, how that’s changing, and what else management has done to make the business more shareholder-friendly. Finally, we’ll cover Blackstone’s competitive strengths, their brand and scale explaining how they were built and how they’re deployed today.
To break down Blackstone, Zack Fuss is joined by Marc Rubinstein, former hedge fund manager and now the writer of Net Interest.
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.
-----
Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, Inc. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.
Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.
Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss
Show Notes
[00:02:35] - [First question] - What is Blackstone, their history, and what their scale is today
[00:04:29] - Their core competencies in the beginning and what it enabled them to do
[00:05:57] - Examples of their early transactions that allowed them to grow their funds
[00:07:39] - Overview of the first principles of how private equity funds make money
[00:09:49] - What has allowed Blackstone to grow so large over the last thirty-five years
[00:12:30] - Things that make alternative asset management a large and lucrative industry
[00:14:28] - Overview of revenue streams and returns to shareholders
[00:17:30] - Analysis of their corporate private equity, real estate, hedge funds, and credit
[00:21:00] - Why alternative asset managers have been so attracted to insurance companies
[00:22:40] - Partners Blackstone might find for funding and financing
[00:24:44] - Reasons why Blackstone would consider an IPO
[00:26:15] - How an investor would evaluate Blackstone versus Berkshire Hathaway
[00:29:17] - Ways Blackstone dispels the ‘barbarians at the gate’ stigma around private equity
[00:31:12] - The importance of Steve Schwarzman and thoughts on new leadership
[00:33:31] - Building a company culture in asset management that creates longevity
[00:35:42] - What makes Blackstone so successful writ large
[00:37:54] - Emergence of neo-banks and potential threats of regulation and oversight
[00:39:05] - The one thing that allows them to always find new opportunities and succeed
[00:41:03] - Lessons for investors when studying Blackstone’s story
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