The Richards Report

This episode we're chatting 'Moneyball'. What about it? Well, in baseball they talk about the "intangibles" that players may or may not have. He or she has the "it" factor. It's a gut feel that has usually been accepted and often embraced by recruiters and teams. But Moneyball, in particular Billy Beane and his team at the Oakland A's questioned this widely accepted "gut feel" and how accurate it really is. As we know he and his analytics team famously went out on a limb at the time and used data to make baseball recruiting decisions, not on this gut instinct or the "it" factor. The idea of an algorithm or computer supporting important sporting recruiting decisions was initially laughed at. But since the Moneyball story became well known it's now not only accepted, but embraced. This approach has quickly spread into other sports too. This episode I'm joined by Chris Keane, the senior recruiting analyst at the Sydney Swans who, as you may have guessed it, has an analytics background, not a football background. New approaches to traditional ways we go about things can sometimes be perceived as wrong, when in fact they may may in fact improve the decision we're trying to make. Whether it's recruiting the next best AFL player, or making the your next investment. We're increasingly seeing data being embraced as a way to improve our decision making. Show notes are avaiable here This episode is bought to you by Six Park, Australia's leading robo-advisor.

This episode I'm speaking with returning guest, friend of the show, co-CEO and co-founder of Six Park, Pat Garrett. We discuss; - The levels of noise in the market right now - Points in history with heightened negativity can sometimes lead to the best buying opportunities - What it was like to be working in New York on Wall St in the lead up to the tech crash of early 2000s. - Similarities between picking stocks and picking new recruits for sporting teams This episode is brought to you by Six Park, Australia's leading online investment service www.sixpark.com.au

Nick is a partner at Blackbird Ventures. A venture capital fund that seeks to invest in world-class founders who are setting out to make a difference in the world. Investors in Blackbird's fund include the Australian Government Future Fund, Host Plus, and Mike Cannon Brookes. Nick originally studied law and political science at UQ. After a short period of time working in the legal world he pivoted across into the world of startups. He co-founded, and was CEO of, Sessions (which used technology to help people stay healthy, and Sessions was later acquired by MyFitnessPal in December, 2013). Nick also co-founded We Are Hunted which was acquired by Twitter. Nick said he would come into contact with approximately 1000 companies a year, of which he meets face to face with around 100. He would probably consider around 10 but ultimately invests in around 2 or 3 a year. However, at the time of recording in late September he still had not made an investment this year. One thing which I wasn't aware is that he measures every minute of his day and he takes us through how he does this. As on average as he invests in 1 in every 500 companies he comes across he knows how important time management is. We discuss valuation which is always difficult, let alone investing in a startup company that's probably loss making at the time with not many true comparable comapnies. Nick describes how important a well articulated mission and vision are. However, so often they're nothing more than buzzwords which are often stuck on the wall and then forgotten about. It's important though, the mission and vision reverberates throughout the company as it attracts the best talent, which can attract investors, which can help in the process to attract customers. This episode is brought to you by Six Park - Australia's leading online investment manager www.sixpark.com.au

Preview of the next podcast episode where I speak with Nick Stone, the founder and CEO of the Bluestone Lane coffee empire in North America.