Capital Road: Vol III
[originally posted in 2015]
Greetings!
Capital Road continues to evolve, and here you’ll find the latest adaptation. What follows is a curated list, the best-of-the-best content to help you invest well and live well. Here’s your one-stop-shop to learn, discover, and dig deep into whatever piques your interest.
I hope you find it both enjoyable and useful. If so, please consider sharing it with those in your network who may agree. All feedback is welcome, email matt@channelcapital.co anytime.
Cheers!
“If you want advice, ask for money.
If you want money, ask for advice.”
Wise words and a great post from Ben Yoskovitz
INVESTORS & THOSE SEEKING INVESTORS
INTERNET TRENDS 2015
196 slides from Mary Meeker of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. This goes deep into the data, but it is the best report I’ve ever seen on the state of technology. A few highlights I found fascinating:
- There are 2.8 billion internet users in the world, and growing
- Highly-regulated arenas like education, healthcare, and government have yet to be penetrated like the consumer and business sectors…but not for long
- Vertical videos ads are watched in their entirety 9x more than landscape videos
- 34% of Americans now consider themselves freelancers or independent contractors, and there are now more working Millennials than any other generation
TOMORROW’S ADVANCE MAN
New Yorker’s article on Marc Andreessen, his venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, Silicon Valley culture, and predictions for the future of technology. This is a long, but great piece showing real glimpses into one of the major forces currently shaping the world, for better or worse. Contains gems like “The dogs are f***ing jumping through the screen door to eat the dog food. And he hasn’t done any marketing yet. And he’s profitable!”
SNEAKY QUESTIONS INVESTORS ASK
Very much worth the read. If you’re ever raising money, this is a good guide to the hidden meanings of questions investors will ask you. When they ask “Where do you see this coming going in 5+ years,” or “Where are you in your fundraising process?” or “What are your valuation expectations?”…this is what they most likely mean.
OIL OUTLOOK
PREVIOUS CAPITAL ROAD ISSUES
I’ve opened up the subject matter a bit, but have written mostly about the oil market in past issues. Catch up here. It is a fascinating industry, whether you’re an investor or simply curious about a force that has shaped the modern world and affects so many other industries. Here’s a quick update:
Oil Prices for the last year:
SUMMARY OF THE OIL MARKET
It’s more of the same for the global oil market. Prices have rebounded a bit on the growing global demand numbers, mostly from Asia and Europe, but the fundamentals still point to a supply glut for at least the remainder of the year. Most projections hover around $60–70/bl for 2015. The “W” curve, caused by the ability of oil producers to turn the spicket on and off quickly at any given price, is proving to be true thus far.
OPEC MEETING LAST FRIDAY
This was the first OPEC meeting since November, and it seems they’re all getting along better than ever…for the moment. Quick summary: OPEC plans to stay the course. They believe maintaining production at 30 million barrels/day is working. And by “working,” they mean a “37 percent rally in oil prices since January, a 60 percent drop in U.S. drilling rigs since October, a decline last month in production from American shale oil wells, and billions of dollars of shelved investments by the world’s biggest oil companies.”
ONE FASCINATING THING
MAKE. BETTER. DECISIONS
If you don’t get the Farnam Street newsletter by Shane Parrish, you should go sign up for it right now. This was a fascinating article about how to make better decisions. Bottom line: stop focusing on what is different (the inside view) and instead consider what is the same (outside view). Or put another way, avoid coming anywhere close to saying “this time is different.” It’s probably not.
A FEW THINGS I WROTE
RETHINKING SAFETY FOR MY CHILDREN
Crime in the U.S. is at roughly the same level as in 1960 and declining. Yet we are more fearful than ever about keeping our kids safe. Where is the line of doing more harm than good?
DO YOU WRITE LIKE A CHILD? YOU SHOULD.
Some low-hanging fruit to improve your writing
HOW TO NOT SELL A DAMN THING
Rules to live by to be a terrible salesperson
TOOLS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT
Timeku is a scheduling app that allows you to compare busy/free with people and groups from one screen on your phone. Great for families, sales teams, etc.
33Vincent: If you’re in need of help but don’t want the hassles of hiring, email me. We’re tapping into that 34% freelancer group, and providing the highest quality virtual assistant platform on the planet.
Thanks for reading.
Be well, stay in touch, and do good work.
Matt McPheely & The Capital Road Team
