Thesis Notes

Articles on the development, creation, & findings of my Investment Thesis

I never wrote a senior thesis to graduate from college. It was optional for Economics and Political Science majors at Columbia College and generally only those students striving for honors — which saying that I was a long shot for honors would be kind. So in the academic arena, I never wrote a thesis. However, when I began working as an equity research associate in 2007, I started to see the practical benefits of developing a thesis in the investing world. My two bosses, relied on me to bring them company-specific and macroeconomic data points that would help them iterate on their investment strategies for their financials/REIT coverage universe. Those lessons that I learned early on in my career still ring true in my role as an early stage investor.

Despite there being considerably less company-specific information in the early stage tech world in comparison to the public financials/REIT sector, I’ve discovered it is even more important to have a great understanding of how macro trends are creating opportunities for startups to disrupt large industries. So a few months ago, I decided to provide formalize my investment thesis on tech-enabled businesses within three industries I have followed closely for my entire life — education, financial services, and real estate. My…