Cliff Sosin

Some of them are doing okay. A lot of them have failed, but none of them are doing really great. And just the bottom line is that it is so hard.

Some of them are doing okay. A lot of them have failed, but none of them are doing really great. And just the bottom line is that it is so hard.

I actually love the comparison to Amazon. There's a video I saw once, I don't know how famous it is, but I love it, where Jeff Bezos is describing why books is the first best place for an internet business. And he talks about how the selection matters so much, and then he talks about how you can get the books and you can ship the books, and people can pay for the books.

I actually love the comparison to Amazon. There's a video I saw once, I don't know how famous it is, but I love it, where Jeff Bezos is describing why books is the first best place for an internet business. And he talks about how the selection matters so much, and then he talks about how you can get the books and you can ship the books, and people can pay for the books.

Well, I actually think that from a consumer's perspective, used cars is just as great as books. The selection space is infinite. Selection matters an enormous amount. Also, what I described with Carvana system is a lower cost to operate system than the traditional dealership system. It's a better experience. But the thing about books is it's really easy to do.

Well, I actually think that from a consumer's perspective, used cars is just as great as books. The selection space is infinite. Selection matters an enormous amount. Also, what I described with Carvana system is a lower cost to operate system than the traditional dealership system. It's a better experience. But the thing about books is it's really easy to do.

Imagine if you had to start Amazon, but you couldn't just call up the manufacturer and get books. You had to manufacture them. And imagine if you couldn't just call FedEx and have them ship the books. You had to build basically FedEx. And imagine if you couldn't just accept MasterCard. You had to build a financing platform. And Lord knows you can't just sell the person the book.

Imagine if you had to start Amazon, but you couldn't just call up the manufacturer and get books. You had to manufacture them. And imagine if you couldn't just call FedEx and have them ship the books. You had to build basically FedEx. And imagine if you couldn't just accept MasterCard. You had to build a financing platform. And Lord knows you can't just sell the person the book.

You have to do title and registration and all that. And with books, the stakes really just aren't that high. And so people are willing to try it. And if it doesn't go so well, they're disappointed, but it's OK. A car is the second largest purchase of your life. And so you can imagine how that is also really challenging.

You have to do title and registration and all that. And with books, the stakes really just aren't that high. And so people are willing to try it. And if it doesn't go so well, they're disappointed, but it's OK. A car is the second largest purchase of your life. And so you can imagine how that is also really challenging.

And so in the sort of fulfillment sense of it, I think used vehicles are probably the hardest thing to build. But the analogy to Amazon actually, I think, is apt.

And so in the sort of fulfillment sense of it, I think used vehicles are probably the hardest thing to build. But the analogy to Amazon actually, I think, is apt.

If you'd asked me five years ago, I would have put myself firmly in the let's focus on the business. I don't think I bring much advantage to understanding management. It's been an exciting five years. And in that time, one of the things that's come out is the businesses where if you'd ask me, OK, if I get it, you don't care, but like rank them anyway. And I'd rank them.

If you'd asked me five years ago, I would have put myself firmly in the let's focus on the business. I don't think I bring much advantage to understanding management. It's been an exciting five years. And in that time, one of the things that's come out is the businesses where if you'd ask me, OK, if I get it, you don't care, but like rank them anyway. And I'd rank them.

the teams that I was involved with, that ranking would have perfectly predicted how things did relative to my expectations at the time. So what I learned there was two things. One, it matters. I knew it mattered. But more importantly, I think I can judge it. And so now I fall into the, obviously, I care predominantly about the business and the price. That is, in the end, the right thing.

the teams that I was involved with, that ranking would have perfectly predicted how things did relative to my expectations at the time. So what I learned there was two things. One, it matters. I knew it mattered. But more importantly, I think I can judge it. And so now I fall into the, obviously, I care predominantly about the business and the price. That is, in the end, the right thing.

A great team with a terrible business is going to be a slug. There's just no two ways about it. By the way, just to go back to your contained versus uncontained point, like that's another idea. It's like there are businesses where there's a new problem to solve every six to 12 months. And it throws up a never-ending series of hard problems.

A great team with a terrible business is going to be a slug. There's just no two ways about it. By the way, just to go back to your contained versus uncontained point, like that's another idea. It's like there are businesses where there's a new problem to solve every six to 12 months. And it throws up a never-ending series of hard problems.

You know, so you want businesses, so a contained one would be one where like once it's, set it and forget it's the wrong term, but there's like an obvious, like, would you like to sell more cars? Yes, yes, I'd like to. Okay, so now going back to management. So I don't necessarily think I'm going to ever get to a point where I'm like, this team is great.

You know, so you want businesses, so a contained one would be one where like once it's, set it and forget it's the wrong term, but there's like an obvious, like, would you like to sell more cars? Yes, yes, I'd like to. Okay, so now going back to management. So I don't necessarily think I'm going to ever get to a point where I'm like, this team is great.