Kelly Granat

an incredible amount of research, speaking with as many people as we can in every part of the ecosystem to inform, obviously, the inputs to that thought process.

an incredible amount of research, speaking with as many people as we can in every part of the ecosystem to inform, obviously, the inputs to that thought process.

Okay, sure. So we have currently 15 people on the research team, inclusive of Steve and Dave and me. And interestingly, in the 19 years I've been at the firm, we've been sort of between 13 and 19. And that's sort of where we live in terms of team size with the view that more people is not necessarily better. We want to run a relatively concentrated portfolio of 25 to 30 longs.

Okay, sure. So we have currently 15 people on the research team, inclusive of Steve and Dave and me. And interestingly, in the 19 years I've been at the firm, we've been sort of between 13 and 19. And that's sort of where we live in terms of team size with the view that more people is not necessarily better. We want to run a relatively concentrated portfolio of 25 to 30 longs.

That's kind of the best ideas portfolio. And we want a lot of collaboration. And so we want everyone to fit around a table to have a conversation at our research meetings and be a part of the conversation. And when you start to get into 20s and 30s, then you have a very siloed research team. And we know that's not sort of how we're oriented and culturally not how we work.

That's kind of the best ideas portfolio. And we want a lot of collaboration. And so we want everyone to fit around a table to have a conversation at our research meetings and be a part of the conversation. And when you start to get into 20s and 30s, then you have a very siloed research team. And we know that's not sort of how we're oriented and culturally not how we work.

How it works is, and maybe the best way to start is sort of how someone gets ingested into the firm on the research team, right? So a new person joins, typically they're younger, 25 to 30, let's say, and come with some level of experience. And they've got the analytical toolkit built already somewhere else, sometimes in private equity, sometimes in banking, sometimes in business school.

How it works is, and maybe the best way to start is sort of how someone gets ingested into the firm on the research team, right? So a new person joins, typically they're younger, 25 to 30, let's say, and come with some level of experience. And they've got the analytical toolkit built already somewhere else, sometimes in private equity, sometimes in banking, sometimes in business school.

And typically they apprentice with someone senior for some period of time. That can be six months, it could be two years. And they will kind of co-cover a bunch of things together. And that person is not doing what we call like the grunt work.

And typically they apprentice with someone senior for some period of time. That can be six months, it could be two years. And they will kind of co-cover a bunch of things together. And that person is not doing what we call like the grunt work.

They are going soup to nuts from being on the calls, working on the models, going to the conferences, going to see the companies, being in all of our meetings. And what we find is that person's voice tends to start to get louder after kind of six, eight months, right? Because they've been around, they've seen how we work.

They are going soup to nuts from being on the calls, working on the models, going to the conferences, going to see the companies, being in all of our meetings. And what we find is that person's voice tends to start to get louder after kind of six, eight months, right? Because they've been around, they've seen how we work.

They're asking questions, they're iterating, they're learning from other analysts. And when I know it's time for them to sort of spin out and cover their own stuff is when they start disagreeing with the person that they're apprenticing with, right? And so, which is to me like, hey, you found your voice, amazing.

They're asking questions, they're iterating, they're learning from other analysts. And when I know it's time for them to sort of spin out and cover their own stuff is when they start disagreeing with the person that they're apprenticing with, right? And so, which is to me like, hey, you found your voice, amazing.

And now let's put you on a bunch of other stuff that you can just run after and then serve up to us basically. And so that's how people get sort of absorbed into the culture and see how we work. At that point, obviously, they have an appreciation for our process, how we approach companies, how we talk to companies, how we conduct research.

And now let's put you on a bunch of other stuff that you can just run after and then serve up to us basically. And so that's how people get sort of absorbed into the culture and see how we work. At that point, obviously, they have an appreciation for our process, how we approach companies, how we talk to companies, how we conduct research.

I may be segueing to that part of how the sausage gets made. We're doing all the things I think a lot of fundamental research firms are doing. We're reading all the public filings. We're reading all the transcripts. We're listening to podcasts. We're going to conferences. We're doing a lot of deep channel work in terms of talking to people.

I may be segueing to that part of how the sausage gets made. We're doing all the things I think a lot of fundamental research firms are doing. We're reading all the public filings. We're reading all the transcripts. We're listening to podcasts. We're going to conferences. We're doing a lot of deep channel work in terms of talking to people.

partners and former employees were employing, you know, talking to people in the expert networks. We're reaching out to our own network as an institution, right?

partners and former employees were employing, you know, talking to people in the expert networks. We're reaching out to our own network as an institution, right?