Neil Mehta

It takes a lot of intestinal fortitude. Yeah. There's a bunch of really good stories about Carbon. As the stock started to drop and we started to buy more, not everybody was thrilled with us, but we thought we fundamentally understood that he would be able to reverse the unit economics on a per unit basis.

It takes a lot of intestinal fortitude. Yeah. There's a bunch of really good stories about Carbon. As the stock started to drop and we started to buy more, not everybody was thrilled with us, but we thought we fundamentally understood that he would be able to reverse the unit economics on a per unit basis.

There are things he could do to not just stave off bankruptcy, but be an ongoing concern with a strong capital structure. And then the second part of that is the debt side was really reflexive. If you're right on the first part, you're kind of right on the second part. So it's a two-part investment for us. One was the company won't go bankrupt. Second, is this a business that could go from

There are things he could do to not just stave off bankruptcy, but be an ongoing concern with a strong capital structure. And then the second part of that is the debt side was really reflexive. If you're right on the first part, you're kind of right on the second part. So it's a two-part investment for us. One was the company won't go bankrupt. Second, is this a business that could go from

400, 500,000 units to 2 million, 3 million, 5 million units over time. Used cars are about 40 million units a year or something like that. And I remember this was a big debate for us, but it really also comes back to founders. I went out to Phoenix, sat down with them for dinner. I got on the plane. I was reading the papers and four of the articles were about earning and how terrible earning was.

400, 500,000 units to 2 million, 3 million, 5 million units over time. Used cars are about 40 million units a year or something like that. And I remember this was a big debate for us, but it really also comes back to founders. I went out to Phoenix, sat down with them for dinner. I got on the plane. I was reading the papers and four of the articles were about earning and how terrible earning was.

It was like, he's a crook. He's awful. The company's terrible. They can't pay their bills. It's about to go bankrupt. Employees are leaving in droves. It was like left for the dead. I remember. You remember this, and I remember getting out there, and I remember sitting down with him. We talked about the business, we talked about all the things, but I remember the first thing I did is I said,

It was like, he's a crook. He's awful. The company's terrible. They can't pay their bills. It's about to go bankrupt. Employees are leaving in droves. It was like left for the dead. I remember. You remember this, and I remember getting out there, and I remember sitting down with him. We talked about the business, we talked about all the things, but I remember the first thing I did is I said,

And the paper's a lot nowadays. How does it feel? How do you feel? And he didn't talk at all about himself. It was just like down to tears. He was talking about his team. He was talking about what it's like for employees of his who have been on the company for a long time to have their kids go to school and hear that their parents' company is going bankrupt.

And the paper's a lot nowadays. How does it feel? How do you feel? And he didn't talk at all about himself. It was just like down to tears. He was talking about his team. He was talking about what it's like for employees of his who have been on the company for a long time to have their kids go to school and hear that their parents' company is going bankrupt.

And he was going into enormous detail about this and you could feel the pain. It wasn't on the articles about him. It wasn't even on Billy Did Manage Cuts. It was that he was trying to balance getting through this with making sure that his team felt good about how he got through this. There's very few CEOs. In the fog of war, when things speed up, people start to make snap decisions very quickly.

And he was going into enormous detail about this and you could feel the pain. It wasn't on the articles about him. It wasn't even on Billy Did Manage Cuts. It was that he was trying to balance getting through this with making sure that his team felt good about how he got through this. There's very few CEOs. In the fog of war, when things speed up, people start to make snap decisions very quickly.

What impressed me most about Ernie at that moment in time was how he just slowed everything down. I remember at the dinner, the waitress came by and she's like, would you like to use your Marriott gift certificate card? And he's like, oh yeah. He searched 10 minutes to find his gift certificate card.

What impressed me most about Ernie at that moment in time was how he just slowed everything down. I remember at the dinner, the waitress came by and she's like, would you like to use your Marriott gift certificate card? And he's like, oh yeah. He searched 10 minutes to find his gift certificate card.

I was like, wow, you're supposed to be in a hurry, but you really care about this gift certificate. Points off or something like that. When we went through operational step by operational step, it was so clear to me that there was a spread between where the market thought he was. And that happens all the time in our industry.

I was like, wow, you're supposed to be in a hurry, but you really care about this gift certificate. Points off or something like that. When we went through operational step by operational step, it was so clear to me that there was a spread between where the market thought he was. And that happens all the time in our industry.

The spread between perception and reality for private businesses, for public companies, it could be quite significant.

The spread between perception and reality for private businesses, for public companies, it could be quite significant.

I think you have to decide whether you want to be in the Hall of Fame of Returns or the Hall of Fame of AUM. And by the way, Ivory LP has to shut their ears, but that's an okay answer for attending people. The Hall of Fame of AUM is a well-trafficked game with lots of buildings in New York have names of people that have been in the Hall of Fame of AUM, and that's a great way to live life.

I think you have to decide whether you want to be in the Hall of Fame of Returns or the Hall of Fame of AUM. And by the way, Ivory LP has to shut their ears, but that's an okay answer for attending people. The Hall of Fame of AUM is a well-trafficked game with lots of buildings in New York have names of people that have been in the Hall of Fame of AUM, and that's a great way to live life.