John Pfeffer's guest appearances

John Pfeffer

Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy

Capital Allocators – Inside the Institutional Investment Industry

Catch the Truth

On The Brink with Castle Island

Jesse Walden

Kyle Samani

Tushar Jain

Renata Quintini

Dan Rasmussen

Nick Neuman

Ben Gilbert

Marcos Veremis

Michael Sonnenshein

Ali Hamed

Jeremy Grantham

Dan Egan

Josh Wolfe

Ryan Selkis

Chris Douvos

OwlTail

My guest today is entrepreneur and investor, John Pfeffer. John was a partner at private equity firm KKR in the 2000s, Chairman of leading French IT company Groupe Allium in the 90s, and now invests his own money through his private family office, Pfeffer Capital. John is one of the smartest investors I know, and our conversation spans all of John’s experience and investment ideas. We discuss the difference between value creation and wealth creation, why John has made such a big bet on one asset, and why adaptation is more important than ever. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.   For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page  here.   -----   This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus has built the most extensive primary information platform available for investors. With Tegus, you can learn everything you’d want to know about a company in an on-demand digital platform. Investors share their expert calls, allowing others to instantly access more than 20,000 calls on Affirm, Teladoc, Roblox, or almost any company of interest. All you have to do is log in. Visit tegus.co/patrick to learn more.   -----   This episode is brought to you by Lemon.io. The team at Lemon.io has built a network of Eastern European developers ready to pair with fast-growing startups. We have faced challenges hiring engineering talent for various projects and Lemon.io offered developers for one-off projects, developers for full start to finish product development, or developers that could be add-ons to the existing team. Check out lemon.io/patrick to learn more.   -----   Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.    Past guests include  Tobi Lutke,  Kevin Systrom,  Mike Krieger,  John Collison,  Kat Cole,  Marc Andreessen,  Matthew Ball,  Bill Gurley,  Anu Hariharan,  Ben Thompson, and many more.   Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.   Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus   Show Notes [00:03:08] - [First question] - John’s background and the experiences that shaped his worldview and sparked his curiosity [00:07:34] - Aspiring to grow with a lack of inertia  [00:10:31] - Why he invests primarily in technology and technology dependant businesses [00:15:22] - What it’s felt like being a tech investor from 2011 leading up to today [00:19:26] - How he defines good and bad business [00:21:24] - Why good businesses don’t often have technology disruption risks [00:22:26] -  An (Institutional) Investor’s Take on Cryptoassets; key points from his paper [00:35:28] - What else is interesting in the crypto space and potentially strong business models that exist outside of Bitcoin  [00:48:46] - How capital has changed over time and what makes capital efficiency or formation superior [00:51:51] - Value creation and why a shift in value can affect your returns [01:01:12] - Whether or not crypto and the founding protocols will fade out of the public eye [01:11:52] - A consensus on store of value in crypto and how it could change [01:18:03] - Why he is so heavily allocated to Bitcoin compared to other tokens [01:25:19] - General take on the nature of buying and selling capital and European markets [01:35:28] - The interconnectedness of the globe and the future of globalism [01:39:46] - Why he doesn’t ask people where they’re from and how he prefers to get to know people that can sometimes be unorthodox [01:41:59] - Market index investing and why it may not be the best strategy going forward [01:47:36] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

My guest today is entrepreneur and investor, <a href="https://twitter.com/jlppfeffer" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">John Pfeffer</a>. John was a partner at private equity firm KKR in the 2000s, Chairman of leading French IT company Groupe Allium in the 90s, and now invests his own money through his private family office, Pfeffer Capital. John is one of the smartest investors I know, and our conversation spans all of John’s experience and investment ideas. We discuss the difference between value creation and wealth creation, why John has made such a big bet on one asset, and why adaptation is more important than ever. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page <a href="https://www.joincolossus.com/episodes/26583628/pfeffer-adapt-and-evolve" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> here</a>. ----- This episode is brought to you by <a href="https://www.tegus.co/patrick" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tegus</a>. Tegus has built the most extensive primary information platform available for investors. With Tegus, you can learn everything you’d want to know about a company in an on-demand digital platform. Investors share their expert calls, allowing others to instantly access more than 20,000 calls on Affirm, Teladoc, Roblox, or almost any company of interest. All you have to do is log in. Visit <a href="https://www.tegus.co/patrick" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">tegus.co/patrick</a> to learn more. ----- This episode is brought to you by <a href="http://lemon.io/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lemon.io</a>. The team at <a href="http://lemon.io/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lemon.io</a> has built a network of Eastern European developers ready to pair with fast-growing startups. We have faced challenges hiring engineering talent for various projects and <a href="http://lemon.io/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lemon.io</a> offered developers for one-off projects, developers for full start to finish product development, or developers that could be add-ons to the existing team. Check out <a href="http://lemon.io/patrick" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">lemon.io/patrick</a> to learn more. ----- Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit <a href="https://www.joincolossus.com/episodes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">joincolossus.com/episodes</a>.  Past guests include <a href="https://joincolossus.com/episodes/64592621/lutke-building-a-modern-business?tab=transcript" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Tobi Lutke</a>, <a href="https://joincolossus.com/episodes/60313963/krieger-how-to-build-a-great-product?tab=transcript" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Kevin Systrom</a>, <a href="https://joincolossus.com/episodes/60313963/krieger-how-to-build-a-great-product?tab=transcript" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Mike Krieger</a>, <a href="https://joincolossus.com/episodes/34646260/collison-growing-the-internet-economy?tab=transcript" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> John Collison</a>, <a href="https://joincolossus.com/episodes/15230717/cole-how-to-operate-lessons-in-brand-distribution-and-leadership?tab=transcript" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Kat Cole</a>, <a href="https://joincolossus.com/episodes/58516750/andreessen-making-the-future?tab=blocks" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Marc Andreessen</a>, <a href="https://joincolossus.com/episodes/69430337/ball-the-future-of-media-movies-the-metaverse-and-more?tab=transcript" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Matthew Ball</a>, <a href="https://joincolossus.com/episodes/12224182/gurley-all-things-business-and-investing?tab=transcript" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Bill Gurley</a>, <a href="https://joincolossus.com/episodes/99792081/hariharan-lessons-in-growth-investing?tab=transcript" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Anu Hariharan</a>, <a href="https://joincolossus.com/episodes/91241527/thompson-platforms-ecosystems-and-aggregators?tab=transcript" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Ben Thompson</a>, and many more. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up <a href="https://www.joincolossus.com/newsletter" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>. Follow us on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/patrick_oshag" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@patrick_oshag</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/JoinColossus" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@JoinColossus</a> Show Notes [00:03:08] - [First question] - John’s background and the experiences that shaped his worldview and sparked his curiosity [00:07:34] - Aspiring to grow with a lack of inertia  [00:10:31] - Why he invests primarily in technology and technology dependant businesses [00:15:22] - What it’s felt like being a tech investor from 2011 leading up to today [00:19:26] - How he defines good and bad business [00:21:24] - Why good businesses don’t often have technology disruption risks [00:22:26] - <a href="https://theblockchaintest.com/uploads/resources/John%20Pfeffer%20-%20An%20(Institutional)%20Investor%E2%80%99s%20Take%20on%20Cryptoassets%20-%202017%20-%20Dec%20-%20Paper.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> An (Institutional) Investor’s Take on Cryptoassets</a>; key points from his paper [00:35:28] - What else is interesting in the crypto space and potentially strong business models that exist outside of Bitcoin  [00:48:46] - How capital has changed over time and what makes capital efficiency or formation superior [00:51:51] - Value creation and why a shift in value can affect your returns [01:01:12] - Whether or not crypto and the founding protocols will fade out of the public eye [01:11:52] - A consensus on store of value in crypto and how it could change [01:18:03] - Why he is so heavily allocated to Bitcoin compared to other tokens [01:25:19] - General take on the nature of buying and selling capital and European markets [01:35:28] - The interconnectedness of the globe and the future of globalism [01:39:46] - Why he doesn’t ask people where they’re from and how he prefers to get to know people that can sometimes be unorthodox [01:41:59] - Market index investing and why it may not be the best strategy going forward [01:47:36] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

John Pfeffer - Adapt and Evolve - [Invest Like the Best, EP. 262]

Investor and Entrepreneur John Pfeffer joined the pod this week to discuss his views on a range of topics, including: - Why he doesn't consider crypto to be an asset class - How he thinks about position sizing for Bitcoin  - Why he doesn't believe in diversification within crypto - Why he thinks forks might be a virtuous feature of Bitcoin ... and much more.  For those of you who have not read it yet, John's "An Institutional Investor's Take on Cryptoassets" is a must read. 

Investor and Entrepreneur John Pfeffer joined the pod this week to discuss his views on a range of topics, including: - Why he doesn't consider crypto to be an asset class - How he thinks about position sizing for Bitcoin  - Why he doesn't believe in diversification within crypto - Why he thinks forks might be a virtuous feature of Bitcoin ... and much more.  For those of you who have not read it yet, John's "<a href="https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/john-pfeffer/An+Investor's+Take+on+Cryptoassets+v6.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">An Institutional Investor's Take on Cryptoassets</a>" is a must read.

John Pfeffer (EP.21)

John Pfeffer is an entrepreneur, investor and author of “An (Institutional) Investor’s Take on Cryptoassets.”  He is currently Partner of Pfeffer Capital.  In the 2000s, John was a Member at private equity firm KKR, and in the 1990s, he was Chairman of the Executive Board of leading French IT company Groupe Allium S.A. Before that, he advised on turnarounds while with McKinsey in Europe and Latin America. Our conversation jumps in the thought process and structure behind John’s family office portfolio, which combines building new businesses alongside fund investments in public equity, private equity and venture capital. We touch on common issues like active vs. passive, access and fees, but from a very different insider’s perspective. We then turn to his work in the crypto world and discuss his framework for incorporating crypto investing in a portfolio, conducting research in the space, defining the proposition for store of value and utility protocols, and valuing tokens and coins. John was the first investor I’ve come across that has both done a deep dive into the crypto world and is neither all-in nor all-out.  He connects markets and economics with the complex ecosystem just simply enough that a layman like me can follow along.   Learn More Join Ted's mailing list at CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com Write a review on iTunes Follow Ted on twitter at @tseides For more episodes go to CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com/Podcast   Show Notes 2:38 – How John thinks about managing his own capital 2:51 – Process to find a business to build 5:08 – Sizing of thematic deals 5:50 – New project copying a European retail model 7:18 – Core of the portfolio 9:02 – Biases of investment alternatives 11:18 – How will tax changes impact the private equity business 11:49 – What does he know about GP’s as an insider that other LP’s might not know 13:53 – How do they tackle venture capital investing 16:25 – Fees 17:40 – First involvement in looking at cryptocurrencies              17:46 –  Institutional Investors Take on Crypto Assets 19:40 – Where do crypto assets fit in the structure of the portfolio 21:20 – Holding period for an asymmetric option 22:07 – What else did he do in cryptoassets after that first investment 24:54 – Store of value and utility protocols 29:51 – Valuing crypto assets 31:51 – Velocity of crypto exchange 40:12 – Gold replacement value of bitcoin 45:21 – Closing questions

John Pfeffer is an entrepreneur, investor and author of “An (Institutional) Investor’s Take on Cryptoassets.”  He is currently Partner of Pfeffer Capital.  In the 2000s, John was a Member at private equity firm KKR, and in the 1990s, he was Chairman of the Executive Board of leading French IT company Groupe Allium S.A. Before that, he advised on turnarounds while with McKinsey in Europe and Latin America. Our conversation jumps in the thought process and structure behind John’s family office portfolio, which combines building new businesses alongside fund investments in public equity, private equity and venture capital. We touch on common issues like active vs. passive, access and fees, but from a very different insider’s perspective. We then turn to his work in the crypto world and discuss his framework for incorporating crypto investing in a portfolio, conducting research in the space, defining the proposition for store of value and utility protocols, and valuing tokens and coins. John was the first investor I’ve come across that has both done a deep dive into the crypto world and is neither all-in nor all-out.  He connects markets and economics with the complex ecosystem just simply enough that a layman like me can follow along. Learn More Join Ted's mailing list at <a href="http://capitalallocatorspodcast.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com</a> Write a review on <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/capital-allocators-with-ted-seides/id1223764016" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> Follow Ted on twitter at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/tseides" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@tseides</a> For more episodes go to <a href="http://capitalallocatorspodcast.com/podcast" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com/Podcast</a> Show Notes 2:38 – How John thinks about managing his own capital 2:51 – Process to find a business to build 5:08 – Sizing of thematic deals 5:50 – New project copying a European retail model 7:18 – Core of the portfolio 9:02 – Biases of investment alternatives 11:18 – How will tax changes impact the private equity business 11:49 – What does he know about GP’s as an insider that other LP’s might not know 13:53 – How do they tackle venture capital investing 16:25 – Fees 17:40 – First involvement in looking at cryptocurrencies             17:46 – <a href="https://medium.com/john-pfeffer/an-institutional-investors-take-on-cryptoassets-690421158904" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Institutional Investors Take on Crypto Assets</a> 19:40 – Where do crypto assets fit in the structure of the portfolio 21:20 – Holding period for an asymmetric option 22:07 – What else did he do in cryptoassets after that first investment 24:54 – Store of value and utility protocols 29:51 – Valuing crypto assets 31:51 – Velocity of crypto exchange 40:12 – Gold replacement value of bitcoin 45:21 – Closing questions

John Pfeffer - Crypto for Institutions (Capital Allocators, EP.54)

Pastor John Pfeffer Men's Meeting 2