I have habit of sending long emails from my iPhone. There is a joke that goes, “I didn’t have time to write a short message.” I have started placing in BOLD, the main points. My justification for the barrage is that I want people to be able to plumb the depths of my thinking as Read more about Whitepapers at Little Engine Ventures[…]
There is tension in business. One of those subtle challenges is determining when to stay the course in the face of opposition and when to change. Also, when do you stay the course when it’s working well, and not change faster (even when it’s really tempting!) I once described myself as an “addict of change.” Read more about Consistency Versus Change[…]
People have different ways of uncovering investment ideas. I have tried many of them. When it comes to investing in marketable securities, stock screens and friendly idea sharing appear to be the most popular. For the socially awkward –myself included– a stock screen seems like a great idea. Setup some mathematical filters and only the Read more about Reading Every Annual Report for an Industry[…]
Written by Daryl Starr. Inspired by @JoshSchultz All profitable businesses have a handful of Key Processes. These processes involve coordinating multiple people in various roles, each doing their own specialized procedures. Years ago –prior to Little Engine Ventures– I documented decision trees, printed and laminated them for my field technicians. This was extremely useful for Read more about What are your Key Processes?[…]
The word “strategy” is tossed around a lot in business. What does it mean? The worst offenders use the word as a label to gussy up some recent initiative. People say, ‘we will use this strategy or that strategy –depending on the situation.’ This is misses the mark. Strategy is saying no to particular methods Read more about Strategy Is Saying No[…]
In January 2021 I scratched out a quick blog post on Reading & Writing Annual Reports. I was compelled to write again on the subject and figured that a “Part 2” title was creative enough for the two or three nerds that might read both of my posts. I write reports to our investments partners. Read more about Reading & Writing Annual Reports (Part 2)[…]
January is a favored time for searchers, entrepreneurs-through-acquisition, holdco managers and SMBtwit radicals to publish annual letters. I usually get a handful of questions about if I write one and if they might get a copy. It always make me cringe a little. I then spend 30 minutes (or more) thinking about why I don’t Read more about Why We Do Not Broadly Distribute the Little Engine Ventures Annual Letter[…]
Perhaps it’s my age? Maybe it’s my role? But, I seem to be seeing more retirement conversations in the last six months than in the previous 20+ years of my career. As someone who retired from a particular line of work once already, I have a mental (and financial) model of how such a decision Read more about Considering Retirement (of your employees)[…]
We have and will continue to consider power-law distributions and phase changes. These abnormalities are regularly around us. They are fascinating moments to point out in complex adaptive systems. Thou shall not forget the phase change. But, what of the intermediate time period? What of the phase itself? How should one operate therein? In today’s Read more about Intense Moderation[…]
My evolution as an entrepreneur and investor has been marked by two distinct phases. I may be entering into a third phase. Phase 1 began at age 19, when I got my first true line of credit. My father co-signed my first note, set me up with a sweetheart deal that was almost guaranteed to Read more about Generating Cash[…]