Henry Ellenbogen - Man Versus Machine - [Invest Like the Best, EP.452]
Henry Ellenbogen - Man Versus Machine - [Invest Like the Best, EP.452]
Henry Ellenbogen - Man Versus Machine - [Invest Like the Best, EP.452]
Shownote
Shownote
My guest today is Henry Ellenbogen
[https://www.linkedin.com/in/henry-ellenbogen-b480a036/], founder and Managing
Partner of Durable Capital Partners. Henry built his reputation at T. Rowe
Price, where he led the New Horizons Fund and turned it into one of the
best-performing small-cap growth portfolios in the country. In 2019, he left to
start Durable.
His philosophy is grounded in a simple belief that great investing is about
understanding people and change. Henry has spent his career studying the rare 1%
of companies that drive nearly all long-term returns . Durable’s edge comes from
being able to tell the difference between a company that is failing and one that
is transforming.
Henry often talks about “Act II” teams – founders who take the lessons from
their first company and apply them to a new frontier. Durable itself is his Act
II.
In our latest Colossus profile
[https://joincolossus.com/article/henry-ellenbogen-last-human-edge/], Managing
Editor Dom Cooke [https://x.com/domcooke] traces Henry’s story and specifically
how he became one of the most influential investors of the 21st century, having
learned from founders like Jeff Bezos and John Malone in the early part of his
career. I always hear the same thing from founders who’ve met Henry: “he
understood my business faster than anyone”. The thing that sticks with me from
our conversation and Dom’s profile is just how much he loves investing.
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out
the episode page here
[https://joincolossus.com/episode/man-versus-machine].
-----
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Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast
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Show Notes:
(00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like The Best
(00:04:00) Meet Henry Ellenbogen
(00:05:29) Origin of Henry’s Investment Philosophy
(00:08:12) Identifying the 1% of Great Companies
(00:12:53) Patterns of Successful Compounders
(00:20:34) Act Two Entrepreneurs and Teams
(00:25:43) Building Durable Capital: Henry’s Act Two
(00:30:11) Dollar Cost Averaging Up Strategy
(00:35:02) Market Structure and Agency Problems
(00:38:26) Impact of Quant Funds and Short-Term Capital
(00:42:21) AI as Transformative Change
(00:45:30) How Affirm Uses AI
(00:48:23) Amazon’s Cost Curve Advantage
(00:51:48) Leadership Through Change
(00:56:54) Robotics and Physical Kaizen
(01:01:29) Favorite Types of Competitive Advantages
(01:05:25) Investment Memo Structure
(01:09:21) 2022 CEO Tour on Market Transition
(01:19:18) Hiring and Developing Talent
(01:24:09) Making Colleagues Better
(01:27:56) Being Intellectually Honest in Investing
(01:29:11) Lessons from Success
(01:33:04) Case for Going Public
(01:36:32) Netflix Transition Example
(01:41:29) Two Types of Greatness
(01:45:42) The Kindest Thing
Highlights
Highlights
In this episode, we sit down with Henry Ellenbogen, the founder and Managing Partner of Durable Capital Partners, to explore the philosophy and principles behind his distinctive approach to investing. With a career shaped by deep engagement with transformative companies and visionary leaders, Henry offers insights into how long-term value is built not just through financial acumen, but through understanding human behavior, organizational evolution, and structural change.
Chapters
Chapters
Welcome to Invest Like The Best
00:00Meet Henry Ellenbogen
04:00Origin of Henry’s Investment Philosophy
05:29Identifying the 1% of Great Companies
08:12Patterns of Successful Compounders
12:53Act Two Entrepreneurs and Teams
20:34Building Durable Capital: Henry’s Act Two
25:43Dollar Cost Averaging Up Strategy
30:11Market Structure and Agency Problems
35:02Impact of Quant Funds and Short-Term Capital
38:26AI as Transformative Change
42:21How Affirm Uses AI
45:30Amazon’s Cost Curve Advantage
48:23Leadership Through Change
51:48Robotics and Physical Kaizen
56:54Favorite Types of Competitive Advantages
1:01:29Investment Memo Structure
1:05:252022 CEO Tour on Market Transition
1:09:21Hiring and Developing Talent
1:19:18Making Colleagues Better
1:24:09Being Intellectually Honest in Investing
1:27:56Lessons from Success
1:29:11Case for Going Public
1:33:04Netflix Transition Example
1:36:32Two Types of Greatness
1:41:29The Kindest Thing
1:45:42Transcript
Transcript
Patrick O'Shaughnessy: Here's an interesting question to think about. If your finance team suddenly had an extra week every month, what would you have them work on? Most CFOs don't know because their finance teams are grinding it out on lost expense report...

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