Folks from KKR did the following...

A quick note before we jump in…

Too many people playing small. Playing not to lose.

That being said, a few months ago I had a call with a very smart man in his 40s who said that even the founders of KKR ($500B AUM); Henry Travis & George Roberts, the tycoons of PE had insecurities when first doing deals they didn’t have experience of doing before.

That being said, during the call he said to me two things:

1. “Everybody is just making it up as they go.”

2. Even the founders of KKR ($500 billion AUM); Henry Travis and George Roberts, PE tycoons, were uncertain when they first entered into deals they had no prior experience with.

The difference betweek you, me and them? No matter how much uncertainty they had, they did it anyway.

Today, years later, it is the headquarters of KKR in NYC, not sure how many floors they have under contract but it is huge.

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Do hard things.

Change your comfort to be uncomfortable – you can push yourself much harder than you thought you could.

Buddha figured something out 2,800 years ago.

The first principle of Buddhism, called dukkha, means suffering.

And suffering is inevitable.

Just as identifying a problem is the first step towards its solution, the Buddha taught that the first step in overcoming suffering is acknowledging that suffering exists.

When someone denies that suffering exists, they are delusional.

• There is no easy path.

• There is no safe path.

You’re going to suffer either way.

Knowing that life is a suffering, you better choose something worth suffering for.

And most importantly, do hard things, and do your thing. Do it for a long time.

Why a long time you may ask?

This is because if you do something for a long time, you are more likely to get really good* at it.

* Being surrounded by very smart people, I can see they have been working / doing business in one specific field for over 7 years.

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That being said, reading about what I just shared for many years ago while on a solo-trip to Doha, Qatar…

It got me thinking of which industries I should be pursuing as a young man.

Now, years later, those industries to me are banking aka consumer lending and boring traditional businesses.

• Manufacturers of feed fronts and gates for cows, pigs, and horses.

• Class, mirrors manufacturers.

• Manufacturer of milled parts used in the medical, watchmaking, automotive and electronics industries.

These industries have been around for 100+ years, and they will be here for the next 10, 20, 50 years as well.

It gets even better – they’re all growing.

Long term games with long term people.

Which for me is buying and selling these types of great businesses.

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If you think of equation of returns: it’s

(1+r)^n

The ^n is quadratic, the ^n is the number of years you compound. It's the most powerful part of the equation, the ^n…

So the year of growth doesn’t really matter.

In year three you are much better CEO/operator/investor than in year two, in year five you are better than you were in year four.

If you take your business and your career - let’s take the ^n in the equation and work on it every single week…

• Work on being a better communicator

• Work on being a better leader

• Work on being a better at finding and attracting talent

• Work on finding better deals

• Work on having better health and more energy

..to become a better investor, entrepreneur and decision maker.

Important note: There is a secret that I did not know many years ago.

1. You can hire people to teach you all of this.

2. There are good people who are willing to share their experiences simply because they want to give back.

3. When you're in the trenches, you get better at everything with time. And experience follows.

Remember the ^n in equation of returns?

Now put 5; 10; 15; or 25 (=years) on it… and you can be the best in the world at what you do.

Or just really, really good.

I hope you found it valuable.

Take care,

Mikk aka PrivatEquityGuy

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P.S. In the next week's newsletter, I will give you an overview of how the meetings we have on Monday and Tuesday (September 11 and 12) went.

An investor comes here from London - we go to visit the founders and the manufacturing buildings.

P.S. Great news: Serial Acquirer Networking Event in Stockholm, I will be there as well (more information).

Lastly,

I have interviewed six people on the HoldCo Builders podcast. Very high profile people have said they loved the show. Which is pretty cool.

Here's a recent one with Greg:

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