The Business Brew – Details, episodes & analysis

Join host Bill Brewster as he converses with the intriguing and often humorous anonymous guest, Le Shrub, in this episode of 'The Business Brew'. Le Shrub's writings can be found at https://www.shrubstack.com/ He can also be followed on Twitter/X at https://x.com/agnostoxxx

With a unique approach to investing, Le Shrub shares his thoughts on market trends, stock picks, and the rationale behind them. From discussing the importance of avoiding investment stupidity, analyzing specific stocks like Archer Aviation and Alibaba, to speculating on the economic impacts of a potential Ukraine ceasefire, this episode is packed with insightful observations and strategic thinking. Be prepared for an engaging mix of entertainment, education, and parody, underlined with Le Shrub's distinct charm.

Disclaimer: This is all for entertainment purposes and not financial advice.  Recorded 2/14/25

00:00 Introduction to the Business Brew 

00:54 Meet Les Shrub: The Anonymous Guest 

01:24 Investment Philosophy: Don't Be Stupid 

03:35 The Spinny Ponzi: A Deep Dive into Archer 

17:15 Biotech Investments: Blood in the Tweets 

21:00 The Future of Cancer Vaccines 

22:55 ClearPoint and Gene Therapy 

30:02 The Power of Community in Investing 

33:19 Navigating the Risks of Small Cap Stocks 

34:07 Options Trading Strategies 

35:36 The Risks of Investing in Alibaba 

36:13 Reasons for Investing in Alibaba 

36:38 China's Economic Strategies and Stimulus 

37:27 Alibaba's AI and Cloud Ventures 

39:00 Apple's Partnership with Alibaba 

40:31 The Impact of U.S. CapEx on AI 

41:19 Investing in Energy and Natural Gas 

44:38 The Barbell Portfolio Strategy 

45:17 Emerging Markets and Currency Devaluation 

52:53 The Potential Ceasefire in Ukraine 

59:15 Valuation and Investment Strategies 

01:04:19 Avoiding Shorts on Meme Stocks 

01:06:50 Recommended Reading: Capital Returns 

01:07:50 Conclusion and Final Thoughts 

In this episode of 'The Business Brew,' host Bill Brewster is joined by Larry Holzenthaler, a portfolio manager at First Eagle Alternative Credit (FEAC). The discussion focuses on the complexities and nuances of private credit. Recorded on February 3rd, the episode delves into the differences between traditional equity value investing and private credit, as well as the strategic transitions First Eagle has made in response to market changes. Larry explains First Eagle's cautious approach to investment, emphasizing measured risk, recurring revenue, and sponsor-backed deals. He discusses the evolution and growth of private credit markets, challenges and opportunities, and the impact of banking regulations on credit availability. The conversation includes detailed insights into various investment structures like interval funds and BDCs, and the importance of reading fine print in credit agreements. Throughout, Larry offers a compelling argument for the attractiveness of private credit as an investment, particularly in current economic conditions. 

00:00 Welcome to the Business Brew 

00:54 Introducing Larry Hosenthaler and First Eagle 

02:13 The Evolution of Private Credit 

08:34 The Impact of COVID on Private Credit 

12:22 Private Equity and Risk Management 

18:41 The Role of Banks in Private Credit 

31:37 Fee Structures and Market Dynamics 

36:40 Understanding Interval Funds 

37:11 The Redemption Process Explained 

39:55 Comparing Interval Funds and BDCs 

43:17 Risk Management in Private Credit 

44:38 The Role of Recurring Revenue 

45:24 Leverage and Deal Flow 

56:59 Active vs Passive Management in Credit Markets 

01:03:27 Why Invest in Private Credit Now? 

01:08:46 Conclusion and Final Thoughts 

Dylan is a former attorney turned private investor focused on small/microcap stocks and overlooked pockets of the market. He publishes a free newsletter on Substack called Raging Bull Investments, which provides deep-dive investment write-ups and occasional market commentary, and is active on Twitter as raging bull cap/Jake LaMotta.

Michael Green stops by The Business Brew to discuss his inelastic market theory, the outlook for inflation, why the market might be too excited about rate normalization, and much more.  Michael is a frequent contributor to Real Vision and has done some phenomenal interviews, which can be found on YouTube.

He has been a student of markets and market structure, for nearly 30 years. His proprietary research into the shift from actively managed portfolios and investment funds to systematic passive investment strategies has been presented to the Federal Reserve, the BIS, the IMF and numerous other industry groups and associations.
Michael joined Simplify in April 2021 after serving as Chief Strategist and Portfolio Manager for Logica Capital Advisers, LLC. Prior to Logica, Michael managed macro strategies at Thiel Macro, LLC, an investment firm that manages the personal capital of Peter Thiel. Prior to Thiel, Michael founded Ice Farm Capital, a discretionary global macro hedge fund seeded by Soros Fund Management. From 2006-2014, Michael founded and managed the New York office of Canyon Capital Advisors, a $23B multi-strategy hedge fund based in Los Angeles, CA, where he established their global macro strategies, managing in excess of $5B of exposure across equity, credit, FX, commodity and derivative markets. In addition to his work as a market theorist and portfolio manager, Michael has been noted for his work as a public speaker and financial media participant. He is a graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a CFA holder.

Detailed show notes below the Stream by Mosiac sponsor copy and thank yous.

Please leave us a rating in your favorite podcast player!

This episode is brought to you by Stream by Mosaic, a product that is integral to any fundamental research process.  Stream has developed an extensive library of expert interviews that cover a variety of industries.  https://streamrg.co/BB features over 300 expert interviews per week.  70% of Stream's experts are found exclusively on https://streamrg.co/BB. 

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Chris Cerrone, a Partner at Akre Capital Management, stops by The Business Brew for a discussion about his investment philosophy, simplicity, the definition of quality, and much more.  Chris’ paper, The Art of (Not) Selling, really made an impression on Bill.  This discussion follows up on that paper, among other topics.

Prior to joining Akre Capital Management in 2012, Chris served as an equity research analyst for Goldman Sachs & Co. in New York from 2010 to 2012. In that position, he covered restaurant and retail companies. He began his investment management career in 2007 as a junior equity research analyst with Century Capital Management in Boston. Chris graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in economics from Tufts University.

Bill really enjoyed listening to Chris talk about how Mr. Akre would push Chris to find the essence of a business.  That enables an analyst to then focus on THE most important question.

Books mentioned include:

https://www.amazon.com/Zen-Art-Motorcycle-Maintenance-Inquiry/dp/0060589469

https://www.amazon.com/Lila-Inquiry-Robert-M-Pirsig/dp/0553299611/ref=pd_lpo_2?pd_rd_i=0553299611&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/The-Art-of-Learning-Josh-Waitzkin-audiobook/dp/B00JE2WEEK/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3DQ5DXHBNOWB7&keywords=the+art+of+learning&qid=1643803876&s=books&sprefix=the+art+of+learning%2Cstripbooks%2C83&sr=1-1

Detailed show notes below the Stream by Mosiac sponsor copy and thank yous.

Please leave us a rating in your favorite podcast player!

This episode is brought to you by Stream by Mosaic, a product that is integral to any fundamental research process.  Stream has developed an extensive library of expert interviews that cover a variety of industries.  https://streamrg.co/BB features over 300 expert interviews per week.  70% of Stream's experts are found exclusively on https://streamrg.co/BB.  Visit

Andrew Freedman stops by The Business Brew for a discussion about the ever changing media landscape.  In this discussion, Andrew articulates how he views valuation, what makes stocks good “long” and “short” candidates, and how his process has evolved over time.  There’s a lot of company specific discussion here.  We hope it is beneficial, educational, and entertaining.

Andrew’s official bio reads as follows:

Andrew Freedman, CFA, is a Managing Director and Communications Sector Head at Hedgeye. In addition, he holds Senior Analyst responsibilities on the Health Care Team where he specializes in Information Technology. Before joining Hedgeye in 2014, Andrew worked for an institutional consulting firm where he was responsible for client asset allocation and investment manager due-diligence. Andrew is a CFA® charterholder and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Marquette University in Finance and Business Economics.

Hedgeye is an independent investment research firm covering 10 fundamental/industry sectors, macro and policy. We provide actionable long/short ideas to institutions (hedge funds, mutual funds, and family offices) and RIAs/Individuals. Institutional research includes access to deep dive fundamental reports (black books) on individual stocks, thematic/industry analysis, proprietary and third party datasets, industry thought leader calls, company models, one-on-one analyst access and more. We do not have a broker dealer and don't do banking. Please contact sales@hedgeye.com if you are interested in learning more about Hedgeye's research offerings.

Detailed show notes below the Stream by Mosiac sponsor copy and thank yous.

Please leave us a rating in your favorite podcast player!

This episode is brought to you by Stream by Mosaic, a product that is integral to any fundamental research process.  Stream has developed an extensive library of expert interviews that cover a variety of industries.  https://streamrg.co/BB features over 300 expert interviews per week.  70% of Stream's experts are found exclusively on https://streamrg.co/BB.  Visit

Troy Lavinia, founder of Stream by Mosaic, stops by The Business Brew to discuss creating Stream, building teams, and strategic thinking.  Troy is a really interesting thinker, approaches life with an abundance mentality, and is always looking to find the right partners to grow a business.  Interesting tidbits about Troy include his time at Elliott Management and playing football fullback and tight end at University of Pennsylvania.

At one point in the conversation Bill asks Troy how he got comfortable delegating work.  Troy responded by saying something to the effect of “You have to associate joy with creating a meaningful job for someone else.”  That answer struck Bill as a very positive association for delegation. 

We hope you enjoy this conversation.  It is a peek into the financial services industry and an introduction to the person behind our sponsor. 

Please leave us a rating in your favorite podcast player!

This episode is brought to you Bill. 

Stream by Mosaic is a product that is integral to any fundamental research process.  Stream has developed an extensive library of expert interviews that cover a variety of industries.  https://streamrg.co/BB features over 300 expert interviews per week.  70% of Stream's experts are found exclusively on https://streamrg.co/BB.  Visit https://streamrg.co/BB for a 14 day trial.

Album art photo taken by Mike Ando.  Please see https://www.mikeando.com/

Thank you to @mathewpassy (on Twitter) for the show production.

Detailed Show Notes

3:00 – Troy’s background, including time at Elliott Management

6:00 – How Stream was incubated within Mosaic and then spun out for growth reasons

8:00 – How Troy thought about partnering with AlphaSense

11:30 – Why expert transcript libraries are similar to media streaming services

16:15 – Did COVID “help” Stream by Mosaic as a business?

19:00 – Why does Troy like running startups vs. more mature businesses?

21:20  - Team building and the power of delegation

33:00 – Listening to the interviews on Stream by Mosaic

35:00 – Troy’s association with selling St

Will Thomson stops by The Business Brew to discuss his approach to real asset investing.   Will is the Founder and Managing Partner of Massif Capital, LLC.  He has experience in private equity and credit/political risk insurance, in addition to having served as a strategic and economic adviser to NATO/ISAF in Afghanistan.

Before starting Massif Capital, Will worked in the New York office of Chaucer, a Lloyd’s of London insurance syndicate, serving as the co-portfolio manager for a $750 million portfolio of credit and political risk insurance policies. He is a Graduate of Trinity College and holds a Masters in Government from Harvard University.

Detailed show notes below the Stream by Mosiac sponsor copy and thank yous.

Please leave us a rating in your favorite podcast player!

This episode is brought to you by Stream by Mosaic, a product that is integral to any fundamental research process.  Stream has developed an extensive library of expert interviews that cover a variety of industries.  https://streamrg.co/BB features over 300 expert interviews per week.  70% of Stream's experts are found exclusively on https://streamrg.co/BB.  Visit https://streamrg.co/BB and use promo code BREW for a 14 day trial.

Album art photo taken by Mike Ando.  Please see https://www.mikeando.com/

Thank you to @mathewpassy (on Twitter) for the show production.

Detailed Show Notes

Will Thomson –

4:05 – Being able to present at Grant’s

5:05 – Will’s background and his experience watching government intervention change an industry

8:30 – What Massif focuses its time on

10:30 – Everyon

Muji stops by The Business Brew to discuss modern internet infrastructure.  Muji has extensive technical knowledge about internet infrastructure, network security, and high growth companies such as Snowflake.  He shares his knowledge via a paid newsletter, found at hhhypergrowth.com, which Bill subscribes to and enjoys very much.  Our discussion mostly focuses on how information travels over the internet to end up being consumed by everyone.  This is a very interesting discussion and we hope you enjoy.

Detailed show notes below the Stream by Mosiac sponsor copy and thank yous.

Please leave us a rating in your favorite podcast player!

This episode is brought to you by Stream by Mosaic, a product that is integral to any fundamental research process.  Stream has developed an extensive library of expert interviews that cover a variety of industries.  https://streamrg.co/BB features over 300 expert interviews per week.  70% of Stream's experts are found exclusively on https://streamrg.co/BB.  Visit https://streamrg.co/BB for a 14 day trial.

Album art photo taken by Mike Ando.  Please see https://www.mikeando.com/

Thank you to @mathewpassy (on Twitter) for the show production.

Detailed Show Notes

4:30 – What is an edge network and a CDN

9:45 – How Fastly and Cloudflare attacked Akami

15:40 – Cloud Infrastructure vs. CDNs

18:50 – Fastly strategy

21:30 – The rise of software defined networking

23:15 – Fully programmable app stacks vs. monolithic app stacks

Denise Shull is Founder and CEO of The ReThink Group (see https://therethinkgroup.net/).   She developed the Shull method, which relies on the latest brain research on how humans perceive, judge and decide. Understanding this on a practical level routinely allows The ReThink Group to resolve the mysterious mental challenges of slumps, burnout, motivation and resilience. Denise’s distinctive approach produces results that are unmatched in the performance and risk-taking fields.

We start off jumping into the conversation.  Denise learned from modern psychoanalysts. This conversation begins talking about anger, but it is more about managing emotions.  Managing emotions is extremely important in life and investing.  Yet, it is underdiscussed on many investment podcasts.  Hence this interview.

While this a bit different, we think this podcast could meaningfully improve your results if you take it seriously.

We hope you enjoy the discussion.
 Detailed show notes below the Stream by Mosiac sponsor copy and thank yous.

Please leave us a rating in your favorite podcast player!

This episode is brought to you by Stream by Mosaic, a product that is integral to any fundamental research process.  Stream has developed an extensive library of expert interviews that cover a variety of industries.  https://streamrg.co/BB features over 300 expert interviews per week.  70% of Stream's experts are found exclusively on https://streamrg.co/BB.  Visit https://streamrg.co/BB for a 14 day trial.

Album art photo taken by Mike Ando.  Please see https://www.mikeando.com/