David Gardner - Finding Companies That Break the Rules - [Invest Like the Best, EP.54]

The investment strategy discussed in this week's episode is diametrically opposed to my own value tendencies, but it still one that has done exceptionally well. My guest is David Gardner, co-founder of the Motley Fool. He is unique in that he is both a pure investor--a true stock junkie--and an entrepreneur. His energy is remarkable. His positive vibes are something to behold. You'll hear it over audio, but it's ever more palpable in person. Our conversation is about finding companies which are breaking rules in the right way and reshaping industries. David's goal is to find these companies early in and hold them forever. If you love investing, you are going to love this regardless of your prior beliefs. Please enjoy my conversation with David Gardner on rule breakers. For comprehensive show notes on this episode go to http://investorfieldguide.com/gardner For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. To get involved with Project Frontier, head to InvestorFieldGuide.com/frontier. Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag Books Referenced The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail (Management of Innovation and Change) The New Penguin Dictionary of Modern Quotations Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game The Motley Fool Investment Guide: How The Fool Beats Wall Street's Wise Men And How You Can Too The Wisdom of Crowds The Motley Fools Rule Breakers Rule Makers : The Foolish Guide To Picking Stocks Links Referenced Totally Absorbed FANG stocks Henry Cloud (author) “I had a lover’s quarrel with the world” by Robert Frost As You Like it (Shakespeare) Invest Like the Best episod with Morgan Housel Don't Be a Dip: The 1 Thing You Need to Know About Buying on Dips Board Game Agricola Boardgamegeek.com Show Notes 2:03 – (First question) – Among the experiments that David has run in his podcast, which one has he enjoyed the most 3:42 – A deep dive into the rule breaker mentality that David uses 4:39 - The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail (Management of Innovation and Change) 7:22 – What helps you to not sell a rule breaker amid big drawdowns. 7:33 – Totally Absorbed 8:32 – FANG stocks 12:25 – List of criteria in picking rule breaker stocks…starting with top dogs and first movers 19:34 – Second criteria…visionary leadership and the traits David looks for in a leader 22:02 – Henry Cloud (author) 22:58 – “I had a lover’s quarrel with the world” by Robert Frost 26:16 – Third criteria – competitive advantage and moats 32:47 – The New Penguin Dictionary of Modern Quotations 32:49 – As You Like it (Shakespeare) 40:36 – Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game 41:31 – The Motley Fool Investment Guide: How The Fool Beats Wall Street's Wise Men And How You Can Too 42:43 – Invest Like the Best episod with Morgan Housel 42:45 – The Wisdom of Crowds 43:33 – Back to criteria, the fourth one, price momentum 45:47 – Don't Be a Dip: The 1 Thing You Need to Know About Buying on Dips 50:03 – Last criteria, something being overvalued and weigh that against the idea of whether a product or service is important based on whether people would miss it 52:10 – The Motley Fools Rule Breakers Rule Makers : The Foolish Guide To Picking Stocks 1:01:21 – Looking at David’s process for finding a stock and analyzing it 1:07:38 – The importance of taking these criteria in concert and how you can see the power of overvaluation 1:10:39 - Board Game Agricola 1:10:54 – Boardgamegeek.com 1:14:38 – Kindest thing anyone has done for David Learn More For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub Follow Patrick on twitter at @patrick_oshag