I look at companies through a very long-term lens. When I invest in a new company, I go in with the mindset that I will own it forever (while recognizing that won’t come to fruition very often). I want to concentrate in the highest-quality companies and CEOs I can find and then I want little turnover in the portfolio.

A company is worth its future free cash flow discounted back to today. A discounted cash flow analysis shows that the majority of a company’s intrinsic value comes from the distant future (5-10+ years) as opposed to near-term results. If how a company will perform over many years is the majority of its worth today, then the durability of their competitive advantage is of paramount importance.

Because of this, my research is focused on how an industry may evolve over the next 5-10+ years and if the company’s competitive advantage can expand within that evolution. This is only possible if the CEO is focused on, and incentivized by, the long-term success of the company. More often than not, the CEO traits I look for are found in passionate founders who are internally driven to see their own business succeed.