Bet Bet Bet Bet Bet....Sunday Reads And Listens

Good morning.

It is a big shopping weekend so I thought I would share a few links link to some portfolio companies offering great ‘Cyber Monday ’sales.

For you Manscapers and significant others, there is a 25 percent off site wide sale on all Manscaped products. By the way, their mens deodorant is by far the best I have ever used.

Our portfolio company DSTNC.com which offers the best premium cycling gear, has a big Black Friday sale. You can see the deals here. I loaded up on the undergarment layers for winter.

Finally, Fiscal.ai has a 30 percent off sale on all their plans. Fiscal is the best AI first, real-time fundamental research platform. Every investor would benefit from using it.

Onward…

The ‘degenerate economy’ is not going away at this point no matter what the White House were to do.

It is easy to blame Fan Duel, Draft Kings, even Robinhood, so most do.

I know it is not that simple. I have seen a few trends in my four decades of investing and while the ‘sin economy’ has always existed, it got perverted with weak leadership, the 2008 financial crisis, the smartphone, ZIRP, the Cloud, Mag 7 etc...

One under discussed phenomenom of this ‘degenerate economy’ trend, is over the last 15 years, capital became cheap relative to attention. If you want to dive deep on this topic, venture capitalist Albert Wenger (one of the best) has been writing about this new reality for a while now. He sat down for this interview which is worth a listen for those that want to better invest.

As for the ‘yoot’s’ doing degenerate things…

While the table below from Sam does not account for IRA for 401 k investing, he does make a point. Young people know how to check prices and do math (at least the math of compounding because every financial app offers it). It is this math and the feeling of desperation that has given rise to the 'degenerate economy' exists. Now, the Demand is endless.

It also exists because the White House is in on the runaway prices and the cost of living nightmare being passed on to younger generations…

Degeneracy is not a new habit or phenomenon…even prehistoric Fred Flinstone became a ‘degenerate gambler’.

As for where we are in the degeneracy cycle of this ‘degenerate economy’…I have been calling it crowded for a few months. The popular ‘Front Office Sports’ publication is now calling it crowded too.

I think the venture capitalists chasing will be disappointed. But, they are not paid to care about losses, or at least that is the mood of venture capital. They have come to believe they are paid not to miss the next big thing. Until the limited partners care, you will continue to have wild misallocation of capital moments.

In the meantime, the massive amounts of cheap capital will be spent to corral this prediction attention, and a few winners will truly emerge. For the fresh crowd of ‘unicorns’ and stressed incumbents now gathered around the table, the stakes are now very high.