First Time Founders with Ed Elson – The Billionaire Who Built His Fortune on Infrastructure

The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway

Vox Media Podcast Network

Entrepreneurship, Business, Careers

4.4 • 5.3K Ratings

🗓️ 3 August 2025

⏱️ 68 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Ed speaks with Michael Dorrell, CEO and co-founder of Stonepeak, a leading alternative investment firm. They discuss why infrastructure assets make good investments, how he honed his fundraising skills, and why getting thrown into the deep end can be the best way to learn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for the show comes from LinkedIn.
0:03.1	It's a shame when the best B2B marketing gets wasted on the wrong audience.
0:06.4	When you want to reach the right professionals, you can use LinkedIn ads.
0:10.2	LinkedIn has grown to a network of over 1 billion professionals and 130 million decision makers according to their data.
0:16.4	That's why LinkedIn ads boast one of the highest B2B return on ad spend of all online ad networks.
0:21.6	Spend $250 on your first campaign on LinkedIn ads and get a free $250 credit for the next one.
0:27.3	Just go to LinkedIn.com slash prof.
0:29.9	That's LinkedIn.com slash prof.
0:32.3	Terms and conditions apply. Welcome to first time.
0:47.3	Welcome to first time founders. I'm Ed Elson.
0:55.4	Most of us don't think twice about the things that make our lives run, high-speed internet, lights that switch on instantly, or even clean water from the tap.
0:57.9	But behind all of that is infrastructure,
1:01.0	the invisible backbone of modern life.
1:03.8	And while most people ignore it,
1:05.8	my next guest saw an opportunity hiding in plain sight.
1:09.9	In 2011, he created an investment firm focused entirely on infrastructure.
1:15.4	Today, his firm manages a $73 billion portfolio and has never lost money on an investment.
1:22.4	By investing in what others overlooked, he became a billionaire and proved that sometimes
1:27.3	the most seemingly
1:28.3	boring bets deliver the most extraordinary returns. This is my conversation with Michael
1:34.0	Dorrell, CEO and co-founder of Stonefield. Mike Dorrell, thank you for joining me.
1:40.6	Morning again. Lovely to have you here. Thank you for having me. It's a pleasure.
	...

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