Gabe Whaley - Building MSCHF - [Invest Like the Best, EP.398]

Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy

Colossus

Investing, Business, Technology

4.8 • 2.4K Ratings

🗓️ 26 November 2024

⏱️ 79 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

My guest today is Gabe Whaley, the founder and CEO of MSCHF. What began with viral internet pranks in 2014 has evolved into one of the most singular creative companies in modern culture. MSCHF’s work ranges from microscopic handbags—the size of a grain of salt—to tax software that helps you file your returns by going on virtual dates with anime characters. Every two weeks, they release something new that challenges our assumptions about art, commerce, and culture. MSCHF is hard to define but Gabe says their goal is to “monopolize a feeling” and subversion is the rare constant. Their most viral creation, the Big Red Boot, took over the internet in 2023. Our conversation explores how a West Point dropout built a company that thrives on breaking rules, but it's also about something bigger - the power of unbridled creative expression and what happens when you build a business around it. I hope it inspires you to think about what your version of mischief could be. Please enjoy this fascinating discussion with Gabe Whaley. Sign up for the Alphasense panel discussion hosted by Patrick. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp’s mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Ramp is the fastest growing FinTech company in history and it’s backed by more of my favorite past guests (at least 16 of them!) than probably any other company I’m aware of. It’s also notable that many best-in-class businesses use Ramp—companies like Airbnb, Anduril, and Shopify, as well as investors like Sequoia Capital and Vista Equity. They use Ramp to manage their spending, automate tedious financial processes, and reinvest saved dollars and hours into growth. At Colossus and Positive Sum, we use Ramp for exactly the same reason. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. – This episode is brought to you by Alphasense. AlphaSense has completely transformed the research process with cutting-edge AI technology and a vast collection of top-tier, reliable business content. Imagine completing your research five to ten times faster with search that delivers the most relevant results, helping you make high-conviction decisions with confidence. AlphaSense provides access to over 300 million premium documents, including company filings, earnings reports, press releases, and more from public and private companies. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now at Alpha-Sense.com/Invest and experience firsthand how AlphaSense and Tegas help you make smarter decisions faster. ----- Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:06:50) Defining Mischief's Unique Creativity (00:11:09) The Origin Story of Mischief (00:12:53) Early Digital Projects and Virality (00:20:33) Transition to Physical Products (00:33:07) Navigating the Art World with Mischief (00:39:52) Entering the Fashion World (00:42:37) Mischief's Creative Process (00:44:51) Structured Brainstorming and Idea Vetting Process (00:46:38) The Role of Rules and Boundaries in Creativity (00:48:39) Interacting with Venture Investors (00:51:07) The Big Red Boots Phenomenon (00:54:48) Supply and Demand in Creative Projects (00:58:08) Protecting Creativity and Overcoming Challenges (01:00:11) Lessons from West Point (01:05:25) Fashion as Utility and Fantasy (01:09:47) Recruiting and Team Dynamics (01:11:56) Navigating Crossroads and Future Goals

Transcript

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0:00.0	Two fun facts about our newest sponsorship partner, Ramp. First, they are the fastest growing
0:05.2	fintech company in history, reaching a level of revenue in five years that I can't quote exactly,
0:09.9	but is eyebrow raising. Second, they are backed by more of my favorite past guests, at least
0:14.9	16 of them when I counted, than probably any other company that I'm aware of, a list that includes
0:19.6	Ravi Gupta, Sequoia,
0:21.0	Josh Kushner, at Thrive, Keith Rabe, at Founders Fund, and Coastal Ventures, Patrick and John Collison,
0:25.5	Michael Ovitz, Brad Gersner, the list goes on and on. These facts demand the question,
0:29.8	why? Having been personally obsessed with the great businesses through history, one clear lesson
0:34.2	is that the best of them are run by disciplined operators. These operators manage
0:38.2	costs with incredible detail and they are constantly thinking about how they can reinvest every
0:42.6	dollar and every hour back into their business. This is RAMP's mission to help companies
0:46.7	manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more
0:51.4	valuable projects. First, on expenses, the average American business has a
0:55.5	profit margin of 7.7%. This means saving 1% on costs is the equivalent of making 13% more revenue.
1:02.8	The average ramp customer is able to save 5% on their expenses each year. Of course, every entrepreneur
1:08.2	is looking for ways to grow revenue by 50%. They should just as seriously seek to save 5% on their expenses.
1:14.2	Second, on time.
1:15.6	Unnecessary complexity is why most finance teams spend 80% of their time doing operational
1:20.4	work and only about 20% of their time on strategic work.
1:24.2	Ramp makes spend management very simple by handling your company's expenses, travel,
1:28.1	bill payments, vendor relationships, and even accounting. It's notable that some of the best in
1:32.8	class businesses today, companies like Airbnb, Anderl and Shopify, and investors like Sequoia Capital
	...

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