I spent last week at Capital Camp.
It's the best conference every year.
Here are the Capital Camp 2023 Review & Takeaways.
My 9 unexpected takeaways from 2024:
1. Relationships Compound
It's valuable to go back every year to see the same people. It becomes more of a reunion.
Great to see longtime Twitter friends in person.
Hard to say what comes of it in the future.
But get out from behind your computer.
Chase discomfort.
2. Everyone Experimenting with AI
One guy matched his Oura heart rate data to his meeting schedule and analyzed which calls to discontinue with AI.
Tons use it creatively for sourcing & analyzing deals.
Difficult to get their teams to use it daily. Hackathons of sort help.
3. Fewer VCs
The joke was that VCs don't have the money anymore.
I only heard one mention of crypto and they just happened to be using the blockchain.
Many PE folks, successful founders, and investors are looking at all kinds of assets.
4. Religion Popular
Coming from major cities, it is surprising how many people are turning towards faith.
Many seem to come to it after tough times in their lives.
Trendy may not be the right word but clearly a return to more traditional values of sorts.
5. Kids Galore
There are tons of people with 3+ kids there.
Far outside the norm for the rest of the population.
This may be back to the traditional values point.
6. Turnarounds
@Turnaroundartst gave a great talk on tough turnarounds.
The threat of bankruptcy gets debt holders to accept a deal. Otherwise, they will get the deal in bankruptcy court by rightsizing the debt.
Ex: Pay 43% on the dollar over next four years.
7. Protect Your Time
Everyone is dealing with endless requests for their time and energy and how to handle it all gracefully.
Saying no to meetings & emails to focus on what matters is an art.
The best don't even give a reason.
Focus on deeper relationships and core work.
8. Learn. Build. Share. Repeat.
Many people are sharing their learnings while building great businesses. It's a huge unfair advantage.
@david_perell's Buffett writing tips:
- Personal: Relate to your reader
- Observational: Teach your reader
- Playful: Entertain your reader
9. Dream Bigger
Tons of people fly private there.
Many manage massive amounts of money.
It's useful to see that success level up close.
They aren't that different from you.
Aim higher.