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The Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeMeme Stonks Part Deux: AMC, Algos, and The FedWe've seen this movie before, but it still doesn't really make sense: a group of traders has taken up the cause of inflating the stock price of a motley bunch of stocks, including AMC as the most prominent company this time around. There are hints of financial populism as there were with GameStop in January, but this time it feels more like pure financial nihilism. On today's episode of The Razor's Edge, we talk about the difference between round one and round two, how AMC should have something of a future even if it's more than priced...
2021-06-151h 24The Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeThe Big Tech Ticket: The Calculus Behind Facebook's Oversight Board And The Trump DecisionWe're sharing the debut episode of a new Shortman Studios podcast, The Big Tech Ticket. The show, hosted by veteran journalist James Rogers, will cover many of the topics you hear on The Razor's Edge, but from a different angle. AI, semiconductor supply chain, antitrust, all the big issues facing tech and our society today, from the perspective of people with a front-row seat to the stories. The initial episode features James speaking with Jason Mollica, professor of communications at American University, about Facebook’s oversight board and its awaited decision on whether or not to let Do...
2021-05-0544 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeStreaming Endgame, The fuboTV Bear Case, And The Rise Of Audio With Andrew FreedmanOne of our regular areas of focus on the Razor’s Edge is the streaming space, and there are few people who are following that space as closely as Andrew Freedman of Hedgeye. To the point where his name has come up on our episodes more than once. So it was long overdue to have him join the Razor’s Edge to share what he’s seeing. We focus on what’s going on in streaming and whether all the new entrants will have the endurance to make it in the long-term. We then drill into the story ar...
2021-03-161h 18A Positive Jam
A Positive JamSeason 2 Track 10: Crucifixion Cruise"Crucifixion Cruise" is the briefest track on Separation Sunday, and arguably both the most forgettable and the biggest sign of concept album excess on the album. But! But there are some serious questions the song poses that we try to put our mouth around, like: What's the difference between a poem and a song? Why is it good that this is a concept album? Or is it good that it's a concept album? What do Simone Biles, Pink Floyd, Canto IV of the Wasteland, and the Avalanches have to do with Separation Sunday. Climb aboard...
2021-03-1048 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeCovid Conundrum: Zoom's Earnings, Bellwether Warnings, and PagerDuty PreviewJust over a year ago, we released an episode of The Razor’s Edge called Correction City. As we lap the beginning of the pandemic, we also are starting to glimpse the end, and the market is starting to look like a long, strange trip. Bellwethers are moving lower, rotations are happening, and 40% revenue growth guidance isn't what it used to be. We talk Zoom - one of the stocks that the market and we have been following most closely since last March - and then process the other major shifts in the market. We finish with a...
2021-03-091h 15A Positive Jam
A Positive JamSeason 2 Track 9: Chicago Seemed Tired Last NightHard rocking blues, scene reports and literary or religious spirits, and one of the tightest cover bands we've ever heard: "Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night" has a lot going on. And since Craig Finn told us what to celebrate, we invited a special guest to join us: Matthew Hess, founder of the famed Clicks and Hisses Hold Steady fan resource. He joins us to explain why this song is so important, and we go through the lyrics and the music to make sense of one of the band's high as hell moments, while acting out one of...
2021-03-031h 04The Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeRamp Co-Founder Karim Atiyeh On The Corporate Spend Market And Ramp's PositionThis week on the Razor's Edge, we speak with Karim Atiyeh, a serial fintech entrepreneur. He is the co-founder of Ramp, a fast-growing spend management fintech company. He talks about the company's positioning and alignment with customers, what he learned from his time at Capital One after the credit card giant acquired his previous company, and what it was like launching a product a month before the pandemic began, from a New York office no less. Topics Covered 3:30 minute mark – Ramp’s target market and the distinction between focusing on transaction fees and spend management 10:15 – Selling into the financ...
2021-03-021h 25A Positive Jam
A Positive JamSeason 2 Track 8: Don't Let Me ExplodeEverything is corroding, so we're hitting the road. Well, we never made it to Los Angeles, and Jackie O warned us off of Dallas, but on The Hold Steady's "Don't Let Me Explode", a doo wop dance across the country, we find ourselves talking about curveballs, Rage Against the Machine, things falling apart, and, most of all, the Upper Midwest. It's not the standard Separation Sunday track, but it may be worth more attention than seems at first listen.
2021-02-2442 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeTalking The Twitter Trade, Analyst Day, And The Big PictureIt's been a wild and, finally, fun ride for Twitter over the past 11 months. While everything feels like smooth sailing now for bulls, even as of our last episode on the stock post ex-President Trump ban in January, things weren't so clear. Despite that, the set-up was good enough for Akram's Razor to open an options trade into the earnings call (and for Daniel Shvartsman to open a small long position, which is a separate story). We break down what happened with Twitter but also more of the mechanics of the options trade; why that trade, why...
2021-02-231h 42A Positive Jam
A Positive JamSeason 2 Track 7: Multitude of CasualtiesFor track 7 of Separation Sunday, "Multitude of Casualties", we hit a cruising velocity.  We drove this episode like we stole it, but somehow avoided casualties. Instead we romped through Colorado's history, classic cult movies of the 70s and the 80s, and the importance of narrative shifts (or lack thereof).
2021-02-1738 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeThe Future Of Meetings: Online vs. In-Person vs. Hybrid, with Meetup CEO David SiegelAmidst a year of web acceleration, changing habits, and questions about what legacy the pandemic will have on our day to day lives, it helps to go back to roots. One company that has both been through its share of web-usage cycles and has an interesting view on the state of the world is Meetup, and on today's episode we speak with their CEO, David Siegel. The company, founded back in 2002, has seen a lot over the years, and saw several years worth of activity in the past 18 months - a divestiture from WeWork (which had bought...
2021-02-1650 minA Positive Jam
A Positive JamSeason 2 Track 6: Stevie NixThere's maybe no better song to appreciate the Hold Steady than "Stevie Nix", track 6 on Separation Sunday. The song hits for the Hold Steady cycle, with hard rock, balladry, howling vocals, sharp lyrics, storytelling, shifting perspectives, and epic songwriting. To break it all down, we have Shawn Westfall, Mike Taylor, and Daniel Shvartsman on the call, as well as Kyle Undem, a special guest making his second appearance on A Positive Jam and repping the Twin Cities to explain why Profane Existence matters so much. Lawwwwd, to be a Hold Steady listener forever. We also...
2021-02-1057 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeAI And SaaS Valuations with May Habib, Founder/CEO of WriterWe haven’t covered artificial intelligence much on The Razor’s Edge, but it’s a theme that is only going to grow in market salience over the years to come. May Habib, this week's guest, has firsthand involvement with that theme. She is the founder and CEO of Writer, an AI business writing assistant. She explains her company's pivot to us, as well as sharing a little bit of Writer’s secret sauce, taking us through the COVID effects on the company and its end market, and casting light on the start-up funding market and where AI might go in th...
2021-02-0946 minA Positive Jam
A Positive JamSeason 2 Track 5: Charlemagne in SweatpantsSome songs they get slimy, and then they get slinky, and then they get funky. Some tracks feel like skips to some people and the best track in the band's repertoire to other people. Some songs act as a character's theme music and some reinforce stereotypes about the Holy Roman Emperor's namesakes. All of which is to say Charlemagne in Sweatpants is a song that spurs different sentiments. The fifth track on the Hold Steady's second, breakthrough album, Separation Sunday, this is a song that deserves special attention. To tackle it, we invite Bob Bland of the...
2021-02-0340 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeDigging Into The Rare Earths And EVs Rush With Don LayThe 2020-21 bull market has seen many familiar themes recycled amidst a very liquid public market environment. The rare earths market, and its flag bearer Molycorp, may not have been the most obvious boom to re-emerge, but here we are. Molycorp's descendant, MP Materials, came public via a SPAC last year and is trading at a higher valuation than the legacy company ever did. To break down the recent moves and what it means, we speak with Don Lay, VP of Corporate Development at Medallion  Resources, a rare earths technology company based in Canada. Don was previously C...
2021-02-031h 23The Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeBreaking Down The GameStop GameGameStop has become one of those rare market stories that has transcended the world of finance and entered pop culture; the most recent example might be the negative oil pricing last April. It's a fascinating and weird story for a number of reasons, and whether or not it has knock-on effects in the market it is an important story. To break it down in an emergency episode, we speak with Jaime Lester, an experienced long-short professional investor who has been on the podcast before. He's done extensive work on GameStop, so we start with the fundamentals, before...
2021-02-0150 minA Positive Jam
A Positive JamSeason 2 Track 4: Banging CampComes off crunchy but tastes like something deeper: Banging Camp, track 4 on The Hold Steady's Separation Sunday, may evoke tents and summer fun, but there's a more sinister undercurrent. Breaking bread and giving thanks may not mean what you think it means, in other words. We break it all down and figure out why this river trip is more Styxian than it seems on first appearance.
2021-01-2744 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeNetflix Flexes On 'EmWe talk Netflix again this week. As you may recall, Akram published a lengthy report late last year on why Netflix was and would remain the king of streaming. The company reported earnings last week, and it was a bit of a royal flex, as they beat on subscriber numbers and boasted that they would not need to raise debt capital going forward. The stock popped 17% the next day. So what did the market miss going in, and what does that mean for Netflix and peers going forward? We break it down, answer a few listener questions, and try...
2021-01-261h 30A Positive Jam
A Positive JamSeason 2 Track 3: Little Hoodrat FriendThe gateway drug to the Hold Steady. An entrant in the lost best-of-the 2000s Rhino compilation. A straight ahead pop-rock song with verses and choruses and refrains. A backing singer. An emotional gut punch. A study in narrative denial. And a fairly simple song to discuss. That's track 3 on Separation Sunday, the single "Little Hoodrat Friend." Shawn Westfall, Mike Taylor, and Daniel Shvartsman talk about why the song works, and why you don't have to dig too deep to figure it out.
2021-01-2036 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeE-Commerce, Chat Commerce, and What's Here To Stay Post-CovidE-commerce has risen to the point where just about everybody is an e-commerce company, and that goes even beyond retailers of goods. To understand that trend and to see how far it might stretch, we talk about the adoption of chat and social commerce in emerging markets with Ramy Assaf, Ceo of Zbooni, a Dubai-based fintech/commerce startup. He tells us how he came to build Zbooni, what it's like working with Facebook, why Square and Shopify are model companies for his firm, and how consumer behavior is changing amidst everything that's happened in the last year.Topics...
2021-01-191h 35A Positive Jam
A Positive JamA Positive Jam Season 2 Track 2: Cattle & The Creeping Things"Cattle & The Creeping Things" is a lot of The Hold Steady's fans' favorite songs, featuring Biblical allusions, world building, tight songwriting, and some of the sharpest and harshest instrumentation on the band's discography. As we find out on this episode, however, not everyone feels that way. We unpack the song to figure out why it rocks so hard, and whether it is, somehow, too much.   Shawn Westfall, Mike Taylor, and Daniel Shvartsman break it all down.
2021-01-1350 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s Edge#37: Twitter's Post-Trump FutureThere's something about Twitter that leads to market knee-jerk reactions and, depending on how you look at it, opportunities for investors. After Twitter decided to permanently ban the sitting President from the platform, a lot of questions came up, and the market's immediate answer was to sell the stock off to the tune of a 6.5% drop. Thus, we invited Rajiv Sud, a former Twitter employee and ad-tech veteran as well as a private investor and previous The Razor's Edge guest, on to break down the news. We also answer listener questions and call out the events Twitter...
2021-01-121h 49A Positive Jam
A Positive JamA Positive Jam Season 2 Track 1: Hornets! Hornets!Separation Sunday, the Hold Steady's second album and the subject of season 2 of A Positive Jam, kicks off with "Hornets! Hornets!", a track that shows both how much the band grew between the recording of their debut (Almost Killed Me) and Separation Sunday and how much they were staying the same. A fuller sound, lyrics with both call-backs and new settings, and songwriting that takes things up to another level. "Hornets! Hornets!" is as distinctive and classic as an album opener gets. Shawn Westfall, Mike Taylor, and Daniel Shvartsman break down all the good stuff, including a t...
2021-01-0650 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s Edge#36: SPACs and COVID Winners with Shift Technologies Co-CEO, George ArisonHappy new year! We kick 2021 off on the Razor's Edge by looking at a couple of the biggest trends from 2020 – COVID market distortions and SPACs. Our guest is George Arison, Co-CEO of Shift Technologies, an online used car seller. Used cars were a surprisingly hot market in 2020, in part spurring Shift to move up their calendar to go public by a year. They went public via a SPAC. So our conversation centers on the two topics; how wild was 2020 and how do you plan for the following year; and why go public with a SPAC and what was that li...
2021-01-0553 minA Positive Jam
A Positive JamA Positive Jam Season 2 Playlist: The Best Catholic Rock SongsSeparation Sunday is many things, but it's hard to listen to the Hold Steady's breakthrough and not think of Catholicism, nor of Rock and Roll.   As we lead into season 2 of A Positive Jam, covering Separation Sunday, we thought it would be fun to break down a highly subjective playlist of the best in Catholic (and catholic) Rock. Listen to this episode to hear how our three co-hosts - Shawn Westfall, Mike Taylor, and Daniel Shvartsman - view the canon of Catholic Rock.   Check out the full playlist here - https://op...
2020-12-2344 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s Edge#35: The Last Catalyst For Tesla, With Mark SpiegelTesla entered the S&P 500 yesterday. What does that mean for the long-running bull vs. bear battle? A month after posting our interview with a bull - Rajiv Sud - we speak to Mark Spiegel, one of the longest-tenured, loudest, and most notorious members of TeslaQ, the short Tesla camp. The question, after a ruinous 1100% run over the past 14 months and a wild market in general, is whether there’s still electricity left in the bull case, or whether the bear case might finally bag its whale. Along with asking Mark about that and his portfolio management, we also to...
2020-12-221h 45A Positive Jam
A Positive JamA Positive Jam Season 2: Separation Sunday - TrailerA Positive Jam is a podcast dedicated to breaking down great albums track by track. Our second season follows on our first, as we cover The Hold Steady's second album, the breakthrough Separation Sunday. Shawn Westfall, who joined us as a guest in season 1, will be leading our efforts for season 2, with Mike Taylor and Daniel Shvartsman as co-hosts. As with season 1, we will be covering each song in its own episode and featuring a number of guests throughout the season. We are looking for more audience interaction, so get in touch with us at mail@shortmanstudios...
2020-12-1603 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s Edge#34: PagerDuty and Slack Deliver, At Last: What Next?Third time appears to be the charm. After seeing the football get pulled away from investors after Q1 and Q2 earnings, Slack and PagerDuty brought much cheer to shareholders, in the spirit of the holiday season. Slack has agreed to a deal with Salesforce.com and PagerDuty reported another solid quarter that finally woke the market up to its consistent growth opportunity. We break down all that news. To do so, we bring on previous guests Jens Schumacher, CPO at Sajari, and Justen Stepka, co-founder of Enterprise Fund, both Atlassian alums, as well as Rich, a cloud...
2020-12-151h 31The Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s Edge#33: In The Streaming Wars, What Game Does Disney Want To Play?Famed activist investor Daniel Loeb wrote a letter to Disney management arguing that the time to go all in on streaming is now. We've been following the streaming wars pretty closely, and we decided to break down the letter and then reconsider Disney and Netlfix's positions a year after Disney+'s launch, and 8 months into a pandemic that has accelerated the streaming game. The question came down to 'what battleground do these companies want to actually fight on'?  Topics Covered 2:15 minute mark – The need for capital and Disney’s studio business history | 10:00 – The SaaS parallel and Disney’s flywheel ...
2020-11-241h 08The Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s Edge#32: Slack's Tricky Position and the Tesla Bull Case (Along With A Counter)We continue our conversation with Rajiv Sud, ad tech veteran and private and public markets investors. In this episode - essentially parts 2 and 3 of our conversation - we start with Slack and its challenges, as well as its surprising similarities to Twitter. We also quiz Rajiv on his time at AdMob and his outlook for the private tech sector, before concluding with a breakdown of his Tesla bull thesis. Topics Covered 3:00 minute mark – Slack’s position 6:00 – the two-front war, with Intel as an example 9:00 – Slack’s marketing challenge, and it not being enough to be the product winner 17:00 – Creating the...
2020-11-171h 35The Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s Edge#31: But Twitter's Quarter Was Really Good! With Rajiv SudOops, it happened again. A company we follow closely on The Razor’s Edge reported earnings, met or beat expectations, and then sold off heavily along with a major market sell-off. Last time it was PagerDuty, this time it’s Twitter. To work through the quarter and perhaps the angst and anxiety around it, we speak with Rajiv Sud. Rajiv is a Silicon Valley veteran, with time logged at Google, AdMob – which was bought out by Google while he was there, at TellApart, and then at Twitter after Twitter bought TellApart. He’s been out of Twitter for abou...
2020-11-101h 03The Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s Edge#30: SPACs, Influencer Investing, and 2020's Wild Market Swings, with Jaime LesterThis week’s episode is a conversation with Jaime Lester. Jaime has been a professional investor for more than two decades, has a lot of experience with short selling, as evidenced from our conversation with him back on episode #3, on Invitae. We revisit Invitae during this conversation, but we're more focused on the overall macro picture. Whatever happens in the last 8 weeks of the year, it's been a wild ride, and it's worth taking a wider view to understand everything. We cover SPACs, influencer investing, the manic element, the line between fraud and pivoting, and why this do...
2020-11-031h 39A Positive Jam
A Positive JamA Positive Jam Season 1 Bonus: Emily Harris On Almost Killed Me's Sound and GearEmily Harris, host of the Get Offset podcast and guitarist in Sundae Crush, joins A Positive Jam to talk about the Hold Steady and specifically to drill into the sound and the gear that the band uses. She talks us through her experience as a fan, getting to know Tad Kubler and Steve Selvidge, and how the band has evolved over the year. It's a great way to round off Season 1 of A Positive Jam. We're starting to prepare for Season 2, and if you have any interest in being involved or any requests, get in touch with...
2020-10-2856 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s Edge#29: Catching Up On Twilio's Big Moves With Captain Twilio and Justen StepkaTwilio has had an exciting fall. First, Microsoft announced Azure Communication Services, viewed as a shot across the bow at Twilio in the developer driven communications space. Then, Twilio had its first investor day in three years, refreshing investors on their trajectory. Lastly, Twilio announced the purchase of Segment, a customer data platform that signals Twilio’s climbing of the value chain. To break it all down, we bring on Captain Twilio, an experienced investor whose portfolio features one stock, Twilio, and Justen Stepka, our frequent guest and an Atlassian and, more relevant to today’s conversation, Dock...
2020-10-271h 02A Positive Jam
A Positive JamA Positive Jam Season 1 Bonus: The Minneapolis Roots and Mythos of The Hold SteadyThe Twin Cities ooze through the Hold Steady's work, lyrically, musically, and as a matter of ethos. What does that actually mean and how can we better understand that? We bring on Kyle Undem and Brian Holm, co-founders and editors of 30music.com, a classic '00s webzine that reviewed, covered, and interviewed indie music acts of the time, including the Hold Steady. As Minneapolis indie music fans, they both saw the rise of the Hold Steady up close and can understand better than us where the Hold Steady comes from. So we talk about the band’s...
2020-10-2144 minA Positive Jam
A Positive JamA Positive Jam Season 1 Bonus: Bonus TracksAlmost Killed Me has a deluxe edition that features five bonus tracks. Bonus tracks are a good thing, especially coming from a great band. So, we break down the five tracks one by one to see what makes them stand out and why they might have been left off the album. These are lesser known but there are plenty of gems here. We cover: Milkcrate Mosh Hot Fries Curves & Nerves You Gotta Dance (With Who You Came To The Dance With) Modesto Is Not That Sweet Two more episodes remain on Season 1 of Positive Jam...
2020-10-1447 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s Edge#28: On The New York Streets With A Ride-Share Vehicle SupplierThis week’s The Razor’s Edge goes back out to the streets. We speak with Ali Naqvi, owner of a ride-share car supplier in New York, about his experience with the COVID lockdown, what he’s hearing from his customers – rideshare drivers – and the state of New York. While a few work from home comments pop up hear and there, this is more focused on the state of Uber and Lyft’s end markets and what that might mean for a broader economy. Ali is a lifelong New Yorker and has a rolodex of celebrity encounters and Al Pacino quote...
2020-10-131h 12A Positive Jam
A Positive JamA Positive Jam Track 10: Killer PartiesEvery party comes to an end, and some parties almost kill us. We wrap up our review of Almost Killed Me (though not Season 1 of A Positive Jam!) with a look at "Killer Parties", the closing track on the Hold Steady's debut album. It's a ritual as much as a song, and we treat it with all due consideration. That includes making this a four-person episode, with regular guest Matt Brooks rejoining us as well as Shawn Westfall hitting us up for back-to-back appearances. Mike Taylor kicks off the episode with a story about trailing the Hold...
2020-10-0747 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s Edge#27: Atlassian Mafia Part 2 - The Competitive Dynamics in SaaSWe continue our discussion with Jens Schumacher and Justen Stepka, long-time Atlassian vets who have seen the software sector inside and out. We take a broader focus in this discussion, looking at SaaS competition, the importance of integrated cloud stacks, and the broader COVID and macro set-up. This leads to us diving in on Atlassian, on PagerDuty, on Zoom, and on Snowflake, among other topics. Topics Covered 2:30 minute mark - The onset of competition - Asana for Atlassian, Microsoft for Twilio, and writ large 10:00 - The market's roving eye, excitement over IPOs or hot tickets vs. steady growing...
2020-10-061h 01A Positive Jam
A Positive JamA Positive Jam Track 9: Sweet PayneSweet Payne starts off on an awkward step as it connects various threads in Almost Killed Me and in the Hold Steady mythology. But it rises from those beginnings to a glorious finish, revealing some of Craig Finn’s best lines and some of the album’s best ensemble playing. It also introduces the idea of the Unified Scene, a defining aspiration and mantra for The Hold Steady, and digs into the Twin Cities as much as anything in the Hold Steady’s discography. To understand this, we have Shawn Westfall, writer and comedian and founder of The...
2020-09-3046 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s Edge#26: The Atlassian Mafia Part 1: Enterprise Search And Sajari W/Former Head of Jira ProductWe speak with a couple of Atlassian alums on this week's episode, as the first of a two-parter. Our guests are Justen Stepka, co-owner of Enterprise Fund, Atlassian alum, and previous The Razor's Edge guest (episode #16); and Jens Schumacher,  employee number #12 at Atlassian, and the Head of Product for Jira Service Deck, who is now Chief Product Officer at Sajari, a search technology company. In today's episode, we talk about the Atlassian mafia effect and go more into focus on Sajari. This leads to a lot about Elastic Search, about the e-commerce market, and about SaaS development and machine l...
2020-09-2948 minA Positive Jam
A Positive JamA Positive Jam Track 8: Sketchy MetalSketchy Metal may be the dud of Almost Killed Me. What makes it stand out that way, and what is there to redeem the song? We talk about its down-tempo approach, the ongoing pace of Craig Finn one-liners, the way the band still gets a heavy sound out of this track, and the prevalence of Catholic imagery on this track. And because it comes up, we share our takes on 70s rock stars and sitcom characters. It’s always positive jamming with podcasters. Check out the full show notes here: https://shortmanstudios.com/a-positive-jam-track-8-sketchy-metal/
2020-09-2326 minA Positive Jam
A Positive JamA Positive Jam Track 7: Hostile, MassHostile, Mass is another quintessential Hold Steady track. A mix of punky snarl, classic guitar licks, and Springsteenian sax solos and hope, the track is a stand-out for Almost Killed Me and an ill omen for the band's future at the same time. To break it all down, we're joined by Leon Neyfakh of Fiasco and Slow Burn fame. He explains why this is his favorite track on the album, as the conversation runs the gamut from NoFX to the persistence of high school drop-out fashion sensibilities to why Season 3 of A Positive Jam should be about...
2020-09-1652 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s Edge#25: WallStSaasBro With An Up Close View On The SaaS MarketIn a growth-y market, it pays to have a fresh perspective. We interview WallStSaaSBro, a notorious member of fintwit who has firsthand experience on what's going on in the software sector. As an account executive in New York who has seen one sector - healthcare - go beyond acceleration into actual soup to nuts adoption of modern technology in 2020 - he has a value-added take on what's going on in the sector. He also has an interesting story and we have a wideranging conversation on his background, the state of New York, and the state of SaaS. ...
2020-09-151h 54A Positive Jam
A Positive JamA Positive Jam Track 6: KnucklesMore than any other track on the album, "Knuckles" shows what makes the Hold Steady different. The one liners, the pop culture references, the crunchy guitars. The quips and the catalog of missed expectations are enough to fill a couple podcast episodes. But there's more to the song than Craig Finn's comedy routine. Matt Brooks rejoins co-hosts Mike Taylor and Daniel Shvartsman, to discuss key themes - Knuckles’ political context and whether this is a protest song; the dissonance between the narrator's view of himself and what other people think; Craig Finn’s lyrical techniques; and the jagg...
2020-09-0928 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s Edge#24: Another PagerDuty Earnings Alert - Mission Critical, Or A Bubble Pop?The end of summer often serves up surprises for the market, and this year was no different. The cadence of Zoom reporting and setting the market ablaze towards the end of earnings season, followed by PagerDuty reporting just as the euphoria faded is an all too familiar one for PagerDuty shareholders. We discuss the smaller SaaS company's report and why, for all the talk of billings, net retention, and everything else, this was a solid fundamental report. And why, amidst a September 1st that could be a market turning point and a bunch of crazy factors, it...
2020-09-081h 48A Positive Jam
A Positive JamA Positive Jam Track 5: Certain SongsCertain Songs slows things down, and it marks the feature debut of Franz Nicolay’s piano playing - a key sonic element in the albums that follow Almost Killed Me. Certain Songs not only foreshadows the Hold Steady's future; it also raises the question: Do the band’s heartfelt ballads bring the momentum to a halt? We talk about how Certain Songs’ “piano man” balladeering  fits on the album, whether slow songs are acceptable for hard-rock Hold Steady fans, and what it means that Craig Finn's lyrics spotlight a woman for the first time on the album. We also dra...
2020-09-0230 minA Positive Jam
A Positive JamA Positive Jam Track 4: Most People Are DJsWe're on the party boat for track 4 as the Hold Steady brings listeners down to Ybor City for the first time. Mike has been to Ybor City, so we talk about why it's the perfect setting for Hold Steady style bacchanalia. We also get into why this is a lighter and more fun song, and which lines really work well on the track. Also, that guitar solo that just keeps going? We get into that. Most People Are DJs is another statement of purpose, but the Hold Steady manage it while only getting a little bit heavy...
2020-08-2635 minA Positive Jam
A Positive JamA Positive Jam Track 3: Barfruit BluesBarfruit Blues starts sludgy and ugly, but turns into a soaring, affirmative song about the power of music. The band's back together, they're back in a bar, and it's better to leave and return than to never go anywhere at all. Right?  Mike and Daniel break down the razor-sharp lines on this track and how a jumble of sounds and parts comes together by the second half to make for a triumphant third track on Almost Killed Me.  This episode also features an archival live version of the song from 2005.  See our show not...
2020-08-1934 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s Edge#23: F5 Networks' Transformation, Or What Makes A Compelling Growth (Or Value?) PitchWe flip the script. Daniel pitches Akram on a new idea - f5 Networks - and Akram plays the role of portfolio manager, hearing out and testing the thesis. While Daniel might hope you like the idea itself, this episode should be a little more educational, as we break down what makes it a good or not-so good pitch, what's missing, and what could go into the thesis next. It also highlights a lot of the challenges in both growth and value investing. We do get into other ideas, including Dropbox, and into the state of the...
2020-08-181h 29A Positive Jam
A Positive JamA Positive Jam Track 2: The Swish"Positive Jam" set out what the Hold Steady cared about, but it was "The Swish" that showed who the Hold Steady were and what they were about.   Matt Brooks (Washington Post) joins us again to break down the first big rocker of the Hold Steady's album career, track two of their debut Almost Killed Me. We get into the musical elements, including the ringing guitars and the AC/DC tricks, as well as the lyrical elements - the name drops, the geography, the specificity. We explain why Joni Mitchell is an underrated but lyrically tied r...
2020-08-1244 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeThe Razor's Edge #22: Scott Norton of Sir Kensington's on Recessionary Dislocation And AdaptationWith the economy working through a recession - though certainly a unique mix of crosswinds - we thought it would be good to get out of the software space. Scott Norton, co-founder and CEO of Sir Kensington's, joins the Razor's Edge to talk about what he's seeing in this macro environment, both as someone who started out in finance and as the CEO of the condiments maker. He shares insights from the company's founding in the last recession and what makes the modern consumer goods company different from the big brands (though the big brands can still win, he...
2020-08-1158 minA Positive Jam
A Positive JamA Positive Jam Track 1: Positive JamWe start it all off with a positive jam. Namely, "Positive Jam", the first track on Almost Killed Me. Matt Brooks of the Washington Post joins us to break down the Hold Steady's thesis statement, their scene establisher, their introduction to their triumphant career. We break down how the track works, including how it sets up the band's ethos as much as Craig Finn's lyrical interests. We talk about where it could have gone wrong and why it's not our generation's "We Didn't Start The Fire". And we discuss whether this track stands alone, and...
2020-08-0536 minA Positive Jam
A Positive JamA Positive Jam Season 1 Playlist: The Early '00s Music SceneAs we build up for the launch of A Positive Jam - which is one week away, on August 5th - we're releasing a couple playlist episodes. These playlists should help you get excited to dive into the Hold Steady's debut, Almost Killed Me, and will set the context for the 2004 music scene that the Hold Steady crashed into.    In this episode, Daniel Shvartsman sets the scene for music in the early '00s. A time where R&B and rap fully eclipsed rock, where indie mainstream music was falling into two nostalgic channels, where un...
2020-07-2910 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeThe Razor's Edge #21: Captain Twilio On His Only Position, TwilioToday’s episode continues our conversation with Captain Twilio. Our guest, a financial professional and a friend of Akram’s, invests personally in a very concentrated fashion. Last time, we spoke about his previous position, Netflix. This time, we cover his current position, that’s a single position, Twilio. Akram and he talk about why he’s so confident in the stock, the risks of such concentration, and how to think about SaaS companies or really any sort of company in the current market.   Topics Covered - 5:00 minute mark – The initial TWLO long case and the inheren...
2020-07-291h 16A Positive Jam
A Positive JamA Positive Jam Season 1 Playlist: The Hold Steady Starter KitAs we build up for the launch of A Positive Jam - coming in on August 5th - we're releasing a couple playlist episodes. These playlists should help you get excited to dive into the Hold Steady's debut, Almost Killed Me, and will set the context for the 2004 music scene that the Hold Steady crashed into.   In this episode, Mike Taylor walks us through his Hold Steady starter kit. The six songs - only six?! - that will get someone new to the band up to speed on what the Hold Steady is generally about. A...
2020-07-2215 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeThe Razor's Edge #20: Captain Twilio on Netflix's Dominant Position And The Streaming WarsWe're joined by friend of The Razor's Edge and professional investor Captain Twilio, as he's known. As someone who has only owned two stocks in his portfolio since 2012 - Netflix from 2012-2017 and Twilio in the three years since - he has a laser focused approach to growth investing, and it's worked.   In the wake of Netflix's most recent, pandemic-fueled earnings report, we brought him on to see where he thinks the company sits, and what we all make of the report and Netflix's positioning. We also cover Captain's Twilio position at length, though that w...
2020-07-2153 minA Positive Jam
A Positive JamIntro To A Positive Jam Season 1: The Hold Steady - Almost Killed MeA Positive Jam is a podcast dedicated to breaking down great albums track by track. Our first season focuses on The Hold Steady’s classic debut album, Almost Killed Me.   The Hold Steady emerged in 2004 with Almost Killed Me, a record that took a throwback 70s’ rock sound and made it wholly new. In a time of 80s knock-offs, dance-punk bands, and the last gasps of nu-grunge and boy bands, The Hold Steady kicked the doors down with a bag of one-liners and guitar solos. They reminded the sniffling indie kids and critics of the early...
2020-07-1203 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeThe Razor's Edge #19: Superhuman Founder/CEO Rahul Vohra On Email's Enduring Role In Modern Workplace CollaborationWe've gone to some length covering Slack, Zoom, and other software companies, as the 2020 work from home environment has accelerated and amplified business's rush to the cloud. But what about email, that old standby? Where does it fit in? We got the chance to speak with Rahul Vohra, someone whose career has been built on optimizing email. He founded Rapportive, a Gmail plug-in, before selling that to LinkedIn for what was reported to be $15M. He is now the founder and CEO of Superhuman, a service that also builds on gmail and is dedicated to providing the...
2020-07-071h 10The Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeThe Investing Edge AnnouncementA quick update about the programming on this channel - this channel will be only featuring the Razor's Edge going forward. To get new Value Investor's Edge Live podcasts, subscribe to the Marketplace Roundtable Podcast channel, available here: iTunes/Apple Podcasts Spotify Stitcher Seeking Alpha
2020-06-2500 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeThe Razor's Edge #18: The Bankruptcy Market With Sam ZughayerOne of the stranger dislocations in 2020 has been the behavior of stocks that are bound to or have already filed bankruptcy, with Hertz's offering of new equity this week as the biggest example of the phenomenon. We speak with Sam Zughayer, managing director of Berenson & Company, about what might explain this, what he's seeing, and where this may end up. Topics Covered 4:00 – Where Sam gets involved in the process normally 8:00 – What makes this time different 14:00 – What the government learned in 2009 and how that affects things 18:30 – Rule of contract law in the current climate 21:00 – The implication of the Hertz ruling 27:00 – The capital stru...
2020-06-1854 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeThe Razor's Edge #17: The Guidance Question For SaaS - Zoom vs. Slack and PagerDutyWe visit the software as a service sector for the third time in a row, as the earnings week we were waiting for came to pass. Zoom reported the so-called 'greatest quarter ever in software', and skewed expectations for peers like PagerDuty and Slack. So, does the market have the reaction right, and where do we go from here? Akram's Razor and Daniel Shvartsman break it down. Topics Covered 2:00 minute mark – Digging into Zoom's guidance 6:00 – The timing of PagerDuty and Slack's earnings (two days after Zoom's). 8:00 – What about the expansion in large clients for Zoom and potential new verticals 13:30 – How did Zoom...
2020-06-1155 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeThe Razor's Edge #16: Talking SaaS With Investor and Tech Veteran Justen StepkaWe continue to follow the software as a service sector and the impact of the work from home world, but this time with an outside perspective. Justen Stepka, the founder of Authentisoft and then a longtime product management executive at Atlassian and Docker, joined us to talk about his positions in Slack and Atlassian and what makes the companies stand out. Currently the co-CEO/co-founder of Enterprise Fund, a private equity firm, he also shares his views on the work from home environment we're in and its potential knock-on effects, as well as what he's seeing in private markets. Topics...
2020-05-2958 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeValue Investor's Edge Live #20: Torm PLC's Management Team On The Product Tanker MarketWith attention still focused on the tanker segment, J Mintzmyer speaks to underfollowed Torm PLC about what they're seeing in the wake of a solid Q1 earnings report and Q2 outlook. Topics Covered 1:15 minute mark - Overview of current product tanker markets: 3:15 - Differences between LR & MR markets? 7:00 - How many of your LR2s are trading dirty vs. clean? 9:15 - How long is the destocking period likely to last, impact to rates? 14:00 - Capital allocation priorities at this time? 17:00 - Nearly 25 ships aged 15+, how are these performing? Plans to sell? 21:15 - Any levers available to close NAV discount? 24:00...
2020-05-2841 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeThe Razor's Edge #15: SaaS Earnings And Work From Home Vs. Work From Everywhere PlaysThe software as a service sector has passed its first recession test in flying colors, as the nature of the coronavirus market has led to a increased business for these companies. With two of the most popular names - Slack and Zoom - due to report in a couple weeks, Akram's Razor and Daniel Shvartsman check in on the state of the sector and whether work from home is a benefit or a liability. Topics Covered: 3:00 minute mark – What explains a big move like Twilio's 7:00 - The broader valuation context 15:00 - The prevailing dynamic of competition 21:00 - Valuation pair mismatches – DDOG...
2020-05-211h 12The Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeValue Investor's Edge Live #19: Post-Earnings Discussion With Ardmore Shipping CEO Anthony Gurnee And CFO Paul TivnanJ Mintzmyer speaks with Ardmore Shipping management about Q1 and the fast-moving product tanker section. Topics Covered 1:00 minute mark - What’s the underlying trade in the product tanker markets? 2:30 - Thoughts on broker rates versus actual ‘market levels?’ 5:30 - Difference in voyages in progress versus completed QTD? 6:30 - Thoughts on chemical side of the business, rates coming in lower? 8:45 - Shift in dividend policy, shift to deleveraging? 12:00 - Is Ardmore aligned? Can we trust you not to blow money on ships? 16:00 - At what point do you have to repurchase shares? 18:30 - Repurchases versus secondhand vessel acquisitions. 22:00 - Review of nor...
2020-05-1437 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeThe Investing Edge: Akram's Razor Interviews J Mintzmyer On The Tanker TradeIn the most ambitious crossover event in Seeking Alpha podcast history, we turn the tables around. J Mintzmyer joins Akram's Razor and Daniel Shvartsman to talk the tanker trade, which is a hotly discussed topic in the markets these days. While the tanker rates and industry set up would seem to align with a generational shift, share prices have yet to pick up. Recorded at the beginning of a busy week for shipping sector earnings, it should provide some interesting background for people looking at this trade and the sector more generally. Topics Covered 2:00 minute mark - The endurance of...
2020-05-071h 05The Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeValue Investor's Edge Live #18: On The Water In The Tanker Markets With Frontline's CEOJ Mintzmyer spoke with Frontline's CEO, Robert Hvide Macleod, last week about how the tanker market is shaping up amidst a lot of commodity price moves and investor interest. Topics Covered 1:00 minute mark - What has changed in the market YTD compared to initial setups? 3:00 - Have we seen something like this in the market before? 4:30 - Preferable data source or metric for global storage balance? 6:30 - Discussion of ‘oil on water’ metric 10:30 - What is LR2 clean/dirty split? What is driving LR2 spike? 11:45 - What time charter offers are available in the markets? 15:00 - Fixtures available anywhere for FRO...
2020-04-3046 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeThe Razor's Edge #14: Snap's Crackling Earnings Pop and The Internet Advertising SpaceWe break down Snap's upside earnings report and what it means for the internet advertising space, coronavirus plays, the effects of stimulus, and a lot more. Topics Covered 2:30 minute mark: Setting the scene 7:30: Attention Costs 10:00: The Hollywood effect 14:00: Snap's international growth 18:00: The filter issue 23:00: Relative valuation 27:00: Amazon's perfect storm 30:00: Other advertisers' prospects 33:00: The demographic questions 37:00: Stimulus effects 53:00: Shifting spending 59:00: Differing audiences 1:01:00: Twitter digression 1:07:00: How to interpret this earnings season 1:12:00: The Tiktok threat 1:17:00: Recovery risks 1:24:00: Second level effects
2020-04-291h 38The Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeThe Razor's Edge #13: Zoom And The Harsh SpotlightZoom (ZM) was a go-go momentum stock in its first year of trading, with revenue multiples and performance outpacing most of its SAAS (software as a service peers). That was to a degree deserved due to the company's profitable business model and competitive advantages as a smooth, easy-to use video communications platform. With the advent of lockdowns, quarantines, and social distancing to combat the spread of COVID-19, Zoom has transcended from growth stock favorite to widely known consumer brand and almost an inverse ETF of the bear market. While value investors like to grumble about the market getting irrational about...
2020-04-161h 36Shortman’s Hockey Corner – Ham Sports
Shortman’s Hockey Corner – Ham SportsShortman’s Hockey Corner – Episode 11In Episode 11 of Shortman's Hockey Corner, Shortman talks about Colby Cave, more NWHL re-signings, Patrick Kane and Drew Doughty's quotes to the media. Shortman also talks about her dislike for "canceled culture" and it's toxicity. To close up the episode, she brings up a question for the audience.
2020-04-1413 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeValue Investor's Edge Live #17: Virtual Investor Forum on COVID-19 and Oil Price War, With Euronav's CEOJ Mintzmyer speaks with Euronav Hugo de Stoop as part of Value Investor's Edge's COVID 19 / Oil Price War Forum. While shipping is in turmoil, oil tankers like Euronav are very nicely positioned. The two discuss the outlook for the months ahead. Topics Covered 2:15 minute mark - How is COVID-19 impacting the crude tanker markets and EURN? 4:45 -How has the oil price war shifted the market- How is EURN positioned? 8:00 - Is this market surge different than last fall with COSCO? 13:00 - Only a few fixtures so far this week, more expected soon? 14:00 - IMO 2020 update, any shift in strategy? 19:45...
2020-04-0953 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeThe Razor's Edge #12 Part 2: Where Does The Market Go?After the Disney podcast we recorded last Friday and posted yesterday, Akram's Razor and Daniel Shvartsman continued to discuss the macro environment and the strange place we're in.
2020-04-0452 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeThe Razor's Edge #12: Disney As The Coronavirus Bear ETFDisney is considered as blue-chip as it gets, but when you break down its famous flywheel - different business lines that all flow together to create the greatest diversions in the world - there's a lot of trouble spread around. Theme parks, box office, live sports, advertising are all under pressure - is Disney + enough to make up for that? We discuss the outlook for the entertainment company. Topics covered: 2:30 minute mark -The Corona bear ETF 7:30 - The flywheel is stuck 12:30 - Long-term effect on consumer behavior in travel 17:00 - The significance of Bob Chapek's theme parks experience 25:00 - Cruise...
2020-04-031h 14The Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeValue Investor's Edge Live #16: Virtual Investor Forum on COVID-19 and Oil Price War, With Teekay LNG Partners ManagementThe last time J Mintzmyer and Value Investor's Edge hosted a virtual investor forum featuring industry analysts, management teams, and investors, all the way back in January 2020, it was like another world. IMO 2020 was still the buzzword, post New Year cyclicality was driving behavior, and coronavirus looked like it was a local issue in China. Meanwhile, a virtual investor forum proved to be quite ahead of the curve. A lot has changed in two months. So, last week Mintzmyer and team hosted 15 guests ranging from industry analysts to investors to management teams, with a look at how the shipping situation...
2020-03-2643 minShortman’s Hockey Corner – Ham Sports
Shortman’s Hockey Corner – Ham SportsShortman’s Hockey Corner – Episode 8On Epside 8 of Shortman's Hockey Corner, I'm still quarantines so an update on the Olympics, some book and movie recommendations for you, how I'm staying sane in quarantine as well as an NHL bracket for you to fill out!
2020-03-2513 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeThe Razor's Edge #11: Tech As A Safe Haven, But For How Long?As the coronavirus bear market continues to roil investors, we talk about what effect its had on the tech sector in general. Is the bubble over? Will the Nasdaq be a safe haven and a future outperformer? We discuss the impact already felt in the market and where things might go. Topics Covered 3:00 minute mark - The seismic shift 6:00 - Change in valuation approach 12:00 - Can the Nasdaq continue to outperform 19:00 - Risk assessment 25:00 - Owning market performance and the loss of margin of safety 34:00 - How ot assess going forward 39:00 - Potential sectors to invest in 48:00 - Are we...
2020-03-231h 17The Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeValue Investor's Edge Live #15: Virtual Investor Forum on COVID-19 and Oil Price War, With International Seaways ManagementThe last time J Mintzmyer and Value Investor's Edge hosted a virtual investor forum featuring industry analysts, management teams, and investors, all the way back in January 2020, it was like another world. IMO 2020 was still the buzzword, post New Year cyclicality was driving behavior, and coronavirus looked like it was a local issue in China. A lot has changed in two months. As Mintzmyer and the VIE team gather a new round of participants for a COVID-19 and Oil Price War focused forum this week, one of the themes is how that situation has changed. And there's no better place...
2020-03-1942 minShortman’s Hockey Corner – Ham Sports
Shortman’s Hockey Corner – Ham SportsShortman’s Hockey Corner – Episode 7Episode 7 of Shortman's Hockey Corner is here!
2020-03-1413 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeThe Razor's Edge #10: Twitter Is No Easy FixElliott Management waged a short-lived and a successful activist campaign against Twitter, at least from the perspective of getting the company to respond. While the long-term results and the fate of Jack Dorsey as CEO are still unclear, we discuss whether Twitter's future is appealing for shareholders, what could actually be done to fix Twitter, and why this might not be the lay-up it seems. Topics Covered: 3:00 - Activist shareholders... Elliot's involvement. 4:30 - Is the goal solely to remove Dorsey? 9:30 - What's wrong with Twitter? 15:00 - Not growing fast enough given its exposure 23:30 - About Scott Galloway 26:30 - Should/shouldn't...
2020-03-121h 31Shortman’s Hockey Corner – Ham Sports
Shortman’s Hockey Corner – Ham SportsShortman’s Hockey Corner – Episode 6In today's episode of Shortman's Hockey Corner, I'm talking about my experience at the Blackhawks' Pride Night, an update on the coronavirus protocol, and the International Women's Day game.
2020-03-1013 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeThe Razor's Edge #9: Correction CityFour different forces combined to create a big sell-off last week, and then a jagged but strong rebound this week. There's of course the spread of the coronavirus, COVID-19. There is the Democratic primary in the US and what it foretells for the Presidential election in November. There is the, ahem, healthy valuation of the stock market, poised at all-time highs before the 7-session sell-off. And there's the role of the Federal Reserve, both in setting interest rates and in providing liquidity to the markets. We try to break down what matters and what is transient here, while conceding that...
2020-03-051h 43Shortman’s Hockey Corner – Ham Sports
Shortman’s Hockey Corner – Ham SportsShortman’s Hockey Corner – Episode 5On today's episode of Shortman's Hockey Corner, I'm talking about Leon Draisaitl, a small Maple Leafs injury, the PWHPA's final Dream Gap Tour stop, and the NWHL's Isobel Cup finals! Come back Friday for more.
2020-03-0413 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeValue Investor's Edge Live #14: International Seaways' Management On The Tanker MarketsJ Mintzmyer of Value Investor's Edge Live spoke with Lois Zabrocky and Jeff Pribor, CEO and CFO of International Seaways (INSW), to discuss their views on the tanker markets and IMO 2020. This followed on INSW's investor day in January, and comes in advance of the company's Q4 earnings report. Topics Covered 1:15 minute mark - Any surprises or different impacts in the markets? 3:00 - Impact from the lightering business? Additional EBITDA? 5:00 - Rate and fixture guidance? Old VLs doing well, Aframaxes poor? 7:45 - Difference between spot and TC fixture guidance? 8:45 - How do today’s rates compare to last year’s leve...
2020-02-2755 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeThe Razor's Edge #8: PagerDuty On Value AlertPagerDuty was a screaming short last summer, an example of SaaS's over-competitive landscape and trading at a high valuation to boot. But with half the valuation and a stronger competitive advantage than expected, has the page turned for this tech company? Akram's Razor explains why he's taken the other side of the trade, and why the moat for PD has held up versus new entrants. Topics Covered 3:00 minute mark - What does the competitive landscape look like? 5:30 - What is PD's space exactly? 9:15 - How wide a moat? 11:00 - Why are you long? 17:00 - Are they attracting new business? 20:00...
2020-02-201h 08The Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeValue Investor's Edge Live #13: Frontline CEO Robert Hvide Macleod On Crude Tanker MarketsOn January 14th, Value Investor's Edge Live hosted Robert Hvide Macleod, CEO of Frontline (FRO), to discuss the crude tanker markets and their balance strategy to IMO 2020. Frontline is one of the largest tanker operators in the world and is backed by shipping legend John Fredriksen. FRO is set to pay large dividends in this market and they have maintained a premium valuation ahead of peers. Robert discusses the various tanker segments and his overall viewpoints and areas of focus into the new year. Topics covered: 0:50 minute mark - Start of discussion: How is IMO 2020 impacting tankers? Any surprises?  3:00 - W...
2020-02-1342 minShortman’s Hockey Corner – Ham Sports
Shortman’s Hockey Corner – Ham SportsShortman’s Hockey Corner – Episode 3Hello and welcome back to another episode of Shortman's Hockey Corner!
2020-02-1113 minShortman’s Hockey Corner – Ham Sports
Shortman’s Hockey Corner – Ham SportsShortman’s Hockey Corner – Episode 2Hello and welcome back to another episode of Shortman's Hockey Corner! On this episode, I'm talking about Game 4 of the Rivalry Series, the NWHL's All-Star weekend, NHL trade talks and Dustin Byfuglien. As well as a little Blackhawks update - don't be surprised.
2020-02-0713 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeThe Razor's Edge #7: The Uneven Scrutiny Around FacebookFacebook entering an election year is about as hot-button a topic as there is in the market outside Tesla. Akram's Razor has called it a compelling buy on two previous podcasts this year, and after the company sold off on its earnings, it seemed good time to revisit the story in full. With comparisons to Amazon and Google, as well as news media and the inevitable diversion into the issue of political ads, we try to tease out the case for Facebook. Topics Covered 1:30 minute mark - Is Facebook a consensus buy despite the sell off? 9:00 - Pulling in Amazon...
2020-02-061h 03The Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeValue Investor's Edge Live #12: Shipping Market Update With VesselsValue (Bonus Episode)On January 17th, Value Investor's Edge Live spoke with Adrian Economakis, COO of VesselsValue, about the shipping markets and particular asset pricing cycles. Adrian reviewed some of the features of their research platform, which include trade analytics and a full database of all vessels and transactions. He also discussed some of the key observations from a review of asset cycle pricing across sectors. Tankers were on a run and not particularly cheap at the time, whereas there is some intriguing deep value opportunities in some ancillary shipping sectors such as Panamax Containerships and Offshore Support Vessels.  Topics Covered 1:00 minute mark...
2020-02-0551 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeValue Investor's Edge Live #11: DHT Holdings' Co-CEOs On The VLCC MarketsIn a continuation of the first ever Virtual Investor Forum on Value Investor's Edge, J Mintzmyer hosted Svein Harfjeld and Trygve Munthe, co-CEOs of DHT Holdings (DHT), on January 16th, to discuss the VLCC markets and their current scrubber program and capital allocation priorities. They reiterated the strong prioritization of dividends while also ensuring the balance sheet remains very conservative- even targeting the potential for zero net debt in the future. Topics Covered 1:30 minute mark - How is IMO 2020 impacting the markets? Any surprises?  3:30 - What fuel spreads are you seeing? Expectations on forward moves? 5:00 - Current progress of the s...
2020-01-3033 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeThe Razor's Edge #6: Pinterest's Different Tack On The Social Media PlayPinterest has been one of the many 2019 IPOs to underwhelm in public markets to date, but there is an interesting growth story here. Filling a more specific user need, Pinterest could offer a more sustainable growth approach than other social media firms. The question is whether it can escape the example of Twitter's trajectory, and whether it can withstand the perennially looming juggernaut, Facebook. Topics Covered 4:00 minute mark - What's your gut take on Pinterest? 6:45 - The curse of Twitter 10:45 - How does the Twitter problem play out for Pinterest? 12:45 - Instagram as e-commerce vs social. 15:45 - PINS vs. SNAP...
2020-01-2359 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeValue Investor's Edge Live #10: Ardmore Shipping's Management Team On MR Product MarketsAs part of the first ever Virtual Investor Forum on Value Investor's Edge, J Mintzmyer spoke with Anthony Gurnee and Paul Tivnan, CEO and CFO of Ardmore Shipping, about the MR product markets and IMO 2020 implementation. We discussed company specifics as well including earnings potential and capital allocation priorities. Topics Covered 2:10 minute mark - Start of discussion: Overall market impacts, any surprises? 3:35 - Are the markets topped out or room to rise further? 4:55 - What are the economics of an MR scrubber? 8:25 - Are your ships ‘eco’ specs? Fuel savings? 9:15 - Life expectancy of product tankers and your fleet? 10:55 - What...
2020-01-1639 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeThe Razor's Edge #5: Trading In A Surprisingly Choppy 2020 MarketThe market has seemed to be on an up and to the right path, but underneath there's been a surprising amount of churn. Large-cap growth stocks especially have moved suddenly on unclear reasoning, moves that seem skittish amidst a bull market. This may just be a sign of late-cycle behavior, or it may be a source of opportunity for the nimbly patient investor. We discuss several tech stocks and provide examples of what is going on. Topics Covered 2:00 minute mark - Setting the scene on this market 10:45 - The whiplash effect and how this affects relative valuation 13:15 - Is long...
2020-01-091h 16The Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeValue Investor's Edge Live #9: Flex LNG's CEO On The State Of The LNG Shipping MarketOystein Kalleklev, CEO of Flex LNG (FLNG), joined Value Investor's Edge live to discuss the overall LNG shipping markets, US-China potential, and IMO 2020 impacts. We discussed the various types of vessel propulsion technology, reviewed their capital allocation priorities, and pressed their charter vs. spot strategy. This conversation is relevant for anyone with interests in the LNG sector including GasLog (GLOG), GasLog Partners (GLOP), Golar LNG (GLNG), Golar LNG Partners (GMLP), and Teekay LNG Partners (TGP). Some of the US-China information might also be relevant for those interested in LNG export infrastructure including Cheniere Energy (LNG), Energy Transfer (ET), and Tellurian...
2020-01-0241 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeValue Investor's Edge Live #8: Diamond S's Management On The Product Tanker MarketCraig Stevenson, CEO of Diamond S Shipping (DSSI), and Kevin Kilcullen, CFO, joined Value Investor's Edge last Thursday, December 12th, to discuss the product tanker and Suezmax crude shipping markets ahead of pending IMO 2020 regulations. We reviewed capital allocation priorities and why they believe their stock price has been underperforming, and what they plan to do going forward. This conversation is relevant for anyone long the product tanker or the crude tanker sector, including Ardmore Shipping (ASC), DHT Holdings (DHT), Euronav (EURN), Frontline (FRO), Navios Maritime Acquisition (NNA), Nordic American Tankers (NAT), Scorpio Tankers (STNG), Teekay Tankers (TNK), Torm plc...
2019-12-1940 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeValue Investor's Edge Live #7: Costamare's CFO Greg Zikos On The Containership MarketGreg Zikos, CFO of Costamare (CMRE) joined Value Investor's Edge to discuss the containership markets and specific company prospects and capital allocation priorities. This interview and discussion is relevant for anyone with containership investments or interests, including Capital Product Partners (CPLP), Danaos Corp (DAC), Global Ship Lease (GSL), Navios Maritime Containers (NMCI), and Seaspan Corp (SSW).  Topics covered 1:25 minute mark - Market review: Strong rates vs. Trade War Concern 5:45 - What is your scrubber plan for IMO 2020? Approach for capital spending? 9:45 - What are the biggest risks/concerns for this market? 12:15 - How does the supply-side look? Concerned about newbuilds?  14:15 - H...
2019-12-1231 minThe Razor’s Edge
The Razor’s EdgeThe Razor's Edge #4: Nvidia's Expanding AI EdgeAkram's Razor was a notable bear on Nvidia in 2018 before closing a short position. Recently, he switched from the sidelines to becoming an owner of shares and a bull. We discuss what changed with the company over the past year, how it's proven itself, and what may be ahead. Topics Covered 2:00 minute mark - revisiting the short case 12:30 - NVDA's competitive position in artificial intelligence 23:00 - Expanded advantage in artificial intelligence, with the USPS deal as an example 33:00 - How Nvidia's moat plays out for new potential entrants 38:00 - The change in the valuation picture 47:00 - How crypto wreaked havoc...
2019-12-051h 41Big Orange Couch: The 90s Nickelodeon Podcast
Big Orange Couch: The 90s Nickelodeon PodcastArnold Shortman vs. Doug FunnieOn the 122nd episode of Big Orange Couch: The 90s Nickelodeon Podcast, Andrew, Joey and Max debate the characters of Arnold Shortman (Max) vs. Doug Funnie (Joey), with Andrew judging. Topics include: fashion, best friend, family, personality and impact. The debate goes down to the wire, plus, Invader Zim news, signature clothing and so much more! 
2019-08-041h 33Encore Radio Show
Encore Radio ShowShortman Score Interview w/ The Encore Radio Show Season 3 Episode 7 (118)Shortman Score and P of KAMO Style came through to The Encore Radio Show to drop knowledge on the KAMO Style collective, Score's project 'Urban Collective', the Lion Klan EP, and more! Instrumentals by @deucemuch
2015-10-1900 min