Absolute Return Podcast

March 13, 2024 - On today’s podcast we welcome special guest Carson Block of Muddy Waters. Carson is an activist short seller who conducts in-depth fundamental short analysis focused on business fraud, accounting fraud, and fundamental problems. On the show, we discuss:

• His fortuitous path to short selling as a profession
• Sino Forest and the short that put him on the map
• The thesis behind his bearish view on Fairfax Financial
• His approach to risk management
• And more

December 17, 2023 - On today’s episode we welcome special guest, Hodes Weill Managing Partner and Co-founder, Doug Weill. Hodes Weill is a leading, global capital advisory firm focused on the real estate and real assets investment and funds management industry. On the show, we discuss:

• How real estate plays a role in investment portfolios
• Which segments of the real estate market are most favourable, and which investors should avoid
• The biggest risk facing real estate investors currently
• His real estate “top pick”
• And more!

October 24, 2023 - On today’s show we welcome special guest, Zapata AI Co-Founder and CEO Christopher Savoie. Zapata AI is an industrial generative AI software company developing solutions and applications to solve enterprises’ hardest problems.On the show we discuss:

• How Christopher went from getting his PhD in a medical field to founding several tech startups
• A deep dive into what artificial intelligence is and what it can accomplish
• Some use cases for industrial generative AI
• How the company offers faster, cheaper, and more accurate generative AI
• And more

August 14, 2023 -  On today’s show we welcome special guest, Bitcoin Depot CEO Brandon Mintz. Bitcoin Depot operates the largest bitcoin ATM network in the world. On the show, we discuss:

• Brandon’s “bitcoin moment” and what initially got him interested in the cryptocurrency
• His entrepreneurial journey and where he got the idea to start the company
• Why their customers use ATMs instead of online exchanges to buy bitcoin
• Bitcoin Depot’s growth initiatives, including their approach to M&A
• What he believes is in store for the future of bitcoin

February 27, 2023 - On today’s show we welcome special guest and the 2022 Dealmaker of the Year, Danny Rice. Danny was the CEO of Rice Acquisition 1, which merged with Archaea Energy in a $1.15 billion deal and then subsequently sold to BP for $4.1 billion. Danny is now the CEO of Rice Acquisition 2, which recently announced a $1.5 billion merger with NET Power, a clean energy technology company.

On the show, Danny discusses:

• Key lessons learned from the Archaea Energy SPAC merger and subsequent sale to BP
• A primer on NET Power’s innovative clean energy technology
• The case for U.S. shale gas powering reliable, clean and low-cost power
• What inspires him as an entrepreneur and business leader
• And more

January 6, 2023 - On today’s show we welcome special guest Phil Bak, CEO of Armada ETF 

Advisors. Phil has been innovating in the ETF industry for over 15 years. He has previously served as Founder/CEO of Exponential ETFs, an ETF issuer and sub-advisor acquired by Tidal ETF Services in 2020. Phil has also served as Chief Investment Officer at Signal Advisors, a venture-backed startup in Detroit and Managing Director at the New York Stock Exchange. On the show, Phil discusses:

• Characteristics of ETFs that make them a great tool for investors
• Some major innovations in ETFs over the past 15 years
• The bull case for residential real estate
• What is happening in the private REIT space
• The major risk investors face in private REITs
• And more

On today’s show we welcome special guest, David Friedberg, Founder and CEO of The Production Board. Dave is an entrepreneur, business leader and investor who founded The Climate Corporation, which was sold to Monsanto for $1.1 billion. He now leads The Production Board, a holding company of businesses established to solve the most fundamental problems.

On the show, Dave discusses:

- His early experiences in investment banking, Google, and what it was like working with Larry Page

- The founding, growth and sale of his first venture, the Climate Corporation

- High potential investment themes that he is focused on

- Insight into one of his latest deals: Lavoro, Brazil’s largest agricultural inputs retailer

- And more

On today’s podcast we welcome special guest, Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus. Intuitive Machines is a diversified space exploration, infrastructure, and services company.

On the show, Steve discusses:

-Some of his main learning experiences at NASA and what inspired him to leave to launch a startup -The current state of the space race -The potential for long-term lunar infrastructure and commerce -What he thinks is in store for space exploration over the next 50 years -And more

On today’s podcast we welcome special guest, AvePoint CEO TJ Jiang. AvePoint is the largest data management solutions provider for the Microsoft cloud. 

On the show, TJ discusses:

• His journey from new immigrant, to Wall Street, to successful entrepreneur taking his company public
• How he made it through the adversity when founding the company
• Lessons learned from taking his company public
• His thoughts on the current recessionary economic environment
• And more

On today’s show we welcome special guests, Newsight Imaging CEO Eli Assoolin and VSAC CEO George Sobek. Newsight Imaging develops high-quality image sensors that can be integrated into industries such as robotics, automotive, mobile and many others. Vision Sensing Acquisition is a SPAC that is set to merge with Newsight.

On the show, Eli and George discuss: -A teach-in on vision sensors and chips -Growth opportunities in semiconductors -Market conditions and whether there’s a recession -Their top productivity hacks -And more