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Breakdowns - Guest Guide
Breakdowns - Guest Guide
What's in a Breakdown
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What's in a Breakdown

Key Themes:
History/founders
Products
Business model
Distribution
Competitive advantages
Threats
Secret Sauce
What are the portable lessons from this business/concept for investors or operators

Core questions to answer (don’t have to hit on all of them or ask these specific questions, but think of this as a roadmap):
What does this company do?
How was the company started and what is the history?
Who are the founders and current leadership?
What motivated person to solve this problem?
Hardest to copy, most unique relative to peers, or most interesting thing about company.
What are the company’s distribution channels? How do products get to customers?
What are the revenue streams?
What’s most important?
What was the level up event for the company? How did it change? Big break?
What is the business model?
What do some of the important metrics look like? Gross margins, income statement, etc.
At what point is value extracted?
What is the supply chain or customer value chain of the business?
What are the biggest threats to the business?
What is the company’s competitive advantage or potential sources of competitive advantage?
Externalities that influence the business; take rates, regulations, risks, etc.
What can other companies learn from this company? What are the lessons for other builders.
If the business 10x’s in value in the next few years, why?
Final epilogue - if you liked this then check out these other breakdowns.

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