This episode covers Brian Singerman's investing philosophy. He looks for three things: an existing moat (hard-to-copy advantage), a big market, and strong execution. He invests purely on gut, never looks at financial models, and says 'the only way to learn investing is by doing it.' He likes e-sports and backs Cloud9 (an esports team) because its audience is young; he also backs Airbnb (global network effect) and SpaceX (rocket factory that's impossible to replicate). He warns that a strong brand can bring noise, so he relies on his network for deal flow.
Brian Singerman, a partner at Founders Fund, shared his investment philosophy on the Invest Like the Best podcast. His core view: the key to investing lies in identifying moats, markets, and founders with strong execution. He emphasized that the only way to become a great investor is through extensi
Brian Singerman, a partner at Founders Fund, shares his investment philosophy on the Invest Like the Best podcast. Core thesis: The key to investing lies in finding founders with a moat, a market, and strong execution. He emphasizes that the only way to become a great investor is through extensive practice ("do a lot of investing") and relying on gut instinct for decision-making. Key takeaway: He invests across industries, focusing on how technological shifts impact strategy—such as his interest in e-sports. When evaluating teams, he prioritizes founder traits. As a board member, he allocates his time wisely and learns values from peers like Peter Thiel. The report does not provide specific company names, amounts, or percentage data.
Brian Singerman believes that regardless of industry or stage, investment decisions always revolve around three core elements: moat, market, and execution.
He explains that a moat must be "existing," not "something that might form in the future." For example, when investing in Airbnb, its "massive international network effect" was a clear moat; SpaceX's moat was "go build a rocket factory—it can't be replicated." The market must be large enough to support a fund of approximately $1.4 billion. Execution depends on whether the founding team can "go from moat to market."
> "Does it have an existing moat? Not one of these, oh, if I do this and this and this and this and this, then I'll have a moat."
Singerman describes himself as a "purely intuition-driven" investor who has never looked at any financial model; market analysis is entirely an art, not a science.
He admits his early intuition was poor, but "the only way to learn about investing is by investing." Founders Fund allows each partner to develop their own strategy independently—some rely on numbers, others on intuition. As a "reactive investor," he does not predict trends but remains open to all opportunities that come into view.
> "The only way to learn about investing is by investing."
Singerman's core criterion for evaluating founders is determining whether they are "A+ grade," rather than a checklist of specific traits.
He admits that Founders Fund once hired a writer to define the traits of a "Founders Fund founder," but it never worked. He personally prefers founders who "know how to run a business," rather than those who need hand-holding. In meetings, he deliberately probes for potential weaknesses to observe how founders respond—A+ founders know their weaknesses and can compensate through their team or strategy.
> "An A-plus founder knows how to own the weaknesses and knows how to account for them via some other way."
Singerman believes deal sourcing is as important as picking and getting in, and the network is key to sourcing.
He receives 5–10 referral emails daily from direct network connections, leading to about 5–10 meetings per week, and ultimately 0–1 investments. He emphasizes that brand can introduce noise ("brand is kind of a negative there because then you're seeing a lot of noise"), so he continuously maintains his network and encourages the audience to recommend deals to him.
Singerman is price-sensitive because price determines returns, but he does not focus on ownership percentage.
He states clearly: "I'd rather own 1% of Facebook than 20% of most other companies on earth." He does not care about preferred stock terms or downside protection, only the upside that price offers. For example, if possible, he would buy common stock at a price far below that of preferred stock.
Singerman's interest in esports investing stems from personal passion, but investment decisions are still based on the three pillars: founder, brand (moat), and market.
He invested in Cloud9, an esports team holding company. He explains that Cloud9 is "one of the last remaining top teams that is founder-driven" and has a strong brand moat. On the market side, he cites data: the average age of League of Legends viewers is 23, while the average age of baseball viewers is 58—"Which future would you rather bet on?"
| Position | Guest Stance | Key Data |
|---|---|---|
| Airbnb | Bullish (Invested) | Invested $150 million, decision made within one week; "one of the clearest moats" |
| SpaceX | Bullish (Invested) | Moat described as "rocket factory cannot be replicated" |
| Cloud9 | Bullish (Invested) | Esports team holding company; brand moat; founder-driven |
| RigUp | Bullish (Invested) | Oil and gas industry; headquartered in Texas |
| Anduril | Bullish (Invested) | Defense sector |
| StemCentrics | Bullish (Invested) | Biotech company developing novel cancer therapies; founder Brian Slingerland |
| Long-Term Stock Exchange | Bullish (Invested) | Founder Eric Ries rated A+; massive market; moat is regulatory sensitivity |
| Spotify | Bullish (Invested) | Non-US company |
| DeepMind | Bullish (Invested) | Non-US company |
| Nubank | Bullish (Invested) | Brazil; "one of the top-performing companies" |
| Oscar Health | Mentioned (Invested) | Health insurance sector |
1. "The only way to learn investing is to invest" (Singerman) — Intuition is honed through extensive practice, not theoretical study. Early intuition is poor, but it is trained by continuously investing (including small investments that go to zero).
2. "I'd rather own 1% of Facebook than 20% of most other companies" (Singerman) — Ownership percentage is the "worst metric"; price (which determines upside) is what matters.
3. "Brand is a double-edged sword" (Singerman) — Brand brings deal flow but also noise. He processes only 5–10 recommendation emails from his direct network each day, not hundreds.
4. "A+ founders know how to admit weaknesses" (Singerman) — In meetings, he deliberately probes for weaknesses to observe how founders respond. A founder who claims to be "good at everything" is a red flag.
5. "The average age of esports viewers is 23; the average age of baseball viewers is 58" (Singerman) — This is the market logic behind his investment in Cloud9: betting on the future of a young audience.
6. "There is no single right way to do venture capital" (Singerman) — Founders Fund's culture stems from Peter Thiel's founding philosophy: each partner sets their own strategy independently, with no unified political beliefs or methodology.
7. "Public companies have no information advantage" (Singerman) — He rarely invests in public companies because analyst coverage is extensive, whereas his edge lies in information asymmetry in private companies.
8. "Founders always remember who gave them the first check" (Singerman) — This is why Founders Fund still makes seed investments from its $1.4 billion fund: the first check builds long-term relationships and generates subsequent deal flow.