Interview with David Kim of Scuttleblurb on his investment/research process

[Liberty]

Hey,

 

I did an interview with the excellent business analyst David Kim, who publishes his company and industry deep-dives on his site, Scuttleblurb.com:

 

https://libertyrpf.substack.com/p/interview-with-david-kim-aka-scuttleblurb

 

He talks a lot about his work at a L/S hedge fund, his investment philosophy, research process, building his business, etc.

 

I thought some here may find it interesting.

 

Thanks!

[TonyG]

Awesome Liberty. Will give it a listen later

[Liberty]

Awesome Liberty. Will give it a listen later

 

I hope you enjoy it, let me know what you think!

 

To be clear, it's a written interview, no audio (it's more work, but I think David went much deeper into many things because he spend a few days thinking about it, so that's a big bonus).

[chrispy]

The level of detail David went into was great and I enjoyed it. Thanks

[TonyG]

Ya I realized it was written interview after. Thought this was great and really enjoyed it. Keep it up

[LC]

Most interesting aspect here is how he built it into a 200k subscription service.

 

Any kickbacks to good ole' Liberty for some free COBF advertisement? Kidding :D

[Liberty]

Most interesting aspect here is how he built it into a 200k subscription service.

 

Any kickbacks to good ole' Liberty for some free COBF advertisement? Kidding :D

 

Haha, no, he sent me a mug with his logo last year, but that's about it. I've just loved him and his stuff since I found it in 2017, and because I love sharing what I like, I've been shouting about it from rooftops since.

[LC]

Well earned!

 

I've had the pleasure of enjoying your posts here for years now, do you find writing a blog (and having readers) creates a feeling of obligation to publish? Wondering how you deal with that.

[chrispy]

The business model is great and fair for all parties.  I do not have time to research companies to the level he does, and would actually hate doing it.  The information he provides is intellectually stimulating for me and has helped my investment process (so far).

 

Due to the scale of the internet, he can do what he enjoys while making a decent living.

 

I am happy he can make $200k doing this.  My ROI on the subscription has been exceptional financially and intellectually.  Win, win.

[Guest]

Thanks for the interview. It says he manages a fund. Any idea what his returns are?

[Liberty]

Thanks for the interview. It says he manages a fund. Any idea what his returns are?

 

Yes, I get his letters. But they aren't public afaik, so I won't share.

[Liberty]

Well earned!

 

I've had the pleasure of enjoying your posts here for years now, do you find writing a blog (and having readers) creates a feeling of obligation to publish? Wondering how you deal with that.

 

I've described my feelings about that a bit on the about page:

 

https://libertyrpf.substack.com/about

 

Basically, my #1 priority with this is for me to have fun. If I stop having fun I'll stop doing it. So that relieves a lot of pressure, and probably explains why it's full of stupid dad jokes and random stuff that may not interest anyone but me... But hopefully, there's enough variety that while nobody is interested by everything in every issue, almost every subscriber finds a few things they like in each, and that's enough.

 

I've been writing a lot for a long time -- including here, but elsewhere too -- so I know I'll be writing either way. It does feel more satisfying to do it within that project than in most other places, because it feels like building something and making it up as I go and that's it's all adding up on the same canvas. I like the little inside jokes and references that long-term readers may notice that others won't, etc. Good way to have fun. And since it's all on my domain, anyone who doesn't like it isn't forced to read, so I'm not imposing on anyone.

 

To answer: So far it's been low pressure and fun. If it changes, I may just stop doing it, or make changes. I always reserve the right to take a break and come back to it later or change anything about the format.

[nickenumbers]

Liberty,

 

Great interview, great person to interview, and well written up.  Thanks for sharing it with us. 

 

PS- I subscribed to your blog so I can learn a little more about your thinking and process!

 

Liberty said- "Writing is very hard even if I enjoy it, but it’s also very fruitful because it’s hard. Writing is hard because thinking is hard, and on the page the gaps in logic and missing pieces of the puzzle can’t be hand-waved away as easily, while with what I’d do otherwise — the path of least resistance — my brain would probably skip over a lot more holes and leave some interesting doors unopened."

 

[Hell Yes.  Stand Up, stomp my feet, I whole heart agree.  Writing reminds me <proves to me> of how little I actually know.  It motivates me to research and think more.]

[Liberty]

Liberty,

 

Great interview, great person to interview, and well written up.  Thanks for sharing it with us. 

 

PS- I subscribed to your blog so I can learn a little more about your thinking and process!

 

Liberty said- "Writing is very hard even if I enjoy it, but it’s also very fruitful because it’s hard. Writing is hard because thinking is hard, and on the page the gaps in logic and missing pieces of the puzzle can’t be hand-waved away as easily, while with what I’d do otherwise — the path of least resistance — my brain would probably skip over a lot more holes and leave some interesting doors unopened."

 

[Hell Yes.  Stand Up, stomp my feet, I whole heart agree.  Writing reminds me <proves to me> of how little I actually know.  It motivates me to research and think more.]

 

Thanks, I appreciate that!

 

That last part reminds me of that Bertrand Russell quote I put at the beginning of this one:

 

Everything is vague to a degree you do not realize till you have tried to make it precise. —Bertrand Russell

 

https://libertyrpf.substack.com/p/48-my-thoughts-on-how-to-find-investments

[nickenumbers]

The Bertrand Russell quote is so true.

 

Or this one from John Kenneth Galbraith

 

It is a far, far better thing to have a firm anchor in nonsense than to put out on the troubled seas of thought.