Ram Parameswaran, Founder of Octahedron Capital, Joins Me on Panic with Friends to Discuss China, Uber No-Brainer Investments, and the Markets (EP.164)
Courtesy of Howard Lindzon
I am excited to have Ram Parameswaran back on the podcast. We dove right into the mess that is China stocks. Ram and members of his team have 20 years of Chinese business trips and technology investing experience in the country and I wanted to get their take. I wanted to hear how they are positioned post the beat down of the internet, e-commerce and educational stocks.
Ram also discussed his $UBER position and it was great to get a deep dive from a grizzled technology portfolio manager on how they think about building a position and their frustrations not seeing management execute to the plan that Ram expects.
We also discuss the fun topic of ‘no brainer’ investments which of course is a reminder that even the most ‘no brainer’ investments don’t just go up all the time or even work out.
You can listen to today’s podcast here on Spotify or Apple.
Ram’s first podcast with me was back at the end of last year and you can listen here.
Guest: Ram Parameswaran
Profile: Founder of Octahedron Capital
Where to Find Him: LinkedIn, Twitter
What He’s Panicked About: China and Uber
Episode Summary:
Ram Parameswaran has been dominating growth and “crossover” investing for years. He’s got an incredible mind and is a fantastic sharer of ideas, trends, themes, and insights. I’ve had Ram on the ‘Panic’ podcast once before to discuss his background and investing thesis. I was excited to bring him back to talk about the future, markets, and more. Ram’s firm Octahedron Capital is a crossover fund that invests in the internet economy. But before striking out on his own to start his own firm, Ram was doing big things at the multi-billion dollar firm Altimeter Capital (I’ve actually been a fan of Altimeter founder Brad Gerstner for some time and have shared links to his work in the past). Ram has made some big name private investments in the past, including a pre-IPO Uber, Google and TikTok parent Bytedance. In this episode, Ram and I talk about investing in and demystifying the media’s views of China, regulation, building infrastructure, investing in tech, no-brainer investments, SPACs, and companies like Amazon, Uber, Robinhood, and more. Enjoy!
The Takeaway:
There is no perfect training when it comes to learning about and understanding the markets. So take a step back, think about who you’re really competing against, and look to people like Ram for insights.
Favorite Quotes:
“Invest when you see the whites in people’s eyes.”
“This is not about making money in the moment… It’s about thinking what portfolio I have today that is performing well and will continue to perform well?”
PS – I am doing one new ‘Panic With Friends’ podcast per week. Thanks for listening and make sure you subscribe over on Spotify or Apple.
