Business Breakdowns
Learn how companies work from the people who know them best. Each episode dissects a single business - from its origins and model to its financials and competitive edge. We uncover the lessons behind every success story. Learn more at www.joincolossus.com.
Episodes
April 23, 2025 • 41 mins
Today we are breaking down Ecolab, a global sustainability leader offering water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions that protect people & the resources vital to life. As of this recording, Ecolab has a $66 billion market cap and protects over 36% of the world's packaged food supply and over 44% of the global milk supply.
My guest is Todd Wenning, founder of KNA Capital Management, who has a knack for finding interesting b...
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April 16, 2025 • 46 mins
Today, we explore the world of tools to break down Snap-on. Snap-on has been around for over 100 years and operates with over a $17 billion market cap. It has continuously evolved the straightforward model of selling tools to specialists, like mechanics, into a durable business model while carving out a leadership position in the professional tools market.
My guest is Matt Fleming, portfolio manager at William Blair. Matt gets into...
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April 9, 2025 • 69 mins
Today we are breaking down Goosehead Insurance. I always enjoy hearing about how a new entrant has effectively carved out a niche in a world of incumbents and Goosehead fits that billing perfectly.
I'm joined by Geoff Collette, founder and PM of Aeon Capital Partners, and he walks us through the story of Goosehead identifying a bottleneck in the home-buying process.
We also cover the evolving market, where captives like State Far...
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April 2, 2025 • 58 mins
Today, we are breaking down the food catering giant Compass Group. Whether it's your corporate cafeteria, the food stands at a sporting event, or the old hospital food tray, the food services industry is all around you. Compass is the giant in this space, with a history that dates back to the emergence of this outsourced trend.
My guest is Asif Jeevanjee, Chief Executive of Oakmount Capital. Asif talks through both the business an...
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March 26, 2025 • 44 mins
Today we are breaking down EssilorLuxottica, a global leader in the eyewear industry, formed by the merger of Essilor and Luxottica in 2018. Today the business sports a nearly $130 billion market cap. EssilorLuxottica represents a vertically integrated business, encompassing design, manufacturing, distribution, and retail operations across both vision care and eyewear fashion segments.
To break down EssilorLuxottica, I am joined b...
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March 19, 2025 • 55 mins
Today we are breaking down Watsco, the market leader in HVAC distribution with a unique value proposition. If you've ever had an air conditioning issue, there's a decent chance it was a Watsco distributor on the other side of that phone call.
My guests today are Lucy Adams, Investment Director at Caledonia Investments, and Alan Murran, Co-Head of Public Companies at Caledonia Investments. Lucy and Alan help track the history of ...
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March 14, 2025 • 73 mins
 ​Today, we are breaking down the  global alternative asset manager, Apollo. I reflected on my personal experiences with Apollo for this episode, and there's a saying that hard work can beat talent when talent doesn't work hard. Well, Apollo has talent, and Apollo works really damn hard. They will do everything they can to protect their capital, so if you're on the other side of the table from them, you never feel fully comfortable...
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February 26, 2025 • 43 mins
Today we are breaking down machine vision leader, Cognex. Cognex Corporation is an American manufacturer of machine vision systems, software and sensors used in automated manufacturing to inspect and identify parts, detect defects, verify product assembly, and guide assembly robots. It is not your typical reoccurring revenue story. They are a self proclaimed cyclical that has tended to focus on a specific customer segment over time...
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February 19, 2025 • 54 mins
Today, we are breaking down Rolls-Royce. A fair warning to those expecting to hear about luxury automobiles, that division was split from this business in the 1970s. But as we discuss the history of Rolls-Royce on this episode, you will hear how the DNA of this company still ties together from its early 1900s origins.
Our guest is Graeme Forster from Orbis Investments. Graeme walks us through the core business of Rolls-Royce in the...
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February 12, 2025 • 54 mins
Today, we are replaying one of our favorites, breaking down the industrial conglomerate AMETEK. AMETEK is a great pairing with last week's episode on Jack Henry. These are two businesses with very long track records executing a playbook.
AMETEK is one of eight companies that Mark Leonard and his team at Constellation Software studied as they built their own empire. And it's one well worthy of a discussion as you'll hear.
To break ...
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February 5, 2025 • 61 mins
Today, we are breaking down Jack Henry. If you're not familiar with it, Mark Leonard of Constellation Software once referred to this business as their ‘gold standard.’ Jack Henry is a true best in class operator within the vertical market software space.
To break down the business, I'm joined by Bob Desmond, Portfolio Manager and Head of Claremont Global. Jack Henry sells full operating system software that powers small and mid-s...
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January 29, 2025 • 50 mins
This is Zack Fuss. Today, we are breaking down APi Group, a leading provider of life safety and specialty services to buildings and construction projects. While not necessarily a household name, APi's services play a vital role in the buildings where we live and work.
With over 100 acquisitions under their belt, they've strategically built a business that exceeds a billion dollars in EBITDA and sports a market cap exceeding $10 bi...
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January 22, 2025 • 55 mins
This is Zack Fuss. Today, we are breaking down Kaspi, a leading financial technology company based in Kazakhstan best known for its super app. Kaspi plays a central role in the lives of millions of Kazakh citizens by offering a seamless ecosystem that combines payments and digital wallets, e-commerce, and financial services.
Its success is often attributed to its ability to solve pain points specific to the Kazakh market, such as ...
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January 17, 2025 • 75 mins
Today's episode is the third in our three-part miniseries on video game consoles. Here, we are breaking down Nintendo. Our guest is Ryan O'Connor, the founder of Crossroads Capital. He has a wealth of knowledge about Nintendo, and you will hear it throughout this episode.
We discuss the history of the brand and business, including how it revitalized the industry in the 1980s, some of its strategic decisions, and how the Nintendo S...
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January 15, 2025 • 47 mins
This is the second episode of our multi-part series on the video game console market. If you've yet to listen to Episode One, Sia Kamalie is the founder and fund manager at Skycatcher. Join me in breaking down the video game console market and his thesis for why it's an inflecting opportunity.
In this episode, we go micro and Sia is back to break down Sony. Sia and I spend a lot of time talking about catalysts and some of the dyna...
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January 15, 2025 • 54 mins
Today's episode is the first in a multi-part series on the video game console market. Our guest is Sia Kamalie, the founder and fund manager at Skycatcher. Skycatcher describes itself as focused on capturing asymmetry at the internet frontier, and Sia has very strong conviction that the video game console market is entering a major paradigm shift with an app store model set to hit its inflection point.
We start with an overview of ...
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January 8, 2025 • 43 mins
This is Zack Fuss. Today, we're breaking down Arm Holdings. Arm designs the architecture powering billions of devices, from smartphones and data centers to IoT devices and automotive systems. In this episode, we'll explore Arm's unique value proposition and how it thrives as a licensing giant in a market dominated by leading-edge manufacturers.
To break down Arm, I am joined by Jay Goldberg, who is the CEO and lead analyst at D2D A...
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January 1, 2025 • 45 mins
Today, we are breaking down the global luxury group Kering. You know Kering from its brands Gucci, YSL, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, and the list goes on. It's a luxury house similar to LVMH, but LVMH over the past five years is up over 40% and Kering is down over 60%.
To break down Kering, I am joined by Jonathan Eng, portfolio manager at Causeway. We cover the owners and operators of Kering, the Pinault family. We also discuss who...
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December 27, 2024 • 42 mins
Today we have a special year-end episode of Business Breakdowns, running through some of the best ideas that were featured on the podcast. The goal of the podcast is to detail whatever business we're covering that day. But when you think about the best investors, the best business builders, they're constantly borrowing insights from the success stories that are happening around them.
We start with a high-level theme and then explo...
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December 23, 2024 • 51 mins
Today we‘re breaking down FilterBuy. From time to time, I come across a compelling founder who is willing to cover everything about their business and David Heacock, founder of FilterBuy, is exactly that.
We explored the psychology of David's transition from Goldman options trader to starting an air filter business in Alabama just over 10 years ago. Since then, the business has grown into something that generates over $250 million ...
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