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Podcast: Audience of One
Episode: #034 - Xavier Helgesen on Holding Companies, The Publishing Industry, & Building Things That Last
Description: Xavier Helgesen is the co-founder of Enduring Ventures, a long-term holding company. He also co-founded Better World Books and was the founding CEO of Zola Electric. We talk about holding companies, the publishing industry, capital allocation, focus, reinventing ourselves, building things that last, parenting, and more.
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(02:43) Why run 20+ businesses instead of 1?
(04:38) Everyone is a capital allocator whether or not they know it
(07:13) Impact of VC on startup growth trajectories & sustainability
(16:18) What's misunderstood about building holding companies
(19:29) Long term thinking
(23:40) Focus is the founder master skill
(27:56) Work in the medium, not the abstraction
(31:14) The fear of re...