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Hamilton Helmer

14 statements across 9 episodes · 5 bullish · 0 bearish · 4 people on the record · first statement Dec 3, 2021 by Ben Gilbert · said 70 times in 42 episodes since 2021 · across every show →

On the record as a speaker too: Hamilton Helmer's record, appearances and statements → this page counts the times other people say the name.

Mentions by year

brought up most by Ben Gilbert (35), David Rosenthal (32), Michael Lewis (2), Andrew Marks (1)

tap a year for its mentions
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0510202120222023202420252026episodes it came up in
001.352.510202120222023202420252026episodesmentions per episode
2026 5 mentions in 5 episodes 1 per episode
2025 20 mentions in 9 episodes 2 per episode
2024 13 mentions in 9 episodes 1 per episode
2023 9 mentions in 5 episodes 2 per episode
2022 16 mentions in 10 episodes 2 per episode
2021 7 mentions in 4 episodes 2 per episode

every mention, scene by scene, with the transcript →

Everything said about Hamilton Helmer, oldest first

Dec 3, 2021 neutral
Insight
Gilbert: Public market swings reflect long-term horizons, not short-termism
“Actually, public company shareholders are not short-term oriented. They're long-term oriented, and that's why when you change your guidance for the next quarter, the valuation can change by billions and billions and billions of dollars because people are accou…”
Ben Gilbert Dec 3, 2021 ▶ 2:39:24 Not Boring (with Packy McCormick) - Extended Cut · Acquired
Mar 28, 2022
Insight
Rosenthal: Finding Product-Market Fit Is Distinct from Developing Business Power
“When you climb the mountain as a founder and a company of finding product market fit, it's very different than climbing the mountain of then having to go develop power. It's a whole, you know, second journey that you have to go on.”
David Rosenthal Mar 28, 2022 ▶ 1:35:38 Nvidia: The GPU Company (1993-2006) · Acquired
Apr 6, 2022
Insight
Value Creation Has Two Distinct Step Changes: Product-Market Fit and Power
“There are really two major step changes in the value of a company. The first is product market fit, and the second is getting power. And they're quite distinct and involve different things.”
Hamilton Helmer Apr 6, 2022 ▶ 9:03 Platforms and Power (with Hamilton Helmer and Chenyi Shi) · Acquired
Apr 6, 2022
Insight
Low-Friction Technology Accelerates Rapid Platform Scaling But Undermines Competitive Defensibility
“All these things that reduce friction are easily available to lots of people, and so your very ability to spin up quickly and make something happen, and it seems very powerful, may in fact be the very thing that makes it easy for a competitor to catch you.”
Hamilton Helmer Apr 6, 2022 ▶ 17:15 Platforms and Power (with Hamilton Helmer and Chenyi Shi) · Acquired
Apr 6, 2022 neutral
Insight
Innovators Cannot Out-Invent Competition Forever Without Achieving Structural Strategic Power
“People that are just amazing at innovation, which I have a huge admiration for. That is to say, getting product market fit, think that they can just out invent the competition forever. And that story usually doesn't end well, I don't think. And the things you'…”
Hamilton Helmer Apr 6, 2022 ▶ 43:26 Platforms and Power (with Hamilton Helmer and Chenyi Shi) · Acquired
Apr 6, 2022
Insight
Companies Should Prioritize Customer Value Creation Over Engineering Artificial Switching Costs
“And my advice always is don't think, how am I going to lock in my customers, but actually think of it a different way. What is it that I can do for my customers that create value for them And then if that proposition has with it a way that they're tied to me, …”
Hamilton Helmer Apr 6, 2022 ▶ 1:01:58 Platforms and Power (with Hamilton Helmer and Chenyi Shi) · Acquired
Apr 6, 2022 positive
Insight
TSMC Rationally Trades Current Profit Margins to Secure Long-Term Customer Predictability
“That performance frontier is moving in sort of a kind of predictable way, and so being a leader in technology means that you are a cost and performance leader in the business, and so it makes a lot of sense to me to kind of give up current profits to guarantee…”
Hamilton Helmer Apr 6, 2022 ▶ 56:28 Platforms and Power (with Hamilton Helmer and Chenyi Shi) · Acquired
Apr 6, 2022 neutral
Insight
Platforms Relying on Long-Tail Edge Cases Possess Strong Defensible Power Potential
“If edge cases matter, there's a pretty good chance there's an opportunity for power. And because when you say edge cases matter, what you're really saying is that curve doesn't flatten out very quickly.”
Hamilton Helmer Apr 6, 2022 ▶ 30:02 Platforms and Power (with Hamilton Helmer and Chenyi Shi) · Acquired
Jul 19, 2022 positive
Opinion
Rosenthal: Walmart is the single best example of scale economies
“Hamilton uses Netflix in the book, which is another great example, but this is the single best example of scale economies in the world. They can price lower because they have the power of scale and the distribution and logistics network and the operations that…”
David Rosenthal Jul 19, 2022 ▶ 2:27:14 Walmart · Acquired
Aug 30, 2022 positive
Insight
Andrew Marks: Buffett avoided tech moats because they were outside his comfort zone
“I mean, one critique you could make of Buffett is he just totally ignored technology, and technology not only became much more pervasive, but I also think that, I mean, he's an incredibly smart guy, and he understands lots of different elements of business, an…”
Andrew Marks Aug 30, 2022 ▶ 57:09 Howard Marks & Andrew Marks: Something of Value · Acquired
Oct 28, 2024
Insight
Rosenthal: Process power transfers to new hires, cornered resources do not
“And a good test for this is when you bring somebody brand new into the organization and plug them in, does the power transfer to them as well? If no, then it's a cornered resource. If yes, then it's process power.”
David Rosenthal Oct 28, 2024 ▶ 5:35:52 Meta (Audio) · Acquired
Dec 16, 2024 positive
Insight
Brand power accrues via lifetime margin dollars rather than high margin percentages
“Essentially, if you trust the brand more, and the prices are the same, you just buy more of it over time. So you give more absolute margin dollars to that company over time, especially in a reoccurring purchase business like this. That's the way that brand pow…”
Ben Gilbert Dec 16, 2024 ▶ 3:20:00 Mars Inc. - The Chocolate Story (Audio) · Acquired
Dec 15, 2025 positive
Insight
Gilbert: Monopolies benefit society by generating cash flow for basic research
“There is a positive benefit to monopolies because they create the cash flows that fund these sorts of boondoggle basic research. A lot of the most important technologies that move society forward come out of these.”
Ben Gilbert Dec 15, 2025 ▶ 58:49 10 Years of Acquired (with Michael Lewis) · Acquired
May 18, 2026 neutral
Insight
A new index fund today would need 1% fees to break even
“If you were to try to start a new one today, in order to break even, you probably need one or two percent fees. Starting from a zero asset base, and so you'd be inherently non-competitive. You, if you're not already big, or you don't go raise a giant amount of…”
Ben Gilbert May 18, 2026 ▶ 3:27:07 Vanguard: The communist capitalist who saved investors a trillion dollars (Audio) · Acquired
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