The Ledger
Every statement that passed quotation and attribution checks. Mix any filter with any other: certainty 1/5, debate potential 5/5, or both at once.
why aren't all 24 resolved? a statement only gets an assessment when the public record can support or contradict it. opinions and what-ifs never can, and 0 checkable ones are still open, waiting for their date. predictions held up or didn't; assertions are supported or contradicted. on every card: ▮▮▮▮▮ certainty · ▮▮▮▮▮ debate potential. speakers are clickable
Sanchez: Angel investing is dumb for 99.9% of people
“I think angel investing is dumb for your first dollars. You're going to lose 80% of your takes. So I still think angel investing is dumb for 99.9% of people. Don't play a game where you bet on other people's ability before you've bet enough on your own and sta…”
Sanchez: Mastering dealmaking creates billionaires, while mastering budgeting does not
“But if you master budgeting, that does not make a billionaire. If you master deal making, that makes billionaires.”
Sanchez: Founders Should Poach Talent From Competitors Whenever Possible
“If you can steal from your top competitor, you should.”
Codie Sanchez: Investors with an audience should always demand unfair deal terms
“And if you have money, And expertise and like audience or a name, you should be getting unfair terms every single time.”
Codie Sanchez: Mini golf is rarely the best long-term use of land
“There's no way that mini golf courses over the longterm are going to be the best use of land for most locations. And so eventually you're going to get your business sort of taken from you by your landlord, which is okay if it's a longterm and you just get to k…”
Most companies operate at the speed of their slowest employees
“Most companies don't run at the speed of the fast. They run at the speed of the slowest.”
Retaining wealth requires constant daily or weekly attention to finances
“I have a saying, which is money is a cruel mistress, and if you don't pay attention to her, she'll leave you for somebody who does. And the only way, I think, to get that mistress of money to stay with you is that you have to pay attention to her.”
Prioritize high-impact tasks first, hard tasks second, routine chores third
“Figuring out how to first do the important things that matter, second, do the hard things because those build willpower, and then third, do the efficient things because we all have to be humans paying bills and normal things like that.”
Sanchez: Buying a very small business is effectively buying a job
“And what I don't think people realize is that's buying a job. You're buying a job when you buy a company that small. And those types of deals exist all around this country. They're everywhere.”
Sanchez: Inexperienced negotiators ruin deals by failing to use silence
“And the pros know the beauty of silence. And I think that's the biggest thing people mess up in the beginning is they talk themselves out of a deal.”
Sanchez: Professional dealmakers prioritize controlling terms over price
“The pro knows that you want control of the terms, not the price always.”
Sanchez argues gyms have a tough business model due to customer density
“Gyms are a hard business. Think about it. The more people that are in your gym, what do you feel? Not happy about it. You're like, I can't use the machine. It's kind of a tough business model.”
Sanchez: The best company starters typically make poor operators
“And the best starters typically aren't the best operators.”
Sanchez: Candidates who solve problems mid-interview make the best operators
“If they start solving your problems, they're, it's a really good indicator that they're a good operator.”
Sanchez: A good boring business needs 15% to 50% margins
“So I would say a good boring business is 15 to 50, 15 to 50% margins. 50 would be like really good. 15 would be like, okay, we've got a healthy business within lots of characteristics. One to three is awful.”
Sanchez: Creators should build real-world experience before giving online advice
“You don't always have to be an expert, but like, you should try to do a few things before you try to talk about doing things.”
Sanchez: Beginners should avoid corporate turnaround acquisitions
“I've done enough where I could do a turnaround. I wouldn't do a turnaround in the beginning.”
Sanchez: Capital is cheap, but introductions and audience are not
“Because capital right now is cheap, but introductions and audience are not.”
Sanchez: Do not use angel investing to build early wealth
“In fact, it's why I don't think that most people should angel invest until they have some money. Like, I do not think angel investing is the way to become rich or wealthy early. Like you need to maximize your earnings. You need to get cashflow because you don'…”
Sanchez: Traditional holdcos acquire fast-growing brands to offset stagnant legacy products
“The old school method of holds co is basically lots of acquisitions done on fast growing companies to bolster the fact that their old school stuff Isn't growing that rapidly unless they throw a ton of spend at it.”
Codie Sanchez: Boring businesses perform better in secondary and tertiary markets
“I mean, a lot of these boring businesses, what I found is they're almost better in like secondary and tertiary markets that have some growth, but you're not paying like New York level prices for them, because then you have to really increase your prices becaus…”
Codie Sanchez: Acquirers must distinguish passive cash-flowing bonds from active businesses
“You need to figure out if you want a bond or a business, right? So bond is the check in the mail and a business is something you got to run. And so, yeah, for me, I like having a lot of bonds and only a few businesses because I'm operationally kind of a nightm…”