Oliver Thomas - Bootstrapped European Software Investing - [Art of Investing, EP.12]

Today’s teacher is Oliver Thomas, founder and managing partner of Expedition Growth Capital. Expedition is a leading growth equity firm based in London, built to serve the next generation of capital-efficient, founder-led European software companies. Oli shares what it takes to win as an investor in this fascinating and attractive small corner of the market.

This class is jam-packed with colorful stories, insightful career advice and a history on the bootstrap growth investing landscape that goes all the way back to the late '70s. Oli describes the archetype of bootstrap software companies and their elements of differentiation versus VC-backed peers, which tend to be better funded but more fragile due to capital dependency. Please enjoy our class with Oliver Thomas.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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Show Notes

(00:00:00) Welcome to Art of Investing

(00:04:00) First question - Reflecting on an upbringing in Wales

(00:12:33) The impact of sports during early years

(00:18:33) Finding motivation and drive at a young age

(00:24:09) Gaining insights into growth equity

(00:23:44) Tracing the evolution of bootstrap investing

(00:36:26) Key elements of successful bootstrap investing

(00:47:37) Examining the 'likability factor' in equity capital

(00:51:58) Introducing Expedition and its practices  

(00:59:25) Offering guidance for establishing an investment firm

(01:03:33) Highlighting favorite bootstrap companies collaborated with

(01:12:21) Exploring AI's role in bootstrapped companies

(01:16:11) Recommending inspirational resources