Strategies of Founders

Weekly letters exploring the unconventional strategies of visionary founders.

[Strategies of Founders @sofletter]

What to expect from this account:

🔍 Weekly teardowns of founders' strategies.
🧭 Startups, problems, and how they solve it.
📕 Book reviews and the ideas that stick.

Honest, sourced and free of myth. Corrections go to [email protected]. I post them publicly!

[Strategies of Founders @sofletter]

@TTrimoreau Intelligence is not overrated, it's a multiplier in this equation. Imagine if you're both very smart and also a fast learner. I think those often occur together.

[Strategies of Founders @sofletter]

Also, do check out his 2017 memoir and business book "Am I Being Too Subtle? Straight Talk From a Business Rebel", its worth a read!

This is an independent editorial commentary. It is not affiliated with, authorized or endorsed by Sam Zell or or any company or persons named here. Trademarks are used descriptively. No sponsored content or affiliate links appear in this piece. It may contain mistakes, for corrections, email: [email protected].

For sources, see the footnotes on the linked article: https://t.co/IrcFXKpyeq

[Strategies of Founders @sofletter]

Meet the man who popularized "distressed investing"! https://t.co/KFhZZCBi7r

[Strategies of Founders @sofletter]

Sam Zell sold one company for (reportedly) $39 billion. He also spent four days as a practicing lawyer before he quit.

Everyone remembers him as the "Grave Dancer" - the man who got rich buying real estate nobody else wanted. Fewer people know he ran the identical play on radio stations, a cough medicine, and a fleet of secondhand railcars.

I dug into his memoir and independent reporting to find the story underneath the nickname.

Let's dive in! 🧵👇

[Strategies of Founders @sofletter]

He died in 2023.

Nareit called him the architect of the modern REIT.
He liked to call himself "a professional opportunist".

Both are probably true.

If you like this kind of teardown, follow me @sofletter. I do this weekly!

[Strategies of Founders @sofletter]

Meet the man who popularized "distressed investing"! https://t.co/KFhZZCBi7r

[Strategies of Founders @sofletter]

@kzitouni1 I was reading somewhere that an all star team usually doesn't work out. It's better to have a mix. What do you think?

[Strategies of Founders @sofletter]

@aliceunzha @BrunoLabs You're right! It's choice of which uncertainty rather than a choice of having an uncertainty.

[Strategies of Founders @sofletter]

The right co-founders, the right hires, maybe right under your nose. You may have met them at office, family/friendly dinners or coffee shops. They might even be your best friends. If you have a feeling, pop the question and see where it goes!

[Strategies of Founders @sofletter]

@_sun_yi Two edged swords ⚔️

[Strategies of Founders @sofletter]

@coryalthoff @tjmttn I think you're generalizing that assumption quite far. Maybe a few companies, but not every. As you said, unpopular.

[Strategies of Founders @sofletter]

@mal_shaik Because you hit the nerve 😄

[Strategies of Founders @sofletter]

@SaidAitmbarek Flex!

[Strategies of Founders @sofletter]

@AjayRaghav702 @dupanos I think it is literally the narrative your belief system is running on.

[Strategies of Founders @sofletter]

@AliHabbabeh @shafu0x Definition of passive aggressive! 🤣

[Strategies of Founders @sofletter]

@djn_mngs @roudyhermez Yeah timelines have compressed dramatically!

[Strategies of Founders @sofletter]

@TheOneAndArjun Love the way you put it!