The Genius Investor Who Picks up The Conglomerates - Chapter 360



Only Krnovel

Episode 360: The Myth of Venture Capital

[ Selected by Forbes, TOP 4 best investors in history]

There is no formula for making a lot of money in the market. However, successful investors each have their own investment strategies and philosophies.

When viewed over a short period of time, it can produce performance that outstrips the entire market. However, only a small number of investors have outperformed the market for decades.

Although there is no point in comparing performance since they invested in different economic, political, and regulatory environments, we would like to introduce four of the best investors of all time who have become legendary by consistently delivering performance regardless of market conditions over a long period of time.

4th place: George Soros

George Soros, praised as the man who beat the Bank of England, is a legendary investor who has earned an average annual return of 32% for nearly 30 years. In particular, during the British currency crisis in 1992, an incident in which he short-sold 10 billion dollars worth of British pounds and made a profit of more than 1 billion dollars in just one day is still talked about in the financial world.

3rd place: Jim Simons

He is an investor who manages Renaissance Technologies, the world’s largest hedge fund, and is a great investor who achieved a phenomenal average annual return of 39% between 1988 and 2018.

2nd place: Warren Buffett

Strictly speaking, the reason the Sage of Omaha has topped the list of best investors of all time for decades is not strictly because of returns. This is because it has achieved steady compound returns that go against the market trend for nearly 60 years. Of course, Buffett’s investments are not always successful, but no one can deny that his long-term performance is beyond imagination.

1st Place: Dylan Song

He is a great investor who overtook Warren Buffett and took first place.

He has shown actions that are different from other investors and, in some ways, almost eccentric.

Among the investors on the list, he is the only venture capitalist, and he is still investing in promising startups and showing unbelievable performance.

The investment success rate he has achieved over nearly 20 years of venture investment is close to 80%.

The average rate of return is at a level that is impossible to even estimate.

What’s even scarier is that he is less than fifty years old.

Considering this, no one would argue against calling him one of the world’s best investors.

***

After finishing my interview with Fortune, I checked the time and boarded the waiting vehicle.

“Time is a bit tight. Please leave right away.”

“Yes, Chairman. I will take you to the airport right away.”

As the car started, I rested my chin and stared out the window.

Maybe it’s because it’s been a while since I’ve been to New York, but it feels unfamiliar.

A few precious moments to reflect in our busy daily lives.

As I watched the streets of New York passing by, I looked back on my steps over the past 10 years.

It was truly a time of constant running.

After getting married, I put my family first, but I also worked tirelessly at work.

What can I say… Would you say that you have developed a sense of responsibility and duty as the head of the household?

It was not simply a question of how much assets one had, but a question related to self-realization or the authority of the head of the household.

My newlywed life with my beloved wife was extremely sweet, and two years later, the happiness was multiplied by the birth of Doyoon, the fruit of our love.

Days that are so happy that I wonder if I can really be this happy.

Ironically, my fear of this happiness being shattered also grew.

So I gritted my teeth even more and did my best at home and at work.

And another big variable was that since seeing the white light in the photo of my biological parents, I have never seen ‘light’ anymore.

At one point, I was slightly embarrassed by the invisible ‘light’, but surprisingly, there was no significant change in my life.

No, rather, my life has become more enterprising.

Although I may have had the help of ‘light’, my personal capabilities had also achieved remarkable growth, and I gained confidence in my judgment that this person would definitely radiate ‘light’.

In conclusion, I felt regretful about losing my ability, but I was not disappointed or frustrated.

On the other hand, I also had that thought.

I wonder if the ability to see the ‘light’ in the first place was something of a gift from parents to their son who was left alone in a difficult world.

“Ah! Chairman. I don’t know if you’ve received a call, but they say China’s National Food Stockpile Agency has contacted the company again.”

I was awakened from my thoughts by Director Cho’s voice.

“I’m not answering the phone, so now they’re calling the company.”

“Yes, they are very persistent and persistent. I heard that they are even lobbying political figures to meet with the Chairman.”

“Tsk, tsk, you guys are working hard. Work hard. You should have done better earlier. What are you going to do now?”

There was a reason why the Chinese government, which lives in a world of pride, threw away everything it had to bow down to them.

“I bet you didn’t know that there would really be a food crisis.”

Ten years ago, an unusual weather event occurred in China. Grain yields had declined sharply due to extreme rainfall and extreme temperature rises that had lasted for several years.

Extreme rainfall hindered the absorption of nutrients needed for grain growth and moisture for fruiting, and the decline in China’s grain harvest over the past 10 years has approached 40%.

“I would have never dreamed that Jamie would develop a new seed that can grow well even in such extreme weather conditions.”

Do you remember? Jamie, a young farmer who came across the river when I was giving a special lecture at Harvard and received investment from me.

‘Blue Earth’, founded by Jamie, received a huge amount of investment, was equipped with proper research facilities and manpower, and succeeded in developing several groundbreaking seeds.

Of course, Jamie’s research notes, which he conducted alone in a harsh environment, shined on this foundation.

Blue Earth, which began to rapidly increase its influence in the seed market, finally achieved the feat of being ranked among the top five seed companies in the world for the first time in 10 years.

Moreover, at a time when food shortage problems were emerging around the world, the stock price was blowing up enormous amounts.

“Tell the company not to answer any calls from China at all. It will be easier to negotiate later if we make it more difficult.”

“Yes. I will convey that to you, Chairman.”

As I leaned back on the soft seat, I reflected on the growth of the many startups I had invested in.

First of all, Veslo, which was my first angel investment and operated an SNS called ‘Ddabong’, went through a complete sale process to Microsoft of the United States three years ago.

At the time, I had a lot of concerns and received a lot of criticism as to why I was giving up such good service, but looking at it now, it was a timely sale.

SNS trends changed dramatically every year, and as groundbreaking services that matched the changes were released one after another, existing SNSs had no choice but to naturally fall behind.

In terms of stocks, it was the same as selling at the top.

‘I never thought Rescue Ace would end up like that.’

‘Rescue Ace’ is run by former Yakuza CEO Takeshi.

This startup, which started out as a developer of tsunami relief supplies, has now surprisingly become the world’s best outdoor brand company.

The awareness of Rescue Ace, which saved countless lives from terrible natural disasters, soared tremendously, and they released a variety of outdoor products in time.

To Japanese people, items with the ‘Rescue Ace’ logo have become like a symbol of good luck or a talisman, and based on this, they have gained enormous brand power.

Not satisfied with this, Rescue Ace gradually expanded its influence into overseas markets, and now, 10 years later, it has become one of the top ten outdoor brands in the world.

‘They say don’t worry about life…’

In addition, Buksan Solar, which achieved the commercialization of perovskite solar cells, achieved the feat of becoming number one in the world solar panel industry, and SI Hitech also dug only one well, power semiconductors, but is now eating up the entire market pie. I threw it away.

Aegis Materials, which developed tetratenite, a substitute for rare earth permanent magnets, has grown into a large company that ranks among the top in the U.S. stock market, and Masvinu, which developed the Zimbabwe lithium mine, has also developed its own AI resource exploration program, Resource Prospector. Resource Prospector) has shown significant performance one after another, resulting in an explosive increase in corporate value in a short period of time.

Other startups left my hands through exit after achieving sufficient growth.

However, the important thing was that the link with the founder was still maintained.

‘It seems like time is passing faster and faster.’

It felt like the last ten years had passed in the blink of an eye.

Filled with untimely sentimentality, I looked through the wedding photos saved in the cloud of my phone.

‘You’ve come a long way.’

From the relationships I made at daycare, to my college classmates, to my company employees, to the relationships I made while traveling around the world.

Miracles gave birth to fate, and fate gave birth to miracles.

Moments of miracles that I can experience because I am alive right now.

Those moments come together to create a full-length novel called ‘Life.’

We are the main characters in the novel and the authors who create the novel.

Depending on how I write this novel, it can be a tragedy, a cheap and obvious novel, or a masterpiece full of love and hope.

It is not important what events occur in the novel.

Every relationship I encounter in life contains a miracle, and I myself am the beginning and source of that miracle.

If you can discover and contemplate that miracle, everything that happens in the novel can become a miracle.

The miraculous moment that is possible only because we are alive, and when those moments come together, my own world is finally complete.

This was my definition of life.

“Anyway, Chairman. Is it really okay for you to not attend the GFC (Global Economic and Financial Conference), which is being held privately? I’m sure there are many people waiting for you, Chairman.”

“I would like to attend, but as you know, I can’t because I have more important things to do.”

“What if it’s a more important schedule?”

“Doyun’s parent observation class. His mother is on a business trip overseas, so I absolutely have to go.”

“Oh, then of course I have to go.”

The response was that my extreme love for my family was not new as it was already known within the company.

So I took the fastest flight back to Korea.

***

Tapmoe Elementary School, Gangseo-gu, Seoul.

I arrived at school earlier than scheduled and enjoyed some leisurely contemplation as I walked around the area.

“Now that I think about it, this is my second time taking a parent observation class.”

About 15 years ago, do you remember Jaechul, the younger brother of Sprout Orphanage and also the youngest golden protagonist?

At that time, when I discovered that Jaechul had a brilliant talent for golf, I allowed him to live with his biological mother and provided generous financial support.

Jae-cheol, now in his twenties, had won all of the golf competitions held in Korea and was now making a big splash on the world stage.

Even to this day, he was a loyal guy who kept contacting me every time I won an award.

While I was thinking about this and that, a view of the classroom came into view through the window.

“There really aren’t any kids…”

I heard that there are less than 5 classes in the first grade, and less than 15 students per class.

Ten years ago, the serious low birth rate problem eventually returned as a boomerang.

[1-3]

When I entered the classroom wearing large sunglasses, the classroom was already filled with parents.

Do-yoon, who was looking around with sad eyes, ran to me with a big smile and fell into my arms.

“Daddy!!!”

“Oh my! My baby.”

I guess the fact that I’m jumping up and down with a flushed face is both amazing and good because my dad is visiting me at school.

As a father, I couldn’t help but feel happy that my child, who wouldn’t hurt even if I put it in his eyes, loved it so much.

Soon after, the homeroom teacher came in and the full-scale observation class began.

As if it were art class, students were given the task of drawing their favorite dinosaur on white drawing paper.

At a time when everyone was concentrating and pouting their lips like a chick, the sight of Doyoon talking to his partner sitting next to him caught my eye.

At first glance, it seemed like Doyoon was suggesting that we share his supplies since we didn’t bring any supplies.

When I looked at the child’s behavior, I noticed that he was wearing more tattered clothes than other children and had a rather shabby appearance.

At that time, I heard the voices of parents whispering next to me.

“If I had known this would be the case, I would have sent my children to a private school, even if it was a bit excessive. I think the gap between the children is too big.”

“Oh my, did Eugene’s mom feel it too? No, she said there are still kids who can’t speak a word of English.”

“I heard that there is a child who has never been abroad… I am worried because this level is so inadequate.”

“Should I at least transfer students before it’s too late…”

Of course, I could have sent Doyoon to a private elementary school where the tuition per year was tens of millions of won, but I didn’t do that.

It could be said that when I was in elementary school, I wanted to grow up as a child without prejudice by hanging out with a variety of children.

Even now, I have no regrets about that decision.

When I looked closely, I realized that Doyoon was really taking good care of his partner sitting next to him.

After the observation class ended, I said hello to the homeroom teacher and put Doyun in the car.

I planned to spend the day today having a private date with my son.

On the way to see the children’s musical where Doyoon sang so much.

When the car ran a red light, I glanced at my son sitting in the passenger seat.

I asked Doyoon, who was fiddling with a dinosaur toy with his fern-like hands, vaguely.

“Is the partner next to you, Doyoon, your best friend?”

“Wow! Jiho is my favorite friend.”

“Really? Our Do-yoon seems to really like Ji-ho. I saw that he even lent me his favorite colored pencils.”

“It’s Jiho, so it’s okay if I borrow it.”

“Why does Doyoon like Jiho?”

“Umm…Jiho shines brightly.”

“Haha, I see. It was sparkling…”

He burst out laughing at the innocent, childlike answer, but then suddenly his face hardened.

A momentary thought occurred to me.

In a hurry, I stopped the car on the shoulder of the road and asked Doyoon with as calm a face as possible.

“What color light was it?”

“What a pretty golden color!”

“Since when did you see that?”

“I don’t know either. I don’t remember. But even my dad can see it? It’s a pretty, shiny gold color! Hehe.”

“Huh…”

Looking at my golden baby smiling brightly in the warm spring sunlight shining through the car window, I could only gape like a carp.