#83 Jeff Totten on Built from Scratch
Investing by the Books
AI curiosity and writing ambitions
Jeff shares his interest in LLMs, reading about Palantir, and his habit of writing shareholder letters and essays.
Jeff Totten, founder and CEO of the US-based holding company Evergreen Services Group, is a thoughtful and driven entrepreneur with an investor mindset. We discuss 'Built from Scratch', written by the founders of Home Depot, which offers numerous lessons on decentralization, funding, and capital allocation.
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Our conversation with Jeff Totten was recorded on 10 April 2026.
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For more info about the podcast, make sure to follow us on X/Twitter. We love to hear your thoughts, so please rate and review us. And feel free to tell us about great authors, books, and investors. Thank you. /Eddie with team
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Episode Chapters
(00:00) Intro by Eddie
(00:57) Welcoming Jeff
(01:17) Entrepreneurial and investing background
(03:58) The founding of Evergreen Services Group
(05:50) Growing families, scaling Evergreen
(06:47) Intro to Built from Scratch
(07:58) When Jeff came across the book
(09:03) Role models for Evergreen
(10:14) Evergreen’s verticals
(12:02) Pivotal moments
(14:35) Funding a young company
(17:17) Corporate culture – rolling snowballs
(21:15) Decentralization
(24:52) Evaluating performance
(26:39) Customer service, always worth it?
(28:21) Jeff’s time allocation
(30:15) Acquisitions: Inspiration and criteria
(38:20) Redeploy vs. distribute capital
(40:35) Staying private or going public?
(42:01) Leverage of the business
(43:55) Home Depot after the book
(45:37) Legacy and succession planning
(48:58) Jeff’s favorite books
(51:45) Writing habits and ambitions
(52:30) Concluding remarks
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Books Mentioned
- Built from Scratch – Bernard Marcus, Arthur Blank
- The Snowball – Alice Schroeder
- The Outsiders – William Thorndike
- Made in America - Sam Walton
- The Compounders – Oddbjørn Dybvad, Kjetil Nyland, Adnan Hadziefendic
- 100 Baggers – Chris Mayer
- The Money Masters – John Train
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Companies Mentioned
- Evergreen Services Group
- Home Depot
- Berkshire Hathaway
- Constellation Software
- Swedish serial acquirers
- Transdigm
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More on Jeff Totten
- Evergreen Services Group: https://www.evergreensg.com/
- Jeff’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhtotten/
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About the Podcast
Intro episode: https://www.redeye.se/podcast/investing-by-the-books/817383/0-intro-to-investing-by-the-books
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What is Investing by the Books?
Investing by the Books was founded by Henrik Andersson, Bo Börtemark, Mats Larsson and Michael Persson. It has published hundreds of book reviews in the past 10 years and operates on a non-profit basis.
Visit the website: http://www.investingbythebooks.com/
Follow on Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/Investbythebook
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What is Redeye?
Redeye is a research-centered boutique investment bank from Stockholm. Founded in 1999, Redeye cultivates investors through timeless knowledge, a humble attitude, and a strong focus on quality.
Visit the website: https://www.redeye.se/
Follow on Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/Redeye_
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Disclaimer
Notice that the content in this podcast is not, and shall not be construed as investment advice. This information is meant to be informative and for general purposes only. For full disclaimer, visit Redeye.se
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