My First Million We asked a $18.9B Investor how to survive the AI bubble
1866 snips
Apr 7, 2026 
Graham Weaver, Alpine Investors founder and Stanford GSB lecturer, dives into why AI app moats may be weaker than they look. He gets into service-business roll-ups, ruthless but disciplined private equity, and the plumbing deal that scaled from $8M to $500M. Plus: ambition, asymmetric career bets, fear-setting, and why money alone does not create peace.
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The HVAC Deal That Went From 8M To 500M
- One Alpine HVAC deal grew from $8 million of earnings to $500 million in six years.
- Graham Weaver credits a trio: AJ Brown on talent, Will Matson on finance and M&A, and Ira Pruitt on the operating playbook.
The Trait Alpine Screens For Above IQ
- Graham Weaver says the strongest predictor of leadership success is a white-hot will to win.
- Alpine runs three-hour life-story interviews from high school onward, looking for repeated examples of setbacks followed by persistence.
Turn Hidden Fears Into Solvable Problems On Paper
- Ask what you would do if you could not fail, then write down every fear blocking that answer.
- Graham Weaver says fears hidden in your head cause paralysis, but once written down they become solvable problems like rent, loans, or runway.
