What Got You There with Sean DeLaney Chris Begg — An Investor's Search for What's Timeless, Beautiful, and True
Embed Your Operating System In An AI Agent
- Build agentic AI that embodies your firm's operating system to scale research and context delivery without outsourcing judgment.
- East Coast built 'Faraday' in six weeks: LLM brain plus firm-specific soul that returns contextualized briefs in ~12 minutes.
Evolve Valuation Tools While Keeping Value Principles
- Preserve timeless value principles while evolving valuation toolkits for modern businesses like software, autonomy, and platforms.
- Begg calls this Value 3.0: adapt Buffett's 'buy great business' logic to price future value-creation such as autonomous services and robotaxi platforms.
Tesla Is A Five Business Platform
- Tesla is a multi-business platform beyond EVs: vehicle sales, Full Self-Driving subscriptions, energy (megapacks), robotaxi fleet, and humanoid Optimus.
- Begg forecasts >70% autonomous miles in 10 years and views Optimus and robotaxi nodes as transformative edge nodes.
Chris Begg is the founder and CIO of East Coast Asset Management and an Adjunct Associate Professor at Columbia Business School, where he teaches Security Analysis in Ben Graham's seat. This is one of the most original and wide-ranging conversations I've had on this podcast.
Read the full written distillation: whatgotyouthere.com/the-distillation-of-chris-begg
In this conversation we go deep on graph theory as a general principle for identifying the greatest compounders of the next 30 years, a word Chris coined called "Compressence" (compressing something to its essence), the simplicity on the other side of complexity, how Chris and his team built an AI analyst called Faraday in six weeks, his framework for navigating clouds of uncertainty, Value 3.0 and where the frontier of value investing is heading, the danger of putting circles around things you think you understand, three-month immersive deep dives as a learning method, right brain and left brain integration through the work of Ian McGilchrist, Lila and the Sanskrit concept of eternal play, how Chris designs his life around freedom and spaciousness, the hare over the wave and what Egyptian hieroglyphs taught him about renewal, why the best investors are also artists, and why duration is a design principle.
Chris also discusses David Whyte and the pilgrim's path and how that inspires his new music project he wrote inspired by the Camino de Santiago.
Interested in working with Sean? https://seandelaneycoaching.com
I'm Sean DeLaney, a private advisor to a small number of CEOs, founders and investors on the inner game. The things that don't have a playbook and can't be brought to your board, your spouse, or your team. Interested in working together? https://seandelaneycoaching.com
My BooksMasterpiece In Progress: A Daily Guide to a Life Well Crafted & Insights of the Ages: Quotes for a Life Well Crafted!
Checkout what people are saying about the book: "Intensely positive and upbeat, Sean DeLaney crafts a master class in personal development. This book is about the art of AMPing up your life." – Frank Slootman, CEO, Snowflake and author of Amp It Up
"The brilliance of Masterpiece in Progress is its ability to impact us all and in all aspects of our lives, whether you're an athlete, entrepreneur, author, aspiring executive, parent, friend, coach or mentor. Sean's insights light your path as he delves deep, providing not just inspiration but tangible tools to help you craft the life you envision. A masterclass in self-growth and a must read." – Scott O'Neil, CEO, Merlin Entertainments and former CEO of Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils
"Operating in some of the world's most challenging environments, I've seen firsthand the importance of grit, resilience, and relentless pursuit of excellence. Masterpiece in Progress embodies these principles, offering a roadmap to all who aim to conquer their personal and professional battles."— Michael Burns, US Navy SEAL (Retired), Bronze Star Medal with Valor
"Sean's beautiful, thoughtful writing reminds you what's important and calls your attention to a perspective that lifts your spirit each day. Highly recommended." – Derek Sivers, author, sive.rs