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Investing by the Books

Investing by the Books

By: Redeye AB
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Summary

 Investing by the Books is a podcast to educate sophisticated and aspiring investors. We believe books are an excellent source for timeless knowledge, enhanced through deep conversations with authors and other guests. Host: Eddie Palmgren. Producer: Eddie S. Ahlgren Twitter: @IB_Redeye© 2021 Art Economics Literary History & Criticism Personal Finance
Episodes
  • #83 Jeff Totten on Built from Scratch

    #83 Jeff Totten on Built from Scratch
    May 5 2026
    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.—————————————Our conversation with Jeff Totten was recorded on 10 April 2026.—————————————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—————————————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—————————————Books MentionedBuilt from Scratch – Bernard Marcus, Arthur BlankThe Snowball – Alice SchroederThe Outsiders – William ThorndikeMade in America - Sam WaltonThe Compounders – Oddbjørn Dybvad, Kjetil Nyland, Adnan Hadziefendic100 Baggers – Chris MayerThe Money Masters – John Train—————————————Companies MentionedEvergreen Services GroupHome DepotBerkshire HathawayConstellation SoftwareSwedish serial acquirersTransdigm—————————————More on Jeff TottenEvergreen Services Group: https://www.evergreensg.com/Jeff’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhtotten/—————————————About the PodcastIntro episode: https://www.redeye.se/podcast/investing-by-the-books/817383/0-intro-to-investing-by-the-books—————————————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—————————————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_—————————————DisclaimerNotice 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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    54 mins
  • #82 Ehsan Ehsani: Finding Value in Numbers

    #82 Ehsan Ehsani: Finding Value in Numbers
    Apr 7 2026
    This episode features Ehsan Ehsani, an investor at Crescendo Partners in New York and an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School. We discuss his book 'Finding Value in Numbers’, in which Ehsan emphasizes the importance of building a personalized investment framework.—————————————Our conversation with Ehsan Ehsani was recorded on 9 March 2026.—————————————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—————————————Episode Chapters(00:00) Intro by Eddie(00:46) Welcoming Ehsan (02:52) Introducing Ehsan’s book ‘Finding Value in Numbers’(05:23) Foreword by Mario Gabelli(06:30) Part 1: Is the opportunity investable?(08:44) Part 2: Is the valuation attractive?(16:23) Part 3: Is there a path to profits?(18:21) Soft vs. hard catalysts(24:42) Part 4: Do we have a winning game plan?(26:07) System dynamics(31:21) Intangible value(33:40) Building your framework(35:06) Qualitative aspects – people(37:38) Ehsan’s role at Crescendo Partners(40:45) Ehsan’s work at Columbia Business School(42:16) Personal investing(44:50) Having a process vs. following it – RPF(49:52) Ehsan’s reading suggestions(51:42) Writing ambitions(52:19) Concluding remarks—————————————Books MentionedFinding Value in Numbers – Ehsan EhsaniExpectations Investing – Alfred Rappaport & Michael MauboussinThe Power Broker – Robert CaroEndurance – Alfred LansingThe Essays of Warren Buffett – Lawrence Cunningham—————————————Companies MentionedGEGoogle (Alphabet)MetaAccentureMcKinseyEinride—————————————More on Ehsan EhsaniLinkedIn Newsletter ‘Value Hedgehog’: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7099112971280203776/Columbia Business School: https://business.columbia.edu/faculty/people/ehsan-ehsani—————————————About the PodcastIntro episode: https://www.redeye.se/podcast/investing-by-the-books/817383/0-intro-to-investing-by-the-books—————————————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—————————————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_—————————————DisclaimerNotice 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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    53 mins
  • #81 Andrew Hollingworth on 1929

    #81 Andrew Hollingworth on 1929
    Mar 10 2026
    The UK-based portfolio manager Andrew Hollingworth, founder of HollAnd Advisors, joins Eddie to discuss the book '1929' by Andrew Ross Sorkin. The conversation covers parallels to the 2008 financial crisis, how Andrew deals with market distress, and a couple of strong reading recommendations.—————————————Our conversation with Andrew Hollingworth was recorded on 13 January 2026.—————————————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—————————————Episode Chapters(00:00) Intro by Eddie(00:47) Welcoming Andrew (01:09) Andrew’s path to professional investing(02:04) Introducing the book ‘1929’(03:42) The author – who is Andrew Ross Sorkin?(04:44) What differentiates this book from others about the crash(05:51) Surprises in the book(07:14) Why the extreme greed, why then(09:58) Character 1: The big banker – Charles “Sunshine Charlie” Mitchell(11:44) Character 2: Stock astrologist Evangeline Adams(12:53) The lack of financial institutions(14:04) Churchill’s optimism (15:32) Parallels to 2008 and banking regulations(16:31) Trust(17:58) Anything that could’ve made the book better?(18:29) Andrew’s firm HollAnd Advisors(19:18) Andrew’s investment philosophy(20:45) Evaluating businesses and people(22:22) Portfolio concentration(23:29) Ideal holding period(25:02) Trimming(26:02) Dealing with market distress(27:52) Managing cash(28:53) The risk of withdrawals(30:18) Ambitions for the next 5-10 years(31:44) Andrew’s reading suggestions(34:10) Writing ambitions(35:54) Concluding remarks—————————————Books Mentioned1929 - Andrew Ross SorkinToo Big Too Fail - Andrew Ross Sorkin7 Powers – Hamilton HelmerZero to One - Peter ThielThe Outsiders - William ThorndikeTitan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. – Ron ChernowStill Life – Sarah Winman—————————————Companies MentionedWiseMeta—————————————More on Andrew HollingworthLinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/andrew-hollingworth-035781129HollAnd Advisors: https://hollandadvisors.co.uk/—————————————About the PodcastIntro episode: https://www.redeye.se/podcast/investing-by-the-books/817383/0-intro-to-investing-by-the-books—————————————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—————————————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_—————————————DisclaimerNotice 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
    Show More Show Less
    37 mins
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