The rebel allocator : a novel

“The Rebel Allocator is an entertaining novel filled with timeless business and investing Good capital allocation is the secret sauce of business success and investment returns. How could what you spend money on inside a business NOT be of utmost importance? I looked for a business person’s guide to effective capital allocation for years. I thought, “What a nice gift to send to the CEOs of my portfolio companies!” as visions of outsized returns danced in my head. To my dismay, the search came up dry. I decided I’d have to write my own. I started at the individual customer transaction level and built all the way up to M&A, share buybacks, and beyond. To keep from boring you, I wrapped the lessons in a coming-of-age story of a college grad crossing paths with a wealthy Midwesterner. Imagine if The Karate Kid‘s Mr. Miyagi was modeled after a certain well-known Oracle. (OK, it’s not The Brothers Karamazov, but I’m not the most original guy.) Good capital allocation is the secret sauce of business success and investment returns. How could what you spend money on inside a business NOT be of utmost importance? I looked for a business persons guide to effective capital allocation for years. I thought, What a nice gift to send to the CEOs of my portfolio companies! as visions of outsized returns danced in my head. To my dismay, the search came up dry. I decided Id have to write my own. I started at the individual customer transaction level and built all the way up to M&A, share buybacks, and beyond. To keep from boring you, I wrapped the lessons in a coming-of-age story of a college grad crossing paths with a wealthy Midwesterner. Imagine if The Karate Kids Mr. Miyagi was modeled after a certain well-known Oracle. (OK, its not The Brothers Karamazov, but Im not the most original guy.) This book is for you if: ** Youre a business decision-maker who was never taught good capital allocation and youre wondering what youre missing. These lessons apply to small business people and Fortune 100 titans, and everyone in between. It doesnt matter if youre public or private, this book will help. ** Youre building or advising start-ups. Todays disrupter is tomorrows capital allocator. Learn it early and save yourself a ton of headache. ** Youre an investor who appreciates the studies finding good capital allocators outperform the S&P 500 by 20x (no joke), and you want an easy way to help management and board members make better decisions. This book will also aid you in spotting those doing capital allocation rightsuch a huge advantage. (This was my original itch I wanted scratched. Part of me wanted to keep this book to myself and only send it to the management teams in my portfolio.) ** Youre fresh out of school and want to learn the good, and sometimes bad, sides of business. Or you might want to kindle an appreciation for the wonders of capitalism. (Please dont send a copy of this book to Bernie Sanders.) And perhaps most importantly, your journey will be less painful when mixed with a splash of humor and movie-like pacing. Even if youre like me and read non-fiction almost exclusively, youre going to be glad you took a chance on this one. This is fiction for the non-fiction reader. Yours in improving capital allocation, Jake