Podcast: Shares for Beginners
By Philip Muscatello
What is a growth stage company? How do you take an expanding business onto the world stage?
I came across Bailador (ASX:BTI) at an ASX conference last year. The idea intrigued me - a share in Bailador is an investment in ten growing technology businesses. So I arranged this interview with David Kirk who is the co-founder and partner.
Bailador is a specialist investor in growth stage information technology companies. David shares some great insights into the challenges and the rewards of helping in the growth of these innovative businesses. He talks about:
The problems with listing too early.
The 3 stages of a new business - start-up, growth and maturity.
Seeing things that are being done inefficiently in the legacy world and providing a better way to do it.
Siteminder - bringing hotels and booking portals together.
Straker - cost effective and more efficient translation
By talking with David, I hope you can get an idea of how companies develop and grow. What's involved in managing cash flow, expansion and customer acquisition. Too many people think of shares as disembodied symbols on a screen. As an investor it's important to understand how businesses operate. You are participating in their financial success.
My guests keep coming back to this - think of the share the same way as you would think about buying a small business for yourself.
David is the former Chief Executive of ASX-listed Fairfax Media Ltd., where he led the successful investment into a number of internet businesses including Fairfax’s acquisition of Trade Me and Stayz.
He has been a growth stage investor in technology-based businesses since 1999. He's Chairman of ASX-listed Trade Me Group Limited and Kathmandu Holdings Limited, Chairman of Forsyth Barr Limited, a privately-owned New Zealand investment firm, and a Director of each of DocsCorp, SMI, Viostream and Rezdy.
Prior to entering the corporate world, David enjoyed a highly successful rugby career, captaining the All Blacks to win the World Cup in 1987.