Graham Weaver, founder of Alpine Investors, shares his journey from mowing lawns in Ohio while listening to self-help tapes to building one of the top-performing private equity firms. Known for their unique approach of installing young, talented CEOs into portfolio companies, Alpine has achieved outsized returns across multiple funds. Weaver discusses the power of choosing your path, the importance of a "white hot will to win," and how they've created a talent development machine that attracts top MBA graduates. He also teaches Stanford's most popular class on entrepreneurship and leadership, revealing the frameworks he uses to help students discover their true calling. TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Intro 0:37 Alpine's Three North Stars 7:33 The Power of Choice & Determination 13:33 Early Career 21:45 Founding Alpine 29:36 Core Beliefs and Talent Development 35:47 Building a Platform Company 39:02 Talent and Training Programs 44:15 Employee and Customer Engagement 47:26 Financial Outcomes & Return Strategies 50:43 Supporting Young CEOs 58:13 Teaching at Stanford 1:05:31 Coaching and One-on-One Meetings 1:08:18 Executive Coaching 1:11:19 Defining Personal Growth and Courage 1:18:41 Lessons from a Slot Machine Business 1:22:43 Balancing Work and Personal Life 1:29:21 The Future of Private Equity 1:32:29 The Importance of Seeing the Best in People 1:38:10 The Kindest Thing #PrivateEquity #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #Stanford #AlpineInvestors #CEO #PersonalGrowth #Investing #BusinessStrategy #Success #selfimprovement #selfhelp Presented by Ramp: https://ramp.com/business-cards?utm_s Sponsored by AlphaSense and Ridgeline: https://www.alpha-sense.com/invest/ https://www.ridgelineapps.com/ ****** Patrick O'Shaughnessy is the CEO of Positive Sum. All opinions expressed by Patrick and podcast guests are solely their own and do not reflect the opinion of Positive Sum. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions. Clients of Positive Sum may maintain positions in the securities discussed in this podcast. To learn more, visit psum.vc
Graham Weaver teaches a top-rated course at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business (GSB), where he often unexpectedly ends up helping students figure out what to do with their lives. He is also the founder and CEO of Alpine Investors, a people-driven private equity firm. In our conversation, we discuss: • Why everything worthwhile requires suffering • Why most people operate on autopilot, and how to break free • The “genie methodology” for discovering your true path • The Nine Lives exercise for exploring different life possibilities • How to overcome limiting beliefs that hold you back • Why “not now” is often just another way of saying “never” • More — Brought to you by: • Merge—A single API to add hundreds of integrations into your app: http://merge.dev/lenny • Persona—A global leader in digital identity verification: https://withpersona.com/lenny • Liveblocks—Ready-made collaborative features to drop into your product: https://liveblocks.io/lenny Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-break-out-of-autopilot-graham-weaver Where to find Graham Weaver: • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/graham-weaver-2b79 • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grahamcweaver • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@grahamcweaver • Website: https://www.grahamweaver.com • TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@grahamcweaver Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com • X: https://twitter.com/lennysan • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/ In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Graham’s background (05:30) Helping students find their true path (07:40) The genie methodology (12:36) Breaking free from autopilot mode (17:54) Identifying and overcoming limiting beliefs (20:33) Teaching entrepreneurship and personal fulfillment (22:53) The reality of long-term success (35:14) The role of accountability and executive coaching (40:22) Daily goal setting for success (43:11) The Nine Lives framework (48:01) The dangers of the “not now” mentality (55:27) Navigating life’s transitions (57:19) Failure corner (01:00:24) When to quit and when to persevere (01:02:18) Final thoughts and lightning round Referenced: • Setting Goals: Demystified: https://www.grahamweaver.com/blog/goals • Tony Robbins’s website: https://www.tonyrobbins.com • Alpine Investors: https://alpineinvestors.com • Stanford GSB Last Lecture 2024—How to Live Your Life at Full Power: https://www.grahamweaver.com/blog/stanford-graduate-business-school-last-lecture-2024 • I turned 50 today. Here is the most important thing I learned in my first half century: https://www.grahamweaver.com/blog/turning-50 • Where the Crawdads Sing on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/Where-Crawdads-Sing-Daisy-Edgar-Jones/dp/B0B5KBKDNL • Chilipad Cube Bed Cooling System: https://www.amazon.com/Chilipad-Cube-Bed-Cooling-System/dp/B07GT9MYRW • Sleepme OOLER Sleep System: https://www.amazon.com/OOLER-Sleep-System-Temperature-Integration/dp/B07RX8LT9G • Eightsleep: https://www.eightsleep.com • Howard Thurman’s quote: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/6273-don-t-ask-what-the-world-needs-ask-what-makes-you Recommended books: • Switch: How to Change Things when Change Is Hard: https://www.amazon.com/Switch-Change-Things-When-Hard/dp/0385528752 • The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself: https://www.amazon.com/Untethered-Soul-Journey-Beyond-Yourself/dp/1572245379 • Don’t Believe Everything You Think: Why Your Thinking Is the Beginning and End of Suffering: https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Believe-Everything-Think-Expanded/dp/B0D47VYQMY • How to Win Friends and Influence People: https://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/0671027034 Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.