Unicorn Hunting with Cornelius in the Valuation Swamp “Keep the money together” was proud Staten Island native Cornelius Vanderbilt’s very last words to his family. Following that heart-warming goodbye, he took his final breath of cold air at the beginning of 1877’s lethal winter, which later became known as the “Big Die-Up.” Although no unicorns died that year, over 90% of corn-fed Midwestern cattle did—and America bid adieu to its most iconic industrialist and marked the end of the Open Range Era. As we lay out our top/to-be unicorns for 2022 below—while we will not be discussing fatty cows or the dramatic impact Dear Cornelius had on transportation and global commerce—we will lightly reflect on his masterful asset acquisition legacy and potential lessons it offers us in today’s pricey market. Cornelius Buffett While the “Commodore” sobriquet originated—and his lore cantered on transportation—Mr. V amassed a notable chunk of wealth from optimally deploying his assets and exploiting the emotional irrationality of other spineless investors. By putting fundamentals and strategy over sentiment—in an almost Buffettesque fashion—as stock values collapsed during the Great Panic of 1837, Vanderbilt scooped up loads of equity on the cheap. Years later, the Commodore bought his first railroad, as shares of New York Central were plummeting. Interestingly, ~150 years after that, Warren Edward Buffett similarly acquired his first railroad during a sluggish market with the $44b purchase of BNSF in 2009. Beyond just buying undervalued assets during downturns, both gentlemen strategically targeted underfunded poorly-run companies with unlocked potential. Sigh, if only Cornelius and Warren would buyandfix cattle/garbage transport company,Amtrak. Runaway Train RichMultiples With today’s valuation reality, sentiment couldn’t be more different than 1837 or 2009. With the Buffett Indicator (ratio of total USAMCAP to GDP) flashing Lucille Ball red at its highest level ever, we are staying as far away from publicly-traded equities as Ukraine. On the private side, the number of unicorns has grown from around a dozen fifteen years ago to more than 1k today. While we don’t have the capitalisation or swagger of Cornelius or Warren, we’re more conservatively biased in this Bentley rich multiple environment. So we remain focused on tangibles over sentiment and keep a quote from our favourite Little Rock President, “trendlines over headlines,” near and dear. For the four companies below, we’ve coupled those that possess unique proprietary tech within a defined long-term sector potential. In short, there will be no NFT, crypto or metaverse spewing. ARGOAI A Pittsburgh-based autonomous driving technology platform co-founded in 2016 by veterans of Google and Uber automated driving programs, Argo headlines Ford & Volkswagen as primary investors. These strategic partnerships provide a clear pathway to market and scale, and their impressive proprietary algorithms with advanced perception and decisionmaking capabilities, really get our investment engines roaring. For our business, BINJ, a discovery engine and community-driven platform to help users find and watch the most relevant streaming content, we have invested heavily in developing and cultivating a unique Binj AI aggregator and Binj AI emotional processor which not only harness the untapped potential of machine learning but also provide users a vital tool for navigating streaming content overload. Beyond our mountain of raw and processed data, the propriety tech also provides investors value tangibles. KONIKU Some of the greatest technologies have always existed courtesy ofMother Nature and some entrepreneurs are
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