#034 - Xavier Helgesen on Holding Companies, The Publishing Industry, & Building Things That Last

Audience of One

Xavier Helgesen is the co-founder of Enduring Ventures, a long-term holding company. He also co-founded Better World Books and was the founding CEO of Zola Electric. We talk about holding companies, the publishing industry, capital allocation, focus, reinventing ourselves, building things that last, parenting, and more.

—

(02:43) Why run 20+ businesses instead of 1? (04:38) Everyone is a capital allocator whether or not they know it (07:13) Impact of VC on startup growth trajectories & sustainability (16:18) What's misunderstood about building holding companies (19:29) Long term thinking (23:40) Focus is the founder master skill (27:56) Work in the medium, not the abstraction (31:14) The fear of reinventing ourselves (36:02) Build organizations that last (38:03) Legacy publishing & acquiring Scribe Media (46:22) Building an audience (52:29) Should books evolve? (56:06) Why Africa is the future (01:00:41) Children reintroduce parents to play (01:03:00) How can you be more human?

—

Xavier’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/XavierHelgesen

Enduring Ventures: https://www.enduring.ventures/

Spencer’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/SP1NS1R

Spencer’s Blog: https://spencerkier.substack.com