Understanding a Business
What a company does, how it makes money, and whether it can keep doing it.
Lessons
- How a Company Actually Makes MoneyTrace revenue to profit and you understand the business. Everything else is commentary.
- Common Business ModelsManufacturing, services, platforms, lenders — each makes and risks money differently.
- Economic Moats: Why Some Profits LastThe durable advantages — brand, cost, network, switching costs — that keep competitors out.
- Reading an Industry’s StructureA great company in a brutal industry often loses. How to judge the playing field first.
- Judging Management & Capital AllocationThe people running the business decide what happens to your profits. How to size them up.
- Unit Economics: Does One Sale Make Money?Strip a business to a single transaction and ask if even that is profitable.