Longtrepreneur continues to bring the best-in-class tech and business leaders to get their take on long-term thinking in the world of: Commerce, Technology and Entrepreneurship.
This week’s “Take the L” series guest is a man who needs no introduction: Teddy Himler.
Here is the conversation in an interview format between Yawar Abbas(Longtrepreneur) and Teddy Himler(Antler)
Yawar: What is the meaning of your name?
Teddy Himler: “Tedd is the name I had in the early days of life. It means “Gift of God.” However, I like “Teddy” better. More accessible. Teddy asked: Yawar, “What is the meaning of your name?”
Yawar: “The meaning of my name is: Assistant or Helper. My late grandfather named me. Yawar stems from Persian origin.”
Yawar: How has your childhood shaped your worldview today?
Teddy Himler: “From childhood, through the age of 15 and 16 – However, when I was around 10, I started getting competitive in sports. One thing in particular that intrigued me was”: “Sailing.”
“Competing in sailing allowed me to travel extensively and broadened my worldview. Firstly, I travelled to Australia, Europe, and South America and saw people from varied backgrounds and cultures. That extensive experience is something which I built upon when it came to my career. Secondly, sailing requires one to “think on their feet” and helps one become a strategic thinker.”
“Another takeaway from Teddy’s perspective is that people in the venture capital industry have parallels from sailing: Tactics, speed, and strategy, and apply them to your professional career.” Teddy made a primitive point: “non-consensus and being right” makes the difference in the venture capital industry.”
Yawar: When you are not busy, which 2 dishes do you like to cook?
Teddy Himler: “I am not a great cook. One that requires a bit of skill and prep is “Chicken Parmesan.” You’ve got to fillet and season it. I enjoy that. Another which I love is Popcorn. I pop it in and eat a bag of it – That’s my favourite.”
Yawar: Looking back, what was the highlight of your time at Harvard, which later shaped your career?
Teddy Himler: “I took a class with Niall Ferguson, a prolific author around the history of money and financial history. We learnt topics such: The South Sea bubble, The tulip bubble in the Netherlands. We learned about what causes financial mania, panic, euphoria, and corrections. I remember the class from December 2008(it was about the British housing market).”
“It showed a 15% drop, which was different from the case in 10 years. The housing market’s 15% drop also led to collateral damage and had an effect that started to decimate the financial system at large.”
“That’s when parallels started showing between the real world and academia.”
Yawar: What led to your decision to join Goldman Sachs?
Teddy Himler: “Goldman intrigued me due to their technology, telecom, and media investment banking in San Francisco. I joined them because, during my internship, I learnt that Goldman had been trying to win the IPO business of Facebook. It was becoming the convergence of technology meets capital. That instance fascinated me.”
“The meeting of capital and technology led to the last 12 years of the longest bull-run until it crashed in 2022.”
Yawar: One book in particular that you want to recommend to those that may read this interview?
Teddy Himler: “The Power Law” is the book on Venture Capital, Entrepreneurship, and Technology – if you care about these three topics. The author of the book: is Sebastian Mallaby.” The book talks about modern venture capital and that how the venture investing is not a “home-run” business rather a“Grand-slam” business. You look at examples: Apple, Facebook, Tesla type returns are what VCs need to make the math work.”
“There is a quote in a book “God is not with those with the biggest arsenal but rather with the best aim.” Union Square Ventures and Benchmark capital write small relative check sizes compared to large asset managers such as Tiger Global and Softbank – That write large, outsized checks to make their economics work.”
Yawar: What are some learnings you now apply in investing that you honed at SoftBank?
Teddy Himler: “I learnt many strategic playbooks there, but there is one in particular which stuck with me – That is “time-machine.” The technologies, and the business models that will shape tomorrow, are probably already here.”
“Let’s say in developed markets such as Silicon Valley and MIT labs. You can take the objective research out in the world and aim them at emerging markets to build businesses there.”
“Softbank is a global asset manager who has taken one successful idea/model from one developed market and applied it to another developing market – Find local teams adept in local culture and markets. The former gave the latter capital, connections, and counsel.”
Yawar: What are your thoughts about Softbank backing multiple players in the same or different markets?
Teddy Himler: “At Antler, we steer clear away from such practices.” Though, knowledge-sharing cross-market is advantageous. For instance, many B2B e-commerce players, such as Bazaar, Chipper, and MaxAB’s founding teams, have a WhatsApp group where they share their unique insights about their respective markets.” I can say that it’s not a “zero-sum” game.”
Yawar: Are leaders born or made?
Teddy Himler: “In an entrepreneurial context, there’s a famous quote by Jack Ma., “We are a crocodile in the Yangtze River. If we fight in the ocean, we will lose. But if we fight in the river, we will win,” That’s the approach you gotta operate with when working in China.”
“In the Nordics, where Antler has a noticeable presence, a portfolio company which started on the EV revolution long before the world, has now been solving a problem of recycling batteries.”
“They are working on building solutions to cater to this market.” Once other countries reach that stage of EV recycling, this portfolio company of Antler will become a dominant player globally.”
Yawar: What is your 50-year vision for Antler?
Teddy Himler: “At Antler, we are 40 partners. We have 14 funds operating simultaneously. I manage our Global fund out of New York. The firm has about 100 employees scouting the globe to find breakthrough companies to financially back in markets globally. We’re less than 5 years old but plan to be around for several decades. Like the sailing, the sailing has only begun.”
Yawar: Who is your favourite music artist?
Teddy Himler: “Van Morrison, Phoenix french band, Purple Disco Machine; I also admire french electronic music. These are my go-to.”
Teddy Himler: “Yawar! What are your favourite artists? Mine is Coke studio and Drake. I listen to Coke studio when I am feeling eastern and tilt my ears toward Drake when I want to hear Western hip-hop and RnB.”
Yawar: Which three people do you want to nominate for the “Take the L” interview series?
Teddy Himler: “My partner at Antler operating out of Singapore: Fady Abdel-Nour(Fintech expert in Singapore and Emerging markets). Second, Naveed Sherwani(A semi-conductor expert). Third, Long shot: Elon Musk.
