Hmm... an unfortunate name choice given that Google currently auto-populates to tell you all about this Mauritius-based asset management firm: http://www.mithrilassetmanagement.com/
I find Peter Thiel intriguing. He is either inconsistent in thought or he is a great practitioner of double think (he may even be somewhere in between).
This fund appears to be a global credit bubble surfer focusing on the influx of macro capital into Silicon Valley. He has argued against doing things that were akin to "globalization", yet this entire fund is essentially providing capital to do just that (scaling out things that have already been proven). He asks everyone to do "0 to 1" companies (develop new technology), whilst simultaneously investing in "1 to many" companies which require simple scaling out to be rather profitable (or sold to another company).
He is akin to an entrepreneur who realizes that things are just about to get crazy, calls out the crazy, but still raises massive amounts of money and levers up just because he knows he can benefit from it.
I respect that. That is flexibility in thought. I should practice double think more often.
> Mithril .. will seek “growth” opportunities — start-ups that have already raised some venture capital and are looking to ramp up significantly. According to Mr. Royan, the firm is looking globally but is not interested in pre-I.P.O. companies or companies on the verge of going public.
> “We’re looking for inflection points,” Mr. Royan said. “We’re not looking for companies that are a done deal; we want companies that are about to hit a growth stage.”
This sounds like a tulip broker where one takes a levered spread on the delta between the credit of today and that of tomorrow.
Also, while I admire his position and do have a bit of envy for that position, I would call his actions entirely obvious.
Anyone well connected with the current pulse of not only the tech industry, but the world in general would be doing the same thing.
Frankly, I am actually surprised there are not more people like him. I am also surprised there are not more celebrities like Ashton Kutcher.... (Yes, I am aware of others, but the group is still rather small.)
from the article: "...predicts Mithril’s average investment will be north of $20 million"
That doesn't sound like overlapping mandates to me. A more interesting question would be around the (potentially confusing) signalling issues if Founders Fund didn't follow-on in a later investment but Mithril did come in.
On the other hand, it allows Thiel to stay involved in every stage of fundraising, coming in and leaving as early and as late as he wants. Really, sounds like a good way to hedge his bets, and open up a new arena for him.
1) Yes, one can (are you concerned about ability, rules?). 2) If there's any overlap in mandate now (debatable), it will likely lessen now that Thiel has this vehicle.
It's a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem. He thinks degrees don't add value to smart people. However, those smart people are smart enough to know that nobody hires people without college degrees, and are thus in college.
I suspect you both know you're not representing Thiel's views correctly. What he's said is fairly non-controversial: 1) college is over-priced and 2) some people might be better off on a different track, such as starting a company.
