Today, we will be diving into Facebook. A business that requires little introduction, Facebook was launched in 2004 from Marc Zuckerberg’s Harvard dorm room. Zuckerberg has since grown Facebook into the largest social network in the world and continues to operate the business today. To break down Facebook, I am first joined by Robert Cantwell, founder and CIO of Upholdings. Rob’s unique background makes him an ideal person to speak on Facebook. Rob shared a dorm with Zuckerberg, went on to work at Elevation Partners, a large private investor in Facebook, and eventually became CFO of Everlane, where expansion was closely tied to the growth of Instagram and its advertising tools. We touch on how Facebook successfully navigated the transition from desktop to mobile, what drives the value of the network, and where Facebook may drive value in the future.   I am then joined by Jesse Pujji, a familiar voice as a host of Business Breakdowns. Jesse’s time as co-founder and CEO at Ampush make him ideal to break down the advertising business of Facebook. During our conversation, Jesse outlines the basic dynamics of the Facebook ad ecosystem, the economic proposition to an advertiser, and how to assess risks to Facebook's control of the digital ad market.   Facebook is such an interesting business, and we could likely speak for hours on the potential opportunities for growth. We decided to focus on the core advertising business today, given it represents 98% of revenue. In the future, we want to dedicate individual Breakdowns to WhatsApp, Oculus, and potentially other Facebook initiatives that are worthy of their own deep dives alone. I hope you enjoy this conversation on Facebook.   For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, Inc. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.   Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.   Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss   Part 1 [00:03:20] - [First question] The size and scale of Facebook and how we interact with it [00:04:59] - The best way to describe what their true core business is [00:07:21] - Observing Facebook’s growth as an operator and how it impacts his view of it  [00:10:46] - The ad model that they offered that wasn’t historically available before [00:12:49] - Competitive advantages they have today that makes theory moat impenetrable [00:15:44] - Potential impacts of the decentralization of the internet [00:19:20] - One of the biggest risks to Facebook over the coming years [00:23:33] - Future asset optionality that investors should be excited about [00:28:16] - Thoughts on whether or not Facebook abuses its power given its size [00:31:19] - Whether or not plans to establish themselves as a super app holds true [00:34:14] - What Facebook is today and where they’re going Part 2 [00:36:25] - Why Facebook has such an effective ad system for digital marketing [00:41:28] - Overview of how an advertiser uses their ad platform [00:45:39] - Key dynamics that impact bidding on certain keywords and customers [00:49:22] - The types of companies that are being built on top of Facebook’s ad railway [00:52:13] - What data they have and common misconceptions about it [00:56:15] - Things Facebook could learn about cross-app system tracking   [00:59:07] - The competitive landscape of digital advertising today [01:01:52] - What would have to play out in order for them to stop growing [01:04:05] - The ways in which commerce plays into Facebook’s story today [01:07:39] - How having access to a user's payment information is a value unlock [01:08:55] - The most important thing to Facebook and lessons to be learned from their story  

Today, we will be diving into Moderna. Founded in 2010, Moderna and its innovative RNA platform made headlines after developing one of the first COVID vaccines. We treated this Breakdown slightly different than our other episodes. I’m joined today by two guests. First, I am joined by Jason Kelly, CEO of Gingko Bioworks. He gives us a primer on the biotech industry, genetic modification, and how Moderna’s platform represents a new breakthrough in the industry. Then, I talk to Matthew Harrison, a biotech analyst at Morgan Stanley. We will cover what differentiates Moderna’s business model, how Moderna’s science could lead to faster and higher efficacy drug development, and key takeaways for investors and operators. I hope you enjoy this Breakdown of Moderna.   For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, Inc. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.   Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.   Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss   Show Notes - Part 1: Jason Kelly [00:02:31] - [First question] - What is a biotech company? [00:03:50] - Defining Moderna as a company in the biotech space [00:05:15] - Bridging the gap between biotech and genentech [00:06:02] - Overview of the history of learning to program cells [00:07:46] - Big milestones from the discovery to the human genome project [00:10:03] - Technical process and tool of how one modifies and copies genes [00:11:45] - The scale and tools of modern DNA design [00:14:05] - What the Moderna vaccine is and how it works [00:17:24] - The first engineered drug of its kind  [00:18:24] - Other areas where synthetic biology appears in everyday life [00:22:19] - How many sectors this type of technology will disrupt [00:23:32] - The history of Moderna and how they came to be [00:24:41] - What problem Moderna tries to solve and how they approach it [00:27:11] - Unique deal components in therapeutics and the FDA [00:29:06] - Key factors that will make Moderna a dominant player in the near future  [00:30:01] - How Genentech became as big as they did  [00:30:53] - Competitive and compounded advantages for biotech companies [00:32:09] - Lessons for investors and entrepreneurs in studying Moderna’s story   Show Notes - Part 2: Matthew Harrison  [00:34:10] - What is Moderna and how it got started [00:36:10] - Typical route taken for a drug maker and how Moderna is different [00:37:16] - What separates Moderna from others in the biotech space today [00:39:12] - The role software and technology has played a role in Moderna’s success [00:41:42] - Cementing their position through breakthroughs and capitalizing on them  [00:42:58] - How Moderna generates their revenue  [00:44:45] - Overview of cost of sales, expense buckets and gross margin [00:46:20] - Factors involved in how one valuates a biotech company [00:47:15] - How many drugs are in Moderna’s pipeline compared to others [00:51:26] - Risks of drug development and their market potential [00:54:01] - Internal operations of drug development and what separates Moderna [00:57:17] - Comparing Moderna’s mRNA to others on the market  [00:59:44] - High level breakdown of pharmaceutical R&D [01:01:33] - Other P&L and financial components that arise given the nature of biotech  [01:03:09] - Contrast between the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine [01:04:18] - What Moderna will have to get right in order to become the next Pfizer  [01:05:38] - What Moderna would have to get wrong to limit their growth [01:07:24] - Company culture and the importance of management [01:08:06] - Lessons for builders and entrepreneurs in studying Moderna’s story