Today’s episode is part business breakdown and part biology breakdown as we explore Finch Therapeutics and their novel work on the microbiome, which plays a crucial role in regulating our immune system.   To help break down these topics, I’m joined by Mark Smith, co-founder and CEO of Finch Therapeutics. Mark is a leader in the microbiome field and the perfect person to cross the bridge between business and science.   As Mark outlines, we’ve made a lot of progress in living longer, but we are yet to make significant steps to living better. In our discussion, we explore what the microbiome is, why it’s so important, and the role that Finch plays in helping patients transform their lives. We then turn to the business side of developing therapeutics drugs and what Mark has learned there. Please enjoy this breakdown of Finch Therapeutics.   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, LLC. 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 [00:02:55] - [First question] - What is the microbiome? [00:04:56] - Where the microbiome is inside the body [00:06:42] - Overview of what bacteria is in general terms and what they do for us [00:10:44] - What would happen to a human that didn’t have any bacteria [00:13:29] - Inflammatory auto-immune diseases and widespread antibiotics [00:14:32] - How seasonal allergies and gut bacteria are related [00:16:32] - Key contributors that have led to our current understanding of the microbiome [00:18:48] - Whether an absence or dominance of bacteria is more concerning [00:20:47] - The state of stool sample diagnostics today [00:22:52] - Tools available today for widespread microbial treatment and repair [00:24:48] - The science behind probiotics and whether or not they’re worth it [00:27:00] - Fecal transplants and supporting empirical evidence of their efficacy [00:31:39] - Addressable conditions that Finch Therapeutics seeks to solve [00:35:27] - What the end game looks like and the timeline to achieve it [00:40:05] - Is there a future where we use these therapeutics preventatively? [00:41:22] - Key risks that could threaten the growth of Finch in the coming decade [00:43:10] - What it’s been like running a company that is so different than its competitors [00:45:51] - Whether or not the regulatory and iterative pace of therapeutics will increase [00:48:19] - How much his lifestyle has changed given what he knows now in this field [00:50:50] - Other innovations taking place in the microbiome and related therapeutics [00:52:28] - What most has his attention outside of his field in health science today [00:53:24] - Learn more about the microbiome; I Contain Multitudes (book) [00:53:42] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

Today, we are breaking down The National Football League or, as most know it, The NFL. It’s a sport that dominates American Sundays from late summer into early winter. Behind what happens on the field is a $15 billion dollar business with a unique operating and ownership structure and many stakeholders.    To help break down the NFL, Jesse Pujji is joined by Jay Kapoor. Jay is currently General Partner of venture fund VSC Ventures, and prior to his career as an investor, Jay worked in the League Strategy office at the NFL. During the conversation, we break down some of the fascinating dynamics of the NFL, including how it dominates linear TV, the unique revenue considerations for the league and its teams, and what makes the NFL stand out relative to other sports. I hope you enjoy this breakdown of the NFL.   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, LLC. 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 [00:02:18] - [First question] - What is the NFL? [00:03:26] - The size and scale of the NFL as a business [00:04:55] - Points of growth on the league side and the team side [00:06:42] - The growth rate of the NFL over the past five years [00:07:24] - How many people are watching the NFL and the size of their audience [00:09:53] - The structure of the NFL compared to other major sports leagues [00:14:08] - Distribution of the revenue generated by media rights [00:15:53] - Other factors that make the NFL’s model unique  [00:18:11] - How the NFL came to dominate the landscape of American sports [00:21:26] - When the NFL became bigger than the MLB and why [00:23:00] - How viewership and media rights have changed over the years [00:24:52] - Complexity of scheduling games and creating scarcity [00:26:14] - How the NFL Schedule is Created [00:27:43] - Additional sources of revenue at the league level [00:30:54] - Major costs to operate the NFL at the national level [00:31:50] - Contributing factors that make annual operating costs $1.5 billion [00:32:29] - How much it costs to run an NFL game [00:33:35] - Major drivers and ways to increase the topline of the business [00:36:09] - How much of the league revenue share is distributed to team owners and players [00:39:06] - Seat sales, boxes, and sponsorship revenue [00:40:40] - Who owns stadiums and an overview from a management and cost perspective [00:42:43] - Non-player related operating costs [00:45:46] - Operating leverage as an owner in this business [00:47:08] - What a commissioner is and the governance model of the NFL [00:51:31] - Overview of an executive team beneath the owners [00:53:01] - Collective Bargaining Agreements  [00:57:15] - How enterprise value is created and why it’s growing so fast for the teams [00:59:11] - His perspective on comparing teams to assets generating revenue multiples [01:00:51] - Defining relevance in regards to the NFL and what it means for the future [01:04:39] - Plans to embrace a D2C model and the impact streaming might have on them [01:06:56] - How the Superbowl became such a pivotal sporting event and why they made it [01:11:35] - What will have to go right in order to grow exponentially over the coming decade  [01:17:34] - Potential risks and concerns that could negatively impact the NFL’s growth [01:22:21] - A big lesson we can learn from the NFL for entrepreneurs [01:23:29] - Lessons for investors when studying the NFL [01:24:48] - Learn more about professional sports and the NFL; The Game Plan; Tailgating, Sacks, and Salary Caps (book)