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June 25, 2025

This Week: Adam Seessel and Terry Smith on Growth Investing

In 2024, I challenged myself to accelerate my learning by reading a book (usually a biography) a week. To date, I’ve done it for 68 consecutive weeks. I wanted to share what I was reading and also keep track for myself, which was difficult (see here), so I created a Library section on this site. I added to it all the books I’ve read since my book-a-week habit began in March 2024, and I’ve committed to adding my latest read to the Library every Sunday (see the latest here).

That left the books I’d read before 2024 unshared and untracked. I set a goal to add my old reading to the Library over time. It began with a Memorial Day Challenge to add five books (see here) and continued with my challenging myself to add two books every weekend until my backlog is gone. This past weekend was my fourth weekend, and I added two more books:

That’s the latest update on my weekend goal. I hope that sharing these books will add value to others.

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Connected Books
Where the Money Is
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July 2023

A framework-driven investing book by Adam Seessel, founder of Gravity Capital Management, that updates value investing for the digital age. Seessel traces the evolution from Benjamin Graham’s Value 1.0 to Warren Buffett’s Value 2.0, and introduces his own Value 3.0—designed for evaluating high-growth, asset-light digital businesses. Drawing from personal experience and investment missteps, Seessel explains why traditional value methods improperly value modern tech firms. The book includes clear case studies showing how he applies this to several technology companies.
Lightbulb moment: Seessel’s concept of "earnings power" is a modern update to Warren Buffett’s “owner’s earnings,” tailored for digital growth companies. It helped me realize that earnings aren’t apples-to-apples—company stage and growth prospects distort comparisons. Michael Mauboussin has made similar points: GAAP accounting, built for physical assets, misrepresents digital businesses by expensing investments that should be capitalized. Seessel’s background includes working with Chris and Shelby Davis at Davis Selected Advisors.
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Investing for Growth
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July 2023

A framework-driven book by Terry Smith, founder of Fundsmith Equity Fund. This curated collection of two decades’ worth of investment letters and essays lays out his core philosophy: buy high-quality businesses in public markets, hold them long-term, and ignore market noise.
Strong focus on free cash flow yield and return on capital employed—Terry explains why they matter. He’s a straight shooter who breaks down key growth investing concepts with clarity and real examples. A good complement for fans of Buffett’s style, but with a stronger tilt toward growth. Read 2020 hardcover.
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