Concentrated Investing, Judgment, and Craftsmanship Across Domains

Key Quotes

"Gaurav Kapadia has deliberately avoided publicity throughout his career in investing, which makes this conversation a rare window into how he thinks. He now runs XN, a firm built around concentrated bets on a small number of companies with long holding periods. However, his education in judgment began much earlier, in a two-family house in Flushing that his parents converted into a four-family house. It was there where a young Gaurav served as de facto landlord, collecting rent and negotiating late payments at age 10."

This quote introduces Gaurav Kapadia as an investor who is typically private, making this interview a unique opportunity to understand his perspective. It highlights his investment firm, XN, and its strategy of concentrated, long-term bets. The quote also traces the origins of his judgment and business acumen to his childhood experiences as a landlord, demonstrating an early development of practical financial skills.

"We make you dictator of Flushing okay what would you change to make it even better I haven't been to flushing as much as I probably should since I left flushing but i i think one of the most important things you can do everywhere in New York City is build more housing and I think flushing in the periods where it grew very quickly they added a lot of housing stock via buildings and tearing down old single family homes that were kind of past their prime that has stalled as it has everywhere but I think increasing density would be the best thing to do so those old archie bunker style homes they should mostly be gone and we need to change the laws for that to happen."

Kapadia, when asked about improving Flushing, emphasizes the critical need for increased housing density. He suggests that older, less efficient single-family homes should be replaced with more housing stock. Kapadia believes that changing zoning laws to allow for greater density is the most effective way to enhance the area.

"Robert Moses hero or villain or both both and where do you side on the debate what margin do you want to push people on to like him more or like him less probably like him less why look on one hand it was a master class in wielding power of course power broker and so there's so much interesting things there but the lack of due process as we go 50 years later 100 years later is starting to show in where infrastructure is built ability to expand etcetera and so from that perspective i think a balance would have been more appropriate so more due process slightly more but if we want to make it easier to redo queens and we have more due process don't those two things work at odds against each other yeah they are at odds with one another i would say though having one person decide the taste for the whole city is also probably not the best use of time."

Kapadia views Robert Moses as both a hero and a villain, leaning towards disliking him more. He acknowledges Moses's mastery of wielding power but criticizes the lack of due process in his infrastructure projects, which he believes has long-term negative consequences. Kapadia suggests that a balance between strong leadership and due process would have been more appropriate, noting the inherent tension between these two approaches.

"So let's take a big step back right so New York is amazing to me in many ways because it is the only major city really that I know of in America that's not a company town everyone thinks it's their company town it's the the financial elites think it's their company town artists think it's their company town musicians think it's their company town broadway actors think it's their company town that I think is one of the great strengths of New York."

Kapadia argues that a key strength of New York City is its lack of being a singular "company town." He explains that unlike cities dominated by one industry or group, New York is perceived as belonging to various communities, including financial elites, artists, and musicians. This diverse ownership perception, according to Kapadia, contributes significantly to the city's unique character and success.

"I think one of the most important things you can do everywhere in New York City is build more housing and I think Flushing in the periods where it grew very quickly they added a lot of housing stock via buildings and tearing down old single family homes that were kind of past their prime that has stalled as it has everywhere but I think increasing density would be the best thing to do so those old archie bunker style homes they should mostly be gone and we need to change the laws for that to happen."

Kapadia reiterates his belief that increasing housing density is paramount for New York City's development, using Flushing as an example. He notes that past growth in Flushing was fueled by adding housing stock through new construction and replacing older homes. Kapadia advocates for changing laws to facilitate this density, suggesting that outdated single-family homes should be replaced.

"I think one of the really interesting use cases that I've seen is allowing any language visitor to have their own personalized in depth tour of a museum and so if you just think about because there's so many museum experiences where you just like go and walk in a circle and because it's like too crowded you can't engage you don't know as much about the art or the artist it's like the captions are too small all of this stuff right or you don't speak the language of the museum or you know whatever the case may be I think that's going to be like an amazing set of promising instruments which is you can use AR plus AI to understand the context of work much more broadly."

Kapadia highlights a promising application of AI in museums: personalized, multilingual tours for visitors. He points out common issues in museum experiences, such as crowding, lack of engagement, and language barriers. Kapadia suggests that augmented reality (AR) combined with AI can significantly enhance a visitor's understanding and appreciation of art by providing broader context.