The banks in Brazil were making 25-30% return on equity for decades, which is extraordinary. And they were doing that by charging customers incredibly high fees and interest rates. So the incumbent had an Achilles heel, which was that they were making too much money.
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A combined entity is an incredible concentration risk, where Tesla continues to build inside of China. If SpaceX and Tesla combined it would be in the area of a corporation with a market cap of around $3.5 Trillion dollars. To put things in perspective that's about equal to the GDP of France.
Michael Spencer
The best time to buy a house is always five years ago. The best time to start a company is always five years ago. The best time to invest is always five years ago. Waiting for certainty is just a sophisticated way of opting out.
Paul Graham — Y Combinator office hours transcript
The best business returns are usually achieved by companies that are doing something that it's hard or impossible for you to do to them. Every year they get harder and harder to compete with. They have an ever-widening moat around their castle, and the key is not 'how big is the castle today?' but 'what is the trajectory of the moat?'
Warren Buffett — Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting