eric ries

T3 · host / generalist

Entrepreneur and author of The Lean Startup, which popularized iterative product development and validated learning. He previously co-founded IMVU.

14 calls·10 names·79% bull·last heard 3 months ago·Y Combinator+1
track record

no scored calls yet — needs a stated position or a categorical verdict, with a matured window vs SPY

top calls

highest conviction · one per company
1sthigh conviction
$LONG-TERM-STOCK-EXCHANGELong-Term Stock Exchangeposition

LTSE petitions SEC to replace quarterly reporting with semi-annual plus richer disclosure

Academic research from natural experiments shows quarterly reporting destroys ~5% of equity value because managers optimize for the quarterly report rather than long-term value creation; LTSE's SEC petition proposes semi-annual reporting paired with a more fulsome disclosure framework to realign companies with long-term investors.

TBPN2026-05
2ndhigh conviction
$COSTCostco

Costco's $1.50 hot dog and low-margin philosophy prove mission primacy beats shareholder primacy

Costco deliberately leaves 50% net income on the table (3% price hike would add 50% earnings) because raising prices is 'heroin' — it erodes the low-price moat. Employee ownership and customer fiduciary duty create structural resilience; $400B market cap validates the model.

TBPN2026-05
3rdhigh conviction
$ANTHROPICAnthropic

Anthropic's long-term benefit trust governance model makes mission lock durable

Anthropic adopted a PBC with a long-term benefit trust — a multi-branch governance structure where the for-profit board is accountable to an independent trust — which data shows makes companies 5x more likely to survive 50 years with better long-term value creation; this structure legally empowers the board to reject hostile takeovers that would compromise the mission.

TBPN2026-05
14 total
$ANTHROPIC
Anthropic
HIGHeric ries·Y Combinator·3 months ago
PBC + long-term benefit trust gives structural defense for AI safety mission
Anthropic's public benefit corporation structure combined with a perpetual purpose trust (long-term benefit trust) creates mission sovereignty that attracts top talent, enables courageous decisions like turning down a $200M contract, and provided structural strength to withstand cap table chaos including SBF's bankruptcy auction.
"They had this structural strength to stand up for what they believe. And if you notice, when companies stand up and do the right thing, we live in such a polarized time. It's like…"
45:05
$KR
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Kroger
MEDeric ries·Y Combinator·3 months ago
Kroger's 'best practice' governance produced 'Costco in reverse' underperformance
Kroger's embrace of standard corporate governance best practices — independent directors, shareholder primacy — resulted in materially worse long-term performance versus Costco's mission-controlled structure, demonstrating that 'best practice equals Kroger practice.'
"Costco came under attack in the early 2000s for having these non-standard governance practices. In fact, Costco routinely gets the worst possible governance rating from governance…"
20:15
$TWLO
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Twilio
HIGHeric ries·Y Combinator·3 months ago
Expiring super-voting shares enabled founder firing despite revenue growth
Twilio's adoption of standard governance 'best practice' — 7-year sunset on founder super-voting shares — led to Jeff Lawson's firing 199 days after expiration despite revenue being up from IPO; the pattern shows how shareholder primacy governance destroys founder-led value creation.
"Jeff Lawson at Twilio built that company from nothing to $4 billion in, you know, actual revenue, like stock up 390% since IPO. I mean, by all accounts, you know, smash, rip-roari…"
8:20
$ZEISS
Zeiss
MEDeric ries·Y Combinator·3 months ago
Zeiss industrial foundation structure since 1885 validates 100+ year mission control model
Zeiss has operated under an industrial foundation structure since 1885, providing century-plus evidence that mission-controlled governance enables extreme longevity; part of a dataset showing such companies are 6x more likely to survive 50 years.
"The the German optics company Zeiss had the structure in 1885. So, it's not even that new. There's enough of these companies that we have a data set to see how they perform. Compa…"
41:15
$VICARIOUS
Vicarious
LOWeric ries·Y Combinator·3 months ago
Early AI lab Vicarious adopted PBC structure to prevent paperclip maximizer outcomes
Scott Phoenix founded Vicarious as a PBC from day one to structurally prevent AGI from being captured by shareholder value maximization ('paperclip maximizer'), pioneering the governance model later used by Anthropic.
"The first time I ever heard of a PBC actually was from my friend Scott Phoenix. Uh he started a AI lab called Vicarious and he very explicitly said, 'I'm going to do it as a PBC.…"
45:05
$COST
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Costco
HIGHeric ries·Y Combinator·3 months ago
Costco's 'worst governance' rating masks mission-controlled outperformance vs Kroger
Costco's industrial foundation structure protects its customer-first mission, enabling 50+ year longevity and superior returns despite governance rating agencies giving it the worst possible scores; Kroger's adoption of 'best practice' governance produced 'Costco in reverse' underperformance.
"Costco routinely gets the worst possible governance rating from governance rating people. And Kroger decided to go all in on best practices. So, we have this like natural experime…"
12:00
$NVO
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Novo Nordisk
HIGHeric ries·Y Combinator·3 months ago
Industrial foundation structure saved GLP-1 program, creating $600B value vs $20B merger
Novo Nordisk's non-profit foundation trustees blocked a value-destroying merger that would have canceled the GLP-1 research program; the structure has delivered 6x higher 50-year survival rates (60% vs 10%) and created a company worth more than Denmark's GDP.
"The trustees say no. Merger over. Yeah. People are so pissed at them cuz like this is going to be like a $20 billion merger. It was going to make a lot of money for a lot of peopl…"
35:00
$PM
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Philip Morris
HIGHeric ries·Y Combinator·3 months ago
Philip Morris shows shareholder primacy creates $600B/year in hidden external costs
Philip Morris generates $8B net income but imposes $600B/year in US healthcare costs and lost productivity; the shareholder primacy model treats these externalities as irrelevant, creating a business model where 'the tobacco industry makes $6,000 from every customer when it dies.'
"$600 billion, yeah. $300 billion in direct health care costs. Yeah, so when people say that Philip Morris is profitable, in order to call it profitable, you have to take this incr…"
14:15
$MNDR
Mandreon
MEDeric ries·TBPN·3 months ago
Mandreon: 90K-employee worker cooperative conglomerate proves alternative governance scales
Network of 80-90 independent worker co-ops self-governs via congress; any co-op can exit. Employing 90K in Europe with diversified industrial/grocery ops, it violates every 'best practice' yet thrives — evidence that mission-locked constellations can scale.
"Mandreon is this gigantic company that employs 90,000 people in Europe, one of Spain's largest companies, makes elevators and and they have a a grocery store chain... It is a netw…"
116:00
$ANTHROPIC
Anthropic
MEDeric ries·TBPN·3 months ago
Anthropic's Long-Term Benefit Trust governance structure is 5x more likely to survive 50 years
PBC plus external mission guardian trust (not founder-controlled) aligns incentives for long-term value; data shows such structures dramatically outperform on longevity and value creation. Eric Ries advised on this design.
"They created something called the long-term benefit trust which is like a multibranch government right? So you have the the the for-profit PPC and then you have the board of direc…"
114:00