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The Bus Insurance Startup That Built a $26 Billion Empire (By Serving Customers Nobody Wanted)

The Bus Insurance Startup That Built a $26 Billion Empire (By Serving Customers Nobody Wanted)

While competitors fight over car insurance scraps, Markel quietly built a Fortune 500 company insuring things like thoroughbred horses and marina operators. But here's where it gets weird: they also own 21 random businesses and manage a $34B investment portfolio.

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
The $5B Company Nobody Knows (But Everyone Uses)

The $5B Company Nobody Knows (But Everyone Uses)

Amdocs powers 90% of major telecom billing systems worldwide. You use their technology daily but have likely never heard their name. Here's how they built formidle switching costs in one of the least exciting niches I've come across.

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
Michigan's $16B Debt-Fueled Monopoly: What CMS Energy Teaches About Regulatory Capture

Michigan's $16B Debt-Fueled Monopoly: What CMS Energy Teaches About Regulatory Capture

Michigan's Attorney General calls CMS Energy's habit of requesting rate hikes every single year a "never-ending cycle". Yet they've delivered 22 consecutive years of earnings growth. We decode how they turned poles and wires into a profit machine, why their $700M interest bill matters, and what entrepreneurs can learn from their business.

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
How Metal Brackets Built a Warren Buffett-Worthy Business

How Metal Brackets Built a Warren Buffett-Worthy Business

They make metal brackets that cost $5 but generated 19.3% operating margins. Here's how getting on architectural plans changed everything.

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
Own the Entire Workflow, Not Just One Step

Own the Entire Workflow, Not Just One Step

PTC Inc. is the CAD pioneer that figured out switching costs are a moat and spent $2B acquiring their way into every step of manufacturing.

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
35.8% gross margins on $1.25 products?

35.8% gross margins on $1.25 products?

Dollar Tree just proved constraint beats choice. While competitors obsess over pricing complexity, they built a treasure-hunt empire around one number: $1.25

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
CDW - From $3 Classified Ad to $21B Fortune 500 Giant

CDW - From $3 Classified Ad to $21B Fortune 500 Giant

Discover how CDW built a $21 billion empire by mastering the "boring" middleman model and what entrepreneurs can swipe from their 40-year playbook.

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
The $24B Government Software Monopoly You've Never Heard Of

The $24B Government Software Monopoly You've Never Heard Of

How Tyler Technologies built filled its moat by going ultra-niche when everyone else stayed broad.

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
The Mosquito Strategy: How to Win by NOT Competing

The Mosquito Strategy: How to Win by NOT Competing

Rocket Lab's 'mosquito strategy' created genuine competitive moats while SpaceX chased Mars. Here's what entrepreneurs can swipe from their playbook.

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
The Middle-of-Nowhere Strategy That Built a Fortune 500 Company

The Middle-of-Nowhere Strategy That Built a Fortune 500 Company

Why "Consumable, Usable, Edible" Drives Repeat Business for Tractor Supply

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
The Fertilizer Giant That Survived a CEO Turnstile and $16B Revenue Crash

The Fertilizer Giant That Survived a CEO Turnstile and $16B Revenue Crash

5 critical lessons from Nutrien's playbook on building via vertical integration and geographic diversification.

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
How Duolingo Turned an Owl Into a $17B Learning Empire (+ the AI Move That Doubled Their Course Catalog Overnight)

How Duolingo Turned an Owl Into a $17B Learning Empire (+ the AI Move That Doubled Their Course Catalog Overnight)

Here's how they rebuilt their entire business model while staying profitable. Plus the marketing genius behind turning a language app into a viral meme machine. (Spoiler: the tactics work way beyond EdTech.)

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
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