Unconventional approaches to conventional markets: what Boulton & Watt looks for

I can describe Boulton & Watt’s process of vetting ideas, but I think in practice that is less interesting than it seems. It’s a bit like asking how to make a great movie. We certainly haven’t discovered a coin-operated machine that spits out good ideas. Instead, we know what great looks like and combine a creative and analytical process that you can’t hire Mckinsey to do. I once asked a well known investor, known for their rigorous thought, where they had sourced one of their best investments: the founder lived next door. Instead I’ll share some important attributes we look for: Can we take an existing behavior and reduce friction? If so, we should increase the size of the market. We don’t try to invent new behaviors. Pockets of profit. We don’t care very much if housing market is $4 trillion if the available margin is a few cents on each transaction. We look for pockets of protected profit that we can disrupt. Your margin is my opportunity. High competitive aversion. We like categori

I can describe Boulton & Watt’s process of vetting ideas, but I think in practice that is less interesting than it seems. It’s a bit like asking how to make a great movie. We certainly haven’t discovered a coin-operated machine that spits out good ideas. Instead, we know what great looks like and combine a creative and analytical process that you can’t hire Mckinsey to do. I once asked a well known investor, known for their rigorous thought, where they had sourced one of their best investments: the founder lived next door. Instead I’ll share some important attributes we look for: Can we take a