Harrison Ford and Why Bristlemoon Is Going Paid
Harrison Ford’s Humble Beginnings
There's a story about Harrison Ford's early days in Hollywood. Long before the actor achieved blockbuster fame, starring in iconic film franchises such as Star Wars and Indiana Jones, he was a nobody. In fact, he was a self-described “loner”.
Ford talks about arriving in Hollywood on a metaphoric bus with a group of young people who all had a similar ambition to him: they wanted to star in blockbuster films. Many of them didn’t make it. Ford recalled these early days:
“As the years went by, the attrition rate eliminated many of those people from the competition pool. And finally, there was only a few of us left from that entering class. And I always saw life that way, that you really had to stick it out to prevail.”[1]
Said another way, they didn’t have the requisite staying power to catch their lucky break. They were stopped out. This was often because they ran out of time, and they ran out of time because they ran out of money.
Ford’s start in Hollywood was inauspicious. He was a struggling actor in the 1960s, getting subpar roles in episodic television that were doing nothing to further his acting dreams. He wanted more substantial roles, and despite having a young family and needing to put food on the table, Ford began turning down these low-quality acting parts.
He was able to be more selective as he had carved out a supplemental source of income – literally. Ford took up carpentry. This side job as a carpenter was integral to his ability to elongate his timeline and be around to capitalize on acting opportunities as they sporadically presented.
Our Form of Carpentry
The Bristlemoon newsletter is our form of carpentry. We have made the decision to make the newsletter paid as a means of buttressing our staying power as we prepare for a mid-2024 launch of our fund: Bristlemoon Capital. Building any business takes time and it’s wise to heed the counsel of the self-referential adage of Hofstadter’s Law: “It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s Law”[2].
Like Ford’s carpentry side gig allowing him to be more selective in his acting roles, monetizing the Bristlemoon newsletter will position us to only make business decisions that are in the fund’s long-term interests. It will mean we are not forced to partner with investors who are not aligned with our investment philosophy. It will mean we are not forced to do deals with capital partners because of a need to quickly raise money. Monetizing the newsletter gives us even greater staying power so that we can make sensible decisions that align with our ambitions to build an enduring business.
Unlike Ford’s carpentry, the Bristlemoon newsletter is synergistic with our everyday research activities when managing the fund. We are simply packaging up our insights into a digestible (and hopefully valuable and entertaining) format and offering access to those insights via a subscription. We have been thrilled by the 1,250 subscribers who have signed up so far in addition to the many readers who have pledged financial support for our newsletter. This has been encouraging and builds our confidence that we are producing research that is of sufficient value to be monetizable.
Bristlemoon Subscription Tiers
The Bristlemoon newsletter will have three subscription options, with a one-week free trial available:
Monthly: US$50/month
Annual: US$350/year (c.42% saving compared to monthly)
Founding: US$1,000/year (a way for subscribers to show support and appreciation for our research)
Given the high level of disclosure of Bristlemoon’s intellectual property, we believe that US$50 per month (or US$350 per year) is incredible value. In the next two weeks, we are planning to increase our annual subscription price to US$500 per year. Subscribers who join within the next two weeks will receive a $150 per year, or 30% discount on their annual subscription and will be unaffected by future price increases. This is an opportunity to lock in this lower price. Note that going forward we will never run discounts or promotions on Bristlemoon subscriptions.
We are looking to democratize access to our insights in a way that is atypical in the world of hedge funds. Intellectual property generated by investment firms is often closely guarded. However, our motivations are not entirely altruistic. For Bristlemoon, transparency into our research and insights is a way to build confidence and trust from prospective investors. Through our writing, we are able to shed light on our investment process and convey that a deep amount of thought sits behind each investment decision.
In the five months since we’ve started the newsletter, we will have published over 80,000 words of content when including the report on The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD) we will be publishing this week. If you have enjoyed our research and received value from our insights, we hope you will consider subscribing to the Bristlemoon newsletter as we plan to continue publishing high-quality research.
Disclaimers / Disclosures
The information contained in this article is not investment advice and is intended only for wholesale investors. All posts by Bristlemoon Capital are for informational purposes only. This article has been prepared without taking into account your particular circumstances, nor your investment objectives and needs. This article does not constitute personal investment advice and you should not rely on it as such. This document does not contain all of the information that may be required to evaluate an investment in any of the securities featured in the document. We recommend that you obtain independent financial advice before you make investment decisions.
Forward-looking statements are based on current information available to the author, expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions as to future matters. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other known and unknown factors and variables, which may affect the accuracy of any forward-looking statement. No guarantee is made in relation to future performance, results or other events.
We make no representation and give no warranties regarding the accuracy, reliability, completeness or suitability of the information contained in this document. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we do not have any liability for any loss or damage suffered or incurred by any person in connection with this document.
Bristlemoon Capital Pty Ltd (ABN: 22 668 652 926) is an Australian Financial Services Licensee (AFSL Number: 552045).
George Hadjia is associated with Bristlemoon Capital Pty Ltd. Bristlemoon Capital may invest in securities featured in this newsletter from time to time.
[2] The idea of bringing up Harrison Ford’s carpentry side gig was inspired by a LinkedIn post by Billy Oppenheimer. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/billy-oppenheimer-70612782_before-he-was-han-solo-or-indiana-jones-activity-7069305284627730432-CRJA/