Investing in companies that invented their category.

I only buy a company if it's creating a brand new category, growing fast, hard to replace, and small enough to still 10x in ten years — or 5x in five, once it's grown past the point where 10x is realistic.

Most investors pick stocks based on price movements, tips, or vibes. My framework rejects about 87% of companies that look interesting on the surface. When something passes all four filters — which happens maybe once or twice a year — I invest with conviction and hold for a decade, or five years if it's a 5x compounder instead of a 10x.

The goal isn't to be right often. It's to be very right when it matters.

My system for finding the next Salesforce before it becomes obvious.

Imagine you're back in 2005 and someone tells you about this small company called Salesforce. Before Salesforce, companies tracked their customers in spreadsheets and sticky notes. Salesforce didn't just make a better spreadsheet — they invented an entirely new category called CRM software, put it in the cloud, and made themselves the only name anyone thought of when someone said "customer relationship management."

I ask four questions about every company, and all four have to pass:

A true opportunity that passes all four filters appears roughly once or twice a year. That's why this portfolio is concentrated, not diversified.

Filter one isn't just a numbers exercise. I watch CEO interviews, read founder LinkedIn posts, and track conference talks — because category creation is a leadership act before it's a market fact. This doesn't get its own score. It's the judgment behind how filter one gets scored.

What I own and why.

On the radar:

Performance since inception.

When I sell — and when I don't.

Positions are held through price volatility. Positions are sold when the investment thesis breaks. Those are different things.

How returns are calculated. Time-weighted return (TWR), which removes the distortion caused by adding new capital mid-period and allows apples-to-apples comparison against the S&P 500 benchmark. Benchmark is SPY total return with dividends reinvested over the identical period. All figures are derived from personal Charles Schwab brokerage statements. Pre-tax returns shown. Monthly statements are maintained and available upon reasonable request.

Path to independent verification. Currently self-reported (2025–2027). A CPA verification letter confirming return calculations against brokerage statements is planned for 2028, estimated cost ~$2,000. Full GIPS-compliant audit to follow if and when seeking to manage capital for others — required for Series 65 / RIA registration.

Who I am and why this is public.

I'm a Software Product Manager with 10+ years building enterprise software — the same category of products this portfolio invests in. When a company claims to be "creating a new category," I've been through enough vendor evaluations and product cycles to tell the difference between a genuine category shift and a good marketing story.

This is a personal account, not a fund. The long-term goal is to manage capital for others — with a Series 65 license and an RIA practice — and this public, time-stamped track record is the foundation for that. The uncomfortable months stay on the record. The mistakes stay on the record. That's the point.