How These Buffett Fanatics Launched The Investor's Podcast Network

The Investor’s Podcast Network, also known as TIP, is the hub of the best investing podcasts, educational stock market resources, and financial courses and tools.

With over 38 million downloads to date, TIP is considered the number one most downloaded stock investing podcast in the world. It has also been consistently recognized as “best overall” among investing podcasts and ranked the best investing podcast.

Founders of The Investor’s Podcast Network

The Investor’s Podcast Network was founded by Preston Pysh and Stig Brodersen. 

Preston Pysh is based in the U.S. He is a graduate of West Point and Johns Hopkins University. He was an army pilot of the U.S. Air Force, who turned to Warren Buffett as his mentor. Inspired by the Oracle of Omaha, he founded his own website, Buffett's Books. He also created valuable financial investing videos on YouTube, which later paved the way for him to meet Stig. 

Stig Brodersen is based in Denmark. He is the owner of the investment company Stig Brodersen Holding. He holds a master’s degree in Finance, and studied Business Analysis at Harvard University. He used to be a college professor, and before he took up stock investing, he worked for one of Europe’s leading energy trading companies. 

History of The Investor’s Podcast Network

How Preston and Stig first met

Sometime in 2013, Stig discovered Preston’s Warren Buffett Course on YouTube. This sparked a greater pursuit for learning which compelled Stig to reach out to Preston through the latter’s forum. They exchanged about 200 replies back and forth until they decided to jump on a call, and that’s how they met online for the first time. 

From then on, they consistently kept in touch and despite being on two different continents, their friendship blossomed. Having found a kindred spirit, Preston went on to offer Stig a business proposition of writing an accounting book together, which the latter agreed to.

It was a timely venture as they also decided to attend the Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) Shareholders’ Meeting in 2014 together. Stig flew to the U.S. and stayed at Preston’s house, where they finished their first book together entitled, "Warren Buffett Accounting Book." They then flew to Omaha to attend the Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders’ Meeting and met with other people from the Buffett’s Books Community, who were also there at the event.

How the Investor’s Podcast was born 

On his way home, Preston had a chance encounter with Hari Ramachandra at the airport. Hari is an executive from LinkedIn and a fellow value investor. They had a good conversation and Hari encouraged Preston to start a podcast because he was so passionate about Warren Buffett. Preston thought about it and knowing how Stig shared the same level of enthusiasm, asked the latter to join this venture. Stig agreed and that was how The Investor's Podcast was born. 

Having a strong affinity for Warren Buffett’s investing principles, Preston and Stig wanted to talk about him on the show, but soon they realized that there is also a lot of value to talk about other successful self-made billionaires, investors, and businessmen whose investing or entrepreneurial journey are also worth covering and discussing on the show. They then decided to name the flagship podcast show, “We Study Billionaires.” 

The focus of the podcast is to study financial giants, share what they learned in the podcast, and teach how those lessons can be applied to investment strategies in the stock market. It's an investing podcast for beginners and even seasoned entrepreneurs or finance professionals.

How the Investor’s Podcast grew 

It wasn't easy setting up an independent podcast because it was not yet a well-established industry back in 2014. It was also just Preston and Stig who did everything by themselves, from setting up their equipment, inviting guests, hosting and editing the show, and all the processes that were needed to get the show running. 

In the beginning, Preston was also unsatisfied with the quality of the very first three episodes they made. Instead of keeping quiet about this, he asked Stig to redo all episodes with him as he believed that TIP should only provide the best value to their audience. This philosophy of excellence and culture of radical transparency have been carried over to this day and have certainly paid off. 

In just a couple of months of going live, We Study Billionaires by The Investor’s Podcast became one of the most highly recommended podcasts to listen to in the field of personal finance and acknowledged by leading business media giants like Business Insider and CNBC.

Over time, the TIP Community continued to grow. The authentic, consistent, and excellent content that Preston and Stig provided in each of their episodes was the reason that made podcast listeners glued to the show. From a few hundred weekly listeners, their audience organically increased month after month. To date, We Study Billionaires has about 160,000 listeners and has 1.5 million downloads each month from all over the world.

Preston and Stig is also big on creating a tight-knit community where listeners can connect with them and give their feedback and insights. They have the “Ask the Investors” segment in the show where they give opportunities for the audience to be heard, share their questions related to the show, and receive advice and special freebies from TIP. 

They also hold TIP Live Events where fans of the show can gather together and network at a bar or restaurant. The live events have been held in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. The biggest of which was held in Omaha, since the majority of the TIP Community also make it a point to attend the Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders’ Meeting.

The Investor’s Podcast Network Shows

Having been able to gain a good following, Preston and Stig decided to expand to more branches of investing and personal development shows, thus the transition from The Investor’s Podcast to the Investor’s Podcast Network.

1. We Study Billionaires is TIP’s flagship show, which studies self-made billionaires, current market conditions and trends, investing strategies, books, and all things related to business and finance. Preston and Stig have been privileged to interview financial giants and top-notch entrepreneurs, investors, and philanthropists such as Howard Marks, Guy Spier, Tony Robbins, and Mohnish Pabrai, just to name a few; 
2. Millennial Investing by Robert Leonard, which studies investing basics for millennials. Some of the guests that have been on the show are Jason Moser, Grant Sabatier and Peter Lazaroff; 
3. Real Estate Investing by Robert Leonard, which talks about real estate market trends, investing strategies, and success stories. Some of the guests that have been on the show are Axel Ragnarsson, Brad Dantonio and Chard Carson; and
4. The Good Life by Sean Murray, which sheds light on topics concerning wealth, happiness, and a meaningful life. Some of the guests that have been on the show are Jacob Taylor, Brian Portnoy, and William Irvine.

The Investor’s Podcast Network Courses and Tools 

TIP also offers free and premium courses and tools through TIP Academy and TIP Finance. These resources aim to empower all kinds of learners by aiding them in their journey to wealth building and financial freedom. They cover various investment topics from stock market investing to real estate investing. 

TIP Academy 

TIP Academy was created to provide courses, materials, and resources to help people around the world learn about investment best practices and grow financially. It includes the following investing courses: 

1. The Intrinsic Value Course consists of modules that teach beginner to amateur investors what intrinsic value means and how to actually calculate the intrinsic value of a stock.
2. The Intelligent Investor Course consists of modules that simplify the complex principles and information from The Intelligent Investor book, chapter by chapter.
3. How to Invest in ETFs consists of modules detailing the process of investing in ETFs.
4. Real Estate Deal Analysis 101 consists of lessons to quickly and accurately analyze single-family and small multifamily real estate deals.

TIP Finance

TIP Finance consists of three proprietary tools that are continuously being developed by Preston and Stig. These tools are the Filter Tool, Fundamentals Tool, and Momentum Tool. Each one is designed to help stock investors strengthen their portfolios by minimizing risks and maximizing returns.

Empowering the World through Education and Community

Whether one is a beginner or a seasoned investor, or simply an individual seeking to develop one’s self, the TIP Network offers value for everybody through its investing resources, tools, and online mentors. TIP’s mission is to impact the world by educating minds and changing lives through financial literacy. 

Expressing his gratitude for this privilege, Stig shares: “[I] don't take it for granted...I feel I'm so lucky that I can make a living out of my hobby.”

He emphasizes that it's the goodwill of other people who want to support TIP that is the real driving force behind the network’s success. He says, “Our community empowers us to empower other people.”

And guided by this goodwill and spirit of generosity, TIP continues to grow as one of the leading podcast networks in the world today.