This podcast episode features Aswath Damodaran discussing the corporate life cycle and its parallels to human aging, emphasizing that companies, like people, evolve through distinct stages, each necessitating different valuation skills and approaches. Damodaran critiques traditional value investing for overlooking promising startups with negative cash flows, advocating for a broader understanding of value creation that encompasses future growth potential. He also highlights the importance of management adaptability, the challenges of the decline phase, and the need for investors to embrace the risks of optionality and the reality of market dynamics, underscoring the necessity of diversified investment strategies across the life cycle.
