The pandemic served as a real-world stress test, revealing that business models less reliant on labor are inherently more resilient. During periods of labor shortages and wage inflation, franchises optimized for takeout and delivery with smaller staff requirements proved to be less risky and more efficient investments.

The speaker's ill-researched travel course was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This external shock, while devastating, saved her from a likely business failure, acting as a brutal but effective form of market invalidation that she was too invested to see.

Beyond low fares, Ryanair's long-term dominance stems from its financial strategy of investing when the industry is weak. The airline uses its large cash reserves to place massive, discounted aircraft orders with manufacturers like Boeing during slumps and opportunistically seizes market share when legacy carriers falter. This turns competitors' crises into major growth opportunities.

Investors often reject ideas in markets where previous companies failed, a bias they call "scar tissue." This creates an opportunity for founders who can identify a key change—like new AI technology or shifting consumer behavior—that makes a previously impossible idea now viable.

Jonathan Tepper's fund targets companies with limited competition, favoring "natural monopolies" like Booking.com over regulated utilities. These platforms succeed by creating immense value for both consumers (choice, convenience) and suppliers (global reach, payment processing), building a durable, non-regulated moat.

Citing research from Verdad's Dan Rasmussen, the speaker notes that EM assets perform best when purchased during a crisis that originates in developed markets (e.g., the GFC or COVID). Panicked selling creates widespread mispricing in EM, even though the region is not the source of the crisis, offering a prime buying opportunity.

With fewer traditional credit cycles, the most fertile ground for distressed investing lies in industry-specific downturns caused by technological or policy shifts. These "microcycles" offer opportunities to invest in good companies working through temporary, concentrated disruption.

Financial models struggle to project sustained high growth rates (>30% YoY). Analysts naturally revert to the mean, causing them to undervalue companies that defy this and maintain high growth for years, creating an opportunity for investors who spot this persistence.

When a few high-flying stocks like the 'Mag-7' dominate the market, capital is pulled from other sectors, creating cyclical valuation discounts. Stable industries like healthcare can become as cheap relative to the S&P 500 as they were during the 2000 tech bubble, presenting a contrarian investment opportunity.