![Luca Ferrari, Bending Spoons: Compounding Through Operational Excellence and Acquisitions - [Joys of Compounding, EP. 40]](https://images.zeno.fm/vYDx8V901MLGnSRWrkG7qd2SciBeMacpvD7XN9IyhRQ/rs:fill:256:256/q:75/g:ce:0:0/aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWdhcGhvbmUuaW1naXgubmV0L3BvZGNhc3RzLzExMDQ3OWRhLWMyNGYtMTFmMS1iNjQ3LTg3ZTI5MjlhNTIyMS9pbWFnZS9jNjhmODg4ZWQ0NTEwMWQyNmVkOGM1NzlkYTcxOGQ4Zi5wbmc_aXhsaWI9cmFpbHMtNC4zLjEmbWF4LXc9MzAwMCZtYXgtaD0zMDAwJmZpdD1jcm9wJmF1dG89Zm9ybWF0LGNvbXByZXNzJnU9MTc5MTM3OTgwMDAwMA)
07 October 2026
Luca Ferrari, Bending Spoons: Compounding Through Operational Excellence and Acquisitions - [Joys of Compounding, EP. 40]
Joys of Compounding
About
Our teacher today is Luca Ferrari, co-founder and CEO of Bending Spoons.
Luca spent more than a decade quietly building Bending Spoons in Italy into one of the best operators and acquirers of software businesses in the world, and we talk about why going slow early helped, how they hire people who act like owners, why they would happily buy shrinking companies at high returns, how AI lets small teams run big businesses, and what drives him to keep building.
Please enjoy class with Luca Ferrari.
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.
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Become a Colossus member to get our quarterly print magazine and private audio experience, including exclusive profiles and early access to select episodes. Subscribe at colossus.com/subscribe.
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This episode is brought to you by https://www.portraitanalytics.ai/ - your centralized resource for AI-powered idea generation, thesis monitoring, and personalized report building.
Built by buy-side investors, for investment professionals. We work in the background, helping surface stock ideas and thesis signposts to help you monetize every insight. In short, we help you understand the story behind the stock chart, and get to "go, or no-go" 10x faster than before.
Sign-up for a free trial today at https://www.portraitresearch.com
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This episode is brought to you by Eight Sleep. The new Pod 6 is a smart mattress cover that fits on any bed and automatically cools or warms each side through the night, with an AI called Autopilot that learns your sleep patterns and adjusts every night to help you get deeper, more restorative sleep. It has nine times the biometric sensors of the Pod 5, tracks heart rate at 99% accuracy compared to a standard ECG, reaches your set temperature 20% faster, and runs on a hub that's half the size and fits under most bed frames. No wearables required. The Pod 6 now starts at $1,999, the lowest starting price Eight Sleep has ever offered, and comes with a 30-day home trial and free returns. Go to https://www.eightsleep.com/joys and use code JOYS for up to $200 off.
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Joys of Compounding is a property of Pine Grove Studios in collaboration with Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Joys of Compounding, visit colossus.com/episodes.
Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com).
Follow us on Twitter: @Buhrman_Rick | @PaulBuser | @colossusmag
Timestamps
(00:00:00) Welcome to Joys of Compounding
(00:00:53) Becoming the Best Operator in the World
(00:03:33) How Bending Spoons Measures Success
(00:05:58) Why Bootstrapping Was an Advantage
(00:10:30) Aiming for Something Massive
(00:13:35) Delayed Gratification
(00:14:53) Hiring for Extreme Ownership
(00:20:08) Scaling Without Centralizing Decisions
(00:25:03) How AI Changes the Work
(00:27:23) Why They Buy Instead of Build
(00:31:08) Why the Market Fixates on Organic Growth
(00:33:31) Ignoring What the Market Likes
(00:37:35) Happy to Buy Shrinking Companies
(00:40:56) Avoiding the Law of Large Numbers
(00:45:09) Reinventing Every Decade
(00:49:42) Keeping Ownership as Teams Shrink
(00:51:40) Finding the Right Shareholders
(00:53:29) Why Going Public Helped
(00:55:20) What Drives Luca
Luca spent more than a decade quietly building Bending Spoons in Italy into one of the best operators and acquirers of software businesses in the world, and we talk about why going slow early helped, how they hire people who act like owners, why they would happily buy shrinking companies at high returns, how AI lets small teams run big businesses, and what drives him to keep building.
Please enjoy class with Luca Ferrari.
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.
-----
Become a Colossus member to get our quarterly print magazine and private audio experience, including exclusive profiles and early access to select episodes. Subscribe at colossus.com/subscribe.
-----
This episode is brought to you by https://www.portraitanalytics.ai/ - your centralized resource for AI-powered idea generation, thesis monitoring, and personalized report building.
Built by buy-side investors, for investment professionals. We work in the background, helping surface stock ideas and thesis signposts to help you monetize every insight. In short, we help you understand the story behind the stock chart, and get to "go, or no-go" 10x faster than before.
Sign-up for a free trial today at https://www.portraitresearch.com
-----
This episode is brought to you by Eight Sleep. The new Pod 6 is a smart mattress cover that fits on any bed and automatically cools or warms each side through the night, with an AI called Autopilot that learns your sleep patterns and adjusts every night to help you get deeper, more restorative sleep. It has nine times the biometric sensors of the Pod 5, tracks heart rate at 99% accuracy compared to a standard ECG, reaches your set temperature 20% faster, and runs on a hub that's half the size and fits under most bed frames. No wearables required. The Pod 6 now starts at $1,999, the lowest starting price Eight Sleep has ever offered, and comes with a 30-day home trial and free returns. Go to https://www.eightsleep.com/joys and use code JOYS for up to $200 off.
-----
Joys of Compounding is a property of Pine Grove Studios in collaboration with Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Joys of Compounding, visit colossus.com/episodes.
Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com).
Follow us on Twitter: @Buhrman_Rick | @PaulBuser | @colossusmag
Timestamps
(00:00:00) Welcome to Joys of Compounding
(00:00:53) Becoming the Best Operator in the World
(00:03:33) How Bending Spoons Measures Success
(00:05:58) Why Bootstrapping Was an Advantage
(00:10:30) Aiming for Something Massive
(00:13:35) Delayed Gratification
(00:14:53) Hiring for Extreme Ownership
(00:20:08) Scaling Without Centralizing Decisions
(00:25:03) How AI Changes the Work
(00:27:23) Why They Buy Instead of Build
(00:31:08) Why the Market Fixates on Organic Growth
(00:33:31) Ignoring What the Market Likes
(00:37:35) Happy to Buy Shrinking Companies
(00:40:56) Avoiding the Law of Large Numbers
(00:45:09) Reinventing Every Decade
(00:49:42) Keeping Ownership as Teams Shrink
(00:51:40) Finding the Right Shareholders
(00:53:29) Why Going Public Helped
(00:55:20) What Drives Luca