In a world of hot takes, short-term gains and market noise, Brian Feroldi is a quiet force championing the power of patience and clarity. As the founder of Long-Term Mindset, Brian is best known for making investing approachable through education, simplicity and discipline. His platform provides free tools, courses and resources to help everyday investors think clearly, act rationally and build wealth over time. With a background in financial education, a prolific writing habit and a deep understanding of behavioural finance, Brian has become a beacon for those looking to tune out the market chaos and tune into long-term growth.

We recently had the privilege of sitting down with Brian for a reflective and wide-ranging conversation. From market metaphors to personal habits and lessons from teaching, he shares the principles that guide his investing journey and the mission behind Long-Term Mindset.

TFS: Brian, thank you for joining us. You’ve created something really powerful with Long-Term Mindset and it has impacted so many. Let’s kick off with a metaphor to set the tone.

TFS: If the stock market were a novel, what kind of story would it tell and what role should investors play in it?

Brian Feroldi: That’s a fun question—and a surprisingly insightful one. I think the stock market would be a massive, sweeping epic. Think War and Peace meets Game of Thrones. It would be filled with complex characters, long lulls, epic climaxes, devastating downfalls and heroic rebounds.

There would be chapters where nothing seems to happen—flat years with little movement. Then out of nowhere, you’d get a plot twist: a financial crisis, a black swan event, a pandemic or a technological breakthrough that reshapes an entire sector. It’s a narrative with layers, cycles and constant surprises.

As investors, we’re not the authors—we’re readers and hopefully, students of the story. Our job is not to predict every twist but to stay invested in the narrative. We place our bets—carefully, hopefully wisely—and let the story unfold over time. Too often, people try to write the ending or skip chapters. But that’s not how compounding works. You have to be present through the boring pages to truly understand the arc.

TFS: What’s a non-financial habit or discipline that has made you a better investor?

Brian Feroldi: Writing—without a doubt. For me, writing is not just a communication tool; it’s a thinking tool. Every time I write about a company, I’m essentially pressure-testing my ideas. It forces me to distill complex businesses into simple, understandable language.

I have this personal rule: if I can’t explain a business model and its sustainable competitive advantage to a fifth-grader, I don’t understand it well enough. Writing slows me down. It introduces friction and that’s a good thing. Because investing often rewards those who are slow and methodical, not fast and reactive.

Before I commit to a stock, I write down my thesis. What do they do? Why now? What’s their edge? What could go wrong? It’s like building a mental checklist that helps reduce emotional decision-making. And over time, it becomes a journal of your thinking evolution—something you can go back to when the market gets noisy.

TFS: If you could travel back in time and give one piece of investing advice to your younger self, what would it be?

Brian Feroldi: Assuming I can’t just say “buy Bitcoin at $1,” I’d tell my younger self this:

You’re overcomplicating it. Stop trying to be clever—just be patient.

When I was younger, I thought being a good investor meant constantly moving, analysing, reacting. I was focused on timing the market, finding the next big thing, trying to be “right.” What I didn’t understand was that long-term investing is more about temperament than talent.

I’d say: Find businesses you genuinely believe in. Study them. Understand their fundamentals. And then…just hold. Let the calendar—not your emotions—do the heavy lifting. The most powerful force in investing isn’t insight; it’s time.

TFS: How do you personally stay calm and committed to long-term investing when markets are in chaos?

Brian Feroldi: I zoom out. It’s my first reflex when panic creeps in. I literally pull up a 20-year chart of the S&P 500 and remind myself of what we’ve been through—dot-com crashes, 9/11, the housing collapse, COVID, inflation shocks. And yet…the market recovers. Always has.

Then I go back to basics. I reread my notes on why I bought a particular stock. Has the business actually changed—or is it just the price moving? If the core fundamentals are intact, I stay put.

I also have a “mental toolkit” of quotes from investing legends. Peter Lynch, Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger. Their words are like anchors. They remind me that volatility isn’t failure—it’s the cost of admission. And the best investors? They didn’t avoid downturns—they endured and often used them to get stronger.

TFS: If investing were taught in schools, what would be the first lesson of the first class?

Brian Feroldi: Compound interest—without a doubt. I’d have every student graph it. There’s something magical about watching how small, consistent contributions snowball into life-changing sums over time.

I’d make it visual and relatable. Show a 15-year-old how investing just $50 a month from their first job can become hundreds of thousands by retirement. That lesson could change lives. Because once you understand the time-value of money, you start to respect time itself—and you stop chasing shortcuts.

TFS: What’s a “hidden red flag” in a company’s financials that most investors overlook?

Brian Feroldi: Stock-based compensation. It’s sneaky. Many companies use non-GAAP numbers that strip out SBC, so it’s easy to gloss over. But when you look closely, you realize: this is real dilution. That’s your ownership being chipped away.

And it’s not just about math—it’s about mindset. Companies that overly rely on SBC often do so to attract talent because they’re not generating enough cash. Or worse, they use it to inflate performance metrics and make their earnings look cleaner than they are.

A great business rewards shareholders alongside employees. Excessive dilution usually signals a misalignment.

TFS: What’s an industry that most investors underestimate but has incredible long-term potential?

Brian Feroldi: Healthcare enablement. These are the picks-and-shovels of modern healthcare—the software, billing systems, compliance tools, telehealth infrastructure. They’re not flashy, but they’re vital.

Most of these companies operate in highly regulated, deeply entrenched environments. Once they’re in, they’re hard to dislodge. That creates strong recurring revenue and high margins. And with an aging global population and increasing demand for digital health, the tailwinds are enormous.

Investors chase biotech breakthroughs, but the real value might be in the infrastructure behind them.

TFS: What’s the most surprising company you’ve come across that defies traditional investing wisdom?

Brian Feroldi: Amazon is the gold standard here. For the longest time, it looked wildly overvalued by traditional metrics. It had razor-thin margins, aggressive reinvestment and zero interest in short-term profitability.

But what many missed was that Amazon wasn’t playing the same game. They were building infrastructure—warehouses, cloud computing, logistics—and investing in optionality.

The lesson? Don’t confuse short-term unprofitability with a lack of value. Some companies play chess while the rest of the market plays checkers.

TFS: If you could only use one financial ratio to evaluate a business, which one would it be and why?

Brian Feroldi: ROIC—Return on Invested Capital. It tells you how efficiently a company turns its capital into profit. If a business consistently generates high ROIC, it likely has a competitive advantage.

Why does that matter? Because over long periods, ROIC drives shareholder returns. It reflects management quality, pricing power and capital discipline. It’s like checking the pulse of a company’s economic engine.

TFS: Are there any common business patterns or signals that indicate a company is about to experience explosive growth?

Brian Feroldi: Yes—and one that I really pay attention to is upward revisions to guidance. When a company suddenly raises its future expectations, that’s a strong signal that something changed—something internal, strategic and positive.

Maybe they cracked a distribution channel, went viral, closed a game-changing partnership or saw unexpected demand. One upward revision might be luck. Two in a row? That’s momentum. You want to investigate what’s behind that shift.

TFS: What’s the most unexpected or creative analogy you’ve used to explain a financial concept?

Brian Feroldi: Valuation is like online dating. A profile might look incredible—on paper, the person has it all. But if your expectations are too high, the reality will almost always disappoint.

Same goes for stocks. A great company at an outrageous price is still a bad investment. Expectations matter. When everyone assumes perfection, there’s no room for upside—only disappointment.

TFS: What’s a lesson from your teaching career that has helped you become a better investor?

Brian Feroldi:  You don’t really understand something until you can teach it simply. That has pushed me to break down 10-Ks, earnings calls, and accounting into plain English—and it’s made me more thoughtful in my own investing process.

It’s also made me more empathetic. Everyone starts somewhere. If we can lower the barrier to entry—by using metaphors, stories and plain English—we make the market more inclusive. That’s how we create more confident, empowered investors.

TFS: If someone could only take away one idea from Long-Term Mindset, what should it be?

Brian Feroldi: You don’t need to be a genius. You just need to be consistent. Long-term thinking is a competitive edge—because most people don’t have it. If you can stay calm when others panic and stay invested when others sell, that’s your advantage.

TFS: What’s a moment in your investing education work that made you realize you were truly making a difference?

Brian Feroldi: I got a message from a student after our course’s checklist module. She said, “I finally feel like I know what I’m doing—not just guessing.” That hit me deeply.

Because that’s the goal. Not to make people chase stock tips—but to give them confidence. That clarity can change someone’s entire financial future.

TFS: If you could challenge new investors to do just one exercise every day for a month, what would it be?

Brian Feroldi: Read one investor letter, 10-K or earnings transcript a day. No skimming. Read with curiosity. At first, it’s confusing. But by day 30, you’ll start seeing patterns: the language, the numbers, the business logic. That’s when things click.

It’s not about memorization—it’s about fluency. You’ll start thinking like a business owner, not just a stock picker.

TFS: Brian, this has been one of the most illuminating conversations we’ve had. Thank you for your time, your insights and your mission.

Brian Feroldi: Thank you—it’s been a real pleasure. If I can leave people with one thing, it’s this: slow down. Tune out the noise. Learn how to think. The market rewards patience more than brilliance. And anyone—truly anyone—can build long-term wealth with the right mindset.