About
How technology creates value: Deep dives for operators and investors.
Most financial analysis treats technology as a "black box." You put capital in, and (hopefully) value comes out.
But in the modern economy, you cannot understand the business if you do not understand the machine. TechBreakdowns exists to open the black box. We bridge the gap between code and capital, analyzing the technical infrastructure, business models, and founder psychology that define the world’s most critical companies.
Our Thesis
We believe that the biggest edge in investing and operating comes from understanding technical reality. We don't chase news cycles or quarterly earnings beats. Instead, we look for:
- Founder Alpha: Why founder-led companies consistently outperform hired management through long-term vision and skin in the game.
- Engineering Moats: How technical architecture (infrastructure, supply chains, proprietary data) creates defensive business advantages.
- Unit Economics: The mathematical reality of how a product makes money, stripped of marketing hype.
What You Can Expect
We publish deep-dive essays and video analysis dissecting specific companies and trends.
- The Breakdown: Comprehensive tear-downs of companies like ASML, Shopify, and Rocket Lab. We look at how they work, not just what they sell.
- The Systems: Analysis of the macro-trends powering the tech sector, from the energy demands of AI to the logistics of global supply chains.
- The Portfolio(s): Tracking various sectors and themes in portfolios you can follow along with.
Who Writes This?
Hello, I'm Ash Anderson! I've worked in tech my whole career, and spent many years analyzing companies for Fool.com, SeekingAlpha, and independently right here.
I spend my days managing engineering teams and architectural strategy. I spend my nights analyzing how those decisions play out in the public markets. I started TechBreakdowns because I saw a gap in the market: engineers often don't understand the business, and investors rarely understand the engineering.
This site is for the people who want to understand both.