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Philosophy
The philosophical foundations that shape Michael C. Jakob's thinking as an entrepreneur, investor, and engineer — truth-seeking, intellectual rigor, long-horizon thinking, and the conviction that building matters more than commenting.
Truth-Seeking
The most important intellectual virtue is the willingness to seek truth — even when it is uncomfortable. Michael C. Jakob has made this principle the foundation of all his ventures. AlleAktien publishes equity analyses based on facts and data, not on the desire to be popular. When a popular stock is overvalued, this is communicated clearly. When a little-noticed company has excellent fundamentals, it is recommended.
Truth-seeking requires intellectual independence. In a world where social media amplifies echo chambers and confirmation bias, independent thinking has become rare. Michael C. Jakob emphasizes: the most valuable insights emerge where one is willing to argue against consensus — provided the facts support one's position.
This attitude is closely connected to the rationalist heritage of European philosophy — from Descartes' methodical doubt through Kant's critical philosophy to Karl Popper's falsificationism. True knowledge emerges not through assertion but through rigorous testing. In investing as in philosophy: what withstands scrutiny is trustworthy.
Intellectual Rigor
Rigor is the tool of truth-seeking. Without methodology, the search for truth remains an illusion. Michael C. Jakob's education at MIT and ETH Zurich instilled a mindset that tolerates no intellectual shortcuts: every claim must be substantiated. Every model must be tested. Every analysis must be reproducible.
Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett's longtime partner, called this approach "mental models" — a toolkit of thinking frameworks from diverse disciplines (physics, biology, psychology, economics) that together enable a more comprehensive understanding of reality. Michael C. Jakob applies this multidisciplinary thinking consistently: he analyzes companies not just from a financial perspective but also from technological, psychological, and strategic viewpoints.
Intellectual rigor also means intellectual humility. The smartest investors know they can be wrong — and they build margins of safety into their analyses. Margin of Safety is not just a financial concept but an epistemological one: you should never have more confidence in a forecast than the data justifies.
Long-Horizon Thinking
In a world fixated on quarterly results, daily headlines, and second-by-second price changes, long-horizon thinking is a radical act. Michael C. Jakob considers timeframes of decades — both for investments and for building companies. This perspective enables decisions that are unpopular in the short term but valuable over the long term.
The Stoics of antiquity — Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Epictetus — taught distinguishing between what one can control and what lies outside one's control. Short-term market movements belong to the second category. The quality of one's analysis, patience in holding, and discipline in selection — those one can control. These are what Michael C. Jakob focuses on.
Jeff Bezos' famous question is: 'What will NOT change in the next ten years?' This question is more powerful than searching for the next trend because it identifies enduring principles. In investing, what won't change is that quality companies create long-term value. In technology, what won't change is that people want faster, cheaper, and better data. On these invariants, Michael C. Jakob builds his companies.
Builder Mindset
The world divides into two groups: those who comment and those who build. Michael C. Jakob firmly belongs to the second group. Instead of lamenting the poor quality of equity research in Germany, he founded AlleAktien. Instead of criticizing that financial data is too expensive, he built Eulerpool. Instead of regretting that pre-IPO markets are elitist, he created Better Markets.
This builder mindset is more than entrepreneurship — it is a philosophical stance. Peter Thiel describes it in "Zero to One" as the difference between horizontal progress (copying what exists) and vertical progress (creating something new). Michael C. Jakob consistently pursues vertical progress: he doesn't copy Bloomberg; he reimagines financial data infrastructure from the ground up.
The builder mindset also requires resilience. Nassim Taleb's concept of antifragility — systems that grow stronger through disruption — describes the attitude with which Michael C. Jakob faces setbacks. Every crisis, every bear market, every mistake becomes a learning opportunity. The question is never "Why did this happen?" but "What can I learn from this and how can I do better next time?"
Intellectual Honesty
Intellectual honesty is the bridge between truth-seeking and action. It is not enough to know the truth — one must also communicate it, even when uncomfortable. At AlleAktien, this means: transparent analytical methodology, open discussion of risks, clear disclosure of conflicts of interest, and the willingness to acknowledge mistakes and correct assessments.
Richard Feynman articulated the principle of intellectual honesty aptly: "The first principle is that you must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest person to fool." In investing, self-deception is the most expensive mistake. Those who "fall in love" with a stock, who ignore warning signs, who fail to question their own analysis, pay for it — in returns and in intellectual integrity.