Dream Big - 3G Capital

Email: [email protected] podcast episode is a review of the book ‘Dream Big’ by Cristianne Correa, plus the long form article ‘Built to Own’ by Dom Cooke of Colossus, and the lessons I took from reading it.  This podcast is about how three young Brazilians started a brokerage in Rio de Janeiro and produced one of the most remarkable investment track records. They were not from old money. They were not connected to the right families. They had no inherited network, no guaranteed clients, and no safety net if things went wrong. What they had was a simple, almost stubborn belief: that if you hired the best people, gave them ownership of the outcome, and ran a lean operation, you could beat anyone. Their names were Jorge Paulo Lemann, Marcel Telles, and Beto Sicupira. Their firm is called 3G Capital. And the model they built is deceptively simple: find a great business, install a great team, implement rigorous cost discipline, give people real ownership, and then wait. Just wait. For decades if necessary.  In 2013 I read a book about 3G Capital called Dream Big, by the Brazilian journalist Christiane Correa for the first time. And I couldn't stop thinking about it and re-reading it. Not because of the scale of what they built — though that is extraordinary. But because of the simplicity. Three people. One philosophy. Fifty years of compounding. They built the largest beer business in the world starting with the Brahma beer business generating an IRR of 22% per annum over 37 years – better or equivalent to Berkshire Hathaway’s long-term compounding record.   And I kept asking myself: What is the equivalent of that for my business? What is our ‘Brahma’, the foundational investment that could define the next thirty years? And are we building the culture, the incentives, and the talent pipeline to make it happen?  This podcast is the result of that question. It's a biography of 3G Capital, the story of how they built what they built, why it worked, and where it didn't.  At the end I reflect on the 3G Playbook which is summarised below : Dream Big Hire the Best People. Reward and incentivise them on a meritocratic basis Operational discipline with Zero Based Budgeting to emphasis frugality Be patient and long-term in your investment views Learn from the Best Mentors and Companies  Buy the book: Amazon: Dream Big — Cristiane Correa Built to Own. Dom Cooke, Colossus Magazine February 2026.