Planet MicroCap Podcast | MicroCap Investing Strategies

In this episode of the Planet MicroCap Podcast, I spoke with Ryan Telford, Head of Evidence-Based Research at MicroCapClub, where he breaks down why headline profitability and earnings beats can be misleading, and how investors should instead focus on quality of earnings—cash flow support, reinvestment discipline, and earnings stability—along with dilution risk as the true predictors of performance. We discuss the data showing how high-quality earners significantly outperform low-quality peers globally, why many profitable microcaps still underperform after strong quarters, and how looming equity raises can act as a hidden “tax” on shareholder returns. We mention a number of companies and sectors during this conversation, and I’m not a shareholder in any of them.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Microcap Investing and Research
03:46 Understanding Quality of Earnings in Microcaps
08:49 The Quality of Earnings Scorecard Explained
13:43 Analyzing Low vs. High Quality Earnings
18:34 Modernizing the Quality of Earnings Framework
23:38 Transitioning to Dilution Risk in Microcaps
27:39 Market Reactions and Equity-Debt Ratios
31:02 Dilution Trends in Micro Caps
32:14 Understanding Dilution Risk Scorecard
38:09 Correlation Between Earnings Quality and Dilution Risk
46:40 Returns Based on Dilution Risk
50:23 Indicators of Potential Dilution Risk

For more information about MicroCapClub, please visit: https://microcapclub.com/

Planet Microcap hosts the highest quality in-person microcap events in North America. The mission is to bring the best microcap investors, companies, and allocators together to gather, connect, and grow.; visit https://planetmicrocap.com/ to learn more about our Las Vegas and Toronto events.

The purpose of this conversation is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as a recommendation to purchase or sell any security. Planet MicroCap Holdings LLC and MicroCapClub LLC are not registered investment advisors. Planet MicroCap Holdings LLC, MicroCapClub LLC, its partners, contractors, members, subscribers, guests, and affiliates may or may not hold positions in one or more of the securities mentioned on this program and may trade in such securities at any time. Do your own due diligence and seek counsel from a registered investment advisor before trading in any security.

In this episode of the Planet MicroCap Podcast, I'm joined by Chris Marlett, Co-Founder and CEO of MDB Capital Holdings (NASDAQ: MDBH), to unpack the firm’s differentiated “public venture” model and why he believes the traditional venture capital and private equity ecosystem is breaking down. Chris explains how MDB operates as a hands-on merchant bank—building and taking early-stage, big-idea companies public as an alternative to VC—while addressing the shrinking U.S. microcap universe, the misperceptions around the cost of being public, and the opportunity created by a severe shortage of high-quality public companies.

We also discuss MDB’s focus on category leaders with billion-dollar potential, its equity-aligned business model, and why public markets can offer founders a more attractive path to scale, liquidity, and long-term value creation. We mention a number of companies and sectors during this conversation, and I’m not a shareholder in any of them.

Chapters



00:00 Introduction to MDB Capital Holdings
01:40 Chris Marlett's Journey in Microcap Financing
03:19 Founding MDB Capital Holdings
08:22 Understanding Public Venture vs. Big Ideas
10:55 The Cost of Going Public
15:31 The Shift in Private Equity and Venture Capital
20:26 Why Now is the Time for MDB Capital
26:42 Identifying the Sweet Spot for IPOs
27:18 The Importance of Unique IP in Deep Tech
28:34 Navigating the Public Venture Ecosystem
29:51 Differentiating in a Competitive Market
30:50 The Challenges of Investment Banking
33:16 The Future of Microcap Investment
36:28 Sourcing Profitable Companies
39:19 Expanding Focus Beyond Deep Tech
41:09 Engaging with Institutional Investors
43:24 The Need for Follow-On Financing
46:02 Upcoming Opportunities in the Pipeline
50:11 Determining Ideal IPO Sizes



For more information about MDB Capital Holdings, please visit: https://www.mdb.com/



Planet Microcap hosts the highest quality in-person microcap events in North America. The mission is to bring the best microcap investors, companies, and allocators together to gather, connect, and grow.; visit https://planetmicrocap.com/ to learn more about our Las Vegas and Toronto events.



The purpose of this conversation is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as a recommendation to purchase or sell any security. Planet MicroCap Holdings LLC and MicroCapClub LLC are not registered investment advisors. Planet MicroCap Holdings LLC, MicroCapClub LLC, its partners, contractors, members, subscribers, guests, and affiliates may or may not hold positions in one or more of the securities mentioned on this program and may trade in such securities at any time. Do your own due diligence and seek counsel from a registered investment advisor before trading in any security.

In this episode of the Planet MicroCap podcast, I spoke with Tobias Carlisle, a seasoned investor and co-host of Value After Hours. We delve into the 2025 value investing playbook, discussing key themes such as the importance of valuation metrics, the cyclical versus structural decline in businesses, and the significance of buying with a margin of safety. Tobias emphasizes the need for investors to focus on financial statements rather than narratives, especially in a market driven by growth stocks. The conversation also touches on the current state of energy investments, the challenges of identifying value traps, and the potential for mean reversion in 2026, particularly in small and micro-cap stocks. Throughout the discussion, Tobias shares insights on navigating the complexities of the market and the importance of patience in value investing.

00:00 Introduction to the Podcast and Guest
02:36 2025 Value Investing Playbook
09:07 Cyclical Pain vs. Structural Decline
12:57 The Role of Narratives in Investing
13:37 Margin of Safety and Business Quality
20:04 Mean Reversion and Small Cap Opportunities
22:32 Using Balance Sheets for Downside Protection
24:27 Going Where Others Won't: Global Opportunities
27:19 Learning from Mistakes in Investing
29:33 Value Investing Themes for 2026
35:10 The Importance of Balance Sheets in 2026
40:51 Behavioral Advantages in Value Investing
42:10 Final Thoughts and Future Outlook

For more information about the Acquirers Funds, Value After Hours, and Tobias' latest book, "Soldier of Fortune", please visit: https://acquirersmultiple.com/

Planet Microcap hosts the highest quality in-person microcap events in North America. The mission is to bring the best microcap investors, companies, and allocators together to gather, connect, and grow.; visit https://planetmicrocap.com/ to learn more about our Las Vegas and Toronto events.

The purpose of this conversation is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as a recommendation to purchase or sell any security. Planet MicroCap Holdings LLC and MicroCapClub LLC are not registered investment advisors. Planet MicroCap Holdings LLC, MicroCapClub LLC, its partners, contractors, members, subscribers, guests, and affiliates may or may not hold positions in one or more of the securities mentioned on this program and may trade in such securities at any time. Do your own due diligence and seek counsel from a registered investment advisor before trading in any security.

My guest on the show today is Christian Schmidt, a private investor and co-founder of Tracktacle, a financial data and alerts platform that provides real-time alerts on filings and news, plus full-text search across U.S. and Canadian market documents.

In this episode, Christian walks us through his unconventional path from banking and e-commerce to becoming a full-time private investor, and how a series of market experiences reshaped his approach to risk, valuation, and opportunity selection. We discuss why he believes private investors have a real edge in microcaps, how he builds positions around clearly defined catalysts, and why doing the valuation work before the news hits is critical to acting with conviction.

Christian also shares how painful lessons from turnarounds and management missteps led him to re-prioritize assets and competitive advantage over management narratives — and how those experiences directly inspired the creation of Tracktackle. We dive into how the platform helps investors cut through noise in SEC and SEDAR filings, identify meaningful catalysts faster, and stay on top of microcap developments in real time.

We mention a few names on the show today and I'm not a shareholder in any of them.

For more information about Tracktacle, please visit: https://www.tracktacle.com/

We just announced our full slate of investor conferences for 2026, powered by MicroCapClub. Our next major event is Planet MicroCap: LAS VEGAS, happening June 16–18, 2026, at the Bellagio. Registration is now open for that. And, later in the year, we'll be heading back to Toronto, October 27-29, 2026 at the Arcadian Loft. The mission is to bring the best microcap investors and companies together to gather, connect, and grow. This includes your participation.

We know you are putting your 2026 investor conference calendars together, and we'd like to humbly invite you to join us for one or both of them. Please visit www.planetmicrocapshowcase.com for more information. See you in Vegas and Toronto!

Planet MicroCap Podcast is on YouTube! All archived episodes and each new episode will be posted on the Planet MicroCap YouTube channel. I’ve provided the link in the description if you’d like to subscribe. You’ll also get the chance to watch all our Video Interviews with management teams, educational panels from the conference, as well as expert commentary from some familiar guests on the podcast.

Subscribe here: http://bit.ly/1Q5Yfym

Click here to rate and review the Planet MicroCap Podcast

You can Follow the Planet MicroCap Podcast on Twitter @BobbyKKraft

My guest today is Robert Gardiner, Chairman and Co-Founder of Grandeur Peak Global Advisors. Robert has over four decades of experience investing in small and micro-cap companies across global markets, and in this conversation, he shares how his core investment philosophy has remained remarkably consistent over that entire period. His approach is rooted in bottom-up research — identifying high-quality growth businesses early in their lifecycle, partnering with strong management teams, and maintaining strict valuation discipline.

A major theme of this episode is why Robert believes the most compelling opportunity in micro-cap investing today is outside the United States. He explains how international micro-cap markets now resemble the U.S. micro-cap environment of the 1990s — a time defined by a large and growing universe of public companies, limited institutional coverage, and meaningful inefficiencies. We discuss why regulatory changes and the rise of private equity have shrunk the opportunity set in the U.S., and why regions like Japan, the UK, and the Nordics now offer what he describes as “mouthwatering” opportunities.

Robert also walks through Grandeur Peak’s two-phase investment process — starting with rigorous quantitative screening across a global universe of roughly 35,000 companies, followed by deep qualitative research that emphasizes direct engagement with management and extensive on-the-ground company visits. We talk about why “touching the company” still matters in an era of AI and data abundance, and how global “dot connecting” can make investors better decision-makers, even in domestic portfolios.

Finally, Robert shares lessons from a recent three-year sabbatical that prompted meaningful refinements to both process and culture at Grandeur Peak — including the importance of balancing breadth with depth in research, reinforcing buy and sell discipline, and building a firm culture where every team member feels true ownership.

This is a wide-ranging conversation that touches on global markets, micro-cap inefficiencies, investment process, leadership, and long-term perspective from someone who has seen multiple cycles firsthand.

For more information about Grandeur Peak Global Advisors, please visit: https://grandeurpeakglobal.com/ 

We just announced our full slate of investor conferences for 2026, powered by MicroCapClub. Our next major event is Planet MicroCap: LAS VEGAS, happening June 16–18, 2026, at the Bellagio. Registration is now open for that. And, later in the year, we'll be heading back to Toronto, October 27-29, 2026 at the Arcadian Loft. The mission is to bring the best microcap investors and companies together to gather, connect, and grow. This includes your participation.

We know you are putting your 2026 investor conference calendars together, and we'd like to humbly invite you to join us for one or both of them. Please visit www.planetmicrocapshowcase.com for more information. See you in Vegas and Toronto!

Planet MicroCap Podcast is on YouTube! All archived episodes and each new episode will be posted on the Planet MicroCap YouTube channel. I’ve provided the link in the description if you’d like to subscribe. You’ll also get the chance to watch all our Video Interviews with management teams, educational panels from the conference, as well as expert commentary from some familiar guests on the podcast.

Subscribe here: http://bit.ly/1Q5Yfym

Click here to rate and review the Planet MicroCap Podcast

You can Follow the Planet MicroCap Podcast on Twitter @BobbyKKraft