About the Founder

Navigating the Seas of Croatia

The Short Story:

My name is Scott Dinsmore and I am a writer, learner, value investor, speed reading teacher, entrepreneur, limit-tester and die-hard adventurer. My “take-action” oriented articles and book summaries can be found at Reading For Your Success and a few other spots around the web, where I am committed to enabling people to discover their own path to personal freedom and live life on their terms. I also run a value investment fund, Cumbre Capital Partners, modeled after the Buffett Partnership’s of the 50’s and 60’s.

The Long Story:

My name is Scott Dinsmore and I am the founder and writer for Reading For Your Success. I have been an avid reader, learner and doer for years and as it developed into a passion bordering on obsession, I felt compelled to share things with others. I can only begin to explain to you how the ideas, tools and strategies I have learned in books have improved my relationships, happiness, outlook, career prospects and the overall understanding of my life mission and purpose.

I will be forever grateful for the books I come across and the best way I can show my appreciation is by paying it forward to other prospective readers. That is why I created Reading For Your Success. For now this is my favorite and most effective way to give back and help those around me become better people (although to be honest, I have been fortunate to be surrounded by some pretty incredible hearts and minds). As far as I’m concerned, that’s what life’s about.

As I write this I am not yet thirty, and I am fortunate to have had quite the full experience until now. It’s hard to believe it’s just getting started. Let me give you a quick idea of what I’ve been up so far.

A number of years ago I finished up university at the University of California Santa Barbara where I studied business and Spanish. While in Santa Barbara I also stayed busy with some golf, competitive Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and of course reading, not to mention plenty of fun. I also went to the London School of Economics and the University of Seville, Spain for a while, which proved to be more than worthwhile adventures. These cultural experiences also managed to open my head up to doing this a bit differently. Little did I know they were just beginning.

After University, a seven-week graduation tour of Europe turned into another year living in Sevilla as I saw an opportunity to start and run a small teaching business with a close friend. We spent the year teaching, hiring interns, and working as part time tour guides through Spain, Portugal and Morocco.  The learning, the culture and the experiences were endless.

At the end of the year we were fortunate enough to sell the business and return home to dive into the American business world (to be clear, the fortunate part was selling the business, not having to leave that wonderful place…). Once home, I dabbled in Corporate America enough to know it wasn’t for me—I was an entrepreneur at heart.

Since then I have worked as a consultant and operator with small and growing companies in product development, marketing, market validation and customer experience. I have even gotten the chance to host a few guest lectures at UC Santa Barbara covering a number of the above topics.  For the past few years I have spent my time between San Francisco (I grew up in a small suburb east of SF) and Santa Barbara and I anticipate continuing the schedule for a while to come. It’s pretty tough to beat these two spots.

All this small company work got me itching to do something on my own again and before long I co-founded Cumbre Capital Partners, a long-term value investment fund headquartered in San Francisco. This is currently my biggest project. Our focus is on finding, investing in and holding well-run public companies with durable competitive advantages that are selling at attractive prices often due to short-term market conditions. I am a firm believer that good businesses will prevail in the long run as long as the investor has the discipline to withstand short-term distractions. This past year has been a perfect example!

I have always been fascinated with investing and have long since been a student and admirer of Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger and other successful members of the investing field. I admire them not just for their investing success but more importantly for their addiction to life and learning. Investing seemed like a perfect way to get a chance to read, write, interact with a bunch of interesting people, learn about great businesses and of course build a successful business of my own. So far it has proven to be all of the above.

So I guess that leaves me with my spare time. When I am not working on my business, reading or writing, I try to fill my time with the things and people I love: my girlfriend (oh wait, now fiancée!) of seven years, family, friends, exploring, traveling and adventurous exercising.  I also teach speed reading courses to business professionals. My most recent journies took me to Peru, Machu Picchu, Dubai and the beaches of Oman.

I also spend some time donating my time to a few not for profits including Catalyst For Thought, a charity dedicated to the continuing development of young entrepreneurs in the Santa Barbara community. Giving back is one of my ways of showing gratitude for life. I try my best to do it each day. I am blessed with the people in my life and the interactions I get to have every day just by living and loving. Those are the interactions that make each day so worth it and I hope that this site provides you as readers another daily interaction, because I know it does for me.

I have discovered how to use reading to gain the knowledge needed to achieve extraordinary success—don’t get me wrong, my journey towards success will never be over but I have picked up some incredible tools for the ride. It has guided me to become more efficient with my time, enhanced my personal relationships, improved my wellness through better nutrition and exercise, and has made me a more confident speaker and conscientious citizen. Reading and modeling has enabled me to accomplish all this much faster than if I had to figure it all out on my own, and I’m so excited to share it all with you!

Now that you’ve heard my story (for more of it check out my Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn profiles), I look forward to hearing yours and being a friend on your successful journey, wherever it happens to lead. I am here to help you and me grow, so please don’t be shy with getting in touch.

To loving and appreciating the adventure,

-Scott

If you like what you read and are a person of action, looking to live life on your terms, you’re not alone and I hope you’ll subscribe to receive new article updates, which I write at least once or twice a week. When you subscribe, you’ll get a copy of my free eBook, The Best of Reading For Your Success: Define your success, live on purpose and maybe even quit your job!