In this talk, we introduce an algebraic entity arising from a directed graph - the talented monoid.
The talented monoid has an interesting relationship with the Leavitt path algebra. In fact, the group
completion of the talented monoid was shown to be the graded Grothendieck group of the Leavitt path
algebra. We show that a graph consists of disjoint cycles precisely when its talented monoid has a
particular Jordan-Holder composition series. These are graphs whose associated Leavitt path algebras
have finite Gelfand-Kirillov dimension. We show that this dimension can be determined as the length of
suitable ideal series of the talented monoid. The last part of the talk is a brief overview of the talented
monoid as an invariant for finite representation of Leavitt path algebras. This is a confirmation of the
Graded Classification Conjecture of the Leavitt path algebras in the finite-dimensional case.