
Cold Fusion Economics: Part I
“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” -Henry Ford
This quote is what comes to mind when I see certain companies claim they have created the next disruptive concept. In reality, they have just found another faster horse. The intention of only being faster is like intending to be mediocre. Founders all over the world are doing just that, finding minor improvements to everyday problems, and claiming to be innovative. These individuals are raising war chests brimming with capital and attracting fame. Where is the risk and excitement in being mediocre?
I would rather risk it all on building something that will truly change the world. One of the few missions I can see today that alters civilization is from Elon Musk. His SpaceX vision brings the stars closer to us everyday. His Tesla vision will one day allow the world to be cleaner and safer. People judge his visions based on quarterly results, when they cannot be measured in terms of weeks but instead lifetimes. Reaching quarterly goals becomes irrelevant when he is actually shooting for the stars.
This past year my company began the journey of scaling. During this process, we were told and felt the need to raise a vast amount of capital in order to accomplish a global enterprise. I began the quest, and traveled around the world, to raise capital. One meeting after another I was given the promise only to be left at the altar. Why did so many prominent business men and woman not deliver on their promises? Until today I do not know the actual reasons. The philosophical reason was that I needed to find a better solution, not to raise the fuel to pump into our gas guzzler like everyone else. We needed to build a better engine. This engine needed to produce its own fuel to keep running. We needed to have the ability to go the distance without stopping to refuel. Our engine needed to sustain itself so there would be no mechanical complications which arise from running without fuel. Even if it means we needed to risk not going anywhere at all.
The title of this article ends with “Part I” to indicate that this is not a recap of what we have built, but rather the beginning of what is to follow. Here are a few of the building blocks of our engine:
- “Meritocracy.” This is critical for a lightweight operation without unnecessary noise.
- “Start with why?” This is important to be able to find the root cause of any issue that is inevitably going to arise.
- “Self sustainability.” If you require outside help then you are still a gas guzzler.
- “Small team.” For speed of execution. Transparency must be absolute within that team leaving the rest of the world in the dark.
Regardless of what someone is trying to build, I believe that the components mentioned above are some of the key requirements. The theory will only be proven if in short order Federated Realty can dominate the global real estate industry.
Artin- CEO @ FederatedRealty.com
