Starting a major innovative project that will change the world can be a very interesting and frustrating time filled with excitement. You have the vision and you know every detail about what the project will look like when it’s done, but now it becomes important to transmit that vision to someone with the resources and passion to help bring that vision to reality.
In the process you will meet with numerous people that have an interest in your project as well as connections to people with the resources you need. In the Mathias Island at Fortune Bay project we have met some of the most interesting and knowledgeable people in the world, from geotechnical engineers to people responsible for the first private vehicle to leave our atmosphere. I am still in awe of the people we have discussed our project with and their accomplishments.
It is now time for us to address our future accomplishments. In the process of meeting with the numerous experts we have had the pleasure of doing business with we have learned some incredible lessons. It is not an easy process, but if it were easy anyone could do it. As I watch the Olympics and see the spectacular talent and skill it takes to win a gold medal I am reminded of our process. To see teams that have worked for 18 years finally winning their gold medal humbles me, highlighting just how little time I have put towards this effort thus far and calling to mind all the future expenditures of my time and energy that it will take to make this project a reality.
As daunting as it seems, I am not ready to give up. On the contrary it makes me appreciate how far we have come in the short time we have been working on this project. Certainly I have seen myself hurtling down a snowy mountainside hoping to avoid the trees, but it takes some good bruises and scrapes to really appreciate the job that we are doing. Each crash has taught me something about getting back up and not doing it that way again and that has made me a smarter, more resourceful businessman.
The economy has been in a downward spiral and many believe it has a long way to go before it hits the bottom. It has made a lot of investors very gun shy about becoming part of a major project where their resources are vulnerable. It’s actually quite interesting that many who started out as risk takers are now very conservative and afraid of the future because they are not willing to take the risks anymore and are watching their empires crumble. It was funny to watch the emotions sway the stock market crash of 2008 and 2009 because many of the people that lived their lives on the mantra “buy low/sell high” ran like scared children when stocks were at their lowest point. This should have been their opportunity to buy very good stocks at bargain basement prices, but they were too afraid of the risk. Most stocks like Citibank, Bank of America, Texas Instruments, Intel, and many others doubled or tripled their value from the initial crash.
In this time of panicked investors and a government that is predicting gloom and doom, it is a challenge to find people that want to become involved in a project with as far reaching goals as Mathias Island at Fortune Bay, but in their defense they just want to protect the assets they have left. The time has come though for investors to start looking to the future and stop living in the past – or even in the present. We are in a new world economy and there are incredible opportunities for investors that have a vision for the future. Our project represents a path to future prosperity.
The people with the resources have been interested in our project and we are still communicating with them, but the big issue at this point, besides the economy, is “skin in the game.” Investors want to know that whomever they deal with has a real vested interest in the project and can be relied upon to protect their assets with the same vigor that they themselves would. To many, especially ones with banking or financial experience, this means a percent of cost. For example, when buying a new home the bank wants the buyer to put up 20% to help assure the bank that the buyer has a vested interest in protecting their investment and thereby protecting the bank’s investment. The problem with this limited view is that when buying a home the home is not a functioning business that brings in capital until it is sold. With major projects the real value is in the business paying for itself and returning a profit to the owners and investors for many years to come.
Real “skin in the game” is the drive to succeed, the willingness to turn life upside down and sacrifice whatever it takes to succeed. Lindsey Vonn, after winning gold in downhill skiing with a bruised shin, summed it up when she said, “This is everything I’ve wanted and hoped for. I gave up everything for this.” This is the real skin in the game.
For us that have been involved in the Mathias Island at Fortune Bay project this is something we understand very well. There has been a cost to us of a lot more than just money. Everyone involved in this project also had a regular job that required a great deal of our time and attention. We have worked on this project for the past 4 years outside of our regular jobs with over 5000 hours of our family time directed at this project and our relationships have suffered a great deal. I lost a wonderful woman that I have been with for a long time. My partner is still in counseling to save his marriage. We have not taken the commitment to this project lightly and know that in order to succeed we have to make sacrifices and suffer loses. It doesn’t make it any easier to see the things you have lost, but you can’t work on a project of this nature without it being the main focus of your life.
There have also been unreimbursed business expenses associated with traveling around the country to discuss our project with experts in their field and potential investors as well as the unpaid time away from work to attend meetings and conferences. There have been the normal office costs such as printing expenses, conference room rentals, web hosting, and legal fees. All of these costs have been absorbed at our expense because we knew that in order to make this project a reality sacrifices needed to be made.
There is no doubt that monetarily we have not spent enough to justify having significant skin in the game at a percentage of the project costs to meet the balance sheet definition, but this country was founded on the principle that if you never gave up and worked in blood, sweat and tears you could accomplish anything – and we believe that to be true. Under that definition we’ve put our pound of flesh into the game, and we have added passion and determination to that list.
I concede that the economy is not in good shape, but I will not support the notion that it will be seven to ten years before we pull out of it. There is no shortage of people with money to invest in this economy. Investors that have the vision to understand the potential of the Mathias Island at Fortune Bay project will also be poised to start profiting from it when the economy does turn around because this project will be well ahead of the ones waiting for the turn around.
The skin in the game we have offered is much more valuable than just an infusion of money, because money can be regained. Our dedication, passion, and determination can not be regained, but our success will easily justify the effort and the expenditure of our blood, sweat, and tears. That’s the real skin in the game that makes innovation work.
History has shown that the most success comes from having courage when everyone else is afraid. We’re ready to charge forward in the scrimmage – do you have the courage to fight with us?
~ Nick