Approximately one year ago, my family and I were returning home to Arizona from Colorado. We had just spent a weekend at our cabin in the isolated Poudre Canyon which is host to trout with whirling disease, a rock shaped like a sleeping elephant and the semi-docile spirit of my great grandfather who likes to peruse the cabin grounds during the late hours of the night. I think everyone, including my usually composed mother, was nursing a hangover on the flight back to our home in Scottsdale. The four-day trip was marked by an atmosphere of jubilance and excessive celebration as we christened my sister’s newly engaged fiancé into the Ammons family (they were wed a few weeks ago from today). I knew he would assimilate well when I saw that he wasn’t traumatized by my dad’s befuddled hootin’ and hollerin’ or my mom’s inebriated peppiness. There was a lot of dancing on the tables, strumming on the guitar, and the losers in Backgammon only expressed a tiny bit of animosity.
On the flight back I took refuge in my preferred window seat where I sat by a tall, lanky man who seemed to be in his mid-fifties. He initiated the conversation, with much of the first fifteen to twenty minutes being controlled by small talk as I eagerly peered out the window. Slowly, we started finding small similarities between us helping to build rapport. We talked about Wake Forest, finance and he provided me with advice on how to navigate the ‘real world’. This man, who later introduced himself as John, kept me wide-eyed with his adventurous anecdotes that provided color to what would have been a rather dull plane ride. John was an explorer and outdoorsmen. He climbed every major peak in the world including Everest, Kilamanjaro, and K2. John was also an avid heli skier which involves jumping out of helicopters onto back country ski slopes. There was no doubt that this man was arrogant, relishing in the ability to impress an impressible young professional such as myself. I also fueled the fire; unafraid to encourage him to talk about his accomplishments (listening to his stories seemed better than getting frustrated at being unable to complete the medium difficulty Sudoku puzzle in the in-flight magazine).
Later in the flight, I found out that John went to Colorado College. “Colorado College!” I exclaimed, “Both of my parents went to CC! And my sister… and my cousin… and now that I mention it I had an aunt and uncle attend there also”. He seemed less enthusiastic than I would have thought, as most people love talking about their alma mater. After some prying I discovered that he graduated in 1981. Quickly trying to do some mental math, attempting to emulate the great Sherlock Holmes, I proudly deduced that my parents graduated around that time. “Do you know Anne and Dave Ammons?” I eagerly inquired. He did know them, maybe too well, as I would later find out from my mother that his advances on her may have been too forward.
While this coincidence alone is worthy enough to write a blog post on, I want make it more applicable to the finance / networking spectrum. One of the most compelling topics that John and I discussed on the plane, and the reason that I’m writing about this almost a year later, included his current business ventures and investments. He placed great emphasis on his energy investments, claiming that he had invested in the only technology that provided an alternative to fracking. While it could have been his ego talking, John smugly told of how this tech was more efficient, cheaper, and environmentally friendly than fracking. ‘Geese’, I thought, ‘if it’s as great as he says it is then why haven’t I heard about this energy initiative sooner and why is the market not blowing up about this?’ Well, the conversation reached a stopping point soon after. I didn’t question him further, and he didn’t go into too much detail. After he reunited for a brief awkward interaction with my parents in the terminal, we separated on our own separate paths.
John’s description of his new environmentally sustainable oil initiatives left me with nothing more than a day-dream. As my interest in the commodities industry grew, I would always wonder what would happen if that kind of technology took off, and if I had been a part of it. Currently in a job with an average salary and little room for mobility within the company, day-dreaming about being at the forefront of a booming oil market has become more and more frequent. Finally, I decided if there was even the slightest chance of getting involved in this venture, why not take it? I’m at the age where I can take risks and every day that I spend in corporate audit severely decreases my chances of becoming a multi-millionaire. So I decided to send an email to John. The contents looked something like this:
“This is a stretch, I understand that. There’s a slim chance that you are even still working on this venture or that you remember who I am. But if there is even the slightest possibility for me to break into a creative VC environment, then I will pursue it. I’m extremely ambitious and motivated to become more knowledgeable about the industry. I can be an asset providing assistance with market research, M&A valuation, budgeting, and client services. I’m at an age where I’m willing to take high risks and I am extremely hungry to succeed.
Even on a short flight, I recognized that you have a great deal of experience and business acumen and I feel I could learn a lot from you. If you have any work for me, if there is any chance for me to be involved in these energy initiatives, please let me know. You won’t regret it.”
Bold. Straight-forward. A little melodramatic. I understand that the email expressed an unnecessary sense of urgency. But even after a year, John did respond. He sent me an article on the Plasma Pulse technology that is being developed and hopefully will be marketed on a large scale to oil companies. This technology is able to revive wells after the fracking effect begins to fade. With increased fracking regulation in some US states such as California, there is potential for this project to expand.
Now, there may be no way for John to get me involved in this business. I don’t have any experience in the oil industry and only have three months of professional experience (in Corporate Audit nonetheless). Who knows, maybe this two-hour plane flight could have a huge impact on my life. Regardless, this narrative is a wonderful example of the importance of networking, taking advantage of life’s chances, not being afraid to take risks, and the benefits of sharing a few drinks with a stranger on an airplane.
AZ to NY Investing 