a dark night...

Awhile back, when we started sitting down with "potential" investors, there were a few questions we did not have a clue on how to answer without us looking like young and inexperienced - WHICH WE WERE.

 The question that made me laugh was "What is your exit strategy?" This came up quite a bit. The way I look at it, I would never invest in someone who is already thinking about quitting and letting go of their baby.

The way I answer now is what i truly believe - "If something comes along, and we all agree, then that would be something we will look into and that would be great. If not, we will just keep moving towards the vision."

Some people are dumbfounded that we are not focusing on dissolving the company for financial gain 5 years out. To those, I would like to answer with a much longer answer, but John usually stops me.

This is the story I want to tell them -
Years ago, I was doing a bunch of odd jobs to save up enough money for the future GoNextWorld necessities. Landscaping, sales, and I even remodeled a bathroom, among many others. During a job, I discovered the current toilet was unable to be fixed. I needed a new one and I needed it fast.
The two choices - Go out and buy one for roughly $100 or problem solve a bit and ask around. If you know me, you would know that I do enjoy problem solving, so I went with Plan B.

I started asking plumbers, contractors, friends and family if they knew of anywhere I can get a toilet for free.
My friend, a contractor, did have an answer for me. He told me there was brand new looking toilet in an old abandoned warehouse they were performing a demolition on. The only problem is that it was completely full of human waste, and has been for months, if not years. The building did not have running water, so there was no hope in removing the contents before removing the toilet.

 I did not care. It would save $100. This $100 could possibly help GoNextWorld survive 1 more day someday in the distant future. It had to be done.

 I snuck into the abandoned building around midnight one night. I took a wrench, a flashlight, and a screwdriver. However, there were windows. I did not want to draw attention to the building from surrounding homes, so I turned off the flashlight. It became a mental game more than anything. As I removed the toilet (completely in the dark), the smell, the materials, and anything else you can think of hit me (I felt like Andy Dufrane). Then, I needed to carry it down a flight of stairs, get it into the pickup, and get it home. Needless to say, the mission was a success. I installed the toilet and it worked perfectly. Then, I took the broken toilet and installed it back into the abandoned building (JUST TO MAKE THINGS RIGHT) a few nights later, I cleaned up the mess. They demo'ed the building a few months later and all was right with the world.

 I did this to save $100 - That is one electric bill now. To think we are doing this venture for the sole purpose of selling it - is completely ridiculous.
We have sacrificed too much to not see this through till the end. Money, like happiness, is the by-product. The service we provide (better than anyone else), the life we can create for our family/team, and the ability to do what has not been done before ....is the main products and the real goal.

Like I said, if something comes along, and we all agree, then that would be something we will look into and that would be great. If not, we will just keep moving towards the vision.

 Larry Page, You know where to reach us. Until then, we've got some work to do...