#095 Rolling Fun #10: Capitalism is Hard, Natural Gas From Sunshine, and "Blimps" (That Work This Time)

Smart Friends

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro(00:03:26) - Marathon misadventures(00:06:15) - The failed acquisition(00:13:47) - Lessons from the deal(00:29:31) - The future of retail(00:33:44) - Empathy for founders(00:35:23) - The grind of capitalism(00:35:37) - Challenges for young founders(00:36:10) - The importance of peer support(00:37:17) - Scaling and growth pains(00:37:42) - Exciting new ventures(00:38:20) - Genetic engineering innovations(00:43:40) - Revolutionizing air freight with airships(00:49:56) - Terraform Industries: Energy independence(01:02:17) - Innovative warehouse automation(01:05:25) - Mining industry disruption(01:09:45) - Conclusion and future outlook

Links:

Join us in Rolling Fun!

Hear our other Rolling Fun eps!

To support the costs of producing this podcast:

>> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/

>> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/

>> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage

>> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun

>> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter

>> Text the podcast to a friend

>> Or at least give the podcast a positive review to help us reach new listeners!

We discuss:

• Why personal networks matter most when raising money quickly for big deals

• New investments in companies building genetically engineered animals, advanced airships, and solar-powered synthetic natural gas

• How real operational experience shapes the way we invest and support founders

• The balance of optimism and realism required to keep taking shots in business

Quotes from Al:

1. “Just keep taking the shots. A shooter’s gotta shoot.”

2. “Sometimes you take the shot, do everything right, and the ball still doesn’t go in.”

3. “There’s no classy way to advertise, ‘Hey, your favorite store died—but we’re a good rebound.’”

4. “Capitalism is an unforgiving mistress.”

5. “Personal relationships were the most valuable asset I had in that deal.”

6. “Sometimes I think, ‘I should be inventing Facebook 2,’ but here I am—investing in fabric.”

7. “I’ve never worked on a deal that hard. It should have gone my way… and didn’t.”

8. “You wake up the next morning and it didn’t happen, but I still have a great family, and my business is still running.”

9. “It's hard until it isn’t—and even when it isn’t, it’s still freaking hard.”

Quotes from Bo:

1. “We’re actual operators—curious about what’s possible with technology—and that makes us better investors.”

2. “On a Thursday, ‘This deal is happening.’ Then Tuesday? ‘It’s over. We lost.’”

3. “We have a unique amount of empathy for founders—because we know how hard this shit is.”

4. “If you can pull it off, it’s transformational. And that’s awesome.” (on Airship)

5. “A blimp is not a quadcopter to carry Al’s big ass—it’s an elegant, slow-moving blimp.”

6. “There’s a lot of industries still doing 90/10 in-store sales. That blew my mind.”

7. “It’s a real ‘software is eating the world’ moment—but finally arriving at the mining industry.”

8. “When you’re building something that matters, you’re playing the long game—even if the outcome is uncertain.”

9. “The people who make glow-in-the-dark fish… now they’re building unicorns. And yeah, it’s gonna happen.”