In current times, the Golden Rule is often ignored. Words like “integrity”, “honor” and “legacy” seem to be unknown to some. Businesses are in many cases run by people who care not about what’s best for investors, but about what’s best for them in the short-term. They try to create scenarios in which either they win or others lose. That’s a recipe for disaster.
When investing in a business, you want as its manager someone who runs it as if:
- They owned 100% of it.
- They weren’t allowed to ever sell or merge it.
- It was the only asset in the world they and their family have and will ever have.
At least that’s what Warren Buffett looks for, and I fully agree with him. That’s how we operate Alpha Rock Capital, and we plan to keep associating with people that think the same way. If something is not good for the company, it’s not good for us.
The Way We Run Alpha Rock Capital
As of the time of writing this, 92.02% of the company is owned by people working in Alpha Rock Capital, advisors, or relatives of the two previous groups. 66.31% is owned by Marc Roca and me plus my relatives.
As you read in my presentation post, Alpha Rock Capital started with just Marc and me investing in a FBA business. We realized that this was a great opportunity, so we invested much more, reaching what probably are unreasonably high percentages of our savings. And, we encouraged others to invest too. What started as just a very productive way to use our savings has become an adventure that long-time friends and some new ones were courageous enough to join.
ON THE VALUE OF TRUST AND THE RESPONSIBILITY THAT COMES WITH IT
This is no longer about our money (as if that wasn’t enough reason to keep us motivated), but some people have essentially told us: “I’m willing to give you some of my hard-earned money because I trust you, I like what you are doing and I consider this is the best I can do with this money”.
I find that tremendously valuable and even touching. How can we fail these people, some of which we have known for many years and others that joined even though they didn’t know us until recently? How can we justify doing anything but everything we can do to make this work, to make this grow as much as possible and in a safe way?
That’s how I think about Alpha Rock Capital. I can’t squander the company’s money because it would hurt me even more than wasting my own money (Mr. Frugal, from my previous article on Keys to Money Management, is my hero).
We can’t recklessly borrow money because we know it’s not sensible for the business. We can’t make any big decisions without carefully studying first which are their consequences, and whether we can afford them not working out.
I can’t but spend as much time as needed to clarify any doubt from an investor (some of which have been surprised by my four pages emails when I don’t talk much in person), and to thoroughly inform them about our recent results and plans in each monthly report. I can’t fail business partners nor associates when I tell them I’m going to do something. I’m not satisfied until I feel something is perfect.
Making Success my Mission
In general terms I follow the principles I wrote about and wouldn’t stand anyone working in this company not following them. Alpha Rock Capital has become way more than an investment for me, it’s an essential part of my life, nothing else has rewarded me with more sleepless nights than this project.
Now I have the mission of making this successful. I may not be able to control the outcome of my effort, but I won’t let myself do anything but everything that must be done for Alpha Rock Capital to become something to be proud of.
By putting our skin in the game, and having encouraged others to join us, we made sure that we are highly incentivized to make this work.
If this way of thinking resonates with you, if you have a long-term approach to doing business instead of a get rich quick mentality, there may be room for you to collaborate with us in some capacity. Were this the case, I look forward to hearing from you. Please reach out to us via the Contact Us section.