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FedEx also has an interesting story: "In 1962, Smith entered Yale University. While attending Yale, he wrote a paper for an economics class, outlining overnigh
by jakarta 16y ago
FedEx also has an interesting story:
"In 1962, Smith entered Yale University. While attending Yale, he wrote a paper for an economics class, outlining overnight delivery service in a computer information age. Folklore suggests that he received a C for this paper, although in a later interview he claims that he told a reporter, "I don't know what grade, probably made my usual C", while other tales suggest that his professor told him that, in order for him to get a C, the idea had to be feasible. The paper became the idea of FedEx (for years, the sample package displayed in the company's print advertisements featured a return address at Yale)."
Smith used his time in the military to get insights in how to refine his idea:
"As a Marine, Smith had the opportunity to observe the military's logistics system first hand. He served two tours of duty in Vietnam, flying with pilots on over 200 combat missions. He was honorably discharged in 1969 with the rank of Captain, having received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and two Purple Hearts. While in the military, Smith carefully observed the procurement and delivery procedures, fine-tuning his dream for an overnight delivery service."
link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_W._Smith http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_W._Smith
I thought it was pretty interesting. Found it because I've been spending a lot of time seeking companies that have the following attributes: (1) extremely high barriers-to-entry, (2) good growth potential for the next 15+ years with little obsolescence risk, (3) a high quality management team, and (4) a good balance sheet. FedEx was one of the companies which met all the above categories.
- grinich 16y agoWhat other companies did you find fit those attributes?
- jakarta 16y agoNot a whole lot. Sysco (SYY), the food distributor. Fiserv (FISV), they do a lot of payment processing. But, those two benefit from having business models which are more resilient to economic downturns than FedEx.
- phaedrus 16y agoI heard a story (I don't know if it's true or not) about Fedex and Frederick Smith: supposedly at one point in the company's early history, they were going through a rough time and realized by Wednesday there wouldn't be enough money to make payroll. So Frederick Smith took the $30,000 the company had, flew to Las Vegas and put it all double or nothing on one roulette bet. He won, and deposited the money Thursday night so they made payroll Friday morning. I don't know what would have happened to him if he had lost. I'm not sure whether to conclude from that story that it takes determination, or that Fedex exists today because he was lucky.
- jakarta 16y agoThe black jack win was more of a confidence booster. He was going through a tough time, his investors would not raise additional funds. So he made $30K playing black jack which boosted his confidence and went on to raise another $10M or so. Sometimes, I think that when you are setting goals to get to tough places - putting up certain milestones like that are extremely helpful.
- InclinedPlane 16y agoArrhenius' college dissertation, containing revolutionary research that served as the foundation for work which won him a Nobel Prize in Chemistry, was graded such that he initially received a 4th class degree. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svante_Arrhenius http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svante_Arrhenius