I send one action packed email a week called a 1x1x1 covering crazy cool businesses I spot, updates on what we're building and buying, and lessons from the journey of an entrepreneur.
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For those of you that are new here, every week I send what I call a 1x1x1.
One thought from my week.
One interesting find/tool from my week.
One image from my life.
Let's dive in 👇
I started reading this book called Ganbatte!
Great, easy read.
But one thing that stood out to me was how old some of these Japanese companies are.
We’re talking thousands of years old.
Like... companies that were around before your ancestors figured out how to boil water.
If you’re not interested in learning about the oldest company in the world, just stop here. Go scroll Instagram, check your email, whatever.
But if you’re even a tiny bit curious how a business can last longer than most empires (and longer than you’ll keep that gym membership you bought in January), buckle up. I'll keep it to 60 seconds.
So, like any responsible adult with things to do, I went down a rabbit hole.
Hours later, I’m reading about Kongo Gumi, a Japanese construction company founded in the year... 578.
No, that’s not a typo.
That’s over 1,400 years ago.
What do they do?
They build Buddhist temples.
Turns out, when your product is holy structures that people are too scared to mess with, you get some serious job security.
Plus, temples don’t exactly come with a Home Depot DIY kit.
Need a roof fixed after 300 years? Call Kongo Gumi.
Want to add a meditation room? Boom, they’ve got you.
But here’s the twist: they didn’t just coast on temple gigs for 1,400 years.
When temple demand dipped (apparently, there’s a limit to how many temples one country needs, who knew?), they pivoted to general construction.
Adapt or die, right?
And yeah, in 2006 they ran into financial trouble and got absorbed into a bigger firm.
But guess what? The name stuck, and they still build temples.
So technically... the streak lives on, right?
Take that Blockbuster.
Why did they last this long?
Simple-ish.
My take is they picked a market that never fully goes out of style (people are weirdly consistent about their spirituality), they adapted when times changed, and they didn’t get cocky.
Imagine running a business passed down through 40+ generations.
I can’t even finish a Netflix series without quitting halfway through.
These guys? They treated long-term thinking like a religion.
Meanwhile, most modern startups can barely survive long enough to send a second investor update.
So yeah, reading about Kongo Gumi got me thinking: What would happen if more companies thought in centuries instead of quarters?
Everyone’s out here optimizing for next week’s metrics while these dudes are like, “Yeah, we’ll see returns on that project in about 150 years.”
That’s commitment. Or insanity. Probably both.
My wife and I have a massive sweet tooth.
Like, “eat dessert, then look for second dessert” energy.
These SkinnyDipped cups? Absolute lifesavers.
They satisfy the craving without sending us into a full-blown sugar coma.
It’s like cheating... but legal.
I have it all ❤️
