Building Businesses in New Frontiers: A Thirst for Adventure Abroad

I remember the great Star Trek tagline: “to go where no man has gone before”. That explains the great appeal of frontiers like space or the ocean or going to difficult unexplored places. It appeals to the young person who wants to explore new places and challenges. 

That is why international business is so attractive to many of us. And why global investors have been so interesting to me personally. People like Richard & Christopher Chandler (Sovereign Global Fund), John Templeton, Jim Rogers, Mark Mobius, Bill Browder, Daniel K. Ludwig, Adolf Lundin, Marc Rich, John Kleinheinz, Swen Lorenz, and Robert Smith of “Riches among Ruins” fame.

To travel and do business in places that few people have been to. To learn about new cultures and find interesting unique business opportunities. And to invest before anyone else even knows of it.  

Places like all of Eastern Europe right after the fall of the Soviet Union or China in the early 2000s to 2013. Or places in the present day like Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, Rwanda, Kenya, Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh or Uzbekistan. Or in our backyard, Mexico, Colombia and even Argentina. 

Places with completely different cultures, no clear public safety (read crime), corruption, minimal rule of law and prosperity in some places and bad infrastructure but huge opportunities and economic growth. 

But where else can you get to indulge your sense of adventure and also have a chance to make a lot of money. Or lose a lot of it.  It’s the iron law of business, No risk, no return. High risk, high return. Something I really wish I took to heart earlier and only understood after deprogramming my middle class Asian immigrant brain. 

One of my favorite new fiction books “The Siberia Job” by Josh Haven is based on the real life investing adventurers who went to Russia to buy up tenders of big Russian companies for cheap in what was the crazy & violent wild East during the 90s. Huge fortunes were made by those willing to take the risk of violence at worst or being cheated at least. 

There is a great comment made once the two protagonists decide to embark on their business venture in Russia. 

“Petr….let me ask you. When you were growing up , and you heard about those Old West mining towns in America, Gold Rush towns-did you think, man, I’m glad I wasn’t there, that sounds like it would have been dangerous?”

Or did you think, damn, I wish I’d been there with a six shooter and a cowboy hat and a goldmine.”

I wish I had approached opportunities with more confidence in myself and with a better sense of adventure as exemplified by the previous lines.  

So for those with a sense of adventure and have a tolerance of risk, those who are looking to grow personally, professionally and financially at exponential levels, go to frontier markets. You will learn so much, meet so many interesting people and maybe even make a fortune. At worst, you will have a few new scars and lots of great stories!