Rise of the Marcher Lords: Danger from the Edges & the Importance of Environment

Everyone must have seen the amazing Dune movie in 2021. Based on one of the best science fiction books ever written (Frank Herbert if anyone is asking). The story is about noblemen in an intergalactic empire fighting for supremacy on the planet of Dune where the spice that drives all commerce on the galaxy, This was loosely based on the historic Arabic Muslim conquests and expansion in the 7th century across the globe. What struck me was the focus on the tough forbidding environment that Dune represented. A harsh & unforgiving desert environment where only the strong survive. This was represented by the Fremen who the protagonist was able to rally and turn into a fierce, empire-dominating army. Their counterparts were the Emperor’s elite military Sardaukar who lived and trained on the prison death world of Salusa Secundus, another brutal and harsh environment.  

As a history major and buff, we’ve seen something similar throughout human history.  Steppes Nomads, Vikings from desolate Scandinavia, the Spanish during the several hundred year Reconquista wars, the Border Reivers on the Scottish & English frontiers in the 13th to 17th century, the Arabs in the Middle East who led the great Islamic Expansion in the 7th Century, the Turks and the countless steppes nomads who attacked civilized Europe and the Middle east pretty much since the beginning of time. I’d also add the Comanches who dominated Southwest America & Northern Mexico during the 18th and 19th century. These folks were so badass that they decimated and terrified the super tough Apache indians for example. 

The universal aspect to all these folks: they lived in harsh environments with very few resources, surrounded by other hostile competitors. They were forced to develop very effective hunting and scouting skills that are easily transferable to self defense and war. They either got good fast or died fast. Literally only the toughest survived and thrived. Then think about what happened when they left this hostile territory, and run into gentrified city folk in very prosperous and rich territories. No surprise they ended up dominating. It was like a hot knife through butter. This was also why you saw through history of most empires, many of the people who became Kings or Emperors of big empires rarely came from the center. They came from the edges of the empire or the frontier, they are just harder and tougher. They are what the British called Marcher lords, tough hardy men who ruled the frontiers & rose up by their ability and strength. 

In the present day: I don’t think you will meet anyone tougher than Koreans, Ukrainians, Russians and Mongols in my opinion. They live in really hard environments weather wise that lead them to becoming pretty tough too. Awful winters and usually pretty damn hot summers too. This leads to some physically hardy people. Topping these folks are the Chechens who were only defeated by the Russians who co-opted some of their leaders. For my money, I don’t think there are any tougher people in the world than Afghans who have pretty much defeated all the great powers throughout History: Persians, Macedonians, Mongols, British, Russians under Soviet Union and now America. The place has become the literal graveyard of empires. 

So as usual, where am I going with this besides some random observations? I think this is highly relevant to your career & business. Who and where you play and compete with matters. If you grow up in a very competitive environment, you will probably do better in life in the long run. Go up against the best, you will get good faster than someone at your own level. This is why I push my kid to train with better kung fu students and play with better “Go” players. Yes, you will get your ass kicked but if you keep on showing up, you will get better. Much better and will grow on a steeper slope. 

It’s why, at least in the past prior to the pandemic, if you wanted to compete as an investor or startup founder in tech, you came to Silicon Valley. This is the same as being in Hedge Funds and Investments, the place to be is Wall Street. Or Hollywood for the Entertainment industry. This was where the best were & where you can absorb the most knowledge and skills. This is obviously changing in the post pandemic as talent diffuses in the remote work world but the point still stands. 

But this is not the end point, as I wrote in “Playing Against Rubes” (https://hardfork.substack.com/p/play-against-rubes), paraphrasing Peter Thiel, competition in the long run is for losers. Competition is great to hone your skills and get good fast. But then you want to take these skills and use it to dominate in a less competitive market. This is kind of what’s happening. We see many Silicon Valley VCs like Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia, Lightspeed, General Catalyst, Tiger Global showing up in Europe in last few years and bringing all the skills, network, value add and frankly much more aggressive attitude to getting into deals (and more founder friendly one to boot) to a somewhat sleepy & fragmented ecosystem dominated by local incumbent investors unused to competition. No wonder we read many articles and blog posts decrying “The Americans are Coming” (for those who don’t get the reference, during the American Revolution, Paul Revere rode through town rallying the local militia, yelling “The British are Coming, The British are Coming!)

So go to the most competitive center of action, be prepared to grind for a period of time, develop some hard, solid skills and leverage these in another market or industry. Do this and you will develop your own “Personal Monopoly” in time.