Nathaniel Harding - One Risk at a Time

My Worst Investment Ever Podcast

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BIO: A born and bred Oklahoman, Nathaniel Harding is an innovator and market maker who has founded, scaled, and sold companies. He is a successful investor in energy, biotech, and ag tech.

STORY: Nathaniel’s company decided to deploy new technology to explore oil and gas fields. The venture was cash-intensive and an absolute commercial zero.

LEARNING: Categorize risks. Limit your investments to one risk. Do one risk at a time and do it sequentially.

“There is such a thing as too many firsts. When you stack that house of cards up high enough, it’s going to fall.”

Nathaniel Harding

Guest profile

A born and bred Oklahoman, Nathaniel Harding is an innovator and market maker who has founded, scaled, and sold companies. He is a successful investor in energy, biotech, and ag tech. Nathaniel was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and a Most Admired CEO in Oklahoma by the Journal Record.

Worst investment ever

About 10 years ago, Nathaniel’s company evaluated new oil and gas fields that they believed were underdeveloped or underdeveloped. The company developed competence in using analytical methods using high science to assess potential areas. Then, it deployed the infrastructure and equipment personnel to prove and develop it. The company would do that and increase production throughout a new area and then sell it to a bigger, more established oil and gas company.

After much success with that model, the company decided to do it again. They believed they had the Midas touch. They were now working with some very well-established and accomplished geologists and geoscientists. This time, they took the model outside of their home state of Oklahoma to Michigan. In this new location, they went the extra mile. They introduced a new technology that no other company had used before. This was cash-intensive, and they had to find an investor. They needed upfront capital to lease the acreage and go through the many regulatory steps to have the right to operate in a new environment. Unfortunately, the project was an absolute commercial zero.

Lessons learned

Categorize risks.
Limit your investments to one risk.
Do one risk at a time and do it sequentially.

Andrew’s takeaways

Isolate your risks.

Actionable advice

If embarking on something with many firsts or new experiences, partner with someone who knows that territory. Also, make your first 10 customers wildly happy, which will help with execution and scale risk.

Nathaniel’s recommendations

Nathaniel recommends traveling often to get yourself out of the daily grind so you can think more aspirationally and creatively.

No.1 goal for the next 12 months

Nathaniel’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to be a top decile fund.

Parting words

“Never stop learning, never stop growing. You learn more from failure.”

Nathaniel Harding

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