Are You A Sure Thing?

Last week (1/15/2009) a US Airways plane crash landed in the Hudson River. The pilot and co-pilot are being hailed as heroes - in addition to the ferry boat crews who reacted quickly. The members of my real estate class were discussing the incident and one had commented that the pilot was now "un-insurable" - that apparently no insurance company would cover him since he would be considered too high a risk since he has crash landed a plane.

The fact that he crash-landed "successfully" (i.e. no fatalities) would mean, to me, that he was the BEST insurance risk. He has shown his mettle in the face of adversity. If I had a choice between a new pilot who has flown less than 100 hours and has never had to deal with any plane issues and pilot Chesley Sullenberger III - it is very obvious that I am going with "Sully".

This is the problem with statistics. Statistics "would show" that Sully is a risk, but reality supports that Sully is a GOOD risk. When Verify-ED applied for angel investment, it was to our advantage that I had run a business in the past. It was even more advantageous that the business failed. The (correct) thought is that I am a better risk because I have already felt the sting of failure and most likely don't want to feel that pain again. It is a true assessment. The experience of owning Black Tie Tuxedos gave me the tenets by which I went into Verify-ED. As a result of Black Tie Tuxedos, I knew that I would not do a business as a sole proprietor (too much work for 1 person - especially a person with 3 children), I would NOT manage inventory or have crazy overhead costs, and that the market is receptive to the services I provided. Verify-ED fit all of the criteria and that is why we are here.

I am so glad that the investment community gets it - that an entrepreneur who has experienced setbacks is a great risk. Most people don't want to have multiple failures - and I am among that most.

Sully, I offer you a job to be the pilot of the private jet that I will own within the next 10 years - when Verify-ED is basking in the success that was built on the support received from investors who knew we were worth the risk. But then again, Sully will be 68 and most likely he will be in the Florida Keys somewhere living off the proceeds of the book he is sure to ghost write and those talk show circuits. Not a bad ending for "un-insurable".