Starting a Business
16 Hayaad (August) 2021
Palace of the Duke of Makobar, Bedonite Ducal Estate, Makobar, Kharyat, Packilvania
The board of trustees of the Amhoud I Family Trust was filing into a meeting room at the estate of the Bedonite family in the city of Makobar. The architecture was emblematic of High Packilvanian design and style. The buildings had vaults carved with intricate geometric patterns that scattered the light that fell through the delicate archways. This Palace was the home of the private family trust of the ruling dynasty of Packilvania.
The trustees were not actually members of the family. They were portfolio managers, accountants and lawyers from outside of the family who oversaw the prudent management of its substantial endowment to both grow and preserve it to ensure that the family had the resources that they needed to continue to maintain their lifestyles and pursue their projects. Prince Abuyin had made a rare request to the board of trustees to consider a proposal for a new business that he wanted to establish. With the help of his team, he prepared and distributed a 150-page explanation of his idea.
The board of trustees sat down around a round table. At the center of which was the chairman of the board of trustees, Khimayon Dohal, the son of lord and martyr Eron Dohal, one of the most notable figures in the struggle against Communism. He had been operating in the investment space for decades before his appointment to the position of de facto head of the trust. Princes often came to him pleading and threatening, wanting money for this purchase or that project, but he was unwavering in his commitment to prudent financial management even if he earned the deep irritation of some disgruntled and disaffected prince.
With the Bedonite dynasty hoarding so much money, he would not be the chairman to allow frivolous pursuits to result in investment decisions that would tear the whole thing asunder.
Prince Abuyin was very deferential to the board, bestowing on them praise for their “stellar management” of the trust and his confidence in their “financial skill and ethical standards”. While he knew that flattery would not clinch the deal, he at least wanted to make them less resistant to his proposal.
On a large screen he opened his Damehowe i8 processor laptop, which he connected to the screen using an HDMI cable. He grabbed a remote and pressed the first button. The first slide that emerged was a picture of an oil rig.
The trustees were confused and began to whisper among themselves, except for Khimayon who simply looked straight ahead, unmoved and unimpressed.
“The Oan Isles, a country in Aurora”, Prince Abuyin began, confident he had gained their attention.
Before he could continue, Khimayon interjected, “Yes, we are aware of the location of the country, Prince Abuyin”.
“Uh, yes, sir”, Abuyin said, giving a cough to dislodge the phlegm in his throat. He proceeded, “When they took over the Kohatu Isles after the 2017 Kohatu War, they accelerated the exploration for and subsequent extraction of fossils fuels buried deep beneath the ocean surface. Although their reserves are not as substantial as ours, they are enough to make the price of petroleum in that country extraordinarily affordable. Their government is currently pursuing a program to onshore as many jobs as possible in the archipelago where these resources are found. Thus, there are opportunities for us to both create jobs there and benefit from the investments here. Firstly, I want to establish an ammonium manufacturing company in that nation that will produce inputs for agriculture and industrial cleaning. As you will see in your information pack, the voracious demand for fertiliser and industrial cleaning present substantial opportunities for sustained long term growth. Admittedly, no business proposal is without its caveats and downsides. Of which, the most challenging is the cost of labour and the restrictive regulatory market. But these are factors we can ameliorate through building good relationships with the local government, efforts that are already at an advanced stage”.
Khimayon seemed to ease into his chair, seemingly more willing to listen and genuinely assess Abuyin’s proposal. Abuyin saw the man ever so slightly recline in his chair and took the opportunity to dig into his presentation.
He continued, “The Oan Isles has a large domestic market open to consuming these goods but there is an even larger market to which it has unhindered and unrivalled access: the United Nations of the Auroran Continent. External tariffs for the production of ammonia for the entire UNAC are determined continentally for nations within their Customs Union. Imports of ammonia have faced backlash for the offshoring of jobs and lobbsiding the carbon measurements for imported goods. While we all know the penchant of wealthy nations to offshore their carbon emissions, a small project like this could attract enough good will and overcome sufficient regulatory hurdles to make the entire investment pay for itself in 5 years”.
Khimayon Dohal raised his hand, which Abuyin was surprised by but acknowledged nevertheless, “Lovely. However, why are you pursuing this course of action, Prince Abuyin. I can imagine that there are economic opportunities in any sector. But I think you have not given us an adequate overview of the elements of a successful business that are really worth considering: the team. You have covered the the other two elements rather well: the market and the product. But, I presume that you will be the driver of this project, and last I checked you had no expertise in the fertiliser business and I do not see such expertise with us in this room. Lovely report you’ve put together but I need to see demonstrable credentials of the team that will lead this project before we go into projections about possible income”.
Abuyin had been caught off guard by that question but luckily not entirely unpreprared. He replied, “You are correct, Lord Dohal. I have no expertise in ammonium production but I have a vision where we can leverage the power of fossil fuels to feed millions especially in our country. Packilvania suffers from exceedingly difficult conditions for growing food. I have a vision to leverage the abundance in one nation to ultimately benefit our own. To this project, I bring passion. The team that will make it all happen is a group of scientists and industrialists from across Packilvania who have knowledge and the drive to succeed”.
Khimayon Dohal put up his hand and said, “Prince Abuyin, I think we’ve heard enough. Thank you for your proposal. We will take it under advisement and refer back to you”.
Prince Abuyin tried to interject, “But I’m not do…”.
“I think you are”, Khimayon replied, “I have read through this proposal and last I checked you only had one slide left. Up until this point, I have not read of even the building blocks of how this ammonia slash ammonium will be produced, where and by whom and for how much and to which buyers. Let us not apeak of the contradictions in how on one hand you say that the UNAC is your market but that Packilvania will be the one to benefit. We have not even gotten to speak of exchange controls, sourcing for raw materials and logistics for distribution. Thus, far, I see no reason to believe that this a lovely but ultimately vacuous project underpinned by nothing but dreams. Sure, there are startups with valuable ideas that have simple ideas that they can take further. But sadly, we are not a venture capitalist fund. Prince Abuyin, we invest in serious businesses here and I will need you to provide us with vastly more information. And this time, I suggest that you get one of the touted members of your team to present. Other than perhaps your vision, I do not see how much of a contribution you will be able to make. Thank you, that is all”.
Even as the second in line to the throne, the coffers of the Amhoud Trust were sealed shut. Abuyin tried to remain professional, composing himself and accepting Khimayon’s criticism. He had heard of Khimayon being on shows such as “Lion’s Den” on the PBC channel 5 where he tore through the half baked ideas of aspiring entrepreneurs. He had heard of him in investment briefings at majors firms tossing an investment analyst’s report at their face. To be the one in the firing was a different experience especially when you had grown up so entitled and self righteous.
Abuyin got a text from Jasper, in Staynish “Hi Abu, how did the presentation go?”
“Horrible, habibi, just awful 
”