Listen to Steve to read this post (7 min audio) – it’s actually quite different and better than the written version below – give it a listen!
Every now and again, you meet someone who changes your life. In my career, I’ve been lucky to meet a few people who put me on a new path. And they all have one thing in common – They were all younger than me. I call them my Reverse Mentors.
Tom Carra I met in my last corporate job at Kraft Foods. We used to have pretend meetings to talk about business and entrepreneurship. Although we only worked together formally for a short period of time, we’d meet for coffee once a week and eventually started a software company together – rentoid.com. He helped me believe I was better suited outside of the corporate enclave and was also the person who convinced me I could become a keynote speaker. He helped me design the first ever corporate speech I delivered.
Ross Hill I met while doing my first startup (above) at the MODM event (Melbourne Online Digital Media – run by Cameron Reilly). A tiny cohort of startup founders who shared ideas on tech before it was trendy. Ross helped me understand social media, blogging, and the emerging business models the internet was facilitating. He truly led me to becoming an author and technology commentator. He taught me to combine tech and economics in a totally different way.
The Stranger from Romania – Raul Oaida – was my co-conspirator in creating the world’s first ever drivable lego car. This became a global viral sensation. It was his idea and he helped me understand that anyone can do anything, from anywhere, in the modern world. To this day I use that project as a pitch calling card, especially when I want people to believe in possibility.
Most recently, I’ve been working with Tom Macrokanis. Tom is one of the most extraordinary people I have ever met. We have now co-founded Macro3D – our 3D printing and robotic construction company. I regard myself as his apprentice – he’s not even half my age, and he is teaching me so much. He is a true renaissance man. He’s not just a software developer; he’s also a mechanic, welder, concreter, and expert in mechatronics. Much of which is self-taught – University would have slowed him down. He has unicorn blood and works crazy hours – he literally did 18-hour days while we were 3D printing our first building in South Australia. Much of it, he did on his own. On top of that, he has a keen business sense and is calm under pressure when things go awry. Ok – enough of the Bromance for now.
What we are doing next is going to be a world first. And I’m calling it now – it will be a global viral sensation.
The world’s first house which has been entirely created by AI. The concept, design, code, build… everything. The picture above is our design inspiration. We’ll be building it on my farm in Geelong in the space below and creating a video of the entire process, demonstrating how AI was the catalyst. Heck, we’ll even use AI to do the final video edits. I’m excited.
And here’s why we are doing the AI House – it will generate attention and give us the platform we need to show our Government that we can design and build houses 50% cheaper and faster than traditional methods. We are part of the solution to the housing crisis in this country – and we really want it to help us raise capital.
If you have a spare $5 million in your swear jar, be sure to sing out!
The only gap we have in our plans for Macro3D is a visionary investor. We already have orders for $6 million worth of robots and 300 houses our first client wants to build. I have no doubt that young Tom will grace the front pages of business journals and newspapers very soon as he builds an incredible business, using technology to solve societal problems. I’m just glad to be coming along for the ride and help a little along the way.
If you want to be taught and inspired to create a different tomorrow, then it might be worth listening to someone with less experience, wisdom, and all those things that adults are meant to have.
Keep thinking,
Steve.