This is Chenmark

Last year, we were saddened to hear of the passing of Robert Gore, the chemical engineer who invented Gore-Tex (by accident) back in 1969. The story goes as follows: “In October 1969, chemical engineer Robert Gore was performing low-tech experiments for a Delaware company founded by his parents. W.L. Gore & Associates made insulated wires and cables for electronic equipment.

We recently read Frank Slootman’s Tape Sucks: Inside Data Domain, A Silicon Valley Growth Story, a short narrative of his experience leading Data Domain from a fledgling start-up in 2001 to a $2.4 billion acquisition in 2009.   Slootman then went on to serve as CEO of ServiceNow, taking the company from $100 million in revenue in 2011 to $1.4 billion of revenue in 2017. 

As Chenmark grows, we have started to put processes in place where none existed previously. One example is the creation of our hiring “squad” (because committees are lame). As one might guess, this group interviews all candidates and convenes to share thoughts on the candidates’ capabilities, desire to work for Chenmark, and fit with our values and culture.

Every Christmas, certain Canadian Chenmark members break from their typically low sugar diets to treat themselves to Nanaimo bars, a holiday goodie that is simply too delicious to pass up.  Some background on the Nanaimo bar from The Canadian Encyclopedia: 

When we lived in Cambridge, we frequented all the common outdoor exercise spots — leisurely jogs along the Charles, grueling stairs in the Harvard Stadium, and heart-rate spiking intervals on the Newton hills.  As such, we enjoyed learning more about the “Tempo Loop” in the Harvard Athletic Complex. 

Our regular readers will know that our metric of choice is Free Cash Flow.  This is because the crux of our strategy relies upon our ability to purchase cash flowing businesses from retiring owners, and then, over the long-term, using the cash flows from those businesses to fund the equity requirements for growth—whether it be supporting internal growth initiatives or writing a check for our next acquisition.  Without free cash flow, our strategy stalls. 

We’ve written previously about Admiral William McRaven’s popular 2014 University of Texas at Austin Commencement address, which argued that “if you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.”  He goes on to say that if you begin your day accomplishing one small task to perfection, you will be encouraged to go on to accomplish another task well, and then another, and then another, so on and so forth.  By the end of the day, you’ll probably have accomplished a lot.