Every decision we make has a downstream effect

We care deeply about the generations that lie downstream of us. As an investment firm, we seek to nurture companies that will have a positive impact on future generations through their customers, employees, products, and the broader culture.

We can’t guarantee a company will grow continuously for 100 years. But we do help every company we work with build a foundation that maximizes their 100-year potential.

Solving big problems

The most effective way to solve big problems isn’t the stick of government regulation or the patch of charitable nonprofits. It’s the carrot of profitability.

Enduring companies, the ones that matter, all have one thing in common: they act on their core beliefs. This causes them to solve more and more meaningful problems. Customers can see what a company believes by watching what it does. When a company and its customers believe the same things, an extraordinary bond forms. That bond allows the company to spend fewer resources on customer acquisition, which opens them up to focus instead on serving their customers better, operating more efficiently, and growing more sustainably. It’s a powerful competitive advantage right out of the gate, and as long as the company holds true to its core beliefs, the advantage only compounds over time.

The problem with taking the short view

Looking out 100 years isn’t intuitive, nor is it currently trending. Most companies (and people) do whatever benefits them now, often at the expense of their own long term good, and frequently at the expense of the good of others.

Since corporations more or less run the world, that short-sightedness creates a web of enormous problems for society as a whole.

How do we find companies that can go the distance?

It all hinges on the first and most important principle of Dowstream Capital: We only invest in companies with a Clearly Defined Reason For Being. Companies with a CDRFB know exactly why they exist. They know the change they need to affect on the world, and everything they do flows from that purpose.

When companies nail this one thing, they matter. They build incredible cultural and financial value, and the downstream benefits are remarkable. 

These companies don’t build products for the landfill. Instead, customers love and use their products for years and years. They don’t acquire customers just to bog down their spam box. Instead, they’re always finding new ways to help their customers. They don’t hire employees to just use them up. Instead, they care for and pay their employees well at every level of the organization, enabling a whole community to take better care of themselves, their neighbors, and the planet.

If you want to do work that matters, it’s not easy. But it is simple: build meaningful products, create meaningful jobs, and help people live more meaningful lives.

This is the work that will matter in 100 years. The kind of work our grandkids will be proud of.