To the grandkids of Thomas P. Kemp Sr.,
I started to write a blog post about Optimus (the company you just received a stock certificate and loan agreement for), and realized I really was writing a letter to you all as a group. So, I’m going to write the letter first and then most likely turn it into a blog post. That seems like the better order of things.
The story involves nursing homes, entrepreneurs, pit bulls (metaphorically speaking, that is), race cars, murder, and, yes, Don Quixote. Let me explain.
As you may or may not know, Optimus (formerly “One Touch”) is the company your grandpa tried to help get off the ground when it was first flapping its little start-up wings. After many years of turmoil and scraping by, the company is now for the first time profitable, something for which we can all be grateful. The reason I’m thinking and writing about it now is that I want you to understand your investment, but more importantly, want you to understand what it was that your grandpa invested in and what that means for you.
I was going to title the blog post, “It’s not about the money.” That’s probably a good thing for all of us to keep in mind when thinking about Optimus, since there’s a good chance none of us will see a whole lot of return on the investment. But there are lessons to be learned, and you may as well learn them in your twenties, rather than figure it out in your fifties (like me)!
I have no idea how grandpa first found Optimus. The company was started in 2000 with an invention that seemed radically innovative at the time – a wrist band that could be worn by patients in nursing homes or hospitals with a chip inside that would contain information about the patient’s medical condition and also about what kind of care they had been receiving, when that care was received, and by whom it was given. As you can imagine, it’s really easy to have a lack of accountability in patient care, and this product was meant to address that problem in a powerful way.
The concept was invented by a man named Michael Goodwin. (Now, this is where the story gets a bit gruesome, so Andy, you need to tune out of this part until you’re older.) Michael Goodwin was an odd guy. Probably brilliant. But definitely odd. And in the 80’s he teamed up with a man named Mickey Thompson who was an off-road racing legend. Mickey had set more speed and endurance records than anyone in American history. In the early 50’s, he re-designed dragsters with changes so revolutionary that it took almost 20 years before anyone else made a change that important. In 1960 at Bonneville Flats, he broke the existing land speed record of 400 mph (!!!), the first American to do so.
Mickey and Michael Goodwin had a racing promotion business together and then they had a falling out. Not too long after that, in 1988, Mickey and his wife were found murdered. It wasn’t until 2001 (one year after Optimus was started) that Goodwin was arrested, charged with arranging the hit. That case was overturned and he was re-charged in 2004. In 2007 he was convicted of the murders – two consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.
I give you that background so you can understand how challenging it was for Optimus and your grandpa to have what they thought was a great invention, but it was linked to a man like Michael Goodwin. Your grandpa worked long and hard to put up what he called a “fire wall” around the company, to protect it from Goodwin and from the bad press associated with him. To this day, I don’t see any mention of Goodwin in relation to Optimus, which is quite an amazing accomplishment when you think about it. Your gramps believed in Goodwin’s innocence for a long time. But at the same time, he wanted to protect the company.
(Okay, Andy, you can come back in now!) I wish I knew how your gramps got involved with Optimus, but I do know that he stayed involved because it was something he truly cared about. He had no expertise in the field of nursing care or hospitals. And, as you know, he was certainly no technological whiz! But the idea of accountability in nursing care was sure something that struck a chord in him and he essentially volunteered his services to the new company. He went in to work as if he was employed there, and worked after hours as if he was an owner. It was a start-up, with all the challenges and problems of start-ups. And many times it would discourage him to the point of despair. But believing in the idea and believing in the importance of entrepreneurship is what carried him onward and upward. That, and his faith in God’s guidance and trust in the effectiveness of prayer.
I don’t know when he started loaning the company money, but I suspect it was early on. They would have a hard time meeting payroll and gramps would loan them enough to cover it. And soon thereafter, he probably started getting nervous about the next payroll period, when he most likely would have to loan more. Some of his loans ended up as investments, and some were kept as loans. But he was loaning them money right up to within the last month of his life, if I remember correctly.
There was one flaw in his plan, and he was well aware of it. It was his 100% total faith in people. He thought everyone deep down inside was like himself. Well, technically, everyone is a child of God, like him. But not everyone appreciated or understood or could handle his ideas, his passion, his advice. Especially not the head of the company at that time (who shall remain nameless). Your gramps mentored, encouraged, supported, and cheered him on. And I’m not sure if the guy ever got it. I’m not sure if he ever appreciated what your gramps was trying to do to help him. More often than not, the guy would take umbrage at gramps’ suggestions. The guy’s ego just would not let him feel the nurturing that gramps was giving him 24/7. Such a tragedy, I think.
The lesson I’ve taken from that part of his experience is “don’t treat a poodle like a pit bull, and don’t treat a pit bull like a poodle.” This man refused to listen, refused to take advice, lashed out at gramps in anger (imagine!), and tried to marginalize gramps’ involvement in the company. In short, the guy was acting like a pit bull, and yet gramps treated him like a poodle - always expecting the man to be reasonable, to be grateful, to be enthusiastic. And gramps would reach out his hand… and get bit, maybe not every time, but a lot.
That doesn’t mean that we don’t expect the best out of people, or that people can’t improve. On the contrary. It just means being realistic. Examine what the situation looks like, and then acting accordingly. I don’t think it would be possible for your gramps to be less than supportive to anyone. But one can be supportive… and realistic. One can be enthusiastic… and realistic. One can be encouraging… and realistic. Just don’t try to hand-feed the pit bull a bone, and don’t expect the poodle to defend you in a dark alley.
So back to today. Why am I telling you this? Because each of you has just received a stock certificate from Optimus for 5175 shares, along with a loan agreement for a $7299.58 loan that’s payable to you in a couple of years. The interest on the loan is 10% and you’ll be receiving that interest monthly, beginning November 15th of this year. (Just so you know, the interest is taxable, so you’ll get a 1099 at the beginning of the year, showing how much was paid to you the previous year.)
But what I really want you to know is what this all represents. Kind of like Don Quixote, “The Man of La Mancha,” your grandpa dreamed big dreams, and though this particular project may seem to some like he was tilting at windmills, it didn’t seem that way to him. He gave it his time, his energy, his creativity, his money. He gave it his faith. And by paying attention and understanding the investment he left to you, you are honoring what he stood for. You may not make a dime from this. You win some, you lose some. But it doesn’t matter. You can be inspired by his strength of character and by his fortitude during the most impossible of challenges, even when the very people he was trying to help resisted his ideas, while eagerly accepting his money. But he gave it his heart and soul. And that’s the best investment of all. It always pays off big – in experience, in wisdom, in backbone, in courage. To dream the impossible dream…
You have a choice. You can take that certificate and loan agreement and stuff them in a filing cabinet and not give them much thought. Or… you can take a few moments to recognize the crazy risk your grandpa took to try to help build a company he felt was important enough to devote his time, energy, and funds to. A company which would bring more accountability to the health care industry. Take a few moments to honor him by understanding at least a part of what he went through. I guarantee you, it will pay. Just not necessarily in ways you expect.
Much love to you all,
Anne (to some) or mom (to others)
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