Episode #524: Próspera — Interview with Lonis Hamaili

In this episode of “The Soul of Enterprise,” hosts Ron Baker and Ed Kless engage with Lonis Hamaili, Vice President of Growth at Próspera, to explore the innovative concept of startup cities and their potential to revolutionize business environments. Próspera, located on Roatán Island, Honduras, offers a unique platform for entrepreneurs, featuring efficient business setup processes, favorable tax regimes, and a flexible regulatory system designed to foster rapid growth and innovation. The discussion delves into how Próspera’s e-Governance platform enables seamless business management, allowing entrepreneurs to focus on building their ventures. Loni shares insights into the community’s development, the opportunities it presents for startups, and the vision behind creating a dynamic, forward-thinking environment that supports both business and lifestyle aspirations.

NEW SHOW FEATURE: If you want to ask Ron or Ed a question and be featured on the show, please submit a voice recording from any device at https://thesoulofenterprise.com/questions

SHOW NOTES

Segment one

• Our guest today, Lonis, wrote an article called, “Why I Left Silicon Valley for a Honduran Startup City” for FEE. More here: https://fee.org/articles/why-i-left-silicon-valley-for-a-honduran-startup-city/  

• Today I learned that Prospera is the world's only startup CITY with significant legal freedoms. https://www.prospera.co

• What is the perceived advantage of Prospera, the startup city? The key enablers of progress are minimal government, strong property rights, and a lot of personal freedom.

• There are taxes in Prospera but that is their business model. They generate revenue and returns for a shareholder to the extent that they generate enough useful economic activity.

Segment two

• Did you know that Peter Thiel, Sam Altman, Mark Andreessen and Patrick Friedman were involved in some level of funding for Propsera, the startup city? https://www.prospera.co/en/about 

• Paul Romer was an early player in the creation of Prospera, the startup city. He gave a TED Talk called, “Why the world needs charter cities”. More here: https://www.ted.com/talks/paul_romer_why_the_world_needs_charter_cities 

• You can sign up to be an eResident of Prospera and then quickly create a corporate entity as well. They have the lowest barrier to entry for entity creation in the world. More here: https://intercom.help/prospera-c3520d800849/en/articles/8258594-overview-of-e-residency 

• Honduras has north of a 50% poverty rate. Prospera (located in Roatan) brought in $50 million in investments and has generated 3,000 jobs so far.

Segment three

• At a high level, the goal of Prospera as a startup city is to unlock as much economic freedom and prosperity as possible. That’s hard to argue against. https://www.prospera.co/en 

• You do not need to commit to living in Prospera without seeing it. You can visit during an event or a weekend, talk to the startups, talk to the community and meet the leadership team https://www.prospera.co/en/visit 

• There are real estate opportunities in Prospera. Here are some of the current listings: https://share.hsforms.com/1cLK3A6meRdKtxZ8_Wb55aQde980 

Segment four

• Lonis addressed the concerns in this NY Times article titled, “The For-Profit City That Might Come Crashing Down” In the spirit of what Prospera represents, here is the link without a paywall: https://archive.is/pMGIP 

• Prospera gives power to the people and is a decentralized power. It is a grassroots project started by economists and business leaders. As you can imagine, some politicians feel threatened. 

• A big THANK YOU to Lonis Hamaili for joining us today. Prospera is a startup city in Roatan, Honduras that is largely unrestricted and open for business. Learn more here https://www.prospera.co/en 

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits. 

Episode #523: Pricing Spineometers — Second interview with Tim Smith

In this enlightening episode, Ron and Ed sit down with Tim Smith, a leading pricing expert and author from Wiglaf Pricing. Together, they dive into the impact of philosopher John Rawls’ Theory of Justice on economic decisions and pricing strategies. Tim shares insights into how Rawls’ principles, like fairness and the “veil of ignorance,” can shape corporate pricing decisions, from the boardroom to the balance sheet. Join us as we explore pricing Spineometers, CEO decision-making, and the ethical considerations behind profitable pricing in today’s market.

NEW SHOW FEATURE: If you want to ask Ron or Ed a question and be featured on the show, please submit a voice recording from any device at https://thesoulofenterprise.com/questions

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SHOW NOTES

Segment one

• Tim Smith last joined us on Nov 4, 2016. Let’s just say that some “stuff” has happened since then. Learn more about Tim at https://wiglafpricing.com/ 

• Tim has a PhD in physical chemistry! Swaps, futures, and other financial derivatives were interesting to him but he wanted to work on something deeper

• Tim referenced his book today, “Pricing Strategy: Setting Price Levels, Managing Price Discounts and Establishing Price Structures” - check it out at this link https://www.amazon.com/Pricing-Strategy-Discounts-Establishing-Structures/dp/0538480882 

• Check out “Unlocking Pricing Potential Using the Pricing Spineometer with Tim Smith”, hosted by friend of the show Mark Stiving @pricingcoach https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqlcN3jVJmQ 

Segment two

• A snippet of pricing GOLD from Tim Smith today: Anybody who has to sell something on a long term contract and doesn't know the input cost, and is a significant portion of the price, should consider index based pricing. 

• “There's a feeling among Wall Street and among many executives, that price is simply a function of supply and demand. That you don't need to worry about it. The market will take care of it.” —Tim Smith, pricing expert at Wiglaf Pricing

• Where does pricing belong in an organization? “It's definitely industry dependent. What I want is that pricing person to have a direct line to the CEO.” —Tim Smith

• “When I'm just trying to match supply and demand, what they actually found is that they'll raise the prices for the Uber and but that doesn't actually increase the supply of Uber drivers. It just makes money for Uber.” —Tim Smith

Segment three

• Is dynamic pricing fair? “What's fair is culturally relevant so, in the United States, I can't do price fixing and in Saudi Arabia, I’m encouraged to do price fixing.” —Tim Smith

• “In a global corporation, you can take your best practices that you already have from other countries and apply them back to the wherever you live. And this is the need for building a pricing community within a corporation” —Tim Smith

• Does pricing follow strategy or does it lead it? “It’s both. One of the problems I see often in medical tech is they try to make the best thing in the world. But the ASCs want the cheapest thing. So you have a disconnect of what you're making vs the market

Segment four

• “Under a free market society that’s properly regulated (there's a role for government), anybody who enters into a transaction is doing so because it leaves them BETTER OFF.” —Tim Smith

• “Milton Friedman said the only purpose of a company is to produce profits. That is its job. That is the very definition of a corporate psychopath.” —Tim Smith

• A big THANK YOU to Tim Smith for joining us today. Check out more of his work at Wiglaf Pricing https://wiglafpricing.com/  

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits. 

Episode #522: Best Books of 2024

It's that time of year again! Join Ron and Ed as they dive into the standout books of 2024, sharing personal favorites, groundbreaking reads, and thought-provoking titles that shaped our year. From business insights and innovative thinking to inspiring narratives, we'll highlight books that captivated our curiosity and expanded our perspectives. Whether you're looking for your next read or just enjoy book talk, this episode will give you a curated list of must-reads to wrap up the year in style.

NEW SHOW FEATURE: If you want to ask Ron or Ed a question and be featured on the show, please submit a voice recording from any device at https://thesoulofenterprise.com/questions

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SHOW NOTES

Segment one

• We apologize in advance for today’s show. It’s going to cost you money on book purchases and possibly expand your anti-library.

• Number 5 from Ron: The Case for Shareholder Capitalism. We covered this book on show 488. Here’s a link to the book https://amzn.to/3C12J8w

• “On average, investors want more wealth than less.” — from The Case for Shareholder Capitalism https://amzn.to/3C12J8w

• Number 5 from Ed: Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara https://www.amazon.com/Unreasonable-Hospitality-Remarkable-Giving-People/dp/0593418573 

• “Intention means every decision, from the most obviously significant to the seemingly mundane, matters.” — from Unreasonable Hospitality https://www.amazon.com/Unreasonable-Hospitality-Remarkable-Giving-People/dp/0593418573 

Segment two

• Book 4 from Ed: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles https://www.amazon.com/Gentleman-Moscow-Novel-Amor-Towles/dp/0670026190 

• “If patience wasn’t so easily tested, then it would hardly be a virtue.” — from A Gentleman in Moscow https://www.amazon.com/Gentleman-Moscow-Novel-Amor-Towles/dp/0670026190 

• Book 4 from Ron: Blind Spots: When Medicine Gets It Wrong, and What It Means for Our Health by Marty Makary M.D. https://amzn.to/3DQHM0w 

• Related to book 4 from Ron (see above), we talked about “bad medicine” on episode 178. Here’s the link: https://www.thesoulofenterprise.com/178 

• Book 3 from Ed: The Heart of a Cheetah: How We Have Been Lied to About African Poverty, and What That Means for Human Flourishing by Magatte Wade https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Cheetah-African-Poverty-Flourishing/dp/B0CM925P1L 

• We interviewed Magatte Wade on episode 486 https://www.thesoulofenterprise.com/486 

Segment three

• By the way, Ron and Ed do NOT share their best book lists prior to the live recording. They BOTH picked “The Heart of a Cheetah” by Magatte Wade as number 3 on their list

• “Businesses create jobs. Jobs pay people money. And when Africans have money, they will no longer be poor.” —Magatte Wade https://amzn.to/4gO52Lj 

• Book 2 from Ed: Orbiting the Giant Hairball by Gordon MacKenzie https://www.amazon.com/Orbiting-Giant-Hairball-Corporate-Surviving/dp/0670879835 

• Book 2 from Ron: A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II by Adam Makos and Larry Alexander https://amzn.to/3WdiKPI 

Segment four

• Book 1 from Ed: Flannery O’Connor’s Why Do the Heathen Rage? by Jessica Hooten Wilson https://www.amazon.com/Flannery-OConnors-Heathen-Behind-Scenes/dp/1587436183 

• Book 1 from Ron: The Israel Test: How Israel's Genius Enriches and Challenges the World by George Gilder (Ron’s mentor of 43 years!) https://amzn.to/4j78O3P 

• All books with links will be available at TheSoulOfEnterprise.com by Monday morning! Just use this link https://www.thesoulofenterprise.com/522 

• In 15 seconds or less, you can RATE THIS PODCAST. If you leave a written review, we will read it on the air; good, bad, or indifferent. https://ratethispodcast.com/TSOE 

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits. 

Episode #521: 2024 The Year in Review

In this annual tradition, Ed and Ron look back on 2024, unpacking the year's most impactful trends, business transformations, and economic shifts. From breakthroughs in AI to evolving tax regulations and the latest developments in technology, they reflect on the standout themes that defined this year. Tune in as they explore what these changes mean for the future, the insights gained along the way, and the lessons learned. Perfect for listeners who want to capture the essence of 2024's business landscape in one insightful episode.

NEW SHOW FEATURE: If you want to ask Ron or Ed a question and be featured on the show, please submit a voice recording from any device at https://thesoulofenterprise.com/questions

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The Soul of Enterprise show hosts, Ron Baker and Ed Kless, are on X (the artist formerly known as Twitter) at @ronaldbaker and @edkless, respectively (and obviously).