A Letter to our Shareholders
To our shareholders,
Coultrup Designs passed many milestones in 2021: partner companies were established and guided through production; systems and structures were defined and implemented; investment was secured to deepen financial and intellectual firepower.
Coultrup Designs exists to provide legal structure and direction for client organizations. In this way, we measure our success by the level of success experienced by client organizations.
We believe that what cannot be measured cannot be improved, therefore we will continue to invest in systems of documentation and analysis. The development of balanced feedback loops must continue.
We believe that the future is digital, therefore we will continue to invest in systems which scan or realize physical world items and convert them into digital assets for interaction in meta (not specific to facebook’s “Meta” lol).
We will continue to build systems which assess the practicality of implementing new systems and processes. This evaluation standard is essential to building powerful and important systems with little waste.
Overview of organizations currently under management:
AMPEL: this organization facilitates any activities involving robotics, the digital world, and advanced manufacturing. Success is measured in information gathered, systems defined, projects completed, and network expanded.
Grant Coultrup Productions: this organization facilitates most activities involving media/content creation and publication. Chief among these is a YouTube channel which features audiobooks, vlogs, and research summaries. Success is measured across a range of factors: quality and quantity of production, audience interaction, and application to other projects.
Griffin Enterprises: this organization is a joint venture with Matthew Ludlam and facilitates any projects undertaken together. Chief among these is Griffin Media: Griffin Media is to Griffin Enterprises as Grant Coultrup Productions is to Coultrup Designs. Success is measured similarly to Grant Coultrup Productions.
Twentynineteen Clothing: this organization facilitates the production of media content and clothing merchandising. Media is produced as product lines are released. Success is measured in products released/sold.
Overview of organizations currently under advising:
Netrendity Networks: this organization facilitates the production of live media and precision data for sporting events. Due to the background and competence of the organization's actors, TRC has nearly grown from a role as a provider of these products/services to a more involved role as an event management advisor. This direction has experienced pushback from the organization’s senior officers.
UCI Rowing: this organization receives athletic and organizational advising from Grant Coultrup.
Friends of Mercyhurst Rowing: this organization facilitates the interactions of alumni of the Mercyhurst Rowing program.
Thus Coultrup Designs is involved with projects across a diverse scope of product offerings. We believe that, well managed, this breadth of involvement produces unique experience and powerful perspective. Poorly managed, this breadth can threaten the effectiveness and mental health of this organization’s officers.
In 2022, the organization looks to achieve the following:
Grow revenues in all brands to reduce dependency on debt/equity financing.
Establish a semi-permanent office space where the team can gather to work together and experience camaraderie.
Build relationships to involve more and wiser experience in the business management process.
This last goal has been difficult to achieve in the last two years due to the confusion about the purpose of Coultrup Designs. Having sought out “wise old people” to advise the business development process, they have almost unanimously advised me to “quit and get a real job” rather than improve or expand existing operations. Perhaps this is a product of my own inability to properly communicate those operations; perhaps they do not understand the change happening within the world and the powers which this family of companies brings together.
While trying to keep an open mind towards actual productivity, I reject this opinion outright and disinvolve those people with the process and the business.
In one advisor’s opinion, the creation of Coultrup Designs is an attempt to build structure out of projects which were undertaken for the sake of doing projects. In this sense, the organization has placed a higher priority on “doing something” for the sake of productivity than on achieving returns for the sake of profitability. (This is reflected in the balance sheet, particularly in AMPEL, where accumulated R&D costs run into the tens of thousands of dollars).
For example, the act of producing research summaries into video content for YouTube is one especially powerful tactic for retention and ingenuity. While producing content, new ideas are routinely conceived and explored.
A significant factor in the development of this mentality has been the COVID pandemic, during which we saw many peers stagnate in the “remote” atmosphere. While others may be saving money, they are losing experience. It is the philosophy of this organization that we would rather lose money learning and producing than save money doing nothing. Action is everything. Productivity and activity are goals which are weighed more heavily than profitability. Investors unable to tolerate this philosophy are eschewed.
Above all, we must thank those who have supported the organization in any way whether monetarily, intellectually, or motivationally. This organization is built on the concept of “we” and “us” rather than “I” and “me”.
Sincerely,
Grant Coultrup
CEO, Coultrup Designs
January 3, 2022
