For many, Neal is better known for his professional yacht racing career. At the age of 32, he made history by building his own yacht and sailing 27,000 miles for nine months all by himself, making him the first sailor of color to race solo around the world. Today Neal is a successful investor, an award-winning author, and the subject of a PBS documentary. He is also a much sought-after speaker, professor, and adventurer-extraordinaire. He writes these words about his mother, who inspired him to never dwell on his own problems: “She was more than my mother; she was my teacher, my inspiration, my hero.” (An excerpt from Farewell Dr. Stella Petersen (1923 – 2013)).
Neal Petersen during the intervention which elicited the feelings of the public, St. Gallen, Switzerland, 16 March 2018.
Neal Petersen was born poor and physically disabled during apartheid-era Cape Town, South Africa. A gifted and engaging public speaker, he often highlights his tales of sailing around the world in his motivational speeches. With his hard work, Neal managed to raise some money and he got help from his parents and went to the United States where he studied there and become a citizen of the USA. Frankly speaking, I did not know who Neal was prior to the Summit, but his story touched me in a most profound way. His way of drawing wisdom from his adventures is both unique and fascinating. He is someone who lives by the rule that “In Life, There Are No Barriers, Only Solutions”.
His rousing keynotes inspire governments, corporations, and hundreds of thousands of individuals around the world. After two bustling days of workshops, seminars and presentations at the Start Summit in St. Gallen, Neal delivered an emotional speech to close the hugely successful event. On my way out I asked Neal for interview, and he agreed. We met the next day over a cup of tea at the sophisticated Hotel Säntispark in St. Gallen, and this is the conversation that unfolded.
Q: While your presentation was very interesting, one might wonder: What does a yachtsman have to do with a summit dedicated to entrepreneurs?
My original idea about the Start Summit was businessmen on their boats. My sailing experience and passion for boats led me to become an entrepreneur. I did not grow up rich, and yachts cost a lot money so I had to find a way to earn money so I could afford one. At the yacht club, I had built a relationship with people who taught me how to invest in the stock market. My goal was to earn money in order to build my first company which was related to diving. I started to learn more about investing because I was sailing with people who were good at it and had huge fortunes to invest.
The story that I shared back on the Start Summit stage is that very personal story of: “You are not limited by your circumstances. It is a personal decision whether you stay a worker or you become a leader, whether you have a glass half empty or a glass half full.” A lot of people are afraid to take risk, but my story is just about that, not about becoming an investor or entrepreneur. It’s all about personal development, because if you don’t grow as a person, you will never succeed as an investor or a CEO. You have to have that personal internal model compass. You have to have the determination and the character to pursue what you are passionate about.
Part of the attendance during the Start Summit in St. Gallen, March 15-6, 2018
Now let me take you few years back. How did you get into sailing?
I’ve been sailing since I was a child. Some of the very successful businessmen in South Africa owned prudent size boats, and they needed a crew. I was looking for a boat to go racing and they were often short of staff so I volunteered. My parents were poor, they could not afford to pay for my yacht club fees. I had to take a train to the city, or take a taxi which I could not afford, so I walked about four kilometers each way, carrying my sea bag. In the yacht club people drop their things over the side of the boat, so they need to have the hulls underwater cleaned. I learned how to dive at the age of 13. I was diving, cleaning the underwater hulls, fixing gear on the boat, and what have you. With the money I earned, I used to pay for my school equipment, fees and transportation. I had to find a way. After all, I was determined to build my first company all on my own.
My MBA came at the knees of business captains not at the university. It was listening and watching businessmen do business. They didn’t see me as a threat, so they would speak freely about all sorts of things. But there was a lot of prejudice; they saw me as “just another black kid”. I did all the dirty work and jobs others didn’t want to do. But I was always able to listen and this is how at a very young age I got to understand how things work.
Years later, I built my own boat, but it was not as nice or as fancy. So one time, a person said to me that if I was smart I would sell my boat, because it was a “piece of junk”, and stay a crew for people who could afford real yachts. But what that man did not realized is the burning determination that I had. Today I am probably in the top ten percent of wealthy yacht owners in South Africa.
“My MBA came at the knees of business captains not at the university. It was listening and watching businessmen do business.”
What is your current business model?
Being an entrepreneur means being creative; it means recognizing where your weaknesses lie and adapting your strategy. There is virtually no difference from sailing. Thanks to my public speaking business, and building these key relationships, I ended up finding companies that would do very well. I would buy the stock of those companies, but also found companies that were so to speak “in trouble”. From there I would look at how could we help them raise capital so they can do better?
Once there was a businessman who owned a diamond company. I worked for him, but the mine was failing and he could no longer afford wages, so he said to certain people including myself: “How about I pay you in company stocks”? A lot of people declined, but not me – I went up to my friends and even bought their stocks, I gave them cash for shares. That was one heck of a deal, because one day they found a diamond and those shares become more valuable than any income I could have earned diving; it was more than what the entire dive crew would earn in a year. This was a huge success, but I also have some big failures. I’ve had several companies that I had to close down because they were just unviable, so it is really important to know when to give up.
I also get to know different CEOs from sailing, which helps me connect people with one another. Think of it as a matchmaking service, but for investors. I do not work on a commission because of administrative reasons, but it is easier for me if you like the deal enough to invest. I want your research notes on why you will invest in this company, then I will match your investment and take a portion. This is what we do – bringing people together, through sailing, and in the process we’ve facilitated some very creative financing deals all over the world.
How do you decide whether to invest in a project or not?
It is all about making an informed decision. You have to put emotions on the side. But you also need to understand your product line, your market, and your competition; you need to know well what talent you have in the organization and how much capital do you have to be able to make a final decision. Of course after trying different strategies and not getting any results, you need to make some hard choices.
Going back to sailing, I learnt a lot about tough choices from the Around the World Race in 1994. While out at sea, I lost my mast in the ocean so I had to return to South Africa to put a new mast, but in that time I had already lagged behind the fleet. If I was to go back into the race, it would take me between 85 and 95 days. In the months of May and June, the average wind could reach up to 100 miles per hour which is a near hurricane force. So I looked at my boat and said to myself, my chances of surviving are very slim. At that moment, I decided to retire form the race. It was what I call an “informed decision.”
When it comes to business, I adopt the same approach. I look at the facts and the market, and decide whether the risk is tolerable or is that an absolute suicidal financial risk. Another critical decision I’m often faced with is about my team. It requires a very important decision-making strategy. For me it is important to have people who I can trust.
- End of Part 1 - ---- read the second part
Start Summit, St. Gallen, March 15-6, 2018: Photo Gallery
