1 00:00:15,410 --> 00:00:25,130 Speaker 1: Pushkin a warning before we start. This cautionary tale discusses 2 00:00:25,210 --> 00:00:28,810 Speaker 1: death by suicide. If you're suffering emotional distress or you're 3 00:00:28,850 --> 00:00:33,250 Speaker 1: having suicidal thoughts, support is available, for example, from the 4 00:00:33,370 --> 00:00:36,730 Speaker 1: nine eight eight Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in the US 5 00:00:37,450 --> 00:00:44,450 Speaker 1: or the Samaritans in the UK. On the fourth of 6 00:00:44,530 --> 00:00:49,290 Speaker 1: July twenty twenty, in Park City, Utah, two friends are 7 00:00:49,370 --> 00:00:52,970 Speaker 1: drinking beer on the porch of the airbnb they've rented 8 00:00:53,010 --> 00:00:56,810 Speaker 1: for the holidays. Happy fourth, They call out to a 9 00:00:56,850 --> 00:01:01,130 Speaker 1: man walking past on the sidewalk. The passer by stops 10 00:01:01,170 --> 00:01:06,090 Speaker 1: to chat. They notice he's not wearing any shoes, his 11 00:01:06,250 --> 00:01:10,730 Speaker 1: clothes are tattered, and his eyes are glass Perhaps they 12 00:01:10,850 --> 00:01:15,610 Speaker 1: shouldn't have attracted his attention. What do you do, the 13 00:01:15,690 --> 00:01:21,130 Speaker 1: shoeless man asks them. The friends exchange a glance. One 14 00:01:21,410 --> 00:01:26,650 Speaker 1: guardedly volunteers that he works in recruitment. Oh, says the 15 00:01:26,690 --> 00:01:29,690 Speaker 1: shoeless man. I'm recruiting people to come and live here 16 00:01:29,730 --> 00:01:33,770 Speaker 1: in Park City. I'm building a community. I can offer 17 00:01:33,810 --> 00:01:36,090 Speaker 1: you a fee for everyone you bring in. Let me 18 00:01:36,130 --> 00:01:40,810 Speaker 1: tell you my number. The friend politely takes down the number, 19 00:01:41,450 --> 00:01:47,450 Speaker 1: then forgets all about it. The man seemed high and homeless. 20 00:01:48,250 --> 00:01:53,490 Speaker 1: It obviously wasn't serious. The shoeless man might indeed have 21 00:01:53,570 --> 00:01:58,890 Speaker 1: been high, but he wasn't homeless, and he was deadly serious. 22 00:01:59,730 --> 00:02:06,370 Speaker 1: He was billionaire Tony Shay. This is the second of 23 00:02:06,570 --> 00:02:11,490 Speaker 1: two cautionary tales about Tony Shay, who made his fortune 24 00:02:11,530 --> 00:02:15,970 Speaker 1: with the online shoe retailer Zappos. If you haven't heard 25 00:02:16,090 --> 00:02:19,890 Speaker 1: part one, you might want to do that. Now we 26 00:02:20,010 --> 00:02:24,050 Speaker 1: heard how Tony wrote a best selling book about employee happiness, 27 00:02:24,770 --> 00:02:30,490 Speaker 1: then imposed a management fad that many employees hated. Tony 28 00:02:30,930 --> 00:02:35,890 Speaker 1: loved ideas, the kind that sound wise in a Ted talk, 29 00:02:36,690 --> 00:02:40,610 Speaker 1: but work in practice only if you really think the 30 00:02:40,690 --> 00:02:46,370 Speaker 1: details through. In this episode, we focus on one wise 31 00:02:46,490 --> 00:02:54,570 Speaker 1: idea that Tony really didn't think through community. In his book, 32 00:02:55,010 --> 00:02:59,210 Speaker 1: Tony links happiness to connectedness with others. He tried to 33 00:02:59,210 --> 00:03:03,450 Speaker 1: build a community in Las Vegas. As we'll hear, that 34 00:03:03,690 --> 00:03:09,610 Speaker 1: didn't go well. Now in Park City, he was trying again. 35 00:03:10,530 --> 00:03:13,450 Speaker 1: He wanted to surround himself with people who'd make him 36 00:03:13,450 --> 00:03:20,610 Speaker 1: feel connected and happy. Instead, his misjudgments led to his death. 37 00:03:22,930 --> 00:03:51,970 Speaker 1: I'm Tim Harford and you're listening to cautionary Tales. Philip 38 00:03:52,010 --> 00:03:56,130 Speaker 1: Prentice was delighted to be offered the job. The salary 39 00:03:56,250 --> 00:03:59,530 Speaker 1: was over one hundred thousand dollars a year, pretty good 40 00:03:59,530 --> 00:04:03,130 Speaker 1: for a newly qualified accountant in Las Vegas in October 41 00:04:03,170 --> 00:04:06,170 Speaker 1: twenty twelve. In today's terms, that I'll be near a 42 00:04:06,330 --> 00:04:10,010 Speaker 1: one hundred and fifty thousand. He'd gets to options too. 43 00:04:10,850 --> 00:04:15,890 Speaker 1: Prinice's new employer was a startup called Ecomom. As the 44 00:04:15,970 --> 00:04:20,370 Speaker 1: name suggests, it sold a variety of eco friendly parent 45 00:04:20,450 --> 00:04:26,370 Speaker 1: related products diapers, baby food, clothes, toys. It was doing well, 46 00:04:27,010 --> 00:04:31,450 Speaker 1: or so it seemed. Its revenues were growing quickly. Just 47 00:04:31,530 --> 00:04:35,210 Speaker 1: a few months earlier, it had raised millions in financing. 48 00:04:36,770 --> 00:04:41,370 Speaker 1: One of those investments came with strings attached. The investor 49 00:04:41,530 --> 00:04:45,610 Speaker 1: wanted Ecomom to move from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. 50 00:04:46,690 --> 00:04:52,810 Speaker 1: There's something to do with building a community. Ecomom's founder, 51 00:04:52,970 --> 00:04:57,010 Speaker 1: a forty seven year old man called Jody Sherman, agreed 52 00:04:57,090 --> 00:05:00,970 Speaker 1: to relocate and asked his staff to come with him. 53 00:05:01,450 --> 00:05:04,970 Speaker 1: It was tough for Sherman. His wife had commitments in 54 00:05:05,010 --> 00:05:08,890 Speaker 1: Los Angeles that she couldn't easily break, so Sherman had 55 00:05:08,890 --> 00:05:11,890 Speaker 1: to leave her behind for now, along with his network 56 00:05:11,930 --> 00:05:17,370 Speaker 1: of friends. Philip Prentiss describes what kind of person. Jody 57 00:05:17,450 --> 00:05:24,770 Speaker 1: Sherman was a great guy, outgoing, personable, enthusiastic, funny. I 58 00:05:24,850 --> 00:05:29,770 Speaker 1: never heard him say a bad word to or about anyone. 59 00:05:30,490 --> 00:05:35,010 Speaker 1: Prentiss loved coming into work. Morale was high, the staff 60 00:05:35,050 --> 00:05:41,290 Speaker 1: were treated well. Prentiss was Ecomom's very first accountant. Up 61 00:05:41,330 --> 00:05:45,410 Speaker 1: to now, Sherman had outsourced its payroll and invoices to 62 00:05:45,450 --> 00:05:48,970 Speaker 1: an external provider. But the company had grown big enough 63 00:05:48,970 --> 00:05:54,410 Speaker 1: to need someone full time in house, and something wasn't right. 64 00:05:55,210 --> 00:05:59,450 Speaker 1: Sherman didn't know what wasn't right exactly, but somehow or other, 65 00:05:59,850 --> 00:06:05,370 Speaker 1: the figure in Ecomom's bank account kept going down. Prentiss 66 00:06:05,450 --> 00:06:08,970 Speaker 1: recalls that Sherman used to have heated discussions with his 67 00:06:09,210 --> 00:06:13,530 Speaker 1: VP of marketing. What are you doing? Sherman would ask, 68 00:06:14,450 --> 00:06:18,610 Speaker 1: where's the money? Sales are great? The VP of marketing 69 00:06:18,650 --> 00:06:21,930 Speaker 1: would reply, We're on track to hit all our targets, 70 00:06:22,690 --> 00:06:28,210 Speaker 1: but where's the money. Sherman grew increasingly exasperated. I'm not 71 00:06:28,530 --> 00:06:32,850 Speaker 1: seeing the money in our bank. Jody Sherman was a 72 00:06:32,850 --> 00:06:36,530 Speaker 1: great guy, said Prentiss, but he was not a numbers guy. 73 00:06:37,370 --> 00:06:40,970 Speaker 1: Whenever Prentice tried to show him a sheet full of figures, 74 00:06:41,170 --> 00:06:45,650 Speaker 1: he'd waved away, saying no one can understand this. He 75 00:06:45,770 --> 00:06:51,290 Speaker 1: also approved everyone's spending requests with barely a glance Prentice noticed. 76 00:06:52,330 --> 00:06:58,650 Speaker 1: Could this be the root of the problem. Prentice investigated. Nope, 77 00:06:59,010 --> 00:07:03,970 Speaker 1: All the employees were honest. There were no inflated expenses claims, 78 00:07:03,970 --> 00:07:08,930 Speaker 1: no dodgy looking in voices. And yet when Prentice pulled 79 00:07:08,930 --> 00:07:13,210 Speaker 1: together the figures for October, they showed Ecomom had lost 80 00:07:13,450 --> 00:07:18,210 Speaker 1: over half a million dollars. November would be better, right, 81 00:07:18,890 --> 00:07:22,970 Speaker 1: The Black Friday sales were clearly going well. In the 82 00:07:23,050 --> 00:07:27,410 Speaker 1: ecomom office, someone rang a bell after every one hundred order. 83 00:07:28,010 --> 00:07:33,050 Speaker 1: The bell rang more and more frequently, and yet when 84 00:07:33,210 --> 00:07:35,490 Speaker 1: Prentice did the sums at the end of the month, 85 00:07:36,090 --> 00:07:39,890 Speaker 1: he found that in November Ecomom had lost nearly a 86 00:07:39,970 --> 00:07:47,690 Speaker 1: million dollars. Higher sales, bigger losses. Prentice saw the problem. 87 00:07:48,050 --> 00:07:52,330 Speaker 1: Ecomom had issued so many discounts and voucher codes that 88 00:07:52,650 --> 00:07:57,010 Speaker 1: every sale was losing the money. An average order brought 89 00:07:57,050 --> 00:08:01,170 Speaker 1: in sixty dollars but cost nearly ninety dollars to fulfill. 90 00:08:02,090 --> 00:08:04,850 Speaker 1: It's not unusual for a startup to sell with a 91 00:08:04,930 --> 00:08:09,290 Speaker 1: negative margin at first, but it's generally a conscious decision 92 00:08:09,730 --> 00:08:13,050 Speaker 1: as part of a wider strategy for becoming profitable somewhere 93 00:08:13,090 --> 00:08:17,090 Speaker 1: down the line. As far as Philip Prentiss could see, 94 00:08:17,610 --> 00:08:25,250 Speaker 1: Ecomom had no such strategy. Jody Sherman called a high 95 00:08:25,370 --> 00:08:31,570 Speaker 1: powered management meeting, and Prentice prepared an analysis. If Ecomom 96 00:08:31,690 --> 00:08:36,250 Speaker 1: were to stop selling anything he worked out, and all 97 00:08:36,290 --> 00:08:40,370 Speaker 1: the employees simply sat around and played ping pong all day, 98 00:08:40,930 --> 00:08:44,130 Speaker 1: they'd have enough in the bank to pay themselves for 99 00:08:44,250 --> 00:08:49,250 Speaker 1: two more years. But if sales kept growing, they'd run 100 00:08:49,250 --> 00:08:54,250 Speaker 1: out of cash in just three months. The management meeting, 101 00:08:54,410 --> 00:08:59,250 Speaker 1: recalls Prentice, was surreal. Nobody asked him to present any 102 00:08:59,290 --> 00:09:02,530 Speaker 1: of the figures he had prepared. The only figure anyone 103 00:09:02,610 --> 00:09:05,930 Speaker 1: presented was the year on year growth in sales, which 104 00:09:06,010 --> 00:09:10,010 Speaker 1: looked amazing, as the VP of Marketing had said they 105 00:09:10,010 --> 00:09:16,010 Speaker 1: were hitting all their targets. Still, Jody Sherman made it 106 00:09:16,090 --> 00:09:22,810 Speaker 1: clear they had to do something better. But what the 107 00:09:22,850 --> 00:09:27,570 Speaker 1: meeting discussed market strategies for selling the eco mom lifestyle, 108 00:09:28,090 --> 00:09:33,610 Speaker 1: Prentice recalls it discussed expanding our email and customer base. 109 00:09:34,250 --> 00:09:38,690 Speaker 1: It discussed expanding our marketing team. I can't remember exactly 110 00:09:38,690 --> 00:09:41,330 Speaker 1: what else was discussed, but I can tell you for sure. 111 00:09:41,930 --> 00:09:46,610 Speaker 1: The word margin and the word profit were never mentioned. 112 00:09:50,570 --> 00:09:55,250 Speaker 1: In December, sales continued to go well, the number in 113 00:09:55,290 --> 00:09:59,490 Speaker 1: the bank account kept on getting lower, and Jody Sherman 114 00:09:59,610 --> 00:10:05,930 Speaker 1: became even more frantic. Prentice again tried to present his figures, 115 00:10:05,970 --> 00:10:10,890 Speaker 1: and Sherman again waved them away. Phil. He said, just 116 00:10:11,290 --> 00:10:14,010 Speaker 1: tell me how much we need to sell to break even. 117 00:10:15,250 --> 00:10:20,730 Speaker 1: He did not understand margin, recalls Prentice. He did not 118 00:10:21,010 --> 00:10:27,810 Speaker 1: understand that increased sales resulted in increased losses. Sherman tried 119 00:10:27,930 --> 00:10:32,410 Speaker 1: desperately to raise more money from investors. He asked Prentice 120 00:10:32,450 --> 00:10:34,610 Speaker 1: how much longer the money in their bank account would 121 00:10:34,650 --> 00:10:38,610 Speaker 1: last if he sacked half the staff, some of whom 122 00:10:38,730 --> 00:10:42,530 Speaker 1: he was all too aware, had uprooted their own lives 123 00:10:42,530 --> 00:10:47,170 Speaker 1: in Los Angeles to follow him to Vegas. I feel 124 00:10:47,770 --> 00:10:52,730 Speaker 1: terrible about this, he said, and those weren't empty words. 125 00:10:53,450 --> 00:10:58,130 Speaker 1: Sherman was clearly feeling the pressure. He started saying things 126 00:10:58,250 --> 00:11:03,330 Speaker 1: like I'm too old to start over. He handed a 127 00:11:03,370 --> 00:11:09,810 Speaker 1: document to his secretary. That's my will, he said. He 128 00:11:09,890 --> 00:11:13,330 Speaker 1: sent an email to other company founders in Las Vegas 129 00:11:13,650 --> 00:11:18,450 Speaker 1: to propose a get together. Oftentimes, he wrote, I find 130 00:11:18,490 --> 00:11:21,410 Speaker 1: myself with no one to talk to about the challenges 131 00:11:21,450 --> 00:11:28,690 Speaker 1: I might be facing, the frustrations the stress. I thought, Hey, 132 00:11:29,250 --> 00:11:32,410 Speaker 1: I know a bunch of founders who probably find themselves 133 00:11:32,490 --> 00:11:39,090 Speaker 1: in similar situations. I should hang with them. A meeting 134 00:11:39,170 --> 00:11:44,610 Speaker 1: was arranged, but Jody didn't make it. Police found his 135 00:11:44,730 --> 00:11:49,770 Speaker 1: body in his car in the mountains outside Las Vegas. 136 00:11:51,610 --> 00:12:00,690 Speaker 1: Jody had taken his own life. The investor who had 137 00:12:00,730 --> 00:12:04,410 Speaker 1: required Jody Sherman to move from Los Angeles to Las 138 00:12:04,490 --> 00:12:12,410 Speaker 1: Vegas was, of course, Tony Say. After Amazon bought Zappos 139 00:12:12,450 --> 00:12:16,530 Speaker 1: and kept him on as CEO, Tony committed three hundred 140 00:12:16,530 --> 00:12:19,730 Speaker 1: and fifty million dollars of his own money to the 141 00:12:19,850 --> 00:12:25,010 Speaker 1: Downtown Project or DTP. He moved Zappos from its office 142 00:12:25,010 --> 00:12:28,130 Speaker 1: in the suburbs to the old City Hall building in 143 00:12:28,210 --> 00:12:32,770 Speaker 1: the heart of downtown. The area was ced and run down, 144 00:12:33,130 --> 00:12:35,850 Speaker 1: but Tony was going to change that by buying up 145 00:12:35,930 --> 00:12:40,130 Speaker 1: real estate and investing in businesses. He wouldn't measure the 146 00:12:40,130 --> 00:12:45,850 Speaker 1: project's success through ROI, he explained, return on investment. He'd 147 00:12:45,890 --> 00:12:51,570 Speaker 1: measure it through ROC return on community. He'd bring together 148 00:12:51,850 --> 00:12:57,530 Speaker 1: entrepreneurs like Jody Sherman, and they'd former community. He wanted 149 00:12:57,570 --> 00:13:02,090 Speaker 1: to turn downtown Las Vegas into the most community focused 150 00:13:02,210 --> 00:13:08,170 Speaker 1: large city in the world. And yet somehow, what Jody 151 00:13:08,250 --> 00:13:12,010 Speaker 1: Sherman had need he did so desperately had been a 152 00:13:12,090 --> 00:13:19,570 Speaker 1: sense of community, but it hadn't been there for him. 153 00:13:19,810 --> 00:13:37,490 Speaker 1: Cautionary tales will be back after the break. When Zappo's 154 00:13:37,530 --> 00:13:42,530 Speaker 1: employee Rob Ponte returned home from work, he was surprised 155 00:13:42,570 --> 00:13:47,770 Speaker 1: to find police tape across the door of his apartment. Inside, 156 00:13:47,810 --> 00:13:50,650 Speaker 1: he saw that someone had been rummaging in his draws 157 00:13:50,690 --> 00:13:54,970 Speaker 1: and poking around in his computer. He called the police 158 00:13:54,970 --> 00:13:59,770 Speaker 1: department and asked what's going on. The police was surprised 159 00:13:59,770 --> 00:14:03,810 Speaker 1: to hear from him. They said, we thought you were dead. 160 00:14:05,410 --> 00:14:08,450 Speaker 1: They'd been in Ponte's apartment, they explained, looking for a 161 00:14:08,490 --> 00:14:11,570 Speaker 1: suicide note and for details of his next of kin. 162 00:14:12,730 --> 00:14:17,290 Speaker 1: Ponte later discovered they'd phoned his mum. Thankfully she didn't answer. 163 00:14:18,890 --> 00:14:23,090 Speaker 1: Ponte and the police pieced together what had happened. Someone 164 00:14:23,090 --> 00:14:27,650 Speaker 1: who looked like Rob Ponte had killed himself. The dead 165 00:14:27,690 --> 00:14:30,410 Speaker 1: man turned out to be a young employee of Tony 166 00:14:30,450 --> 00:14:35,890 Speaker 1: Shay's downtown project. Less than a year had passed since 167 00:14:36,010 --> 00:14:41,690 Speaker 1: Jody Sherman's suicide. A few months after that, another entrepreneur 168 00:14:41,730 --> 00:14:45,050 Speaker 1: who had taken funding from the Downtown project took his 169 00:14:45,130 --> 00:14:50,770 Speaker 1: own life. The Downtown project wasn't that big, just a 170 00:14:50,810 --> 00:14:57,010 Speaker 1: few hundred people, so three suicides seemed like a pattern. 171 00:14:58,010 --> 00:15:03,970 Speaker 1: Were there underlying factors? What might they be? The journalist 172 00:15:04,210 --> 00:15:09,090 Speaker 1: Nelly Bowles asked around. At an event. She sat down 173 00:15:09,330 --> 00:15:13,970 Speaker 1: next to Tony and asked for his thoughts. Suicides happen anywhere. 174 00:15:14,210 --> 00:15:18,690 Speaker 1: Tony said, look at the stats. Then he got up 175 00:15:18,730 --> 00:15:22,770 Speaker 1: and moved to another chair. But others she spoke to 176 00:15:23,050 --> 00:15:29,730 Speaker 1: did have some theories to share. In the last episode 177 00:15:29,810 --> 00:15:33,090 Speaker 1: of Cautionary Tales, we met the idea of the profit 178 00:15:33,250 --> 00:15:38,730 Speaker 1: seeking paradox. The economist John Kay points out that the 179 00:15:38,730 --> 00:15:42,290 Speaker 1: most profitable companies tend not to be those that focus 180 00:15:42,410 --> 00:15:46,570 Speaker 1: directly on profits. But this is only one example, says Kay, 181 00:15:46,810 --> 00:15:51,970 Speaker 1: of a wider principle he calls obliquity. Many other goals 182 00:15:51,970 --> 00:15:58,050 Speaker 1: in life are best pursued not directly but obliquely. Another 183 00:15:58,130 --> 00:16:02,770 Speaker 1: example happiness. The more you try to be happy, the 184 00:16:02,810 --> 00:16:08,650 Speaker 1: more elusive happiness seems to be. This isn't a new idea. 185 00:16:09,410 --> 00:16:12,410 Speaker 1: One hundred and fifty years ago, the philosopher John Stuart 186 00:16:12,530 --> 00:16:16,250 Speaker 1: Mill observed that the happiest people he knew have their 187 00:16:16,370 --> 00:16:20,970 Speaker 1: minds fixed on some other object other than their own happiness, 188 00:16:21,690 --> 00:16:25,250 Speaker 1: on the happiness of others, on the improvement of mankind, 189 00:16:26,050 --> 00:16:30,370 Speaker 1: even on some art or pursuit followed not as a means, 190 00:16:30,490 --> 00:16:36,090 Speaker 1: but as itself an ideal end aiming thus at something else, 191 00:16:36,490 --> 00:16:44,650 Speaker 1: said Mill, they find happiness, by the way, But is 192 00:16:44,730 --> 00:16:51,010 Speaker 1: this observation true? In twenty eleven, researchers devised an experiment 193 00:16:51,090 --> 00:16:54,850 Speaker 1: to investigate. They got some subjects to read an article 194 00:16:54,850 --> 00:16:59,010 Speaker 1: about how important it is to be happy, because happy 195 00:16:59,050 --> 00:17:03,090 Speaker 1: people are more healthy and successful. Then they showed a 196 00:17:03,170 --> 00:17:07,890 Speaker 1: video that should evoke feelings of happiness about a figure 197 00:17:07,930 --> 00:17:12,090 Speaker 1: skater winning a medal and celebrating with her coach. Then 198 00:17:12,130 --> 00:17:17,170 Speaker 1: they asked how happy do you feel? The subjects who 199 00:17:17,210 --> 00:17:20,650 Speaker 1: had read the article on happiness were less happy than 200 00:17:20,730 --> 00:17:23,290 Speaker 1: those in a control group who had watched the video 201 00:17:23,490 --> 00:17:28,050 Speaker 1: but hadn't read the article first. It seemed that being 202 00:17:28,250 --> 00:17:32,290 Speaker 1: prompted to think about the importance of happiness made people's 203 00:17:32,330 --> 00:17:37,210 Speaker 1: second guests themselves that video should have made me happy. 204 00:17:37,610 --> 00:17:42,930 Speaker 1: Why am I not happier? That's disappointing People who weren't 205 00:17:42,970 --> 00:17:46,530 Speaker 1: thinking about the importance of happiness simply watched the video 206 00:17:46,730 --> 00:17:53,290 Speaker 1: and felt happy under certain circumstances. The researchers conclude valuing 207 00:17:53,450 --> 00:18:02,730 Speaker 1: happiness maybe self defeating. When he launched the Downtown project, 208 00:18:03,130 --> 00:18:07,490 Speaker 1: Tony Shay had just published his best selling book on Happiness. 209 00:18:08,450 --> 00:18:13,290 Speaker 1: He'd also be reading about what makes cities productive, including 210 00:18:13,490 --> 00:18:18,730 Speaker 1: chance encounters between productive people, or what Tony called collisions. 211 00:18:19,570 --> 00:18:23,330 Speaker 1: The bigger the city, the more of these serendipitous encounters 212 00:18:23,330 --> 00:18:29,690 Speaker 1: you might expect. Tony decided that serendipity, like happiness, was 213 00:18:29,730 --> 00:18:35,570 Speaker 1: a goal you could pursue directly. He invested in spaces 214 00:18:35,610 --> 00:18:40,530 Speaker 1: where collisions could happen, such as bars. He wanted to 215 00:18:41,050 --> 00:18:45,890 Speaker 1: institutionalize return on luck. He came up with a metric 216 00:18:46,890 --> 00:18:55,090 Speaker 1: maximizing collisionable hours per acre per year. All this piled 217 00:18:55,130 --> 00:18:58,970 Speaker 1: expectations on the entrepreneurs who had moved to Las Vegas 218 00:18:59,010 --> 00:19:02,490 Speaker 1: to get an investment from Tony. There's a pressure to 219 00:19:02,570 --> 00:19:06,450 Speaker 1: socialize and go out, one told the journalist Nelly Bowls. 220 00:19:07,090 --> 00:19:10,970 Speaker 1: There's a pressure to party. Everyone at the party's would 221 00:19:10,970 --> 00:19:15,890 Speaker 1: be either another entrepreneur or an investor. People felt the 222 00:19:15,930 --> 00:19:19,130 Speaker 1: need to put on a mask. A counselor told Nelly 223 00:19:19,170 --> 00:19:25,690 Speaker 1: Bowls and say everything's great. They knew they were supposed 224 00:19:25,730 --> 00:19:31,250 Speaker 1: to be happy. If they weren't, they felt disappointed, even ashamed. 225 00:19:32,330 --> 00:19:34,490 Speaker 1: They had no one to confide in when they had 226 00:19:34,530 --> 00:19:39,290 Speaker 1: a bad day. The focus on happiness, says the counselor 227 00:19:39,930 --> 00:19:46,050 Speaker 1: was not psychologically healthy. The irony is that the entrepreneurs 228 00:19:46,170 --> 00:19:49,650 Speaker 1: might have had people to confide in before they moved 229 00:19:49,650 --> 00:19:54,210 Speaker 1: to Vegas. Jody Sherman, for example, had left behind his 230 00:19:54,330 --> 00:19:59,410 Speaker 1: wife and friends in Los Angeles. In Vegas, he found 231 00:19:59,490 --> 00:20:03,050 Speaker 1: himself with no one to talk to. Tony had seemed to 232 00:20:03,090 --> 00:20:07,410 Speaker 1: think that you could simply bring entrepreneurs together in collisionable 233 00:20:07,530 --> 00:20:13,250 Speaker 1: spaces and their former community. But community can't be forced, 234 00:20:14,210 --> 00:20:18,930 Speaker 1: like happiness. You find it if you're lucky. While aiming 235 00:20:18,970 --> 00:20:27,730 Speaker 1: at something else, Tony had launched the Downtown Project with 236 00:20:27,930 --> 00:20:32,170 Speaker 1: big ambitions to turn Las Vegas into the most community 237 00:20:32,290 --> 00:20:37,450 Speaker 1: focused large city in the world. As the project floundered, 238 00:20:38,170 --> 00:20:42,450 Speaker 1: Tony changed his mind. He was going to stop using 239 00:20:42,490 --> 00:20:46,610 Speaker 1: the word community. He'd learned that it gave people the 240 00:20:46,650 --> 00:20:51,210 Speaker 1: wrong idea. People expect us to address and solve every 241 00:20:51,290 --> 00:20:55,090 Speaker 1: single problem that exists in a city, he said, for example, 242 00:20:55,330 --> 00:21:01,250 Speaker 1: mental health. We're not the government. Instead Tony turned his 243 00:21:01,330 --> 00:21:06,770 Speaker 1: attention to a different community, his own personal community that 244 00:21:06,890 --> 00:21:11,290 Speaker 1: he curated around himself. In his personal quest for happiness, 245 00:21:12,970 --> 00:21:16,450 Speaker 1: Tony moved into an airstream trailer in an empty lot 246 00:21:16,570 --> 00:21:20,170 Speaker 1: in downtown Las Vegas and moved some of his closest 247 00:21:20,210 --> 00:21:25,650 Speaker 1: friends into other trailers. Because Tony believed in work life integration, 248 00:21:26,170 --> 00:21:29,770 Speaker 1: those close friends tended also to be either his employees 249 00:21:30,330 --> 00:21:33,930 Speaker 1: or business partners. Having them live around him meant he 250 00:21:33,930 --> 00:21:36,570 Speaker 1: could call them in for work meetings at any hour 251 00:21:36,610 --> 00:21:42,050 Speaker 1: of the day. Airstream park had fire pits and a 252 00:21:42,090 --> 00:21:46,690 Speaker 1: stage for musical performances, and shipping containers that housed laundry 253 00:21:46,730 --> 00:21:52,730 Speaker 1: facilities and crates of Fernet branca, Tony's favorite drink. It 254 00:21:52,810 --> 00:21:58,250 Speaker 1: had chickens, dogs, cats, and a pet alpaca called Marley. 255 00:22:00,010 --> 00:22:03,930 Speaker 1: A journalist described his experience of a night at airstream park. 256 00:22:05,250 --> 00:22:08,890 Speaker 1: A bearded man was doing a handstand, A high school 257 00:22:08,890 --> 00:22:12,370 Speaker 1: girl earl sang and played guitar. I saw Tony pick 258 00:22:12,410 --> 00:22:16,730 Speaker 1: up a tambourine. I gathered that this idyllic scene was 259 00:22:16,810 --> 00:22:22,850 Speaker 1: typical of life in Tony Shay's magical kingdom. Not every 260 00:22:22,970 --> 00:22:25,890 Speaker 1: employee friend of Tony wanted to live in his trailer 261 00:22:25,970 --> 00:22:30,050 Speaker 1: park id. Although Tyler Williams, who we met in the 262 00:22:30,090 --> 00:22:33,290 Speaker 1: last episode, had grown close to Tony through his work 263 00:22:33,330 --> 00:22:37,410 Speaker 1: as the fungineer at Zappo's, in charge of projects like 264 00:22:37,490 --> 00:22:41,490 Speaker 1: the instant dance floor in the Zappo's lobby. Push a 265 00:22:41,530 --> 00:22:46,770 Speaker 1: button labeled never push this button, and the lobby would 266 00:22:46,770 --> 00:22:51,970 Speaker 1: pulster booming music, disco lights, and smoke from a smoke machine. 267 00:22:53,090 --> 00:22:57,930 Speaker 1: Tyler was Tony's drinking buddy, but Tyler's wife said, no, 268 00:22:58,770 --> 00:23:03,490 Speaker 1: We're not living in a trailer Tony wondered if Tyler's 269 00:23:03,530 --> 00:23:06,410 Speaker 1: wife might like to work for him like other residents 270 00:23:06,410 --> 00:23:11,690 Speaker 1: of the trailer park. No. Said. When Tony started to 271 00:23:11,770 --> 00:23:15,450 Speaker 1: experiment with ketimin and got Tyler to take it with him, 272 00:23:15,490 --> 00:23:18,970 Speaker 1: Tyler's wife told him to stop. I don't like who 273 00:23:19,010 --> 00:23:21,410 Speaker 1: you are when you take that drug. She told Tyler, 274 00:23:22,170 --> 00:23:26,850 Speaker 1: You're not the same Tyler that I know. Ketimin seemed 275 00:23:26,890 --> 00:23:31,610 Speaker 1: to be changing Tony too. Tyler had access to Tony's 276 00:23:31,650 --> 00:23:36,490 Speaker 1: Apple watchdata, and he could see that Tony hardly ever slept. 277 00:23:38,170 --> 00:23:41,370 Speaker 1: Tony threw a party for a friend called Ryan, which 278 00:23:41,410 --> 00:23:46,370 Speaker 1: involved Ryan being blindfolded bundled into a car handed a 279 00:23:46,410 --> 00:23:51,010 Speaker 1: mysterious ice cold package and driven around Las Vegas before 280 00:23:51,250 --> 00:23:56,850 Speaker 1: arriving at the party venue. The mysterious package turned out 281 00:23:56,890 --> 00:24:03,170 Speaker 1: to be a frozen salmon. This all apparently made perfect 282 00:24:03,210 --> 00:24:07,970 Speaker 1: sense to Tony, but not to anyone else. As Ryan 283 00:24:08,010 --> 00:24:11,090 Speaker 1: put it to a fellow, guessed what the fuck is 284 00:24:11,170 --> 00:24:19,090 Speaker 1: going on? An old flame visited Tony was shocked by 285 00:24:19,090 --> 00:24:22,490 Speaker 1: what she found and begged him to get some sleep. 286 00:24:23,730 --> 00:24:27,250 Speaker 1: When he insisted he was fine, she began to cry. 287 00:24:28,890 --> 00:24:31,930 Speaker 1: The next morning, Tony showed her a wall of post 288 00:24:31,970 --> 00:24:35,850 Speaker 1: it notes in his trailer. Each note had the name 289 00:24:35,890 --> 00:24:40,690 Speaker 1: of a friend and a number from plus to minus three. 290 00:24:40,970 --> 00:24:44,810 Speaker 1: You were a plus two till last night, Tony told her. 291 00:24:45,970 --> 00:24:50,170 Speaker 1: Now you were a negative one point five. You were 292 00:24:50,250 --> 00:24:55,650 Speaker 1: judging me, and I don't like to be judged. Tony 293 00:24:55,890 --> 00:24:59,250 Speaker 1: needed help, but it was hard to tell him that. 294 00:24:59,570 --> 00:25:03,530 Speaker 1: While remaining positive on his post it wall, Ryan of 295 00:25:03,610 --> 00:25:08,490 Speaker 1: the Frozen Salmon had a try your CEO of Zappo's, 296 00:25:08,530 --> 00:25:13,290 Speaker 1: he reminded Tony, and Zappos is owned by Amazon. You 297 00:25:13,410 --> 00:25:15,770 Speaker 1: might think you can handle the drugs, but what if 298 00:25:15,770 --> 00:25:19,410 Speaker 1: Amazon disagree? They could fire you. You don't want that. 299 00:25:20,690 --> 00:25:24,370 Speaker 1: There's a rehab place in Park City. You like it there, 300 00:25:24,970 --> 00:25:29,050 Speaker 1: You go to the Sundance Film Festival every year. Ryan 301 00:25:29,250 --> 00:25:35,730 Speaker 1: was persistent and persuasive. Tony checked himself into rehab, but 302 00:25:35,970 --> 00:25:39,610 Speaker 1: after less than two weeks he checked himself out again. 303 00:25:40,770 --> 00:25:46,490 Speaker 1: This was, he decided, perfectly fine, but perhaps he had 304 00:25:46,530 --> 00:25:50,410 Speaker 1: overlooked something. He asked Tyler to compile a list of 305 00:25:50,450 --> 00:25:52,970 Speaker 1: the things that had made some of his friends think 306 00:25:53,010 --> 00:25:57,170 Speaker 1: he needed rehab as we heard last time, like his 307 00:25:57,290 --> 00:26:02,210 Speaker 1: ambition to become seven feet tall, recycle his urine inside 308 00:26:02,210 --> 00:26:07,210 Speaker 1: his body, and solve world peace. He saw nothing on 309 00:26:07,290 --> 00:26:10,370 Speaker 1: Tyler's list to worry about, but he decided that he 310 00:26:10,570 --> 00:26:14,730 Speaker 1: wasn't going back to Vegas. Things hadn't been working out there, 311 00:26:15,210 --> 00:26:19,370 Speaker 1: and he'd learned lessons. He would apply those lessons to 312 00:26:19,370 --> 00:26:25,930 Speaker 1: build a new community in Park City. Cautionary tales will 313 00:26:25,970 --> 00:26:38,610 Speaker 1: be back in a moment. Tony invited some of his 314 00:26:38,690 --> 00:26:42,690 Speaker 1: friends to join him in Park City, not all of them, 315 00:26:42,730 --> 00:26:48,410 Speaker 1: though not Frozen Salmon Ryan, for example, Ryan had manipulated 316 00:26:48,450 --> 00:26:50,930 Speaker 1: him into going to rehab when there'd been nothing wrong 317 00:26:50,970 --> 00:26:54,690 Speaker 1: with him. One lesson he had learned from Las Vegas 318 00:26:55,490 --> 00:26:58,050 Speaker 1: was to cut off the people who tried to hold 319 00:26:58,130 --> 00:27:05,050 Speaker 1: him back, Ryan was no longer welcome. It was early 320 00:27:05,210 --> 00:27:10,890 Speaker 1: spring twenty twenty when Tony left rehab in the COVID lockdown. 321 00:27:11,330 --> 00:27:15,850 Speaker 1: He seemed to thrive. He was drinking less. He seemed 322 00:27:15,850 --> 00:27:19,530 Speaker 1: to be off the ketamin and the psychedelic mushrooms. He 323 00:27:19,610 --> 00:27:24,330 Speaker 1: took long hikes in the mountains outside Park City. He 324 00:27:24,370 --> 00:27:29,170 Speaker 1: looked fit and healthy, but he wasn't always making sense. 325 00:27:30,090 --> 00:27:35,290 Speaker 1: He asked executives at Zappo's to abolish organizational calendars and 326 00:27:35,410 --> 00:27:39,930 Speaker 1: instead get all employees into a collective state of flow. 327 00:27:41,090 --> 00:27:44,210 Speaker 1: If they were all in the same flow state, he explained, 328 00:27:44,210 --> 00:27:48,890 Speaker 1: they wouldn't need calendars. They just know where and when 329 00:27:48,930 --> 00:27:52,570 Speaker 1: to turn up for meetings. As the lockdown east and 330 00:27:52,690 --> 00:27:56,690 Speaker 1: restaurants reopened, Tony came up with a new idea called 331 00:27:56,930 --> 00:28:02,770 Speaker 1: ten X. Participating restaurants in Park City would give members 332 00:28:02,770 --> 00:28:06,970 Speaker 1: of the ten X scheme unlimited food and drink on Sundays. 333 00:28:07,610 --> 00:28:11,370 Speaker 1: Tony would put the bill. Membership of ten X would 334 00:28:11,410 --> 00:28:17,250 Speaker 1: cost just ten dollars. How could this possibly work for Tony? 335 00:28:17,690 --> 00:28:21,930 Speaker 1: Everyone shrugged. He was a billionaire. He'd probably thought it through. 336 00:28:23,330 --> 00:28:29,250 Speaker 1: Ten became Tony's watchword from his experience in Vegas. Tony 337 00:28:29,330 --> 00:28:33,050 Speaker 1: had drawn the lesson that he hadn't been ambitious enough. 338 00:28:34,050 --> 00:28:37,890 Speaker 1: Everything in Park City would be ten times bigger and 339 00:28:38,010 --> 00:28:44,210 Speaker 1: happened ten times faster. Tony offered members of his entourage 340 00:28:44,210 --> 00:28:47,050 Speaker 1: a ten percent commission for spending his money in the 341 00:28:47,090 --> 00:28:52,050 Speaker 1: ways he asked. He started buying property in Park City. 342 00:28:53,170 --> 00:28:56,370 Speaker 1: Whoever closed the deals for him got ten percent of 343 00:28:56,410 --> 00:29:00,730 Speaker 1: the price. He started recruiting people to join his community, 344 00:29:01,610 --> 00:29:04,730 Speaker 1: offering them a salary to well to do whatever they wanted, 345 00:29:04,770 --> 00:29:06,890 Speaker 1: pretty much as long as they agreed to be happy. 346 00:29:07,770 --> 00:29:12,210 Speaker 1: Whoever recruited these new community members would get ten percent 347 00:29:12,290 --> 00:29:16,650 Speaker 1: of the salary Tony paid them. Tony bought a fleet 348 00:29:16,650 --> 00:29:20,890 Speaker 1: of buses and asked an assistant to arrange a luxury makeover. 349 00:29:21,810 --> 00:29:27,450 Speaker 1: It cost three point six eight million dollars. The assistant 350 00:29:27,770 --> 00:29:32,610 Speaker 1: pocketed three hundred and sixty eight thousand dollars. In June, 351 00:29:32,730 --> 00:29:35,530 Speaker 1: Tony invited some friends to go on a road trip 352 00:29:35,610 --> 00:29:39,730 Speaker 1: in one of his luxury buses. Among them was Tyler Williams, 353 00:29:40,050 --> 00:29:42,890 Speaker 1: who was still living in Las Vegas and working as 354 00:29:42,890 --> 00:29:48,650 Speaker 1: the Zappo's fungineer. When Tyler arrived in Park City, he 355 00:29:48,730 --> 00:29:51,090 Speaker 1: realized that he didn't know many of the people who 356 00:29:51,170 --> 00:29:55,450 Speaker 1: now surrounded Tony. One of them, he learned, had only 357 00:29:55,530 --> 00:30:00,170 Speaker 1: just met Tony and had immediately offered her ten million 358 00:30:00,330 --> 00:30:05,050 Speaker 1: dollars to start a business, any business she liked. Tony 359 00:30:05,090 --> 00:30:08,330 Speaker 1: got on the bus for the road trip wearing pajamas 360 00:30:08,690 --> 00:30:12,730 Speaker 1: and carrying a box of crayons. He took a shower 361 00:30:13,210 --> 00:30:16,810 Speaker 1: and stayed there till the water tank ran dry. He 362 00:30:16,890 --> 00:30:20,890 Speaker 1: explained that they were all trapped in an Ai simulation 363 00:30:21,490 --> 00:30:24,610 Speaker 1: and proposed that he breaked them free by setting fire 364 00:30:24,690 --> 00:30:29,930 Speaker 1: to the bus with everyone inside. Then he asked for 365 00:30:29,970 --> 00:30:36,930 Speaker 1: more mushrooms. After the bus trip, Tyler messaged Tony's dealer. 366 00:30:38,330 --> 00:30:42,490 Speaker 1: Please don't sell Tony more drugs. He wrote, I know 367 00:30:42,650 --> 00:30:45,770 Speaker 1: I can't match whatever Tony is offering, but I'll give 368 00:30:45,810 --> 00:30:51,530 Speaker 1: you everything I have in this life. Tyler's phone pinged 369 00:30:52,370 --> 00:30:56,090 Speaker 1: It was Tony, with a screen grab of Tyler's message 370 00:30:56,130 --> 00:30:59,210 Speaker 1: to the dealer. The dealer had shared it with him. 371 00:31:00,610 --> 00:31:05,850 Speaker 1: You went behind my back, said Tony. Tyler never heard 372 00:31:05,890 --> 00:31:13,170 Speaker 1: from Tony again. In August twenty twenty, Tony invited the 373 00:31:13,210 --> 00:31:16,810 Speaker 1: focusing a duel to visit his ranch in Park City. 374 00:31:18,370 --> 00:31:21,530 Speaker 1: Tony had met Jewel a few years earlier at a 375 00:31:21,530 --> 00:31:28,050 Speaker 1: retreat on the entrepreneur Richard Branson's private island. They'd become friends. 376 00:31:28,890 --> 00:31:33,610 Speaker 1: Jewel found that Tony's ranch was filthy. Old food and 377 00:31:33,690 --> 00:31:39,050 Speaker 1: dog feces littered the floor. Signs said not to clean up. 378 00:31:39,810 --> 00:31:43,370 Speaker 1: Tony thought it was natural to leave trash lying around. 379 00:31:44,610 --> 00:31:51,170 Speaker 1: Candles burned everywhere, dripping wax onto carpets and countertops. Tony 380 00:31:51,210 --> 00:31:55,770 Speaker 1: had become fascinated by fire. All the taps were running 381 00:31:55,810 --> 00:31:59,490 Speaker 1: in all the bathrooms. Tony liked the sound of running water. 382 00:32:00,730 --> 00:32:04,490 Speaker 1: A surfboard was propped up against the window to Tony's room. 383 00:32:04,970 --> 00:32:11,090 Speaker 1: Tony didn't like using doors. Jewel had met some of 384 00:32:11,210 --> 00:32:15,010 Speaker 1: Tony's other friends in Las Vegas, but she didn't recognize 385 00:32:15,050 --> 00:32:20,490 Speaker 1: anyone here. These people were new. Tony's doing great things. 386 00:32:20,850 --> 00:32:25,610 Speaker 1: The new people told her, Tony's going through a creative metamorphosis. 387 00:32:26,290 --> 00:32:34,450 Speaker 1: He's finding himself. Tony's a genius. Jewel found Tony sitting 388 00:32:34,450 --> 00:32:39,930 Speaker 1: in underpants, surrounded by empty canisters of nitrous oxide. He 389 00:32:40,010 --> 00:32:44,730 Speaker 1: looked thin and gaunt. He showed Jewel a post it 390 00:32:44,850 --> 00:32:49,730 Speaker 1: note on which had scribbled some numbers. This, he said, 391 00:32:51,130 --> 00:32:57,570 Speaker 1: is the algorithm for world peace. Jewel tried gently to 392 00:32:57,650 --> 00:33:00,850 Speaker 1: engage Tony in conversation about a project she was working 393 00:33:00,890 --> 00:33:08,010 Speaker 1: on a project about addiction. Tony told her, I'm the 394 00:33:08,090 --> 00:33:11,490 Speaker 1: one percent of people people that can use these substances 395 00:33:11,530 --> 00:33:16,330 Speaker 1: and they become good, they become a skill. He added, 396 00:33:17,170 --> 00:33:19,970 Speaker 1: I've gotten rid of anybody who doubts what I'm doing. 397 00:33:22,130 --> 00:33:27,570 Speaker 1: Jewel began to subtly interrogate everyone on Tony's ranch. What's 398 00:33:27,610 --> 00:33:32,570 Speaker 1: your purpose here? Somebody assumed that Jewel must be after 399 00:33:32,650 --> 00:33:37,050 Speaker 1: Tony's money and helpfully explained how to get it. Just 400 00:33:37,170 --> 00:33:39,810 Speaker 1: write your project and a dollar amount on a post 401 00:33:39,850 --> 00:33:43,850 Speaker 1: it note and ask Tony to sign it. Not too 402 00:33:43,930 --> 00:33:47,570 Speaker 1: much or his lawyers might raise questions. Anything up to 403 00:33:47,650 --> 00:33:51,970 Speaker 1: a couple of millions should be fine. Others took Jewel 404 00:33:52,010 --> 00:33:55,810 Speaker 1: to a quiet corner and whispered, I want to help, 405 00:33:55,890 --> 00:33:59,250 Speaker 1: but I don't know how I saw what happened to 406 00:33:59,370 --> 00:34:04,650 Speaker 1: Ryan and to Tyler. Jewel had agreed to sing some 407 00:34:04,770 --> 00:34:08,970 Speaker 1: of her hit songs for Tony and his guests. Who 408 00:34:09,330 --> 00:34:14,170 Speaker 1: save your soul? She sang, if you won't save your own? 409 00:34:15,770 --> 00:34:19,010 Speaker 1: Tony wasn't there to hear her. He'd stayed in his 410 00:34:19,210 --> 00:34:27,370 Speaker 1: darkened room surrounded by candles. After her visit, Jewel couldn't 411 00:34:27,370 --> 00:34:30,730 Speaker 1: get Tony to return her calls, so she wrote him 412 00:34:30,730 --> 00:34:34,610 Speaker 1: a letter. She addressed it to someone at the ranch 413 00:34:34,930 --> 00:34:37,410 Speaker 1: who she thought would make sure that Tony read it. 414 00:34:38,690 --> 00:34:45,410 Speaker 1: He did. I am going to be blunt, Jewel wrote, 415 00:34:45,650 --> 00:34:48,610 Speaker 1: I don't think you're well and in your right mind. 416 00:34:49,650 --> 00:34:53,970 Speaker 1: The people you're surrounding yourself with are either ignorant or 417 00:34:54,010 --> 00:34:58,010 Speaker 1: willing to be complicit in you killing yourself. If the 418 00:34:58,050 --> 00:35:01,490 Speaker 1: world could see how you're living, they would not see 419 00:35:01,530 --> 00:35:04,530 Speaker 1: you as a tech visionary. They would see you as 420 00:35:04,570 --> 00:35:09,770 Speaker 1: a drug addicted man who's a cliche. Please get it's sober. 421 00:35:11,010 --> 00:35:15,170 Speaker 1: I say this with love and as possibly the only 422 00:35:15,330 --> 00:35:19,570 Speaker 1: person in your circle who is not on your payroll. 423 00:35:21,690 --> 00:35:24,890 Speaker 1: It's a long letter, but Jewel could have summed it 424 00:35:25,010 --> 00:35:29,490 Speaker 1: up in a line, who will save your soul if 425 00:35:29,570 --> 00:35:39,410 Speaker 1: you won't save your own. Tony died three months later 426 00:35:40,050 --> 00:35:44,850 Speaker 1: in November twenty twenty, in a fire. He was forty 427 00:35:44,850 --> 00:35:51,570 Speaker 1: six years old. It's not completely clear what happened. He'd 428 00:35:51,570 --> 00:35:57,290 Speaker 1: locked himself in a shed with nitrous oxide candles, post 429 00:35:57,330 --> 00:36:01,770 Speaker 1: it notes, and a propane heater. By the time the 430 00:36:01,810 --> 00:36:05,450 Speaker 1: fire brigade got the door down, Tony had inhaled too 431 00:36:05,530 --> 00:36:15,450 Speaker 1: much smoke. Tony was killed by his addiction, but also 432 00:36:15,930 --> 00:36:23,090 Speaker 1: by his ideas about community, connectedness and happiness. He'd thought 433 00:36:23,210 --> 00:36:28,650 Speaker 1: he could make a community by gathering entrepreneurs in collisionable spaces. 434 00:36:29,330 --> 00:36:32,170 Speaker 1: Then he'd thought he could pay people to surround him 435 00:36:32,170 --> 00:36:36,170 Speaker 1: in Park City and feel connectedness that would make him happy. 436 00:36:37,530 --> 00:36:43,330 Speaker 1: He hadn't understood that genuine connections arise obliquely. You could 437 00:36:43,330 --> 00:36:48,170 Speaker 1: only put yourself in situations where that might happen and 438 00:36:48,250 --> 00:36:53,850 Speaker 1: recognize if it does. Tony didn't recognize which kind of 439 00:36:53,890 --> 00:36:57,930 Speaker 1: connections to cherish. The kind where you can speak the 440 00:36:57,970 --> 00:37:02,570 Speaker 1: truth and hear the truth. The kind of connections Jody 441 00:37:02,690 --> 00:37:07,650 Speaker 1: Sherman tried to find too late when he emailed other 442 00:37:07,690 --> 00:37:12,730 Speaker 1: founders in Las Vegas. I find myself with no one 443 00:37:12,770 --> 00:37:15,450 Speaker 1: to talk to about the challenges I might be facing, 444 00:37:17,130 --> 00:37:19,730 Speaker 1: or the kind of connection Tyler Williams had with his 445 00:37:19,850 --> 00:37:24,050 Speaker 1: wife when she told him, I don't like who you 446 00:37:24,170 --> 00:37:27,490 Speaker 1: are on Ketamin. You're not the same Tyler that I know. 447 00:37:28,810 --> 00:37:34,010 Speaker 1: And he listened and stopped. She knows who I am, 448 00:37:34,650 --> 00:37:40,050 Speaker 1: Tyler later recalled, and she will check me. Tony had 449 00:37:40,130 --> 00:37:43,370 Speaker 1: people who knew who he was and tried to check 450 00:37:43,450 --> 00:37:51,570 Speaker 1: him like Jewel and Ryan and Tyler himself. Tyler later 451 00:37:51,650 --> 00:37:54,930 Speaker 1: said that he often wonders if he hadn't had that 452 00:37:54,970 --> 00:38:00,530 Speaker 1: connection with his wife, who would I be? Perhaps like 453 00:38:00,690 --> 00:38:06,730 Speaker 1: Tony a drug addicted cliche. We all need someone who 454 00:38:06,770 --> 00:38:10,330 Speaker 1: knows who we are, but they can only save our 455 00:38:10,450 --> 00:38:23,330 Speaker 1: soul if we let them. Key sources for this episode 456 00:38:23,370 --> 00:38:27,890 Speaker 1: were Happy at Any Cost, The Revolutionary Vision and Fatal 457 00:38:27,970 --> 00:38:32,650 Speaker 1: Quest of Zappo's CEO Tony Shay by Katherine Sayre and 458 00:38:32,770 --> 00:38:38,250 Speaker 1: Kurston grind and wander Boy Tony Shay, Zappo's and the 459 00:38:38,290 --> 00:38:42,130 Speaker 1: Myth of Happiness in Silicon Valley by angel O Young 460 00:38:42,490 --> 00:38:46,570 Speaker 1: and David Janes. For a full list of sources, see 461 00:38:46,570 --> 00:38:51,730 Speaker 1: the show notes at Timharford dot com. Cautionary Tales is 462 00:38:51,770 --> 00:38:55,410 Speaker 1: written by me Tim Harford with Andrew Wright, Alice Fines, 463 00:38:55,690 --> 00:39:00,170 Speaker 1: and Ryan Dilley. It's produced by Georgia Mills and Marilyn Rust. 464 00:39:01,330 --> 00:39:03,650 Speaker 1: The sound design and original music are the work of 465 00:39:03,770 --> 00:39:09,170 Speaker 1: Pascal Wise. Bend A. D Afhaffrey edited the scripts. It 466 00:39:09,250 --> 00:39:13,890 Speaker 1: features the voice talents of Melanie Guttridge, Genevieve Gaunt, Stella Harford, 467 00:39:14,210 --> 00:39:19,930 Speaker 1: Messea Munroe, Jamal Westman, and rufus Wright. The show also 468 00:39:20,010 --> 00:39:22,890 Speaker 1: wouldn't have been possible without the work of Jacob Weisberg, 469 00:39:23,090 --> 00:39:29,370 Speaker 1: Greta Cohne, Eric Sandler, Carrie Brody, Christina Sullivan, Kira Posey, 470 00:39:29,730 --> 00:39:35,050 Speaker 1: and Owen Miller. Cautionary Tales is a production of Pushkin Industries. 471 00:39:35,450 --> 00:39:38,970 Speaker 1: If you like the show, please remember to share, rate, 472 00:39:39,170 --> 00:39:41,770 Speaker 1: and review. It really does make a difference to us 473 00:39:42,450 --> 00:39:45,570 Speaker 1: and if you want to hear it, add free and 474 00:39:45,650 --> 00:39:50,410 Speaker 1: receive a bonus audio episode, video episode, and members only 475 00:39:50,490 --> 00:39:55,450 Speaker 1: newsletter every month. Why not join the Cautionary Club. To 476 00:39:55,570 --> 00:39:59,890 Speaker 1: sign up, head to patreon dot com slash Cautionary Club. 477 00:40:00,010 --> 00:40:03,970 Speaker 1: That's Patreon, p A, t R e o N dot 478 00:40:04,010 --> 00:40:06,930 Speaker 1: com Slash Cautionary Club