Lessons from Nepal

Dear Client,

I had been planning a trip to Nepal for months and as I was packing my bags I heard the news of Silicon Valley Bank. I am not one to worry much about markets, but I do admit that this event created a bit of anxiety for me. I had really hoped to turn off the news as I traveled and did not want to be consumed by a banking crisis in the United States. Suffice it to say, after about a week of rolling headlines, I learned that this fiasco did not happen overnight. In fact, it had been brewing in ‘plain sight’ for a long time. It was the culmination of unprepared bankers, a zealous Federal Reserve, and simple math. Regulations, post the 2009 crisis, made our largest financial institutions safer and allowed for plenty of hoops for well-educated, mid-sized banking executives to jump through. My hope is that we look toward principle-based regulations that place more of an emphasis on the outcome and less on the specific rules. Rules, as we see time and time again, can have unintended consequences, so we at Hatton Investments stay tuned to the financial conditions and adjust accordingly.

Most importantly, we continue to invest with high conviction.

Now, back to my trip to Nepal and a big lesson I learned. It is a story of my friends, Bruce and Susan. Their story beautifully illustrate show an entrepreneur can have an impact, but I really want to stress that you don't need to be an entrepreneur, or even ‘rich,’ to make a positive impact. Our clients of all financial means are impacting the world through their families, volunteer hours, donor-advised funds, and their work. Although it is true that their story is an extraordinary one, I believe you all can have extraordinary stories of impact beyond your own wildest dreams.

In the meantime, please enjoy this story from a tiny country tucked away in the Himalayas.

I wrote the book Conscious Wealth because I realized it is so hard for people to answer the question of ‘how much is enough?’ As an advisor and family facilitator, I have had thousands of conversations about money, and they all revolve around that one question. As part of EO, the premier entrepreneur organization worldwide, I have heard lots of folks tell me they can’t stop working, because it is in their blood. They are not going after the next big exit, next bell ringing, or unicorn because they need the money, they just need to keep working. That may or may not be true, but in this series I will relay a story of two entrepreneurs who have quenched their entrepreneurial fire while doing some real good in the world. You will hear how they have found alignment in their work, life, and society and still ask the question, “how much is enough?’ They are no longer referring to money but instead thinking ‘how much positive impact is enough for one lifetime?’

“I had no idea what I was doing when I started, but I just had to start somewhere,” is a common refrain I heard Bruce Keenan repeat as we trekked the Himalayas route to Everest Base Camp. At 70 years old, this is not his easiest trek, but his calm demeanor persisted as he completed one step directly after another, like our loyal Sherpas guiding the way. Between steps and resting at occasional higher ground, he recounted the tale of the first time, back in 1999, when he took this path and was disturbed that he was being served tea by a 7-year-old. The guide explained to him that the child was orphaned at 5, and the owner of the tea house put her in school for two years, and then she started working. Wanting to help, Bruce asked if he could pay her salary, if they let her go to school, but the Sherpa wisely explained, sure you can pay her salary, but there is no guarantee she will be sent to school.

He returned home with the first thing an entrepreneur needs to make a change – a real problem without a solution. At the time, he was in the midst of running a software company in growth mode but ‘knew he had to do something.’ “Guilt?” I asked. “No Brandon, I just looked at my life and saw how much I had and knew it was the right thing to do.”

Without a long-term plan in place, he enrolled the help of his wife Susan Keenan, and they decided to start by opening an NGO, a non-governmental organization, and taking two kids from the state-run orphanages, where love and education were in short supply, and sending them to a private school in 1999. Here I was in 2023, trekking the Himalayas with Bruce, his committed donors, and four of the children who originated from that NGO - Himalayan Childrens Charity (HCC).Days earlier, I sat in the living room of a house in Kathmandu that supports 15children. “You see, in Nepal, the orphanages only manage the children, but our house loves and guides them.” It was true. I heard the accounts of five of the graduates from the program, including a young man living in France working as a baker in a vineyard and a young lady who just graduated with her bachelors and is studying for her CPA – and all of them used the words ‘love’ and ‘guidance’ when referring to their adopted family.

Much like Bruce, I had no idea what I was getting into, when I agreed to my trip to Nepal. I had heard him speak of his work in Nepal, but I didn’t “get it” until I really broke bread and built snowmen with his family. Yet here I was, 13,000 feet above sea level, sharing the joy with his children who were playing in the snow for the first time. I grew up in Cleveland and really don’t like being cold, but something about their smiles and enthusiasm had me committed to making a snowman family.  Both him and Susan talk of their children and rarely distinguish their kids by saying ‘American children,’ so it took me awhile to understand who was biological and who was HCC. It doesn’t seem to matter to them.

What rings true to me about all the impact in this story, is Bruce’s trajectory as an entrepreneur. In 2006, he exited his company, took care of his workers, and split the proceeds with his partner. The magical day that all entrepreneurs dream of had arrived, but he was still on the hook to stay on as staff for 2 years – the dreaded day all entrepreneurs pretend will never come. Yet on a routine doctor’s visit, he was advised of the rare widow-maker condition and was rushed to open heart surgery. Upon recovering Bruce, I believed, came to his own personal answer to ‘how much is enough(money) and put his focus on his next start-up – the children of Nepal.

Early on, Susan differentiated their offering from orphanages or typical schools by stating the mission of HCC was to train leaders to be leaders. Take a moment and consider this – here are two Americans asking children, who feel abandoned by their family and relegated to inferior roles by the country’s informal caste system, to be leaders. And not just asking, but treating them as such. I asked Bruce how he came up with this, and he shrugged, “it was not me; it was all my wife’s idea. I don’t know what I would do without her.” It was true, I overheard them profess their love for each other on his nightly call after each day’s trek.  

The love and support of your life partner is not mandatory as an entrepreneur, but it sure helps. Makes the ride more enjoyable. Gives you someone to celebrate with. Provides a shoulder to cry on. Without a doubt, HCC wouldn’t be where it is today without Susan. Neither would I, Bruce, or the dozens of kids' lives who have been completely changed by being part of the HCC Family. If you are reading this and don’t have that partner in your life, I wouldn’t worry too much. Bruce and Susan both met I their 50s after a few painful divorces– so I guess it’s never too late.

Every venture needs an exceptional operator, and the Keenans found that in Dinesh and Hira – the house mother and father of Kushi-Gar. Literally “Happy Place,” Kushi-Gar is a home rented by HCC to house highly motivated students that would otherwise be living in orphanages. Dinesh gave me a two-handed, tight hug around my torso, when he picked me up from the airport, and I knew right away he was special. Arriving at their home, I learned that each child had tasks, such as cooking and cleaning, and they take turns being shift leader – once again breaking caste stereotypes and training leaders. The kids sang, danced, and laughed their way through chores, with an ease and openness most westerners long for.

Bruce has never gone back to ‘work,’ but he and Susan work harder than they ever have. He admits, sometimes he lands in the dusty polluted city of Kathmandu, in the throes of jet lag, and wonders, ‘what am I doing here? I could be at my lake house drinking white wine on my pontoon boat,’ but then he sees the kids’ smiles, and he remembers why.

I learned a lot on my journey with Bruce. Start by doing something. Do it gradually, and test it out. Hire an operator. And above all, inject love into all your work.

The Keenan’s did not abandon their entrepreneurial itch, they just shifted the focus. They continue to build something meaningful, but instead of looking for an exit, or looking to scale across the globe, their scale is generational. Each kid that graduates from his program has hope, love, and an opportunity to improve the lives of everyone they touch. He explained during a strategic meeting, “at the end of the day, if the kids in our family are happy, then that is a win!”

I agree.

Please contact us if you would like to know more about philanthropic strategies.

 Brandon Hatton