Article: 5 years of Rivian: From 'stealth mode' to one of the biggest IPOs in American history

5 years of Rivian: From 'stealth mode' to one of the biggest IPOs in American history

Article link: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/202...o-one-of-the-biggest-ipos-in-american-history

It's been five years -- almost to the day -- since the word "Rivian" was first uttered publicly in Bloomington-Normal. Now, the electric automaker is the community's third-largest employer -- with 3,700 workers -- and just wrapped up one of the largest initial public offerings in American history. WGLT's Sound Ideas has this look back at the last five years, from small meetings with taxing bodies ... to stealth mode ... to the Nasdaq... continued at WGLT.org

Haven't read the article yet (beyond what's here) but my first off-the-cuff (and meaningless) thought is ... wow, RJ owns a tie ... and looks even more like Clark Kent, news-reporter. ... Sorry, couldn't resist. Now back to the regular scheduled program.

EyeOnRivian said:

Haven't read the article yet (beyond what's here) but my first off-the-cuff (and meaningless) thought is ... wow, RJ owns a tie ... and looks even more like Clark Kent, news-reporter. ... Sorry, couldn't resist. Now back to the regular scheduled program.

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Literal Guffaw. Glad I was not drinking anything when I read that or it would have ended up sprayed all over.

And this is why I'm an investor.

ChrissyOne said:

"He's a real contrast to the kind of predominant model of entrepreneur, which is this very hard-charging kind of guy who's gonna do what it takes to get to be a billionaire. I've known RJ for 10 years, and he has never talked about making money. Never. It's never come up," Womack said on the sidelines of the LA Auto Show.​

And this is why I'm an investor.

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Over the past couple of weeks, ChrissyOne has quickly become my favorite commentator on this forum. Keep up the great work!

805Badger said:

Over the past couple of weeks, ChrissyOne has quickly become my favorite commentator on this forum. Keep up the great work!

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ChrissyOne said:

"He's a real contrast to the kind of predominant model of entrepreneur, which is this very hard-charging kind of guy who's gonna do what it takes to get to be a billionaire. I've known RJ for 10 years, and he has never talked about making money. Never. It's never come up," Womack said on the sidelines of the LA Auto Show.​

And this is why I'm an investor.

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Interesting because this actually throws a bit of a red flag/concern for me. That concern is mitigated only by knowing the backing and order numbers from Amazon.

This FEELS good and is totally the type of person and feel I WANT to support and succeed but sorry, you have to make money to stay in business and if the M word is never spoken in 10 years around a KEY ADVISOR then that is one massive red flag for me as an investor.

Profits don't magically happen because you have a good culture or a good product, or a nice CEO, or, or, or. Obviously those are good things and a business does not (or should not) have to be driven solely by profit but it sure as heck better be driving toward profit or it won't be a business long.

Sheds some potentially interesting light on the current lawsuit that states concern for too low of a price and not enough margin on the product.

I truly hope RJ is the nice guy that everyone else says he is, but I hope just as much or more that he is a damn good businessman and not just a nice engineer with a feel good vision.

SlaterGS said:

Interesting because this actually throws a bit of a red flag/concern for me. That concern is mitigated only by knowing the backing and order numbers from Amazon.

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Better sell your stock super cheap then.

Do you think Amazon became what they are by talking about how much money they were going to make all the time? Because they didn't. They got there by focussing on customers first, even if it meant making less money. Allowing negative reviews on the site was not a money-making move. But it built trust. And that will be better for your business long term every single time.

But hey, I could be wrong. Maybe it's all going to fail because RJ didn't a rush a half-asssed product out the door to make a quarterly revenue goal. I guess we'll see.

ChrissyOne said:

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Hooray for Yellow Chrissy!

This is a wonderful recap of everything, with some sound clips I have not heard previously!

Also, 100% with @ChrissyOne. Rivian and RJ legitimately seem to have a vision and a long term mission, not just riding the EV wave.

SlaterGS said:

Interesting because this actually throws a bit of a red flag/concern for me. That concern is mitigated only by knowing the backing and order numbers from Amazon.

This FEELS good and is totally the type of person and feel I WANT to support and succeed but sorry, you have to make money to stay in business and if the M word is never spoken in 10 years around a KEY ADVISOR then that is one massive red flag for me as an investor.

Profits don't magically happen because you have a good culture or a good product, or a nice CEO, or, or, or. Obviously those are good things and a business does not (or should not) have to be driven solely by profit but it sure as heck better be driving toward profit or it won't be a business long.

Sheds some potentially interesting light on the current lawsuit that states concern for too low of a price and not enough margin on the product.

I truly hope RJ is the nice guy that everyone else says he is, but I hope just as much or more that he is a damn good businessman and not just a nice engineer with a feel good vision.

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Interesting. I believe there's a difference between leading a company to be profitable (through development and production of high-quality vehicles that are in high demand) VERSUS making oneself wealthy. I believe Womack's point was, RJ by nature, isn't focused on himself... he's purpose driven. At least that was my impression of him from a brief lunch (how much can you really tell in that short of a time I know).

ChrissyOne said:

Better sell your stock super cheap then.

Do you think Amazon became what they are by talking about how much money they were going to make all the time? Because they didn't. They got there by focussing on customers first, even if it meant making less money. Allowing negative reviews on the site was not a money-making move. But it built trust. And that will be better for your business long term every single time.

But hey, I could be wrong. Maybe it's all going to fail because RJ didn't a rush a half-asssed product out the door to make a quarterly revenue goal. I guess we'll see.

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I laid out my concern and why I see that statement differently than you, not to say you are wrong but to counter with a different point of view. Not sure the snarkiness is necessary?

You bet I hope I am wrong but Amazon is the exception not the rule and the only reason RJ didn't have to rush out a half-assed product to make a quarterly revenue goal was because of Amazon and I believe they will succeed because of it regardless of whether they make money for awhile. Just saying a lot of good visionaries and products have not succeeded because the founders did not know the importance of profit.

sheydon said:

I believe Womack's point was, RJ by nature, isn't focused on himself... he's purpose driven.

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And THIS might be where my interpretation got it wrong, thanks for pointing out that slightly different angle!

No snark intended, my apologies if it came across that way. I’m just generally a bit of a smartass.

SlaterGS said:

I laid out my concern and why I see that statement differently than you, not to say you are wrong but to counter with a different point of view. Not sure the snarkiness is necessary?

You bet I hope I am wrong but Amazon is the exception not the rule and the only reason RJ didn't have to rush out a half-assed product to make a quarterly revenue goal was because of Amazon and I believe they will succeed because of it regardless of whether they make money for awhile. Just saying a lot of good visionaries and products have not succeeded because the founders did not know the importance of profit.

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Good companies, have good products. Ergo, people want them and profit follows. That is how the system works. Restaurants with terrible food don’t tend to stay in business because the owner is focused on making money.

That kind of person, in fact, avoids capital intensive start ups, a winery for instance.

As the owner of a successful and profitable winery, I know this first hand.

Give the customer a quality product, listen to their needs, and treat them with respect. We have no problem losing people to a $6 bottle of Yellow Tail from a bin in Walmart. You reap what you sow and profit follows years of hard, hard preparation.