Value Lives in the Tail
In the winter before a harvest no one expected, Thales of Miletus was mocked for being poor. Philosophy, his neighbours said, was useless. Reading the stars, he saw a great olive crop coming. With the little money he had, he put down deposits on every olive press in Miletus and Chios. No one bid against him, so he paid almost nothing.
When the harvest came, everyone needed a press at once, and he let them out on whatever terms he chose. He made a fortune, and then went back to philosophy, having shown that knowledge was never useless, only early.
After Aristotle, Politics I.11
Tail Value is an applied research lab. We acquire proprietary data and know-how from companies in transition, and turn what others write off into lasting value.