New Adventures for a New Decade
By: Mark Johnson
Tags: Founder Stories, Vision, Sabbatical, Startup, Change

Mark hiking near OJo Caliente, NM, pic by Will Kirkpatrick

It’s already been an exciting new decade for me. In early January of this year, I passed on the reins of Descartes Labs to a new CEO and I became Executive Chair of the board.

I’m so proud of what the team at Descartes Labs has built over the past 5 years. At over 100 Cartesians strong, we’re tackling the toughest problems for some of the world’s largest organizations, and we’ve never forgotten our commitment to better understanding the planet. All of that we did in an unlikely place, New Mexico. Initially, we were here because most of the co-founders were scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory, but we stayed because New Mexico is such an incredible place to live and thrive.

Even though I’m enjoying my sabbatical, I can’t stop thinking about the future. As Executive Chair of Descartes Labs, I don’t have any day-to-day responsibilities and don’t go into the office. My focus is on the the vision of Descartes Labs and how we fit into how the world is changing.

One area of my focus will be why AI startups are a unique beast which don’t look like a traditional SaaS company. Thinner gross margins, consulting, custom projects, struggling to package all of your tools into a product, finding projects with good data and real ROI… the road of an AI startup is a unique one. If you’re running an AI company, I’d love to talk to you and compare notes.

Another area of deep thinking is around the data refinery as a foundation for the data-animated organization. Essentially, a data refinery is a platform designed to pull in multiple data sources, fuse them, and allow scientists to build models, which will allow organizations to adjust operations automatically—to become data animated. I’d love to explore that thesis further. Descartes Labs used geospatial data to build models about the natural world, in particular about global commodities like food, mining, and energy. What data refineries exist in other industries? How will companies use data to disrupt themselves? How will companies create shared data refineries to pool valuable data? How will the government contribute data without compromising individual information?

Skiing at Taos, NM

I blame New Mexico for slowing my efforts to write. Since though it’s winter here, I’ve been enjoying skiing at our own ski resort here in Santa Fe, or popping up to Pajarito in Los Alamos before meetings, or getting terrified on the steep, stunning slopes of Taos. On nicer days, I’ll take a hike or hop on my bike. I feel so blessed to live somewhere so beautiful with so many opportunities to enjoy the outdoors.

I’ve also been taking the time to reset my mind. I (finally) finished Eco’s winding, erudite mystery The Name of the Rose. I jumped back in history to read about Enron in The Smartest Guys in the Room. Right now I’m tackling Tolstoy short stories, warming me up to read a long, epic Russian novel. And, I’ve been cooking almost every day. Even though it takes way longer to make chicken soup from an actual chicken, there’s something satisfying about watching a dish go from ingredients to a finished product, with only your own labor.

In terms of what’s next for me, my biggest goal right now is to recharge and reconnect.

I’ll be starting a road trip this weekend with the intention of landing in San Francisco around the Ides of March. Let’s please catch up if you’re in SF or along the way.

Follow me on Instagram to keep abreast of my next steps!