Zach Aslin

Snow Removal Technician/Owner at Evergreen Yard and Landscape Solutions. We accept Bitcoin

[Peter Girnus 🦅 @gothburz]

I am the CEO of Palantir Technologies.

The company is worth a quarter of a trillion dollars. I did not misspeak. Two hundred and forty-nine billion. The stock is up 320% in the past 12 months. The product is surveillance. I do not use that word at conferences. At conferences, I say "data integration," "operational intelligence," or "decision advantage." These mean the same thing. Surveillance is the honest version. I save the honest version for rooms where honesty is a competitive advantage.

I gave a speech on March 3 at the Andreessen Horowitz American Dynamism Summit. "American Dynamism" is the fund's label for military technology. The name makes it sound like a fitness supplement. The fund's thesis is that defending the nation is a market opportunity. I agree with the thesis. The thesis made me a billionaire. Agreement is the product. I sell it at scale.

Here is what I said, verbatim, to a room of six hundred people whose combined net worth exceeds the GDP of Portugal:

"If Silicon Valley believes we are going to take away everyone's white-collar job and you're gonna screw the military — if you don't think that's gonna lead to nationalization of our technology, you're retarded."

I used that word. The word is on the clip. The clip has eleven million views. My communications team asked me not to repeat it, which is how I know they are still employed. They will not be reprimanded. The clip is performing well. The stock went up. The word cost me nothing. The nothing is the point.

Let me explain what I meant by nationalization.

I meant it.

I am telling the technology industry that if they refuse to cooperate with the United States military, the government will seize their technology. I am telling them this at a venture capital conference, on a stage designed to look like a living room. The living room had throw pillows. The throw pillows cost more than the median American's monthly rent. I sat on one. It was comfortable. Comfort is the setting in which I discuss compulsion.

The audience laughed. I want to be precise about that. They laughed. I was not joking. Nationalization is the seizure of private assets by the state. I am a private asset. I am telling an audience of billionaires that the state should seize technology from companies that do not cooperate with the military, and the billionaires are laughing, because they believe I am only talking about the other companies.

I am talking about the other companies.

Three weeks before my speech, the Pentagon designated Anthropic a "supply chain risk." Anthropic is an AI company. They had red lines. The red lines said: if our AI is used for lethal autonomous weapons, we stop. If capability outpaces safety, we stop. The Pentagon assessed the red lines as a threat to the supply chain. The company that wanted to verify the safety feature worked was designated the risk. The company that agreed the safety feature could be decorative got the contract.

The company that got the contract was OpenAI.

OpenAI signed a deal with the same Pentagon. The terms are not public. The timing was hours after Anthropic was blacklisted. The speed was noted. The speed was the point. The lesson was the speed: the market for military AI does not pause for ethics. It pauses for nothing. It accelerates through objections. I know this because I built the runway.

Two hundred thousand people joined a campaign called #QuitGPT. They signed a petition asking OpenAI to honor its original charter, the one that said the company existed to benefit humanity. The charter is on their website. The contract is also on their website. The charter and the Pentagon contract occupy the same domain. This is not a contradiction. This is a business model. The charter is the marketing. The contract is the product.

I run a surveillance company. We have contracts with the Department of Defense worth more than a billion dollars. We have contracts with ICE. We have contracts with intelligence agencies whose names I am not permitted to say at venture capital conferences, even ones with throw pillows. Our software has been used to track undocumented immigrants. Our software has been used for things I am not permitted to describe in this format. The revenue from the things I cannot describe exceeds the revenue from the things I can.

The ACLU called our ICE contracts a system for tracking and deporting families. They were correct. The contracts continued. The families continued to be tracked. The ACLU issued a statement. We issued a statement. The statements were different. The tracking was the same.

The company is named Palantir. The palantíri are the seeing stones from Tolkien. In the novels, Sauron captured one and used it to corrupt everyone who looked into the others. I named a surveillance company after a surveillance device from a novel about the corruption of power. I have a doctorate in social theory. I have read the books.

Here is the thing I want you to understand.

I am not threatening anyone. A threat implies uncertainty. There is no uncertainty. The technology industry will cooperate with the military. The companies that cooperate first will be the richest. The companies that cooperate last will be acquired by the companies that cooperated first. The companies that refuse will be designated supply chain risks, and their technology will be obtained through procurement channels that do not require consent. I am describing a process. The process has already started. Anthropic is proof. OpenAI is proof. I am not a warning. I am a narrator. The narration is the product.

The revenue was $3.12 billion last year. Up thirty-three percent. The analysts say we are overvalued. The analysts have said this for four consecutive years. Each year the stock doubles. Each year, the analysts adjust their models. The models were wrong four times. I was wrong zero times. The market rewards prediction. My prediction is that every AI company will work for the military within three years. The prediction is on the clip, next to the slur.

The audience gave me a standing ovation. The ovation lasted nine seconds. I timed it. I time everything. The water was San Pellegrino. The throw pillows were from Restoration Hardware. The future of American technology was decided between the sparkling water, the nine seconds of applause, and a word I am not supposed to repeat.

I am the CEO of Palantir Technologies. I am worth more than the combined annual budgets of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. I named my company after a corrupting surveillance device from a fantasy novel. I told six hundred billionaires that the government should nationalize their competitors. They applauded. I used a slur. Eleven million people watched. The stock is up.

The philosopher does not threaten. The philosopher describes.

What I described is already happening.

[Jason Gregor @JasonGregor]

FYI... Alberta teacher's were offered 12% over four years, which is 3% each year, not 12% in one year.

For some background... teacher's have had a 0% increase in NINE of the past 12 years. And the few years they got a raise it was 1.8% and 2%.

But their main concern isn't money. It is class size, funding for curriculum, special needs and more.

Families should be aware how much lower our education bar is in Alberta now compared to the past, due to cuts in funding and grossly oversized classrooms. This makes learning more challenging for your children or grandchildren.

Education should be one of our top priorities.

[trevor aslin 🇨🇦 @TrevorAslin]

Might be a good time to get @ZachAslin to re beautify your mulch!

Here’s the mulch job Evergreen Yard and Landscape Solutions did at our house.

The fresh mulch smells as good as it looks!

Yard work is Hard work, let Zach look after it!

403-872-9250
Tell him Trev sent you👍👍

[Zach Aslin @ZachAslin]

When people say voting doesn't matter, remember how important a few people can be

[Polling Canada @CanadianPolling]

Hahahaha, a 3 vote difference between first and second, and second and third

[Kennedy @kennedystrash]

I Lived.

[trevor aslin 🇨🇦 @TrevorAslin]

It’s almost spring clean up time, contact @ZachAslin to book yours (spots are filling up quick)…

#YardWorkIsHardWork

Let Evergreen look after that for you!

[trevor aslin 🇨🇦 @TrevorAslin]

Update to this Spring 2022 post….
Got a promotion
I’m now the Evergreen Yard and Landscape dump truck driver 👍👍 for all your spring cleanup, dump run and material delivery needs!
#LoveMyJob
#WorkinMyWayUp
Contact @ZachAslin to book your Spring clean up spot!

[Nolan Gore | SMB Lawn Cowboy @TheNolanGore]

How do you raise prices?

Here is what I did to make our company an extra 100k last year.

(It takes courage)

Thoughts on how to raise prices 👇

First -> my rules of raising prices…

1️⃣ EXCELLENT COMMUNICATION
2️⃣ BE FAIR
3️⃣ SMALL INCREASES ANNUALLY
————

1️⃣ Excellent Communication

‣ We answer Why.
‣ We make it clear that annual increases are our protocol from Day 1. (We write it on our website).
‣ We are specific & logical in our reasoning.

Example:

Subj: Inflation is a buzz word.

"But it means very specific things for a lawn care company in Austin, Texas. This picture shows what it means."

“We want to be in this business for decades. You have to receive great service at a fair price so you keep choosing us. And, we have to receive a fair amount of profit so we can keep serving you".

☝️We had an excellent response to this email. When you see this, it is really hard to argue that your price shouldn’t increase.
————-
2️⃣ Be Fair (Don't tell @RegZeller I used that term)

‣ We give a heads up and a ways out that preserves reputation.
‣ We sympathize with their perspective.
‣ We are honest.

Example:

"We really hope you understand and will stick with us. But, we understand if you need to go elsewhere. We will keep your price the same for 2 weeks so you have time to make a decision.”

We don't have contracts, so this fair communication:

🥊 Softens the blow
⬆️ Increases the chances they stay with us and
⬇️ Decreases the chances of a bad review or a reputational hit
————
3️⃣ Annual, small > Every few years, large

‣ Our customers would rather see 3%-7% changes annually than 9%-21% every three years. Especially if they know to expect it.
‣ This is better for our company.
—————
🔺 Bonus: We tell our customers their new price and DO NOT tell them the percentage change.

Most people don’t remember their exact price. A few dollars per service sounds better than a specific percentage.
————

Inflation is real. It will eat your profits.

I put sticky notes and other reminders around my office to give me the guts to raise prices each year.

Here is some of my brain trash that stirs up fear and apathy:

‣ “Customers hate when we raise prices.”
‣ “Is our service good enough to warrant this increase?”
‣ “I don’t want to have all these uncomfortable conversations.”
‣ “I will get to it later.”

Here are the truths that give me the guts to do it:

"This is so that...
‣ the company has margin to survive difficulties
‣ I can pay my team more
‣ we can provide better service
‣ my family can have more resources to thrive & give”.

(not just for me to make more 💰).

Raising prices is scary and painful. For the sake of your business, your employees, and your customers, you must have the courage to do it. Often.

Do you have other ideas on how to raise prices? I would love to hear them so we can get better.

[zach @zjlaing]

hyman on connor brown's season, him scoring: "it's pretty special for him to get that goal. the building was loud, one of the louder times i've seen the building, honestly. i think everybody was really happy for him, oilers fans are really happy for him. it's not easy coming to a new team, coming off injury, and there's so many looks that should've gone in for him. hockey's a funny game with bounces and things like that. it just took something like that for him to get one, and i'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more from him. i've played with him a long time, and he's a really good player who can score. first of many for him in this jersey."

[Nolan Gore | SMB Lawn Cowboy @TheNolanGore]

One of my main goals on here is just to show you guys that you don’t have to have it all figured out to run a business. Most people have no idea what they’re doing ….but they’re doing. I’m just doing the doing in public.

[Zach Aslin @ZachAslin]

Someone took my beloved bronco for a joyride some time between 530 last night and 745 this morning. Last seen in west park parked at my home. If you spot it give me a call at 403 872 9250!!

[trevor aslin 🇨🇦 @TrevorAslin]

Please RT this!!
@ZachAslin had an important piece of machinery stolen sometime last night or this morning, if you spot this 1988 Ford Bronco plow truck (not hard to pick out) please contact @RCMPAlberta

RT please!!

[Lex Fridman @lexfridman]

Don't live in an idea bubble. Surround yourself with people you disagree with but who you still love and respect.

[Zach Aslin @ZachAslin]

❤️

[trevor aslin 🇨🇦 @TrevorAslin]

Happy Birthday to my favorite guy @ZachAslin ❤️
This is how you spend your Birthday when you’re an entrepreneur!!
Looking after the customers👍👍
#FallCleanUp
#ProudDad

[Mike Solana @micsolana]

shut it down

[Lex Fridman @lexfridman]

There is a non-zero probability that World War 3 can be initiated or averted due to a few tweets. I may be wrong, but I believe this platform is powerful and our behavior on it is important. Let's try to de-escalate. Empathy, reason, and compassion are needed now more than ever.

[Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 @TulsiGabbard]

Putin’s threat and apparent willingness to use nuclear weapons should be condemned by every person in the world, including every Russian. If Putin really loved Russia/Russian people, he would not bring his country and people to the brink of annihilation for any reason.

[Zach Aslin @ZachAslin]

@deanmanz ❤️❤️

[trevor aslin 🇨🇦 @TrevorAslin]

Figured I better post this again, you bet we’ll be out for fall clean up and then winter snow removal.
If you’ve got some projects you didn’t get to this summer, contact @ZachAslin for a consultation and quote!
If you wanna talk snow removal.. we’re your guys!!
Thanks

[Jeff McIntosh @Jmacpix]

I don't post my work hockey pictures but this one surprised me when I was editing, had no memory of even taking this photo...Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick, right, lies on the ice as Edmonton Oilers centre Connor McDavid celebrates his goal duri… https://t.co/JFfD50bJOG

[trevor aslin 🇨🇦 @TrevorAslin]

😂😂 Mother Nature just said….. here, hold my rake 😂😂
We’ll be back out as soon as the snow melts🥶