Originally published on timesofstartups.com
Adam Ferrari is the Founder & CEO of Ferrari Energy. Born and raised in the south suburbs of Chicago, IL, Adam is the grandson of an Italian immigrant coal miner. Adam firmly believes that the oil and gas industry not just keeps America moving forward but the industry also provides good-paying jobs for millions of blue-collar men and women across America. For him, it is important to support the oil and gas industry. Success should be followed by giving back to the society and through the successes at Ferrari Energy, the company has been able to give back to various organizations in the greater Denver and Chicago regions.
We recently got a chance to Interview Adam Ferrari.
Adam, Thank you so much for talking with us. For any entrepreneur, every new day brings its own challenges. Tell me about your best and worst days at work.
Thanks for having me. My best workdays are the days we close transactions that are mutually beneficial to both our company and client. Leading up to these closings are key milestones in both software development and service enhancements that result in an amazing sense of achievement. The days where the fruit of all the hard work is visible are most definitely the best days. The worst days consist of moments where world events outside of our control impact our business negatively. For example, the initial COVID-19 restrictions and the more recent ones have been very challenging for our business and many other small businesses. However, if it were not for the challenging times, we would not appreciate the good times as much!
What are the projects that you most enjoy working on?
We get the most enjoyment in earning the business of a client that does not think they need our services. Taking a hard ‘No’ to a resounding ‘Yes’ is quite exhilarating, and we get to experience that quite often. In terms of projects, the projects we engage in are cutting-edge, so they are all quite enjoyable. Developing the code to run valuation models across the assets in our universe is a never-ending project that is very enjoyable to work on.
What was your biggest ‘a-ha’ moment?
Being able to accurately forecast cash flow from all asset types in our space via automation. We had our ‘a-ha’ moment during one particular whiteboard session, and it all came together nicely. I cannot give away any more than this here as this is our secret sauce!
What has been the most important part of your professional journey?
Practicing humility! Having too much success early in one’s professional journey can be detrimental to discernment. Possessing and practicing humility will allow you to remain open minded and to hear others voice opinions and concerns in a way that will lead to better outcomes most often. I firmly believe a foundation in humility is critical to have lasting success in business.
What are some of the risks that your company is currently facing?
There is growing sentiment in the world that oil and gas are evil. This flies in the face of real economic data and the physics of energy generation and consumption, but nonetheless, this current sentiment poses longer-term risks to our business. I believe that physics and economics will prevail in the long run, but only time will tell.
What would you do with unlimited resources?
I would have every title document ever filed in the United States reviewed and ensure key information was extracted from each document. There is no software solution for this task yet, thus the need for manual human involvement. This information would give us a massive competitive advantage over every other company in our space.
When was the last time you totally lost yourself in doing something?
I lost myself while reflecting on the highs and lows of the past four years of my life. Some people suggest you should look forward and not backward, but I found this moment and others like it to be incredibly useful and nourishing to my soul. Being deeply in tune with our own unique journey is critical to moving forward with a clear and focused mind.
What do you do when you’re not at work?
I love to travel and experience other cultures. This is critical to ensure I keep the challenges faced by me and my business in proper perspective.
Through Adam Ferrari scholarship, you are already in the path of changing lives. What more do you feel you can do to make a difference in the world?
Yes, we are fortunate and proud to empower the future generations of health science professionals through this scholarship. We also support the development of domestic energy reserves, which ultimately leads to a higher standard of living for hundreds of millions of people in America. We are incredibly proud of this fact. However, there is a lot that we need to do.