The Biggest Risks in Most Businesses are “People Risks”... not here.

Hey guys, Mikkel here,

Many people evaluate projects like those under the Veritas Villages umbrella incorrectly.

…the location, the land, the price per square meter, the amenities list, the renderings, the projected demand, the timeline, the “what do I get and when do I get it” part of the equation… 

And to be fair, those details are quite significant, no doubt about it. 

…and while all of that has its place, I’ve been around long enough to know that those questions, on their own, are dangerously incomplete.

Because when things go right, everyone wants to talk about vision and recount some story that only sounds believable now that the vision has been executed.

…BUT when times get tough, most everyone suddenly realizes they should have asked different questions….

The truth is, projects like Veritas don’t just succeed because the land is beautiful and the homes are built exceptionally well - they succeed because of the people who show up day after day to make thousands of unglamorous decisions correctly. 

They succeed because of character, judgment, consistency, and integrity. 

That’s what this issue of the Off-Grid Plan-B newsletter is about: the human foundation underneath all of it.

…not only the business credentials or the high-level experience (which our team members have in spades), but the lesser-discussed character elements that make the team at Veritas one worth standing with.

Corporate experience and boardroom wins aren’t rare; there are lots of people who have scaled and sold companies for 8-figure sums or have been a part of organizations operating in high-complexity industries where serious capital is on the line. 

What is rare is a morally sound, competent team led by someone who has done just that.

I wanted to discuss the relationships I have with some of the Veritas team members today because what makes or breaks a business is the quality of the team building it (especially one of this scale).

…when decisions have to be made quickly…

…when something unexpected happens…

…when the easy option would be to cut corners…

If you’re considering Veritas, whether as a future resident, an investor, or simply someone watching closely and waiting for the right time, it will serve you well to understand who is actually behind Veritas, not just what is being built.

That’s why this week I want to do something different and pull you into the part of this story that doesn’t get enough airtime. 

Today, I am writing to you as a board member who has invested a material amount of money to secure a 5% ownership stake in Veritas…

…and, you’re going to see why I had the conviction to invest a 7-figure sum into Veritas Villages.

Let’s get into it, 

Patrick is one of those relationships that didn’t start off like a Hollywood friendship story, where you meet someone and immediately know you’ll be friends for life.

When we met almost eight years ago in Dubai, we didn’t necessarily get along all that well at first, and there wasn’t this instant chemistry, to say the least. 

At the time, I was associated with a lawyer Patrick didn’t like or trust, and rather than giving me the benefit of the doubt immediately, he did what most people say they do but rarely actually follow through on: he judged me by the company I kept.

He wasn’t wrong to do that.

From his perspective, I was connected to someone whose values, methods, and way of operating didn’t align with his, and he quite reasonably assumed that birds of a feather tend to flock together. 

But here’s where the story takes a spin (that I am forever grateful for):

Instead of freezing that judgment in place forever, Patrick eventually realized that I wasn’t like that lawyer at all, that my values, standards, and way of thinking were fundamentally different.

…and after some time, a real friendship began to form. 

There’s a lesson in that, folks: who you associate with matters.

…and people will judge you by that, whether they admit it or not.

In this case, Patrick was right, and I hope it goes without saying that I don’t work with that lawyer anymore.

What I appreciate most about Patrick in this story isn’t just that he eventually became a close friend; it’s that he has strong filters, takes character seriously, and is willing to change his mind when presented with better information. 

Despite not hitting it off immediately, we’ve since gone on to build nearly 8 years of friendship and 4 or so years as business partners.

We’ve travelled a ton together to places like Belize, the U.S., Turkey, Central Asia, Panama, El Salvador, Paraguay, Prague and Ecuador (and more that are escaping me at this moment).  

Today, Patrick is one of my closest friends in the world.

He lives five minutes from my house in Panama, and our lives are deeply intertwined.

I’ve mentioned this before, but the clearest signal of how much I trust him is that I asked him to be the Godfather of my children.

For me, that role is about values, judgment, and the kind of man I’d want influencing my kids if something ever happened to me.

Over the years and across countries, it is beyond clear that Patrick will do the right thing even when it’s inconvenient, when it costs more, and when nobody would notice if he didn’t.

That kind of integrity is tough to convey on an “about us” website page...

…but I assure you, it shows up where it matters.

That I can attest to vehemently.

Patrick’s character, competence and large-scale project experience are why I’ve invested in his company and have aligned myself with Veritas Villages.

When you’re building something long-term, you can’t just bet on the idea; you have to bet on the people.

There is a major lesson in here, folks (one that I am lucky didn’t cost me immensely).

Who you associate with affects how people perceive you.

Who you associate with affects the decisions you normalize.

Who you associate with affects the situations you find yourself in, even if it isn’t clear in that moment. 

Today I’m very deliberate about who I work with, who I trust, and who I allow into my inner circle.

I’ve seen firsthand how much damage one misaligned person can do, and how much upside the right person can create, and thus, I treat this wonderful reality of life and the decisions we make about the company we keep with the crucial importance it deserves. 

Andrea is Patrick’s wife.

…and that’s how I met her, BUT she very quickly became far more than “Patrick’s wife” in my world.

Andrea is genuinely one of those people who brings goodness into any environment she enters. 

She’s a pediatrician by trade, which already tells you something important, because pediatrics isn’t the kind of career you end up in if you aren’t compassionate or simply good to your core.

Andrea carries that same competence into the Veritas world, as well as into my personal life, because she’s not just a pediatrician by title… she’s the doctor to my children.

She’s a friend to my entire family, she gets along incredibly well with my kids, and she’s the kind of person you trust with your family… so much so that Andrea is also the Godmother of my children.

Again, I can’t think of a bigger expression of trust or a vote of genuine confidence.

We’ve travelled with Andrea, including trips to Ecuador, where I’ve spent time with her family (her sister’s husband is my company's videographer, too, by the way).

I tell you all this to let you know that we are just distant associates; we’re constantly crossing paths, working together, celebrating birthdays and hanging out.

Andrea is a genuine and caring presence.

She’s highly competent at what she does, passionate about the vision behind Veritas and is the type of person that you’d be thrilled to have as a neighbour (which you literally can do if you are the type of family or investor we would like to have as a part of one of our Veritas Villages masterplanned communities).

Spencer is Patrick’s son, and although he’s younger than me by probably about a decade or so, he’s absolutely a friend, not just someone I know as “Patrick’s son”.

He’s genuinely a fun guy to be around while also being extremely capable and driven, which is a combination I always appreciate.

We talk about training constantly, which might sound like a small detail, but fitness people tend to demonstrate strong discipline, consistency, self-responsibility, and the ability to do hard things day in and day out. When you’re overseeing simultaneous builds at the same time and helping clients make design decisions, these are must-have traits.  

Spencer is self-taught, which I respect deeply, because I’m completely self-taught myself, and I can usually tell within a few minutes whether someone has that internal engine that pushes them to learn, figure things out, and become competent without needing to be spoon-fed by someone who read their way into a “position of authority”. 

He has helped with the solar setup we put on my property, which is one of those practical, real-life projects that immediately reveals whether someone is just “talking about things” or whether they can actually execute, troubleshoot, and finish what they start.

…put an engineer who went to the finest university up against a 17-year-old kid who has been taking apart boat motors his whole life, and you’ll understand immediately what I am saying here…

I’ve heard repeatedly from clients that Spencer is excellent to deal with when it comes to designing homes, walking them through their options, and explaining things in a way that makes people feel confident rather than confused. 

People describe him as honest, and I agree with that completely, because he’s not trying to sell people into something… he’s trying to help them make the right decision.

Depending on your off-grid desires, you could end up speaking with Spencer sooner than you'd think… and when you do, I assure you that you will be thrilled with his ability to help you understand exactly what you need to understand as it pertains to the build and design process of your off-grid home.

Don is one of the board members I don’t know as deeply on a personal level, because I’ve only spent time with him once in person when he came down to Panama for an event.

Don is a Canadian who has founded, successfully grown, and sold companies in the hospitality space and has been very active in public offerings and in all the detailed financial reporting that goes along with being a public company.

Don lives out at our Chiriquí (another one of our Veritas Villages’ community projects).

But even limited interaction can reveal a lot when someone has spent decades operating at a serious level in high-responsibility environments, and Don comes across as a smart guy with a serious corporate background.

Don has a substantial history in finance and in taking companies public, which directly ties into how Veritas became a public company in the first place.

That’s real experience navigating complex processes where mistakes are expensive, where compliance matters, and where you need both strategic thinking and the ability to execute.

…and in any project like this, you want people involved who have seen the inside of serious financial operations because the bigger the vision, the more important it is that the foundation is guided by people who understand what “real” looks like.

Erik is our operations officer, and he’s another guy I’ve gotten to know socially in addition to working context, because we regularly play paddle together (he was actually over at my house for dinner about a week and a half ago, too). 

Erik is a professional engineer with over 24 years of experience in procurement, construction, oil and gas exploration, economic evaluation, and acquisitions/divestitures.

Given Erik’s experience in such technical industries and familiarity with managing large-scale, complex projects (that require putting massive sums of capital at play), he is the perfect operational lead for all of Veritas Villages’ projects.

…simply put, Erik has a ton of “big game” experience.

He’s genuinely fun to be around while also being sharp, which is a combination I’ll mention again because I think it matters: you want a team that can handle pressure without becoming miserable, and you want people who can move fast and still do complex, technical things the right way.

Here’s why I’m telling you all of this, and why I’m intentionally taking time to write it out in detail rather than giving you quick “about our team” descriptions. 

Building masterplanned off-grid communities is an execution-heavy undertaking that requires alignment, integrity, competence, and a willingness to do things the right way, even when it would be easier to do them the fast way.

When you’re dealing with land upgrades, infrastructure projects, and simultaneous high-end home construction, you’re naturally in the business of massive machinery, complex permitting, and lots of moving parts.

That’s why all of this matters.

There is no one-size-fits-all experience type that builds masterplanned communities like those you’ll find across Latin America, such as Veritas Villages.

It takes a range of skill sets and experiences to bring such ambitious projects to life, and that is exactly why we have them in our team.

It’s a massive undertaking, and I wanted to show you that the team behind Veritas is the real deal (who have already proven they are up for the task).

Not only can you see it with your own eyes through the various masterplanned communities underway (in addition to other sites currently being evaluated for community viability). 

For me, the reason I can put my name on this and sleep at night isn’t that the vision is exciting, although it is; it’s because the people behind it are people I’ve personally watched over time, in multiple countries, across multiple real-life scenarios, and I’ve seen enough to know that they’re dependable people of the highest character and integrity. 

Earlier in my life, I was far more willing to assume good intent. 

And while that outlook isn’t wrong in a moral sense, it’s incredibly dangerous if you’re building real things in the real world … especially when those things span borders, legal systems, cultures, and include large sums of capital.

One of the most important relationships in my life almost never happened  - precisely because Patrick was already sharp about “association” before I was.

Imagine for a moment how different things would look if Patrick had never looked past that initial association.

Imagine if he had frozen that judgment permanently.

Imagine if he had decided, “this isn’t someone I want in my world,” and walked away entirely.

Imagine if we had never travelled together, never worked together, never spent years observing each other under real-world conditions.

My life would look materially different.

Entire threads of my personal and professional life simply wouldn’t exist.

That’s why today I’m far more ruthless about weeding out bad eggs. 

Out of respect for what I’m building, who I’m responsible for, and how much I’ve seen a single person alter the trajectory of an entire life, it’s the least I can do. 

When you’re younger, you tend to give people more room, and it’s easy to tell yourself that small things don’t matter, that everyone has flaws, and that it’s better not to “burn bridges”. 

…and for a while, that approach can work…

…until it doesn’t.

Eventually, you realize that most of the problems you run into in business, investing, and even life itself don’t come from the big obvious risks … they come from the people risks.

You don’t have to take my word for any of what I have told you today.

If you’d like to meet the people behind Vertias Villages, it starts with sending an email to Andrea at [email protected].

You can write Andrea anytime, and you two can schedule some time to talk.

Even if you aren’t sure about whether Veritas Villages is the right place for you and your family, you’ll be glad you took the time to speak with Andrea. There is no better person to help you better understand what your future could look like if you were to secure land and build a home (big or small) inside one of the Veritas Villages communities.

Speak soon,
Mikkel