Rudy Arnauts: building new paradigms

Together with two other guys, Bryan Roberts with Eco-Tech Construction & Steve Francois with Tek-Nique Entertainment, Rudy took on a $ 300,000 renovation of a historic building in Tampa, Florida- USA. The goal from the very beginning was to make the project a demonstration model of their business concept in action: an open collaborative business network. Think of it as a Wikipedia of environmentally progressive technology. When Rudy first started this project he was half a heartbeat away from being homeless – literally sleeping in the building which at that time had no power or toilets.

The Project 3.0 show documents how the core team of 3 guys has grown to over 50 members in the first year ranging from startups to publicly traded companies. Over $ 100,000 in renovations have been performed & the building is about to open officially. The first 5-6 episodes of the show will summarize the team’s journey from the very beginning to the present after which the show continues in real time – making it the very first interactive business reality show in the world. I am glad to have the honor of interviewing Rudy, learning about his story and having him share his insights with us.

Anubhav : We are glad to have you share your vision with us. I would like you to explain your work to our readers.

Rudy: My goal is to build two global companies from the ground up. The biggest challenge by far is that I’ve undertaken this effort with zero financial resources. I am looking to build a paradigm shift in both social networking and real estate development. Even though this sounds grand – and it is – many definite realistic steps towards those goals have been accomplished.

The big vision is to build a global entrepreneurial social network website. The current revenue model for social networks is advertising-based whereas I see the value in the business deals that can be executed through this network. My plan could be compared to how Ebay charges a transaction fee for providing online auction infrastructure. I visualize this site to provide infrastructure for any kind of positive business venture imaginable combined with complete financial transparency.

The paradigm shift in real estate development goes hand in hand with this business model. It basically consists of a completely new construction method we have developed as a direct result of the projects we have undertaken in combination with an equally significant shift in the financial business model that goes with it.

Anubhav: Please give some insight into the background behind your work in construction.

Rudy: The first big break came when we had the opportunity to take over an abandoned historic building. The initial plan was to convince the owner to hire us to do a $300,000 renovation to it. He refused – which was an unexpected huge disappointment. We decided to take on the job anyways without a dime in our pocket. At the time I thought it was complete insanity until one of my partners convinced me that there was value in us filming a documentary of us just trying to take on such an endeavor without resources. An interesting story is something people will want to watch. Two out of three of us slept in that building for months with no power or toilets.

Our specific angle is to renovate this building as sustainable as possible so we targeted companies that produced the most sustainable and cost effective products around. A lot of these are new & evolving technologies & therefore these companies are in need of promotion to let the public know about them. The first sponsorship we secured was for $500 worth of recycled fly ash concrete with which we did a complete overlay of the first floor. The most recent sponsorship we secured is a complete historic façade renovation by the same company that restored the US Library of Congress & State Capitol buildings in Washington DC and are valued at $50,000.

Anubhav: Your work sounds amazing. Tell us more about your documentary?

Rudy: The documentary we have been filming since the very beginning is the greatest foundation of the web concept I could ever have hoped for – it proves the unfolding of this new business paradigm of open financially transparent collaboration in action. Since we didn’t have any money to buy building materials we started soliciting companies to sponsor materials in exchange for marketing/publicity – in other words for being in the documentary. When a lot of people watch, it makes a film possess promotional value. The documentary is about to be released where the first 5-6 webisodes summarize everything from the beginning to the present after which the show continues in real time. Anyone with a great idea that can improve on what we’re doing is encouraged to contact us – and then they’re on the show. Whatever profits are generated from that idea will be shared with the contributor; we will publish our contract with them on our site for the whole world to see.

Anubhav: What kind of lessons do you feel the readers can learn from your story?

Rudy: The lessons are numerous. What first may seem as an enormous obstacle or disappointment could actually be a great blessing – I have found this to be true every single time. It really is all in how you look at it. Not getting hired to do a $300,000 construction job felt like a big letdown at the time but in the end this ended up giving us the best possible platform to build our concept upon. After overcoming the first obstacle one can then build upon their previous success to reach the next level up closer to their goal. I can relate this to obtaining our second sponsorship which was $ 2,000 worth of LED lights.

It is important to stay completely open minded as to how your path towards your goal may unfold. It hardly ever goes as planned. Look at every occurrence from a perspective of what you can learn from it. In the end you will always learn more from your failures – it is in overcoming those failures that you will truly find yourself. In a lot of ways, reaching success without that failure is almost a certain recipe for disaster.

Anubhav: How important is a sense of vision in one’s success?

Rudy: I feel that being a visionary and implementing the vision is the first step to success. For the past two years, I have been far from what mainstream society would consider a “success”. However, I do have a firm vision of what I’m building towards. Once you decide to implement your vision the way in which the successive steps towards realizing the goal unfold are often completely beyond your control. The important thing is to be aware of opportunities when they present themselves so you can capitalize on them and build upon that achievement to move up to the next level. A firm vision of what you are looking to accomplish and holding it firmly in the mind is the most important thing for success.

Anubhav: Please tell our readers more about yourself and your philosophy.

Rudy: I am 43 years old, I have had several great peaks of success in life; I’ve “made it” and subsequently lost it 4 times – this round is the fifth time of starting over from nothing. The first time I made money it honestly came way too easy. The natural by-product of that is an over inflated ego and a complete lack of appreciation for the value of the things that were achieved. Sure enough, within a couple of short years I had lost it all. Looking back, I would say that a huge ego is definitely the number one cause of failure. It’s a tight rope to walk because people that think big have to have a certain level of ego in order to think that way in the first place. The balance is differentiating between ego & confidence. Nobody really ever does it alone. Always surround yourself with like-minded people and be certain to appreciate their contributions towards your success.

Anubhav: Thank you for sharing the story behind your work and your philosophy for success. Are there any final thoughts you would like to share with us?

Rudy: I would like to recommend everyone to read “Think & Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill which is one of the greatest success books of all time. In a lot of ways I feel that the documentary you are doing on successful individuals is the video version of this book. We are what we think, and for me, the philosophy of manifestation goes right down to the spiritual core of being and Purpose in life. Quantum physics has empirically proven that the observer’s expectations directly affect the outcome of an experiment. This to me is scientific proof that the attitude/belief/expectation that you hold firm in your mind directly impacts what events & circumstances play themselves out in your reality. Every great achievement throughout history started as an image in someone’s mind first.