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Thomas Tull started out by innovating dynamic pricing at his chain of laundromats, before evolving into a billionaire investor and executive. A few of his triumphs include founding the movie-blockbuster production house Legendary Entertainment, producing the guitar documentary It Might Get Loud (starring Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White) owning minority shares in his favorite boyhood sports teams (Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Yankees) and guiding the evolution of AI as co-chairman of the investment group TWG Global. Oh, and he is also the guitarist of Ghost Hounds. The band’s first show was opening for the Rolling Stones. Not a bad performance to include in your gig history …
Here are a few of the informational nuggets you’ll take away from Dalporto’s interview with Tull …
Stand Strong
“One of the lessons in business or just in life is sometimes the only answer to a hard problem is to punch through it. There is no magic trick. The only way through it is to go through it. I’ve always had this little saying: ‘The cavalry is not coming.’ So, you better figure it out.”
Earn Your Conviction
“There's a fine line between conviction and stupidity. One of the biggest lessons I draw from that is to really do your homework. Because if you’re being impulsive—it’s just a gut feeling or whatever—but it’s not fact based, then you really haven’t earned the conviction. But if you have earned the conviction and you see an angle that’s harder for others to see, then you can do well and make your mark.”
Making It Might Get Loud
“One day, I woke up and the number one video game was Guitar Hero. The cover of Rolling Stone was ‘The 50 Greatest Guitar Players of All Time.’ Everywhere I turned, it was the guitar in the zeitgeist. So, I wanted to make something—my love letter to the guitar, but transported through different eras. The idea was to get three players. The first call was to Jimmy Page, because he's Jimmy Page. Then, Jack White and The Edge. I also called a friend of mine, Davis Guggenheim, who had just directed An Inconvenient Truth, and asked him for advice. He said, ‘Not only will I give you advice, but it's a great idea. I want to direct it.’ It was one of the most incredible experiences ever. Just getting to hang out with those guys. The humility of The Edge and what a kind soul he is, how cool Jack White is and Jimmy Page was like hanging out with Gandalf. There's something elegant and otherworldly about him. Nobody wanted to go home at the end of the shoot.”
Embrace Technology
“During the dot-com boom, I started investing in tech companies. I was fascinated with technology and how it would transform things. How you could take older industries that had not been as innovative and apply things you would give you non-linear results. It’s basically solving problems by taking a fresh look and approach, and hopefully not have confirmation bias [the tendency to interpret info that confirms preexisting beliefs and ignoring contradictory evidence]. I’m a big believer in thinking, ‘Hold on a minute. What are we actually trying to accomplish here?’ And then trying to be as thoughtful and creative and you can be in problem solving.”
You Can Complain About AI, But It's Here
“The changes are going to be profound. I hope it will unlock things in life sciences, engineering, material science and energy, but it's going to present us with some very hard choices. Jobs will get eliminated. Jobs will get created. And I think the other thing is we have what I'll call ‘rival countries’ trying to compete with us without any guardrails, which is going to create some philosophical conundrums. We definitely have to be thoughtful, but the idea we can take a knee is just not well informed.”
Learn From Teamwork
“Sports has been a big thing in my life, and I’m passionate that young people—especially high school kids—have the opportunity to play, compete and learn the lessons of camaraderie and accountability. And there’s a scoreboard. To me, that’s an important aspect, as well.”
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