Sharing a vision
Archipelago chief still dreaming
When I first learned that I was being given the Visionary Award, I was a little surprised that I was being called a "visionary."
I was more used to being called an entrepreneur, an innovator, a radical, "that guy who thinks he can create a new stock exchange, and probably some other colorful things that I'll just leave to your imagination.
I never really thought of myself as a visionary, so I looked up the word "visionary" in the dictionary (online of course), and found it meant a number of things including: "One who is given to impractical or speculative ideas; a dreamer."
And I thought there is some truth in that definition. Certainly my wife has accused me of being impractical at times, and I have had many speculative ideas -- some more successful than others.
But most importantly, I have been a "dreamer." Just like those of you being recognized here tonight for your achievements. After all, innovation often starts with a dream, a vision to do something differently -- and maybe even revolutionary.
Something that may not appear to be so innovative when you first come upon it, but grows and matures into something you can be extremely proud of. Archipelago was that for me.
As I thought about how stock markets should function, I have to admit, it wasn't as if I heard a voice from above or had some great revelation. To me, it seemed simple and the right thing to do for investors. There were plenty of ups and downs, and times when I wondered how the story was going to play out.
But throughout it all, I knew that because of a company like Archipelago, the markets were going to be better, fairer and faster for all investors. A company that I am extremely proud of, and one that I am honored to be representing here today for its many accomplishments. And I genuinely mean "representing."
Though Archipelago may have begun with one idea, it grew to be what it is today because of the countless hours of hard work, effort, endurance and the vision of many, many people.
After all, innovation takes more than just one idea and one person. It takes a team that includes co-workers, family and, of course, customers to succeed. None of whom should be taken for granted.
Chances are that your family is going to support your efforts even if it means enduring some hardships as a result. And your co-workers must believe in what your company does or represents, or they wouldn't be there with you, toiling away day after day.
And last but not least, your customers.
I don't know how the other innovators here reacted when they made their first big sale or really got someone to believe in their vision, but I can tell you, I did hear a voice from above the first time we signed up a big client. And if your reaction was anything like mine, you might not even have believed it was true.
Early on, when Archipelago really had not gained much traction, one of the handful of employees we had at the time told me that there was a voice mail call waiting for me. The person calling had heard about our new trading system, and he was interested in learning how to connect to it and become a client.
Even more astounding, the call was coming from a very large and prestigious mutual fund. I immediately thought it was a prank and did not take or subsequently return the call.
Well, it wasn't a joke, and thankfully the mutual fund called back a couple of days later. It was a client that not only began to use our system, but eventually became an investor, providing one of the first real validations of the model we had created at Archipelago.
To this day, I am forever grateful to those people that decide to take a chance on something new, different and unproven. Whether it is investing in a company, using a new product, or just offering sound and thoughtful advice, it takes visionaries everywhere to make an idea successful. I'd like to close by offering you some final thoughts on innovation. . . I truly believe that people are serial innovators.
For many of you, this may be one of many innovations or your first one, but certainly not the last. I expect we will continue to see many great things from all of you. Some of you may move on to other ideas or different companies to innovate in new areas.
But even if your discoveries continue within the context of your existing work, you are still innovating. I look at the path I have ahead of me, now working for a very established institution with a 214-year-old history, but I continue to find challenges and problems in need of resolutions.
I continue to think about the future, and how to make trading even better for investors than it is today. These are the things that keep innovators innovating and all dreamers dreaming.
Gerald Putnam received the 2006 Visionary Pioneer Award during the fifth annual Chicago Innovation Awards at the Goodman Theatre on Oct. 30.