A short video by Codie Sanchez discussing Kongo Gumi, a Japanese construction firm founded in 578 and still operating, highlighting lessons from its longevity: stable, unsexy businesses can endure for centuries and ownership continuity matters. Mentions ~ $38 million revenue in 2020 and the firm's temple-building focus.
The oldest company in the world still operating today is over 1400 years old. They made about $38 million in revenue in 2020. Goes all the way back to the year 578. That's 15 centuries ago. It's a Japanese construction firm called Kongo Gumi. They build temples. But what I think is fascinating, it's done the thing that only a small, stable, boring business can do, which is last a thousand years. They've consolidated, they've changed hands. But I think they probably learned a couple things. First, healthy, lasting businesses don't have to be massive, sexy, or revolutionary. And in fact, they often aren't. Second, ownership is something to be cher. If you only manage to hold onto something for a millennium or so.
