Devon Zuegel: How To Create A New Town - [Invest Like the Best, EP.413]

My guest today is Devon Zuegel. Devon is the founder and president of the Esmerelda Institute, and she is creating a new town called Esmerelda in California wine country. Learning of Devon and her plan, I couldn’t help but wonder why there aren’t more people building new towns. She shares the origin story of her project Esmeralda, a modern reinvention of the Chautauqua community she cherished growing up, and we explore her fascinating work building communities and reimaging how we live together. We discuss how environments fundamentally shape human behavior, how cost of space impacts creativity, the financial challenges of town-building despite their potential for strong returns, and the plans in place for Esmerelda. Please enjoy this fascinating conversation with Devon Zuegel. 

Subscribe to Colossus Review.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

-----

This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp’s mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Ramp is the fastest-growing FinTech company in history, and it’s backed by more of my favorite past guests (at least 16 of them!) than probably any other company I’m aware of. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus.

–

This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. I think this platform will become the standard for investment managers, and if you run an investing firm, I highly recommend you find time to speak with them. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform.

–

This episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. AlphaSense has completely transformed the research process with cutting-edge AI technology and a vast collection of top-tier, reliable business content. Imagine completing your research five to ten times faster with search that delivers the most relevant results, helping you make high-conviction decisions with confidence. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now at Alpha-Sense.com/Invest and experience firsthand how AlphaSense and Tegus help you make smarter decisions faster.

-----

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com).

Show Notes:

(00:00:00) Learn About Ramp, Ridgeline, & Alphasense

(00:06:00) The Origin of Devon's Obsession with Places

(00:08:07) Proximity and Cost of Space

(00:10:02) The Chautauqua Inspiration

(00:11:31) Building a New Town: Esmeralda

(00:13:23) Urban Design and Street Importance

(00:15:44) Community Values and Peer-to-Peer Learning

(00:18:15) Edge Esmeralda: A Prototype Community

(00:21:38) Challenges and Trust Building in Development

(00:26:45) The Role of Cars in Urban Planning

(00:31:10) Mortgages and Taxes: Shaping Communities

(00:42:11) Devon's Journey: From Stanford Review to Esmeralda

(00:43:41) Tools for Thought and Feedback Loops

(00:46:33) Urban Design and Pop-Up Villages

(00:50:06) Exploring Las Catalinas and Car-Free Living

(00:52:31) Placemaking and Organic City Development

(00:56:25) Frontier Camp and Creating Collaborative Spaces

(01:02:39) Building New Towns: Financial and Infrastructure Challenges

(01:12:05) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Done For Devon