“Move fast and break things.” This implementation of Zuckerberg’s motto has infected the entire business world. It works for software. Software is malleable. If you ship a bug, you patch it tomorrow. It is catastrophic for Luxury. In Luxury, if you break trust, you are dead. You cannot “patch” a reputation. Once a brand becomes “uncool” or “cheap” in the consumer’s mind, it takes decades to recover (see: Burberry’s revival in the 2000s, or Tiffany’s recent pivot).

At Maison Code Paris, we see too many founders building for the “Exit”. They want to hit $10M ARR in 3 years and sell to a PE firm. This leads to short-term decision making: Discounting, poor quality, aggressive ads. This article is for the other 1%. The founders who are building a Maison. A house that stands for generations. We call this Cathedral Thinking.

Why Maison Code Discusses This

We are technology partners, not just developers. When we architect a digital platform, we ask: “Will this stack scale for 10 years?” We refuse to build “Disposable Tech” on shaky no-code foundations that will crumble as soon as you hit scale. We discuss the 100-Year Brand because your technology choices should reflect your timeline. If you are building for a quick flip, use a template. If you are building a legacy, own your infrastructure.

1. The Lindy Effect: Time is the Only Filter

The Lindy Effect is a concept popularized by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. It states that for non-perishable things (like ideas, books, or brands), future life expectancy is proportional to current age.

If a technology is 1 year old (Flash), it might die next year.
If a technology is 50 years old (UNIX), it will likely last another 50.
If a brand is 1 year old, it is fragile.
If a brand is 100 years old (Gucci), it is robust.

Strategic Implication: To build a 100-Year Brand, your only goal for the first decade is Survival. You do not aim for “Hypergrowth”. You aim to avoid “Blowups”.

Avoid excessive leverage (Debt).
Avoid single-platform dependency (Instagram).
Avoid compromising quality for scale. Survival is the ultimate performance metric.

2. The Cathedral Mindset

In the Middle Ages, architects started building cathedrals knowing they would never see them finished. Their grandchildren would finish them. This required a profound shift in thinking. You lay the foundation differently when you know the structure must support a spire that won’t be built for 80 years.

Modern Application:

The Archives: Start documenting your history today. Save the sketches. Save the prototypes. 50 years from now, these are your “Heritage Assets”.
The Culture: Hire people who want a career, not a gig.
The Customer: Treat a customer not as a “Convert” (one-time sale), but as a “Client” (lifelong relationship). A Client Relationship is managed by a human, not an email automation.

3. Repair over Replacement (Sustainability)

Fast Fashion (Zara, Shein) is built on Planned Obsolescence. The shirt falls apart after 5 washes. You buy another. This is the “Growth” model. Luxury is built on Durability. A Hermès bag is constructed to be repaired. The stitching can be redone. The leather can be conditioned. It is an heirloom.

Patagonia’s Worn Wear is the gold standard of this. “Don’t buy this jacket. Repair your old one.” This signals:

Confidence: “Our product is so good it is worth fixing.”
Sustainability: “We respect the planet found resources.”
Status: “I have owned this jacket for 10 years.” (Old Money aesthetic).

Actionable Strategy: Launch a “Maison Repair Service”. Even if nobody uses it, the existence of the service proves the value of the product. It justifies the price premium.

4. The Anti-Algorithm (Timelessness)

Social Media Algorithms reward Trends.

“Brat Summer”.
“Mob Wife Aesthetic”.
“Demure”. These trends burn bright and die in 4 weeks. If you pivot your brand identity to match the trend, you become a Commodity. You are just “Content Fodder” for the feed.

Yves Saint Laurent said: “Fashions fade, style is eternal.” To be a 100-Year Brand, you must ignore the algorithm.

Use fonts that looked good in 1950 and will look good in 2050 (Helvetica, Garamond, Futura).
Use colors found in nature / geology (Stone, Wood, Sky). Neon green is temporary. Stone grey is forever.
Write copy that assumes intelligence. Avoid “Gen Z Slang” if you are not a Gen Z brand.

5. Pricing Power and Inflation

A 100-Year Brand must beat inflation. Since 1950, the price of a Coke has barely tracked inflation. It is a commodity. The price of a Chanel 2.55 bag has crushed inflation. It has appreciated faster than the S&P 500. Why? Pricing Power. When you build a brand based on Desire (not Utility), you can raise prices every year without losing customers. In fact, raising prices increases demand (Veblen Good). If you cannot raise your prices by 5% every January, you do not have a brand. You have a product.

6. The Founder’s Role: Steward, not Owner

The founders of Hermès, Louis Vuitton, and Zegna viewed themselves as Stewards. Their job was not to extract cash for a yacht. Their job was to hand the Maison to the next generation in better shape than they found it. This requires Fiscal Conservatism.

Cash Reserves: Keep 12 months of OpEx in the bank. (See Profit First).
Patient Capital: Avoid VCs who need a 5-year exit. Partner with Family Offices who have a 50-year horizon.
Succession Planning: Who runs the company if you get hit by a bus? If the answer is “Nobody”, the brand dies with you.

7. The Succession Plan (The ultimate test)

The ultimate test of a 100-Year Brand is: “Does it work without the Founder?” Most brands are personality cults. If the Founder leaves, the brand dies. This is a Key Person Risk. To build a Cathedral, you must design a system that survives you.

Codify the Values: Write a “Brand Bible” that explains how decisions are made, not just what the logo looks like.
Train the successor: Identify the next generation of leaders 10 years in advance.
Decouple the Brand from the Person: Stop putting your face on every Instagram Story. Let the Product speak.

8. Digital Heritage: The Virtual Museum

Heritage used to mean physically storing paper archives in a basement in Paris. Today, Heritage is Digital. Don’t delete your past. Many brands delete “Sold Out” products from their site to clean up the UX. Mistake. Keep them in an “Archive” section. “Collection Spring 2024 - Sold Out”. Show the lineage. Show the evolution. Let new customers browse the “Vintage” digital aisle. It adds weight and authority to the new collection. “We have been here for a long time.”

8. Conclusion

Ask yourself with every decision: “Will this make sense in 10 years?”

Using a fake “10 minutes left” countdown timer? No. (Short-term greed, destroys trust).
Investing in a beautiful, heavy paper unboxing experience? Yes. (Long-term memory).
Firing your support team to use a cheap AI bot? No.
Hand-writing thank you notes? Yes.

Run the business as if you cannot sell it. Run it as if you have to employ your grandchildren. That is the only way to build something that lasts.

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