Prompt Cast
The Success and Challenges of Seventh Generation Founders
TLDR Alan Newman and Jeffrey Hollender founded Seventh Generation, a pioneer in eco-friendly cleaning products, overcoming challenges such as a bitter falling out, financial struggles during a recession, and difficulties embedding values into business practices. Despite their differences, their complementary skills and shared values contributed to the company's success.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
The episode explores the story of how two men founded Seventh Generation, a pioneer in eco-friendly cleaning products, despite their bitter falling out and subsequent difficult breakup as business partners.
07:18
Alan Newman dropped out of college and started a successful non-profit educational program in Toronto before moving back to the U.S. to reconstitute the idea as a for-profit venture focused on teaching how to marry money and other skills.
14:11
Alan Newman moved to Vermont on a whim and got involved in a garden supply catalog business after parting ways with a co-founder, eventually acquiring a struggling nonprofit catalog business called Renew America despite initial doubts about its viability.
20:17
Alan Newman quickly put together a catalog for the newly named Seventh Generation, focusing on education and benefits to promote environmentally friendly products, which surprisingly led to a significant number of orders.
26:44
Alan Newman and Jeffrey Hollender partnered up in 1989 to work on Seventh Generation, with Jeffrey's fundraising skills and Alan's experience in the catalog business complementing each other to grow the environmentally friendly company.
33:27
Seventh Generation expanded its product line to include household items like bathroom tissue, paper towels, and laundry detergent, which became a significant portion of their sales, despite initial skepticism.
40:03
Seventh Generation faced challenges during a recession, leading to layoffs and emotional tolls on the founders.
46:42
Alan Newman reflects on his departure from Seventh Generation, feeling shocked and betrayed by the way it was handled by Jeffrey Hollender.
54:00
Alan Newman was paid out and left Seventh Generation after being asked to lock up his shares when the company went public, leading to unsuccessful attempts to reconcile with Jeffrey Hollender.
01:00:58
Seventh Generation focused on the natural product industry, selling their mail order catalog business to concentrate on retail stores like Whole Foods, which marked a significant turning point leading to substantial growth.
01:08:16
Seventh Generation faced challenges in embedding values into business practices in the 1990s, leading to growth and eventually tensions with the board over the company's direction and leadership roles.
01:15:45
Jeffrey Hollander was shocked and caught off guard when he was fired from Seventh Generation, feeling like a child had been stolen from him, leading to depression and sadness.
01:23:17
Alan Newman reflects on the success and growth of Seventh Generation, expressing excitement about its acquisition by Unilever and his dream of seeing the brand go international.
01:29:55
Alan Newman and Jeffrey Hollender reflect on their past partnership at Seventh Generation, acknowledging that their shared values and complementary skills could have made the company stronger if they had found a way to work together.
01:36:40
Luck, skill, and hard work are all factors that contributed to the success of Alan Newman and Jeffrey Hollender, co-founders of Seventh Generation, as they reflect on their entrepreneurial journey.
Categories:
Business
