The Ledger, every show
Every statement that passed quotation and attribution checks, across all 44 shows. Pick shows below, then mix any filter with any other.
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every show 44 of 44
Stonyfield's Debt Reached $2.7 Million by Christmas 1989
“Well, by the, by Christmas of 87, you know, running this factory for two months, I can tell you we were already 600,000 dollars in debt. By Christmas of 88, we were 1.9 million dollars in debt. By Christmas of the next year we were 2.7 million dollars in debt.”
Stonyfield Was Funded by 297 Angel Investors After VC Rejections
“What you have to know at the punchline of this story is that I wound up by the end of this period with 297 individual investors. There was no way to find common ground with an institutional investor, right? A venture capitalist. Believe me, I knocked on every …”
Danone Bought 80% of Stonyfield But Left Hirshberg in Control
“The original head of M&A who came to see me said Gary, do you mean to tell me we're going to buy 80% of your company and you'll still be in control? And I said, yes. And the banker and the lawyers and everyone laughed. And, you know, two years later, that's th…”
Hirshberg: Stonyfield cracked retail by having Frisbee teammates demand it
“So in July of 84, I had my 30th birthday at the farm, and my, I had my old Ultimate Frisbee team come up to visit me, most of whom lived in Cambridge, as you might imagine. And I said, look, It's wonderful you've all come. If you want to give me a really good …”
Hirshberg: Stonyfield briefly abandoned organic milk in its early years
“At this moment in Stonyfield's life, we briefly departed from organic.”
Hirshberg: Stonyfield raised from 297 individuals after VCs passed
“And, you know, what you have to know at the punchline of this story is that I wound up by the end of this period with 297 individual investors. There was no way to find common ground with an institutional investor, right? A venture capitalist. Believe me, I kn…”
Hirshberg: Stonyfield controls roughly 80% of the US organic yogurt market
“And, you know, while we're not the leader in Greek, we are the leader in organic. I mean, I think we're something like 80% of organic yogurt in the U.S., so.”
Stonyfield Launched With a $25,000 Grant From Catholic Nuns
“So Samuel was able to get some Catholic nuns to provide a 25,000 dollar grant.”
Stonyfield Was $75,000 in Debt on Hirshberg's First Day
“And by 11 a.m. That morning, my first day, I calculated that we were 75,000 dollars in the red.”
Stonyfield Became Bread & Circus's Top Yogurt Within a Month
“About a month later, we were her number one selling yogurt. She took us in the other two Bread and Circuses, and off we went.”
Stonyfield Frequently Had Zero Cash Before Thursday Payrolls
“In this farmhouse, I always had payroll on Thursday mornings, and by this point, it was a half a million dollar business, and I never had cash in the bank that night before payroll. Never.”
Stonyfield Needed $100K in Hours to Recover Co-Packer Inventory
“Worse than that, I had to come up with a 100,000 dollars to take my in, get my inventory out of the building. Because again, we owed them co-packing fees. Now the bank's the owner. And so I had to go, call my shareholders and find a 100,000 dollars within hour…”
Stonyfield Bought $300M of Fruit From an Early Creditor Over 30 Years
“Those guys have sold us in the 30 years since they've sold us probably 250 or three hundred million dollars worth of fruit.”
Stonyfield Borrowed Over $1 Million From Hirshberg's Mother-In-Law
“And, of course, I've got now, I now have over a million dollars of her mother's money. Okay? Like money she could never afford to lose. Everything they had.”
Stonyfield Raised $2.5M and Opened a New Factory
“All told, including paying off the debts, two and a half million dollars, and opened our new factory nine months later in Londonderry, where we are today.”
Stonyfield Turned Profitable in 1992 After Heavy Factory Losses
“The business is now doing 3.4 million dollars in sales, but we lost 1.4 million that year.
The next year, we did 6.5 million in sales, and we lost 900,000.
The following year, the second full year in the new factory, we did 10.1 million, and we made 125,000 do…”
Stonyfield Reached $100M Revenue Before Negotiating With Danone
“98 we're at seventy-eight million in sales.
99, we're at a hundred million in sales and that's when I began negotiating with Danone to have them come in.”
Greek Yogurt Makes Up 50% of the Total Yogurt Market
“Well, Greek is now 50% of the yogurt category.”
Stonyfield Holds Roughly 80% of the US Organic Yogurt Market
“And, you know, while we're not the leader in Greek, we are the leader in organic. I mean, I think we're something like 80% of organic yogurt in the U.S., so.”
Hirshberg: Stonyfield started with a $25,000 grant from Catholic nuns
“So Samuel was able to get some Catholic nuns to provide a 25,000 dollar grant.”
Hirshberg: Stonyfield was $75,000 in debt on my first day
“And by 11 a.m. That morning, my first day, I calculated that we were 75,000 dollars in the red.”
Hirshberg: Stonyfield had zero cash before weekly payroll at $500K revenue
“In this farmhouse, I always had payroll on Thursday mornings, and by this point, it was a half a million dollar business, and I never had cash in the bank that night before payroll.”
Hirshberg: Stonyfield raised $100K in hours to retrieve seized inventory
“Worse than that, I had to come up with a 100,000 dollars to take my in, get my inventory out of the building. Because again, we owed them co-packing fees. Now the bank's the owner. And so I had to go, call my shareholders and find a 100,000 dollars within hour…”
Hirshberg: Stonyfield accumulated $2.7M in debt by Christmas 1989
“Well, by the, by Christmas of 87, you know, running this factory for two months, I can tell you we were already 600,000 dollars in debt. By Christmas of 88, we were 1.9 million dollars in debt. By Christmas of the next year we were 2.7 million dollars in debt.”
Hirshberg: Early supplier later sold Stonyfield up to $300M in fruit
“Those guys have sold us in the 30 years since they've sold us probably 250 or three hundred million dollars worth of fruit.”
Hirshberg: Stonyfield held over $1M of his mother-in-law's money in 1988
“And, of course, I've got now, I now have over a million dollars of her mother's money, ok? Like money she could never afford to lose. Everything they had.”
Hirshberg: Stonyfield co-founders' equity was diluted to 10% each by 1989
“By then, Samuel and I were down to 10% each in the company.”
Hirshberg: Stonyfield reached first profit of $125K on $10.1M revenue
“The end of 89, we began manufacturing in this facility. The business is now doing 3.4 million dollars in sales, but we lost 1.4 million that year. The next year, we did 6.5 million in sales, and we lost 900,000. The following year, the second full year in the …”
Stonyfield Received Five Months of Cup Shipments Without Paying
“And after paying for his first shipment of cups, he managed to somehow get, continue to get shipments for five months without paying for any more.”