Insight
Mackey: VCs are hitchhikers who will hijack the car if crossed
“Venture capitalists are like hitchhikers, hitchhikers with credit cards. And as long as you take them to where they want to go, they will help you pay for the gas. But if you don't take them where they want to go, they will try to hijack the car, and they will…”
Insight
Mackey Compares VCs to Hitchhikers With Credit Cards Who Hijack Cars
“Venture capitalists are like hitchhikers, hitchhikers with credit cards. And as long as you take them to where they want to go, they will help you pay for the gas. But if you don't take them where they want to go, they will try to hijack the car, and they will…”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mackey: Animal rights activists' accusations against Whole Foods were fundamentally correct
“That the accusations that the animal rights people had made about what we were doing were fundamentally correct.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Whole Foods Went Public in 1992 to Prevent VCs Taking Control
“Yeah, but venture capitalists didn't want us to go public. They wanted us to do another round of venture financing, but I was determined not to do another round of venture financing because that would have given them control of the company, and I just didn't t…”
Opinion
Mackey Calls Modern Startup Valuations Ridiculous Compared to Late 1980s
“It was, it's ridiculous the kind of valuations people get today compared to what we could get back in the late 19 eighties.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mackey: Whole Foods created much of US demand for organic food
“I mean, we didn't do it by ourselves, obviously, but because you have farmers, but we created much of the demand for natural and organic in the United States.”
Disclosure
John Mackey avoids public discussion of politics, religion, sex, and GMOs
“I don't talk about politics, religion, sex, or GMOs.”
Insight
Mackey: Building a Startup Either Bonds Founders or Breaks Them Apart
“And doing a startup business together either brings you closer together or rips you apart.”
Opinion
Mackey Claims Whole Foods Created Much of US Organic Product Demand
“We created much of the demand for natural and organic in the United States. Our success did. And that created more farmers and more entrepreneurs wanting to farm organically, or more manufacturers wanting to produce organic manufactured goods.”
Disclosure
Mackey Refuses to Publicly Discuss Politics, Religion, Sex, or GMOs
“I've learned that there are like four topics I just don't talk about in public anymore. What are they? I don't talk about politics, religion, sex, or GMOs.”
Opinion
Mackey Admits Animal Rights Activists Criticizing Whole Foods Were Fundamentally Correct
“I knew Whole Foods needed to do a much better job, that the accusations that the animal rights people had made about what we were doing were fundamentally correct.”
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Co-founders required selling meat and alcohol to form Whole Foods
“One of the Craig's and Mark's conditions is we have to make this a real store. We have to sell meat, and we have to sell beer and wine, and we have to sell coffee. We can't just be completely a vegetarian idealistic store.”
Assertion Supported
Mackey: Whole Foods Reopened 30 Days Post-Flood with Free Labor and Loans
“There was a benefit held for the store, and the team members, they worked for free. Our bank loaned us money, On my signature, which was worthless. And the investors decided to kick in more cash. So we were able to reopen 30 days later.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mackey: South Austin store cannibalized original Whole Foods and caused losses
“That store was too close to our original store and cannibalized it significantly. And together, we started to lose money.”
Assertion Supported
Mackey: Whole Foods Sold 34% of Business at $8.5M Valuation in 1988
“We sold 34% of the business for an eight and a half million dollar valuation.”
Assertion Supported
Mackey: Whole Foods holds about 1.5% to 2% of US grocery market
“I think it's about one and a half to two percent.”
Disclosure
Whole Foods sponsored Global Animal Partnership and implemented its welfare standards
“That led to the Global Animal Partnership, which Whole Foods Market sponsored and has tried to follow the GAAP standards for the last several years.”
Assertion Supported
Mackey Launched SaferWay With $45,000, Including $10,000 Borrowed From Father
“We thought we needed 50,000 dollars to start the store, and we can only come up with 45, but we decided we could make do with it. And my initial stake was 10,000 dollars. That's the most I ever owned of the company, and 10 of the 45,000, and I borrowed all of …”
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Co-Founders Required Selling Meat and Alcohol to Merge With Mackey
“One of the Craig's and Mark's conditions is we have to make this a real store. We have to sell meat, and we have to sell beer and wine, and we have to sell coffee. We can't just be completely a vegetarian idealistic store.”
Assertion Supported
Whole Foods Reopened 30 Days After 1981 Flood With Stakeholder Support
“There was a benefit held for the store, and the team members, they worked for free. Our bank loaned us money. On my signature, which was worthless. And the investors decided to kick in more cash. So we were able to reopen 30 days later.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
VC Who Passed on Whole Foods Later Called It Worst Decision
“Yeah, he apologized to me about 10 years later, said it was the worst decision he ever made.”
Assertion Supported
Whole Foods Sold 34% at an $8.5 Million Valuation in 1980s
“We sold 34% of the business for an eight and a half million dollar valuation. So about eight times our earnings or about I don't know, 20%, 15% of our sales.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mackey: Whole Foods predecessor SaferWay launched with $45,000 in seed capital
“We thought we needed 50,000 dollars to start the store, and we could only come up with 45, but we decided we could make do with it. And my initial stake was 10,000 dollars. That's the most I ever owned of the company, and 10 of the 45,000, and I borrowed all o…”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mackey: SaferWay lost $23,000 of its $45,000 initial capital in year one
“We actually lost half of it in the first year. We lost 23,000 dollars the first year.”
John Mackey