Barry Turner, co-founder of Lenny & Larry's, describes the functional food and sports nutrition market landscape in 1993 prior to launching protein baked goods.
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Lion Capital ballooned headcount and destroyed profitability post-acquisition
“Within six months of selling the company to them, we went from 17 employees to 59 employees. The business didn't triple. They only grow the business about six to eight percent a year, if that. They destroyed profitability.”
Opinion
Turner says private equity turned his Ferrari into a Ford Taurus
“I felt like I handed them a Ferrari, and they turned it into a Ford Taurus.”
Disclosure
Turner admits to using anabolic steroids to reach 250 pounds
“At that, to get, yes. Yes, I did.”
Insight
Founders often overthink brand names and design instead of executing
“I think people overthink things now that I look back on this. I think people overthink trying to get the perfect name or the, you know, the perfect design or whatever, rather than just doing it.”
Disclosure
Early on, Lenny & Larry's targeted mainstream consumers over bodybuilders
“We did, but to be honest with you, we really were developing these, we said, for the average consumer. We thought if we could make a, we coined a term later called better bad, but at that time, we thought if we could get them to stop eating, you know, Little D…”
Insight
Consumers need intermediate 'better bad' snacks before adopting functional protein bars
“I want to create a better bad. I want people to make a better choice, and nobody's going to go from eating A, you know, a little Debbie to eating some sort of protein bar. It just, there, there's not, there has to be something, there has to be a stop in the mi…”