The Ledger
Every statement that passed quotation and attribution checks. Mix any filter with any other: certainty 1/5, debate potential 5/5, or both at once.
why aren't all 14 resolved? a statement only gets an assessment when the public record can support or contradict it. opinions and what-ifs never can, and 0 checkable ones are still open, waiting for their date. predictions held up or didn't; assertions are supported or contradicted. on every card: ▮▮▮▮▮ certainty · ▮▮▮▮▮ debate potential. speakers are clickable
Goldman: Early Honest Tea investors earned a 26x return
“That's right, yeah. 26 times their early investment.”
Honest Tea voluntarily pulled all its products from every store in 2003
“So we voluntarily withdrew all product from the market. Every store. Yes. Everywhere. Not just Whole Foods. Everywhere.”
Honest Tea expanded from 15,000 to over 100,000 stores with Coca-Cola
“We were in 15,000 stores when Coke invested. Now we're in over a 100,000 stores.”
Honest Tea was not profitable until its eighth year of operation
“Weren't profitable until the eighth year or so.”
Whole Foods ordered 15,000 bottles after Goldman pitched with a thermos
“When I met with the buyer and I, we, Poured out samples from the thermos, showed him my empty Snapple bottle. With the Honesty Label, of course. And he had said well, look, this sounds interesting. We'll give it a try. We'll take 15,000 bottles”
Raz: Honest Tea Exceeds 1B Bottles Sold and $170M Annual Revenue
“By the way, the company has now sold more than a billion bottles of its beverage. It's now completely owned by Coca-Cola with annual sales of more than a hundred and seventy million dollars.”
Honest Tea brewed its first batches using large pool filter bags
“So we ended up at a plant in Buffalo, New York that was making apple juice. Maybe it was a little down on its luck. It had some line time available, and they said, well, how are you going to brew the tea leaves? And so we brought in these mesh bags, these larg…”
Early Honest Tea angel investors saw a 26x return over ten years
“That's right, yeah. 26 times their early investment.”
Goldman: Coca-Cola grew Honest Tea from 15,000 to over 100,000 stores
“We were in 15,000 stores when Coke invested. Now we're in over a 100,000 stores.”
Goldman: Coca-Cola's emerging brands unit approached Honest Tea in 2007
“Well, they approached us in 2007, and they had just created this group of venturing and emerging brands, And their goal was to invest in and build the next billion dollar brand for Coca-Cola.”
Goldman: Honest Tea brewed initial commercial batch using pool filter bags
“We ended up at a plant in Buffalo, New York that was making apple juice. Maybe it was a little down on its luck. It had some line time available, and they said, well, how are you gonna brew the tea leaves? And so we, Brought in these mesh bags, these large mes…”
Goldman: Whole Foods bought 15,000 bottles after pitch using empty Snapple bottle
“When I met with the buyer and I, we poured out samples from the thermos, showed him my empty Snapple bottle.
[498] Guy Raz: With the Honesty Label on it?
[499] Seth Goldman: With the Honesty Label on it, of course.
[501] Seth Goldman: And he had said well, lo…”