As 2008 comes to a close and the economy is full of uncertainty I'm grateful for entrepreneurs who create new visions and continue to shape the future regardless of the challenges they face. Seth Goldman and Barry Nalebuff of Honest Tea are two such entrepreneurs.
In 1998 my brother-in-law discovered a new brand of bottled tea for sale at a small deli in Santa Barbara. After telling me how it was so different from virtually every other bottled tea on the planet, he sent a few emails to one of the founders, Seth Goldman, and professed his passion for Seth's product.
Upon learning from my brother-in-law that Honest Tea was just getting started, and was looking for investors, I decided to meet Seth and visit their office in Bethesda, Maryland. After a very short visit and a call back to my brother-in-law, we both decided to help in a small way support the vision that Seth was so passionately pursuing by becoming founding investors. My dad, likewise, was intrigued by the story and also invested in this very early-stage company. Over the past 9 years, Honest Tea has grown to become the nation's best-selling and fastest-growing organic bottled tea company. Honest Tea sources from organic and fair trade tea estates, and has partnered with community development groups ranging from the Crow Reservation in Montana to organizations in South Africa and Guatemala. Earlier this year, Coca-Cola bought into Honest Tea's vision and acquired a 40% stake in the company. Rather than Honest Tea selling out, all of us believe, instead, that Coca-Cola has bought in to a transformative way of doing business that can make a big difference. It has been a pleasure to see Seth and Barry take their passion and deliver such outstanding results. In a recent interview with Wharton Seth shares his vision and his experience. I encourage you to listen to the interview here, or read it here.
If you aren't yet familiar with Honest Tea, try their Black Forest Berry -- it's my favorite. And, especially in these uncertain economic times, find other entrepreneurs who are trying to make an honest difference and offer them your support.
Happy New Year.