Seven years ago, Neal Gottlieb bet his life savings on a small ice cream “scoop shop” in a sleepy part of Marin county, California.
He had no employees, little income and the company almost had no future.
That’s because he launched in August 2005 … right before one of the wettest and coldest winters in recent years.
During that rocky beginning, Neal worked the scoop shop all day, then hand-packed the ice cream at night.
Before long, however, the business took off. And today it’s one of the fastest-growing organic ice cream makers in the nation. It’s kind of like a Ben and Jerry’s with all-organic ingredients.
In this session of the Smart Business Revolution podcast, we speak with Neal, and find out how his unconventional background having worked in the corporate world and the Peace Corps helped him with his journey into entrepreneurship.
In this interview, we discuss:
- how Neal made Three Twins in to one of the fastest-growing organic ice cream companies in the nation
- the greater purpose which Three Twins dedicated itself to from day one which has fueled their growth
- how to hire the right kind of workers, and make sure your workers are in the right jobs.
- how to install your corporate mission deeply into the company’s culture.
- what Three Twins’ commitment to philanthropy means to him.
- how to overcome the inevitable stumbles and hurdles that will come along the way.
- techniques for keeping legal costs down when you are starting up (Neal’s advice on this point was really similar to what I tell aspiring bootstrap entrepreneurs).
- how Neal is planning on bringing greater meaning to his business now
Resources mentioned in this podcast:
- Three Twins Ice Cream
- Ben and Jerry’s
- Good to Great?by Jim Collins
- Whole Foods
- Carl, the Three Twins Ice Cream Truck (follow him on Twitter to find out where to get free samples!)
Right Click here to download the MP3
Enjoy the show!