This is a Linkedin post by Jesse Pujji. Jessi a serial entrepreneur that lives in the US. He has:
- Bootstrapped to an 8-figure exist with his previous startup, Ampush
- Is currently building GatewayX, a venture studio that he plans to bootstrap to $1B+
- Executive Chairman & Founder of GrowthAssistant.com
- ex-McKinsey Consultant
Guest Author: Jesse Pujji
A 27-year-old dyslexic deadbeat w ADHD turns $10k into $600,000,000. This story is INSANITY 👇👇
Peter Rahal was born outside Chicago in 1986. He was a 3rd child…and to make matters worse, a dyslexic D student.
But there was one thing that set him apart…
His work ethic.
He started selling anything he could. Beanie babies, baseball cards and even… weed. After barely graduating college, he joined his family juice biz.
But it was a disaster…
Constant arguing with his siblings. Never being heard. He quickly had enough. His dad helped him get a job in Belgium.
He barely lasted a year…
While “entrepreneuring,” he and his best-friend Jared became obsessed with CrossFit. They wanted a high protein post-workout snack.
But the options were too expensive and highly processed.
Lightning struck…
Peter asked Jared “Why are protein bars so full of shit?” What if there was an all natural bar for CrossFitters everywhere?
They got to work…
Peter and Jared went to Papa Rahal, asking for introductions to rich guys or manufacturers.
His answer?
“You need to shut up and sell 1,000 bars”
They put in $5,000 each, quit their jobs, and went off to do just that…
Bootstrapping on a tiny budget, they saved wherever they could.
No Kitchen → Parent’s Basement
No Professional Printer → Staples
No Web Designer → Shopify
For the first 2 years, they spent 16hrs/day mixing bars and selling door-to-door…
The duo did everything they could to get in front of their perfect customers. As Peter put it: “A Crossfitter in California was a better customer for us than a whole grocery store in Chicago”
It was the first retail product at most of the Crossfit gyms…
They did $2MM in 2014 by pounding the pavement and selling DTC online. By 2015 they tripled to $6.5MM, but knew it was time to upgrade the packaging. The iconic clear cut wrapper now known worldwide rolled out that November.
They were ready to go BIG!
At a trade show in Jan 2016, a hungry Trader Joe’s rep grabbed a bar from their “booth” AKA a pile of bars on a table…
By June 2016, TJs rolled them out nationally. They closed 2016 with $36MM in sales, over 2x their most ambitious projections.
Word spread about their ~20% profit margins and plan to break $100MM+
Acquisition offers rolled in…
By March 2017 they had 10 on the table!!
The duo was burnt out and ready to sell….
But the buyer had to meet their 4 musts:
1) Standalone Operator (No PE)
2) Expand the brand beyond bars
3) 100% Sales Only (No Investments)
4) Pay the most money
In Oct 2017, Kellogg announced the $600MM acquisition. RX bar ended the year at $24MM profit on $131MM in sales.
This story is a reminder that:
1) Sales are the real proof of business success
2) Adversity creates motivation
3) Dominate a niche first, then grow beyond it
If you enjoyed this, follow me Jesse Pujji for more bootstrapping stories like this!
