This is a 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 Turkish immigrant used a commodity product to turn a $800,000 SBA loan into $10 BILLION.
This is an incredible story:
1/ Hamdi Ulukaya grew up in Erzincan, Turkey.
His family was Kurdish dairy farmers, sheepherders, and feta cheese makers.
2/ In 1994, he searched for a better life with more opportunities and moved to the US attending Adelphi University and then SUNY.
Immediately, he loved the freedom and enterprising nature of the US.
But he missed one thing: Good Cheese.
3/ 2 years later, his dad visited him in NY for the first time.
Equally unimpressed with the quality of the Feta cheeses he sampled.
Ulukaya’s dad had an idea:
Start making great cheese with the old family recipe!
Ulukaya quickly dismissed the idea.
But he couldn’t shake it…
4/ By 2002, he launched Euphrates (you can still visit the website euphratescheese.com!)
His version of the cheese tasted much better.
5/ He slaved away, struggling to find any customer demand.
No one seemed to notice or care about the flavor outside of a few Greek restauranteurs.
6/ In 2005, he received a piece of junk mail announcing the sale of a 1920s yogurt and cheese factory owned by Kraft.
He threw the flyer away, but within days was touring the factory.
7/ One of his advisors called him a F*#($n’ idiot if he bought it.
But the self-described “dairy boy” was smitten.
8/ He was undeterred for 2 reasons:
A) It was a good deal – Under $1M, everything worked.
The machinery alone was worth more than the price!
B) He hated American yogurt.
He took the leap.
9/ He bet everything and received an $800k SBA loan to buy the factory.
10/ He decided on the name Chobani for his new attempt.
It came from the Turkish word Coban meaning shepherd – a perfect ode to his ancestors.
11/ It took him 2 years to perfect the formula and renovate the factory.
He focused on consistency, flavor, and design:
• Bright colored cups to save on marketing spend
• Fruit on the bottom to match with US standards
• Emphasis on high protein/low fat for health
In 2007, he finally launched and made one decision v diff from Euphrates..
12/ He avoided the specialty stores.
He went straight to the biggest grocers and even risked buying his way into the stores!
13/ Chobani was a hit.
By year 2, grocery stores couldn’t get enough and banks who had ignored him were now calling Ulukaya’s daily.
By year 5, they hit $1 Billion in sales with over 50% market share in a market they built…
14/ Today, Chobani is speculated to be worth $10 BILLION!
Ulukaya is the sole shareholder.
15/ Ulukaya’s attributes his success to his principles:
+ Product first
+ Invest in employees and community
+ Sell big deals to grow big fast
+ Build what you know
16/ Why I love this story:
Unfair advantage: A business built using knowledge, heritage, and hustle to make it work
Not Tech: There are so many ways to build and bootstrap
Pivot Smart: He took a risk but protected his downside
