How Magic Hat Scaled by Banning Beer Talk
Alan Newman built Magic Hat into a top 10 craft brewery by throttling supply for 18 months and ignoring traditional product marketing.
Seventh Generation: Alan Newman and Jeffrey Hollender. A Partnership that Flourished—until it Failed. (2021)
Alan Newman and Jeffrey Hollender recount the rise, near-collapse, and bitter co-founder split of eco-friendly brand Seventh Generation. Speaking together for the first time in decades, they explore progressive company culture, the transition from catalog to supermarket retail, Hollender's eventual ouster by his own board, and the hard lessons of entrepreneurial partnerships.
Key takeaways
- Alan Newman founded Magic Hat Brewing in Vermont after leaving Seventh Generation, carrying forward hard lessons about premature expansion. Read more →
- Growth will not protect you: Seventh Generation reached $150 million in revenue and 50% year-over-year growth right before Jeffrey Hollender was fired. Read more →
- Seventh Generation launched its bathroom tissue with a Wisconsin mill that thought the founders were out of their minds for selling scratchy, unbleached, 100% recycled paper. Read more →
- Seventh Generation shut down its mail-order catalog business while it was generating 80% of total company revenue. Read more →
- In the late 1980s, Seventh Generation co-founders Alan Newman and Jeffrey Hollender built an office setup featuring pillow-lined meeting rooms, feedback chalkboards, and a dedicated nap room. Read more →
5 articles from this episode
Why Jeffrey Hollender Got Fired From Seventh Generation
Seventh Generation hit $150M in revenue and 50% growth in 2010. Then the board fired CEO Jeffrey Hollender on a Saturday phone call. Here is why.
Why 'Less Bad' Is Not Good: The Seventh Generation Trap
Seventh Generation co-founder Jeffrey Hollender explains why eco-friendly disposable goods create a false sense of virtue and what comes next.
Why Seventh Generation Killed 80% of Its Revenue
Jeffrey Hollender explain why Seventh Generation ditched its mail-order catalog to bet everything on supermarket retail shelves.
Why Seventh Generation Gave Dinner Coupons for Huge Mistakes
Alan Newman and Jeffrey Hollender created psychological safety at Seventh Generation by giving weekly prizes to employees who reported their worst errors.
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