In Search of the Wild Tofurky: How a Business Misfit Pioneered Plant-Based Foods Before They Were Cool Seth Tibbott
From treehouse dream to global brand, Tofurky's Founder and Chairman shares his story of selling millions of plant-based food products without selling out.
Success doesn't happen overnight. Except for Seth Tibbott, to whom it does-but only after fifteen years of intrepid failure. In Search of the Wild Tofurky tells the triumphant tale of how a self-described hippie with no business training but plenty of enterprising goals grew a $2,500 startup into a global brand and ushered in a plant-based foods renaissance along the way.
Tibbott took home a grand total of $31,000 in his first nine years of striving to bring to the people a nearly unknown soy product-tempeh-he knew in his gut was revolutionarily tasty. He eschewed a buttoned-up lifestyle and resided in tipis, trailers, and a treehouse; rented workspace to piano-repairing circus clowns; and even briefly counted the infamous Rajneeshees as clients. Tibbott was never one to chase the money or try to fit in. Instead, he built a business that fit him.
Thus Tibbott discovered the secret sauce ingredients that took his now-international brand from fameless to fame-ish to famous: bootstrapping, building business intuition, and staying true to his belief in eco-friendly practices. In Search of the Wild Tofurky proves that a good idea can change the world and make money, no matter the naysayers or the sometimes harsh twists and turns of the unconventional path. Look no further for a delightfully unexpected $100 million story of hope and hustle.
Success doesn't happen overnight. Except for Seth Tibbott, to whom it does-but only after fifteen years of intrepid failure. In Search of the Wild Tofurky tells the triumphant tale of how a self-described hippie with no business training but plenty of enterprising goals grew a $2,500 startup into a global brand and ushered in a plant-based foods renaissance along the way.
Tibbott took home a grand total of $31,000 in his first nine years of striving to bring to the people a nearly unknown soy product-tempeh-he knew in his gut was revolutionarily tasty. He eschewed a buttoned-up lifestyle and resided in tipis, trailers, and a treehouse; rented workspace to piano-repairing circus clowns; and even briefly counted the infamous Rajneeshees as clients. Tibbott was never one to chase the money or try to fit in. Instead, he built a business that fit him.
Thus Tibbott discovered the secret sauce ingredients that took his now-international brand from fameless to fame-ish to famous: bootstrapping, building business intuition, and staying true to his belief in eco-friendly practices. In Search of the Wild Tofurky proves that a good idea can change the world and make money, no matter the naysayers or the sometimes harsh twists and turns of the unconventional path. Look no further for a delightfully unexpected $100 million story of hope and hustle.