Irrational Persistence

INTRODUCTION Starting with Less Than Nothing

JACK AND I WERE WITH A GUEST in our conference room in Garden Fresh’s administrative offices. The company had just hit the $100 million mark and the local media had picked up on it. Our guest was amazed and could not contain himself:

“You know what I like about you two? You guys started with nothing, no one ever gave either of you a thing. I really respect that.”

Jack was taken aback by the statement, and answered the only way he knew how:

“Started with nothing? That would have been easy. What’s hard is starting with less than nothing.”

Our guest was perplexed.

“Dave,” Jack asked, “how much debt were you in when we got together?”

“Do you want the real number or just what I’ll admit to?

“Let’s just go with what you’ll admit to.”

“$350,000 . . . and I’m glad my wife doesn’t read what I give her to sign, no sense both of us losing sleep at night.”

Jack proceeded to throw a $450,000 figure on the table, but I knew that too was only what he’d admit to—for a while it seemed every other day someone was showing up at our office reminding Jack of the money they had lent him, and we always seemed to be paying them back.

Jack continued with our guest: “When we add it all up, it was easily a million-dollar hole. Starting with nothing would have been a blessing. Starting with less than nothing—now that’s a challenge.”

So how did we, me with a couple business degrees from a couple well-respected universities, and Jack, who now deserves to be considered ...