Tofurky, Tibbott, and a Tree

by Stephanie Ernst · 2009-01-09 14:03:00 UTC
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Thanks to a mention in Vegan Bits yesterday, I stumbled upon this Wall Street Journal column--"Perseverance Answers Vegans' Prayers"--featuring Seth Tibbott, of Tofurky and Turtle Island Foods fame.

Here's my favorite part of the interview:

Did you take any business courses or go back to school to bolster your business acumen when you launched the company?

I did take some workshops at a small business association. I remember in one class, the instructor asked if any of us was out to save the world. Of course, my hand went right up. I think I was the only one. He then asked how many of us were out to make a lot of money. Everybody in the room raised their hands and cheered. I thought, "Oh man, I failed my first test."

You started the business more officially in 1982 by borrowing money from your brother and mother. How did you keep things going after that?

I tried to live as cheaply as I could in the beginning. In 1984, I built a tree house which I lived in until 1992. I paid $25 a week to a guy who was renting the trees out for that express purpose. I had a wood stove, a phone and hot and cold running water.

These responses alone made me love this man.

But there's much more to the interview, of course, telling the story of how Tofurky came to be. Check it out.

(AP Photo)

Stephanie Ernst wrote the original Animal Rights blog at Change.org until December 2009. She can now be found at Animal Rights & AntiOppression.
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