Summary
Overview
Jeffrey Hollander and Alan Newman co-founded Seventh Generation in 1988, turning a struggling mail-order catalog selling eco-friendly products into a pioneering brand of green cleaning supplies sold nationwide. This episode explores their complementary partnership, bitter falling out in 1992 when Alan took a sabbatical, and their subsequent successes and failures. Unilever acquired the company for $600-700 million in 2016, marking the transformation of a small hippie business into a mainstream eco-friendly powerhouse. The two founders reunite on the show to discuss their relationship, what went wrong, and lessons learned about partnerships.
The Founders' Early Years and Paths to Business
Jeffrey Hollander grew up on Park Avenue in an affluent but unhappy household, dropping out of Hampshire College to eventually start the Skills Exchange of Toronto—a network of affordable community classes. After being deported for working illegally, he returned to New York and ironically pivoted to teaching courses like "How to Marry Money," which brought success but left him feeling soulless. Alan Newman, meanwhile, struggled with traditional schooling and eventually landed in Vermont, where he learned the catalog business working at Garden Supply Company before starting his own fulfillment service.
- Jeffrey's father was a tense advertising executive and the family didn't get along, making Jeffrey uncomfortable with his elite Park Avenue upbringing
- Jeffrey started the Skills Exchange of Toronto at age 19-20, offering affordable community courses that attracted 30,000 registrations in the second year
- Jeffrey was arrested by Royal Mounties and deported from Canada for working without proper papers
- Back in New York, Jeffrey shifted to for-profit classes like "How to Marry Money" which became hugely successful but morally troubling
- Alan learned the catalog business at Garden Supply Company in Vermont, focusing on finance and operations
" Ivan Illich's philosophy was that formal education in universities constrain the flow of knowledge more than facilitate it. Those who are affluent, who can afford it, get access to it, those who aren't, don't. "
" I felt that that sort of elite part of society was not something that I wanted to be associated with. "
Alan Inherits Seventh Generation and Jeffrey Joins
Alan Newman reluctantly inherited a failing eco-friendly catalog called Renew America in 1988, despite believing no one cared about environmental products. He redesigned it as Seventh Generation, focusing on education and economic benefits rather than just environmental messaging. Jeffrey, searching for redemption after his "How to Marry Money" phase, discovered Alan's work while researching his book "How to Make the World a Better Place" and offered to help raise capital. The two became partners in January 1989, with Jeffrey handling fundraising and Alan managing operations.
- Alan initially didn't believe there was a market for environmental products but said yes to taking over the catalog anyway
- Alan renamed the business Seventh Generation after the Iroquois quote about considering seven generations in decision-making
- Alan focused catalog content on economic benefits and education rather than environmental features, learning to sell benefits not features
- First catalog under Alan's leadership generated surprisingly strong orders that "blew him away"
- Jeffrey raised $850,000 from investors who had made 10x returns on his previous business
" My brain is saying no no no no no and out of my mouth comes I'll take it. To this day I say God spoke through me. "
" The feature that you're saving the environment, yeah, that was nice, but it was only good after you passed the what's in it for me. "
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