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RxBar co-founder Peter Rahal on life after becoming a millionaire

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Re: RxBar co-founder Peter Rahal on life after becoming a millionaire

#91

Post by biztos »

dvt wrote: post #51

I don't like articles like this for two reasons: (1) they trivialize actually building a company, growing it, and selling it, and (2), they provide comfort for those that don't have the drive/luck/privilege of getting there by arguing that "hey, money doesn't make you happy!" First of all, as others mention in the thread, this is hardly an example of an "overnight success" -- there are no such examples, barring a few…

I agree with your gist here, but once upon a time I was drinking beer in SF with a guy who was among the first dozen or so engineers at YouTube. He was a multimillionaire because he happened to be doing more or less the same thing I had been doing at about the same time, getting paid about the same, not shouldering any particular risk -- but he happened to be doing it at a company that Google bought. That really made me think.

While this might not be the case for the author here, I think in the startup scene (and thus for the HN audience) it's not all that uncommon for people to go from "very well paid engineer" to "FU Money" overnight and for reasons not related to their actual engineering prowess or effort.

Re: RxBar co-founder Peter Rahal on life after becoming a millionaire

#92

Post by refurb »

indigodaddy wrote: post #85

General question, not a business person: Where does existing cash in the bank go upon an acquisition? To the seller, buyer, or something that is generally negotiated?

Existing cash goes to the buyer, but it’s fully accounted for, so the seller gets it in the end.

I.e. company is worth $600M including $50M cash on hand. Seller gets $600M.

Re: RxBar co-founder Peter Rahal on life after becoming a millionaire

#94

Post by refurb »

giarc wrote: post #50
refurb wrote: post #45

Interesting story. He really did become a millionaire overnight, it was a lump sum payout with no obligation to work for the acquiring company. Different than other founders where you get stock in the acquiring company and you’re locked up for 2 years. You get to watch your potential payout oscillate in value all the while working for a big Corp.

In most of the stories I've read where the founder is required to stay on, they typically have very little duties or responsibilities. Often it seems like the "show up at 11 and leave by 2" type situations.

Agreed, but even with the minimal responsibilities, it’s a burden to founders because they can’t do anything else (non-competes).

Re: RxBar co-founder Peter Rahal on life after becoming a millionaire

#95

Post by Jakawao »

tempsy wrote: post #86
soneca wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "RxBar got a lot of traction well before they were sold, and so to believe he was grinding for the entire 5 years in the same way he was in the basement when they first started is a bit naive" I would have the opposite perception. That it is naive of your part assuming that once a business gets good traction that its founders start working less hours.

If they kept working the same hours as when they just start up then it's because they want to and not because they need to. Your sales figures once you achieve product market fit is not a function of how many hours you can work in a day.

Success is not a binary. It is relatively easy to build a small team that functions well. When you try to scale, it gets exponentially harder. This is why there are few successful startups, fewer successful scale ups, and even fewer unicorn success stories. This shit is hard and requires more investment from more people over time, not less.

Re: RxBar co-founder Peter Rahal on life after becoming a millionaire

#96

Post by wavefunction »

pembrook wrote: post #52
klipt wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe then he'd plow his money into something useful like cancer research. Of course, even better if he puts his money to a good cause without getting cancer.

By simply reinvesting his money into the economy via stocks and bonds he is contributing the making the world a better place. Market economics has been lifting the world's humans out of poverty at an alarmingly fast rate since 2000. You'll never hear about this in the news of course.

>You'll never hear about this in the news of course.

Why I heard that very sentiment this morning on the news.

Re: RxBar co-founder Peter Rahal on life after becoming a millionaire

#97

Post by OJFord »

justboxing wrote: post #31

The story holds it's own, and doesn't really need the "Overnight Millionaire" click bait. Also, > He and a buddy from elementary school started RxBar in 2012... By the time RxBar became a business with revenues north of $100 million, with virtually no outside investment, Rahal was grinding at it from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m daily. This is anything but "overnight". Reminds me of the "overnight success" quotes in many forms,…

Hang on though, you can be not an overnight success and still an overnight millionaire (even ignoring the pedantic 'at some point you tick into the 7th figure') - you can certainly spend years living off beans on toast while you work hard at building something that you then suddenly sell (at least a piece of) for >1M. The success took years, but the money came quickly.

Re: RxBar co-founder Peter Rahal on life after becoming a millionaire

#98

Post by markrages »

ryandrake wrote: post #72
tachyonbeam wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. I also grew up poor and now live comfortably. Having my own place with no roommates (or mentally ill family members screaming at me) brings me a lot of peace. Being able to just uber somewhere when I have an appointment but feel too tired to take public transit for 45 minutes makes my life easier. There are a lot of problems in life that you can make disappear (or simplify a lot) by throwing a little money at…

I often hear the “money isn’t everything” platitude from people who already have it. It’s gatekeeping. See also: “You don’t REALLY want to be promoted like I was—it’s so much more stress and work. You should be happy as an individual contributor!”

https://quoteinvestigator.com/2017/07/01/poor-rich/

Re: RxBar co-founder Peter Rahal on life after becoming a millionaire

#99

Post by alxmdev »

tempsy wrote: post #55
justboxing wrote: post #31

The story holds it's own, and doesn't really need the "Overnight Millionaire" click bait. Also, > He and a buddy from elementary school started RxBar in 2012... By the time RxBar became a business with revenues north of $100 million, with virtually no outside investment, Rahal was grinding at it from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m daily. This is anything but "overnight". Reminds me of the "overnight success" quotes in many forms,…

He went from nothing to $600M in 5 years. It isn't "technically" overnight but 5 years is not that long. And the 7-10 grind was probably only true of year 0-1. RxBar got a lot of traction well before they were sold, and so to believe he was grinding for the entire 5 years in the same way he was in the basement when they first started is a bit naive. Worse than "overnight millionaire" porn is "hustle" porn. The truth…

This shouldn't be overlooked either:

"son of Lebanese American parents whose families were both in the juice business. His father’s family supplied ingredients, his mother’s sold consumer juice brands, and they met at the funeral of an industry executive. His father worked in the family juice business, too, and Rahal shaped himself after his father’s work ethic"

Upbringing and a significant degree of business and industry "in" couldn't have hurt. Nobody exists in a vacuum and I'm not saying this to take away from individual merit, but it often takes more than just hard work and talent to succeed like that.

Re: RxBar co-founder Peter Rahal on life after becoming a millionaire

#100

Post by maximente »

jeron wrote: post #30
refurb wrote: post #16

Interesting read. Not that it matters, but I hate the consistency of those bars. It’s like eating a bunch of taffy. I always wonder if I’m missing fillings after.

thoughts on it vs clif bar?

i think cliff bars have way more ingredients (not necessarily bad ones) and more sugar.

i think rxbar appeals to the "food as fuel" crowd. there is a continuum there from those who don't want to think about healthy stuff, just get quality calories in (think soylent and/or more healthier home stuff, "rations" types who cook 15 meals at once, etc.) to those who want to signal that they are willing to eat gross stuff to look good or hit fitness goals, and lots in between.

cliff bars i think are more acceptable taste but don't really have a niche - too much sugar to eat if you want low % body fat, too many carbs generally, but decent to throw in a bag if you don't want to eat some uber-processed alternative like whatever cereal bars normally have

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