💰 From $10K to $2.9B: The Wild Ride of Clif Bar

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Steve Jobs rejected IBM. Mark Zuckerberg ghosted Yahoo. And then there’s Gary Erickson—a guy who walked away from a $120M offer and turned his energy bar idea into a $2.9B empire.

This is the crazy story of how one man’s gut (literally and figuratively) led him to billionaire status.

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🏔️ The Adventurer-Turned-Mogul

Meet Gary Erickson—a guy who loved two things growing up in California:
🥖 Baking (thanks to his parents’ bakery)
🚵 Outdoor adventures (cycling 175 miles… for fun?!)

One day, in 1990, while on one of his insane bike rides, Gary hit a major problem—he couldn’t eat another bite of the energy bars he packed. They were gross.

So, instead of accepting that his options sucked, he had a lightbulb moment:
💡 “What if I made a better one myself?”

And just like that… Clif Bar was born (after two years of trial and error in his mom’s kitchen, of course).

By 1992, armed with just $10K in savings, Gary and his then-business partner Lisa Thomas launched Clif Bar, named after his adventure-loving dad, Clifford.

📈 The Rise… and The Rejection Heard Around The World

🚀 Year 1: $700K in sales (mostly through bike shops).
🚀 By 1997: Revenue hit $20M.
🚀 By 2000: Clif Bar was raking in $40M a year.

Then, something huge happened.

💰 Quaker Oats (yes, the cereal giant) came knocking with $120 MILLION to buy Clif Bar.

At first, Gary said yes. But on the actual day of the sale, his gut screamed:
❌ "Don’t do it!"

So, at the last minute… he walked away. No deal. No check. Just vibes.

Lisa? Not thrilled. She cashed out for $70M, and Gary became the sole owner.

Wild move, right? But get this—it paid off.

💵 From $120M to $2.9B

💥 Fast forward 22 years—Clif Bar hit $1 BILLION in annual sales.

And then, another big-money buyer came along.

In 2022, Mondelez (the same folks behind Oreo & Cadbury) made an offer Gary couldn’t refuse—a cool $2.9B acquisition.

This time? His gut said yes. And just like that, he went from making energy bars in his mom’s kitchen… to billionaire status. 🤯

🔥 The Big Lesson? Trust. Your. Gut.

In 2000, Gary listened to his gut and said no. In 2022, he listened again and said yes. Both times? The right move.

So, here’s the question for you…

💡 What’s your gut telling you right now?

Because listening to it might just change your life. 🚀

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