How GT Dave Overcame His Mother’s Cancer to Establish the Kombucha Kingdom
GT Dave, founder and CEO of GT's Living Foods, may be known as the “King of Kombucha” and is worth over $900 million, but he was only 15 years old and working in his family's kitchen when he started his venture. Let's see how Dave, who had no business plan, managed to establish a giant company from this small kitchen.
Dave grew up in a home that was, above all else, nutrition conscious.
In late 1994, GT's mother, Laraine, was diagnosed with breast cancer. When she recovered, Laraine shared with the doctors that she drank a very pungent, homemade tea. This tea was GT's Kombucha.
When he started brewing his own kombucha, he wasn't very successful and didn't have any business plan. At this point, he dropped out of high school and prepared his own formula. Without formal training and a business plan, GT built his own brand.
When he first started this business, he did everything by hand.
Inspired by her mother's experience, it became her mission to make Kombucha accessible to everyone. When he was just 15, he began bottling his teas in the kitchen of his family's Southern California home to brew and became the first to put Kombucha on shelves in the United States.
“The energy you put into everything you do is a reflection of how people will interact with it.”
He owned a company that was eventually worth over $900 million.
GT revolutionized the beverage industry. He is the sole owner of Living Foods and the company is now valued at over $900 million and continues to grow. This is something attributed to his deep passion for his product.