Entrepreneurial Journey at 49 Years Old Bob Moore started an entrepreneurial journey that would eventually change his life and inspire many more. Founder Bob’s Red Mill effectively overcame personal challenges to establish a whole foods company, which he would later give away to his employees while rejecting $100 million offers.
Bob Moore’s late start in business
Bob Moore’s story is unique, not just because of what he has done for his business but also because of when he started. When most people are preparing for retirement, he jumped boldly into entrepreneurship. He and his wife started Bob’s Red Mill, which was to be a whole foods company that would carry an imagination of high-quality health foods to consumers everywhere, with the mission of opening this up to consumers.
From a tiny company, it soon grew into a multimillion-dollar name and an international institution. But it’s not all about profits; Moore places people and values first, ensuring that his company observes the principles of fairness and respect.
Turning down $100 million offers
In this article we will limit ourselves with it for now, so just tell us about it for now. Moore began receiving offers for millions of dollars to sell his company when Bob’s Red Mill began gaining in fame and value. By the time it really established itself as a major player in the whole foods market, buyers were ready to pay up to $100 million. Moore turned them all down.
Many people would have kept wondering–in utter mystery, captivated with the reasons offered by critics, who called him naive for not wanting to make money out of it. But Moore wasn’t keen on getting rich; he was doing something bigger than that—something that had to do with putting the employees in the uppermost level, not himself.
A revolutionary decision: Giving away his company
In 2010, Moore introduced a radical step of giving away one-third of Bob’s Red Mill to the employees through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). By 2020, the whole company became worker-owned. This is based on Moore’s fairness ideology and deep appreciation for the people who helped him build the business. “If I had to pick one thing that stands above all the others in my life, it would be people. I love them all,” he shared in one of the interviews with Fortune. To him, the future of his employees far outweighed the loss of such income. Such action makes the rarest gift on the epitome of the corporate world, where most actions are profit-driven.
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Retiring without selling
Moore held on to that even during his retirement in 2018; he kept to his refusal to sell. Offers continued to pour in, but he never entertained them.
“They thought I was a dumb idiot because I didn’t want to sell my company,” Moore recalled. But that strength of will allowed him to build something infinitely more valuable than money—a legacy of trust, respect, and shared ownership.
A lasting legacy of generosity
Bob Moore passed away in February 2024 at the age of 94, but he left behind a strong legacy. His story inspires one to think that business success does not have to come at the expense of simply living human values. Now, all employees at Bob’s Red Mill own the company outright, carrying forward the same principles Alan has instilled in them: respect for people and the importance of community over sought-after profits. This decision safeguards the stability and growth of the company for generations to come.
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A true example of business altruism
Bob Moore’s life presents an unusual case where business could be conducted from the standpoint of human welfare while earning a profit himself. His beneficence guaranteed that employees would find jobs after his departure, and it proved that true happiness can only be attained through giving.
Unlike other inspiring stories where money played first place in the order of human consideration, this was the shining example that one could shine for others when one chose people instead.
