The Entrepreneurial Journey of Edward Lowe The Entrepreneurial Journey of Edward Lowe by John Duggleby Edward Lowe Foundation Publisher Cassopolis, Michigan Contents 6 Preface Chapter 4 7 Publisher’s Note 68 Peer Learning: Leveraging the Insights of Others 8 Introduction 74 Entrepreneur Profile: Edwin Land 13 Acknowledgments 78 Ed Lowe on Peer Learning Chapter 1 Chapter 5 14 Vision: Seeing the Extraordinary in the Ordinary 80 Risk: Taking Chances, Making Mistakes, Creating Opportunities 18 Entrepreneur Profile: Coco Chanel 84 Entrepreneur Profile: Akio Morita 24 Ed Lowe on Opportunity 88 Ed Lowe on Risk Chapter 2 Chapter 6 26 Perspective: Finding More Than One Right Answer 90 Bridging the Gap: The Journey From Entrepreneur to CEO 3o Entrepreneur Profile: Andy Grove 96 Entrepreneur Profile: Oprah Winfrey 36 Ed Lowe on Perspective 102 Ed Lowe on Executive Decisions Chapter 3 Chapter 7 4o Growth: Thoughtfully Reaching the Next Level 104 Giving Back: Building a Foundation for Tomorrow’s Entrepreneurs 46 Ed Lowe on Growth Priorities 108 Entrepreneur Profile: Ewing Marion Kauffman 5o Entrepreneur Profile: John Johnson 112 Ed Lowe on Giving Back Photos 118 Index 52 Determined, Curious and Innovative From the Beginning 54 Ed and Darlene: A Match in Business and in Life 56 A Continuing Journey of Creativity and Service 58 A Focus on Advocating for Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurship 60 A Name, a Slogan and Relentless Marketing 62 Growth From “Firsts” and Endless Entrepreneurial Ventures 64 Living Large at Every Level 66 Edward Lowe Foundation Ensures Legacy of ‘Entrepreneurial Spirit’ 4 The Entrepreneurial Journey of Edward Lowe 5 The Entrepreneurial Journey of Edward Lowe Preface: An Entrepreneurial Spirit To help new entrepreneurs smooth the rocky road Ed Lowe was a remarkable person, but he would be the first toward rapid growth, this book looks not only at where Ed to eschew the term “genius.” excelled, but where he might have done better. He downplayed as “a combination of ignorance and Like Ed, many entrepreneurs have successfully taken persistence” such milestones as inventing the cat-box filler their businesses past the startup stage, but are less prepared known almost universally by the brand name of Kitty Litter® for the uncharted territory of transforming them into profes- and blazing the trail for what has become the pet-supplies sionally managed, multimillion-dollar companies. This book aisle in supermarkets. He didn’t know—or didn’t believe—that examines Ed Lowe’s life not as a cradle-to-grave biography of his ideas couldn’t work, so he dug in and figured out a way to record, but as an insight into how he channeled the creativity bring them to life. that exists within all of us through the phases faced by a typical Ed’s success is a case study in creative thinking and action. growth-oriented entrepreneur. We hope it will, as Ed liked When Ed launched Kitty Litter in 1947, “entrepreneur” to say, “put the rubber to the road” to help the next generation was a word rarely used outside of French class. Soon, of ambitious entrepreneurs make their own—successful— though, he sensed that there was a difference between small entrepreneurial journeys. Through the work of the Edward businessmen like his father and grandfather and visionaries Lowe Foundation, Ed’s entrepreneurial journey continues on. who lifted their enterprises, sometimes along with American society, to a new level. John Duggleby Kitty Litter transformed cats from outdoor vagrants into “user-friendly” indoor companions that have surpassed dogs as the most popular American house pet. The Tidy Cat™ brand was one of the first pet supplies to appear in supermarkets Publisher’s Note: In the Words of Edward Lowe and revolutionized the way pet products were sold. The $3.50 Each chapter in this book contains a column under Ed made from his first Kitty Litter sale has mushroomed Ed Lowe’s byline that originally appeared in The Edward Lowe into a $900 million industry. Ed sold the business profitably PeerSpectivesTM Report newsletter. These columns are part of a late in his life, and he used much of his fortune to champion series that explores the thoughts, ideas and unadorned advice the entrepreneurial spirit by creating and endowing the of Ed Lowe the entrepreneur and seeks to communicate his Edward Lowe Foundation. lively, entertaining and engaging personality. Ed’s success certainly was not without challenge. During his life, Ed Lowe used “plain talk” to speak about Unlike entrepreneurs of today, he could not summon support the bottom line from the bottom of his heart. We believe resources with only a phone call or mouse click. Ed learned that these writings, revised and updated after his death, offer virtually everything by doing and, occasionally, by making something truly of value, not only for your business but mistakes. also for your entrepreneurial soul. 6 The Entrepreneurial Journey of Edward Lowe 7 The Entrepreneurial Journey of Edward Lowe Introduction: A Legacy of Entrepreneurship The foundation’s programs today draw their inspiration This biography is not the story of Edward Lowe’s life, but instead, directly from Ed Lowe’s beliefs about entrepreneurship. During his the story of Edward Lowe’s entrepreneurial life, which was a journey entrepreneurial journey of half a century, Ed Lowe came to believe of entrepreneurship, not only in practice but also in philosophy. that entrepreneurs: We hope that it makes clear some of the central truths about this remarkable individual and the central purpose of the foundation that G Are the single most important source of energy and became his last, and possibly most influential, venture. innovation powering the free enterprise system. There’s no doubt that Edward Lowe deserves to be remem- G Deserve recognition and support for their vital contributions bered for his significant accomplishments in business. He built a to the economy and to society. $200 million company (about $300 million in 2006 dollars) from G Learn best from each other. what he—and more than a few skeptics—called “dirt in a bag.” But he also deserves to be remembered for his accomplish- Entrepreneurs can learn from Ed Lowe, a peer, if they can find ments as the “entrepreneur’s entrepreneur.” He picked up that the time to think about—or “ponder,” as Ed would say—the experi- informal but telling title not because he was the “best” entrepre- ences he brings to the table and relate them to their own. The big neur but because he became a vocal and nationally recognized lesson is probably one that most entrepreneurs, especially “beagle” advocate for entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship at a time when entrepreneurs, already practice but that describes succinctly the way he believed society had all but lost its appreciation for the enter- Ed Lowe thought about business and life: listen, learn, innovate. prising, independent business owner. Ed Lowe, in fact, feared that Nearly everything of value to an entrepreneur and, eventually, to the entrepreneur was a “dying breed,” and he made his point society seems to result from actions driven by those three words. in forums ranging from college auditoriums to the national press It’s easy to see that Ed’s greatest contribution in business was to the Oval Office. to create a product that created an industry. Not so easy to see per- Today, when entrepreneurship is a staple of course offerings haps is his broader contribution in society: an aggressive advocacy at hundreds of universities and the most successful entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship. While the greater value of often achieve celebrity status, it might be difficult to envision carrying the torch for personal commercial success might not Ed Lowe as one of only a few voices trying to call attention to the be obvious—it doesn’t, for example, serve society in the same way benefits entrepreneurial business owners bring to the economy social service organizations do—a greater value still exists and and to society. But in 1967, for example, fewer than 10 universities carries an impact that Ed Lowe recognized and championed. It’s even offered a course in entrepreneurship, let alone a curriculum. really a simple concept: Untold numbers of individuals, families and In 1985, well before the entrepreneurial renaissance of the communities benefit from the jobs, products and services created 1990s—the so-called dot-com decade—Ed and his wife, by successful entrepreneurs. Darlene, established the Edward Lowe Foundation, creating a forum Ed Lowe sought to help the public, the press and the policy- for his voice to be heard and his vision to be realized long after makers understand that entrepreneurs represent the point of his death in 1995. greatest leverage from which to ensure a strong economy over time 8 The Entrepreneurial Journey of Edward Lowe 9 The Entrepreneurial Journey of Edward Lowe and to raise to the next level anyone who is touched by that entrepreneurial spirit.” (1) The PeerSpectives® Roundtable System economy. He also hoped that such understanding would eventually helps second-stage business owners learn from each other. lead to more public support for entrepreneurial endeavors and fewer (2) The Companies to WatchSM awards program celebrates the vital role obstacles, especially those put in place by government that, in fact, second-stage companies play in the American economy. can become “brick walls” to growing companies. (3) The dissemination of regular reports and studies documents Edward Lowe listened, learned and innovated, and the results the impact of entrepreneurship in general, and second-stage of the entrepreneurial actions he took are legend. Today, headed companies in particular, on local economies and economic develop- by Darlene Lowe, the Edward Lowe Foundation makes the case for ment activities.