7
Feeding the Growth Monster
“So much for California dreaming,” I thought to myself bitterly as I stared out at the blue expanse of the Pacific Ocean. On this warm summer afternoon in the early nineties, the Golden State was at its seductive best—sun-drenched, relaxed, beautiful. No wonder people and businesses had been making this westward journey for centuries, inspired by dreams of better opportunities and a better lifestyle. But for Au Bon Pain, California was where dreams went to die.
My pre-IPO fears hadn’t come true right away, but eventually I was proven right. By the time of IPO, Au Bon Pain was a powerful niche business that I estimate had sustained a double-digit rate of growth for almost a decade. That’s why our IPO was a success. ...
Get Know What Matters now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
