Episode Summary
Executive Summary: At Goldman Sachs’ 2017 Builders and Innovators Summit, founders Eric Ryan and Adam Lowry and Goldman banker Greg Lemkow discussed how Method, Ollie, and Ripple were built by rethinking “tired” categories through design, sustainability, and science. The conversation centered on turning green products mainstream, redefining business success beyond shareholder value, and the tradeoffs between wholesale and direct-to-consumer scaling.
Main Topics: Method’s origin in an overlooked category (Priority: 5/5): Ryan and Lowry explained how a dirty shared apartment, a casual brainstorming trip, and a chemical-engineering skill set led them to attack the cleaning-products market despite its incumbents and stigma. Design and sustainability as mainstream strategy (Priority: 5/5): The founders argued that products must be beautiful, effective, and healthy first, rather than being made only for a niche ‘green’ consumer, and that design helps consumers emotionally connect to otherwise boring products. B Corp, shared prosperity, and redefining success (Priority: 5/5): Lowry emphasized changing corporate purpose toward employee ownership, broader stakeholder value, and legal structures that support social impact alongside profit. How sustainability is becoming a business requirement (Priority: 4/5): Lemkow described a shift from sustainability as a ‘nice to have’ to a ‘need to do,’ driven by talent expectations, transparency, and pressure on corporate legitimacy. Starting Ripple Foods and Ollie from the next opportunity (Priority: 4/5): Both founders explained why they returned to entrepreneurship: desire for challenge, impact, and the opportunity to apply lessons from Method to new categories like plant-based food and nutrition. Growth, channel strategy, and the wholesale vs. DTC tradeoff (Priority: 4/5): The discussion compared retail/wholesale expansion with direct-to-consumer models, weighing profitability and cash flow against the lure of faster scaling and higher valuation. Innovation gaps in food and consumer health (Priority: 5/5): Ryan highlighted how food is underinvested in R&D and how consumer categories like nutrition remain confusing, creating openings for science-driven brands to simplify and improve products.
Key Arguments: There is opportunity in ‘tired’ categories when founders identify a missed cultural shift and redesign the category around it. Cleaning products did not have to be ugly or toxic; products could be healthier, better performing, and aesthetically appealing. Green products must be built for the mainstream, not just ‘green people’; product superiority is what drives adoption. Business should be measured by more than shareholder value, including shared prosperity, employee ownership, and societal impact. Sustainability is increasingly a competitive necessity because talent and consumers want to align with companies they can be proud of. Founders return to entrepreneurship because they are motivated by challenge, impact, and the excitement of early-stage building. In food, innovation is scarce because major incumbents underinvest in R&D; science-driven startups can change the category. Wholesale and DTC present a real strategic tradeoff between profitability/cash flow and building a larger, potentially more valuable brand. Open-mindedness matters as much as grit because the path from idea to company is rarely linear. A strong team is essential because founder passion alone cannot scale a business.
Data Points: Number of entrepreneurs at Builders and Innovators: 100 - Greg Lemkow described the summit as a gathering of the 100 most intriguing entrepreneurs. Year the episode was recorded: 2017 - The recording took place on October 19, 2017. Years since Method’s founding idea: about 20 years - The founders referred to Method’s origins as happening roughly 20 years earlier. Years Adam Lowry spent in climate science: 4–5 years - Lowry said he spent four or five years trying to create policy change through climate science before moving back to business. Food’s share of humanity’s carbon footprint: 30% - Ryan cited food as responsible for 30% of humanity’s carbon footprint. R&D spending by biggest food companies: 1% of revenue - Ryan contrasted food incumbents’ R&D spending with more innovative sectors. R&D spending by innovative tech/biotech companies: 20% of revenue - Ryan used tech and biotech as examples of categories with much higher innovation investment. Solar jobs versus fossil fuels: More solar jobs in the U.S. than oil, gas, and coal combined - Ryan argued renewable energy is already a larger jobs engine than fossil fuels. Method’s market positioning at launch: Green/natural was a small niche - Ryan said green products were only a ‘pimple on the industry’ when Method launched.
Pivotal Quotes: "You find a big, tired category and you figure out what’s the cultural shift that was missed." — Eric Ryan: Ryan summarized Method’s founding thesis for spotting overlooked consumer opportunities. "A green product only for green people… there aren’t that many green people." — Adam Lowry: Lowry explained why Method aimed for mainstream appeal rather than a niche environmental audience. "I think we need to redefine success in business." — Adam Lowry: Lowry discussed B Corp principles, employee ownership, and broader stakeholder value.
Implications: The discussion suggests the next wave of consumer brands will win by combining design, performance, and measurable impact. Sustainability is moving from branding to baseline expectation, and founders who can pair mission with scalable economics are likely to shape the future.
About Goldman Sachs Exchanges
In each episode of "Exchanges," people from the firm share their insights on developments shaping industries, markets and the global economy.