The character arc of Seth Goldman

A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record

Born in 1965 and raised in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Between then and now sit Noble and Greenough School in 1983, Harvard in 1987, a year teaching English in Russia and Beijing, a presidential campaign in 1988, three years as a deputy press secretary, the Yale School of Management in 1995 and the idea that came with it, Honest Tea co-founded at the end of January 1998, a Coca-Cola investment, a book in 2013 and the chairmanship of a plant-based protein company. The line below draws the story so far, in order.

Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.

Who is Seth Goldman?

He waited three years.

He was raised in Wellesley, Massachusetts, the son of the economist Marshall Goldman and of Merle Goldman, a professor of Chinese history. He graduated from Noble and Greenough School in 1983 and from Harvard in 1987, where he studied government affairs and ran cross country and track. He then taught English for a year in Russia and at a Beijing university, worked on a presidential campaign in 1988, and served three years as a deputy press secretary to a United States senator. He left that world for the Yale School of Management, having decided that private enterprise could promote the public good.

He graduated from Yale in 1995 and worked at Calvert Investments, a mutual fund company concentrating on socially conscious investment, where he was a vice president. The idea for the company came from a classroom: doing a case study on two drinks giants for a competitive strategies class in 1995, he noticed the market had many sugary drinks and many bottled waters and almost nothing in between. He did nothing about it for three years.

On a trip to New York he and a friend looked at a restaurant menu and found nothing on it they wanted to drink. He emailed Barry Nalebuff, his former Yale professor, to ask whether the idea still held. Nalebuff mentored him, provided most of the five hundred thousand dollars of seed funding, and came up with the name. They co-founded Honest Tea at the end of January 1998, and he built an office in the guest bedroom of the house he shared with his wife and three small children. Coca-Cola paid forty three million dollars for forty percent of the company, with the option to buy the whole of it in 2011. He and Nalebuff wrote a graphic book about it in 2013, and he is executive chairman of the plant-based protein company Beyond Meat.

The moments

Seth Goldman's timeline.

The 1980s

Jun 1983

Noble and Greenough

Milestone. A school in Massachusetts, in 1983.

Jun 1987

Harvard, and then Russia

Milestone, and it changed his direction. A degree, and then a year teaching English abroad.

Jun 1988

A campaign, then press work

Milestone, and it changed his direction. Four years in political press work, and then out of it.

The 1990s

Jun 1995

The idea, in a classroom

Milestone, and it changed everything. A gap in a market, spotted in a case study.

Jun 1996

Calvert Investments

Milestone, and it changed his direction. A vice presidency at a fund, while the idea sat unused.

1 Jun 1997

Send the email, or let it go

Crossroads, decided.

The paths laid out: ask the professor, taken, or stay at the fund. Coca-Cola paid forty three million dollars for forty percent of Honest Tea with the option to buy the rest in 2011.

31 Jan 1998

Honest Tea

Milestone, and it changed everything. Three years after the idea, and one email.

Jun 1998

An office in the guest room

Milestone, and it changed his direction. A guest bedroom, with three small children in the house.

The 2000s

Jun 2008

Coca-Cola buys in

Milestone, and it changed everything. Forty three million dollars for forty percent, and not everybody approved.

The 2010s

10 Sep 2013

A graphic book

Milestone, and it changed his direction. The company's story, told in a graphic book.

Jun 2018

Beyond Meat

Milestone, and it changed everything. From tea to protein, and the same argument underneath.

The line reaches today still adding to itself, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. What it has set moving sat unused for three years: the idea arrived in a classroom in 1995, and the only thing that changed in 1998 was that he sent the email.

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What is Seth Goldman's character arc?

A Harvard degree, a year teaching English in Russia and Beijing, four years in political press work, and then a classroom case study in 1995 that gave him an idea. He did nothing about it for three years, then co-founded Honest Tea in January 1998.

How did Seth Goldman start Honest Tea?

He emailed Barry Nalebuff, his former Yale professor, three years after having the idea in one of his classes, to ask whether it still held. Nalebuff provided most of the five hundred thousand dollars of seed funding and came up with the name.

Where did Seth Goldman get the idea for Honest Tea?

From a case study on two drinks giants for a competitive strategies class at the Yale School of Management in 1995. He found the market had many high-calorie sugary drinks and many no-calorie bottled waters, and almost nothing in between.

Did Coca-Cola buy Seth Goldman's Honest Tea?

Coca-Cola paid forty three million dollars for forty percent of the company, with the choice of purchasing the whole of it in 2011. Several organic advocates disapproved, because the deal required him to buy out several dozen independent distributor contracts.

What does Seth Goldman do now?

He is executive chairman of Beyond Meat, a plant-based protein company based in El Segundo, California. He and his family are vegans, and in 2013 he co-wrote a graphic book with Barry Nalebuff about founding and running Honest Tea.

What did Seth Goldman do before business?

After graduating from Harvard in 1987 he taught English for a year in Russia and at a Beijing university, worked on a presidential campaign in 1988, and served three years as a deputy press secretary to a United States senator before going to the Yale School of Management.

Where does this timeline of Seth Goldman's life come from?

From the public record. Character Arc drew every moment on this line from the sources listed at the foot of the page, and the kind and weight of each moment are our editorial reading. Seth Goldman isn't a Member of Character Arc and has no connection with it, and no feeling is attributed to him.

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Sources

Seth Goldman, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
Harvard University and Yale School of Management degree records, 1987 and 1995.
Coca-Cola investment in Honest Tea and its option to purchase the company in 2011.