I don't like articles like this for two reasons: (1) they trivialize actually building a company, growing it, and selling it, and (2), they provide comfort for those that don't have the drive/luck/privilege of getting there by arguing that "hey, money doesn't make you happy!"<p>First of all, as others mention in the thread, this is hardly an example of an "overnight success" -- there are <i>no</i> such examples, barring a few extreme outliers. Not only do the great majority of startups fail, the great majority of successes grind for years and years before seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. It's not like some dream-land utopia. If you're like me (and I think most HN'ers are), you continue building stuff in <i>spite</i> of the overwhelming odds. <i>That's</i> the real lesson here. Trying, failing, trying, failing, and doing this over and over, even though expecting a different outcome is technically insanity.<p>Secondly, the adage of "money doesn't bring happiness" is obvious to anyone that's not young or incredibly naive. We <i>get</i> it -- money is not the end-all of life (duh). But at the same time, can we not kid ourselves? Money makes life <i>much</i> easier than the alternative. Anyone that grew up poor and achieved some modicum of success (I grew up in essential poverty in a third world country; now I make a "modest" six figure salary and live in Los Angeles) realizes this. I'm reminded of a (2008 crash) documentary I saw years ago where a banker says: "I grew up poor, and now I'm rich; trust me, I'd rather be rich."
The story holds it's own, and doesn't really need the "Overnight Millionaire" click bait.<p>Also,<p>> He and a buddy from elementary school started RxBar in 2012... By the time RxBar became a business with revenues north of $100 million, with virtually no outside investment, Rahal was grinding at it from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m daily.<p>This is anything but "overnight". Reminds me of the "overnight success" quotes in many forms, but recently from Shopify founder.<p>> It took about 10 years' time for Shopify to be an overnight success. - Tobias Lutke
I did not expect to read the whole thing through but I guess I just did.<p>It's fascinating the inner struggle of someone so successful yet who still feels the need to find something bigger to accomplish, a higher mountain to climb.<p>I feel for him, since life is not easy for most of us and he purposefully tries to make it harder for him. But I also think, that the meaning he so desperately wants can come from other things than just building bigger companies with bigger stakes. There's always a bigger stage play, a bigger house to build or company to create.<p>For me art is quite enjoyable, as there are no specific limits to your proficiency or rules to play by (well there are some very good guidelines). It just is what it is to amuse you, make the time go a little faster and perhaps amuse other people too. Or friends, children and family in general, relationships that aren't bound by status or money but by mutual enjoyment of each other's company.<p>Maybe what Peter needs to do is just go away for a while and travel the world, and find out what it actually means to be human in broader sense. Just put everything on hold and go somewhere, with a fake name if you must and just hang out with random people and experience their reality for a while. It isn't the end-goal to have "made something" but the trip to get there, even if it sounds like a cliche. I'm sure he could too find something satisfying that isn't just building companies. Or maybe I'm wrong, as I've never met the guy and don't know him personally. And building a more meaningful and successful company must sound like fun too. It's just that is not all that there is.
Just means you are responsible for deploying more liquid capital into productive assets. Have fun finding those. If you are creative and a builder, the people who made you what you are were the ones who told you "no," and now there are a lot fewer of those once they think you have money.<p>Barring a few quality of life things and some freedom, the rest is just symbols and artifacts.<p>That bit about finding a woman who will love him for who he is inside and not for his money is silly. In case he hasn't noticed, who he is inside is also now richer than croesus as well.<p>Very simply, the money event was a huge recent peak experience that totally re-based his identity, and until he either recognizes it again as external, or accumulates newer more intense experiences to offset it, he's going to struggle with accepting it and finding a personal equilibrium again. If he wants a partner to validate that he is more than his money, he's starting from a dangerously flawed premise. If he takes responsibility for himself and his identity and doesn't outsource his self worth to a partner/family, he'll be fine.<p>Otherwise, he should just put up a dating profile that says, "millionaire seeks emotional hostage for codependent death spiral." I'm a fan of Epictetus on that one, who essentially rephrases it so that things are not yours, they are things you relate to. e.g. the family I have, support, love etc, instead of "my family." It's not "my money," because it's not essential to who he is, it's "the money I have."<p>I'd say if he's looking for someone to complete and validate his essential idea of himself "without the money," he doesn't have a sufficiently complete sense of self yet to share. He'll probably be cooler after 40.<p>Anyway, good luck to anyone who ends up in this situation. It's rare and a huge distraction from more basic human needs that might have still needed work before the event.<p>I like to think I would make a very good rich person, but mostly because it sounds like an interesting job.
I wonder if he struggles with these underlying things not because of the money but because of his own grappling with his success and identity. The money makes these things louder because he 'made it' yet nothing is better.<p>I grew up on the 'stupid list' too (I was the only kid who made it on there one year), and like him, I suffer from ADHD. Growing up as the idiot does serious damage, and it drives you to succeed like no other sometimes. The trouble is you can convince others that you're capable, you can be admired for how far you've ascended from the stupid list, but at the end of the day you're still wired to feel like nothing is ever enough. You're still the kid on the list. No girlfriend or boyfriend fixes that. No amount of money fixes that.<p>I hope that's not the case - I hope he finds something to do that brings him a lot of joy. Apart from the money though, all of this seems fairly relatable to me. I don't think external validation is the answer to these kinds of feelings.
Actually getting the money itself in reality did happen overnight, but the setup took him years and thousands of hours of work and much blood sweat and tears.<p>This isn't so much about what happens when you become rich quickly, as "What happens when you achieve your goal?"
According to Chekhov:<p>"One is shy of asking men under sentence what they have been sentenced for; and in the same way it is awkward to ask very rich people what they want so much money for, why they make such a poor use of their wealth, why they don't give it up, even when they see in it their unhappiness"
In tech it's pretty rare to become a millionare overnight. You can go overnight between each of these phases:<p>Phase 1: You are making very little money. You are excited when there is free pizza at an event, because you got a free dinner.<p>Phase 2: You are making a decent salary, enough to survive quite comfortably, even in a pretty expensive location. In tech, often this salary is enough to make you a millionaire if you just invest it conservatively and wait a decade.<p>Phase 3: You are still making that decent salary, but now you are also a millionaire on paper. Your stock is worth millions of dollars, but that isn't directly relevant to your daily life.<p>Phase 4: You have millions of dollars in liquid assets.<p>I have worked with a number of people who have gone through each of these phase changes. In my experience, going from phase 1 to 2 is by far the biggest change. After that, things just don't change immediately. You might move to a nicer place to live, or have enough money to become an investor or leave the conventional career track, but those things happen slowly.
This marketing team needs to step up their game, I only had to scroll for 30 seconds to get past the header. Best practice says if I'm not scrolling for a minimum of 3 minutes, I'm going to leave their site too soon.
Seems like this individual is in need of a re-branding as much as the re-branding that turned RX Bar from a soulless company into a raging success.<p>(Shoutout to The McQuades and Scott & Victor for their incredible brand and package design work. <a href="http://www.themcquades.com/rx-bar" rel="nofollow">http://www.themcquades.com/rx-bar</a>)
> Before the Kellogg deal was finalized and he was about to suddenly become very rich, Rahal got worried. “Can I seriously find someone who’s going to love me without the money?”<p>This seems like an easy thought exercise to work through.<p>If you're rich enough to worry about being loved for your money, then you're probably rich enough to have a second modest existence to date from (modest apartment, car, etc). So, don't show any sign of wealth to people you date, until after you're already in love. If they love you for you, they'll love you regardless of your circumstance, no?
Anyone out there achieve fsck you money? I have been between gigs this summer and brainstorming inventions. I seem to come up with one or two a week, but have only written down the most viable ones, so have maybe 20 or so that could provide FU money to someone, if a way could be found to manufacture them.<p>To be completely honest, this is why I find stories like this a bit disheartening. I'm happy for anyone that wins a large amount of money in the internet lottery, but I worry that countless other people will never have a chance to make it because they're too busy making rent each month.<p>If I had anything above the amount of money it would take to retire (roughly $2-5 million), the rest would go to grants and setting up inventor think tanks. I know that number varies, and mine might even be low (I live in the northwest), but surely everyone has considered a number of their own.<p>If you made it and are interested in funding inventors, open source projects, things of that nature, it would be great to hear your thoughts on being a benefactor for people who maybe aren't great at business but whose ideas could potentially change the world. Even anonymous replies would be a great resource for how to think about connecting philanthropists with makers.
It is interesting that creating a healthy bar with 'No B.S.' seemed to be motivated entirely by money, no idealism, no concern for public health, etc. He was totally willing to sell to a massive corporation that will almost certainly dilute his product to save cash and his main concern around that seemed to be 'but what will I do now?'.<p>Maybe his life doesn't seem empty now that he has money, maybe it has always been empty.
General question, not a business person:<p>Where does existing cash in the bank go upon an acquisition? To the seller, buyer, or something that is generally negotiated?
Interesting read.<p>Not that it matters, but I hate the consistency of those bars. It’s like eating a bunch of taffy. I always wonder if I’m missing fillings after.
Interesting story. He really did become a millionaire overnight, it was a lump sum payout with no obligation to work for the acquiring company.<p>Different than other founders where you get stock in the acquiring company and you’re locked up for 2 years. You get to watch your potential payout oscillate in value all the while working for a big Corp.
This is the embodiment of "money doesn't buy happiness". If your only life goal is the acquisition of money, then you get stuck once you achieve your goal.
If this article was trying to depict this man as thuroughl vain and void of humanity it could not have done a better job.<p>He moved to Miami Beach to avoid paying taxes? This hundreds of millionaire couldn't just move to a place he liked because he was worried about his marginal tax rate?<p>He bought a house that's empty and has accoutrements for a lifestyle he doesn't have or plan to have. This is a person buying something that looks like what other rich people by because it's what he's supposed to do.<p>He's succeed and now is not just overwhelmed by the opportunities he can tackle but is paralyzed by a lack of struggle.<p>I see these articles over and over again about entrepreneurs and what they show me is that many are not successful because they are imaginative people full of passion and ideas. Rather they are like robots who can see and optimize some little piece of the economy. And by and large they never tire of working at their own little corner. They are different from normal people not in their vision but because they do not tire of bulldoging one very tiny little thing.<p>I know that's not all entrepreneurs but there are so many profiles like this and they do not make me empathize with these people. They send a shiver down my spine.
A poor little rich boy is all I can say!
If he is feeling so unchallenged and wants "skin in the game" then give away all your money and start again.
But he won't, no one can, once you've got a taste for the good life..
Btw, the RX bar tastes awful.
These types of young people have no class, no style and no real dreams to follow - other than making money.<p>Because someone makes money does not make then interesting to read about. This is a perfect example