綠色先鋒的八大特征

????這就有一個問題了：如果大公司模仿或（以Honest Tea的案例）收購我們，我們仍能被認為是“先鋒”嗎？是的，只要我們保持創新。Honest Tea作為第一個有機瓶裝茶品牌上市后，幾年來其他大公司也開始在飲品中添加有機成分。我們沒有束手無策，開始拓展產品內容，增加了“公平貿易”（Fair Trade）成分。今年，我們將大力宣傳“tulsi”（印度語，即圣羅勒）等新成分，它們能泡出不錯的茶。

????我們總是能看到大公司涉足我們的業務，但一遇到困難就退縮了……先鋒不會這么容易就退縮，某種程度上是因為我們沒有傳統業務可依賴，但主要還是因為我們有激情——我們不只是想抓住一個市場機會，事實上我們相信，我們是在以自己的綿薄之力（或不那么綿薄之力）改變世界。我們每個人都曾直面破產（與個人破產緊密相連），但我們不愿讓自己的夢想就這樣破滅，努力搜羅足夠的資金，繼續保留希望。

????最后，先鋒的頭腦（幾乎是）盡一切可能促成事情，我們的創業情結很深。此次會議的舉行地是能俯瞰拉古那海灘沖浪者、環境優美的麗茲卡爾頓飯店（每晚347美元），我選擇同一條路上的Econo Lodge（每晚83美元）。Honest Tea可能是可口可樂（Coca-Cola）的一部分，但我仍經營著這家公司，這就像是花我自己的錢。

????塞思?戈德曼是Honest Tea的總裁兼TeaEO，1998年他共同創立了這家公司。

????譯者：老榆木

????So that raises the question, if the larger companies copy or (in Honest Tea's case) acquire us, can we still be considered insurgents? Yes, as long as we keep innovating. A few years after Honest Tea became the first brand to launch an organic bottled tea, other large companies started including organic ingredients in their drinks. Rather than wring our hands, we were expanding our portfolio to include Fair Trade ingredients. This year we are raising the profile of new ingredients, such as tulsi, known as India as holy basil, which makes an amazing tea.

????We often see large companies dip a toe in the water to explore what we're doing, but they often give up when the going gets tough… insurgents don't bow out so easily, partially because we don't have a conventional business to fall back on, but mostly because we share a passion – we're not just out to capture a market opportunity, we actually believe that we are changing the world in our own modest (or not so modest) way. Each of us has stared business bankruptcy (closely tied to personal bankruptcy) in the face, but were unwilling to let our dream die, and managed to scrounge up enough capital to keep the lights on.

????Finally, insurgents still bring a by (almost) any means necessary mindset to make things happen, and our entrepreneurial roots run deep. Although the conference was held at the beautiful Ritz-Carlton overlooking the surfers on Laguna Beach ($347 per night), I opted for the Econo Lodge down the road ($83 per night). Honest Tea may be part of Coca-Cola (KO), but I still run the enterprise like I'm spending my own money.

????Seth Goldman is President and TeaEO of Honest Tea, the company he co-founded in 1998.