Chobani Founder Hamdi Ulukaya on the Journey from Abandoned Factory to Yogurt Powerhouse

Today Chobani is a global player and has more than 20% of the U.S. yogurt market. But it was a long, difficult journey (that began in an antiquated, abandoned yogurt factory in upstate New York) to get it there. CEO and founder Hamdi Ulukaya shares his thoughts on how to be a successful entrepreneur. He has always done things his own way. He wrote a piece for HBR nine years ago in which he said he was proud of the fact that Chobani didn’t have outside investors and that therefore he could run the company as he saw fit. Now Chobani is on track for an IPO, which means he’ll have plenty of new investors and outside scrutiny. Why the change? “In the early days, I wanted to have the freedom and flexibility to be able to make decisions fast and go forward,” he says. “Now we are in a place where the company is sizable, we have greater market share. Our growth is really, really good. And there’s still a long way to go. I celebrate people coming and being partners and being shareholders. It’s a perfect moment for us to be able to have others to come and join.”