How I Built This with Guy Raz
How I Built This with Guy Raz

Seventh Generation: Alan Newman and Jeffrey Hollender. A Partnership that Flourished—until it Failed. (2021)

September 28, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Seventh Generation: Two Founders, One Company, and a Partnership That Couldn't Last

When Alan Newman took over a failing environmental products catalog in 1988, he had no money, no belief the business would succeed, and no plan. His brain told him to say no. "Out of my mouth comes, 'I'll take it,'" he recalls. "To this day, I say God spoke through me." That reluctant yes became Seventh Generation, named after the Iroquois principle of considering the seventh generation yet unborn. What followed was a partnership that grew a tiny mail-order catalog into a pioneer of eco-friendly household products—and then collapsed in bitterness, with each founder eventually ousting the other.

Different Paths to the Same Mission

Neither Alan Newman nor Jeffrey Hollander followed a conventional route into business. Newman dropped out of college, started a community education nonprofit in Toronto, and was deported from Canada for lacking work papers. Back in New York, he turned his nonprofit into a for-profit teaching courses like "How to Marry Money"—a venture that made him feel "heartbroken" and "abhorrent." He eventually landed in Vermont, where he learned the catalog business at Gardener Supply Company, absorbing lessons about company culture and the importance of empowering employees to make mistakes openly.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:03) **Episode Introduction & Context** - Guy Raz sets up the episode as one of the most dramatic partnership stories, introducing co-founders Alan Newman and Jeffrey Hollender who will recount their founding and bitter breakup for the first time together.
  • 2 (04:29) **The Origin: From a Catalog to Seventh Generation** - Alan Newman explains how he acquired the struggling "Renew America" catalog for free, turning it into Seventh Generation.
  • 3 (06:53) **Jeffrey's Pre-Seventh Generation Journey** - Jeffrey Hollender recounts his early, unconventional career, from starting a non-profit skills exchange in Toronto to creating a for-profit "How to Marry Money" course in New York.
  • 4 (14:29) **Alan's Pre-Seventh Generation Journey** - Alan Newman shares his experience as the number two at Gardener's Supply Company, where he learned about building company culture.
  • 5 (21:31) **The Partnership Begins** - Jeffrey Hollender, researching his book, tracks down Alan Newman and offers to help raise money, leading to their formal partnership in 1989.
  • 6 (30:53) **Building the "Hippie Den" Culture** - Alan Newman describes the unique culture at Seventh Generation's Vermont headquarters, including a nap room, chalkboards in the bathroom, and meetings on pillows.
  • 7 (33:27) **The Product Challenge: Selling "Prison Toilet Paper"** - Jeffrey Hollender recounts the struggle to manufacture and market unbleached, 100% recycled paper products.

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Show Notes

With its eco-friendly paper towels, diapers, and cleansers, Seventh Generation was one of the first—and most successful—green household brands to hit the market. But in the early 1990s, its two founders had a bitter falling out.

Alan Newman and Jeffrey Hollender have barely spoken since that time, but they both agreed to come on the show to talk about the business they were both passionate about, and the delicate nature of partnership.

What you'll learn: 

  • Why Alan says his great strength—and his greatness weakness—is his tendency to say “yes”
  • How Jeffrey and Alan lost their friendship and business partnership after only three years.
  • How Jeffrey grew Seventh Generation into a household name–and then got fired 
  • How two formerly estranged partners feel about partnership now 
  •  Generation into a household name 
  • Why Jeffrey and Alan agree that having a co-founder isn’t for everyone


Timestamps:

7:55 - Jeffrey makes it big in Canada selling adult-learning courses…before he’s forced to leave the country

14:15 - Alan moves to Vermont on a whim, and winds up in a mail-order catalog business

26:56 - Alan and Jeffrey meet for the first time and find common ground: Alan needs capital and Jeffrey has it 

32:38 - An atypical office for 1989: Ping pong table, nap room, and employees get prizes when they make mistakes 

43:00 - Crisis hits … and tears Alan and Jeffrey’s friendship apart

48:06 - Jeffrey sends Alan a “Dear John” letter, and Alan leaves the company

54:40 - Seventh Generation grows to new heights… then Jeffrey is fired as CEO

1:29:06 - Jeffrey and Alan reflect on why their partnership failed, and what it takes to have a good one  


This episode was produced by Casey Herman with music by Ramtin Arablouei. 

It was edited by Neva Grant. 


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