The Report of Ben&Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream Company - Part I

Abstract 

After I researched entrepreneurs on the Internet, I was interested in Ben & Jerry’s because the founders of this company are childhood friends. I want to start a business with my friend, but my parents say that friends cannot establish a company. I thought this company is good to prove my parents how friends can be successful together. 

Introduction 

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield met in the seventh-grade gym class, and they worked as direct mail sorters for Ben’s father during the summer. Ben Cohen found a job in his senior year, and he drove an ice cream truck and sold it. After graduating from high school, they wanted to go to college because they thought that going to college was the best way to stand on their own legs and to escape the military. While Ben was accepted by Colgate University, Jerry was accepted only by Oberlin even though he applied to various schools. In 1969, their ways were separated in order to get college degrees, but they gave a promise to each other to keep in touch. Ben could not be a serious student, and he was unsuccessful as a student. For this reason, he quit college in 1972. He wanted to be a potter, and in order to support his pottery traineeship, he worked in many different fields. He helped a baker, delivered Yellow Pages, mopped nights, and cooked. He also worked at a hospital as an admission clerk. On the other hand, Jerry wanted to become a doctor; however, he failed many times to get an admission from medical schools. Ultimately, he gave up his plan to be a doctor, and he moved to Manhattan after he graduated from his university. He was a lab technician in Manhattan. When he moved to Manhattan, Ben and Jerry lived together for two years. After two years, Jerry went to Chapel Hill, North Carolina because he wanted to live with his girlfriend, Elizabeth who is his wife. He worked as a lab technician at UNC Hospital. However, being a lab technician was unpleasant for him. In addition, Elizabeth ended their relationship, so there was no reason for him to stay in North Carolina anymore, and he went back to New York. (Cohen & Greenfield, 1997)