Passion trumps pay when it comes to choosing a career, Ben Cohen says.
Speaking on the sidelines of the SXSW London festival earlier in June, the Ben & Jerry’s cofounder shared with Business Insider his advice for young people worried about affordability and AI.
“I was going to say, learn how to be an Uber driver, but Waymo is taking over that shit,” Cohen quipped.
On a serious note, he said people should pursue a career “because you love the work, not in order to make money.”
Aspiring entrepreneurs should “find a small niche in the market, a void, and fill it,” he continued.
Employees should “find a company whose values you resonate with because then your work is meaningful, it’s not just getting a paycheck,” he added.
Cohen highlighted the deep feeling of purpose and fulfillment that comes from doing what you love.
“You’re doing exactly what you want to do, following your passion — that’s worth a lot of money,” he said.
“I was a starving artist,” Cohen continued. “The only reason I became an ice cream man is because nobody would buy my pottery that I was making.”
Doing good while doing well
Cohen said he’s learned that when it comes to money, “you don’t need that much of it” to be happy.
Amassing billions feels “kind of crazy” to him, and only makes sense as “playing football” and seeking to “rack up as many points” as possible.
Cohen said the massive wealth gap between the rich and poor means that possessing that much money isn’t justifiable. Nor is having an “economic system that pushes so much money up to the tippy top,” he said.
He and his cofounder, Jerry Greenfield, didn’t start their ice cream company to become fantastically wealthy, he said.
“We were looking to make a living,” Cohen said. “We weren’t looking to make a killing.”
Cohen said he views business as the “most powerful force in society,” and a scaled-up, high-profile company with a social mission “has the potential to do a lot of really good stuff.”
Ben & Jerry’s is known for allocating a portion of its profits to support refugees, LGBTQ+ rights, climate justice, and other progressive causes.
The business was sold to Unilever in 2000, then spun off as part of The Magnum Ice Cream Company last year. Cohen has been calling for Magnum to sell Ben & Jerry’s in recent months as he believes it’s not living up to the brand’s social values.
Magnum didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Business Insider asked Cohen whether he would buy back Ben & Jerry’s if someone handed him the required funds. He replied that his goal isn’t to own the business; he wants to “preserve the social mission” of the company and have it “owned by investors that agree with it.”
“But if somebody gave me a couple of billion, sure, yeah, why not? I’d buy it,” he continued, adding that he would want to “spread the wealth” by bringing in more owners at an attractive valuation.
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