Living in a garage to building the $1B+ 'Savannah Bananas'

TL;DR

Jesse Cole started as a 23-year-old general manager of a college summer baseball team drawing 200 fans, experimented with outrageous promotions, and after eight years of toiling in obscurity bought the team. When he moved to Savannah he ran out of money, sold his house, and lived in a garage with his wife on $30/week groceries.

Key insights

• Ideas are more valuable than anything; the “idea box” (from Bill Veeck’s son) was the most important possession saved from a fire.
• “Whatever’s normal do the exact opposite” – nobody gets excited about normal; remarkable and unforgettable drive attention.
• You must create attention first; “without promotion something terrible happens – nothing” (PT Barnum).