Ben Cohen & Jerry Greenfield were two hippies who created an ice-cream empire in the unlikely cold-climate of Vermont. They wanted to earn a living making bagels but couldn't get investors. Finally, they decided on ice-cream because there weren't many ice-cream stores in Vermont. While they joke about -chunk distribution- and -mouth feel-, they grew their company and sold it to Unilever for $326 million in 2000.
These two entrepreneurs hated business, claiming they were -60s kids-. But, they learned they could create a business that would support its community, help the environment and empower employees. As an example, when they first sold stock in their company, they sold only to Vermonters, to the dismay of bankers and lawyers.