Jared Smith and the Startup that Became a $600M Game-Changer

When Jared Smith (BUS ’08) began attending DePaul University, he thought he wanted to be a math teacher. His passion for business quickly led him to transfer to the Driehaus College of Business, where he double majored in economics and finance before graduating.

Now, Smith is co-founder of the nutrition bar company RXBAR, and he’s clearly mastered both math and business. Last October, Kellogg Co. acquired RXBAR for $600 million, calling the startup “a unique and innovative company” with “values, people and a cutting-edge approach (that) represent an exciting opportunity for our business.” Smith has stayed on with the company.

Headquartered in the River North neighborhood of Chicago, the company is the fastest-growing nutrition bar brand in the U.S. The acquisition is allowing RXBAR to expand its resources, break into new food categories and take advantage of Kellogg’s research and development resources while operating as a standalone business.

We don’t want to change the way we work, we don’t want to change the way we operate,” Smith says. “We wanted to be able to leverage their resources and their experiences where and when we need them.”

At DePaul, Smith took a range of classes, including an entrepreneurship class he says changed the way he thought about his career.

“What it really taught me was a different way of thinking and that there is more than one way to make a living, rather than going to work at a big financial firm,” he says.

Before he became an entrepreneur, however, Smith gained experience through a more traditional path in finance. He completed internships at three different financial services companies in Chicago, including an unpaid internship at what is now Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.

After graduating at the height of the financial recession, Smith took a job at Jackson National Asset Management, where he worked in various departments for the next four years. During his last year of working there as an operations analyst, he began collaborating with Peter Rahal—his childhood best friend—on creating a minimal-ingredient protein bar in the basement of Rahal’s parents’ house in Glen Ellyn, Ill.

Rahal, CEO of RXBAR, and Smith shared a passion for health and fitness. They would head to the gym together every day after work and were huge bar consumers themselves. They were unable to find an all-natural, clean, minimal-ingredient protein bar.

“If you look at the protein bar category, it’s either all fruit and nut all-natural or granola bars,” Smith says. “On the other side of the spectrum is body builder (bars) high (and) heavy in protein with tons of ingredients. There was nothing in the middle.”

Smith and Rahal came up with the concept for RXBAR in August 2012, then spent the next eight months developing the recipe and designing the label themselves in PowerPoint— a label that, however ugly, successfully displayed their value proposition to offer whole food protein bars. In March 2013, Smith and Rahal quit their day jobs and officially launched RXBAR.

After going all in, they each invested $5,000 of their own money and rented a 1,000-square-foot manufacturing space on the West Side of Chicago. Over the next 18 months, their production and staff grew to the point where they eventually rented the entire 7,000-square-foot facility.

“Every single weekend, especially during the first couple of years in the business, we’d go out and sample our demo at any type of event we could find, whether it was a gym or a grocery store, literally anywhere,” says Smith. “We’d go out and sell the product directly to consumers to figure out what resonated and what didn’t, and eventually we’d start telling customers, ‘This is like eating a handful of nuts and some fruit and protein.’ This really hit home for our customers.”

This led Smith and Rahal to create RXBAR’s current packaging, which features its core ingredients on the front of the label.

In the first four years at RXBAR, Smith served as chief financial officer. His main focus now is building the company’s philanthropic arm and engaging a variety of stakeholders, including customers, suppliers and vendors.

Smith says he underestimated the work it would take to get to where he and RXBAR are today.

“Everything I read about entrepreneurship before starting the company was always focused on the outcome, the end game. That was something Peter and I never focused on,” he says. “Literally, we’d stay at work all week. Then we’d demo our samples on the weekends. We sacrificed a lot—social life, income, sleep and much more. We just focused on work, and that was it.”

As friends and co-founders, Rahal and Smith make up a perfect partnership. “Our personalities are totally different,” he says. “I’m much more methodical, pragmatic, back end, and he’s much more aggressive, front end, and an incredible visionary. But our relationship from first grade and growing up together proved to be extremely valuable, because who you partner with is everything. We trusted each other from day one.”

How Smith and Rahal work together has led to the business culture at RXBAR, as well as their product’s master claim, “No B.S.,” which is displayed proudly on the front label below the ingredients. “That’s what our product and business is all about, and that’s the definition of transparency,” Smith says. “We’re not trying to hide anything. We’re putting everything out there for the consumer and empowering the consumer to make that decision.”

By Jaclyn Lansbery | Photos by Kathy Hillegonds

Reda Chafai
BUS ’05, MBA ’10

Residence: Palatine, Ill.

Occupation: President, Capsim Management Solutions Inc., a Chicago-based company that delivers online business simulations and rich learning environments for both academic and corporate clients. I began working there as a business training analyst in 2007 and have since held a number of positions that have helped me in my current role as president. When Capsim started in the 1980s, it delivered business simulation-based training to corporations. Our first testing ground in the university market was DePaul in the ’90s. I did my first Capsim simulation as a DePaul undergraduate, and I currently use simulations in teaching strategy as an adjunct professor in the college’s Department of Management & Entrepreneurship.

What I like best about my job is: I know many companies say it, but we truly want to make a difference. I think the reason we are still around in this rapidly changing environment is that we are determined to keep making learning more accessible, relevant and applicable.

The biggest challenge I face in my job is: Sifting through all the available opportunities and working out what to say “yes” to and what to say “no” to. Some of the things we reject look so good and tempting, but like every company, we have limited resources—time, people, expertise, cash. It’s my job to allocate the resources to the opportunities that have the best chance of success and best align with our strategy.

My DePaul experience helped me to: Face the different challenges that come with managing teams, making executive decisions and aligning tactical decisions with a strategic direction. What I was taught at business school, and what I teach at business school, is what I do every day at work. It is an amazing opportunity for me, as a teacher and a leader, to see how the theory and the practice work together.

Advice for new graduates:

• Never stop learning.
• Aim as high as possible.
• You’ll be surprised by how much you can achieve.
• Give back in any way you can.
• Nurture the network you build as a student.

By Jaclyn Lansbery

RESIDENCE: Chicago

OCCUPATION: CEO and president of MAG USA, a wholly owned subsidiary of Manchester Airports Group (MAG), a global airport company that owns and operates four United Kingdom airports in Manchester, Stansted, East Midlands and Bournemouth.

The U.S. division of MAG was launched in June 2015, bringing three new business lines to the U.S. market: P3 airport terminal and retail development, Escape lounges and car-parking services. MAG USA has already won three contracts to build common-use Escape lounges in airports in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Oakland, Calif., and Windsor Locks, Conn., that offer high-speed Wi-Fi, charging stations, drinks and food for all travelers, regardless of airline.

EDUCATION: I chose to attend DePaul University as a marketing major, with a Spanish minor, because of its tremendous reputation for academic excellence. Of equal importance to me was the sense of community. During my college years, I always felt like I was part of the DePaul family and its tradition of service to others.

VITAL STATS: Upon graduating from DePaul, I joined the City of Chicago and had the great fortune to work for the city I love. It was an honor and privilege to work for two strong, visionary leaders, Mayor Richard M. Daley and Mayor Rahm Emanuel. I had a unique opportunity to create positive change for our city and its residents serving in various positions during my 24-year career in public service. More than half of my career with the city was spent at the Chicago Department of Aviation.

As commissioner, I oversaw the management and operation of one of the world’s busiest airports during a period of rapid expansion, reviving the organization’s focus on customer service as well as leading a $26 million redevelopment of O’Hare’s international terminal. I also oversaw the $8 billion O’Hare modernization program, which reconfigured the airport’s intersecting runways to improve efficiency and enhance the traveler’s experience.

WHAT I LIKE BEST ABOUT MY JOB: Working in an industry I love with extremely talented people from around the world. As the CEO of MAG USA I have the opportunity to continue to make a difference in people’s lives by enhancing the traveler’s experience at airports with new offerings that also benefit the airport and surrounding communities.

MY DePAUL EXPERIENCE HELPED ME TO: Think outside the box. It provided me with a solid foundation to build upon. It also instilled in me the importance of strong ethics and of staying true to yourself.

WORDS OF ADVICE FOR RECENT GRADUATES

It is important to do what you love, not be afraid to take risks and follow your heart when making important decisions.

A Passion for Innovation

Darren Guccione, CPA
MS in Accountancy ’96

Residence: Chicago

Occupation: CEO and co-founder of Keeper Security, Inc., creator of Keeper, the world’s most popular password manager and digital vault for mobile devices and computers. Keeper is used by more than nine million people in 100 countries and is published in 18 languages. At Keeper, I lead product vision, global strategy, business development and customer experience.

Education: I hold a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where I received the Evans Scholarship, Morton Thiokol Excellence in Engineering Design Award and a Distinguished Alumnus Award. My decision to pursue a business degree at DePaul was influenced by my desire to expand my engineering skills with a strong foundation in business operations and finance. I felt the MSA program was optimal because it was very similar to an MBA program and provided the credits I needed to sit for the CPA exam. DePaul introduced me to Professors Don Shannon and Mark Frigo, two of the best people I’ve ever met in my life. I served as a grad assistant to them as I pursued my master’s degree, and they had a tremendous impact on me.

Vital stats: Prior to Keeper, I served as an advisor to JiWire, now called NinthDecimal, which became the largest WiFi ad network in the world. I was formerly the CFO and a primary shareholder of Apollo Solutions, Inc., which I and my partners sold to CNET Networks, Inc. Early in my career, I lived in Asia for several years, where I coordinated product development for Bell Sports, a world leader in the bicycle accessories market. I also served with Arthur Andersen as a management consultant. My wife’s name is Jade, and we have four beautiful children.

What I like best about my job: Creating a product that honors people’s privacy and makes their online lives more convenient. I enjoy working with great people—we push each other to innovate and, most importantly, we love what we do.

The biggest challenge I face in my job is: The ability to stay focused on our core initiatives, as a company, and helping team members do the same; failing at this leads to failure in most companies. The most important thing I do every day is to keep everyone in the company on track and focused.

Advice for new graduates:

• Create something amazing.
• Adopt a mindset of innovation.
• Pursue perfection in every aspect of your product and operation.
• Stay positive. Avoid and/or remove negative energy.
• Hire smart, honest and positive people who have a passion for what you are creating.

Making the decision to go back to school full time to pursue an advanced business degree is not one to be taken lightly. Neither is the decision to change career paths completely. These were two choices that Will Campbell (MBA ’11) made.

After working in several different industries, Campbell, a former chemical engineer, realized his true passion was not on the operations side of the business, but on the corporate side— more specifically, human resources. To make his passion a reality, Campbell put his career on pause and enrolled in DePaul’s full-time cohort MBA program with a concentration in human resources.

Campbell, a husband and father of three, knew both the rewards and risks of quitting his job to go back to school. “It was an enormous decision,” says Campbell, “But it was something that I knew I had to do. We made sacrifices, but I remained focused on the end result.”

This decision paid off for Campbell, who was able to get a job in his new field at Jones Lang LaSalle, a commercial real estate company, soon after graduation. Four years after graduating, he has been promoted to director of learning and development. “As we grow older, we assume more responsibility ranging from home ownership to family accountabilities,” says Marty Martin, associate professor of management at DePaul, who specializes in human resources.

“As such, it is much more difficult to make a change and the risk is much higher if the change does not work out. But the reward of finding career fulfillment can make it worth the risk.”

Advice for Career Changers

Martin gives the following strategies for landing a full-time position after deciding to make a career change:

• Widen your networking circle in your new field by joining different associations, volunteering for committees in these associations and making contributions to LinkedIn discussion groups.

• Conduct informational interviews to learn about the industry and ask for feedback on your resume.

• Consider earning a badge, certificate or degree in your new field. If you intend to earn these credentials at a university, be sure to fully leverage its career management office to connect with students from your desired industry.

• Try to get projects or assignments at work or by volunteering in your future career field to add achievements and accomplishments on your resume.

By Andrew Zamorski

Andrew Hallissey (MBA ’04)

Residence: Hong Kong

Occupation: Executive director in the Global Corporate Services group of CBRE, the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm. As head of client solutions for the Asia Pacific region in CBRE’s Hong Kong office, I have responsibility for the design, implementation and management of real estate solutions for CBRE’s largest corporate clients. I also provide global oversight for a range of CBRE’s U.S.- and European-based corporate clients.

Education: After attending high school at De La Salle College in Waterford, Ireland, I earned a Bachelor of Business Studies at the Waterford Institute of Technology. My first master’s degree was an MSc in Marketing Practice at the Smurfit School in University College Dublin. I was very fortunate to be the fifth recipient of the DePaul Ireland Scholarship, founded by Fergal Mulchrone, a member of the Driehaus College of Business Advisory Board, to promote educational and business links between DePaul and the Republic of Ireland.

Vital stats: After I graduated from DePaul in 2004, I joined Trammell Crow Co. and received a very diversified exposure to the real estate industry. Trammell Crow was acquired by CBRE in 2006, and shortly after that, I moved from Chicago to London to lead the client solutions function for CBRE across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After six years in London, I was ready for another challenge, and our business in Asia Pacific was poised for dramatic growth. I have been based in Hong Kong for the last 2 1/2 years. My wonderful wife, Kirsty, and I were blessed with the arrival of our son, Max, a little over a year ago. He has definitely been a game changer!

What I like best about my job: I love the culture of our company, which is focused on values-based leadership and delivering the best possible outcomes for our clients. Our values statement is RISE, which stands for Respect, Integrity, Service and Excellence. It’s a very powerful mantra when you inspire 52,000 people within the firm to use it as their day-to-day operating philosophy.

How my DePaul experience helped me: I have DePaul to thank for getting my start in the real estate industry. I was a graduate assistant for Susanne Cannon, the founder and chair of the Real Estate Department, who recently retired. Dr. Cannon introduced me to my first job at Trammell Crow Co. DePaul does an amazing job at opening the doors of industry to aspiring young people.

Advice for New Graduates

“My favorite quote from Mr. Trammell Crow was ‘We should hire people other people would like to see be successful.’ Take a couple of minutes to consider the personal attributes of the kind of people that others would like to see be successful. If you do your best to emulate those attributes, the chances are you will do well.”

“Continue to build great relationships with your colleagues, clients and stakeholders throughout your career. People like doing business with people they like, and you need all the help you can get in an increasingly competitive workplace.”

“Consider how fortunate we are to have had the opportunity to study at DePaul. As we progress through our careers and through life, it is important we do everything we can to help and support those who really need it.”

By Lori Ferguson

As Ukraine’s Finance Minister, Natalie Jaresko (BUS ’87) lives thousands of miles away from where she was born and much closer to the roots that she holds so dear. The daughter of Ukrainian immigrants, Jaresko was raised in the western suburb of Wood Dale, Ill. and later in Chicago’s Ukrainian Village neighborhood. She graduated from DePaul in 1987 with a BS in accountancy and political science and in 1989 earned a master’s degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

After a brief stint as economic section chief at the U.S. Embassy in Kiev, Jaresko served as president and CEO of the Western NIS Enterprise Fund, an initiative funded by the U.S. government through the USAID to assist Ukraine and Moldova in establishing sound economic policies and strong leadership. In 2006, Jaresko founded Horizon Capital, where she worked for the next eight years facilitating private investments in Ukrainian businesses. In December of 2014, Jaresko was tapped to be Ukraine’s finance minister, charged with creating a business environment in Ukraine that enables enterprise to flourish. In a recent interview, Jaresko discussed the role that her educational experience at DePaul played in shaping her future and her understanding of how to operate most effectively in a global economy.

In what ways did your educational experience at DePaul shape your future? Did it get you thinking about new ways of doing business or enhance your interest in working abroad?

My educational experience at DePaul was very rewarding. I became more inquisitive and more open to new ideas and perspectives. The environment at the liberal arts campus gave me the opportunity to debate argue, and challenge my own and others’ positions on issues. At the business school, I became more aware of how business operated, what it took to be successful, and of the interlocking parts of any successful business idea.

The opportunity to study abroad—in my case in Budapest—inspired me to work abroad, to work with international issues, and to work in the post-communist world. At the time, Hungary was still communist, but it was “reform” communism, or “goulash” communism. The cracks in the old system were already visible.

What, if any, international business experiences did you have while in school at DePaul?

I was studying abroad at a time when it was clear that an alternative to pure state-run communism was preferable. Still, we couldn’t yet see that the entire system would collapse not long afterward. The region quickly then turned to transition economics and the move to a free market economy within democratic principles. It was a heady, very exciting time in history.

What do you think are the most important things for young people entering the workforce to understand about operating in a global economy?

They must have cultural respect – this is especially important in today’s global economy. They must understand the competitive differences in different economies and how to benefit from them, and they must learn how to create a business environment that spurs entrepreneurship.

What qualities do you look for in those you hire?

First and foremost, I am looking for people who can communicate—oral and verbal communications are key. Next in importance for me is a person’s sense of responsibility and his or her willingness to take on responsibility; I am always looking for a sense of ownership. Of equal importance is the ability of a candidate to turn words and ideas into actions, to document a process, implement and follow up on it. In the end, deeds are most important.

How did your experiences growing up as the child of immigrants affect your outlook, and how has your background influenced your approach to business?

DePaul was a very welcoming place for immigrants – I went to school with many like me. There were a lot of immigrants and also students who were the first in their families to go to college. My classmates at DePaul appreciated their education and worked hard for it. People were more invested in their education. For me personally, I chose a major that I knew would translate into a job, i.e. accounting, which was important for my family. Certainty was important. I came from a family that fled communism and believed deeply in the free market, so DePaul, with its values, its principles, and its teaching excellence were all of great benefit to me. My experiences at DePaul led me to the Kennedy School of Government, which eventually led me to come to Ukraine – to apply those principles in the country of my roots.

Given the current situation in Ukraine, it must be challenging to conduct business. How do you stay focused and what education and/or experience do you draw upon to inform your decisions?

A critical task for our government, and my role in particular as finance minister, is to create a business environment that enables enterprise to flourish. Ukraine is rich in human resources, in natural resources, in strategic geographic location and more. The critical issue is putting those pieces of the puzzle together in an environment of rule of law, transparency, fairness and competition that will enable the greatest benefit from those resources. Tax policy, tax administration, banking stability, currency stability, access to markets, and prudent fiscal policy that does not fuel inflationary processes – all of these are part of my priorities. I am focused on helping turn our economy around and creating the conditions for this growth and prosperity.

Alumnus Profile

Robert Chatwani (BUS ’97) 

Residence: Fremont, Calif.

Occupation: I work for eBay Inc. as Senior Director of Consumer Marketing. I have the privilege of leading buyer and seller marketing for the world’s largest online marketplace. We’re a dynamic marketplace with over $80 billion in annual trading volume and over 800 million listings of items for sale. More than 1 million people earn their part-time or full-time living on eBay.

Education: My education has been the single most important factor contributing to my career progress. I went to Maine West High School in Des Plaines, Ill. I decided to pursue a degree at DePaul due to the reputation of the school’s business and economics programs. Attending DePaul also allowed me to continue helping my parents manage their small business. While at DePaul I took advantage of a foreign study program in Osaka, Japan, where I lived with a family and studied Japanese. Eventually, I was drawn to California and pursued an MBA at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business.

Vital stats: After DePaul, I was fortunate to work in global management consulting at McKinsey & Co. After three years at McKinsey in Chicago and Washington, D.C., I moved to San Francisco to start a venture-backed Internet company. I eventually joined eBay in 2003, where I have been for the past 12 years. My wife (and best friend) and I have been married for 14 years and have three kids.

What I like best about my job: I work for a company with a very meaningful purpose, where we focus on creating economic opportunity for people throughout the world. I’ve been lucky to have five or six different positions within the company, allowing me to develop a broad set of leadership skills, as well as contribute to the company’s growth across different functions. What energizes me most is building great teams and helping individuals develop their careers.

The biggest challenge I face in my job: Managing my energy and the energy of my team. I believe that the way people feel at work influences how they perform, and the way people feel is defined by their level of energy. Energy can take several forms—physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. I’ve found that helping my team manage their energy— not their time—helps improve engagement, focus and productivity. There are lots of ways to help them with this, but I’ve found the best way is to create an environment that fosters renewal, flexible schedules and decision-making empowerment. 

Chatwani’s advice for new alumni:

• Do what you love—every day—and enjoy the people you work with. If you don’t love it, invest in making a change. Be authentic and be honest with yourself.
• Take your best idea—and dream one size bigger. It doesn’t matter if it’s about your career, about starting a new venture or about serving your community. Make your plans as audacious as possible.
• Don’t get too comfortable. When you’re early in your career, move around. Spend time working in a foreign country, changing roles or even changing companies. Doing so grows your capabilities and makes you a more valuable leader.
• Take responsibility for your own development. Play to your strengths, find great mentors and take measured risks. Most great careers are discovered, not planned. Embrace those unexpected opportunities that occasionally come your way.