Friends put $5,000 each into RXBAR; four years later, Kellogg bought it for $600m

In 2013, two childhood friends from Glen Ellyn, Illinois, pooled $10,000 to buy egg whites, dates, and nuts. They made their first batch of protein bars in a suburban basement using a food processor. Four years later, global food company Kellogg Company bought their business for $600 million. Peter Rahal and Jared Smith founded Chicago Bar Company LLC, the Chicago-based company behind RXBAR, after growing tired of the long lists of artificial ingredients in regular protein snacks. With no outside investors, corporate office, or formal business experience, the pair built one of North America's fastest-growing natural food brands. The sale in October 2017 gave the founders a huge financial return and made RXBAR a major success story in the health food industry.Starting out in a family basementThe business began with a simple problem. Rahal and Smith had been close friends since primary school.