$60,000 Salary
“Everyone thought I was crazy, like I was leaving consulting to go make mud pies,” he said. His original business plan was to be selling $1 million worth of beer in five years,have eight employees and pay himself a salary of $60,000.
When his father realized Koch was serious about starting a brewery, they went into the attic and dug out the recipe developed in the 1860s by his great-great grandfather Louis Koch. That became the basis for Boston Lager. Within a year, his marketing scored two boosts: taking the brand name from Samuel Adams, a Revolutionary War Patriot he found had a brewing connection, and getting the beer named the country’s best at a national brewing festival.
By 1990, Koch had exceeded his business plan multiple times, selling $21.2 million in beer that year. Four years later, revenue topped $128 million.