John Bragg: The Blueberry Billionaire

The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish

Shane Parrish

Business, Society & Culture, Technology, Education, Self-improvement, Investing, Entrepreneurship

4.7 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 1 October 2024

⏱️ 90 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

From a tiny village, John Bragg quietly built an empire that controls half the world's wild blueberries and North America's largest private telecom network. In this rare interview, the famously private billionaire reveals how he defied conventional wisdom by transforming a small farm into two multi-billion-dollar giants. Discover the contrarian principles that helped Bragg dominate seemingly unrelated industries—from frozen foods to fiber optics—and build businesses designed to thrive for generations, not just quarters. Newsletter The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it’s completely free. Learn more and sign up at https://fs.blog/newsletter/ Upgrade If you want to hear my thoughts and reflections at the end of the episode, join our membership: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://fs.blog/membership/⁠⁠ and get your own private feed. Follow Me: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/farnamstreet Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shane-parrish-050a2183/ Sponsors: Overlap: https://www.joinoverlap.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Why we succeeded is we tried to find a product we could run and run the hell out of it, as we would say.
0:07.1	We're by far the largest wild blueberry produce.
0:10.5	As we sit here today, we're processing carrots.
0:14.9	We're the largest carrot processor in Canada, so we learn how to do it and do it well,
0:20.3	and then just run it as much as we can.
0:22.9	And then we do battered products, and we try to do the same thing there.
0:28.2	So stick to your knitting, do what you can do, and do more of it, and try and grow it.
0:34.3	Don't try and do everything.
0:35.7	So many people fail by getting successful in one and then think they can do it. Don't try and do everything. So many people failed by getting successful
0:40.3	one and then think they can do everything.
0:42.3	Welcome to the Knowledge Project. I'm your host, Shane Perrick.
0:54.8	In a world where knowledge is power, this podcast is your toolkit for mastering the best what other people have already figured out.
1:00.6	If you're listening to this, it means you're not a supporting member.
1:03.3	Members get early access, no ads, my personal reflections at the end of the conversation, hand-edited transcripts, and so much more.
1:10.6	Check out the link in the show notes for more information.
1:13.1	My guest today is John Bragg, the blueberry billionaire.
1:16.3	From humble roots, this entrepreneur that you've never heard of has grown Oxford
1:20.3	frozen foods into the world leader in harvesting and processing wild blueberries.
1:25.2	And if that wasn't enough, he also started and grew North America's
1:28.3	largest private telecommunications firm, East Link. And all of this from a small town,
1:33.3	with a population hovering around 1,200 people. I traveled all the way to Oxford, Nova Scotia,
1:38.1	to hear his story. How did he start? How did he grow? From the early days of picking wild
	...

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