My first million: Gary Hirshberg of Stonyfield Farm

Running a not-for-profit renewable energy centre in the early 1980s seems an unlikely foundation for a multimillion dollar business, but then Gary Hirshberg is not your run of the mill entrepreneur, as Jody Clark discovers.

Running a not-for-profit renewable energy centre in the early 1980s seems an unlikely foundation for a multimillion dollar business, but then Gary Hirshberg is not your run of the mill entrepreneur. Indeed, if you were to ask the now 52-year-old for his general thoughts on the world of business all those years ago, he would probably have told you that it "was all things evil" and that he "wanted nothing to do with it".

It's very different now. Hirshberg is the head of a $300m (£165bn) organic yogurt business now pushing into the UK. Preaching to disinterested crowds on the danger of climate change 30 years ago, he realised that he could change people's perceptions far more easily with a consumer product than he ever could through an NGO. "In hindsight, that assumption has proven to be true."

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Jody Clarke

Jody studied at the University of Limerick and was a senior writer for MoneyWeek. Jody is experienced in interviewing, for example digging into the lives of an ex-M15 agent and quirky business owners who have made millions. Jody’s other areas of expertise include advice on funds, stocks and house prices.