Building a multi-generational business is hard and it is rare. About 13% of U.S. family-owned businesses are passed down successfully to a third generation, while just 3% survive to a fourth generation (Businessweek.com, 2010). Information on successful transitions of fourth-generation family businesses is rare, making it evident that sustaining success across multiple generations is a formidable challenge.

However, there are exceptions. I am President of Capitol City Produce, a fourth-generation family business that has thrived for over seven decades since its founding in 1947, just two years after the end of World War II. How have we managed to beat the odds? In short, through relationships and innovation, and through consistently embodying the spirit of a startup despite our decades-long legacy.