Frederick Schilling sold Dagoba Organic Chocolate to Hershey.

Most successful startup companies have to make a decision at some point: whether, or how much, of the company to sell.

The goal of many entrepreneurs is to grow a company, sell it and move on to the next venture. In the world of mission-driven business, however, entrepreneurs are faced with an additional issue: how to grow their companies without sacrificing values for profits. In addition to honoring the founder’s own ideals, green businesses risk the loyalty of customers and employees who are set to bolt if they sense even a whiff of “selling out.”

Such is the predicament in which“green” business leaders are finding themselves, as consumers—and thus big business—become increasingly more interested in “going green.” It is difficult territory to navigate, but companies that have done so, whether successfully or not, offer hope and valuable lessons to other startups contemplating the next move in their growth strategy.

Becoming a sell-out
Greg Steltenpohl, founder of Odwalla Juices, and Paul Hawken, co-founder of Smith & Hawken and author of well-known business books Natural Capital and The Ecology of Commerce, are both noted businessmen who embraced the ideals of environmentally responsible business long before “green” was a buzzword.

Both started and grew their own successful companies, imbuing them with respect for people and the environment. Both became well-known for their companies’ unique business models. Both championed the potential profit in sustainable business. And both found out the hard way what can go wrong when a sustainability-minded founder gives up majority control of a company.

Steltenpohl remained an active member of the Odwalla board when it went public. But in the 18 months after he stepped down as board chair, he saw the company move drastically away from what he had built, and sell entirely to Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO). Though Steltenpohl has noted a cultural shift at the company, perhaps the largest change at Odwalla since the Coca-Cola buyout has been its customers. Several small natural foods stores and co-ops—many of them amongst Steltenpohl’s first customers—began boycotting Odwalla after it became part of Coca-Cola, particularly in 2006 when the company made headlines for human-rights abuses and environmental violations at its bottling plants in India.