While there is no such thing as an ordinary Food Disruptor, Clarence Saunders was one colorful capitalist. He bootstrapped his way to a grand fortune, with Piggly Wiggly, the first self-service grocery store chain. All the while he touted his good-ole-boy Tennessee roots. He appealed directly to shoppers’ concerns with folksy, funny media saturation. (See Episode 50.)

And when he decided to fight against short sellers of the newly listed Piggly Wiggly stock, he made national news with the Last Great Corner on Wall Street. He lost that battle, but not the hearts and minds of his loyal shoppers who rooted for their flamboyant underdog all the way.

With one fortune lost, he set about to make another with the world’s first automated grocery store, Keedoozle. He was as far ahead of his time as Ada Lovelace was ahead of hers. He never made back his fortune, but it’s a fun story.