Ray Kroc

But the McDonald's brothers were still a problem.

They refused to send registered letters authorizing changes, which meant technically every store he built was in violation of their original contract.

Their attorney could shut them down at any moment.

And Ray was bleeding cash.

We were in the trough between our heavy outlays for land and buildings and the income from those properties, he wrote.

Gross sales climbed.

Many units were prospering at the same time.

We were barely able to meet payroll.

Harry Sonborn issued an order.

No bill came over $1,000 would be paid in full.

Everything else went on installments.

One week, they were overdrawn and couldn't make payroll at all.

The accountant switched from weekly to bi-monthly pay and posted a notice that anyone strapped for cash could borrow up to $15 from petty cash.

That same week, Kroc gathered his executives for a late-night meeting.

Someone brought barbecued ribs, and Ray was looking at the numbers, but his mind was somewhere else.

One of these days, he said, we're going to hit grosses of $100,000 a month.

We're going to be a billion-dollar company.

The accountant froze mid-bite.

He went home and told his wife that Ray Kroc was either a nut or a dreamer or both.

And they couldn't make payroll.