Big Company Retains a Small Company Feel

In 1995, the elder Klaus bought back the now larger and healthier business, and Jim was appointed president. He discussed with Matt Griffin, associate editor, the difficulties encountered during that transition and the challenges he currently faces.

Catalog Success: What was your biggest challenge in your first few years as president?
Klaus: Working within what had been a 100 percent entrepreneurial company. Restructuring was particularly difficult, even after we bought it back from The Right Start. One person, my dad, called the shots, and there weren’t many controls. Although my dad indicated he was open to changing the way the business was run, that ultimately was a more difficult proposition for him. Putting in place controls and systems that made it an established company was the first big challenge.