A manager told Warren Buffett he wanted to open a furniture store in Boise.
Buffett thought it was a bad idea. The chain closed on Sundays for religious reasons, and Boise already had competitors open seven days a week.
So Bill Child made him an offer.
He would buy the land and build the store with his own money. If it worked, he would sell it to Berkshire Hathaway at exactly what it cost him. If it failed, Berkshire walked away clean and Child personally owned an empty building in Idaho.
Buffett said that was not fair, that Berkshire should take the downside too.
Child refused. If the store failed because of his religious beliefs, he wanted the loss to be his.
It worked.
Then he refused to charge interest on the two years his money had been tied up.